As a result of Jian Yi marrying the lady of the Qi family, Zhou Mingyan had a sudden boost in confidence as their family received the glory that they had never experienced before, and all of their relatives were trying to get on their good side.

If Song Yu were to find someone else, she would not be opposed to it as she was rather worried that Song Yu might seduce Jian Yi and destroy his relationship. However, this was based on the premise that Song Yu got together with a commoner, who would be the total opposite of the Qi family.

Instead, Song Yu found Qi Chengzhi, the future successor of the Qi family. Zhou Mingyan just could not digest the fact that his status was above and beyond Jian Yi.

“Tone down your voice! It’s not good for our son either if someone heard you. When can you learn to speak according to the situation?” Jian Shifu tugged at Zhou Mingyan forcefully and warned softly.

“Humph!” Zhou Mingyan shoved his arm away reluctantly, “So what if someone heard me? She likes our son, not the other way round! Who knows what kind of tricks she had up her sleeves that were used to entice the eldest son of the Qi family. He must have been unaware of her true colors. It’s better if someone hears me, they’ll know the truth about her and spread it to the Qi family so that they won’t be fooled by her! That Yu Qianying said it herself that she had no relations with the Qi family, yet she still intends to let Song Yu marry into their family and live a good life? That’s why I said, she would never willingly suffer and live in poverty!”

“Just shut up!” For the first time, Jian Shifu could not help it but berate her in such a stern manner, “You just don’t feel comfortable if you can’t stir up trouble, huh? Can you keep your mouth in check and behave accordingly? It’s your son’s wedding! Can you just stop picking fights on your own son’s big day?”

“You…” Zhou Mingyan still refused to back down and wanted to continue arguing, but Qi Chengyue had already changed into a new set of dinner dress and reemerged together with Jian Yi for the toasting ceremony,

According to customs, even if the bride and groom’s family sat separately, they should start toasting from the groom’s parents table. Zhou Mingyan adjusted her outfit and waited for them to come over with a smile on her face. However, when she was about to stand up with her bottom in mid-air, Jian Yi and Qi Chengyue turned to the other direction and went to the table with the bride’s parents.

Zhou Mingyan’s smile froze on her face, her facial muscles twitched incessantly as she sat back into her seat stiffly. Then, she saw everyone on that table stood up, except for Grandfather and Grandmother Qi, and Qi Youxuan who was chomping on a chicken drumstick.

Grandfather and Grandmother Qi received the toast while seated and proceeded to sip from their glass respectively.

When it was Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu’s turn, Qi Chengzhi moved her lips indifferently with her right hand holding a glass of red wine, and Jian Yi on her left, “Song Yu, I didn’t expect you to come today.”

“Qi Chengzhi told me to come, that’s why I’m here,” Song Yu said calmly as she raised her wine glass, “Congratulations.”

She was sincere when she wished them.

She was not particularly fond of Jian Yi and Qi Chengyue, but she genuinely wanted them to be happy together. That way, Qi Chengyue would not pick on her that often as well.

She suffered enough because of this couple.

Qi Chengyue gave them a cold grin and brought her glass over and collided with Song Yu’s glass with a loud clink. Song Yu was not expecting Qi Chengyue to put so much strength in it.

Song Yu’s glass tipped over towards herself and startled her. It would be too late to avoid it, she could only watch the red wine spill out from her glass onto herself. All of a sudden, a wine glass appeared from beside and clashed with Qi Chengyue’s glass forcefully.

The elegant and fair hand that was pinching the stem of the wine glass was easily recognizable. Regardless of how fleeting the moment was, Song Yu could recognize that the well-structured hand belonged to Qi Chengzhi with only one look.

Qi Chengzhi flicked his wrist elegantly in a swift motion. Without using much force, he managed to tip Qi Chengyue’s glass over to the other side. Song Yu quickly steadied her glass, the wine-colored liquid swirled a few times in the glass before it gradually calmed down. Song Yu let out a sigh of relief when she did not spill any wine and make a mess of herself.

However, the bride was not so lucky after all. The wine glass that was supposed to tip over to Song Yu recoiled back towards Qi Chengyue’s direction. Furthermore, Qi Chengzhi’s movement was so sudden and unpredicted that it caught her by surprise. She was even more startled than Song Yu.

No one was able to shield Qi Chengyue from Qi Chengzhi’s unforeseen movement. Her wine glass tilted towards her and the wine splashed all over her dress.

She was wearing a designer piece that was specially tailored for her. It was a light yellow leather dress with a cute, puffy skirt. The back of the dress was attached to a light yellow veil-like material that extended to her ankles.

Since the dress was made of soft leather, it was quite water absorbent. The spilled wine immediately created a huge stain on the dress. The wine stain was all over her dress, making it look like menstrual blood.

Adding to that, the leather material was very smooth as it did not have much friction as the usual textile. The red wine streamed down from her chest till the hem of her skirt and splattered on the floor.

“Aargh!” Qi Chengyue screamed instinctively without caring about her public image. This was her favorite dress among the other outfits for the wedding. She could also wear this dress when she attends a normal banquet in the future. The uniqueness of the dress was also one of the reasons why she fell in love with the dress, as it would portray an entirely different style if the piece of cloth behind was removed.

However, it was totally ruined today!

The red wine stains on the leather could not be removed. This outfit would no longer be wearable!

Even so, this was still secondary. The most important thing was that it ruined her mood today.

Her luck had gone downhill since the moment she met with Song Yu, not a single thing had worked out in her favor.

Song Yu came here purposely to make a scene!

How dare Song Yu disrupt her perfect wedding!

From her perspective, Song Yu attended on purpose to spite her!

Or else, why would she destroy her dress with a single toast!

Qi Chengyue’s expression became fiercer and was on the verge of bursting out. Guan Liya ran over in a hurry with a tissue in her hands. She comforted her tantrum while she wiped the red wine stains off her clothes, “How is it? Are you okay?”

Qi Chengyue remained silent and glared at Song Yu viciously.

Guan Liya was extremely nervous as she was afraid that Qi Chengyue would throw tantrums and make a scene. At this moment, she could hear the murmurs and whispers among the guests started to rise again.

“Bring her back inside to change her clothes,” Qi Chengzhi said to Jian Yi in an unconcerned manner.

Jian Yi pursed his lips tightly and glanced at Qi Chengzhi. He put some pressure on the hand that clasped her shoulder and said, “Let’s go back in to change your clothes.”

“Go and change your dress,” Guan Liya advised her while she turned Qi Chengyue around carefully and pushed her gently.

While Qi Chengyue was being driven away by Guan Liya, she turned her head around with reddened eyes and said to Song Yu with a restrained voice, “Are you satisfied? You had to come and ruin my wedding, don’t you? Song Yu, you’re pushing it way too far!”

Song Yu took a breath in frustration. Qi Chengyue was the one who intended to splash her with wine but instead pointed the finger at her.

“We’ve attended your wedding, but we have to leave now as we got other plans,” Qi Chengzhi stood by the table with an expressionless face. He acted so impassionately as if this was not his own sister’s wedding and was somebody else’s.

The glum look of Qi Zhongliang froze on his face. If he knew that it would turn out this way, he should have let them leave much earlier on!

No one spoke a word after, so Qi Chengzhi took Song Yu’s hand. His palm was bony but firm, it felt especially sturdy against hers.

Throughout the whole situation, Song Yu never once voiced out her opinion. She just obeyed every one of Qi Chengzhi’s decisions without any resistance.

When both of them walked to the entrance of Dynasty, Qi Chengji alighted from an army green jeep and was stunned for a moment when he saw them. He knew that his older brother was not afraid of anything, but he did not expect him to bring Song Yu along to an event like this. His actions were purely made to provoke them.

Before the Qi family could hide the affair between Song Yu and Qi Chengzhi, he brought her out without giving notice and made everyone aware of their relationship. He did not allow his family a chance to say ‘No’!

Qi Chengji’s gaze naturally focused on their tightly interlocked hands. He met Song Yu when they were very little, and she was younger than him. In his eyes, she was like a sister to the Qi brothers, and the relationship he shared with her was much closer in comparison to Qi Chengyue.

Furthermore, Song Yu was only in the third of primary school, learning to write Chinese characters when Qi Chengzhi attended college. Qi Chengji could not help but feel weirded out by them getting together as a couple.

“Why are you guys out here?” Qi Chengji asked.

“It’s a bit rowdy in there,” Qi Chengzhi said indifferently while he tugged the corner of his mouth with sarcasm.

…

…

After Jian Yi brought Qi Chengyue back to the lounge, he let go of her and took out a cigarette and lighter from his pocket. He lit it and smoked while he leaned against the wall.

He forced himself to learn how to smoke since he choked on his first drag that night outside of Song Yu’s doorstep.

It sounded rather ironic for someone to learn how to smoke at the age of twenty-eight.

“Everyone get out!” The disheveled state of Qi Chengyue when she entered the lounge startled the makeup artist. The shock on their face irked Qi Chengyue so much that she screamed and chased everybody out.

When all of them left, Qi Chengyue shrieked loudly, “What was Song Yu trying to do! She just can’t stand that we’re together and had to come and cause trouble, huh? She purposely came today to make a scene! She must have feelings for you, that’s why she’s jealous of me and came after me for revenge!”

Jian Yi took a deep drag of his cigarette out of annoyance, but it still could not quench his anger. He was irritated by Qi Chengyue’s complaint but he was unable to show it on his face.

“This is my favorite dress! She purely wants to make a fool of me on my wedding! How did my brother fall for a woman that has such an evil heart! He’s blinded by the sanctimonious mien of hers! She was very good at it since young!”

Jian Yi remained silent while Qi Chengyue kept on going.

Finally, Jian Yi could not bear the frustration and puffed a cloud of thick, white smoke after a drag before saying, “If you didn’t initiate in the first place to tip her wine glass intentionally, Qi Chengzhi wouldn’t have stepped in to protect her by knocking onto your glass and spilling it.”

“What did you mean that I did that intentionally! I had no idea! I just touched her glass gently. She just acted as if I bullied her and tried to frame me! I didn’t even exert any force. She tipped it towards herself!” Qi Chengyue glared at Jian Yi instantly.

She was so furious that her exposed shoulders that were not concealed by her leather bandeau dress kept shaking, “Are you standing on Song Yu’s side instead of mine?”

“I’m merely stating facts, at least from what I saw with my own eyes,” Jian Yi exhaled a cloud of smoke, “If you didn’t start it, Qi Chengzhi wouldn’t need to interfere to protect her, and your dress wouldn’t be dirtied. We would still be inside toasting without all those guests gossiping behind our backs.”

