Chapter 195: Zhang Xiaohong

Chapter 195: Chapter 195: Zhang Xiaohong

’I heard this Nikon is a foreign product. You can probably only get it at an Overseas Remittance Store.’

He had thought his family’s savings of over a thousand yuan was quite impressive, but Zhou Yu’s arrival made Father Su realize in an instant that they merely had a little bit of money.

There was a huge gap between them and a truly wealthy family.

’I wonder if that Mr. Lu will look down on Wanwan.’

"Mr. Zhou, Wanwan doesn’t get back from school until after eleven. When are you planning to take pictures of Tuantuan and Yuanyuan?"

"Can I take them now? I’d like to take a few extra shots."

Father Su didn’t feel right refusing, so he called Aunt Zhao over to keep an eye on things while he went to the kitchen to make lunch.

Zhou Yu held the camera and aimed it at Tuantuan and Yuanyuan, but he rarely pressed the shutter button.

Aunt Zhao didn’t understand what he was doing and just kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

She was clearly worried he might harm the two children.

Zhou Yu showed Aunt Zhao the photos in his camera.

"Tuantuan and Yuanyuan are very photogenic."

Aunt Zhao didn’t know what "photogenic" meant. When she saw the pictures in the camera, they were so realistic it was as if a person’s face had been printed directly onto paper.

"This is so lifelike."

"Not bad," Zhou Yu said with a confident expression. "This camera is quite useful. Aunt Zhao, how about you chat with me for a bit, and I’ll take a picture of you too?"

The smile on Aunt Zhao’s face faded a little. She said politely, "Mr. Zhou, you’re being too kind. You don’t need to take my picture just to chat with me. If you have something to say, just say it."

"Actually, I wanted to learn a little about Zheng Chuan and Ms. Su Wan, so it’s easier for me to report back to Old Lu."

Aunt Zhao didn’t know much, only that Zhou Yu was a junior member of a family related to Lu Zhengchuan’s.

"Oh, I understand. What do you want to ask?"

"I want to know why Zheng Chuan married Ms. Su Wan."

Aunt Zhao was perplexed. "Why? Is there a reason? They met for a matchmaking session and decided to be together, that’s all."

"Is that so? I heard that Ms. Su Wan only married Zheng Chuan for the two-hundred-yuan betrothal gift."

"Aunt Zhao was instantly displeased. "Mr. Zhou, what you’re saying isn’t right. Are you looking down on Wanwan? Forget two hundred yuan, the Su family could afford two thousand, and they’d willingly spend it on Wanwan."

"Oh, then I must have misheard," Zhou Yu said, a perfectly measured smile on his face.

Aunt Zhao suppressed her anger. If he weren’t a guest, she would have blown up at him already.

"Mr. Zhou, who told you that? From the way you’re talking, it sounds like you’re calling Wanwan a gold digger."

"Wanwan is a university student!"

Zhou Yu shook his head. "Aunt Zhao, please don’t be angry. I heard some gossip, and it’s because I trust Wanwan that I came to ask you. After all, you’re someone who has been close to her for a long time. I have to ask around to avoid misunderstanding Ms. Su Wan."

Aunt Zhao was a little skeptical. "Really?"

"Of course. After all, I can’t stop you from telling Ms. Su Wan that I asked you about this today."

’That’s true.’ Aunt Zhao was convinced. She became anxious. "Who on earth is spreading gossip about Wanwan behind her back? It’s absolute nonsense."

"Aunt Zhao, I also wanted to ask, does Ms. Su Wan rarely contact her elders?"

"Her elders?"

"I mean her uncle’s family on the Zhang side," Zhou Yu clarified.

Aunt Zhao frowned. "She does contact them. Wanwan has already called Aunt Zhang twice this month."

"But Aunt Zhang said Wanwan doesn’t like her, so she rarely gets in touch."

"...You can’t believe a word she says! You can go to the newsstand yourself and check if Wanwan actually made those calls."

