979: Chapter 979: Flies and Eagles 979: Chapter 979: Flies and Eagles Today, she didnât know what had come over her, acting so outrageously with Ye Fei.
It left her feeling a bit flustered, so she used this excuse to comfort herself.
Lan Wen wasnât wrong.
Her feelings for Ye Fei were still pretty much the same as they were back then.
She saw him as that little brother.
If no one had brought it up again, she would have just felt a bit embarrassed and then moved on, continuing to see Ye Fei as just a younger brother.
But now, with Zhang Taoâs question, something indescribable stirred in her heart.
That originally pure sibling affection had unknowingly been tainted with other elements.
Zhang Tao had no idea that his questioning had inadvertently left a ripple in Lan Wenâs heart.
Seeing her explain to him for the first time, he felt extremely excited, thinking Lan Wen must have feelings for him.
After a flurry of activity, the delicious dishes filled the table.
The four of them sat around it.
Zhang Tao had wanted to sit next to Lan Wen, but with so few people, they ended up sitting across from each other like in a game of mahjong.
Once seated, Aunt Zhang started to serve the food and asked Zhang Tao about himself: âMr.
ZhangâŠâ Aunt Zhang had only gotten out three words when Zhang Tao interrupted her: âAuntie, youâre being too formal.
You can just call me Zhang Tao or Xiao Zhang.â âAlright then, Iâll call you Zhang Tao.
Iâm also surnamed Zhang, and people older than me call me Xiao Zhang too.
It would feel a bit awkward to keep calling you that,â Aunt Zhang smiled.
âZhang Tao, how long have you been working with Jingwen?â âAlmost a year now.
I joined the company a bit earlier than Jingwen.
She was assigned to my department when she started.
Itâs quite a coincidence.
And Jingwen works very hard.
Iâm recommending to the higher-ups that she be promoted to my assistant manager,â Zhang Tao chattered on, also expressing his intention to help Lan Wen.
This guy was brought over by Lan Wen to pass some sort of test, and she had told him the purpose from the start.
So he knew Lan Wen wasnât particularly interested in him.
From the beginning, he had planned to win over the mother-in-law.
But just now in the kitchen, Aunt Zhang hadnât paid much attention to him.
Now that he finally had a chance, he naturally wanted to show off a bit.
âYou must be very capable to become a department manager at such a young age,â Aunt Zhang said indifferently.
Zhang Tao continued with a flourish: âCapability is secondary.
I have a good father, after all.
My dad is the director of the countyâs finance bureau, and my mom works there too.
Our company is a subsidiary of the finance bureau, so the leaders usually give me some face.
Generally, people listen to what I say.
And my job is just for experience.
In a couple of years, my dad will transfer me to their bureau.â Usually, when a couple meets the parents, they would introduce their family background if asked.
But Zhang Tao couldnât wait and started boasting about his family even before anyone asked, with a proud look on his face.
If it had been some unsophisticated, snobbish housewife, they might have been impressed by Zhang Taoâs family background.
After all, in such a small country, his background was quite good.
But who was Aunt Zhang?
Not to mention that she was already quite averse to young people who constantly brought up their parents, even if she did care about someoneâs background, she wouldnât be impressed by Zhang Taoâs.
After all, she was on friendly terms with Liu Yiru and the others, including Liu Fengyi, who was the mayor of Wanghai, one of the major municipalities.
The mayor was a provincial-level official.
Compared to her, a mere county finance bureau director was nothing.
Sure enough, upon hearing Zhang Taoâs boasting, Aunt Zhangâs delicate eyebrows imperceptibly furrowed.
Originally, her first impression of Zhang Tao wasnât bad.
After realizing there was no possibility between her daughter and Ye Fei, the boy she favored most, she thought this young man was okay.
At least he looked good and seemed polite.
However, when Zhang Tao showed off with those gifts earlier, Aunt Zhangâs opinion of him had already soured.
So when he had run into the kitchen and tried to ingratiate himself under the pretext of helping, she hadnât paid much attention to him.
And now, after just a few sentences, he had revealed his true colors, which made Aunt Zhang even more averse to him.
Aunt Zhang frowned but didnât speak.
Lan Wen, on the other hand, was trying to stifle her laughter.
Zhang Tao had often boasted about his family in front of her before.
Back then, Lan Wen just found him annoying.
But now, with him boasting in front of Ye Fei, the scene was quite comical.
Lan Wen thought it was like a fly in a latrine boasting to an eagle soaring in the sky about how high it could fly and how strong it was.
Lan Wenâs sneaky laughter caught Aunt Zhangâs eye, making her pause for a moment.
Then, as if she had thought of something, her slightly furrowed brows immediately relaxed, and she smiled at Zhang Tao and said, âZhang Tao, hurry up and eat.
The dishes will get cold.â Although Zhang Tao was arrogant, he wasnât stupid.
After he finished boasting and saw that Aunt Zhang seemed a bit displeased, he felt a bit uneasy, worried that he might have said something wrong.
But now that she was being nice to him again, he thought he had overreacted.
He quickly picked up his chopsticks, took a few bites, and then tried to get closer to Aunt Zhang again.
âBrother Zhang, since youâre here today, how about we have a few drinks?â Ye Fei interrupted Zhang Tao at this moment because he had long noticed that Aunt Zhang didnât want to deal with this guy, but had to entertain him since he was a guest.
So, of course, he had to help her out.
Zhang Tao was eager to ingratiate himself with Aunt Zhang and didnât want to pay attention to Ye Fei.
But seeing the good relationship between Ye Fei and the mother and daughter, he didnât dare to offend them and reluctantly agreed.
Although there were only the mother and daughter in Aunt Zhangâs house, it was the New Year, and relatives and friends would inevitably come over, so there was plenty of alcohol prepared.
Ye Fei quickly found a few bottles of Wuliangye from the liquor cabinet, opened them, and poured a small half-cup for himself and Zhang Tao in disposable cups.
Ye Fei was extremely intelligent, but he hadnât been to many drinking occasions and naturally didnât know how to persuade someone to drink.
However, he had his way.
After pouring the drinks, he didnât say anything.
He just raised his glass, gestured to Zhang Tao, and then downed his drink in one go.