A Good-for-Nothing 24: Intentional Ingratiation

He Changchun had awe-inspiring looks, and his square face made him seem even more commanding. However, He Zheng bore no resemblance whatsoever to his father. He was fair-skinned, not unduly feminine but by no means rugged, and he had extremely delicate features and was very handsome, probably because he took after his mother, Zhu Ning.

When He Zheng was not talking, his looks were rather deceptive and people tended to get the impression that he was very obedient. As expected, Old Master Li was very pleased.

"He Zheng, come over here!" He Changchun had also noticed He Zheng. As the patriarch of this family, he hurriedly put on airs and bade his son to come over in an imperative tone of voice.

He Zheng rolled his eyes on the spot and then walked towards them, an impatient expression on his face.

He Yu's dislike for He Zheng was second only to He Jin. Like He Zheng, she had also barely come into contact with Li Zong before, and she had been in the dark about Li Zong's looks until this day. Since Li Zong was a Superintendent of Supernaturalism Management Bureau (SMB), she had stereotyped him as a man with heavy jowls and a pot belly. It had never crossed her mind that Li Zong was so handsome. Feeling that He Zheng had had dumb luck, He Yu was consumed with annoyance and disliked him even more.

"Elder brother, you came so late. Everybody's been waiting for you." As He Zheng walked closer, He Yu made this remark with an affected smile.

Then she sweetly glanced at Li Zong. "It was very impertinent of you to keep Elder Brother Li waiting."

He Changchun knitted his eyebrows, feeling that his daughter shouldn't have said this in front of outsiders no matter how impolite He Zheng had been.

Qiao Peiyu clearly had also noticed this, so she unnoticeably gave He Yu a push.

Surprisingly, of all people present, He Zheng was the most indifferent after hearing his sister's words. At a leisurely pace, he stepped to the side of Li Zong. Though He Zheng had a very bad reputation and people had laid all kinds of slanderous remarks on him, Zhu Ning used to raise him, so he had a shrewd idea when he was supposed to behave himself.

Standing by Li Zong's side, he cast an interrogative glance at Li Zong, as if asking how he should address the old man beside him.

Li Zong seemed to have understood the undertone contained in that glance. "My grandfather."

He Zheng did some quick thinking and then greeted the old man in a silvery voice. "Grandfather."

On hearing this, Li Zong flicked a somewhat quizzical look at He Zheng, thinking that this young childe was in a good mood, which was very rare.

He Zheng unconcernedly let Li Zong look at him.

Li Tiangang gave a smile which pushed the creases on his face together. "Hha... Good. I'm satisfied with this grandson-in-law – very satisfied."

"This is not the right place to talk. Let's go inside first." He Changchun also had a smiling face.

Seeing that her remarks had been ignored, He Yu stamped her feet in annoyance. When everybody was about to walk to the door, He Yu instantly stepped in between He Zheng and Li Zong, saying to Li Zong in a saccharine tone of voice, "Elder Brother Li, it is said that you work for SMB. It sounds so cool."

Li Zong was taller than He Yu, so He Yu had to raise her head to see his face. Li Zong merely grunted "Oh" blandly. Hearing his low voice, He Yu felt a wave of timidity sweep through her, a pink flush on her cheeks, totally oblivious of the faint coldness gleaming at the bottom of his eyes.

"Elder Brother Li, do you think I stand a chance of landing a job in SMB? I've been studying in the Tigers and Dragons Mountain, and my Master Shifu said that I'm doing pretty well, that I have good prospects," said He Yu with her eyes on He Zheng, as if flaunting her Master Shifu's praise for her.

After exchanging a few remarks, Li Zong and He Yu lagged behind the others.

Li Zong saw that He Zheng was still walking forward, and for some reason, he reached out his hand and gave He Zheng a gentle pull. He Zheng turned his head back in puzzlement.

Li Zong said in a mild voice, "Slow down a little bit. I have something to say."

He Zheng flicked an impatient glance at him.

Then Li Zong twisted his head back and bluntly told He Yu, "You don't have the required endowments."

Compared with other members of He family of the younger generation, He Yu counted as a relatively gifted one. Furthermore, she was a female disciple with good looks, so there were a lot of admirers of her both in He family and in the Tigers and Dragons Mountain. Having never been subjected to this kind of words, she was instantly angered and couldn't help but blurt, "What's wrong with my endowments? Surely I'm better than He Zheng who's a good-for-nothing?"

Her voice was so brittle that her parents and Li Tiangang, who were not far away ahead, all heard her.

Chapter end