"Not to mention, when Zhang Yun came to the Capital, Wanwan took care of everything for her. She was very thoughtful."

Zhou Yu nodded. "Mm, I’m aware of that."

"There’s also the matter that Ms. Su Wan seems to only care for her own family, not her husband’s."

"What do you mean?" The more Aunt Zhao listened, the more something felt wrong.

"The Su family’s parents and brother all have jobs, and they were able to open a shop in the Capital. That must have been thanks to Zheng Chuan’s status. I don’t think I’m wrong about that." Zhou Yu said this without emotion, his tone purely investigative.

But the more Aunt Zhao listened, the angrier she became. She couldn’t even imagine how furious Wanwan would be if she heard this.

"You can’t put it like that. Sister Su’s family relied on their own abilities. They didn’t spend any of Zheng Chuan’s money; they used their own money to start the business."

"Besides, it was the Su family’s third child, Su Jue, who taught them how to run the business and who found the shop."

"Zheng Chuan’s status was only used to keep troublemakers from bothering them. They absolutely never leveraged his power at any other time."

"What’s more, after the Su family bought the shop, no riff-raff ever came looking for trouble again. The housing authority and the police station handle any disturbances at the shop."

"Even if they did leverage Zheng Chuan’s status at the beginning, that’s just a son-in-law being filial. They’re all family. Drawing such harsh lines is just hurtful."

Zhou Yu nodded. "Mm, I understand."

"If you understood, you wouldn’t be saying such things. Is the Zhang family dissatisfied with Wanwan?"

Zhou Yu’s brow twitched, but he didn’t answer.

But his tacit agreement was a clear "yes" to Aunt Zhao.

"Hmph. Is it because the Zhang family is still stuck farming in the village, and they’re jealous that the Su family can make money in the city?"

"Why doesn’t she stop and think? She’s Zheng Chuan’s relative. Even if someone were to help them get ahead, it would be up to Zheng Chuan. What does it have to do with Wanwan?"

"It wasn’t Aunt Zhang who said it, it was Zhang Xiaohong," Zhou Yu explained, seeing her get angrier and angrier. It wouldn’t look good if things got out of hand.

Aunt Zhao frowned. "Who is Zhang Xiaohong?"

"Aunt Zhang’s eldest daughter."

"Oh, a daughter who’s already married out. Instead of helping her own family, she’s over here trying to leech off her relatives."

Zhou Yu was starting to regret bringing this up.

"Aunt Zhao, let’s talk about this later. I will report back to Old Lu and change his impression of Ms. Su Wan."

Aunt Zhao pinpointed the key part of his sentence.

"Your elder... he didn’t actually believe the Zhang family and think Wanwan is a bad person, did he?" Aunt Zhao found it incredible.

Zhou Yu explained, "Old Lu has never actually spent time with Ms. Su Wan. Although he hasn’t just blindly believed one side of the story, he has been somewhat influenced."

Aunt Zhao was speechless.

"Don’t tell me you all think the same way as Zhang Xiaohong?"

"I don’t have an opinion," Zhou Yu said, shaking his head, remaining perfectly rational. "Besides, what I think doesn’t matter. What matters is what Old Lu thinks."

Aunt Zhao: "...I’m definitely going to tell Wanwan about this."

Zhou Yu: ’...It’s not like I can stop her.’

’Besides,’ he thought, ’I have a feeling the Zhang family is hiding something. Maybe I can find out what it is through Su Wan.’

Zhou Yu left without staying for lunch.

Father Su tried to get him to stay.

Aunt Zhao pulled him back, stopping him several times.

Father Su couldn’t very well say anything in front of their guest, so he could only see the man off with an awkward smile.

As soon as the man was gone,

Father Su finally frowned and asked, "Sister-in-law Zhao, why did you stop me from asking him to stay? I know he didn’t agree to take a picture of our whole family, but we can’t get angry over something so small, can we?"