NOVEL NEXT Chapter 624 Ruan Family
"You live here?"
Shen Siyuan looked out the car window, feeling quite surprised.
It wasn't that the environment where Ruan Hongzhuang's family lived was too good, but rather that it didn't match the status of Ruan Xiangqian, the president of Eastern Shipping.
According to Shen Siyuan's thoughts, with Ruan Xiangqian's status, living in a riverside villa or a premium luxury community would not be surprising at all.
However, the community ahead, while having decent greenery, exuded a sense of being dated in every corner.
Frankly speaking, it was an old neighborhood. Various facilities appeared quite aged, making one feel as if transported back to over a decade ago at a glance.
Jiang Yingxue, sitting in the front passenger seat, heard the question and turned back to explain to Shen Siyuan.
"This is the first house our family bought. Although it's a bit old, the environment is still quite good."
"The people living here are professors from the nearby Institute of Technology or some researchers. My parents bought it early on, and now it's quite hard to get a house in this area," Ruan Hongzhuang also explained from the side.
Shen Siyuan rested his fingers on the car window, clearly sensing the rich Wood Qi in the air, indicating that the community's greenery was done exceptionally well.
Actually, without Shen Siyuan feeling the Wood Qi, one could see with the naked eye that the surrounding trees outside the car window were quite old, and in addition, there was even a basketball court, a resting lawn, flower fields, and so on.
Calling it a community would be better described as having established a community within a park.
"This is considered one of the earliest resettlement areas for Si Ming talent introduction. People living nearby are highly educated talents. We initially bought a house here with this point in mind..." Jiang Yingxue said, even turning back to glance at Jiang Yingxue.
Shen Siyuan could probably guess that the house was purchased here likely for the sake of Jiang Yingxue.
The car soon stopped beneath a building.
The building wasn't very tall, looked somewhat aged from the outside, and had only seven floors without an elevator.
After getting out of the car, Jiang Yingxue said to Sun Yaohui, who was taking the luggage out of the car, "Xiao Sun, please run this errand for me. There's nothing more for you here, so you can go back and rest."
"Alright, President Jiang, if you need the car, just give me a call anytime," Sun Yaohui replied.
"Sure, go home early to accompany your wife."
"Thank you, President Jiang."
"Take a box of donkey-hide gelatin from the trunk back for your wife," Jiang Yingxue added.
"Thank you, President Jiang, then I won't be polite."
Sun Yaohui did not refuse at all, directly expressing his thanks.
From this, it was clear it wasn't the first time.
Watching Sun Yaohui leave with a box of donkey-hide gelatin, Jiang Yingxue introduced proactively, "Xiao Sun lives in the next community. He's been with your Uncle Ruan for over ten years. He's very stable and reliable in his work..."
For Ruan Xiangqian, someone like Sun Yaohui, capability is secondary; being stable, reliable, keeping his mouth shut, and maintaining discretion are the most important traits.
"Let's go," Ruan Hongzhuang was the first to retract her gaze and headed towards the building entrance.
At this moment, an elderly lady with silver hair walked out from the building entrance.
Upon seeing Ruan Hongzhuang, she was first taken aback, then smiled warmly and said, "Xiao Ruan, it's been a long time since we've seen you."
"Hello, Grandma Wu," Ruan Hongzhuang promptly and politely greeted her.
Jiang Yingxue also smiled and greeted, "Professor Wu, where are you heading?"
"Out of blood pressure medication, heading to a pharmacy," Professor Wu casually said.
Her gaze then curiously assessed Shen Siyuan.
Jiang Yingxue laughed, drawing Shen Siyuan closer and explained to her, "This is Xiao Shen, Ruan Ruan's boyfriend."
Upon hearing this, Professor Wu immediately beamed with a bright smile.
"Good, good. The young man looks outstanding, hurry inside. I won't disturb you any longer."
"Alright, Professor Wu, take care."
It was evident that Jiang Yingxue held her in great respect.
