Chapter 17

Today is Old Master Zhao Chuan's birthday.

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It has been two days since the auction ended. In these two days, Ye Yuan visited all the major shopping malls in Shangjing, bought many gifts for his family, and placed them in the fish farm space.

At three in the afternoon, Zhao Chuan brought his brothers to his parents' villa.

The Zhao family's villa is located at the far end of the neighborhood, with a famous city lake behind it.

The road leading to the villa is exclusive, and few people can come here.

There are security guards stationed at the entrance to the villa.

In front of the villa is a large parking lot, where many high-end cars are already parked. It seems that many guests have already arrived.

In the vegetable garden to the east of the villa, lush vegetables are growing, showing the diligence of the owner.

The brothers walked into the villa, and Zhao Chuan called the servants to take the gifts from their hands, especially instructing them to put Ye Yuan's fish tank in the study first.

Zhao Chuan asked the others to wait in the living room and then walked into another room.

While Ye Yuan and the others were chatting in the living room, a graceful figure caught Ye Yuan's attention. A girl in a black dress slowly walked over.

The girl walked past Ye Yuan and the others, glanced at Ye Yuan slightly, and then walked away without saying anything.

Ye Yuan recognized that this girl was the one who gave him the dragon fish at the flower, bird, and fish market.

"Really didn't expect to see her here."

At this moment, there was a slight commotion outside.

"Be careful, this is something I spent a lot of money on. You guys be careful, this fish is more valuable than your lives. People in front, move aside." An unpleasant voice sounded from behind.

Ye Yuan turned around and saw several people pushing a large fish tank with wheels, carefully coming this way. The fish tank was covered with a black cloth, and a young man with a cold expression, dressed in a designer suit, followed behind the fish tank.

The young man occasionally glanced at the girl in the black dress.

When they reached the door of the study, the young man glanced at Ye Yuan and the others, then walked past them arrogantly.

The young man knocked on the study door and pushed it open to go inside.

Ye Yuan clearly saw that the moment the young man pushed open the door, the originally cold face revealed a sunny confidence and smile.

The second brother patted Ye Yuan and said, "What, never seen a Sichuan opera face change? Comrade, there are many people like this." After saying that, he looked at the oil painting on the wall with a profound and mysterious expression.

Not long after the young man went in, Zhao Chuan brought the girl in the black dress to the three of them.

After Zhao Chuan introduced her, Ye Yuan learned that the girl was named Zhao Shuang, Zhao Chuan's younger sister, who is currently a third-year student at Shangjing University.

The three of them greeted each other, and when the girl shook hands with Ye Yuan, she looked at him with a meaningful glance.

Zhao Chuan led the group into the study. Zhao Shuang didn't want to go in, but when she heard that her father called her, she went in with Zhao Chuan and the others.

In the room, there were several middle-aged men and an old man. The cold young man was standing next to one of the middle-aged men.

The fish tank that had just been pushed in was placed in the middle of the group, and the black cloth had already been removed.

In the fish tank, an exquisite red dragon fish was leisurely swimming around.

The group was drinking tea and discussing the dragon fish, and the cold young man looked smug.

One of the middle-aged men, seeing Zhao Chuan and the others, put down his teacup and said to Zhao Shuang, "Xiao Shuang, come over. Hongyuan came all the way back from the U.S., and you don't even say you'll keep him company."

Zhao Shuang unwillingly walked to her father's side, standing obediently without speaking to the Hongyuan her father mentioned.

Zhao Chuan knew what was going on from his sister's expression and introduced Ye Yuan and the others to his father.

Zhao Chuan's father, Zhao Xiuping, is about 1.75 meters tall, looks to be in his fifties, has a square face, and thick eyebrows, giving off an authoritative presence. He stands like a spear, firmly planted on the ground.

The eldest brother once said that his father used to serve in a naval unit.

The other middle-aged men are his father's comrades and friends, and the old man, whom Zhao Chuan calls Grandpa Xu, was his father's superior in the navy.

The cold young man is the child of one of Zhao Xiuping's comrades.

Because his mother passed away early, he often came to the Zhao family to play. Since he and Zhao Shuang are about the same age, the two families arranged a childhood betrothal, making him Zhao Chuan's quasi-brother-in-law.

Ye Yuan glanced at Zhao Shuang and had a feeling that she didn't like this guy named Jia Hongyuan.

Zhao Chuan told his father, "The gift Ye Yuan brought is two ornamental fish, and they are very rare."

Before his father could speak, Jia Hongyuan spoke up first.

"What kind of ornamental fish can be better than my exquisite blood red dragon? You're not just bringing some ordinary ones to应付伯父吧？" (Note: The last part of this sentence is incomplete in the original text, so it is translated as "to please Uncle, right?")

The other middle-aged men didn't say anything, but their expressions were smiling, indicating they agreed with Jia Hongyuan.

Speaking of ornamental fish, Jia Hongyuan's blood red dragon should be on par with the one Zhao Shuang had before. His words had some basis.

Ye Yuan didn't really care, after all, the quality of the fish he brought would be clear to experts, and he didn't want to show them in front of so many people.

He thought he would wait until the banquet was over and let Zhao Chuan show them to his father. The gift is mainly to make the recipient happy, not to show off.

When Zhao Shuang heard Jia Hongyuan say this, her cunning eyes turned, and then she said,

"That's not necessarily true. In my brother's classmate's eyes, your fish is just something to eat."

After saying that, she asked Ye Yuan, "Is this fish tasty?"

When Zhao Shuang asked this, the originally lively room suddenly became quiet.

Everyone looked at Ye Yuan, who didn't expect this girl to be so mischievous. If you don't like Jia Hongyuan, why drag me into it?

Ye Yuan, helpless, touched his nose and said awkwardly, "This fish is quite tasty."

Zhao Xiuping knew in his heart that his daughter was resistant to the arranged marriage with the Jia family, and her words were to upset Jia Hongyuan.

But what did his son's classmate mean by his response?

Not only Zhao Xiuping, but even Zhao Chuan was surprised and nudged Ye Yuan, "What's going on, Fourth?"

Ye Yuan had no choice. Since he and Zhao Shuang said they would eat the fish when they asked for it, he had to tough it out and say, "I ate a blood red dragon a few days ago, and it was indeed quite tasty."

At this moment, Zhao Shuang gave Ye Yuan a look that said, "You know your place."

Jia Hongyuan didn't know what was going on, but seeing Zhao Shuang and Ye Yuan exchange glances, his anger flared up.

"Friend, since such an exquisite dragon fish is just food to you, I'd like to see what kind of fish you consider ornamental."

Zhao Xiuping looked at Zhao Chuan, afraid that his son's classmate was just a big talker.

That would not only embarrass his son but also make him lose face.

After all, Ye Yuan and the others were guests in his home.

Zhao Chuan gave his father a reassuring look and then instructed someone to bring the fish over.