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

Madam Ji's lips moved slightly, but she did not respond.

Lin Qingmian continued, "You don't care. You only care about your money, your family's assets, and your status in this family. You pushed me into this fire pit so that I would marry him, not so that I could live a good life. You don't even care whether he likes me or not; you only care whether he can sign that contract."

The living room was so quiet that you could hear the clock ticking on the wall.

Old Master Ji said, "Her assets will be gradually divested. She can no longer live in the old house. What needs to be transferred will be transferred, and what needs to be liquidated will be liquidated."

Madam Ji stood up, looked at no one else, picked up the handle of the leather suitcase, and walked towards the door.

Chen Qiu sat on the sofa and sneered, without standing up to see him off.

As they reached the door, Old Madam Ji paused, turned back to look at Ji Linzhou, and asked, "Are you satisfied now? Do you feel like you've avenged your mother?"

Ji Linzhou sat on the sofa, his expression unchanged.

Madam Ji gave a cold laugh and turned to leave.

Ji Linzhou watched her figure disappear into the light outside the door, then looked away.

Lin Qingmian stood beside him and reached out to touch his fingers resting on his knees.

He glanced down at her hand, then took it in his own.

When Ji Xingqing ran down the stairs, the car carrying Old Madam Ji had already driven out the gate.

She stood at the living room doorway, catching her breath in that direction, then turned back to look at Ji Linzhou and Lin Qingmian, her eyes still slightly dazed from just waking up: "Did I just miss some big show?"

Three days after Madam Ji was sent away, Lin Qingmian received a call from Zhang Yuzhu.

This time, there was no probing or preamble in the phone call. Zhang Yuzhu's first words were: "Your sister's wedding has been moved up to next Wednesday. Your dad said it will be held at the Century Tower this time. Tell Ji Linzhou to talk to the hotel and ask them to waive the venue and banquet fees."

Lin Qingmian was flipping through materials in the school library. She held her phone to her ear and turned a page. "Century Building is a property of the Ji family. To book the space, contact the marketing department and follow the procedures."

"What procedures are we going to follow?" Zhang Yuzhu raised her voice by half a tone. "You're Ji Linzhou's wife. Why are you talking about these outside matters with your family? You can just mention this to him. It's not a big deal."

"That's no small matter," Lin Qingmian said. "The banquet halls at Century Tower have publicly listed prices, and the Ji family's businesses operate according to market rules. Go to the marketing department, make a normal reservation, and pay whatever is due."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then Zhang Yuzhu's voice changed, as if she had finally lost her temper: "Lin Qingmian, do you think you can disown us just because you married into the Ji family? You're not going to help with such a big event as your sister's wedding? You're her own sister!"

"She needed my help to get married. Where were you when I needed money that year?"

"You—" Zhang Yuzhu paused, then reorganized her thoughts, "How can that be the same? Back then, our family wasn't well-off, but your dad said that if you married him, you'd have a good life, and Ji Linzhou wouldn't mistreat you—"

"Did you know you were marrying Ji Linzhou?" Lin Qingmian stopped turning the pages of her book. "Did you know who he was back then?"

There was complete silence on the other end of the phone. Several seconds passed before Zhang Yuzhu's voice came through, much lower than before, as if she were carefully choosing her words: "...Your mother told me she found a rich man, but she didn't go into details. Besides, wasn't that so you could escape your misery sooner—"

"She did it to get the Lin family out of trouble," Lin Qingmian said, "not for me."

She hung up the phone and placed it on the table. The air conditioner in the library hummed, and sunlight streamed through the blinds, casting parallel strips of light across the table. She sat in the middle of these strips, her fingertips resting on the edge of the book page, took a deep breath, and refocused her gaze on the words.