Watching Professor Wu wave her hand as she leisurely walked away, Ruan Hongzhuang remarked, "Grandma Wu was an old professor at the nearby Institute of Technology. She used to tutor me in my homework when I was young. But Grandma Wu has aged a lot..."
"Hasn't she aged? And so have you," Jiang Yingxue said.
Ruan Hongzhuang pouted discontentedly. Perhaps only in front of her parents would Ruan Hongzhuang ever reveal such a childish side. Usually, she was very aloof, quite mindful of her public image.
Shifting the conversation, Jiang Yingxue took Shen Siyuan's arm and, beaming with excitement, said, "Thanks to Xiao Shen, otherwise I would eventually be like Professor Wu. You have no idea, but recently those women kept asking me how I maintain myself, where I go for treatments..."
Women care most about their appearance, and even a strong woman like Jiang Yingxue is no exception.
"Mom, you shouldn't say such things lightly," Ruan Hongzhuang couldn't help but remind her.
"Do I need your guidance?"
"I'm just giving you a reminder."
"As if I don't know, I've tasted more salt than you have walked roads."
"Aren't you afraid of high salt intake?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yingxue raised her hand ready to strike, but Ruan Hongzhuang quickly ran up the stairs with her arms behind her back.
Watching Ruan Hongzhuang's retreating figure, Jiang Yingxue cheerfully remarked to Shen Siyuan, "You promised to come back with her, look how happy she is."
As she spoke, she went to help with the luggage but was quickly stopped by Shen Siyuan.
"There's no need for you to do it, I can manage myself."
Following Jiang Yingxue into the building, they caught up with Ruan Hongzhuang, who was already waiting at the first flight of stairs.
"Hurry up..." she urged.
"If you're in such a rush, go ahead. What's this about not recognizing your own home after being away for so long?" Jiang Yingxue remarked.
The words clearly expressed blame towards Ruan Hongzhuang for not visiting home often enough.
Ruan Hongzhuang didn't argue. She kept her hands behind her back, continuing to ascend, but occasionally glanced back.
She wasn't looking at Jiang Yingxue, but rather at Shen Siyuan.
Even Jiang Yingxue noticed it, not to mention Shen Siyuan, that at this moment, Ruan Hongzhuang was in excellent spirits, her eyes sparkling with a smile touching her brows.
"This was the first house we bought and the most carefully chosen one. I looked at houses for a full six months, ran around during breaks, and viewed houses everywhere before finally choosing this one. Every detail of the decoration was given careful attention. Ruan Ruan grew up here, surrounded by memories..."
"So even though we later moved to a bigger, more beautiful house, we couldn't bear to sell this place, eventually moving back, and we don't entertain outsiders here..."
Obviously, what Jiang Yingxue meant was that Shen Siyuan was not considered an outsider, hence she brought him here.
The entire building had seven floors, and Ruan Hongzhuang's family lived on the fifth floor.
"Dad, are you home? We're back, open the door quickly."
Reaching the doorstep first, Ruan Hongzhuang knocked loudly on the stainless steel security door.
"Coming, coming..." Ruan Xiangqian's voice came from inside.
Soon, the door was opened, and Ruan Xiangqian appeared behind the security door.
By this time, Shen Siyuan, following Jiang Yingxue, had also arrived. Ruan Xiangqian immediately saw them as he opened the door.
"Xiao Shen, welcome..." Ruan Xiangqian greeted with a smile.
"Uncle Ruan," Shen Siyuan also greeted.
His gaze fell upon him, and then he smiled.
At that moment, Ruan Xiangqian was seen wearing an apron and holding a spatula, evidently in the midst of cooking.
Noticing Shen Siyuan's gaze, Ruan Xiangqian said, "I'm cooking tonight, so try my cooking later."
Jiang Yingxue explained from beside him, "Your Uncle Ruan's cooking skills are quite good. One of the reasons I fancied him back then, although he hasn't cooked for many years, let's see if he's rusty now..."
As she spoke, Jiang Yingxue nudged Shen Siyuan into the house.