“After all, you still choose to be on her side. I’m already your wife from today onwards, why should you trust her instead of me? Don’t you know that Song Yu is very manipulative? Did you think that she’s a good person? If she was that nice, how could she manage to seduce my big brother? She had to be at the top of her game to entice my big brother to the point where he was willing to go against his family to be with her.”

Qi Chengyue squinted her eyes and strode towards Jian Yi’s direction in her heels. She raised her hand and plucked the cigarette off his lips and threw it onto the ground, “When did you learn to smoke!”

Jian Yi pursed his lips tightly and breathed out a puff of white smoke heavily. He said with a deep voice, “I’m too stressed, that’s why I started to smoke.”

Qi Chengyue tightened her chin and thought, ‘What was the source of his stress?’

“I told you that there’s nothing between Song Yu and me, but you don’t believe me. Even after she got together with Qi Chengzhi, you still didn’t want to believe it. Chengyue, think about it, weren’t you the one who provoked her every single time? If you didn’t do it, why do you always ended up feeling dejected? You said that you didn’t tip her wine glass on purpose, but you knew clearly if that was the case. If you had behaved appropriately, there wouldn’t be any mishaps at this wedding. You could’ve been much happier. In other words, you inflicted all this anger yourself.”

Jian Yi took a deep breath, the harsh sounds of his breathing were much more noticeable in the quiet room.

“You should calm down now. I’ll ask them to come in and help you change. We have to continue the toasting ceremony out there. If we keep on staying here, I don’t know how the people out there would judge us.”

“To be frank, you’re just siding her!” Qi Chengyue bit her lip as if she was wronged by him. Her tears started filling her eyes, “You’re my husband, shouldn’t you help me like how my big brother helped Song Yu? You should stand on my side no matter what happens. My big brother did that and spilled wine on me, why didn’t you help me out!”

‘You should at least splash some wine on Song Yu and let her leave a mess!’ she thought.

“Today’s our wedding, do you really want to embarrass yourself by making a huge deal out of it?” Jian Yi raised the corner of his lips cynically. He snickered, “You wanted to make our wedding into a drama and let others joke about it?”

Qi Chengyue was speechless. Obviously, she wanted her wedding to be that one of a lifetime moment where it would be perfect and envied by others. However, Song Yu had to appear and ruin it for her!

She felt so miserable that her eyes could not hold her tears in any longer, warm tears started rolling down her cheeks.

“All I want was just a beautiful and memorable wedding. Am I wrong to want everything to be perfect? Why… why must Song Yu treat me this way!”

Jian Yi ignored her as he felt that it would just be a waste of effort to talk to her.

The only thing that he did not expect was that Qi Chengzhi did not bother to think about Qi Chengyue’s position when he protected Song Yu. He came to her rescue without hesitation.

He opened the door and told the makeup artist who was waiting outside, “Help her to freshen up as quickly as possible.”

…

…

Zhou Mingyan’s expression was so bitter that she barely ate anything even though the table was filled with luxurious dishes including sea cucumber, abalone, fish maw, and bird’s nest.

She had just gotten over the fact that Qi Chengyue and Jian Yi started the toasting ceremony at the Qi family’s table. Before they could come over, that incident happened and both of them had not reappeared since they went back in. She had no chance to receive the toast from her daughter-in-law. Song Yu must have done it on purpose!

Zhou Mingyan figured Song Yu probably got offended when they went to the Song family to boast that day, that was why she caused so much trouble today.

The relatives sitting at the same table were gobbling down the food, but they did not forget to add fuel to the fire and said, “This is one of the problems marrying a rich wife that you can’t handle. There is no comparison between them in terms of status and demeanor since they were not from the same level. That’s why we can’t do much if they don’t respect us. Looking at today’s situation, Jian Yi most likely got married into the Qi family.”

Zhou Mingyan’s face dropped and slapped the chopsticks on the table with a loud ‘bang’ as she looked at her older brother-in-law coldly.

“Ha ha, Mingyan, don’t take it personally. This guy doesn’t really know how to use his words. However, although what he just said might be hurtful, it’s not completely unreasonable. Judging from what Jian Yi did today, he let his wife lead him around by the nose. You should speak to him when he returns and put Chengyue in her place. Even though we are a normal family, but she should pay you the respect as her mother-in-law. She can’t just mistreat you because of our family background. Once she marries into the Jian family, you are the mother of her husband. She must prioritize the Jian family before everything as she no longer is the lady from the Qi family.”

“For instance, other than you guys were seated separately from the Qi family, they even started the toasting ceremony at their table. I think that the order shouldn’t depend on our status. This just shows that the Qi family never respected us and Qi Chengyue couldn’t be bothered about you guys. When you go home, you should give them a proper lecture. Or else, if this goes on in the long run, you would lose respect from not only Chengyue, but also Jian Yi himself. In the end, the son that you guys have raised after going through all the blood, sweat, and tears married into a wealthy family. Everyone around us knows about Jian Yi marrying a lady from a notable family. They’ll just rub salt into your wounds!” Zhou Mingyan’s oldest sister-in-law said.

Zhou Mingyan’s expression was getting worse as she took in her sister-in-law’s words. She felt that what she said was not entirely senseless.

“Stop talking nonsense! Do you think it’s not chaotic enough? Grandfather and grandmother Qi are sitting on that table. It’s perfectly fine if they started toasting at their table if we were to talk about seniority in the family.” Jian Shifu felt that he should not allow his older brother and his wife to sit at this table. They are just a bunch of trouble makers!

“Younger brother-in-law, that’s not necessarily the case,” his sister-in-law wanted to continue, but Zhou Mingyan interjected coldly, “I feel that sister-in-law has a point.”

…

…

Qi Chengzhi brought Song Yu to dinner after leaving Dynasty since both of them had not eaten anything from the banquet.

Being together with Qi Chengzhi also meant that their dining place would be quite refined and of good taste. The most frequented places included Dynasty and Red Roof. Even Shengyue was rarely visited by Qi Chengzhi. Only a handful of places could satisfy him.

Since Dynasty was booked by the Qi family for the wedding banquet, they would not be dining there. In addition, Red Roof was quite a distance from here. That was why Song Yu suddenly thought of the roadside eatery when Qi Chengzhi asked her what she wanted to eat.

The street located opposite of Dynasty across the square was rather famous. Majority of their customers were tourists, the locals seldom go there as the food was priced to scam foreign tourists. Although it was on the pricey end, the food was not bad.

Qi Chengzhi brought Song Yu to that street as it was the nearest option.

They found a parking space and alighted. Once they get out of the car, Song Yu instinctively placed her hand into his palm.

Since the weather had turned warmer, they would not be needing those bulky down jackets despite still needing to wear a rather thick jacket. Qi Chengzhi was not wearing any gloves, so both of them snuggled closely with their hands and arms interlocked with each other.

Since the weather had turned warmer, they would not be needing those bulky down jacket despite still needing to wear a rather thick jacket. Qi Chengzhi was not wearing any gloves, so both of them snuggled closely with their hands and arms interlocked with each other.

Both of them strolled along the food street.

She remembered the first time they walked down a food street like this. It was the night when she discovered Jian Yi’s true colors.

However, her mood for both of these trips was vastly different. Her heart was all over the place when Qi Chengzhi held her in his arms.

At this moment, her entire heart belonged to Qi Chengzhi and it felt very calm.

They walked at a relaxed pace even though it was quite crowded with tourists.

Song Yu lowered her head and looked at the well-structured giant palm that was interlaced with hers. This was the hand that blocked Qi Chengyue’s wine glass and prevented her from being publicly embarrassed.

She never expected him to protect her at the expense of shaming Qi Chengyue in person.

No matter what, Qi Chengyue was still the bride of the day and his sister. Under normal circumstances, men would usually choose to help Qi Chengyue.

Song Yu was so touched by his actions. Any woman would hope for their man to stand by their side unconditionally and give a helping hand whenever they needed it.

Most of the women would also hope for their man to shield them from all harm, like the strong and reliable knight in shining armor they imagined.

Song Yu’s gaze trailed upwards from his fair-skinned hand to his arm and grazed past his black cashmere jacket, where she raised her head to look at the side view of his handsome, charming face.

She could smell his refreshing fragrance in the cool breeze while he was walking beside her. His towering figure made him stand out from the crowd, every part of his body including each strand of hair and pore exuded elegance.

Song Yu felt overwhelmed and held him even tighter as she leaned further on his arm. Her tender cheeks occasionally grazed his jacket due to the movements of their footsteps.

She gradually rested her forehead on his shoulders and wrapped her other hand around his arm.

Suddenly, Qi Chengzhi stopped walking. His action was not abrupt as they were walking at a rather slow pace.

He lowered his head and saw Song Yu’s face with a calm expression. Her drooping eyelashes fluttered gently.

He felt an itch in his heart as if a soft feather was tickling him gently.

He then lowered his head and kissed her forehead tenderly. His scorching lips grazed her forehead gently and spoke with a mellow voice, “What is it?”

Song Yu shook her head. Her cheeks were blushing red—like the red sky that was aglow with sunset. The skin that he kissed felt sleek and hot. She wrapped her hands around his arm strongly as if she wanted to weld him into her own flesh and blood.

“I just feel that… I’m really fond of you. How lucky am to have you reciprocating my feelings.” This was the first time Song Yu confessed to someone. She felt the back of her ears burning, and not daring to lift her head, she continued pressing her forehead against his arms.

She could feel Qi Chengzhi turning around. Before she even realized, he had extracted his sturdy arm from hers. Then, he tightened his arms around her waist, enclosing her into his embrace.

Song Yu still could not look at him after her outright confession just now. With her head lowered and burning ears, she could feel his breath approaching her. When her hairline brushed against soft lips, her whole body was so hot that she shuddered. His soft lips then left a burning trail on her skin and gently grazed the tip of her nose before landing on her lips. Her lips trembled upon his contact.

“You’re not going to fancy anybody else other than me, right?” He took a step back with his burning lips still attached to hers, breathing warm air into her mouth when he spoke.

If it was in the old days, she would be shaking and not saying a word as she was easily embarrassed. To his surprise, she openly answered him with an ‘uhm’.

In exchange for her answer, Qi Chengzhi tightened his embrace around her as if something rattled him. His searing lips grazed past the corner of her mouth to her ear lobes, where he pressed against her ears and spoke with a low, raspy voice, “How I wish I could ravish you right here, right now.”

After hearing what he said, Song Yu felt as if he was as hot as a grill, like the baking hot metal that was brought out from the fire pit.

All of a sudden, Song Yu came right to her senses and shuddered violently when a flurry of chill wind woke her. She realized that they were at a crowded food street. What took over her that made her confess to Qi Chengzhi here? She felt extremely embarrassed when she realized that both of them were kissing in the middle of a busy street!

Song Yu use the corner of her eyes to sneak a peek as she dare not look directly at the people around them. She noticed that many of them were staring.

