The atmosphere was tense.
Qin Xuanye pressed his lips together, looking extremely impatient.
"Move aside!"
"I can't be away for too long, Ruanruan will worry."
Chen Liuyue didn't budge an inch. She raised the corners of her lips, her dark pupils sparkling with a mischievous glint.
"What if I don't?"
"Will brother-in-law bully me?"
"Will you bully me... like I just bullied you?"
'Just bullied.'
It was she who had suddenly kissed him moments ago.
Qin Xuanye's knuckles clenched, turning white, then loosened again.
He was utterly helpless against this girl in front of him, and her mouth was even more formidable.
He lowered his eyelashes and said in a deep voice,
"Chen Liuyue! I really don't have time to play any reconciliation games with you here."
"Since you chose to disappear from my world in that way back then, you should know what kind of person I, Qin Xuanye, am."
"I would stake my pride on never getting back together with a woman who abandoned me."
"Not to mention I am now Ruanruan's fiancé."
Chen Liuyue tilted her head, the smile at her lips growing even brighter.
She waved her hand dismissively.
"I know, I know."
"You've said it many times. You're Chen Ruanruan's fiancé now, my brother-in-law."
"Although you're also my ex-boyfriend, it's all over. You won't get back with me."
"I know all that."
"So, we'll be relatives from now on. Brother-in-law, let's add each other on WeChat first."
Qin Xuanye eyed her suspiciously.
"What? Are you that stingy?" Chen Liuyue proactively showed her QR code.
Qin Xuanye hesitated for a moment, then scanned it.
He clicked to send a friend request.
Chen Liuyue, beaming, clicked to accept.
Just as Qin Xuanye thought this matter should finally be over and was about to heave a sigh of relief,
the next second,
Chen Liuyue curled her lips into a delicate, innocent smile.
"So you're Chen Ruanruan's fiancé. So what?"
"Who cares."
Qin Xuanye: "..."
So all his talking just now was like casting pearls before swine?
He never realized how stubborn Chen Liuyue could be before.
Chen Liuyue tilted her head and smiled.
"Whether this melon is sweet or not, I have to yank it down and taste it myself to know."
"You—!" A flash of anger crossed Qin Xuanye's eyes.
This woman had no conscience at all.
Back then, she just left without a second thought, leaving him with such deep scars, yet she acted as if nothing had happened.
And now she spoke of it so lightly.
"Ah Xuan, you look exactly the same when you're angry as you did before."
Chen Liuyue reached out and tugged at the downward curve of his lips.
Her cool fingertips touched his warm lips.
Qin Xuanye's body trembled slightly, uncontrollably, and his gaze involuntarily followed her movement.
He was momentarily dazed.
Two seconds later, he forcefully shook off her hand.
Turning around, he stormed off back down the corridor. Chen Liuyue let out an 'ai' sound, took a couple of quick steps forward, and grabbed his sleeve.
"What do you want?" Qin Xuanye demanded fiercely.
"When I kissed you just now, I think my lipstick smudged on your shirt collar."
Chen Liuyue blinked innocently.
Pointing to the restroom not far away, she said,
"Brother-in-law, are you sure you want to go back like this?"
"Sister Ruanruan would definitely misunderstand if she saw it."
Qin Xuanye let out a cold snort from his throat and turned to stride quickly towards the restroom.
Chen Liuyue followed closely behind him.
Her voice rang out, crisp and sweet.
"Brother-in-law, slow down, wait for me."
Standing in front of the vanity mirror in the restroom, Qin Xuanye examined himself carefully for a long time but found no trace of lipstick.
He turned his head and saw Chen Liuyue looking at him with a smiling, cheerful expression.
"You lied to me?!" Qin Xuanye was somewhat angry.
"Maybe the lighting was too poor just now, I must have seen wrong." Chen Liuyue blinked her eyes innocently.
"What are you coming here for?"
Qin Xuanye showed a resistant attitude.
But Chen Liuyue walked right past him towards the women's restroom, saying lightly,
"To use the toilet."
"Brother-in-law, there's no rule saying only you can come to the restroom and I can't, is there?"
Qin Xuanye watched her back gradually disappear from view.
Only then did the tension in his spine slowly ease.
He stared at the ground with a complex gaze for another two or three seconds before turning and returning to the private room.
Seeing him return, Chen Ruanruan
was very happy. "Xuanye, how did it go? Did you resolve the work issue?"
Qin Xuanye forced a slight smile and said,
"Yes, the framework is mostly settled. The rest I'll need to go to the studio personally tomorrow to handle."
Chen Ruanruan said considerately, "Okay, don't overwork yourself. And remember, you must eat breakfast."
The reason she had accompanied Qin Xuanye to the hospital for a check-up that morning was because of his chronic stomach condition.
It acted up from time to time; this visit was to review the treatment's effectiveness.
Qin Xuanye told others his stomach pains were because he skipped breakfast.
In truth, during his student days, every single breakfast he had ended up on Tao Liuyue's desk.
It was the most sincere, clumsy, and fervent affection.
He had pursued Tao Liuyue for three years. In the summer after the college entrance exam, when he was eighteen, he confessed, and she finally accepted.
But they had been together for less than a month before facing a cliff-like breakup.
All communication channels were blocked.
As he was lost in thought, the door to the private room was pushed open.
It was Chen Liuyue returning.
Noticing the gazes directed at her, she said with a smile,
"This restaurant is really huge, and the restroom is so far. I walked for ages and almost got lost."
Wu Peihua felt somewhat embarrassed hearing this.
Had this child never been to a nice place before? Getting lost going to the restroom in a restaurant like this?!
On the contrary, Grandma Qian Xiaofen smiled and beckoned to her, saying,
"Exactly! I was the same the first time I came here. You get used to it after a while."
"Liuyue, come stay with Grandpa and Grandma at home for a few nights, alright?"
Wu Hongjun also nodded with a smile.
Wu Peihua was astonished, but mindful of the Tao couple's presence, she didn't voice her thoughts.
She knew that every time Ruanruan had wanted to stay overnight at the Wu family's old residence, her father would use the reason 'you're not a Wu family member' to send Ruanruan back home no matter how late it was.
Now, what did they mean by this?!
Treating Chen Liuyue as a substitute for her deceased younger sister, Wu Lihua.
Chen Ruanruan's face showed nothing, but under the table, her fingers pressed into her other palm.
She concealed her jealousy.
Why did Grandpa and Grandma treat Chen Liuyue with such special regard?
Chen Liuyue tilted her head back in thought and said,
"How about in a couple of days?"
"I just returned to the Chen family. I want to spend a few more days with Mom, Dad, and my brother and sister."
If I go to the Wu family's, how will I get to seduce brother-in-law then? she thought to herself.
