The Lin family did not come to the Xu family with only Lin Donghan. Besides him, there were also Xu Qingqing's maternal grandmother and her eldest uncle's wife, that is, Lin Donghan's grandmother and mother.
After Lin Donghan was chased away by the security guards, his mother, upon learning the news, hurriedly followed her son and left. Probably out of anger, she deliberately did not come to bid farewell to Xu Qingqing before leaving.
Xu Qingqing's grandmother, however, did not leave. The piercing gazes from the other guests around were uncomfortable, and she felt annoyed inwardly.
As the matriarch of the Lin family, she had other considerations at a higher level. If all the Lin family members left today, how would the two families discuss cooperation in the future? How would the newly listed project proceed?
Such an ugly scene was absolutely not the situation they wished to see.
Xu Qingqing's grandmother first went to find Chairman Xu and his wife. The two families were in-laws. Although there had been some unpleasantness many years ago, they had still been cooperating over the years.
However, Chairman Xu and his wife were in conversation with the Xie family. Chairman Xie and his wife wore gentle smiles on their faces. With a glance, Xu Qingqing's grandmother guessed that they were most likely discussing the marriage between Xu Qingqing and Xie Lianqing.
This matter was good for Xu Qingqing. Although Xu Qingqing's grandmother was also angry that Xu Qingqing had left no face for the Lin family and herself, at this moment she was unwilling to disrupt her own granddaughter's good fortune.
So she hesitated for a moment, then turned to find the current president of the Xu Group, Xu Youyue, trying to sound out the current thoughts of the Xu family from her. This was also her task for coming to the Xu family today, besides celebrating her granddaughter's birthday.
However, Aunt Xu Youyue was also a slick and tight-lipped person. After chatting with her for a while, Xu Qingqing's grandmother failed to get the desired answer and understood that to untie the bell, one must seek the one who tied it. Judging by the Xu family's attitude of neither stopping nor dissuading, it seemed they had left all decision-making power to Xu Qingqing.
With a sigh, Xu Qingqing's grandmother had no choice but to go find Xu Qingqing herself.
She appeared relatively young, with a wealthy demeanor. Xu Qingqing held a grudge against Lin Donghan but did not extend her anger to her grandmother. So when the latter took hold of her, although somewhat reluctant, she obediently stopped.
Xu Qingqing's grandmother pretended to be angry and deliberately said, "Qingqing, has your cousin upset you recently?"
In fact, even before today's events, the Lin family had somewhat learned the reason.
Originally, they thought it was just a minor squabble between children, which would blow over after some temper tantrums. They didn't expect that this time, the banquet invitation didn't include Lin Donghan, and later he was even driven out, causing the Lin family to lose face immensely.
The Lin family's development in recent years hadn't been great, while the Xu family, which had once been in a similar situation, had instead grown powerful. The cooperation between the two families was originally on equal footing, but in recent years it had turned into the Lin family being supported.
Xu Qingqing had the blood of the Lin family, was quite doted on by the Xu family, and moreover, had now boarded the ship of the top-tier wealthy Xie family. At this juncture, the Lin family absolutely did not want to sever this kinship tie.
Thoughts swirling in her mind, Xu Qingqing's grandmother patted the back of her granddaughter's hand. "It's also my fault. I thought it was just childish play-fighting between you kids, so I took it upon myself to bring him to apologize to you. It seems his apology today wasn't sincere enough."
Xu Qingqing could easily discern the deeper meaning in her grandmother's words. By defining the incident within the scope of childish squabbles, it wouldn't affect the cooperation between the two families. Secondly, saying her cousin's apology wasn't sincere enough actually implied that after her cousin came to apologize a few more times in the future, reaching a level of sincerity, she would naturally have to accept the apology gracefully.
Xu Qingqing was quite blunt and disrespectful, pouting, "Grandma, don't try to persuade me. My cousin has bad intentions."
Xu Qingqing's grandmother, wise with age, said, "Oh? How did he make you angry? Tell your grandmother, and I'll teach him a lesson. Between you siblings, it must be that he did something bad to hurt you."
She repeatedly referred to Lin Donghan and Xu Qingqing as siblings, still harboring the idea of glossing things over.