Although modern society was more accepting and no one would criticize others for kissing in public, people still threw curious glances towards them.

She stumbled into Qi Chengzhi’s gaze that was full of desire once she lifted her head. His pair of deep-set eyes were devouring her like a whirlpool, leaving her no chance to escape.

“Let me go first, there are so many people watching us,” Song Yu pushed him with flushed cheeks.

Qi Chengzhi could not resist the shy expression on her face and planted another kiss on her cheek before releasing her. His burning palm went around her waist onto her hands and held it in.

Throughout the walk, Song Yu did not let her gaze wander around. Qi Chengzhi’s mellow voice sounded above her head, “Have you decided what to eat yet?”

Coincidentally, a breeze of wind mixed with the scent of stinky tofu blew towards their direction. Song Yu gave a quick scan and saw a stall that was selling stinky tofu.

Suddenly, a devilish thought arose in her mind. She glanced at a nicely-dressed Qi Chengzhi and asked, “Have you tried stinky tofu before?”

“…” Qi Chengzhi gave her a nonchalant glance. How could it be possible for him to try something like that?

Song Yu giggled and dragged him to the stall that was selling fried stinky tofu, “Boss, one serving please.”

Not long after, the stinky tofu was ready. The vendor removed it from the pot and packed it into a paper container before drizzling chili sauce onto it. Song Yu held the container with her hands, the burning temperature out of the pot managed to seep through the box and reach her fingertips.

Song Yu picked up a piece with a bamboo stick and stuffed it in her mouth. It was so hot that she kept puffing air out with an open mouth. Then, she poked a piece and took it to the corner of Qi Chengzhi’s mouth and said, “Try it.”

Qi Chengzhi raised his eyebrows with an expression that seemed like he would rather be a thousand miles away instead of eating it.

Song Yu sent it to his mouth and urged him again, “Just try it!”

He could not resist her prodding and ate one reluctantly, and refused to eat more. When he chewed, he was frowning so tightly that he could pinch a fly in between his eyebrows. He made it seem like eating a piece of stinky tofu was an undignified thing to do.

In the end, it was Song Yu who finished the rest before throwing the bamboo stick and paper container into the rubbish bin. She curled her palm slightly and brought to her mouth to huff into it. She blocked the exhaled air from escaping and took a sniff. It was filled with the smell of stinky tofu.

After that, she looked at both sides and saw there were not many people around. She waved her hand at Qi Chengzhi. When he responded and lowered his head, she tiptoed and kissed his lips at the speed of light and gave a swirl in his mouth.

When she landed her heels back onto the ground, Song Yu licked her lips with a blushed face, her crystal clear eyes were gleaming with mischief when she asked, “Does it smell?”

Qi Chengzhi burst into laughter. This was what she had planned all along. He never thought that she had a prankster inside her. The pair of sparkling eyes in front of him looked so exuberant, like those from a mischievous child.

His athletic hands hooked on the back of her waist and pulled her into his arms, before devouring her entirely.

“I ate it too, remember?” He pecked on her lips gently while he spoke.

Song Yu grinned shyly with her forehead laid against his chest. She felt as though this man had descended from heaven.

It felt weird for him to carry out such mundane tasks such as accompanying her to stroll at the food street and eating stinky tofu.

Qi Chengzhi looked at her while she lowered her head and laid against his chest. Her movements exposed the fair-skinned area on the back of her neck with silky strands of loose hair lying around since she tied her hair up in a bun.

He lowered his head to give a few pecks on the back of her neck before holding her hand. He continued their stroll with a Song Yu who was blushing the whole way, from the top of her head to her chest.

Both of them did not look for any restaurant and just ate some snacks along the street, including lamb tribe, pan-fried dumplings, and grilled squid. They were quite full at the end of the trip.

The image where Qi Chengzhi accompanied her to eat along the food street depicted a sharp contrast to his elegant aura.

Just the thought of him wearing a fine suit while holding a stick of grilled squid, standing together with her by the street. He even had to lean forward to avoid getting sauce on him. He would never be able to uphold his image with him eating this way.

Song Yu could not help but express her opinion after looking at him eating, “Do you think Yu Keyao will still fancy you if she saw you like this?”

Qi Chengzhi glanced at her and finished off the last piece of squid. Then, he took out a tissue to wipe the sauce off her lips before wiping his own. He scoffed and said, “You think that she’ll get a chance to see me like this?”

She was the only one who could see him like this. Other women would not even stand a chance.

Song Yu realized what Qi Chengzhi meant and felt a gush of warmth and sweetness in her heart. She stood in place and could not help but curl her lips into a silly angle.

While she was still reminiscing, Qi Chengzhi took the bamboo stick from the hands of a dazed Song Yu, wrapped them with the tissue and discarded them in the rubbish bin nearby before returning to hold her hand again.

After filling their stomachs with food, Qi Chengzhi received a phone call about work-related matters. He sent Song Yu back to Viewpark Residence before driving back to the office.

When it was almost time for dinner, Qi Chengzhi called and told her that he was not able to come home for dinner. There was a client that arrived today and they would be having dinner together tonight.

The corner of Song Yu’s mouth could not resist smiling as she listened to the phone call. The feeling of him calling her to notify her felt very domestic. After knowing that he was fine, she reminded him, “Don’t drink or smoke too much and come home earlier. If the client asked you to go to those places of entertainment, humph! Be careful and don’t let me find anything suspicious!”

Usually, the men would not be pleased if their women controlled them like this. They would feel frustrated if they were being restricted too much.

On the contrary, Qi Chengzhi was quite happy. This proved that she cared more about him. He would be upset if she did not say anything.

He smiled gently, with the look of tenderness in his eyes. His expression caught Chang Lai’s attention and he kept looking at his boss through the rearview mirror.

“No worries, I will not go to those places. If the client requests for it, I’ll let Dongge arrange for him. I’ll be back after dinner,” Qi Chengzhi turned around and looked outside of the mirror while he spoke. His car passed by a bridal boutique and he could see the mannequins displayed at the window were dressed in all kinds of delicate wedding gowns.

Qi Chengzhi looked at the name of the boutique. It was a famous bridal boutique in B City, where they collaborated with a well-known designer from Italy. They would provide limited designs of wedding gown every year exclusively to this bridal boutique. Bookings were also available to hire the designer to specially tailor a gown.

“Stop the car,” Qi Chengzhi said after hanging up the phone.

They were not allowed to stop there, but Chang Lai still parked the car and let Qi Chengzhi down. He walked towards the opposite direction for quite some distance and entered the bridal boutique.

…

…

Later that night, Song Yu asked Aunt Yang to cook two simple dishes and they ate dinner together. After dinner, she took her iPad and nestled into the soft couch in the living room and watched “The Good Wife” while she munched on some strawberries.

When she saw the characters in the show were chatting away and drinking red wine, she had the sudden urge to have some too. She stood up to retrieve a bottle from the wine cooler at the bar. Just when she poured it into her glass, she heard Aunt Yang’s voice from the entrance, “Madam! Sir has gone out to entertain clients, he’s not at home.”

“I’ll go in and wait then,” she heard Xia Wenna answered.

Song Yu put down the wine and looked around. There was no place for her to hide. She could already hear Xia Wenna entering the house and decided to face her head-on. While she was about to walk out the living room, she bumped right into Xia Wenna.

Xia Wenna was shocked as she did not expect Song Yu to be here. She looked at Song Yu’s casual attire and sensed that she was not a visiting guest but rather someone who lived here.

“Aunty,” Song Yu rubbed her fingers nervously. She felt tingles on her scalp under the gaze of Xia Wenna.

Xia Wenna wore a black suit. She looked different in the day when she attended the wedding. Her black hair was bundled up into a bun and secured with a hairpin, giving her a rather stern look.

She was wearing more makeup to match her black outfit. Her rosy lips pursed tightly into a thin line.

Xia Wenna took a deep breath and asked with a deep voice, “You’re living here?”

Song Yu lowered her head as she did not know what to answer her. If she said yes, it would make her look like she was an easy woman.

“Song Yu, let’s sit down and have a talk,” Xia Wenna breathed deeply before she spoke.

Aunt Yang excused herself to prepare tea in the kitchen, but in fact, she secretly called Qi Chengzhi’s phone.

Song Yu sat down anxiously and opened her mouth widely to inhale, before letting it out shakily.

“I didn’t expect you to move in right away. I always thought that you’re a decent girl. I’ve watched you grow from a young child into a lady. You’ve always known how to measure the situation and keep within bounds. You never let the adults worry about you. However, you’re overstepping your limits this time,” Xia Wenna’s expression was stern while she breathed in and out heavily.

“I cleared things up with you the last time we were at the old mansion. I thought that you’ll think through it properly after you went back and make a decision that’s best for all of us. Instead, you moved in here,” Xia Wenna pursed her lips. “If you insist to be with Chengzhi, not only will you face the backlash from others chastising you as a shameless woman, Chengzhi would also be criticized for being together with his younger brother’s fiancée.

I sincerely want to help the Song family, even if the union between Chengzhi and Yu Keyao wasn’t successful. I would still think of something to help the Song family to recover. The company may not be as big and prominent as the original one, but a medium-sized company would also allow your family to live comfortably.”

“I’ve known you since you were a kid, and had always considered you as my daughter. That was also why Qianying and myself decided to arrange an engagement with you and Chengji. One of the reasons is that both of our families had a good relationship, and the other reason was that I really like you as a person. I would treat you as my daughter if you became my daughter-in-law. However, I don’t accept your current status with Chengzhi.

Song Yu, what about this? I know many fine gentlemen. Just tell me what qualities you seek, I promise he’ll treat you well even after you guys are married.”

Song Yu looked at the floating tea leaves when Aunt Yang brought the tea over. She said calmly, “I like someone who’s 188 cm tall, with me barely reaching his chest. There’s always a refreshing scent on him. Even though he likes to smoke, the smell of cigarette smoke on him is rather pleasant. He would remain silent when he’s angry and squint his eyes when something against his principles happens. This is how he made others feel defeated.

He looks studious with glasses on, but his gaze is razor-sharp without them. Occasionally, he acts like a child and throws tantrums, but at other times he’s very understanding. If everything’s explained and made up to him, he’d accept them willingly. Sometimes, he can also be quite shameless and behave immaturely although he’s a fully grown man.

Nevertheless, he treats me wholeheartedly. He would always put me before himself, even at the expense of his well-being. He would look angry on the surface, but he’ll still endure it and allow me to do things my way. There were many occasions like that, but he would never lose his temper at me. He has a high level of self-control. I can be quite thick-skinned when I comfort and tease him so that he has no choice but to not be angry at me anymore.

