Du Liya was a bit stunned, not understanding what Qin Jiao was saying. She turned to look at her son, just as Shen Yi looked over at her.

Shen Yi spoke up. "It’s nothing. Let’s eat first. The meat is going to be overcooked."

Du Liya caught on and nodded quickly. "Right, right, let’s eat first."

Since they weren’t talking, Qin Jiao didn’t press the issue. It quickly became a minor interlude, and the hotpot took center stage.

Besides, after the long train ride the day before, everyone started feeling tired after the meal. Once they had cleared the table, they all went to their respective rooms.

They had prepared four rooms for everyone to stay in. Shen Yi was sharing a room with his maternal grandfather. Having slept all morning, Mr. Du was looking much better. He was still a bit warm from the hotpot and fanned himself with a cattail fan. "Xiao Yi, what’s on your mind?"

"I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to bring up the clothing factory with Jiao Jiao."

"Why?"

Before Mr. Du could speak, Du Liya came in from outside. Setting down a plate of fruit, she asked curiously, "Xiao Yi, don’t you really like Xiao Jiao? Did you tell her how you feel and get rejected?"

"I haven’t confessed yet. It’s just... she wouldn’t say yes. Besides, I don’t want to use this to pressure her into helping me."

’To be honest, my initial plan was to use this to get Jiao Jiao to marry me. But she remembers what happens in the future, just like I do. If I really did that, it would probably reset our relationship right back to square one.’

’Simply put, I’m afraid that if Qin Jiao gets angry, she’ll want even less to do with me.’

’She’s already planning to start over. The fact that she’s treating me as a regular friend is already pushing her limits. Getting her to marry me... that’s just impossible.’

Shen Yi was considering the matter from Qin Jiao’s perspective and had decided it was better not to bring it up.

But Du Liya didn’t understand. She’d had a few drinks earlier, and her head was still a little fuzzy, which only added to her confusion.

Meanwhile, Mr. Du said, "It’s fine not to say anything. If Shen Zhengfeng wants to take advantage, let him for now. When Xiao Yi graduates from college and gets married, we can take the factory back then."

Du Liya grumbled, "But that bastard Shen Zhengfeng will definitely use these next few years to run the factory into the ground! He’ll just leave Xiao Yi with a ruined plant!"

Ever since she’d seen Shen Zhengfeng’s true colors, everything about the man rubbed her the wrong way.

And a man with his character—would he really just take the profits for a few years? No, he would gut the factory completely and leave nothing for Xiao Yi!

Shen Zhengfeng was definitely capable of something so shameless!

But Shen Yi shook his head. "Let’s just leave it. We won’t bring this up again. If Shen Zhengfeng dares to run that factory into the ground, I’ll make him spit back every cent he took."

Du Liya was still frustrated, but since her son had made up his mind, she couldn’t say any more. However, when she got back to her room, she saw Beidou singing with his shirt off. Seeing her unhappy expression, the young man walked over, gave her a kiss, and said, "Liya, what’s wrong? It’s such a wonderful day. Why are you upset?"

So, Du Liya explained how Shen Yi had decided not to ask for Qin Jiao’s help.

Beidou thought for a moment before saying seriously, "Xiao Yi is doing the right thing. It proves that he truly cherishes and loves Qin Jiao, and he’s not willing to taint that love by using it as an excuse for something else."

"But I just can’t accept it! This means we’re just letting Shen Zhengfeng have his way!"