Rebirth and Conquest

At the beginning of the new year, the R&D company under the Yan Group held a new product launch conference. Their latest electronic product was successfully developed. Every year, the company focuses on launching a new product, which has become their tradition. This product is their most proud high-tech product in recent years, and a lot of money was spent on it. Yan Group attaches great importance to it.

After the product was launched, it was put on the market for trial use for a period of time. The feedback was very good, so the company is preparing for mass production.

Previously, this project was handled by Chen Lirong, but since her previous incident, her status in the Yan family has plummeted, and the project has been taken over by Yan Haobo.

In the past, Chen Lirong would have been overjoyed to hear this news, but now she didn't react much. Although Yan Sili had reinstated her position, he was unlikely to give her any more important responsibilities. The reason he gave her a position was merely to curry favor with Chen Yan. However, Chen Yan's attitude towards the Yan family was somewhat ambiguous. She neither said that she wanted to put aside past grievances and get along amicably, nor did she say that she wanted to continue being enemies. Therefore, until Chen Yan's attitude became clear, the Yan family would not let her be in charge of any key projects.

However, Chen Lirong's feelings for Yan's family have cooled somewhat. She wasn't particularly angry or furious about how Yan's family treated her. After all, she had been a strong woman for decades, and it was impossible for her to completely ignore everything. She just became more casual about her work and wasn't as workaholic as before. Besides, she still owned 5% of Yan's shares, so going to Yan's family was just like checking on her shares.

That afternoon, when Chen Yan returned home, Chen Lirong was sitting at home, wearing a face mask and reading the newspaper. She really wasn't in a hurry to go to the company. In the past, she would have gone to the company early in the morning and not come back until late.

Upon hearing Chen Yan enter the room, Chen Lirong turned to look at Chen Yan and said, "You're back."

"Okay," Chen Yan replied, then walked over to Chen Lirong's side, sat down on the sofa next to her, and said with a smile, "Mom, I've had someone find a house, and it's all set up. I'll take you to see it, and we'll move there from now on."

"Now?" Chen Lirong asked.

"Yeah, anyway, we don't have anything to do right now."

Chen Lirong put down the newspaper. "Okay, then I'll go change my clothes."

"kindness"

Chen Lirong got up and went upstairs. After washing her face and changing her clothes, she went out with Chen Yan.

As the two left the apartment building, they saw a car waiting outside, with Yan Minghui leaning lazily against the car door.

Upon seeing Chen Yan and the others emerge, Yan Minghui immediately stood up straight and greeted them with a smile, "Ayan."

Chen Yan and Chen Lirong walked up to Yan Minghui, and Chen Yan introduced him to Chen Lirong, "Mom, this is my friend Yan Minghui."

"Hello, Ms. Chen." Yan Minghui immediately smiled and extended his hand. "I've heard of you before, and I've always admired a strong woman like you."

Chen Lirong smiled and shook hands in return, "Hello, Mr. Yan."

"Haha, Mr. Chen, you see, although I am friends with Ayan, you are so young and I am several years older than Ayan. It would be inappropriate for me to call you Auntie, so I will call you Sister Rong. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind."

"Okay, haha, then Sister Rong, you can just call me Ming Shenghui from now on."

Chen Yan couldn't help but turn her head to look at Yan Minghui. Was he really a generation older than her? However, Yan Minghui pretended not to see Chen Yan's gaze and gentlemanly opened the car door for Chen Lirong, letting her get in.

The house Yan Minghui built was quite far from downtown B city; it was said to be located in a scenic area outside the city.

Before the car even arrived, large green areas could be seen in the distance, with a wide road leading to a villa half-hidden by lush trees. The house that Yan Minghui arranged for Chen Yan, though called a villa, far exceeded the scale of a typical villa.

The car drove all the way to the gate, where two security guards were already standing guard. When the guards saw the car, they opened the gate and let it in.

Behind the gate was a wide road leading to the main building. In front of the main building was a huge rectangular artificial lake, which split the road into two. Yan Minghui turned the car around and continued driving along the road to the right of the artificial lake.