That afternoon, she received a text message from Lin Qingqing, whose tone was much more polite than Zhang Yuzhu's. Lin Qingqing said she would handle the wedding arrangements with the hotel and there was no need to trouble her sister, adding that she hoped Lin Qingqing would definitely attend next Wednesday. Lin Qingmian put her phone aside after reading it and didn't reply.

She went on Wednesday. When she arrived, the banquet hall was already decorated with white roses and champagne-colored ribbons, and the lights were set to a warm gold, just like the style of the engagement party. Lin Qingmian stood in a corner wearing a dark blue dress, holding a glass of juice that she hadn't drunk much of. She saw Lin Qingqing standing next to the main table in her wedding dress, her smile even more radiant than on the engagement day.

Then she saw Ji Xingye. He stood next to Lin Qingqing in a dark gray suit, his posture upright, but the expression on his face seemed to be held back by something; when he smiled, the corners of his mouth curved very shallowly, not reaching his eyes. When he offered a toast, his gaze swept in her direction, lingered on her face for a moment, and then looked away.

The wedding went wrong halfway through.

Lin Qingqing was toasting the guests on stage when she walked up to Lin Qingmian with her glass. Her smile suddenly became complicated. She raised the glass to Lin Qingmian, her voice tinged with laughter but slightly strained at the end: "Mianmian, thank you for coming today. I owe my success to you."

Her eyes flickered slightly when she said, "Thanks to you." Lin Qingmian raised her juice glass and clinked it against hers: "Congratulations."

After finishing her drink, Lin Qingqing didn't leave immediately. She took a step closer and lowered her voice, "Mom told me before that the person she was looking for was from the Ji family, but she didn't say it was Ji Linzhou. If I had known it was Ji Linzhou—I wouldn't have let you go."

Lin Qingmian looked at her exquisitely made-up face: "Now you know."

"Now you know," Lin Qingqing smiled, "but it's too late. The wedding has already taken place." She turned and walked away, the hem of her wedding dress trailing behind her, sweeping across the ground and brushing against a few scattered petals.

In that instant, Lin Qingmian saw Ji Xingye's gaze fall upon her across half the banquet hall. His face appeared very pale under the warm golden light, and he held his wine glass, but hadn't drunk from it. He looked at her with a gaze as if he were looking at someone on the other side of a river, knowing he couldn't cross over, yet still unable to resist looking.

Lin Qingmian withdrew her gaze and turned to walk towards the restroom. After a few steps, she saw Ji Linzhou standing at the corner of the corridor, holding his phone, as if waiting for someone. Seeing her approach, he put his phone away and looked her up and down: "Your face is a little red."

"I had a couple of sips of wine," she said.

He didn't say anything, but simply reached out and took the juice glass from her hand, placing it on the table beside her. Then, he raised the back of his hand and touched her cheek. The movement was quick; the warmth of his fingers brushed against her skin before he withdrew it. "It is a little hot."

She looked up at him. The corridor lights were dimmer than in the banquet hall, softening the expression on his face. Her voice was softer than expected when she spoke: "Lin Qingqing just told me that if she knew she was marrying Ji Linzhou, she wouldn't have let me go."

Ji Linzhou looked down at her, and after a while spoke, "What if you had to choose again?"

She looked at him for a few seconds, then reached out and took his hand, which was hanging by his side, and led him a step towards the banquet hall. "Let's go back and toast. Otherwise, someone will say the Ji family is losing face."

He took two steps after her, his fingers tightening slightly in his palm, clasping hers between his fingers. When they returned to the banquet hall, the emcee was on stage saying some auspicious words, the warm lights shining down on everyone's heads, the sounds of glasses and plates mingling with laughter into a muffled buzz.

Lin Qingmian returned to her seat and felt him tighten his grip again before releasing her hand. She picked up the refilled glass of juice in front of her, took a sip, and looked through the crowd towards the stage.

Ji Xingye was holding Lin Qingqing's hand, raising a glass to the guests. His smile was finally a little better than before, though it was hard to tell if it was genuine or just an act.