Aunty, I really like someone like him. I only like a Qi Chengzhi who acts like this and there’s only one Qi Chengzhi. Others always see him as someone who’s mature and rational, but what they don’t know is that there’s a kid living inside of his heart, making him jealous and petty. However, I only like someone like him. I like each and every one of his characteristics. If these qualities are shown in another man, I would hate them.”

Xia Wenna was pretty shaken up inside. She never knew that side of her eldest son. Was Song Yu really referring to Qi Chengzhi?

“I was never upset by the fact that the Song family went through bankruptcy. I also never thought about what it is like if we never went bankrupt, neither did I want to stage a comeback. If the Song family was not bankrupt, I wouldn’t cancel the engagement with Chengji and I would never have the chance to be with Chengzhi. In a way, I’m glad the way things turned out the way it did.

Furthermore, our family is doing well. We’ve realized who are our real friends and those who are unworthy to stay in contact with. We saw the true colors of the Yu family. My parents also got used to their current lifestyle. My dad no longer needs to exert himself for the sake of the company, and my mum doesn’t have to put up a pretense and socialize with those rich men’s wives.

They’re living a stress-free, leisure retirement. They buy groceries and cook daily, have a chat and play chess when there’s time, and travel overseas once or twice a year for a holiday. Other than waiting for a grandchild, they have nothing else to worry about. Isn’t that a good life?”

“They are living a stress-free, leisure retirement. They buy groceries and cook daily, chit chat and play chess when there’s time, and travel overseas once or twice a year for holidays. Other than waiting for a grandchild, they have nothing else to worry about. Isn’t that a good life?

“Even if there’s a chance to rebuild our company in the future, I would not agree to it. My parents are getting old, why would they want to burden themselves with it? Also, I could see that my dad has gotten comfortable with a leisure lifestyle in these past few years. He may not be able to adapt to corporate life anymore. I don’t want to complicate the simple life that they currently have.”

Xia Wenna’s face dropped. She could not vent her anger on Song Yu since she was the daughter of her good friend.

However, Song Yu would not budge and this was making Xia Wenna boil.

“Can’t you be considerate for Chengzhi? How would he be labeled if you’re with him? If you like him that much, how can you endure the criticisms that he’ll receive from others? He’s such a proud man, but he’ll be the laughingstock of others in the future all because of you.” Xia Wenna took a deep breath to hold her anger in. “You like him that much, huh?”

“I think that…” Song Yu said as she raised her eyelids and stared at Xia Wenna with a determined gaze, “he wouldn’t care about them. He would not bother about what others think of him. How is it possible for someone as smart as him to be oblivious to the issues we’ll have to face together when he chose to be with me? Maybe he’s the one who has thought about this more comprehensively than the both of us. He wouldn’t choose to be with me if he cares.

“I’ve always remembered the words that he had said to me. He said, ‘Not to mention you’re only his ex-fiancee, even if you had gotten married to him and then divorced, don’t you think that I’ll still be able to pursue you if I wanted to?’ So, even if I had gotten married, and he can still be unfazed by that, do you think that he’ll be affected by what others say about him?

“If he’s so easily affected by what others think and can be kept in check by them, then he’s not Qi Chengzhi.” Song Yu then added calmly, “Why would I back out if he’s so determined?”

“You- ” Xia Wenna had just started to speak when she heard Aunt Yang’s voice. “Sir, you’re back!”

Xia Wenna turned around and saw Qi Chengzhi walk into the living room without changing into his slippers. He must have been really anxious as he walked in with leather shoes on.

“Weren’t you out entertaining clients? What time is it now? Why are you back so early?” Xia Wenna looked at Qi Chengzhi and turned to look at Aunt Yang. The latter lowered her head and retreated to the kitchen.

“I promised Song Yu that I’ll be back early,” he said indifferently.

Xia Wenna looked at her watch. ‘Early? It’s still too early at this hour. The dishes would not be fully served for a normal meal. It was obvious that he rushed back to protect Song Yu,’ she thought.

She had never seen him being so protective over someone. When Qi Chengji got bullied by Wei Ziqi to the extent that he had almost died in the United States, Qi Chengzhi did not even offer to help much.

As for today, it was just a coincidence that he was not around when she paid him a visit, but he came rushing home and entered the house without changing into his slippers.

Song Yu walked to his side and received his coat that he had taken off. Then, she proceeded to the entrance to bring Qi Chengzhi his slippers and placed them beside his feet. Qi Chengzhi took off those leather shoes and slipped into them, where Song Yu went to put his shoes back after that.

They seemed to be familiar with this routine and performed seamlessly. It was evident that Song Yu had moved in for quite a while.

Xie Wenna snickered and said, “You weren’t speeding on the way back right? You came home moments after I arrived. How did you manage to travel at such a speed?”

Qi Chengzhi remained expressionless. He looked down and saw Song Yu gripping his arm gently. He then held her hand and squeezed it softly to comfort her.

“Mum, let’s talk in my study,” he said with a deep voice.

“Why is there a need to talk in your study?” Xia Wenna remain seated and glanced at Song Yu. “What’s wrong with us talking here?”

“In the future, if you have anything to discuss, come directly to me. You don’t have to ask her to break up with me. She’s not the person who decides whether we’ll break up or not. If she had had a choice, she wouldn’t be staying with me in this house. It was all my idea from the very beginning and she had no say at all,” he said impassively without giving others a chance to refute him as he stood in the living room.

Xia Wenna was still in shock at Qi Chengzhi’s words. Without waiting for her response, he turned around and said to Song Yu, “Go to the bedroom first.”

Song Yu looked at Xia Wenna, uncertain. She felt that it was not very nice to do that.

“Go,” he urged again and gave a gentle squeeze on her delicate hand.

Song Yu gave him a worried glance but still nodded obediently. Then, she walked up the stairs while looking back repeatedly.

…

…

Eventually, Xia Wenna followed Qi Chengzhi to his study. While admiring her son’s elegance, she had never imagined that there would be a day where her son would be so protective over a woman and would not let her suffer one bit.

However, when facing her, Qi Chengzhi displayed a face of nonchalance, the tenderness he had when he defended Song Yu was gone, and Xia Wenna could not help but feel angered by him. No matter what, she was pregnant with him for ten long months and suffered through labor to give birth to him. How could her son treat his own mother so cold-heartedly?

“What exactly are we talking about that we have to avoid Song Yu?” Xia Wenna stood there and glared at Qi Chengzhi exasperatedly.

“I think it’s best for you to take a seat,” he said as he pointed towards the sofa near the wall, “or you can lean against something. I’m worried that you’re gonna fall standing in the middle of the room without anything to hold on to.”

Xia Wenna sneered, “Are you going to tell me that Song Yu’s pregnant?”

“That’s not it,” Qi Chengzhi denied. “It’s all right to stand here if you think you can bear with what I’m about to tell you.”

He gave up and turned around to walk to his desk. He opened the cabinet below and revealed a safe.

Xia Wenna did not know what to expect after looking at his serious behavior. He definitely did not look like he was joking around. While Qi Chengzhi was opening the safe, she moved to the sofa and sat down.

Shortly after, Qi Chengzhi walked over with a folder in his hand and passed it to Xia Wenna. “Take a look at this.”

Xia Wenna’s gaze fell on Qi Chengzhi’s hand and moved along his slender fingers to the folder. She was quite confused and blinked doubtfully before taking the folder from him. What could be so important that he had to keep it in the safe?

She opened the folder and took out the documents inside. After reading the bolded letters on top, her hands shook violently all of a sudden, almost dropping the documents onto the floor.

She removed all of the documents from the folder in a haste. As she read through the fine print, her expression gradually became pale and ghastly. Her hand that was holding onto the side of the paper trembled uncontrollably. She gripped it so tightly that her fingertips turned white.

“Song family’s bankruptcy…” Xia Wenna’s entire body shuddered before she lifted her head slowly with an ashen face, “that was your doing?”

With his slender fingers, Qi Chengzhi ignited the lighter and lit a cigarette. He took a drag and exhaled clouds of smoke from his stern, thin lips and said, “I caused the Song family to go bankrupt. Since you and Song Yu’s mother are as close as sisters, shouldn’t you compensate her after knowing that your son was the one who led them to bankruptcy?

“I am the one who caused the downfall of the Song family, where Song Yu has to struggle for survival, endure the dirty looks given by others and attend to all sorts of entertainment. Even so, you still forbid her to be with me and criticize her actions? In fact, she’s the real victim.” Qi Chengzhi took another drag impassively without showing any emotion. “Our family is indebted to the Song family since the eldest son destroyed their family while the youngest son broke off the engagement with her. Think about it, don’t you think we owe her too much?”

“You…” Xia Wenna threw the document onto the desk. She felt as if it was burning in her hands and could not bear the weight of it any longer. “Why did you do that?”

Qi Chengzhi did not answer and squinted his eyes before taking another drag.

“Our family doesn’t need to depend on the Song family’s company. There’s no reason to bankrupt them.” Xia Wenna took in a deep breath. She could only feel pain and dryness in her throat, and the suffocating feeling in her chest was agonizing.

She rubbed her chest and slowly exhaled before saying, “We all thought that Chengji was dead in the United States after that incident years ago. That’s why the engagement between Song Yu and him was automatically called off. It was precisely because of this that the Song family’s company could no longer hide the fact that they don’t have an heir to inherit the company. Even though I am not familiar with business tactics, but I know that it takes more than a day to bring a whole company down.

“It means that you had started targeting the Song family long before Chengji was involved in that incident. Why did you do it?” Xia Wenna lowered her gaze and looked at the documents again, but she shied away instantly as if she was scarred by them.

She placed her left hand on the sofa and gripped it so tightly that her fingers were buried into the sofa. She wanted to stand up but found that she had no strength to do so.

Qi Chengzhi squinted his eyes and puffed out a stream of smoke before he mockingly said, “What do you think?”

Xia Wenna’s expression changed when she thought of a possible reason, but she dared not say it aloud. Her face grew paler over time.

“Even if nothing had happened to Chengji back then in the United States, you knew that even if he liked Wei Ran, he would not be allowed to be with her because of our family and Wei Ziqi. He would have ended up marrying Song Yu anyway. Unless, the Song family went bankrupt, and Song Yu loses her status and family background to match with ours, or else…

“That’s why you single-handedly destroyed the Song family with the intention of breaking off Song Yu and Qi Chengji’s engagement,” Xia Wenna finished. She stared at Qi Chengzhi while her whole body trembled violently.

She did not have to wait for his answer to ascertain her speculations.

There was no bad blood between Qi Chengzhi and the Song family. Xia Wenna had to imagine the unimaginable as he had gotten together with Song Yu now.

Qi Chengzhi scoffed when he heard Xia Wenna continue asking, “When were you interested in her?”

When Song Yu got engaged to Qi Chengji, she was still a high school student and not of age yet. However, he was already a grown man at that time.

