Throughout the journey, it was mostly Ye Zhiwei and Ji Shuli who were talking, while Jiang Jianian remained silent. Occasionally, Ye Zhiwei could sense that the air pressure inside the car was a bit low.

The female lead isn't even here.

Jiang Jianian's dislike for her cousin should have stemmed from noticing the subtle, ambiguous relationship between him and the female lead. Right now, she should just see her cousin as an ordinary passerby.

What's with this atmosphere?

Ye Zhiwei could only try to ignore this subtle sense of oppression and chat with Ji Shuli all the way.

They arrived at the Ye family's residence.

Knowing that his nephew was coming, Ye Qingcheng specially had a table full of dishes prepared, many of which were chosen to be Ji Shuli's favorites.

Ye Yingying had been home for a while, and sat down at the table to wait. She was thoughtful, articulate, and charming, which made Ye Qingcheng, who was already happy because his nephew was coming, laugh.

Finally, Ji Shuli brought his cousin back. Ye Qingcheng pointed at Ji Shuli and said to Ye Zhiwei, "Your cousin said he came to see me, but he couldn't even have a cup of tea. When he heard that the car that picked you up had returned, he insisted on going to see it. In the end, only Yingying came back. He then realized that you seniors get out of school later, so you have to come back later than Yingying."

Ji Shuli coughed, seemingly embarrassed that his thoughts had been discovered.

Ye Qingcheng joked, "He can't have tea now. I think he just wanted to see you, you little brat, so he asked me to come pick you up. He ran off quickly after finding out, and you were gone in no time."

Ye Zhiwei couldn't help but laugh when she heard this.

Ji Shuli coughed and said, "I'm just curious about what this little one looks like now."

"She's even shy!" Ye Qingcheng laughed heartily. "She was like this when we were little. Zhiwei and I weren't close, but she liked to stick to you. You two haven't seen each other for so many years, but you still have such a good relationship. I'm so happy to see that."

Ye Zhiwei sat down smugly, and Ji Shuli, seeing this, ruffled her hair and laughed, "You're so smug, now you know how much your cousin dotes on you."

"Zhiwei's cousin is so good to her." Ye Yingying looked on with envy and whispered to Jiang Jianian sitting next to her, "Brother Jianian, Zhiwei's cousin is so good to her. Look, Uncle said he specially made the things that this cousin likes to eat. I looked closely and these are all things that Zhiwei likes."

Ye Yingying lowered her voice and whispered to Jiang Jianian beside her.

Jiang Jianian's gaze darkened, and he watched Ye Zhiwei and Ji Shuli playfully bickering with a blank expression.

The dinner table was bustling with activity, but Jiang Jianian seemed rather unhappy. However, Jiang Jianian was always silent in the Ye family, so no one paid much attention to his emotions except for Ye Zhiwei.

Taking advantage of the time when fruit was to be served after the meal, Ye Zhiwei said she was going to the kitchen to see if there was any fruit she liked, but actually she pulled Ye Yingying to hide in a small corner.

"Sister Zhiwei?"

"What did you just say to Jiang Jianian?" Ye Zhiwei asked.

"He didn't say anything."

"Didn't say anything? How could that be? Why does Jiang Jianian look so unpleasant?" Ye Zhiwei thought carefully. "Did you praise Ji Shuli?"

"I guess so?"

No wonder!

It turned out that the female lead had praised Ji Shuli. Ye Zhiwei, acting as if she already knew, leaned against Ye Yingying and said, "What did you praise my cousin for? Do you think he's good-looking?"

Ye Yingying blushed slightly and retorted, "No, I was just telling Brother Jia Nian that he's really good to Sister Zhi Wei, and that your relationship is so good that it's enviable!"