Cry louder, I can't hear you.

"Yunqiao, have you changed your clothes?"

Shen Qing urged from outside the door.

Yun Qiao had no choice but to push open the door and go out.

"alright."

Shen Qing was sitting on the sofa looking down at his phone when he heard the door open. He was about to say "Let's go" when he looked up and saw Yun Qiao, and the words got stuck in his throat.

Yun Qiao stood at the door, wearing a dark green, fitted velvet dress. Her waist was so slender that one could easily encircle it with one hand. Her exposed collarbones and shoulders appeared even more fair and jade-like against the dark green backdrop.

Today, she styled her long hair into a low bun, with a few wisps falling beside her ears, paired with a pair of tiny pearl earrings, making her so beautiful that it was impossible to look away.

Shen Qing opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't find the right words for a moment.

He and Yunqiao were friends he met while studying abroad, and he never imagined that they would develop any other kind of relationship.

Just a month ago, after they graduated, their parents said they wanted to arrange their engagement.

At first, he was somewhat resistant. He had just graduated, he hadn't had enough fun yet, and now he was going to be tied to Yun Qiao?

Originally, his parents had asked him to invite Yunqiao to his grandfather's 70th birthday party tonight, which he was somewhat unhappy about.

But seeing Yun Qiao dressed up in her finest attire, he suddenly felt that marrying Yun Qiao might not be so bad.

The Yun family has deep roots in Haicheng; their ancestors were collectors of calligraphy, paintings, and epigraphy.

Although Yun Qiao was not well-liked in the Yun family because her mother died early and her father remarried.

But no matter how unpopular she is, she is still the eldest daughter of the Yun family.

Moreover, she is beautiful, intelligent, and talented.

Marrying her would be quite prestigious, at least better than marrying his cousin. I heard his cousin's fiancée was of low social status and ran off with someone else.

Shen Qing's gaze slowly slid down Yun Qiao's shoulders and neck, noting her surprisingly good figure.

His gaze deepened, and he looked away.

"Let's go. I'll take you downstairs to see Grandpa."

"Um."

Yun Qiao appeared calm, but inside she was about to explode.

To protest that the lousy system had forcibly kidnapped her again, she told it that she didn't want to be an ordinary person that anyone could bully; she wanted to be a rich person.

007 arranged for her to be the daughter of a wealthy family, but she turned out to be a destitute young lady whose mother had died and whose father didn't care for her. She had a stepmother and a younger brother, and a good-for-nothing fiancé!

And this fiancé is Shen Suwei's younger brother...

To be precise, he is my cousin.

Shen Qing's father and Shen Suwei's father were brothers, ten years apart in age. They broke up over a dispute about the family property, and Shen Suwei's father brought his wife to Nancheng to start their own business.

I heard that when they came to Nancheng, Grandpa Shen Qing didn't give Shen Suwei's father a single penny; it was all earned by Shen Suwei's father through his own hard work.

In recent years, for reasons unknown, Shen Qing's family has started to take the initiative to contact Shen Suwei's family.

Perhaps Grandpa Shen is getting old and misses his eldest son and grandson?

She couldn't figure it out, but whatever the reason, Yun Qiao originally thought that she would hide somewhere the main characters couldn't find her and go back after a while.

It seems that won't work now; this damn system won't allow it!

When she arrived tonight, she heard that Shen Suwei was also there. To avoid meeting him, she deliberately tore her dress as soon as she got out of the car.

He had intended to use the excuse that his dress was ruined to avoid attending the banquet, but Shen Qing said he had many unworn women's dresses at home...

Yun Qiao was taken upstairs by him and changed into a new dress.

"Yunqiao, are you nervous?"

As she walked out of the lounge and down the corridor, Shen Qing walked beside her, his gaze fixed intently on her.

Yun Qiao is more and more attractive to him. How come he never noticed before?

"You can tell me if you're unhappy."