This sounded extremely ridiculous. She looked at her introverted eldest son and could not fathom how a mature man like him could have taken a liking towards Song Yu when she was still a young girl. This was not something a normal man would do!

“…” Qi Chengzhi removed the cigarette between his lips and put it out in the ashtray. Then, he walked out of the study with both hands in his pocket.

Xia Wenna took a final look of the documents before taking her cell phone out to snap photos of the first and last page. She then put the documents back into the folder and sealed it before walking out of the study.

When she went to the living room, Song Yu was not there anymore. She did not return after Qi Chengzhi told her to go back to the bedroom just now.

Xia Wenna could not help but peek at the second floor. She felt pain in her chest and sighed heavily. She had no idea what to say after she recalled what she saw from the documents just now.

Qi Chengzhi was right. No matter what, the Qi family was indebted to the Song family.

Nevertheless…

What kind of absurd excuse was this for her to agree to them being together!

Song Yu was being very restless in the bedroom. She secretly left a small gap at the door to listen to what was going on outside. After hearing Xia Wenna had left, she tiptoed downstairs and saw Qi Chengzhi smoking on the sofa.

Since she moved in, she had never seen him smoke once. Although she could still smell the cigarette smoke on him, but she has never seen him smoke with her own eyes. She knew that he avoided smoking in front of her.

At this moment, he was sitting with a dark expression. His face looked rather stern normally when he was not smiling, but he seemed even more unapproachable now.

The white-colored smoke gradually dissipated upwards, guided by his pale, slender fingers, blurring the features of his face.

Qi Chengzhi moved his eyelids slightly when he sensed her approaching him. He put out the cigarette and sipped on the tea that Song Yu had drank earlier to mask the scent of cigarette smoke.

“What did you say to aunty?” She sat beside him obediently and placed her bare feet on the sofa. She wrapped his strong arm with both her hands and sniffed the lingering cigarette smoke on him.

Qi Chengzhi’s deep-set gaze fell onto her bare feet. He checked the floor for slippers but there were nowhere to be seen. He then frowned and said, “Why did you come downstairs without wearing slippers?”

The house was air-conditioned instead of using the heater. Nonetheless, the living room floor was still very cold as it was made of marble.

Song Yu tucked in her toes. She felt a little awkward with him staring at her feet.

“The bedroom was carpeted and warm, so I bared my feet. I guess I’ve forgotten to put the slippers on when I came out,” Song Yu said. While she was trying to retract her feet, he covered them with his big, warm hands.

The complexion of his palm was similar to her feet. When he placed his hands on her feet, they were very cold, so he proceeded to wrap them up with his hands.

Song Yu shuddered, her face was flushed red. She tried to retract her legs further but Qi Chengzhi tightened his grip. He used his rough-skinned thumb to caress her delicate sole, sending jolts of electricity to it.

Song Yu felt warmth starting to spread from her sole, moving up to her calf, her abdomen and continued to her chest and arms.

His strong palm pressed her feet so that her sole was pinned onto his solid abdomen. Even though there was a thin layer of fabric in between, she could still feel the outline of his firm muscles through her sole.

“Don’t cover them like that, it’s dirty!” Song Yu was flushing badly. She felt uncomfortable with him holding her leg this way. Especially when his hands were clean and slender, she felt like they would be dirtied by her feet.

She tried to shake him off her feet but failed to do so. Instead, Qi Chengzhi raised her legs to his mouth and planted a kiss on her big toe.

Song Yu felt her face burning up as if it was going to explode. Her lips were moving slightly but she could not utter a single word. She also dared not look at his handsome face. The only sensation she felt was the softness of his lips on her flaming toe.

She had totally forgotten what she had intended to ask him. Her brain was in such a mess that it became dysfunctional.

A few moments later, her feet were all warmed up by his hand. He then carried her into the bedroom and placed her on the bed, his scorching palm moving up inch by inch from her sole to her ankle.

Song Yu’s breathing hastened and started taking deeper breaths when he did that. She was oddly mesmerized by his charming features.

At this moment, she was all he had in his eyes. She was so enthralled by her own reflection in his jet-black eyes.

She thought of his expression when he covered her legs. There was not even a hint of disgust. She used her soft palm to caress his angular cheeks. Stubble had started to grow around his chin and lips area as it was already night time, and he had not shaved yet. Although it was barely visible to the naked eye, it felt a bit scruffy when she touched them.

Her delicate thumb pads caressed his burning lips gently before she raised her head to kiss them. She pecked him on the lips, kiss after kiss, slowly making her way to his stubbly chin. The bristles were poking her soft lips, reminding her of the obvious difference between a man and a woman. Every part of him exuded a mesmerizing charm.

Moving along his chin, her lips reached his Adam’s apple. It felt quite hard as if there was a ping pong ball inside. Song Yu was fascinated and kept planting kisses on it.

Her repeated kisses caused Qi Chengzhi to itch. There was also a pooling heat in his lower abdomen, where he pressed against her with his bulge. He then lowered his head and enclosed her lips with his.

For whatever reason, the arms around her tightened all of a sudden. It could be that he was affected by the conversation with Xia Wenna where he revealed the documents that he had kept hidden for so many years. He was afraid and felt a heavy weight in his heart.

Originally, he thought that the documents would never see the light of day and he would take them to his grave. He was never planning to let her go.

However, he was anxious that the truth would unfold once it got revealed. He was fearful of her reaction if she found out what really happened.

It was a bold move for him to make that decision. Nevertheless, he did not regret his actions, but it became a ticking bomb buried at the bottom of his heart.

He was certain that Xia Wenna would not expose him when he showed her those documents. This was to stop her from coming after Song Yu.

He embraced her tightly and gave her a deep kiss, where Song Yu could only mutter a nasal hum.

She could feel that Qi Chengzhi was very different tonight. His charming face looked very determined, with a hint of wildness between his brows.

…

…

At last, Song Yu leaned in his arms, completely worn out and unable to gather any strength. He was still hugging her tightly, his arms were like ropes, holding her firmly in place. He buried his face into her neck, sniffing and kissing it all the way from her earlobes to her ears, before moving upwards to the corner of her eyes and her cheeks.

His thin lips were blazing hot, smoldering her with cigarette smoke and the scent of tea leaves in his mouth. He kissed the corner of her eye to her cheek, before moving slowly to the edge of her mouth and finally reaching her lips, encasing her like a spiderweb.

His kisses were filled with tenderness and sincerity. Song Yu stretched her eyelids lazily and saw his lingering deep-set eyes.

This flustered Song Yu, as she thought that his eyes looked exceptionally beautiful at this moment. They were not as piercing as usual. This gaze was meant for her and her only, making Song Yu treasure this charming guy even more.

Song Yu felt emotional from seeing how handsome he looked at that time. The incisive gaze that he so often had was absent, and at that moment, he looked at her like she was the apple of his eye. Song Yu had an even greater appreciation for that handsome and magnificent man.

As a result of his gaze, a tender lovingness surfaced inexplicably from the bottom of her heart. She stretched herself and kissed him lightly on his eyes. Her thumb then drew gently across his facial features, thinking to herself, ‘How is it possible for a man to be so handsome?’

She scrutinized his face in detail and suddenly recalled that he had not answered her question, so she asked again. “What did you talk about with Auntie?”

“What else is there to talk about? The only thing I’d talk about is you and I. I told her not to interfere.” Qi Chengzhi wrapped his arm on her and tightened his grip.

Song Yu sighed. She had been resting her chin on his chest, but at that moment she turned her head slightly so her cheek was resting above his heart. She listened to his heartbeat, which had yet to return to normal speed.

“Did you rush back specifically for that? It must’ve bothered your work, right?”

“Not at all. I was already thinking about leaving.” Qi Chengzhi kissed her forehead. “You told me to come back earlier, didn’t you? I remembered.”

Song Yu smiled, lowered her head, and smelled the sweat on his chest. It was salty, but not pungent in the slightest.

It was as if nothing that came from him could ever be bad.

Song Yu frowned, looked up, and asked, “So, do you want to eat dinner tonight, or not?”

Without waiting for an answer, she sat up, counted the hours, and ascertained that he had not had the time to eat something.

She had overlooked that particular point because she kept thinking about him and his mother.

“You smoked and drank tea on an empty stomach?” She frowned disapprovingly. She then pursed her lips and rebuked him, “You’re not allowed to do that in the future.”

Once she was done talking, she sat up, and not bothering to cover herself in front of him, she moved to get off the bed.

“Where are you going?” He sat up immediately too, grabbing her by the waist. He wrapped his arms from behind and placed his warm palms on her belly, after which he planted a kiss on her shoulder.

“Down. I’ll cook some noodles for you.” Song Yu then asked, “Isn’t it uncomfortable for you because we did some…’exercises’…when you were on an empty stomach?”

“As long as you let me eat ‘down there’, I won’t feel uncomfortable at all.” He leaned over to her ear and whispered softly. His rich voice was very indecent because of his sexual tone. The eroticism in his voice tunneled through her ear and threaded deep into her body, sending shivers down her spine.

On the surface, there was nothing too unusual about his words, but it was his hand movements that led her to realize the hidden meaning behind his sentence. Her face turned red immediately!

A change of tone in those words was enough to make it lewd!

“Qi Chengzhi, you… how can you be so shameless!” Song Yu could not find any other word that could describe him appropriately. He was so proper when he had clothes on, but the instant he took them off, he was a beast!

She barely finished her sentence when he pushed her back down onto the bed.

“Qi Chengzhi, what are you doing!” Song Yu exclaimed in alarm and tried, unsuccessfully, to stop him.

…

…

On that occasion, Song Yu’s legs were trembling madly afterward, and she was red from head to toe.

She lay exhausted on the bed with no energy to get up. Qi Chengzhi’s fingers grasped her on her waist and he asked, “Do you still have the energy to cook those noodles?”

Song Yu looked at the time. In fact, it was still early, but she replied rather sheepishly, “Has Aunt Yang slept yet? If she hasn’t, maybe you could ask her to cook a bowl for you.”

Initially, Song Yu wanted to be the one who cooked for him, but she did not expect him to push her back down onto the bed so savagely.

Song Yu would not agree to him going hungry for the night. At that time, Aunt Yang was not yet asleep, so Qi Chengzhi requested Aunt Yang to cook a bowl of noodles for him.

Aunt Yang rummaged through the fridge, and upon remembering that the freezer contained some oyster flesh she had bought the day before, she took them out.

She mulled it over for a moment. Oyster flesh had benefits to men who ate them, and Qi Chengzhi had also been doing ‘it’ quite frequently as of late. At thirty-four years of age, he was no longer young. Aunt Yang had never seen him with other women in the past few years, and although she understood that Qi Chengzhi was probably unable to control his excitement once he had Song Yu, doing it too much would be detrimental to his health!

