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

"You still have the nerve to ask?!"

Speaking of this, Lin Jianzhong was furious: "Early this morning, the old lady of the Ji family led a group of people into our house and gave your mother and me a thorough dressing-down!"

His face flushed with anger, and he pointed a trembling finger at Lin Qingmian's face: "She said that last night at Ji Linzhou's fiancée's welcome party, you drugged Ji Linzhou, trying to seduce him into bed!"

Lin Qingmian paused for a moment, her heart tightening slightly.

Just as Ji Linzhou said.

When Madam Ji arranged for her to toast Ji Linzhou last night, she had already decided to shift all the blame onto her.

She just didn't expect that Ji Linzhou didn't pursue the matter, but the old lady of the Ji family actually came to the Lin family to cause trouble.

He must be taking his anger out on her because his plan fell through.

Seeing that Lin Qingmian remained silent, Lin Jianzhong cursed even more fiercely: "Lin Qingmian, back then, your mother and I asked you to drug Ji Xingye and have sex with him as soon as possible, but you refused no matter what. In the end, he treated you like a piece of snot and dumped you just like that."

"Now two years have passed, and you're married, yet you suddenly have the guts to go to Ji Linzhou and drug him in front of his fiancée..."

"Is Ji Linzhou someone you can afford to offend?"

"If you want to die, don't drag the entire Lin family down with you! Your sister isn't even married yet!"

"dad."

After he had finished cursing, Lin Qingqing sighed, stepped forward and grabbed Lin Qingmian's hand: "Mianmian, there must be some misunderstanding. I believe you are not that kind of person."

"Come in first, I'll explain while I apply the medicine."

Lin Qingmian frowned and instinctively shook off Lin Qingqing: "Don't touch me!"

After that incident, the more she used to like and depend on this older sister, the more she now disliked her.

Lin Qingqing was pushed aside by Lin Qingmian, and she stumbled, almost losing her balance.

"My love!"

Zhang Yuzhu rushed forward to help her up: "Are you alright?!"

Lin Qingqing shook her head, her eyes red.

"Your sister meant well, and this is how you treat her?"

Lin Jianzhong rushed forward and roughly grabbed Lin Qingmian's wrist, his voice cold and stern: "Apologize to Qingqing!"

"Dad, Mianmian didn't do it on purpose."

Lin Qingqing wiped away her tears: "Let's go home and talk first. The doorway isn't the place to talk."

Lin Jianzhong paused for a moment, then gripped Lin Qingmian's wrist tightly, as if dragging a lifeless object, pulling her swiftly towards the villa: "Qingqing, you're so thoughtful. If someone sees her back, the Ji family might cause us trouble again!"

Lin Qingmian's brows furrowed in pain as Lin Jianzhong gripped her wrist, but she didn't utter a sound of pain.

Even if she cried out in pain, it would only earn her the disgust of her biological father.

As soon as they entered the villa, Lin Jianzhong slammed Lin Qingmian to the ground with a loud "bang!"

Seeing her fall to the ground in such a disheveled state, Lin Qingqing's eyes flashed with a hint of mockery before immediately turning into heartache.

She got up and helped Lin Qingmian up: "Mianmian, don't be angry. Before, your father and mother were just putting on an act for others. The Ji family is so powerful, it's hard to guarantee that they weren't following and monitoring us."

"yes."

At Lin Qingqing's prompting, Zhang Yuzhu also put on a fake smile: "Mom hit you and said some hurtful things before, Mom apologizes to you."

Although she said it was an apology, there wasn't a trace of remorse on the woman's face.

Lin Jianzhong also offered a few insincere apologies.

Lin Qingmian pulled her hand away from Lin Qingqing's, took a step back, and looked at them coldly: "Speak, what kind of act are you going to put on in front of me this time?"

After a few seconds of silence in the living room, Lin Jianzhong suppressed his anger, picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and then looked up at Lin Qingmian: "Back then, if our family hadn't been so poor, and if your sister's studies hadn't been so important... we wouldn't have married you off to that nouveau riche man in his fifties for a mere five million."

"Actually, we've all spent the past year since you left filled with guilt..."

"When the Ji family arrived this morning, we learned that you had drugged Ji Linzhou. Our first reaction was to feel sorry for him."

Lin Qingmian raised an eyebrow: "Feeling sorry for them?"

"yes."

Zhang Yuzhu continued, "You've always been sensible, and you know Ji Linzhou's status and personality."

"If I hadn't been so fed up with your nouveau riche husband, I wouldn't have taken the risk of drugging him at the Ji family's dinner party..."

After saying that, she sighed, "But thankfully, Ji Xingye will be back in a while."

"After all, you two grew up together, and after so many years, you should still have feelings for each other..."

Lin Qingmian then realized.

She turned around and sat down on the single sofa opposite Zhang Yuzhu and Lin Jianzhong, coldly raising her lips: "So, after going through all this trouble to bring me back today, are you still dreaming of me marrying Ji Xingye and climbing the social ladder through the Ji family?"

Unexpectedly, even a year after the severing of ties, her parents are still using her as a tool for marriage alliances and to make profits for them.

Fortunately, she had long since given up on them.

Otherwise, the depressive emotions that you finally managed to get rid of will come back.

That's not what I meant.

Zhang Yuzhu quickly denied it: "Back then, Ji Xingye went abroad to abandon you. Now that you've married an older man, there's no way he would want a divorced woman."

Lin Qingmian's eyes darkened: "Then you..."

"What Mom and Dad mean is..."

Lin Qingqing sat down next to Zhang Yuzhu, her expression shy: "Now that Ji Xingye is back in the country, could you try to get him to... give me a try dating?"

"If I can get married to Ji Xingye, not only will the Ji family drop the matter of you drugging Ji Linzhou, but they can also intervene and help you divorce that old man..."

After saying that, she looked at Lin Qingmian with expectant eyes: "Mianmian, you have sacrificed so much for our Lin family... I also want to sacrifice for you once."

Lin Qingmian looked up at Lin Qingqing, a mocking smile appearing on her lips: "My dear sister, you always think of me so much."

Lin Qingqing has always been like this.

Using her design drafts to enter the competition and taking away the award that should have been hers was to prevent her from attracting too much attention and affecting her life.

Taking away her qualification to study abroad was because they were afraid that she would be too far away from Ji Xingye and delay their marriage.

They tricked her into signing a design cooperation agreement, but actually they were going to borrow money from loan sharks. They could always find a reason to give Lin Qingmian an opportunity to contribute to her family.

Now, even wanting to marry her ex-boyfriend can be justified with a plausible excuse: she wants to help her sister get a divorce and do something for her.