Chapter 51

Zhou Ming was taken aback for a moment: "What? Your mom asked you to apologize to Wei Hua? Why? Doesn't she know that Wei Hua, that bastard, bullied you and even hit you?"

Faced with Zhou Ming's barrage of questions, Tang Ran shook her head vigorously and lowered her head, as if she didn't want Zhou Ming to know about her situation. Seeing this, Zhou Ming gently said to her, "Ran Ran, what's going on? I'm your Ming brother. No matter what troubles or grievances you have, you can tell me, and I will help you. Did Wei Hua go to your mom and badmouth you? Should I help you teach him a lesson?"

This made Tang Ran cry even harder. She looked up at Zhou Ming and said, "Ming brother, my mom wants me to find a boyfriend from Nanjiang, a rich man, but I don't like Wei Hua."

Zhou Ming immediately understood. It seemed that Tang Ran and Wei Hua had met through a matchmaker. Tang Ran's family wanted her to find a rich man from Nanjiang. Although Wei Hua was nothing in Zhou Ming's eyes, his family owned a factory and could secure a loan of 100,000 yuan from the bank. For an ordinary person, this was already a very good match. Tang Ran's family must have been constantly urging her to get along well with Wei Hua and marry him soon. Now, her mom had heard that Tang Ran and Wei Hua had an argument and was afraid of losing such a good match, so she called Tang Ran to apologize to Wei Hua.

After thinking it through, Zhou Ming said to Tang Ran, "Ran Ran, I'll go with you to talk to your parents. Your Ming brother may not have much else, but I have plenty of money."

"Or, Ming brother, would you be my boyfriend?" Tang Ran suddenly said.

Zhou Ming was surprised and exclaimed, "Ran Ran, this... this isn't right, is it?"

"Is Ming brother rejecting me? I haven't done anything with Wei Hua, and I don't want to continue with him. Ming brother, I beg you to help me. Just be my boyfriend temporarily, so my parents won't force me to be with Wei Hua. I promise I won't interfere with you and Sister Mu Qing. Please, I beg you!" Tang Ran pleaded, crying.

Tang Ran's words left Zhou Ming speechless. He understood her feelings and thoughts, but it was still hard to accept a beautiful and cute girl crying and begging him to be her boyfriend, especially since Zhou Ming had been a man with no luck with women in his previous life. Not just Zhou Ming, but even the old man in the security room was staring at them with his mouth wide open, big enough to fit two eggs. He probably couldn't figure out what kind of good fortune Zhou Ming had to make a beautiful girl do this.

Zhou Ming had good mental resilience. Although he didn't expect Tang Ran to do this, he quickly regained his composure and said to her, "Ran Ran, don't cry. Since you call me Ming brother, how can I refuse your request? If you want me to be your boyfriend, I will be a good boyfriend. I'll make sure your parents are satisfied."

Tang Ran nodded, sobbing, "Thank you, Ming brother, thank you, Ming brother!"

Zhou Ming reached out to wipe away the tears on Tang Ran's face. "Alright, Ran Ran, let's go back to your dormitory first. You can wash your face, and then we'll go see your parents, okay?"

Tang Ran nodded, and Zhou Ming took her hand and walked back to the dormitory.

Behind them, the old man in the security room watched them walk up to the dormitory building and sighed, "I guess I'm really old. How can I not understand this? Tang Ran is a pretty and lively girl in the office. What good fortune did this young man have in his past life to make Tang Ran so devoted to him?"

...

Zhou Ming and Tang Ran took a taxi to the Nanjiang Mall, where Tang Ran's parents worked. When they arrived at the mall entrance, they saw Tang Ran's parents waiting there.

Tang Ran pulled Zhou Ming over, but before she could speak, her mother, Lin Weixiu, started scolding her, "Ran Ran, what's wrong with you? Have we been too lenient with you, making you act without any rules? What's wrong with Wei Hua? Why do you have to argue with him for no reason? Do you know how hard Aunt Wang worked to introduce you to this match? You're not young anymore, don't be so capricious..."

Tang Ran's father, Tang Jun, stood to the side, silent but clearly agreeing with Lin Weixiu.

This made Zhou Ming frown. He now understood why Tang Ran had been so upset earlier. Being forced by such parents to be with Wei Hua left her with no choice. Other girls could seek comfort from their parents when they were wronged, but Tang Ran's parents were actually helping Wei Hua criticize her. It was hard to understand who the real parents were.

"Aunt, you're mistaken. Wei Hua bullied Ran Ran and even hit her," Zhou Ming couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up to Lin Weixiu.

Lin Weixiu only then noticed Zhou Ming and frowned, "Who are you?"