Song Yu had been cooking his meals recently, so Aunt Yang felt that it was inappropriate to say anything. Aunt Yang wanted her to add some ingredients that would benefit men’s health into those meals, but she felt embarrassed to bring it up. The perfect opportunity came that night, and Aunt Yang really wanted to just toss in every single type of ingredient that could strengthen his body.

In the end, oyster flesh covered the noodles completely, so much so that the noodles disappeared underneath the oysters.

She brought the noodles up to his room and could not resist advising him, “Sir, please eat more oysters. They’re good for you.”

Once Aunt Yang left, Qi Chengzhi carried the bowl of noodles back to Song Yu, and she saw how full of oysters it was. Almost immediately, she was speechless and embarrassed: the thought of Aunt Yang personally bringing the noodles up made Song Yu so ashamed that she did not know how to face Aunt Yang in the future.

“What’s up?” Qi Chengzhi was curious as to why Song Yu was red-faced.

“Aunt Yang…” She blushed while looking at Qi Chengzhi. “Oyster meat is an aphrodisiac for men.”

Qi Chengzhi, “…”

A mouthful of oysters did not stop his lips from curling into a teasing smile. “Aunt Yang’s afraid that you’re milking me dry?”

Red-faced, Song Yu hugged a pillow and retorted, “You’re the one who’s always so randy. This has nothing to do with me!”

Qi Chengzhi continued eating his noodles while Song Yu sat up. She used a blanket to cover herself, and the pillow was still hugged in her embrace.

“Are you busy tomorrow?”

Qi Chengzhi looked up at her, prompting her to explain, “If you have nothing to do tomorrow, let’s go and meet my parents. You’ve already brought me to the wedding today, so we can’t hide our relationship anymore. Jian Yi’s parents were there too, and I’m worried that his mother might go and gossip with my mom. So, I was thinking that we should tell them before they hear it from someone else. We can’t drag this on for long. Sooner or later, we’ll have to tell them.”

Qi Chengzhi placed his chopsticks down, walked over to the bedside, and picked up his phone from the bedside cabinet. He called Cheng Dongge and said, “Cancel my itinerary for tomorrow.”

“…”

“Tomorrow’s plan will go ahead as usual, but Chenglin will attend on my behalf.”

Song Yu did not expect Qi Chengzhi to cancel his work arrangements directly. She told him after he hung up, “If you’re busy with work tomorrow, you should deal with it first. Don’t just cancel your appointments because of this. It’s the same if I tell them myself.”

“In the event that your mom doesn’t agree, what then? Can you handle it all yourself?” He sat on the bed and held her hand with his slender, fair fingers. Noticing how she lowered her head in helplessness, he reminded her, “That is why I told you I’d follow you. I said that before, didn’t I?”

Song Yu leaned forward and rested her forehead on his shoulder. She inhaled the sweat-infused fragrance from his body.

“Qi Chengzhi. Have I ever told you that I feel lucky to have you liking me? Thank you for being so sincere towards me. I’m really happy that you came into my life,” she uttered softly as she placed her palm affectionately on his chest.

His chest was warm, and his thumping heartbeat was pounding gently on her palm.

Qi Chengzhi placed his arms around her with enthusiasm and hugged her tightly in his embrace. His warm, thin lips brushed through her eyes and then to her cheekbone. “Wanna do it again?”

“…” Speechless, Song Yu hit him. He just had to ruin the emotional moment with his words. “Why do you keep thinking about that!”

Qi Chengzhi chuckled with a resonance that was akin to the lowest note on a piano; it was rich and seductive.

He kissed her forehead, hugged her, and laid back down. “Time to sleep.”

…

…

The next day, Song Yu was still asleep when her lips were being gently kissed by a pair of moist lips. She groaned and strained to open her eyes, which she finally did, although she was still having some blurry vision. Bit by bit, Qi Chengzhi’s handsome face slowly began to look crystal clear.

“What time is it now?” Song Yu’s voice was hoarse and she was not completely awake yet. She leaned her head to look at the bedside clock and saw that it was not even eight. “Why did you wake up so early?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to meet your family today?” Qi Chengzhi’s dry hand crept into the blanket and slid to her belly. His fingers gently massaged her there. “We have to leave a little earlier so we can buy something for them. I can’t be going to your home empty-handed for my first meeting with your parents.”

Song Yu was still blurry at first, but those words jolted her awake immediately. She ran off to get herself ready, and after both of them had breakfast at home, they left for the shopping mall.

In fact, Qi Chengzhi could simply ask Cheng Dongge to help get everything in order. There was no particular need to bring Song Yu to choose what they were going to buy, but because Qi Chengzhi would be showing up in person, he wanted the gift to be sincere.

He held Song Yu’s hand and they walked side by side. Song Yu watched as he chose those gifts without even the slightest hint of impatience. His slender fingers brushed across those items while his body stood still and upright, lending him an appearance of calmness and dignification.

Being the busy man that he was, rest days – even on weekends – were hard to come by, but there he was, sacrificing what little time he had to rest in order to prepare himself for the best possible impression on her parents. What other actions could possibly be more deserving of admiration?

Song Yu looked at his meticulousness and was afraid that his sincerity would be in vain if her mother was still averse to the Qi family. Turning to the man who was placing all of his attention onto the gifts, she said, “Just about all right is good enough.”

Qi Chengzhi looked at her with his enigmatic eyes and made her feel shy. She looked down and held the fair, well-defined fingers of his hand.

He knew exactly what she was worried about, so he kneaded her hand and uttered softly, “Don’t worry.”

…

…

Yu Qianying held a bagful of vegetables she just bought from the supermarket and headed toward Song Yu’s apartment.

She reckoned that Zhou Mingyan might come over to the house with the wedding sweets and blab about how grandiose the wedding was or how many of those important people came to the fore.

Yu Qianying let out a cold ‘hmph’. How could she not know about those upper-class people who attended the wedding?

Even though Yu Qianying was no longer in that circle for a good few years, at the end of the day, she was still someone who was previously close to the Qi family. Those who were invited would undoubtedly have been close to the Qi family, too. Yu Qianying knew that all too well and did not need Zhou Mingyan to harp on about it.

It was better for Yu Qianying to grumble about it all with Song Yu, her unmarried daughter.

Upon reaching the entrance to Song Yu’s unit, Yu Qianying pressed the doorbell a few times, but no one came for the door.

Yu Qianying’s decision to come over was made at the last minute, so she did not inform Song Yu about it. She went over directly after thinking about how Song Yu was single and had never liked going out even on the weekends.

Seeing as no one seemed to be in, she took out her phone to call Song Yu. It was then that Yu Qianying spotted Auntie Zhang bringing along a small tow-cart that was used to place the vegetables she bought.

Auntie Zhang saw Yu Qianying standing at the entrance to Song Yu’s unit and remembered who she was. Yu Qianying had come over a few times prior, and in the past, Auntie Zhang had met her and even exchanged some friendly conversation with her.

“Sister Zhang, you went to buy some veggies?” Yu Qianying asked with a smile.

Auntie Zhang picked up the tow-cart and placed it on the ground. She panted and returned the smile. “Looking for Song Yu?”

“Yes, but she doesn’t seem to be home!” Yu Qianying exclaimed while holding her phone.

“She didn’t tell you? She moved over to stay with her boyfriend. The lease in this unit is not going to expire for some time, but she’s not staying here anymore. I think her boyfriend is pretty rich, he probably doesn’t mind wasting that remaining rent.” Auntie Zhang leaned the tow-cart onto the wall and was in no rush to enter her home.

Retired and with nothing better to do, gossiping was a fun thing to do, especially if it involved something juicy.

“Boyfriend?” Yu Qianying exclaimed in shock.

“Yes, you didn’t know? Her boyfriend’s driving one of those cars like those big bosses! I went back and asked my daughter about it, she said it was some rover or something, Land Rover! Yes, it’s called a Land Rover! I forgot what Land Rover, but my daughter said the car was worth a few million!” Auntie Zhang was in total admiration when she continued, “Song Yu has quite the skill to be able to find such a rich boyfriend.”

“How does her boyfriend look like? How old is he?” Yu Qianying suddenly recalled the time during New Year where Lao Xu told her that Song Yu had gotten into an SUV. At that time, Song Yu did not admit to it, but Lao Xu’s story seemed to be holding water.

Yu Qianying’s greatest fear was that Song Yu had gotten herself involved with an old man.

“Thirtysomething, I think. He’s tall, handsome, so fair, so well-groomed. He’s a little aloof though. I didn’t see him smile, but he’s really very handsome!” Auntie Zhang giggled. “You’re lucky you know! There’s plenty of rich men, but someone as young and as handsome as him, who’s also rich? A man like that is hard to find!”

“When did she move out?” Yu Qianying asked another question.

“Oh, I think it’s been a while now. Almost two months I guess!”

The both of them exchanged a few more words, and when Auntie Zhang had no other information to give, Yu Qianying left and brought along the vegetables with her.

She did not know what to feel at that moment. She ought to feel happy since Song Yu had a boyfriend, but there was a part of her that felt worried. ‘Why must Song Yu hide it from her parents if she was in a proper relationship?’

It came to a point where Yu Qianying had to find out about it from an outsider, and she even did not know that her own daughter had moved out. She had no idea when her daughter moved out, nor where she moved out to.

She even had to hear about the boyfriend’s appearance from an outsider.

Yu Qianying was suffering quite a bit in her heart. Barely two steps later, she felt her breathing becoming stifled. She tapped her fist against her chest a couple of times, and she called home as soon as she was at the bus stop.

She spoke immediately after she heard Song Donglin’s voice and did not even give her husband the chance to speak. “Song Yu’s in a relationship. She even went to stay at her boyfriend’s place. She kept all of it from us. I heard this from her neighbor because there wasn’t anyone in her apartment when I arrived. What is our child up to? It’s such an important thing, but she didn’t even tell us, her own family. When I came, I had to hear about the news from an outsider. As Song Yu’s mother, even I don’t know about this. Someone else had to tell me. How disgraceful is that? She’s being so sneaky with this, is it possible that she’s become someone else’s mistress?”

“I think you should hurry home!” Song Donglin’s voice did not seem quite right from the other end of the phone.

Still angry with Song Yu, Yu Qianying felt odd once she heard Song Donglin’s unusual tone of voice. “What happened?”

Song Donglin stood on the balcony and stole a glance at the living room through the glass window. He kept his voice low as he said, “Liang Lihua’s here, you’d better come home quick!”

“Liang Lihua?” Yu Qianying turned blank and did not react upon hearing those three words. After all, she had not heard that name for quite some time, much less seen that person. “Who’s that?”

“Your sister-in-law!” Song Donglin hung up as soon as he said that.

