Jin Yaotiao confidently made her request: “Dad, let me go to the company and learn something. Otherwise, Shen Qiming keeps saying I have nothing to talk about with him.”

Before Jin’s father could respond, Jin Jiarui, who was sitting opposite, grew anxious.

He and his father had already gone over the possible reactions of his uncle, but he never expected someone like Jin Yaotiao to suddenly jump into the conversation: “Yaotiao, are you really going to the company just for that reason? Isn’t that a bit too reckless?”

What he didn’t realize was that, in the eyes of an old-fashioned man, if a girl’s actions are motivated by maintaining family happiness, no matter what she does, it is understandable.

Jin Yaotiao’s reason might seem reckless to him, but to Jin’s father, it was far more powerful than any “ideal,” “ambition,” or “dreams.”

Jin Yaotiao looked at Jin Jiarui, almost as though she was genuinely concerned about her marriage: “If I don’t go to work and Shen Qiming really leaves me in the future, Jiarui, will you take responsibility?”

Jin Jiarui dared not make such a promise and could only awkwardly say, “What are you talking about…”

Jin’s father also began to ponder.

Jin Jiarui, feeling somewhat lost, looked at his wife.

He Meiling pursed her lips and gently switched strategies: “I don’t think going to work is a bad idea, but… Yaotiao has no work experience. Will she be able to handle a management position right away? Maybe she should start with an easier role, then Jiarui can look out for her when he joins the company.”

However, Jin Yaotiao didn’t follow her lead and retorted sharply: “How could I not handle it? Sister-in-law, did you forget which school I graduated from? When I join the company, maybe I’ll end up looking after Jiarui instead.”

He Meiling’s face turned pale.

In the past, Jin Yaotiao had studied diligently to be in the same school as the outstanding Shen Qiming.

She later followed him to Stanford, where she completed her undergraduate degree, which was far more impressive than Jin Jiarui’s likely “fake” graduate degree from a lesser university.

In the early years, the domestic economy was more underdeveloped, and the Jin family worked in a skilled trade, not emphasizing education for the younger generation.

By the time the social environment changed, it was too late to catch up on what had been neglected in childhood.

If Jin Yaotiao had been surrounded by peers with similar levels of education, it would have been fine, but she was the standout, which made Jin Jiarui feel frustrated.

Jin Yaotiao, seemingly unaware of her cousin’s sour mood, continued pressing: “Besides, if I can’t handle it, I can always ask my dad for help. Would I really let him down? Or is it that you don’t trust me, sister-in-law?”

He Meiling was rendered speechless by her sharpness: “Wha-what are you talking about…”

Jin Yaotiao turned to her father: “Dad, is it that you don’t trust me?”

Jin’s father glared at her: “What nonsense are you talking? You’re my only daughter. If I can’t trust you, who can I trust?”

Jin Yaotiao raised her eyebrows.

She had always been the obedient daughter at home, but this was the first time she didn’t reason with her strict father.

It turned out this tactic worked quite well, so she became even more determined: “Then let me go. Stop talking about principles. I don’t care.”

Jin’s father looked at her with an expression of helplessness.

Jin Jiarui, realizing what was happening, turned pale, and then heard his uncle sigh: “Fine! Fine! You can go! Are you happy now?”

After calming his daughter, he finally turned his attention to his nephew: “Oh, right, Jiarui.”

He furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, then said in a deep voice, “The newly established project team in the management department is a key focus for Mingde’s future. It’s a promising opportunity. You’ll join it along with Yaotiao.”

As for his nephew, Jin’s father put on his usual seniority tone and warned, “There are many experienced people in that team. After you join, be humble and learn well from them, understood?”

Jin Jiarui wanted to say something, but after a long pause, he could only stiffly nod.

---

After dinner, Jin Jiarui found an excuse to step outside and smoke, standing alone in the Jin family’s yard, puffing one cigarette after another.

He Meiling was also in a bad mood but didn’t dare show it.

She could only softly try to comfort him: “It’s not that bad. You’re starting from the bottom. You know what Yaoqiao is like. She doesn’t know anything except for Shen Qiming. She’s so clueless, she might not even last three days in the company. When she leaves, the supervisor position will still be yours.”

She thought this would comfort her husband, but unknowingly, it made Jin Jiarui even more uncomfortable.

Since he was young, his father had held him to the standard of being the heir—learning the family business even when he was unsteady on his feet.

When his grades weren’t good, the family sent him to Australia without hesitation.

At first, he thought it was hard, but later he realized that he was actually lucky to have been given more resources than others.

