I heard my older brother complaining to Dad in the study.
He said, "Dad, you have no idea how arrogant female executives are these days. They take advantage of being women and cry at the drop of a hat. When negotiating with clients, they act coy and make the clients uneasy. Dad, you said you would hand over the company to me in two years; how can this continue?"
Dad looked up at him and replied, "There's nothing wrong with women holding executive positions. Women can do what men can do."
My brother grew anxious. "But..."
Dad waved his hand, cutting him off. "Alright, enough. I know you don't want to take over the company; you want to hire a professional manager."
My brother's eyes lit up. "Dad, do you agree?"
Dad countered, "I heard you want to hire the Second Miss from Cheng Enterprises?"
My brother was taken aback and fell silent.
Dad then ushered him out of the study.
My brother rushed to threaten me, saying, "Nuan Nuan, if you don't help Zhang Mo, don't even think about marrying into the the Zhang Family smoothly."
Furious, I turned to find my sister-in-law. But there was nothing I could do. My brother disregarded family rules and openly brought Zhang Mo to the board meeting.
At that moment, my sister-in-law was reporting critical data. Everyone was focused on her.
My brother stood at the door with Zhang Mo and loudly declared, "Fangjing, give Zhang Mo a clear position."
Everyone was watching the spectacle unfold. I looked at my sister-in-law with concern in my heart. But she merely paused for a moment and smiled as she said, "Professional managers need to go through a formal process before being hired."
She glanced at Zhang Mo and asked, "Zhang Mo, may I ask if you meet our company's hiring standards?"
Zhang Mo's face turned pale.
Her brother-in-law said calmly, "Fangjing, what do you mean by that?"
The sister-in-law replied, "What I mean is quite clear. A professional manager needs to meet the company's hiring standards to be employed."
Her brother-in-law countered, "Then tell me, which standard does Mo not meet?"
The sister-in-law said, "I don't know which one she doesn't meet; I just feel that she seems rather unthoughtful."
She looked at me and said, "Nuan Nuan, take Zhang Mo to the lounge and treat her well."
I immediately understood.
The sister-in-law was implying that Zhang Mo was being inconsiderate.
Her brother-in-law wanted to say something else, but the sister-in-law interrupted him: "Haoming, today is an important day. You came to the company for a meeting without wearing formal attire; that already violates the rules. Now you're making a loud commotion during the meeting—what are you trying to do?"
Reluctantly, her brother-in-law closed his mouth.
Zhang Mo's eyes turned red as she bowed to the sister-in-law and said, "I'm sorry; I came at a bad time and didn't know today was important."
The sister-in-law smiled at her.
I led Zhang Mo out.
Zhang Mo glanced back at her brother-in-law with reluctance as we walked away.
I walked ahead while she followed behind.
As we approached the door, I suddenly stopped and clutched my stomach.
Zhang Mo asked, "What's wrong?"
I replied, "My stomach hurts; please wait for me here."
With that, I turned and ran back.
Zhang Mo called after me, "Nuan Nuan, slow down; don't fall!"
I reached my sister-in-law's side and whispered, "I'm sorry."
She shook her head and said, "It's fine."
In the evening, my mother scolded me in front of the family during the gathering for the women and children.
She said, "Nuan Nuan, first you deceived your parents, then you wronged your sister-in-law. Now, the family is in discord, and it's all your fault."
She punished me by forbidding me to go out for ten days. This was the second time I had been punished. The first time was because I had shown too much interest in Zhang Zhe, losing my sense of propriety. This time, it was about my older brother's situation.
My mother blamed me for not informing her in a timely manner. When my sister-in-law saw me being scolded, she came over to check on me. She brought me some food and even cooked a few delicious late-night snacks herself.
My brother was reprimanded by my mother, and I was once again blamed for not telling my sister-in-law that he had someone he cared about outside. I cleverly changed the subject at the dinner table. However, my brother became so angry at my words that his face turned red and he retorted that I also wanted to marry Zhang Zhe, worried that I might elope.
My mother interrupted him, saying, "Haoming, watch your words. If this gets out, what will people say about Nuan Nuan?"
My brother fell silent, indignantly putting down his chopsticks and declaring, "I'm full."
I deliberately asked for another half bowl of rice to spite him. My sister-in-law found our family's dynamic amusing and laughed, saying, "This is how it should be—lively and cheerful."
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