Yu Qianying still did not know what was happening and why someone she had never kept in touch with for so many years turned up at her doorstep so suddenly. What was going on?

…

…

Song Donglin opened the door for Yu Qianying. She did not bring up Song Yu’s issue because Liang Lihua was there. The vegetables were carried into the kitchen and she put on a grave expression before going back into the living room. Liang Lihua was wearing an exquisite and branded outfit; it was Parisian fashion in its latest fall-winter style.

She sat very upright on the sofa, taking up about only a third of space.

Liang Lihua was scanning the surroundings as if she found the decorations too plain, too inferior to be shown in public, and too despicable for her eyes to see.

She then noticed Yu Qianying and began looking at her from head to toe. Yu Qianying had put on some weight as a result of failing to pay enough attention to her own health, and a cheap houndstooth jacket was covering that plump body. Her plain face was devoid of makeup, and the curls in her hair betrayed the fact that it was the work of some neighborhood barber.

The present-day Yu Qianying no longer had the refined personality of being Mrs. Song. Her appearance reeked of commonplace milieu, and all the desirable characteristics that she once had was completely eroded by the peasant lifestyle.

Liang Lihua’s gaze flickered and she thought, ‘Things have gone full circle and the pendulum has swung back. Back then, for the sake of the family company, I risked my dignity just so I could try and curry favor with you. Now, look at where we are?’

Liang Lihua was now the wife of a respected family, while Yu Qianying was a mere housewife who spent her days cooking and doing other mundane routines.

“Lady Liang, to what do I owe the pleasure of having you come to my home so willingly?” Yu Qianying did not hide her displeasure. “If I remember correctly, the boundaries have been drawn right from the beginning. Am I not already cut-off from being considered a member of the Yu family?”

“How have you been these years, elder sister-in-law?” Liang Lihua remained unmoved. She picked up the cup of tea in front of her, intending to take a sip, but the mere smell of it was enough for her to know that it was just some ordinary green tea, and not the aged Pu’er that she loved so dearly. She felt it beneath her dignity to be drinking it, so she pursed her lips and placed the cup back down. “I remember that both of you enjoy drinking Longjing tea. I’ll get someone to send you some later.”

“No need for that,” Yu Qianying replied coldly. She shot Song Donglin a glance, as if she was chastising him for taking the trouble to offer tea. It was a waste of water and tea leaves. When it came to Liang Lihua, it was best to just send her on her way.

“Sister-in-law, please don’t be so courteous. I didn’t expect your daily lives to be so full of disappointment.” Liang Lihua then scanned the living room as she pleased. “It’s just tea leaves. You don’t need to be so courteous with me.”

—

Free mini-scene:

Old man, “Are you nervous to meet your future parents-in-law?”

Qi Chengzhi, “…”

Yan Beicheng, “He’s so nervous he can’t even speak.”

Qi Chengzhi, “Wait till it’s time for you to meet your future in-laws, then try and take it easy.”

Yan Beicheng, “You think I’m as unlikeable as you?”

Chu Zhaoyang, “Hehe!”

Yan Beicheng, “Chu Zhaoyang, what are you trying to imply, you’d better explain yourself!”

Chu Zhaoyang, “Well, you’re pretty likeable, usually.”

Yan Beicheng, “…”

Han Zhuoli, “HAHAHAHA, Yan Beicheng, I have no idea what your temper is like. If I were you, I don’t think I can contain myself.”

“Sister-in-law, please don’t be so courteous. I didn’t expect your daily lives to be so full of disappointment.” Liang Lihua then scanned the living room as she pleased. “It’s just tea leaves. You don’t need to be so courteous with me.”

“I don’t care for any of those tea leaves. Rather than giving us tea leaves, how about you return the money we borrowed Yu Zidong last time, for him to run the company? How about that? I won’t even ask for the interest, just the amount we borrowed. I think the total amount we lent you is somewhere around seven or eight billion!” Yu Qianying chided as her heart burned with anger.

Back then, Yu Zidong and Liang Lihua’s constantly spewed out words of gratitude and appreciation when they borrowed money from the Song family, but as soon as the Song family went bankrupt, Yu Zidong and Liang Lihua severed all ties with them. Like wolves, Yu Zidong and Liang Lihua gobbled up all the money that the Song family lent them!

That was precisely the reason why Yu Qianying felt unworthy of facing Song Donglin ever since the bankruptcy.

When Yu Zidong needed help, Song Donglin agreed to it without so much as another word, but when Song Donglin needed help, Yu Zidong broke their hearts by hiding away.

Liang Lihua inhaled sharply through her lips. Yu Qianying’s attitude made Liang Lihua unable to discuss the matter properly. She took a deep breath and said, “What’s seven or eight million? If you put a leash on your daughter, I’ll ask Zidong to give you the money, and you can build your company up again. Of course, it won’t be as great as it used to be, but at least it’ll be better than your current situation. I can also bring you back into the upper circle.”

Yu Qianying’s expression changed. “What does it have to do with Song Yu!”

Liang Lihua lips pursed into a stern line. She took a deep breath and began speaking, “Well, it seems like you still don’t know about the ‘good deeds’ she’s doing out of the home.”

“Qi Chengzhi’s mother likes our Keyao. You know full well that Qi Chengzhi’s still single at his age, so his family is getting worried. They were very particular about introducing Yu Keyao to him, but who would’ve known that Song Yu had no self-respect at all! She was angry that her cousin sister is having it good, so she seduced her cousin’s man just to take revenge on us!”

“I came here today to tell you this: teach your daughter some morals. Don’t let her do such shameful things to others. The Qi family doesn’t agree to them being together, and yet she shamelessly came to their home. Are other men not good enough? Or is she unwilling to see her cousin sister in a much better position than herself?”

Liang Lihua’s words were like a nuclear bomb exploding inside Yu Qianying’s heart.

Yu Qianying never expected that Song Yu was in a relationship with Qi Chengzhi.

When Lao Xu saw the SUV the other day, and when Auntie Zhang mentioned about her thirty-something handsome boyfriend, were they all referring to Qi Chengzhi?

“Liang Lihua, don’t talk nonsense!” Yu Qianying could no longer maintain her composure. Liang Lihua’s solemnness did not suggest that she was lying, and in truth, there was no point in making lies about the whole matter.

Previously, however, when Jian Yi mentioned that Song Yu might be involved with Qi Chengzhi, Song Yu crossed her heart and said that their relationship was purely a professional one!

“Nonsense? What do you mean by nonsense? Why should I make this up? There’s nothing glamorous about her seducing my daughter’s man!” Liang Lihua stared frigidly at Yu Qianying, and since the latter was standing up, Liang Lihua stood up too because raising her head and looking up made her feel inferior.

“Yesterday was Jian Yi and Qi Chengyue’s wedding. Song Yu and Qi Chengzhi attended the wedding and held hands when they came. Every single guest saw it. It’s clear that the Qi family hates her. They all looked at her like they saw a ghost. Still, she had the decency to sit at their table and kiss around with Qi Chengzhi. Do you know what every guest was saying about her?”

“They said she was shameless. She was engaged to Qi Chengji in the past, but now she’s with the elder brother. What kind of woman could do such a thing? Only a wanton one!”

“You’d better clean your mouth with soap!” Yu Qianying shouted furiously because her own daughter was being treated with contempt. She could care less about Song Yu and Qi Chengzhi due to how Liang Lihua was slandering Song Yu.

“What of it, if the both of them are together? You say that Song Yu stole Yu Keyao’s man, but are Yu Keyao and Qi Chengzhi engaged or married? Are the both of them in a relationship? All that the Qi family did was introduce Yu Keyao to Qi Chengzhi, and to put it bluntly, it’s just a blind date. Do you really think that after the introduction, Qi Chengzhi would fall in love with her immediately and want to be together with her forever?”

“It’s nothing more than a simple introduction. Qi Chengzhi’s not her significant other, so if he wants to be with Song Yu, who are you to stop them? You’re the one who ran over to our home, and yet you have the decency to talk about how unashamed Song Yu was and how Song Yu stole Yu Keyao’s man. It’s only called stealing if the man belonged to Yu Keyao from the start. If not, it could have been your Yu Keyao who stole him!”

“Even if Qi Chengzhi was together with Yu Keyao, who are you to say that he can’t break up with her and like someone else? Are you going to control a man who’s had a change of heart? Why come looking for us? Qi Chengzhi likes our Song Yu, so if you have what it takes, go directly to Qi Chengzhi! Don’t act like an upper-class woman in front of us! Do you think I’ve forgotten how you conducted yourself in the past?”

Exposed and unmasked, Liang Lihua’s eyes glowered and she gnashed her teeth while shouting, “With your attitude, I don’t blame the daughter for doing something as vile as snatching another woman’s man!”

At that point, the doorbell rang.

Song Donglin ran to the door and peered through the entrance. Speak of the devil. Song Yu and Qi Chengzhi, the current subjects of Yu Qianying and Liang Lihua’s argument, were standing right outside the door. Song Donglin was shocked, and he opened the door immediately.

“The both of you…” Song Donglin looked at the two people in front of him. His daughter was standing prim and proper, while Qi Chengzhi was standing behind. Qi Chengzhi’s hands were carrying various bags of gifts, a mismatch with his solemn and handsome face.

“Dad, we’re…” Song Yu had just opened her mouth to explain when she heard her mother’s unhappy voice. “Watch your damn mouth, Liang Lihua!”

“You guys should come in first.” Song Donglin muttered softly and looked at Qi Chengzhi.

Liang Lihua wanted to say something, but when her eyes laid upon the two people entering, she paused and trembled in rage.

“Mom,” Song Yu called out.

Yu Qianying turned around abruptly and fell silent once she saw Qi Chengzhi.

“Auntie,” Qi Chengzhi greeted plainly. Although he was solemn and reserved, his respectful attitude toward elders was still clearly heard from his voice.

Qi Chengzhi placed the gifts that he bought on the table. Among them was a handheld massager, some health supplements, a ladies’ scarf, and a watch for Song Donglin.

Qi Chengzhi poured a lot of thought into those gifts. If they were too expensive, he was afraid that it would give him a bad first impression, so he decided to adapt it to their tastes.

Gifting a massage chair for their first meeting was a bit too much, so a handheld massager seemed just nice.

Before the Song family went bankrupt, Yu Qianying was in the habit of collecting scarves. She loved them, and the one that Qi Chengzhi bought was a brand that she liked very much. It was a hobby that she had to give up, since the upkeep of their home was reliant on Song Yu’s wages and what little pension that they had.

Song Donglin, meanwhile, loved watches, and the one Qi Chengzhi bought was not too expensive, somewhere around the eighteen thousand marks.