But then again, this generation of the Lin family hadn't produced any particularly capable or successful figures; they all relied on positions within the company trying to line their own pockets. In comparison, Lin Donghan was willing to start his own business and had achieved some success, making him somewhat of a leading figure among his peers.
Lin Donghan was the third-generation successor favored by Chairman Lin and his wife. His relationship with Xu Qingqing had also been quite good, maintaining this connection with the Xu family.
Xu Qingqing's grandmother and her husband had once been very satisfied with this situation. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, for some reason, the two had fallen out like this, potentially even jeopardizing the cooperation between the Lin and Xu families.
Xu Qingqing's grandmother now truly felt that children were debts; at her age, she still had to worry about such matters.
The mere mention of this matter annoyed Xu Qingqing, and she was tired of beating around the bush with her grandmother. She pointed it out directly: "Bai Youlan is Bai Yaxiu's daughter, and she's my mortal enemy. My cousin is wholeheartedly helping her. Grandma, you tell me, where did he offend me?"
At that cocktail party, she and her aunt had spoken to that extent. She didn't believe no one in the Lin family knew about this.
If it were only Xu Qingqing, perhaps the Lin family wouldn't take her words to heart. But with her aunt's weight added to it, even considering the current cooperative project, the Lin family would have made inquiries.
So her grandmother was clearly pretending to be ignorant while actually understanding the situation perfectly.
For a moment, Xu Qingqing felt genuinely heartbroken. She hadn't forgotten how her mother died. How could the Lin family forget so easily?
Was her mother only her mother, and no longer the daughter and sister of the Lin family?
If the people standing opposite her were her uncle and aunt, Xu Qingqing might have been able to barely understand. Because Lin Donghan was their favorite youngest son.
Everyone shows favoritism; that's normal. Faced with a sister who had passed away over a decade ago, it was understandable for her uncle and aunt to care more about their own son.
But what about her grandparents? Wasn't her mother their daughter? Why could they view this matter so calmly?
Hearing her granddaughter's blunt words, Xu Qingqing's grandmother immediately felt awkward.
In fact, just as Xu Qingqing predicted, she had already known for a while about Lin Donghan's involvement with Bai Yaxiu's daughter.
After the incident at Xu Youyue's cocktail party, she and her husband had learned about it.
The memory of her own daughter being wronged by a mistress was still vivid in Xu Qingqing's grandmother's mind. To think her most beloved grandson was now entangled with that woman's daughter naturally filled the old couple with fury.
Xu Qingqing's grandmother was angry for her daughter's sake. Chairman Lin's greater anger stemmed from his grandson's foolishness—risking damage to the cooperative relationship between the Xu and Lin families over a woman, disregarding the bigger picture.
However, after Chairman Lin discussed the matter with his son and grandson in the study, he suddenly changed his mind, seemingly tacitly approving of his grandson's relationship with Bai Youlan.
Xu Qingqing's grandmother and Chairman Lin were husband and wife from a young age. However, unlike Xu Qingqing's paternal grandmother, she did not handle company affairs alongside her husband. She was a wealthy lady who stayed at home, completely ignorant of business matters. Over the years, she had followed the lead of her husband and son. Once they decided something, she had no way to change it.
Although Xu Qingqing's grandmother still remembered her daughter and held deep resentment towards Bai Yaxiu, given the current circumstances, she could only console herself that her daughter was, after all, a person of the past, and the Lin family's legacy was more important. Otherwise, she wouldn't have persuaded Lin Jiangxue not to get a divorce back then.
So at this moment, she was still thinking about going home later to discipline Lin Donghan and discuss countermeasures with the old man, but for now, she needed to defuse the situation.
However, since Xu Qingqing was so angry right now, she naturally needed to show an appropriate attitude.
In the fleeting moment of her shifting thoughts, Xu Qingqing's grandmother had already managed to put on a face of shock, asking in disbelief, "What? Qingqing, is what you're saying true?"
Xu Qingqing looked at her grandmother's face. She had aged; even with meticulous care, many wrinkles had appeared.
Back when her mother had fallen out with Xu Changshan yet still lived in the Lin household, during the years of her mother's illness, her grandmother was the one among the Lin family who visited the most, staying with her mother for long periods each time.
Xu Qingqing still remembered one time when Lin Jiangxue was in such pain that her face turned pale, and her grandmother had held her in her arms, gritting her teeth and shedding tears.