Many of his peers, even boys from other branches of the family, didn’t have as much.

He had grown up under the envy of others. Though his father was just a director in the group and didn’t have management authority like his uncle, he had never taken Jin Yaotiao seriously.

Moreover, since Jin Yaotiao had never been in direct competition with him, he had naturally assumed that Mingde was his to take.

After all, he was undoubtedly the best among his peers in the Jin family, and Yaotiao, a girl who would likely always rely on others, posed no threat to him.

But this very girl had become the first to make him fail at securing resources.

Jin Jiarui clutched his torn plans, and for the first time, he clearly realized that Jin Yaoqiao was actually the biological daughter of the Jin family’s powerful uncle.

Even though she was just a girl, in his uncle’s eyes, she was far more important than him, the favored nephew.

Jin Yaotiao had never competed with him for resources simply because she didn’t want to—not because she couldn’t.

Jin Jiarui didn’t feel like she was deliberately trying to take power from him.

After all, he had long seen her obsession with Shen Qiming.

She managed to get into such a difficult university, and wanting a job to impress Shen Qiming didn’t seem too unreasonable.

Moreover, she had gotten engaged right after graduation, clearly focusing on family, not career.

But it still bothered him.

She had so easily taken something he had long desired, just because she was lucky to be his uncle’s biological daughter.

Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to speak out about these petty thoughts.

Jin Jiarui could only coldly respond to his wife’s attempt at comfort: “You don’t understand.”

A laugh came from behind him, hoarse and with a teasing edge: “I didn’t expect Jiarui to be such a heavy smoker.”

Jin Jiarui jumped, turning around to see Jin Yaotiao’s face.

He didn’t know why, but all his earlier anger suddenly turned into guilt, and he instinctively stubbed out his cigarette: “What are you doing here?”

Jin Yaotiao gestured to the door: “Mom says it’s cold outside. She asked you to come in.”

Jin Jiarui hurried inside, He Meiling following behind.

She glanced at Jin Yaoqiao, thinking of the personal stakes she had been influenced by, and couldn’t help feeling angry.

She looked toward the other family members in the distance and finally spoke up: “Yaotiao, I really have to say something to you today.”

Jin Yaotiao had originally planned to return to the house but stopped when she heard the words. “Oh?”

He Meiling lowered her voice, looking far from as gentle as she had been in front of the Jin family’s parents.

She now carried the full posture of an elder: “You know, you have your parents to support you at home, and once you’re married, you’ll be supported by Shen Qiming. Others envy you, yet you’re looking for trouble by wanting to work. You’re really someone who doesn’t know how to enjoy the blessings you have. If I were you—”

“Would you just go shopping and be a pet?” Jin Yaotiao interrupted. “You must envy me so much, huh?”

What audacity!

It was incredibly rude!

He Meiling didn’t know if she was triggered, but she glared at Jin Yaotiao in anger.

Then, she froze.

Jin Yaotiao was a little taller than her, so she had to lower her head slightly to look at her.

Her porcelain-like face held a faint smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes, which made her entire aura seem vastly different from usual.

He Meiling suddenly realized that Jin Yaotiao’s eyes weren’t almond-shaped.

In the past, maybe to appear cute, she would always open her eyes wide, her pupils clear and glistening, giving her a naïve and innocent look.

Now, with her eyes slightly narrowed, they seemed elongated, and the corners of her eyes subtly turned upwards, giving off a look that was half-smiling, half-mysterious, exuding an air of unapproachable depth.

Like someone who had everything under control.

He Meiling was stunned: “You…”

Jin Yaotiao tilted her head, her eyes seeming to see through He Meiling entirely. “See? I was right.”

For a moment, He Meiling even thought she was facing a stranger. Her lips trembled as she stammered, “What nonsense are you talking about!”

This was Jin Yaotiao?

“Sis-in-law, let me tell you something today.” Jin Yaotiao noticed He Meiling’s panic and couldn’t help but smile.

She casually reached up to adjust He Meiling’s stray hair, moving with a calm grace. “Just because I call you ‘sis-in-law,’ don’t really think of yourself as my elder. Whether I want to work or be supported, that’s my own business. It’s not for you to teach me. So from now on, speak to me politely, understand?”

He Meiling froze as Jin Yaotiao’s cool fingers gently brushed her cheek.

Jin Yaotiao fixed her hair and, satisfied, pinched her face before turning to leave without a second glance.

