Chen Liuyue lowered her head, her gaze falling on their still-joined hands.
She gave them a firm shake.
"Then you let go first."
Wei Miao: "No."
Chen Liuyue: "Then I might have to refuse."
Wei Miao still held on tightly.
"You can't!"
Chen Liuyue raised her hand to pinch his handsome cheek, looking at her own reflection in his pupils.
Hmm, both beautiful and wicked.
So satisfying.
She then stood on her tiptoes and pecked the corner of his mouth.
Whoosh—
Wei Miao's face instantly flushed crimson again.
"You've definitely never been in a relationship before," Chen Liuyue stated with certainty.
Wei Miao, clinging to his pride, said, "Who says I haven't? I have."
Chen Liuyue: "With whom?"
Wei Miao: "With you."
Chen Liuyue blinked innocently. "When? I didn't know about it."
Wei Miao said with a serious expression:
"I fell in love with you the first time we met. Unilaterally."
"Yueyue, I want to stay by your side."
"It was never a whim. It was premeditated for a long time."
"My heart tells me I don't just want to be in a relationship. I met the person who makes me want to be in one."
Looking at the sincere emotion in his eyes,
Chen Liuyue patted his head.
"But I don't like you. What should we do?" Her smile was both innocent and malicious.
Wei Miao nodded slowly.
"I know."
"My liking you is enough. You don't need to respond."
His eyes held expectation and cautious nervousness,
fearing any word of rejection from Chen Liuyue's lips.
Propping her chin, she seemed to think seriously for a long while.
Only then did she slowly speak.
"But having only you by my side isn't enough."
Wei Miao blinked, somewhat confused: "..."
Chen Liuyue: "I also want my brother-in-law."
A flicker of astonishment passed through Wei Miao's eyes, followed immediately by hurt.
In what way am I not as good as he is?
Chen Liuyue: "I don't like you, and I don't like him either. But I need him."
Struggle flooded Wei Miao's gaze.
He had always been high and mighty, never before reduced to such a lowly position.
Letting go of Yueyue was unthinkable.
But the thought of sharing with that fool Qin Xuanye made his teeth itch with hatred.
In the end, he lowered his lashes.
Trying his best to remain calm, he asked, "Then will you need me?"
Chen Liuyue took the initiative, leaned in again, and pecked the corner of his mouth.
Like a flirtatious and fickle bad woman.
"When I have needs,"
"I will need you."
"Brother Wei, your waist looks very strong."
The flush that had just barely receded from Wei Miao's cheeks instantly returned full force.
His breathing even grew heavier.
Certain images flashed through his mind.
In an instant, all of it—"I don't like you," that wild man Qin Xuanye, and all those messy, chaotic thoughts—became unimportant!
What mattered was that Yueyue needs me.
She's willing to kiss me.
And she's willing to choose me without reservation.
Wei Miao held her hand. "Yueyue, I'm willing."
"Good."
Chen Liuyue stood on tiptoe, as if rewarding him for being obedient.
This time, the kiss landed on his Adam's apple.
A dark glint flashed in Wei Miao's eyes, and he couldn't suppress a low groan.
After Chen Liuyue pulled back,
She said in a 'player' tone, "Hello, one of my boyfriends."
Wei Miao struggled for barely two seconds before succumbing.
He couldn't help but whine:
"Not 'one of.' I'm your main boyfriend."
"I'm the principal wife."
"Anyone who comes later is a concubine, the lesser one."
Chen Liuyue smoothed the choppy, forehead-covering bangs on his head, gazing at the jealousy reflected in his beautiful phoenix eyes.
Her smile grew even more delighted.
"Of course, I promise."
"Can you let go now? I need to make a call."
Only then did Wei Miao reluctantly release her hand.
Chen Liuyue dialed Chen Zhenye's number.
The other side picked up quickly.
"Hello, is that Xiaoyue? Was your trip back home smooth? You didn't have any troubles, did you?" He sounded every bit the affectionate father.
Chen Liuyue responded in a sweet voice:
"Dad, everything went smoothly for me. It's just that sister was bullied."
"But don't worry, Brother rushed over as soon as he found out."
"Sometimes I really envy sister, having such a good brother who's willing to drop everything for her... It's so touching."
A trace of anger seeped into Chen Zhenye's voice, mixed with disbelief. "What?! Are you saying Haotian rushed all the way from the branch office to Tao Family Village? Just to stand up for Ruanruan?"
Chen Liuyue gently urged:
"Dad, please don't be angry."
"Brother didn't really do anything wrong. He's just a brother who dotes on his sister, what's wrong with that?"
Chen Zhenye said, disappointed that he hadn't lived up to expectations, "I sent him to the branch office to toughen him up, and also to let a few old friends on the board see his progress."
"And what does he do? For the sake of an adopted daughter, he abandons the branch office's operations."
"If this gets out, where will I put my old face?"
Hearing this, Chen Liuyue put on a nervous expression:
"Ah? Really, Dad, is it that serious?"
"Please don't blame Brother... It's all my fault. Sister Ruanruan was bullied by the Tao relatives and cried so sadly, I couldn't help but tell Brother."
"I never imagined Brother would be so impulsive. So the impact is this big? It's all my fault, all my fault."
Wei Miao stood not far away, watching Chen Liuyue put on a delicate, faux-innocent "green-tea" expression while speaking into her phone, her nose wrinkling slightly. A fond smile appeared on his lips.
His Yueyue was beautiful no matter what.
Even her mischievous side was especially charming.
Chen Zhenye was furious, but he didn't dare speak harshly to his biological daughter.
After all, his father-in-law Wu Hongjun valued Liuyue greatly.
So he comforted her patiently: "Liuyue, don't be afraid. Dad won't blame you. You meant well. It's that unfilial son who acts without thinking about the consequences."
He paused here.
"By the way, Liuyue, help Dad pay attention. Do you get the sense that your brother treats Ruanruan... differently?"
A shrewd glint flashed in Chen Liuyue's eyes.
"Ah? What kind of differently?"
"Brother has always been very good to Sister Ruanruan, even better than to me, his own biological sister."
"Today, as soon as Brother heard that Aunt Jin made Sister Ruanruan cook breakfast, he couldn't help but rush to argue with Aunt Jin!"
"Aunt Jin even scolded Brother, saying, 'Your sister has a fiancé; you, an adoptive brother with no blood relation, shouldn't be so close.' The scene was terrifying."
Chen Zhenye on the other end of the phone took a deep breath.
This was major trouble!!!
Even an onlooker like Aunt Jin could see the clues.
They, the biological parents, had been blinded. They weren't even blood-related siblings, yet they were so close.
Haotian actually harbored inappropriate feelings.
No!
He needed to discuss with the Qin family as soon as possible to set a wedding date for Ruanruan and Qin Xuanye.