This incident had deeply shaken Xu Qingqing. She had always remembered that scene and held favorable feelings towards her grandmother because of it.
Although she didn't know whether her grandmother was genuinely oblivious or pretending to be at this moment, thinking back to those past times softened her heart again.
Xu Qingqing pouted, saying sullenly, "Of course it's true. A lot of people in our social circle know about it. Didn't you know at all, Grandma?"
Xu Qingqing's grandmother sighed, taking her hand and saying, "Your grandmother is getting old. I suppose your uncle and aunt kept it from me. Just you wait, I'll settle the score with them when I get back."
Xu Qingqing gave a noncommittal nod.
Seeing her despondent expression, her grandmother pondered and said, "Your cousin—"
Xu Qingqing cut her off, "Don't say it, Grandma. I thought I treated Lin Donghan quite well, but I never expected him to scheme against me like this. Not only is he involved with Bai Youlan, but he also used my name to pave the way for her while I was sick."
Xu Qingqing's grandmother's mind raced, and she opened her mouth, about to offer the excuse she had just thought of. But Xu Qingqing said, "I have other matters to attend to, so I won't chat with you any longer, Grandma. Today is my birthday, and I don't want to make a big scene. Otherwise, my aunt will step in personally."
If her aunt got involved, it would become a matter between the Xu and Lin family companies.
Lin Donghan had schemed to use her as a stepping stone for Bai Youlan. If she hadn't dreamt of the plot, she might have already fallen into the trap.
No matter how much her grandmother tried to mediate, she would absolutely never forgive him.
Hearing her so resolute, Xu Qingqing's grandmother found herself in a difficult position. Moved by Xu Qingqing's words, she also felt some anger and disappointment towards Lin Donghan, her favorite grandson.
Xu Qingqing thought for a moment and deliberately said, "Besides, Grandma, instead of coming to me, you should talk to Cousin. He seems utterly infatuated with Bai Youlan, funneling all the company's resources to her alone. I think... well, perhaps Bai Youlan might even become my cousin-in-law in the future."
These words were a piercing blow.
The woman who caused her daughter's death becoming her in-law? Xu Qingqing's grandmother's face turned ashen.
Although she didn't know what her husband and grandson were privately planning, she was absolutely unwilling to let Bai Yaxiu and her daughter marry into their Lin family. Such women were fine for her grandson to play around with, but his wife must be a noble lady from a prominent family.
Thinking of her daughter's tearful despair back then and recalling the sight of Bai Yaxiu and her daughter swaggering into their home, Xu Qingqing's grandmother felt her breath catch.
No, she had to hurry back and ask her husband what on earth he was thinking, and make Donghan break it off with that woman as soon as possible.
Just then, Xie Lianqing approached with a wine glass. Xu Qingqing's grandmother withdrew her hand from Xu Qingqing's, forcing a smile and saying, "Let's discuss this matter later. Happy birthday, Qingqing. I won't disturb you and Lianqing any longer."
Before leaving, she thought for a moment and deliberately said to Xu Qingqing in a voice neither too loud nor too soft—just enough for Xie Lianqing to hear—with kind warmth, "I heard you've been needing money lately. If you're short, remember to ask your uncle for your dividend share for this year in advance. He's always doted on you the most these years; he won't refuse."
With that, she hurried away, presumably to go home and confront her husband.
Xu Qingqing watched her retreating back, feeling very complex.
Her grandmother's last remark was likely similar in intent to her grandfather gifting her shares today—aimed at showing Xie Lianqing that she also enjoyed the Lin family's affection.
Xu Qingqing used to be deeply touched by such gestures, but now she felt a dull ache in her heart. This was precisely why she had agonized for so long without taking the initiative to tell her grandparents about this matter.
The outcome would simply force them to choose: to give up their grandson or their granddaughter. Back then, the Chairman Xu and his wife had agonized before choosing their granddaughter over their son.
But when it came to her grandparents, Xu Qingqing was not optimistic about the result. She always felt she was about to lose a few more of her already scarce relatives.
So, the best solution Xu Qingqing had thought of at the time was for Lin Donghan to come to his senses on his own and turn back. Unexpectedly, he and Bai Youlan seemed to share a true love, their bond firmer than gold.
