Chapter 8: Madam, Our Ancestor is Acting Strange

Butler Xu beamed with joy upon hearing this. To compensate for the ten broken phones, his wife and daughter would take three each, and his son would take one; it worked out perfectly.

As he walked, he thought to himself: *Please, little ancestor, keep breaking them.*

Zhou Yinhe sat on the floor leaning against the bed, his head tilted back, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Jiang Jibai returned the call quickly.

"Wen Ling is living in Langpo Bay. She bought two adjacent buildings; she lives in one, and her nannies, butlers, and private doctors live in the one next door."

Zhou Yinhe blinked his dry eyes, which were strained from staying up all night, gave a faint "mm" in response, and hung up.

He stood up slowly, stepped into his slippers, and walked downstairs in a lazy manner. He tossed his phone to Butler Xu, his entire being in a dark and decadent state.

"I'm sleeping. Don't call me for anything."

Butler Xu caught the phone. Seeing him turn around immediately to go back upstairs, he stepped forward and asked with concern, "Ancestor, how about having some breakfast before you sleep?"

"Not eating."

Butler Xu could only stand there and watch him go upstairs. He then turned to call Zhou Yinhe's mother, Madam Ning Qing, a famous socialite in Sijiu City.

"Madam, our ancestor is not acting right."

Ning Qing was having breakfast in the Zhou family garden. She wore a light-colored qipao, her hair styled exquisitely and dignified. Sitting at an English-style dining table, her entire presence exuded an air of elegance and nobility.

Of the five children she had given birth to, only the youngest, Zhou Yinhe, resembled her, so she doted on him extra specially. Upon hearing Butler Xu's words, her elegance and nobility vanished instantly, and she asked in a panic, "What happened? What happened?"

Butler Xu told Ning Qing about how Zhou Yinhe hadn't slept all night, smashed his phone, and called Jiang Jibai to inquire about someone being sick.

Ning Qing breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down steadily. Her elegance and nobility returned, and she said softly, "It's a small matter. He might have had a fight with a girl he likes. It's about time he thought about his own marriage prospects. Did you hear what that girl's name was?"

Butler Xu thought carefully. "It sounded like something with 'Ling'? Wen Ling?"

"Who did you say?!"

Upon hearing this, Ning Qing abruptly stood up. She was well aware of the impact the name Wen Ling had on her youngest son. Now, look at this—her elegance and nobility were completely gone.

"You're saying Yinhe asked where Wen Ling lives, if she was sick, and if she had found a doctor?!"

Butler Xu: "Um... I think so?"

Ning Qing began to pace the floor, saying in a low, dejected tone, "It's over, it's all over."

Butler Xu was somewhat puzzled, and Ning Qing did not explain to him. The matter from back then had been suppressed by the family. Aside from Zhou Yinhe's friends and the main house butler and a few loyal servants who had witnessed it with their own eyes, basically no outsiders knew. It just so happened that Butler Xu had been on a six-month long leave at the time, so he was unaware of the matter.

Ning Qing instructed him, "Take good care of him. You must pay close attention to see if there is anything else wrong with him. If there is, tell me immediately." She thought for a moment and continued, "I've already had someone handle your daughter's school; she can enroll next semester."

Butler Xu thanked her joyfully and expressed that he would certainly keep a close eye on the little ancestor.

After hanging up, Ning Qing called her second son, Zhou Congyu. At this moment, Zhou Congyu had already arrived at the company and was walking toward the meeting room, preparing to hold a meeting with the senior executives.

He signaled for the executives to go in and wait for him first, then walked to the corridor's viewing window to answer the call.

Zhou Congyu asked with a gentle smile, "Mom, have you had breakfast?"

In Sijiu City, the three sons and two daughters of the Zhou family were all the "children of other families" (exemplary children). The eldest son, Zhou Yanqiu, was now naturally taking over the group; the eldest daughter, Zhou Qiyue, was taking over real estate and property development; the second son and the eldest daughter were twins, and the second son had now taken over her maternal family, the Ning family; the second daughter was currently playing the violin, performing in theaters across various countries.

As for the youngest son, Zhou Yinhe, he had now opened his own financial investment holding company and had even listed the company through his own abilities.

"Still eating breakfast!" Ning Qing said in a panic, "Go and check quickly. Has that Wen Ling come to Sijiu City? Has she seen your brother?"

Zhou Congyu froze for a moment, then smiled helplessly. "Mom, even if Wen Ling came to Sijiu City to see Little Five, that is Little Five's business. If I go and investigate and Little Five finds out we are interfering in his affairs, he will definitely throw another tantrum."

Ning Qing sighed heavily. "I don't want to investigate either, but look at how your brother was three years ago. Just thinking about it scares me."

Zhou Congyu could only comfort his mother, but since his mother was immersed in her memories and feeling depressed, Zhou Congyu had no choice but to investigate for her.

"Mom, I'll have someone look into it. I'll tell you once they find something, okay? Don't worry. Little Five is not like he was before; what happened three years ago won't happen again."

Only then did Ning Qing feel slightly relieved.

When Wen Ling woke up again, her whole body felt stiflingly hot. Her pajamas were soaked with sweat, and she felt as if she were in a steamer.

She sat up, feeling that her head was no longer as heavy as before, so she got out of bed and took a hot bath in the bathroom.

When she returned to the bedroom, she found her constantly ringing phone under the covers and answered it.

"Why did it take so long to answer? Did you get Zhou Yinhe into your hands?" a man's lazy voice came through.

"No." Wen Ling remembered that phone call and felt a bit disappointed. "I had a fever. I just woke up."

"What happened?" The man's voice sounded somewhat flustered, but Wen Ling didn't notice and simply recounted yesterday's events.

The man gritted his teeth and said, "You want to scheme against Ruan Miaomiao, so you play with your own health?"

"It's only this way that they will doubt Ruan Miaomiao's hypocrisy, paving the way for my subsequent moves. Besides, didn't nothing happen to me?" Wen Ling pouted, completely unconcerned.

The man became even angrier: "Don't you know your own condition? A single illness nearly takes half your life, yet you still dare to act like this."

Wen Ling also found it a bit strange. "Nothing happened to me this time; I just had a fever and felt better once I woke up."

The man stopped speaking, remained silent for a moment, and then hung up directly.

Wen Ling didn't understand what was wrong with him. She blinked, scratched her nose in confusion, and then there was a knock on the room door. Auntie Zhou's voice came through: "A-Ling, are you awake?"

Wen Ling stood up, walked over, and opened the door, smiling softly. "Auntie Zhou, I'm awake."

Auntie Zhou touched her forehead. It indeed wasn't hot anymore, so she breathed a sigh of relief. "Fortunately, the fever has broken."

Wen Ling said with a beaming smile, "Mm-hmm, I don't know why, but I recovered especially fast this time."

Auntie Zhou gave her a look. "Is it a bad thing to recover quickly?"

"Of course not." Wen Ling took Auntie Zhou's arm, and the two walked downstairs together. Auntie Zhou suddenly tapped her head and said, "I forgot, I wanted to ask what you want to eat for lunch."

Wen Ling thought for a moment and said, "I want noodles. Clear soup noodles, the kind you make for me."

For some reason, ever since she had eaten Auntie Zhou's soup noodles, she had kept them in her heart and craved them from time to time.

Auntie Zhou patted her hand dotingly and said with a smile, "Alright, I'll go make them for you."

After Auntie Zhou left, Wen Ling picked up her phone again and lowered her eyes to look at the call logs displayed on the screen.

(End of Chapter)