He reached out to take her hand, but Yunqiao pretended to adjust her skirt and avoided his touch.

She smiled.

"How could that be? I'm so glad you invited me."

She didn't know if it was just her imagination, but from the moment she stepped into the Shen family home, she felt a chill run down her spine, as if someone was watching her from the shadows...

Shen Qing was a little disappointed that he hadn't been able to touch her hand, and replied perfunctorily:

"Whatever makes you happy."

He paused, then added, "Actually, I'm quite nervous. I'm not familiar with my cousin's family at all, but Dad told me to spend more time with him. But my cousin is..."

Yun Qiao was a little anxious when she heard him breathing heavily.

"What happened to your cousin?"

Isn't Shen Qing's cousin Shen Suwei?

Although she had been back in this world for a month, Yun Qiao knew nothing about the current situation of Shen Suwei and Shen Shiyu. She only knew that three years had passed since she faked her death and left.

Shen Suwei should be thirty-one now... thirty years old?

"You should know about my cousin's current situation. Everyone in the industry is waiting to see the Shen family fall. Actually, I know what my dad's intention was in having me get close to my cousin, but," he paused, feigning reluctance and speaking with disdain, "I'm really not interested in the Shen family's business."

Yun Qiao didn't pay attention to his tone, only noticing his phrase "my cousin's situation."

What's wrong with Shen Suwei? Has he fallen from power?

Just as Yun Qiao was about to ask Shen Qing, who was walking ahead, "What happened to Shen Suwei?", she passed a room with a half-open door at the corner of the corridor and suddenly heard a slight noise coming from inside.

It looked like someone had knocked something over inside.

Yun Qiao paused for a moment, then turned her head to look in the direction of the door.

The lights were off inside, so I couldn't see who was inside, but I could vaguely sense that someone was there.

"Did you hear anything?"

Yunqiao wondered if it was a thief or something, since who stays in a room without turning on the lights?

Shen Qing was somewhat annoyed that Yun Qiao repeatedly failed to understand him, and he said impatiently, "Stop being so suspicious, hurry up, my parents are urging us."

Yun Qiao hesitated for a moment, but ultimately ignored it and quickened her pace to catch up with Shen Qing.

This is the Shen family's property, so what does it have to do with her whether or not she's a thief?

Although 007 gave Yun Qiao an identity and filled her with many memories that should belong to that identity, this was the first time she had actually met Shen Qing's parents.

Some people, you only need to meet them once to know whether they are easy to get along with or not.

The moment Yun Qiao saw Shen Qing's parents, she knew they didn't like her.

Although they kept smiling, their arrogance was impossible to hide.

Yun Qiao knew that the reason they proposed the marriage was because she was the only daughter of the Yun family. However, although they proposed the marriage, they also looked down on her because she was not valued by the family.

Yun Qiao twitched her lips. She knew this broken system wasn't so kind. It seemed to have done everything it promised, but in reality, it was causing a lot of trouble!

"Who is this?"

Some guests came up to ask Shen Qing's mother about Yun Qiao's identity.

Shen Qing's mother patted Yun Qiao's hand and replied with a smile:

"This is the daughter of the Yun family in Haicheng. She studied abroad with my son and just returned recently."

Since the engagement news had not been officially announced, Shen Qing's mother did not say it directly, but since she had already said so much, who among those present could not tell that Yun Qiao and Shen Qing had a relationship?

Upon hearing this, everyone praised Yun Qiao and Shen Qing, saying they were a perfect match, both talented and beautiful.

Yun Qiao's forced smile was almost frozen, and for some reason, she had a creepy feeling behind her.

It felt like someone was watching her...

But when she glanced around, she didn't see anyone strange.

She didn't even see Shen Suwei.

Speaking of Shen Suwei, Yun Qiao was wondering where he had gone when one of the guests asked the question first:

"I heard that Mr. Shen is coming tonight, but I haven't seen him yet?"