Jia Qing also came with her father, so Lin Xitian was called away by Jia Qing.

Since Jia Qing learned that Zhan Qingyue had woken up, the Jia family knew as well and sent a big gift.

So, it was better to invite them all together rather than separately next time.

Zhan Qingyue said he liked having a lively atmosphere, something he hadn’t experienced for a long time.

At the time, Ning Qiuxiu felt some genuine sympathy from this, but now it seemed his idea of a lively atmosphere wasn’t what she understood.

What a terrible man!

Ning Qiuxiu’s parents were also coming. Mrs. Ning had already given her a heads-up when getting in the car, so Ning Qiuxiu planned to wait outside for them.

“Ning Qiuxiu.” While waiting and playing with her phone, she heard a slightly arrogant male voice call her name.

She looked up and saw the person was one of Zhan Qingyue’s younger cousins, Zhan Qingze, whom she had met before.

Zhan Qingze was younger and still in school.

He was probably going through a rebellious phase and wore his black shirt with three buttons undone, exposing his chest.

With one hand in his pocket, he swaggered up to Ning Qiuxiu and said, “Long time no see, Little Qiuxiu. You’re here too? Still thinking about my fourth brother? I heard he’s got a girlfriend now.”

Since Zhan Qingyuan was the fourth among his cousins, the younger ones called him Fourth Brother.

“…” Ning Qiuxiu was indifferent to this flashy peacock of a man. “If your eyes are useless, you might as well donate them to someone in need.”

Zhan Qingze was taken aback but soon realized she was calling him blind.

He chuckled, “Alright, if you’re not thinking about him, and if you’re unattached, why not consider being with me, hmm?”

He leaned in close, almost touching her forehead, and spoke in a deliberately low, husky voice, giving off a vibe like a domineering CEO teasing his prey in a novel.

Ning Qiuxui was at a loss for words as she looked at the script for the “prey” character.

She couldn’t help but laugh and said, “What’s the benefit of being with you?”

“What you can’t get from Zhan Qingyuan, I can offer you, including…” He reached out to lift her chin, but Ning Qiuxui stepped back and avoided it.

Undeterred by the empty gesture, Zhan Qingze made a playful air kiss and threw her a flirtatious look before continuing, “**.”

Ning Qiuzhi was almost struck by lightning.

Such a young person, and already so full of flirtatious talk.

No wonder he can’t even get a minor role in the story.

Just as she was about to speak, Jingjing suddenly appeared from somewhere: “Miss Ning, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

Ning Qiuxui sighed with relief, “What’s up, Jingjing?”

“I did a little divination and saw that you would encounter bad luck with romance today, so I need to prevent you from interacting with any males, including the housekeeper’s male cat!”

Zhan Qingze, who was compared to a cat: “???”

Ning Qiuxui was amused by Jingjing’s comment.

However, recognizing Jingjing’s good intentions, she followed her out, leaving Zhan Qingze feeling somewhat bored and going back inside.

Of course, he didn’t know that there was a big surprise waiting for him inside.

After Ning Qiuxui and Jingjing left Zhan Qingze’s sight, Jingjing looked at her eagerly, “Miss Ning, am I clever?”

“Very clever,” Ning Qiuxui praised, “I’ll give you a bonus.”

“No, no, no!” Jingjing shivered at the mention of a bonus, recalling the danger of being questioned by Zhan Qingyue about whose side she was on.

Such mistakes could be life-threatening, so she never wanted to risk it again. “We can’t accept extra pay! We might get fired.”

“Is that so?” Ning Qiuxui thought nothing of it. Indeed, the management of the Zhan household staff was quite strict.

Except for Jingjing, who stood out, the other staff were very tight-lipped. “So, I didn’t harm you before, did I?”

“No, all was deducted,” Jingjing said, almost in tears.

Ning Qiuxui: “……”

It seems she was the one who caused the deductions, both giving and taking them away herself.

Oh well, she thought.

Maybe next time she could buy her a set of cosmetics.

That shouldn’t count as extra pay.

Ning’s parents were caught in traffic and wouldn’t arrive soon, so Ning Qiuxui and Jingjing went into the house first.

Instead of going through the main hall, they entered through the side door of the small anteroom, only to unexpectedly find someone there.

A woman with a child, and the housekeeper, were present.

The housekeeper, looking at the child holding a bone-like ornament, said with a troubled expression, “Young master, this thing really shouldn’t be played with. It’s very easy to break. How about I get you a more suitable toy?”

The child pouted: “No!”

The woman also supported her child: “It’s just a broken bone. We have one at home too. If it gets damaged, we’ll replace it. Stop being so stingy and embarrassing our Zhan family,” the woman said unhappily.

The housekeeper replied, “But this is specially customized for the eldest young master. It’s different.”

“…” The woman seemed taken aback by the eldest’s reaction, but then tried to act tough, “What’s the difference? I’ll get a custom one. Will he give me one that’s lighter or less expensive?”

“Of course not.” Suddenly, Zhan Qingyue’s voice came from the door of the side room, startling both the people arguing and Ning Qiuxiu, who was watching.

Chen Yi then pushed in a slightly tired-looking Zhan Qingyue.

Zhan Qingyue glanced around the room, lingering on Ning Qiuxiu for a second, and then looked at the woman, “Not only will they not do that, but the store also guarantees quality. If it’s damaged, they’ll replace it tenfold. You can have my aunt handle the claim.”

“…”

Replace it tenfold? Can it be any more ruthless?