What Xu Qingqing had just said to her grandmother wasn't entirely meant to scare her either. Judging by recent developments, Bai Youlan and Lin Donghan might genuinely end up together.
After Xu Qingqing's grandmother hurried off, Xie Lianqing, with one hand in his pocket, took a sip of wine and asked softly, "What happened?"
Xu Qingqing reined in her emotions, pretending nonchalance, "It's all because of Lin Donghan, as usual."
Having grown up this way, she had rarely endured any real injustice.
As the saying goes, a gentleman can wait ten years to take his revenge. But Xu Qingqing was not like that; she was no gentleman. If someone hurt her, she couldn't bear it for a moment and had to retaliate on the spot.
Even when she went to Xu Changshan's house, she brought bodyguards and stirred up trouble, confronting whoever she pleased. That she had tolerated Lin Donghan for this long was already quite remarkable.
Thinking of Lin Donghan, Xu Qingqing suddenly sensed a gaze upon her. She turned and met Bai Youlan's eyes. The other woman had likely been watching her conversation with her grandmother.
The fortune value above Bai Youlan's head hadn't changed either, still holding at 15. Her complexion didn't look good; her skin seemed somewhat dull, and she even had dark circles under her eyes.
Xu Qingqing had previously thought Bai Youlan looked tired due to the online incidents, but now she suddenly wondered if these changes were related to the drop in her fortune value.
Xu Qingqing remembered that Bai Youlan wasn't as beautiful as she was now when they were children. Could this also be the work of that system? If Bai Youlan had means to subtly alter someone's appearance, the things she could exchange for were far too many.
However, since she now couldn't even maintain the changes to her own looks, presumably these alterations came at a cost, such as fortune value.
She wondered if Bai Youlan's appearance would change again if she lost all her fortune value. Would her cousin Lin Donghan still be as infatuated with her then?
Her mind racing, Xu Qingqing grabbed Xie Lianqing beside her and asked, "If I became ugly, would you still like me?"
Xie Lianqing was bewildered, "Huh?"
Just a moment ago, Xu Qingqing had been discussing Lin Donghan and Bai Youlan with her grandmother. Why had she suddenly jumped to this topic?
Xu Qingqing, hearing he didn't answer immediately, instantly lost her temper. "I knew it, you men are all the same, no good."
She looked at Xie Lianqing and said indignantly, "Scumbag."
Xie Lianqing,
though unsure what his girlfriend was so upset about, still managed to soothe her. He solemnly promised that no matter what Xu Qingqing became like in the future, he would love her just as he did now, unwavering.
Xu Qingqing crossed her arms, deeply skeptical. "How can I believe you? You haven't written a guarantee letter."
Xie Lianqing understood.
He raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment and nodded, then took a breath and said with a smile, "Write it, I'll write it right now."
Xu Qingqing had been waiting for this very sentence.
Without another word, she dashed towards her room, waving her arms excitedly. "I'll go get you paper and a pen!"
Ever since the last time she secretly went street racing and was caught red-handed by Xie Lianqing, who then forced her to write a guarantee letter. Though it was only one sentence, Miss Xu still held a grudge. Afterwards, she filled a whole page in her little grudge notebook denouncing Xie Lianqing's inhumane behavior.
Now she finally found her chance to get back at him.
Xie Lianqing watched from behind, amused. "You weren't just waiting for this day, were you?"
Xu Qingqing, this drama queen, was both vindictive and petty. So much time had passed since the incident where he forced her to write the guarantee letter after her street racing, he thought he had already coaxed her into a better mood. He hadn't expected Miss Xu to still be holding onto it.
Xu Qingqing didn't speak; she would never admit it.
A few minutes later, she pressed Xie Lianqing to sit down at the table, slapped the paper and pen in front of him, and said excitedly, "Write it! Quick!"
Xie Lianqing looked resigned, sighed, and laughed. "Alright, alright, I'll write. I'm writing now."
He picked up the pen and, as he wrote, read aloud with a raised eyebrow, "In the future, no matter what Miss Xu Qingqing becomes like, I will continue to like her as always."
Xu Qingqing leaned down, peering at the words on the paper beside him. She blinked and asked curiously, "What if I become really fat?"
Xie Lianqing found her amusing. "Hmm, still like you."
