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

"yes."

Ji Xingqing took her hand and whispered in her ear, "Mianmian, my uncle is right."

"Between you and Ji Xingye, it's Ji Xingye who's at fault, not you... Don't worry about them."

"My aunt has always been sharp-tongued; you're probably used to it by now, so don't take it to heart..."

Because the private room was so quiet, Ji Xingqing could hear everyone clearly, even though she kept her voice very low.

Chen Qiu's face turned ashen.

The other women in the Ji family also didn't look too good.

"I actually quite envy Miss Lin; she's willing to disregard everything for love..."

After a long silence, Su Tingwan took the initiative to break the deadlock.

She smiled, her voice gentle and sweet: "If I had Miss Lin's courage and persistence, perhaps Lin Zhou and I would be together now..."

As the woman spoke, she glanced shyly at Ji Linzhou.

The meaning behind those few words that left no way out is self-evident.

Ji Xingqing's mother, Ye Yinuo, quickly chimed in to change the subject and smooth things over: "Tingwan, you see, your sister-in-law was right!"

"Linzhou really did come looking for you after seeing the photo!"

As she spoke, she quickly stood up and offered her seat: "Linzhou, please sit here next to Tingwan."

Ji Linzhou's gaze swept around the private room, finally landing on the empty chair next to Ji Xingqing.

This location is furthest from Su Tingwan and closest to Lin Qingmian.

The man waved his hand, declining Ye Yinuo's offer, and sat down in the empty chair: "I'll just sit here."

Su Tingwan's smile froze instantly, and her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

Everyone present knew about her relationship with Ji Linzhou, yet he deliberately chose a seat furthest away from her...

"Alright, that spot..."

After being rejected by Ji Linzhou, Ye Yinuo gave an awkward laugh and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Since we're facing Tingwan, I can observe her every move closely..."

"That's... a unique kind of romance, isn't it?"

Hearing her say that, Su Tingwan's expression finally softened a little.

She sat back down in her chair, pursed her lips, and glanced at Ji Linzhou, who was sitting at the table across from her: "Didn't you say you were busy tonight? I thought you weren't coming..."

Ji Linzhou frowned slightly, glancing almost imperceptibly in Lin Qingmian's direction, before saying, "I am indeed very busy, but after seeing the photos, I still decided to come over."

He didn't know the attitudes of the other members of the Ji family, but he did know that Ji Xingye's mother, Chen Qiu, regarded Lin Qingmian as a thorn in her side.

She worked as a waitress here, and ended up in Chen Qiu's hands...

If he doesn't come, she probably won't be able to handle it alone.

After this little incident, the dining table returned to its previous lively atmosphere.

Chen Qiu gradually recovered from the anger she felt after being rebuked by Ji Linzhou and began to joke with Ji Linzhou and Su Tingwan with a smile: "Linzhou, you've come at the perfect time."

"We were just talking about how you and Tingwan should get married."

"No rush."

Ji Linzhou put down his teacup, his voice calm.

"Why aren't you in a hurry?" Old Mrs. Ji's face darkened. "You're already thirty, and Tingwan isn't young either. When are you two going to settle things?"

Su Tingwan quickly smoothed things over: "Auntie, Linzhou is busy with work, I'm not in a hurry..."

"You spoil him too much!"

Grandma Ji glanced at Su Tingwan, then looked at Ji Linzhou, her tone brooking no refusal: "Give me a straight answer today, when are you going to marry Tingwan?"

Ji Linzhou didn't answer, but instead turned to look at Lin Qingmian standing behind him: "Miss Lin, I've been sitting here for half a day, and you haven't given me any more bowls and chopsticks."

Lin Qingmian was stunned for a moment before realizing that she had really been negligent.

She apologized repeatedly and got up to leave.

"etc."

Seeing that she was about to leave, Old Madam Ji frowned and called her back: "Go find your head manager and tell him that the bottle of red wine I ordered here should be served. Have him open it and bring it over."

Lin Qingmian nodded: "Yes."

When Lin Qingmian returned with the cutlery and red wine, the conversation in the private room had shifted from Ji Linzhou and Su Tingwan to Su Tingwan's new play.

Upon seeing her enter, Old Madam Ji waved her hand, indicating that she should pour wine for Ji Linzhou: "This wine was specially ordered for Linzhou, pour it for him."

Lin Qingmian lowered her eyelashes and poured wine for Ji Linzhou as instructed.

When she handed the glass of red wine to Ji Linzhou, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the man's fingertips lightly brushed against the back of her hand.

The places she touched felt like they were electrified, making her heart skip a beat.

Lin Qingmian suppressed her emotions and quietly returned to her seat.

At the dinner table, the women went on and on about their topics, with Ji Linzhou rarely participating, but he also had no intention of leaving.

He leaned back in his chair, fiddling with his phone idly.

From Lin Qingmian's perspective, one could occasionally see the content on his phone.

It was all about fund and stock trends that she couldn't understand, along with dense text.

He didn't drink a drop of the wine she poured for him.

About an hour later, the meal was finally coming to an end.

Madam Ji glanced at the untouched glass of red wine, her brows furrowing involuntarily. "Linzhou, you didn't bring a driver?"

"I brought it."

Ji Linzhou snapped out of his daze, put away his phone, and smiled politely at Old Madam Ji.

"Then why don't you drink it?"

The man's gaze fell on the glass of wine, his eyes indifferent: "I don't want to drink."

After a moment of silence, Old Madam Ji turned her gaze to Lin Qingmian, who was standing respectfully behind Ji Linzhou, waiting for instructions: "Was it because you didn't handle the wine properly when you were pouring it, and Linzhou disliked you?"

Lin Qingmian never expected that she would point the finger at her.

She paused for a moment, then quickly shook her head: "Madam, no."

Madam Ji frowned: "Then why didn't Lin Zhou drink it?"

Lin Qingmian paused for a moment.

How did she know why Ji Linzhou wasn't drinking?

"Miss Lin."

At this moment, Chen Qiu coldly glanced at her and said, "Lin Zhou spoke well of you tonight, which can be considered as helping you out of a predicament."

"Logically, you should also toast him."

"The old lady also thinks you're dishonest, so why don't you take this opportunity to toast Lin Zhou? If he drinks it, we won't complain to the hotel about you."

Lin Qingmian just wanted this group of people to leave quickly.

She suppressed her emotions, turned around, picked up the glass of red wine, and smiled at Ji Linzhou: "Mr. Ji, to thank you for getting me out of that predicament tonight, this glass is my toast to you, please give me some face."

Ji Linzhou remained in a languid posture, leaning back in his chair.

He looked at Lin Qingmian, his eyes narrowing slightly: "Are you sure you want me to drink this glass of wine?"