Besides flowerbeds trimmed into various shapes and precious trees, there are also small pavilions and various exquisitely designed small buildings around the villa, making it look almost like a small castle.

At the end of the artificial lake is a beautiful three-tiered fountain. Yan Minghui parked his car after arriving at the fountain.

From a distance, it didn't seem like much, but once you got closer, you realized how massive the main building was. The main building had three floors, and there was a spiral staircase outside that led to the second and third floors. Chen Yan and the others walked up the steps in front of the building and went inside.

The overly spacious living room felt empty. Underfoot were gleaming marble slabs, surrounded by several thick pillars. A magnificent crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling, and around the huge chandelier were rings of exquisitely designed small lights, like stars surrounding the moon, decorating the ceiling.

Next to the living room are a small reception room and a lounge, complete with a counter, coffee table, and sofa. Each piece of furniture is placed just right, neither superfluous nor making the room too monotonous.

Chen Yan and the others went up to the second floor via the indoor spiral staircase. There was a large semi-circular viewing balcony on the second floor. Standing on the balcony, they could clearly see the scenery in front of the main building.

The asymmetrically designed corridors lead to a series of rooms. According to Yan Minghui, the main building has a total of 26 rooms, including a viewing room, a small cinema, and a gym. Chen Yan and her companions did not visit each room individually, but only looked at the bedroom closest to the stairs. The bedroom was decorated with warm-colored wall lamps, and the floor-to-ceiling window, which occupied half of the wall, was draped with fabric curtains that reached the floor.

After exiting the third floor, there is a bridge suspended in mid-air that leads to an adjacent annex building, but Chen Yan and the others did not go to see the annex building.

After they went up to the third floor, Chen Yan and Chen Lirong sat down on a small balcony, while Yan Minghui went to the wine storage room on the other side.

"Mom, what do you think of this place?" Chen Yan asked Chen Lirong.

Even though Chen Lirong had seen a lot in the world, she was still somewhat shocked by how well the house was built, but she calmly replied, "Very nice."

"Then we'll live here from now on and treat this as our first home."

"kindness"

"Oh, right, there's something else I wanted to tell you." Chen Yan paused for a moment and then said, "I'm planning to bring someone to see you in a couple of days. His name is Wen Mu."

"Is he/she your friend?" Chen Lirong asked casually.

"He's my friend, my boyfriend."

Chen Lirong was stunned for a moment, then asked as if she hadn't quite grasped the situation, "What... what do you mean? What boyfriend?"

Chen Yan smiled. "My ideal boyfriend."

"You like men!" Chen Lirong could hardly believe it.

"I just like him."

"How could this be? You're lying to your mother, right? Ha!" Chen Lirong seemed to find it ridiculous and absurd. "My son is so outstanding, how could he possibly like men? You just gave your mother a surprise, and now you're going to give her a blow right away?"

"Fine, if you don't want to see him, I won't bring him."

Chen Lirong held her forehead, taking a while to process the news. No matter what, Chen Lirong was a mother, and mothers always hope their sons find an excellent wife, especially when their sons are also excellent. Then they become even more picky about their daughters-in-law. In the past, Chen Lirong might not have been so agitated, but after learning Chen Yan's identity, in Chen Lirong's eyes, only a perfect woman could be worthy of her son. But now, Chen Yan told her that he liked men, which was a huge blow to Chen Lirong.

However, Chen Lirong also knew that Chen Yan was no longer under her control, and even if she was dissatisfied, Chen Yan might not listen to her.

"Bring him here," Chen Lirong said finally, seemingly helplessly. "Let your mother see what kind of person you like."

Two days later, Chen Lirong moved here. When she came, she also brought Lin Sao, who had been taking care of her in the apartment. Although the villa was already built, it still needed to be decorated, and some servants, gardeners, security guards, etc. also needed to be found.

After everything in the villa was tidied up, Chen Yan brought Wen Mu over.