Xu Qingqing thought for a moment, then asked again, "What if I get old? Really, really old?"
Xie Lianqing put down the pen, looking at her gently. "If you're old, then surely I'll be old too, won't I? Isn't that just perfect?"
Xu Qingqing pouted. "Not necessarily. You men always like young, pretty girls."
Xie Lianqing gazed at her features, watching the little expressions flit across her face, finding it utterly adorable.
He went along with her words. "Appreciating beauty is human nature, but remaining loyal to one's feelings is also our duty—"
Before he could finish, Xu Qingqing frowned and interrupted him. "That's not true! Only you men are obsessed with looks. We women—"
Xu Qingqing suddenly stopped. "Oh right, we women can be obsessed with looks too."
Xu Qingqing thought of her aunt, who was practically her life role model.
At her birthday party today, she had seen so many of her aunt's ex-boyfriends. Teacher Shen's expression had been particularly priceless at the time.
Xu Qingqing felt that one should learn from her aunt—how cool is that? As long as you love a new one every day, you never have to worry about heartbreak.
Xu Qingqing had her own epiphany, exclaiming in sudden realization, "Yeah, I like young boys too... Ah, whatever, it's fine. When the time comes, I can find young boys too."
Xu Qingqing stopped worrying about the guarantee letter and whether Xie Lianqing would still like her when she got old. Her tone became wistful, even somewhat expectant.
Xie Lianqing was left unable to voice the rest of his tactful confession, his face practically darkening. He narrowed his eyes at Xu Qingqing, tapped his fingers on the table, and then was so angry he laughed.
Xu Qingqing, having figured things out to her own satisfaction, completely failed to notice her boyfriend's change in mood.
She pulled at him, saying, "Alright, let's go out. It's my birthday today, after all. Who knows what they're playing outside." If she didn't show up for too long, those jealous of her would probably start gossiping again.
Xu Qingqing tried to pull Xie Lianqing to leave, but he didn't budge. When she turned back, puzzled, she saw her boyfriend's gentle, smiling face. "No hurry, there's one more thing we haven't done."
Xu Qingqing was confused. "What?"
Xie Lianqing leisurely stood up, walked behind Xu Qingqing, and then pressed her down into the chair he had just been sitting in.
He leaned over, his eyes meeting hers, and said with a smile, "Aren't you going to write something too?"
Xu Qingqing...
A few minutes later, a furious Xu Qingqing stormed out into the hallway, with Xie Lianqing following behind her, hands in his pockets, looking relaxed and lazy. The protagonists had disappeared for a while, but the banquet continued.
As it grew later, other guests gradually began to say their goodbyes, but the Xie family did not leave. It seemed they were having a very engaging conversation with Xu Qingqing's grandfather.
Everyone at the banquet was shrewd. Seeing the entire Xie family present and smiling throughout, it appeared Chairman Xie and his wife were quite satisfied with Xu Qingqing.
Most likely, Xu Qingqing would soon become the next Mrs. Xie.
Xu Qingqing hadn't thought of any of this. Xie Lianqing had told her in advance that his parents were coming, but he had mentioned it so casually that Xu Qingqing didn't think much of it. After all, Zhou Chenyu's parents came to her birthday parties every year too, though their families already had business dealings.
Still, Xu Qingqing was quite curious about what Xie Lianqing's parents and her grandfather were discussing. She even wanted to eavesdrop a little, but her grandmother urged her to go to bed, saying she had class the next day.
Xu Qingqing had almost forgotten she was still a student.
Her grandmother said with mild exasperation, "You have class tomorrow and then another party to host afterwards. Get some rest early today."
Today was the formal banquet; afterwards, Xu Qingqing was going to have a separate birthday party on a plane with her close friends.
Under the watchful eyes of her elders, Xu Qingqing had no choice but to head upstairs, looking rather sulky.
Hearing this exchange, however, the Xie family looked rather astonished. They realized the Xu family wasn't just doting on Xu Qingqing—they were practically treating her like a child!
Xu Qingqing was a grown woman, yet the Xu family still supervised her sleep schedule and classes. This was holding her in the palm of their hand, afraid she might melt. No wonder Xu Qingqing's personality was so spoiled. Their son must have faced quite some challenges while dating her.