---

“Jia Rui, this child, still doesn’t know what he’s doing at this age. It’s freezing outside, and he took Meiling out to get some fresh air. Meiling’s pregnant, so of course, her stomach started hurting.”

Jin’s mother was sitting on the sofa, unpacking a shopping bag and gossiping with her husband.

Not long ago, He Meiling came into the room looking pale and said she wasn’t feeling well and needed to go home to rest.

Jin Jiarui quickly took his wife and left in a hurry.

Jin’s father frowned and nodded. “Still too young, not reliable enough.”

Jin’s mother took out a piece of clothing from the bag and smiled at herself. “Do you think this is nice?”

Jin Yaotiao glanced at it for a moment before shaking her head seriously. “You look good, but the clothes are too old-fashioned.”

Jin’s mother laughed with delight at her tactful compliment. “You have the best taste.”

But after looking again, she did think the coat might be a bit over the top, so she tossed it back into the bag with a sigh.

---

That night, Jin’s mother tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. When she turned over, she realized her husband was awake too.

She turned on the light and asked, “Why aren’t you asleep?”

Jin’s father exchanged a look with his wife before sitting up with a serious expression. “What else could it be?”

Jin’s mother looked toward her daughter’s room for a moment before sighing deeply. “I think Yaotiao might have been wronged by Xiao Shen. This child, she doesn’t tell us anything.”

Jin’s father’s expression darkened as if he were about to burst with anger.

---

Jin Yaotiao opened her phone and saw four missed calls, all from Shen Qiming.

Each call was an hour apart, precisely timed.

There was also a message from him: “What’s wrong?”

Looking at those four words that screamed Shen Qiming’s style, she could almost imagine him typing them with his cool, calm demeanor.

Jin Yaotiao frowned and thought for a moment, wondering how to reply.

Breaking off an engagement was a big deal for both the Jin and Shen families, something not easily resolved with a couple of brief text messages.

As she was formulating her response, her phone suddenly rang again.

She was startled for a moment, then looked at the screen.

It had been exactly one hour since the last missed call.

What a bizarre obsession with time. She pressed “answer” in silence.

After a brief pause, Shen Qiming’s calm voice came through: “Yaotiao?”

Perhaps it was because the frustration had already been vented, but Jin Yaotiao found herself unusually calm, even praising his pleasant voice in her mind.

She replied, “It’s me.”

Shen Qiming, ever efficient, asked the same question again: “When are you coming home?”

His directness, as always, cut straight to the point.

Jin Yaotiao wasn’t interested in dwelling on it, so she responded clearly: “I’m not coming back.”

There was a two-second pause before Shen Qiming spoke again: “Why?”

Jin Yaotiao didn’t answer right away. Instead, she asked, “Shen Qiming, when are you free? I need to talk to you about something.”

At that moment, a muffled voice came from the phone: “Mr. Shen, this place…”

The voice was soft, sweet, and familiar. Jin Yaotiao paused for a second, then realized it was Ning Meng.

What time was it?

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Jin Yaotiao shook her head with a sigh.

Shen Qiming coldly told her to “be quiet,” then resumed the conversation. “I’m flying to London tomorrow, and I’ll be back Tuesday afternoon. You can talk to me then.”

A beautiful girl was sitting with him late at night, and he told her to be quiet.

What a jerk.

After mentally mocking him, Jin Yaotiao bit back a laugh, trying to keep things civil as an ex.

She shortened the conversation, respecting his private time. “It’s too late. I’m about to sleep. We can’t talk clearly over the phone, so let’s meet Tuesday afternoon.”

Shen Qiming paused for a moment, then simply replied, “Okay.”

Jin Yaotiao was satisfied with the conversation and hung up.

She then rubbed her face with a facial mask, the one she’d borrowed from her mother, admiring her smooth, wrinkle-free skin.

Such a pretty face, and back then it was wasted on that jerk.

---

Downstairs, in the dark car by the roadside, Shen Qiming hung up the phone, his expression unchanged.

The assistant, Ning Meng, who had just been told to be quiet, was pale and trembling. “Mr. Shen… I was trying to say this place isn’t a good spot to park.”

“Remember to be quiet when I’m on the phone next time.” Shen Qiming spoke calmly, then instructed the driver, “Head home.”

“Are we leaving now?” Jiang Sen, who had been waiting for a while, didn’t expect this result.

He thumped his chest in frustration. “Damn! I came all the way from Mingzhu Mountain, and before the car even stopped, you’re already leaving without even entering the building?”

“Yeah,” Shen Qiming replied as if it were completely normal, “She’s already getting ready to sleep.”