Well, what he said may have worked on other women but definitely not on Stephanie Ruan. She is no ordinary woman.
He has to understand the simple rule that if he wants to win her heart, he first got to win her mind.
And by the way, there is a reason why Stephanie Ruan is still single until now despite her endless number of suitors...
She is not an easy target!
But if Javier Zhong ever manages to get her over to his side, he can be assured that she would remain fiercely loyal to him and would be his strongest pillar of strength and support.
The keyword here is 'if' he manages to. Right now, sadly, he could only dream about this.
...
Still unconvinced by his words, Stephanie Ruan spoke to him coldly. "Move away."
"..."
"I want to get out. Please move aside." She stared at him and reiterated her message with a slightly stronger tone of voice.
Unwilling to make her angrier, Javier Zhong had no choice but to do exactly what she asked. After which, he could only helplessly follow her from behind.
When they arrived at the dining table, the first family member to 'greet' them is none other than Auntie Josephine.
"Wow, look who is here..." She said with much sarcasm, obviously intending to provoke them.
However, both of them did not even bother to spare her a glance, as though she is not worth a second of their precious time at all.
On top of ignoring Auntie Josephine, Stephanie Ruan also treated everyone else as 'air' and went on to greet only Grandma Zhong.
"Grandma, Javier and I bought some fresh fruits for you today, I'll cut some of them for you to eat later!"
"Mmm, my good girl..." Grandma Zhong held onto Stephanie Ruan's hand and rubbed on it dotingly.
Although she had said that 'they' have bought the fruits, Grandma Zhong knows that it must be Stephanie Ruan's good intention to buy them as Javier Zhong would never have suggested such a thing...
She knew her grandson too well!
Meanwhile, the other two older ladies at the dining table are burning with jealousy over Grandma Zhong's obvious favouritism toward Stephanie Ruan.
"Alright, let's eat now." Grandma Zhong finally made the call and it was only then that everyone dared to dig in.
Within the next second, Uncle William did not waste this rare opportunity to pitch a potential business proposal to Javier Zhong.
"Javier, I have an old friend living in Ricoh Island and he proposed for Zhong Holdings to collaborate with him to build a 480 million yuan (about 70.7 million US dollars) resort project."
He quickly added, "It's going to be the next big thing, I promise you. So much potential but for a price that is almost nothing to Zhong Holdings."
"..."
Seeing how Javier Zhong is only focused on eating, Uncle William could not help but probe more aggressively.
"What do you think about this, Javier? I'll call him over to Zhong Holdings and meet you in a couple of days?"
Even at this point, Javier Zhong is busy cutting up a piece of steak for Stephanie Ruan on her plate. It is unsure if he was actually seriously listening to him all this while.
He elegantly pushed the fork into one of the nicely cut steaks and brought it up to Stephanie Ruan's lips, "Here."
"Thank you." She said with a nod.
After she took a bite, Javier Zhong asked, "What do you think of it?"
Catching the glint in his eyes, Stephanie Ruan gave him a soft smirk, "I think the meat is beautifully cooked. It is important to find the right chef with the right expertise. I won't rely on anyone's empty words to magically cook me perfect meat."
There are many layers of interpretation for her words but...
Basically, what she meant was that it is important to work with the right business partners and not just anyone who relies on their empty promises and good connections.
Extremely satisfied with her response, Javier Zhong let out a rare smile that clearly displayed his affection for her.
As expected of the woman he chose!
Although Auntie Josephine is unable to fully understand the hidden meaning behind Stephanie Ruan's words, her husband is quick enough to grasp it and is boiling in anger!
The main reason why Grandma Zhong has officially handed the Zhong Holdings over to Javier Zhong is that both of her sons - Thomas Zhong and Uncle William were not capable enough to handle such a large organisation.
Well, both of them were given a fair chance at running Zhong Holdings but Javier Zhong was the one who had to clean up their huge mess in the end.
To be honest, without Javier Zhong stepping in to help them, Zhong Holdings would have already disappeared from the business scene a few years ago!
This is why every business decision would have to go through the eyes of Javier Zhong and no one has the right to intervene - not even any of the Zhong family members.
Witnessing how Zhong Holdings is flourishing in recent years, the other Zhong family members are starting to get restless. They want a share of this valuable pie too.
"Javier, just help your uncle out. It's not much of a big deal isn't it?" Thomas Zhong finally decided to speak up for his younger brother.
However, Javier Zhong also did not hold back in showing sharp disapproval of his father's logic. "If it's not much of a big deal to you, then you help him."
"!!..."
"You!!..." If not for Grandma Zhong who is still sitting here with them, Thomas Zhong would have already thrown the fork at his son's face.
Unbothered by his father's huge reaction, Javier Zhong stared coldly at Uncle William. "Same system. Submit the proposal to the business department. No shortcut."
"Alright!!... Alright! Do whatever you like!" Subconsciously pointing his knife at Javier Zhong's face, Uncle William responded to his nephew in a threatening tone.
In the next second...
-Clank!!-
Everyone suddenly switched their attention to Victoria Zhong, whose glass teacup has shattered into pieces on the ground.
"You dare to drop my precious teacup??!!" She immediately shouted at the young and timid servant who is standing behind her.
"I'm so sorry, Madam... I'm so sorry... I... I didn't do it on purpose..." The poor young girl could not stop shivering in fear.
"What are you waiting for??! Quickly pick them up and throw them away!!"
"Yes, yes... I shall do it now, Madam..." The young servant anxiously responded to Victoria Zhong.
One second...
Ten seconds...
Thirty seconds...
Sixty seconds have passed and no one cared about this young servant's injured hand from the glass cut earlier.
It's no wonder why Javier Zhong doesn't like to come back home. In such a short period of time, Stephanie Ruan could already see how chaotic and heartless the family members are.
In fact, she had already noticed the servant's bleeding hand when Victoria Zhong had first shouted at the young girl.
It was not that Stephanie Ruan did not want to help her immediately, but she was in fact waiting to see if anyone would take the initiative to care about this girl's wounds.
And for an urgent situation like this, one minute is all she is willing to waste!
Was she the only one who saw her injured hand or are they just plainly inhumane?
With a soft 'thud', she sat both of her utensils down at the same time on the table and stood up.