Xie Lianqing hadn't discussed Xu Qingqing much with his parents, but they were well aware of his relationship during middle school, his subsequent breakup, and him skipping grades to study abroad.
Thus, they knew their son genuinely liked Xu Qingqing and had no intention of finding fault or making things difficult for her.
After all, aside from her somewhat spoiled personality, Xu Qingqing's family background was quite compatible with theirs. The girl had been utterly pampered at home; there was no reason for her to change her personality and become subservient just because she was dating their son.
So Mr. and Mrs. Xie were quite open-minded. Some parents dislike seeing their sons treat their girlfriends too well, feeling unbalanced and thus picking on the girl.
Xie Lianqing, however, understood his girlfriend's thoughts perfectly. Under the many teasing gazes in the room, he calmly stood up and accompanied Xu Qingqing back to her room.
Xu Qingqing grumbled incessantly, "Why do humans need to go to class? Why does the world have to have things like homework?"
She's already a grown adult, so why is she still being forced to study? Making her retake exams she can't pass is just asking the impossible.
Xie Lianqing patted her head and said with a smile, "There's one way you could stop studying."
Xu Qingqing immediately looked up, her eyes sparkling. "What? What is it?"
Xie Lianqing replied, his tone amused, "Once you marry me, my grandparents naturally won't be able to control you anymore."
Xu Qingqing instantly lost interest. She'd have to be crazy to marry Xie Lianqing.
She only wanted to be in a relationship, not get married.
If a relationship goes sour, you can break up. Getting divorced after marriage is much harder.
Xie Lianqing had no idea his girlfriend was already thinking ahead to something as "far-sighted" as divorce. If he knew, he'd be left speechless with frustration.
Looking at Xu Qingqing's expression and considering her recent behavior, he guessed she probably hadn't given any thought to marriage, or even engagement. For families like theirs, Xu Qingqing's attitude could be considered both naive and somewhat irresponsible.
Thinking of the discussion happening downstairs between his parents and the Xu family, a result would likely come soon. So, for now, he wouldn't bother arguing with this silly girl who couldn't even pass the CET-4.
Leaning against the doorframe with one hand in his pocket, Xie Lianqing watched Xu Qingqing's figure, the corners of his eyes lifting slightly. He had no intention of telling her about this. Let her be happy a little while longer.
Completely unaware of what she was missing, Xu Qingqing pouted and ignored her boyfriend beside her. Propping a cushion behind her waist, she lay on the bed with her legs crossed, starting to play on her phone by herself.
The photographer for the banquet had already sent her the photos. Xu Qingqing began carefully selecting pictures. She first chose two of the main hall. It was decorated so luxuriously and beautifully, costing hundreds of thousands—of course she had to post that. That super huge multi-tiered cake was also adorable.
She picked the first few pictures very quickly, but when it came to choosing photos of herself, Xu Qingqing became indecisive. She was so pretty; every single one was beautiful. She couldn't bear to leave any out.
She sat up and handed the phone to Xie Lianqing, asking, "Which of these pictures should I pick?"
Xie Lianqing glanced at the photos, which all looked identical to him, and was confused. "Aren't these the same photo?"
Xu Qingqing's expression instantly changed. Frowning, she demanded, "Can't you see the filters are different? And this one has a bad angle, my eye corner looks weird!"
Xie Lianqing tried to recover. "I think I see it now. Let me choose again..."
Xu Qingqing crossed her arms. "Choose carefully!" She was in a bad mood today after being forced to sign that guarantee.
Xie Lianqing understood Xu Qingqing's temperament quite well. To prevent the young lady from having an excuse to throw a tantrum, he very seriously looked at the phone for a while. From over a dozen nearly identical pictures where he couldn't see any difference at all, he earnestly picked two and submitted his answer.
Xu Qingqing lay in his arms, took the phone, looked through it, and suddenly said, "Forget it, the original photos look best after all."
Then she deleted all dozen-plus photos she had just asked Xie Lianqing to pick from.
Xie Lianqing opened his mouth to speak but then stopped.
Fine.
Just the usual tool, as always.
After picking and choosing, Xu Qingqing finally selected her photos and posted them to her social media circle. Xu Qingqing wasn't in the habit of exposing her private life to the wider internet; things like this basically never went on her public microblog.
