Sweetie, don't look at him, kiss me.

Lin Qingmian lowered her eyes, pretending not to hear her words, and turned to lead the way.

"Aunt, Mianmian's family is only experiencing temporary difficulties."

Ji Xingqing understood the implication in Chen Qiu's words, frowned and said in a low voice, "Don't speak too soon. Maybe when Ji Xingye returns to China in a while, he'll have to kneel down and beg Mianmian to forgive him."

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Chen Qiu glared at her, gritting her teeth: "Her? Does she deserve it?"

"Our Hoshino is a big star now, how could she possibly be interested in someone like this..."

"That's not necessarily true."

Ji Xingqing pouted: "When he was chatting with me yesterday, he said he would look for Mianmian after he returned to China..."

"Xingqing!"

Ye Yinuo, the second wife of the Ji family, coldly glared at Ji Xingqing and shut her up.

Ji Xingqing pursed her lips and dared not say anything more.

She quickened her pace to catch up with Lin Qingmian and took her arm: "Qingmian, don't misunderstand. I asked you to serve us because I genuinely wanted to help you earn more money, and also because..."

She lowered her voice and complained in her ear, "You know me, I hate eating with elders the most."

"Look at all these people tonight, there's not a single one my age. I'm so bored."

"Don't mind what my aunt said. Just think of tonight as someone saving me, okay? With you here, I won't feel so bad."

Lin Qingmian gently withdrew her hand from her embrace, continuing to lead the way while lowering her voice, "The woman next to your grandmother isn't very old, is she?"

Ji Xingqing pouted: "She's my uncle's fiancée, and also an elder!"

Lin Qingmian paused for a moment: "Ji Linzhou... he has a fiancée?"

She did believe that Ji Linzhou and Su Tingwan had once been together.

After all, the name on the wedding ring receipt was Su Tingwan.

But she's been married to Ji Linzhou for a year already...

Is Su Tingwan still his fiancée?

"Of course, they've been engaged for a long time."

Ji Xingqing pursed her lips and lowered her voice: "They have a very good relationship. I heard that Sister Wan just came back today, and as soon as she got off the plane, people arranged by my uncle were there to pick her up."

"The hotel she's staying at now was also arranged by my uncle..."

Seeing that she seemed interested in this matter, Ji Xingqing quickly grabbed her arm and shook it: "Okay, Mianmian, promise me you won't be angry with me for what happened tonight. When I have time, I'll tell you the gossip about my uncle and this future aunt, okay?"

Lin Qingmian paused for a moment, then nodded: "Okay."

She has no right to be angry with Ji Xingqing, this so-called God.

But she was still quite interested in the gossip about her legal husband and other women.

Soon, Lin Qingmian led the women of the Ji family upstairs and into the private room that had been reserved.

Grandma Ji and Su Tingwan sat in the main seats, and everyone else sat according to seniority.

Ji Xingqing, being the youngest, sat on the far right, and Lin Qingmian was pulled by her to stand behind her.

After ordering food and tea for everyone in the private room according to procedure, Lin Qingmian stood quietly in place, waiting for the next instruction from these customers.

She was sitting right across from Su Tingwan.

Across the huge round dining table in the private room, Lin Qingmian could clearly feel the elegance and arrogance emanating from the woman opposite her in every gesture.

It turns out that Ji Linzhou likes girls with this kind of temperament.

No wonder I wasn't very interested in her.

"Mianmian."

Ji Xingqing stood up, moved closer to Lin Qingmian, and lowered her voice: "Tell me the truth, are you jealous?"

Lin Qingmian looked away, somewhat bewildered: "What are you jealous of?"

"That bastard Ji Xingye, how many times have you been peeking at Su Tingwan tonight?"

Ji Xingqing pursed her lips and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Let me tell you, she just acted in a movie with Ji Xingye, there's definitely nothing between them."

"She's not stupid. Why would she leave such a good man like my uncle to get entangled with Ji Xingye?"

After saying that, she seemed to realize it wasn't right to speak ill of Ji Xingye in front of Lin Qingmian, and quickly added, "Of course, Ji Xingye isn't bad either!"

"I heard he was back within a month."

Ji Xingqing continued with a smile, "You two have been in a cold war for two years now, haven't you? I'm waiting to see how he apologizes and begs for reconciliation this time. You can't forgive him so easily!"

Lin Qingmian then understood why Ji Xingqing treated her without any resentment as before.

This silly girl actually thinks that she and Ji Xingye are just having a cold war and that they will get back together.

She and Ji Xingye were childhood sweethearts for twenty years, during which they argued and had countless cold wars.

But every time, as long as someone admits their mistake, they quickly make up.

Given this kind of feeling, it's no wonder that Ji Xingqing would misunderstand.

Even Lin Qingmian herself, two years ago, thought that Ji Xingye was just throwing a tantrum.

But when she repeatedly tried to contact him, beg him, and get no results, she gradually began to understand...

This time, he really didn't want her anymore.

Suddenly, a blinding light shone, causing her to squint instinctively.

"Feel sorry."

Across from her, Su Tingwan smiled gently at Lin Qingmian: "I forgot to turn off the flash."

Lin Qingmian opened her eyes and shook her head: "It's nothing."

Someone asked, "Tingwan, when did you start taking pictures while eating?"

Su Tingwan raised her hand to tuck a stray hair behind her ear, a polite smile on her face: "I'll take a picture and send it to Lin Zhou to let him know my itinerary."

As soon as she said this, the women of the Ji family around her began to murmur and squabble.

"The young couple has such a good relationship; they even have to report to him when they have dinner with us women."

"Linzhou heard you've returned to China, he must have been working overtime these past few days to make time for you."

"Once you send this photo out, Linzhou will probably be here in less than half an hour!"

……

Su Tingwan smiled shyly, "Everyone, please stop joking about me and Lin Zhou. We're not as close as you're saying..."

"You've been engaged for so long, and you still say you're not intimate?"

Standing nearby, Ji Xingye's mother, Chen Qiu, couldn't help but tease, "If you weren't close, why was a car arranged by Ji Linzhou waiting for you when you came out of the airport this morning?"

Su Tingwan blushed and lowered her head, remaining silent.

Immediately, everyone at the table burst into laughter again.

"I must say, my soon-to-be aunt-in-law is quite capable."

Ji Xingqing also clicked her tongue in Lin Qingmian's ear and said, "Mianmian, you've met my uncle before. He's usually as cold as an iceberg. When I was little, I always wondered if he could actually smile."

"Until one time, when he was with this soon-to-be aunt, I finally saw him smile."

"She's probably the only one who can make him laugh."

After saying that, she couldn't help but sigh, "You know what? My uncle's smile... is really charming."

Lin Qingmian's phone vibrated.

It was probably a message sent by Jiang Yao.

As the woman unlocked her phone, she casually remarked, "Yeah, he's pretty handsome."

Ji Xingqing asked in surprise, "Mianmian, you've seen my uncle smile too?"

Lin Qingmian paused for a moment.

An image of the man pinning her down in the bathtub and tormenting her until she cried, a satisfied smile on his face, flashed uncontrollably before her eyes.

She lowered her eyes and shook her head, calmly lying, "I've never seen it, but I can imagine it."

When I opened WeChat, it wasn't Jiang Yao's message that popped up, but Ji Linzhou's.

The message contained only three words: 【Send location.】