Zhou Ming was about to speak when Lin Weixiu suddenly saw that Zhou Ming was holding Tang Ran's hand. She quickly came over, slapped Zhou Ming's hand away, and pulled Tang Ran to the side, demanding, "Ran Ran, who is he?"

"Hello, Aunt, my name is Zhou Ming, and I'm Ran Ran's boyfriend," Zhou Ming replied.

Lin Weixiu looked at Tang Ran, who nodded in agreement. This answer made Lin Weixiu burst out, "Ran Ran, you're growing up and not listening to your parents anymore, are you? I told you to find a rich man, preferably from Nanjiang, for your future. Why won't you listen?"

Lin Weixiu then pointed at Zhou Ming and said, "What's good about this person? He looks like a poor man. If you follow him, you'll have a hard life. Ran Ran, are you deliberately finding a beggar to upset your parents? Do you want to drive us to our graves?"

Tang Ran hurriedly explained, "Mom, it's not like that. Zhou Ming isn't what you think. He's a big boss in Gangcheng!"

"A big boss in Gangcheng?" Lin Weixiu sneered, "Did he tell you that? Do you believe him just because he said so? You're young and naive, and he's deceiving you. I always tell you not to believe others easily. Look at him; does he look like a big boss in Gangcheng? Calling him a beggar is even too good for him."

"Mom, he really is a big boss in Gangcheng," Tang Ran insisted, trying to defend Zhou Ming.

"Rubbish!" Lin Weixiu said angrily, "Ran Ran, you're getting more and more stubborn and disobedient. He says he's a big boss in Gangcheng, but listen to his accent. He's clearly from Linyang, and he's just a punk from Linyang!"

Zhou Ming stepped forward and said to Lin Weixiu, "Aunt, it doesn't matter if I'm a big boss in Gangcheng. What matters is that Wei Hua is very bad to Ran Ran. He even hit her today. Aunt, if you don't believe me, look at Ran Ran's left arm."

Lin Weixiu didn't believe Zhou Ming, "Nonsense! I've seen Wei Hua; he's a very honest and decent young man. Do you think everyone is like you?"

"Aunt, just look at Ran Ran's arm, okay?" Zhou Ming said.

"What's there to look at?" Lin Weixiu said, but she still glanced at it, then continued to berate Zhou Ming, "What does a bruise mean? It could be from Ran Ran bumping into something herself, or maybe you hit her. You don't look like a good person. Stay away from our Ran Ran, or I'll call the police on you!"

"Aunt, Ran Ran is being bullied by Wei Hua. Instead of helping her, you're saying this to me?" Zhou Ming said.

"Don't call me so affectionately. Who are you calling Aunt? Who is your Aunt?" Lin Weixiu glared at him, "What's wrong with me saying this? You're just a punk. Do you think you can be a thug without others saying anything? Even if Ran Ran really has something with Wei Hua, what's it got to do with you? When did it become your turn to meddle?"

Lin Weixiu thought for a moment and added, "I'm telling you, our Ran Ran will marry a rich man, not someone like you. Don't think you can get what you can't have. Get lost, or I'll really call the police on you!"

Lin Weixiu's words left Zhou Ming feeling extremely frustrated. They say a scholar can't reason with a soldier, but in Zhou Ming's view, a middle-aged aunt like Lin Weixiu, who was stubborn, was even harder to reason with.

After some thought, Zhou Ming said, "Aunt, I understand. You want Ran Ran to have a good life and marry a rich man, right?"

Lin Weixiu raised an eyebrow, "You finally understand? Understand and get lost, don't keep纠缠着我女儿!"

"But what if I tell you that Ran Ran isn't lying, and I really am a big boss in Gangcheng?" Zhou Ming countered.

Lin Weixiu burst out laughing, pointing at Zhou Ming, "You? You think I'm as naive as Ran Ran? Look at yourself in the mirror. Does a big boss in Gangcheng look like you? With your Linyang accent, I don't even believe you're a boss in Linyang! Please, just go back to Linyang and don't embarrass yourself here. This isn't a place for you!"

"I know words alone aren't enough. Here, I have today's Nanjiang newspaper. The second page has a report on Gangcheng, and the headline is about me, with a photo. Aunt, you can compare and see for yourself," Zhou Ming said, handing the newspaper to Lin Weixiu.

Lin Weixiu took the newspaper skeptically and indeed saw Zhou Ming's photo on the front page of the second section.

Lin Weixiu was stunned for a moment but still doubted, "I think this newspaper is fake. Don't think I don't know; you scammers specialize in this."

Zhou Ming was helpless, "If Aunt still doesn't believe me, you can ask Uncle to buy a Nanjiang newspaper to check the authenticity."

...