The store definitely doesn’t offer such a guarantee.

What Zhan Qingyue really meant was, if you break one, you’ll have to order ten more as compensation.

His aunt quickly took the item from the child’s hands and handed it to the butler.

Compensating one was just to save face; she couldn’t stand the butler’s attitude.

Compensating ten was too much, so she decided to leave.

The child, likely spoiled, began crying uncontrollably when his toy was taken.

His Mom tried to calm him down but failed, so she hurriedly left with the child.

With them gone, the side room fell silent.

The butler, Jingjing, and Chen Yi wisely exited, leaving Ning Qiuxiu and Zhan Qingyue alone.

Ning Qiuqiu: “???”

Don’t leave me alone!

“Qiuxiu,” Zhan Qingyue said.

“What…what?” Ning Qiuxiu suddenly felt bold for having been so casual in front of him before.

Zhan Qingyue looked at her and said, “Circumstances forced me to act this way.”

“I think you look really handsome!” Ning Qiuxiu flattered him.

“Hmm, I know.”

“???” How did you know?

“I’m tired,” Zhan Qingyue said, lowering his gaze and adopting a delicate, sickly appearance, completely unlike his usual confident self in front of his relatives.

Alright, well, since you’re so handsome, Ning Qiuxiu resignedly went over and helped him to rest.

Soon after Ning Qiuxiu’s parents arrived, the banquet began.

Old Master Zhan didn’t like long Western-style tables, so the Zhan family always used round tables.

They set up a 20-person round table, and everyone squeezed in, filling the seats.

The seating was likely arranged by seniority, though Ning Qiuxiu wasn’t sure how it worked.

To her left was Wen Ling, and to her right was Zhan Qingyue.

However, it seemed that many people had little appetite, especially those who had come just to join the meal.

They would have preferred not to be at this table.

Old Master Zhan was in the best mood, greeting everyone with a hearty welcome: “We’re all family here, so let’s skip the formalities and make ourselves at home.”

Next in line for good mood were certainly Ning’s parents.

Ning’s father was fine, aware of the occasion, but Wen Ling was so thrilled that Ning Qiuxui, seeing her mother ready to make an enthusiastic speech, quickly placed a highly effective silence charm behind her.

“……” Mrs. Ning was very annoyed. ( LOL )

“Mom,” Ning Qiuxui quietly said as she placed some chicken in her mother’s bowl, “Less talking, more eating. This isn’t our family dinner.”

Mrs. Ning opened her mouth but couldn’t find the words.

Ning Qiuxui, holding back her laughter, retracted the charm and watched as her mother sulkily poked at her chicken, shaking her head.

This modern-day treasure was still rather cute.

“Qiuxuii.” Ning Qiuxui had just managed to pacify her mother when she heard Zhan Qingyue call her name.

“Hmm?” Ning Qiuzhi noticed that when Zhan Qingyue called her, everyone at the table focused their attention on her.

“……” Even though she was used to being in the spotlight, she felt a bit overwhelmed by all the attention.

Zhan Qingyue: “Shrimp balls.”

Ning Qiuxui was momentarily stunned before realizing he wanted her to serve him some shrimp balls.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she mustered the courage to serve a shrimp ball into his bowl.

“Thank you.” Zhan Qingyue said as he slowly ate the shrimp ball.

Now that he could use his hands, eating wasn’t a problem, though his movements were very slow.

To others, it appeared rather… elegant?

Everyone had various expressions, trying to figure out what kind of relationship Zhan Qingyue and Ning Qiuxui had and what his actions were meant to convey.

Especially Zhan Qingze, who had just flirted with Ning Qiuxui, now looked like he’d been fed something unpleasant.

Surprisingly, the one who seemed the most composed was Jia Qing, as if it had nothing to do with her.

Zhan Qingyue, however, continued with his actions, saying to Zhan Qingze: “Qingze, eat the shrimp balls.”

“……” Zhan Qingze almost wished he could go back in time and slap his previous self who had flirted with Ning Qiuxui. “No, no, no, I don’t eat shrimp. Eating too much might make me blind.”

……

This was destined to be an uncomfortable dinner.

After the meal, everyone quickly left without even having tea, except for two cousins who had a good relationship with their family and stayed behind to chat with Old Master Zhan.

Zhan Qingyuan, accompanied by Ji Weiliang, thoroughly enjoyed the show, remaining silent throughout.

These old men were quite cunning; they took advantage of Zhan Qingyue’s incapacitation to trouble him.

He was delighted to see Zhan Qingyue scare them a bit.

After a few drinks during the meal, Zhan Qingyuan felt a bit dizzy on the way back and told Ji Weiliang to let him sleep for a while.

He would be called when they arrived.

Ji Weiliang agreed, took out a small blanket from the pillow, and covered him up.

As she adjusted the blanket over his chest, Zhan Qingyuan held her hand and kissed it.

They exchanged a smile, and Zhan Qingyuan closed his eyes to sleep.

After a while, when Zhan Qingyuan was sound asleep and had turned over, his phone fell out of his pocket and slid across the car.

Ji Weiliang bent down to pick it up, and just as the screen lit up, a WeChat message came in.

Ji Weiliang glanced at the message without meaning to, and her face drained of color instantly.

Uncle Jia: “Qingyue is awake. You should think about it too. After dealing with those around him, it’ll be your turn.”

Uncle Jia: “To be honest, I really admire you. My daughter also likes you. We’re a good match. Stronger together, better than marrying some insignificant small-time star.”