“Dad, mom.” Song Yu held Qi Chengzhi’s hand and felt a strength coming from him. She worked up the courage and said, “Qi Chengzhi is my boyfriend, and we’re dating.”

Liang Lihua’s face turned ugly. Qi Chengzhi was so serious about the relationship that he even brought gifts to visit Song Yu’s parents!

Qi Chengzhi’s tall frame stood there, and not once did he look over to Liang Lihua. He faced Yu Qianying and had an incredibly warm expression on his face. It was obvious that he respected her very much, and it made Liang Lihua feel deeply hurt.

Yu Qianying was exploding at Liang Lihua’s words earlier, so when she saw Song Yu and Qi Chengzhi standing together, she lost her train of thought.

She spent a good long while being blank, and when she slowly regained her senses, she glanced briefly at Liang Lihua and took a deep breath. “Well, since both of you are here, we can get to the bottom of things right now.”

Yu Qianying’s gaze landed on Song Yu’s face. “Song Yu, your aunt came to our house and told me that you stole your cousin’s man. What actually happened?”

“Lady Liang said the same thing to me before. I don’t know what’s going on in her mind. We were together way before Yu Keyao and Qi Chengzhi met,” Song Yu explained. She could feel Qi Chengzhi holding her hand a bit tighter and she looked at him and smiled. “If we’re talking about stealing men, I can only say that Yu Keyao wanted to steal my man. But she failed.”

Qi Chengzhi then nodded indifferently at Liang Lihua, as if he just noticed her presence. His voice became even more impassive as he greeted, “Mrs Yu.”

That was the extent of his greeting. His attention then shifted entirely to Yu Qianying and Song Donglin. “Mrs Yu misunderstood, I’m afraid. At that time, my family said they wanted to have a family dinner, but it was only an excuse. I only noticed that Mrs Yu and her family were there when I arrived. Yu Keyao was also there, and it suddenly became dinner and a blind date. So, I left. I was together with Song Yu much earlier than the blind date, it’s just that I didn’t tell my parents then. The misunderstanding happened because my family didn’t know at the time, but now that they do, this kind of thing won’t happen again.”

It was a rare occasion for Qi Chengzhi to explain everything so clearly. His handsome face was very sincere and not at all impatient; on the other hand, his rich voice was neither too hurried nor too slow.

Qi Chengzhi’s clarification prompted Yu Qianying to remember Song Donglin’s birthday celebration at Dynasty. Qi Chengzhi must have been referring to that time!

She met Yu Keyao and also Qi Chengzhi right outside the room door.

In that case, if Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu were together at that time and taking into account Lao Xu seeing that SUV, then the both of them might have already started dating since the new year.

To think that they were such good actors when they pretended they did not know each other at Dynasty!

“Song Yu? Stealing a man? Me?” Qi Chengzhi looked insipidly at Liang Lihua. His lips curled into a sarcastic smile. “She doesn’t need to steal me. I’m the one who came to her voluntarily.”

Liang Lihua’s lips pursed tightly, and she clutched her bag with such anger than her hand was trembling wildly.

She did not expect to meet Qi Chengzhi there and suffer such humiliation!

Yu Qianying waggled her eyebrows at Liang Lihua and snickered, “Well, well, sister-in-law, it seems like your daughter is the one stealing my daughter’s man, and she wasn’t even successful in doing that. As the saying goes, it’s much easier for a woman to chase after a man than it is the other way around. If the woman is initiating it, half the work’s already been done. It’s such a pity that Yu Keyao failed so miserably even though she’s the initiating party. Looks like she’s not really that charming. After all, she was rejected even though she practically offered herself to him.”

“Oh really?” Liang Lihua pursed her lips coldly and shot a disdainful gaze at Song Yu. “Just because they say that it doesn’t automatically mean it’s true. Who knows if they hid some other things from you? Am I just supposed to believe the both of you when you say that you’re together from the start?”

“I came here today to talk about old times and see if there’s anything I can help with. I want to mend our relationship, but it seems like you don’t want that at all, and I came here for nothing,” Liang Lihua held her bag and chided, leaving without so much as another word.

Song Donglin stood in a position that obstructed her way somewhat. Liang Lihua sported a sullen look and rammed right past his shoulder.

“What’s wrong with them? Their whole family is full of ungrateful people who don’t know how to separate truth from fiction!” The door was closed, and Yu Qianying shouted furiously at the direction.

“It’s not like this is the first time you’ve seen her attitude. She’s not worth getting angry over,” Song Donglin advised and held her shoulder.

Yu Qianying turned around and saw Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu still standing up. She took in a deep breath and exhaled. After looking at them for some time, she said calmly, “Please sit down.”

…

…

A Volvo stopped at the entrance to the Song family’s apartment building. The driver got off, opened the door, and helped Grandmother Qi out with Aunt Liu behind her.

Grandmother Qi raised her head, looked up, and sighed audibly. She then ordered the driver to take out and carry the bags of gifts from the rear boot.

The driver could not handle every bag all at once, so Aunt Liu and Grandmother Qi helped to carry a few.

It was time for her to send some wedding sweets to the neighbors since Qi Chengyue’s wedding was held the day before.

When they were Xiao Chen’s house earlier, they talked a little, since Xiao Chen was the neighborhood’s know-it-all.

Grandmother QI found out from Xiao Chen that Qi Chengzhi was kissing his girlfriend out in the open and hugging her so tightly. It was like he wanted to press her into him, and his kisses even left the young lady out of breath.

Xiao Chen thought that she was mistaken, but on her second glance, she saw that it really was him. She was shocked because she never thought that Qi Chengzhi would do such a thing in public.

Was he not always so serious whenever she saw him?

On that day, he was surprisingly friendly and even greeted her, leaving her feeling quite astonished.

She mentioned how the young lady’s face was so red. The young lady was pretty and obedient, standing quietly beside Qi Chengzhi without talking much. They looked quite fitting with each other.

Xiao Chen also brought up how Qi Chengzhi was constantly holding the young lady’s hands, and from the looks of it, he was treasuring her dearly.

Grandmother Qi questioned Xiao Chen about when all that happened and discovered that it happened when Song Yu was brought home. In light of that, the young lady that Xiao Chen saw was likely Song Yu.

As his grandmother, the old lady knew Qi Chengzhi’s attitude well. He was not someone whose eyes would wander around; if he had his heart set on something, he was a single-minded man. Grandmother Qi did not doubt the status of the young lady whom Xiao Chen spoke of.

Grandmother Qi could hear from Xiao Chen’s words that Qi Chengzhi was serious about Song Yu, since he treated her much differently from other people.

Previously, he did not even have a girlfriend, yet he was now kissing and hugging her out in the street. To what extent did he like her, that he would even disregard his image and lose all control of himself in public?

Grandmother Qi still had no clue about what the Song family had been up to. A huge rift with the Qi family resulted from the Song family’s bankruptcy, and Grandmother Qi was afraid that they would not agree to Qi Chengzhi’s relationship with Song Yu.

However, Grandmother Qi was eager to hold great-grandchildren in her arms, and when she thought back about Qi Chengzhi’s words, she realized what he said was true. If he was not allowed to be together with Song Yu, he might not be able to find a more suitable person in the future.

He was thirty-four, going on thirty-five in the blink of an eye. He was no longer young, and since he was a fussy person to begin with, God-only-knew how long he would need to find a woman, if he managed to find one at all. He would be forty in a couple of years, so how long more did Grandmother Qi have to wait to carry great-grandchildren in her arms?

Grandmother Qi thought about it a lot and realized that there was nothing wrong about Song Yu’s background. ‘Qi Chengji was only engaged to her right? It’s not like they were swapping partners.’

It was a small matter compared to the old lady’s desire to have great-grandchildren.

After bidding goodbye to Xiao Chen, the old lady mulled it over while on the way home. Once she reached home, she ordered Aunt Liu to take whatever food and drink that was available.

The box of birds’ nests was taken out, along with a crate each of Maotai liquor, red wine, and king crab that were gifts from other people. Grandmother Qi was not about to be stingy.

She wanted to see what Song Yu’s parents had to say. Grandmother Qi was aware of her own seniority in her family, and with all the gifts at hand, perhaps Song Yu’s parents might not put on a sour look?

Grandmother Qi was old and her legs were not as strong as they used to be. The absence of elevators in the building meant that she had to walk very slowly. She allowed the driver and Aunt Liu to walk in front of her. The two crates of alcohol were carried by the driver, and she told him to climb up the stairs first. Next was Aunt Liu with the king crab, and finally, Grandmother Qi held the box of birds’ nests.

Grandmother Qi was fond of going out on walks, but most of the places she went was flat ground, so when she faced the prospect of climbing stairs, tiredness set in barely a few steps later. She took out her handkerchief and wrapped it around her hand before leaning on the wall. A short rest later, she resumed her journey up the stairs.

Liang Lihua ran down the stairs with her lips still pursed tightly and her breathing still heavy.

She never entertained the possibility that Qi Chengzhi would show up at their doorstep to visit them. Every single sentence that she said prior to his arrival had turned into a joke.

She still could not understand what was so good about Song Yu. Yu Keyao did not fall short of Song Yu and the Song family had nothing! What use would it be if he got married to Song Yu?

Regardless, she did not want to lose to the Yu family!

Her mind was still busy thinking of all that when she ran into the corner of the wine crate that the driver was carrying. Both crates contained liquor and were heavy, so when Liang Lihua bumped into them, nothing happened to the contents of the crate. Instead, it was Liang Lihua’s collarbone that felt a sharp pain, forcing her to clench her teeth in agony.

“My apologies,” the driver said immediately.

“Don’t you have eyes? If you see someone coming and you’re carrying so many things, why do you have to insist on going first? Can’t you give way?” Liang Lihua suffered hell in the Song family, and when she suffered pain from bumping into the crates, she cursed her lack of luck on that day. Her anger had yet to subside, so at that moment, she unleashed it all on the poor driver.

The driver, Xiao Fan, was a very earnest man. Whenever he went out with the elderly Qi couple, he would always value harmony and calmness before everything else, so when Liang Lihua bumped into him, he could only reply with a simple apology.

Liang Lihua let out a loud ‘hmph’ and stomped her way downstairs. She did not even give way when she passed the old lady, bumping directly into her and knocking the box of birds’ nests. The nest rattled within the box as a result of the force from the bump.

The old lady even heard Liang Lihua’s grumbles after the latter turned a corner to the staircase. “This is exactly the kind of run-down place where people don’t have any manners! A few boxes and they’re already acting like they’re some parvenu who’s never seen the real world!”

“What kind of people complains about such a place but comes here anyway?” The old lady was seething because she had never met such an unreasonable person before. ‘She thinks she’s so great just because she has that bit of money? If she has what it takes, why not take out her family’s money and see if she can compare with our mighty Qi family!’