"Hello, Auntie, I'm Wen Mu." Wen Mu stood in front of Chen Lirong and bowed slightly, looking a little reserved.

Chen Lirong sat in front of him. After listening to Wen Mu's words, she simply hummed in response. Her expression was indifferent, and it was impossible to tell whether she was happy or unhappy.

Wen Mu was already a little nervous, and now he felt even more at a loss. This was his first time meeting Chen Yan's mother. Before coming, he had specifically asked about Chen Lirong and learned that she was a strong woman. Now, standing in front of Chen Lirong, he actually felt like a daughter-in-law meeting her mother-in-law.

"Sit down, don't just stand there," Chen Yan said with a smile, pulling Wen Mu down to sit.

Chen Lirong scrutinized Wen Mu, her unabashed gaze making him too ashamed to look up. Before Wen Mu arrived, Chen Lirong had naturally learned about him. Knowing that Wen Mu was the heir to the Wen Group, Chen Lirong undeniably felt a little more at ease. However, she still couldn't accept that he was dating her son. How wonderful it would be if the two were just friends. The Wen Group was such a perfect business partner that countless companies would want to win them over.

"Can I ask you a question?" Chen Lirong suddenly spoke up, asking directly, "How could you like my son? He's a man, and you're a man too."

Wen Mu was at a loss for words when asked the question, and his eyes remained lowered without looking up.

"You're quite a catch; you'd be a great woman if you were looking for someone else. Why would you choose a man?"

"I, I-----." Wen Mu almost couldn't help but rub the corner of his clothes, and after stammering twice, he couldn't say anything.

"Okay, does your father know about this?"

"My dad knows, he------"

"Then he won't object?" Chen Lirong interrupted Wen Mu directly, and said, "With such a large family business like yours, don't you consider the issue of succession? Chen Yan is very outstanding, but if you marry my son, what will happen to my son's future successor? Can you let him have an heir?"

Wen Mu was completely speechless, like a child who had made a mistake.

"Mom, you don't need to say anymore." Chen Yan looked a little displeased. He put his arm around Wen Mu's waist and said gently, "Go upstairs and take a look first. I'll come find you later."

"Oh, okay." Wen Mu replied softly, stood up, and left, going upstairs.

Chen Lirong remained calm and drank a glass of water as if nothing had happened.

After Wen Mu left, Chen Yan looked at Chen Lirong and said, "Mom, Wen Mu didn't come here as a prisoner. I don't want you to interrogate him."

Chen Lirong couldn't help but turn cold. "Xiao Yan, you're young and don't understand at all. Hanging out with a boy won't end well. With your current status, what kind of woman can't you find? Why do you have to waste your time? I'm doing this for your own good, do you understand?"

“I will handle my own affairs. I brought him to see you because you are my mother,” Chen Yan said, her tone somewhat cold. “Wen Mu is the heir of Wen’s Jewelry. I am being so polite to him because of me. I don’t want you to look down on him. If you say he has held me back, then I have also held him back.” After a pause, she continued, “I was originally thinking of having him come and stay with us, but since you are so dissatisfied, we will not stay here.”

Chen Lirong's face immediately turned ugly: "What do you mean by this?"

"It's nothing. Actually, this house was originally prepared for you. We both work in the city, so it would be inconvenient for us to come back. Okay, I'm going upstairs to see him." After Chen Yan finished speaking, she stood up and went upstairs.

Wen Mu was hiding in a rest room when Chen Yan came over. He asked her somewhat sadly, "Chen Yan, does your mother not like me?"

Chen Yan walked towards him, smiling, and said, "Isn't it enough that I like you?"

"I... I'd better not stay here anymore. I'm a little afraid of your mother."

Chen Yan put her arm around Wen Mu's waist and nodded, saying, "Okay, let's not stay here. Let's give this house to her and go live in her apartment. How about we have some alone time together?"

"Really?" Wen Mu looked up at Chen Yan.

Chen Yan bit Wen Mu's lip: "Of course it's true."

...