The photographer's pictures were all very nice, so the comments were naturally full of praise. Even her aunt Xu Youyue gave a like and commented, "Nice photos."
Xu Qingqing happily replied to everyone with thanks.
She even specifically took the people she disliked out of her block list and personally tagged them, ensuring they would see her stunning beauty before she was satisfied.
Le Jiaojiao wasn't among them; she had been let out a few days prior. After the incident at the school anniversary where she tried to grab the bouquet, Xu Qingqing had blocked her, citing the reason that she was too stupid and might lower her own IQ average. That had almost made Le Jiaojiao come fight Xu Qingqing.
Later, just before her birthday, Xu Qingqing unblocked her, reasoning that she had to make Le Jiaojiao wish her a happy birthday. Le Jiaojiao was left speechless. At times like these, she really admired Xie Lianqing, thinking he was truly a remarkable person.
Because of this, she even persuaded her dad to buy some stock in the Xie family's corporation. Her reasoning was that a tough guy like Xie Lianqing, who had such perseverance and patience with his girlfriend, probably wouldn't do badly in business either. The Xie family's future development prospects should be quite good.
Zhou Chenyu agreed with Le Jiaojiao's view and also bought some scattered shares. This series of operations by their kids gave Zhou Chenyu's father a headache.
While Le Jiaojiao was still admiring Xie Lianqing, she immediately saw Xu Qingqing's show-off social media post and commented underneath: "Fake."
"Vain."
"The curtain is crooked in the third picture."
"In this one you even photoshopped a tear mole by your eye!"
Le Jiaojiao went on a rampage, leaving over a dozen comments in a row. She commented while Xu Qingqing deleted, and after deleting all of her comments, Xu Qingqing even deliberately left a comment saying, "Jiaojiao, stop praising me, I know I look good even without makeup~"
Xie Lianqing, who watched the whole thing: "..."
He felt tired just watching, but it seemed she was having a lot of fun.
The war between Xu Qingqing and Le Jiaojiao in the comments section ended with Xu Qingqing's overwhelming victory. She shook her head, feeling proud. "Hah, worthless opponents, not a single one can put up a fight!"
She lay alone on the bed, tapping away on her phone. Xie Lianqing sat by the headboard, leaning against it, watching her with a gentle gaze.
Originally, he had come upstairs just to talk to Xu Qingqing and comfort her, but at this moment, he was somewhat reluctant to leave.
Staring into space alone is a boring thing, but if it's by Xu Qingqing's side, he felt he would never grow tired of it.
However, in the reception room downstairs, his parents and the Xu family were waiting for him. The two families were discussing the marriage alliance. Xu Qingqing could skip it, but he absolutely had to be there.
So, he lingered just a little while longer before getting up to say goodbye to his girlfriend and leave.
Before leaving, seeing Xu Qingqing still buried in her phone, he couldn't help but remind her to sleep early, since she had class tomorrow.
"Mhmm, mhmm," Xu Qingqing replied without looking up.
Xie Lianqing looked at his girlfriend, who still didn't glance up, and said helplessly, "I'm leaving."
Xu Qingqing was annoyed. "You're so annoying, always nagging."
Xie Lianqing was getting more and more bothersome lately. Not only was he forcing her to study and memorize vocabulary, he wouldn't let her travel alone when she was sick, and he even tried to make her follow a new schedule for early nights and early mornings!
And just a few days ago, he actually bought her several sets of CET-4 practice exams! The sheer audacity!
The more Xu Qingqing thought about it, the angrier she got. She deliberately tried to provoke him, saying, "Since you like controlling me so much, why don't you stop being my boyfriend and be my dad instead? Daddy Xie!"
Xie Lianqing almost laughed in exasperation.
Xu Qingqing lay on the bed blinking at him, grinning as she said, "It's fine, you can think about it~"
Xie Lianqing thought for a moment, glanced at Xu Qingqing on the bed, and said with a meaningful smile, "That could work too."
Xu Qingqing, who had been teasing him, instantly felt something was off. This wasn't a ride for the innocent!
She sat up, coughed, and said, "Bye bye! It's too late! I need to rest!"
Xie Lianqing had originally intended to tease her a bit more, but seeing how easily she blushed, he raised an eyebrow and held his tongue.
So easy to fluster, and yet she dared to bring up a topic like this.
