Ji Shuli took a sip of sparkling water, and her relaxed mood almost made her spit it out when she heard Ye Zhiwei's words. "Little cousin, how come I never knew you were such a gossip?"

“I’ve always been a gossip, and if she has any connection with Yu Jingchen, I think she should stay away.” Ye Zhiwei compared her cousin with Yu Jingchen. “You are much better than Yu Jingchen. If I had to choose between you and Yu Jingchen, I should choose you.”

"Stop, stop, stop. I have no feelings for Qin Manshu."

“Shouldn’t you take a look at what she said? How could she possibly have no feelings for you at all? The implication behind her words is that she’s very interested in you, which makes me not know how to respond.” Ye Zhiwei propped her face up with her hand. “Besides, she’s asking me about you while she’s on a date with Yu Jingchen. Yu Jingchen must be quite different, right? After what he did before… He seems easy to talk to on the surface, but he’s capable of anything behind the scenes.”

Recalling what Yu Jingchen had said to her before, Ye Zhiwei already felt uncomfortable.

It's not just Yu Jingchen's behavior that's unpleasant; the arrogance in his speech is also off-putting.

She tried to imagine what it would be like for Yu Jingchen and Qin Manshu to be alone in a room, but she simply couldn't picture it.

However, Ye Zhiwei did not reply to Qin Manshu's message for a long time. After a brief silence in the chat, Qin Manshu seemed to understand her thoughts, because she quickly asked Ye Zhiwei: Little cousin, did you see me?

Ye Zhiwei's keen intuition led her to suspect that Qin Manshu might have installed surveillance cameras in Tang Xin's themed dessert room.

Ye Zhiwei did not answer Qin Manshu directly, so Qin Manshu sent another message: It seems you saw me with Yu Jingchen, the eldest son of the Yu family. You have to help me explain to Shuli that my family arranged for me to meet him, and I couldn't go against my grandmother's wishes, so I came out with him.

Qin Manshu spoke cryptically, as it was a family matter and naturally inconvenient to discuss openly with outsiders.

Old Mrs. Qin was a strong-willed person. She had been unhappy that Qin Manshu was interested in Ji Shuli. Ever since she called Qin Manshu into her room and scolded her that day, she had been arranging a husband for Qin Manshu. She had listed many people herself, and today she arranged for Qin Manshu to meet Yu Jingchen.

Yu's mother, Duan Meiyuan, was initially reluctant. Although the Qin family was a prestigious family and their ancestors had a higher status than the Yu family, Duan Meiyuan knew that Qin Manshu had lost her father at a young age, and even Qin Manshu's mother rarely appeared in public. It was said that she couldn't accept her husband's death and often stayed at home for years without going out.

Duan Meiyuan was somewhat dissatisfied with the family situation, but Duan Meiyuan's dissatisfaction did not mean that Yu Jingchen was dissatisfied. Yu Jingchen did not care about the Qin family's situation. He had always been an ambitious person. Peng Yuezeng's interest in the medical market and Jiang Jianian's IV pharmaceutical technology had always been a point of contention for him. He began to understand the pharmaceutical industry and indeed saw a large red ocean in this industry.

Yu Jingchen had only one requirement for his wife: that she could bring him benefits.

Yu Jingchen had his eye on the Qin family behind Qin Manshu, and on their very high position in the pharmaceutical industry. If the two families could form a marriage alliance, perhaps Yu Jingchen could even control the pharmaceutical group behind the Qin family.

Yu Jingchen persuaded Duan Meiyuan to meet Qin Manshu. Qin Manshu was clearly not interested in Yu Jingchen and gave him a hard time at their first meeting. Instead of choosing Sweety-candy under the Yu Group, she took Yu Jingchen directly to Tangxin and said that she preferred Tangxin's pastries.

Qin Manshu didn't want to ruin the relationship or embarrass or anger Old Madam Qin, so she couldn't directly refuse Yu Jingchen. She could only use this indirect approach. If Yu Jingchen turned away and left, it would be because he lacked manners. But she didn't expect Yu Jingchen to be such a patient person. When Qin Manshu said she was going to Tangxin, Yu Jingchen not only agreed but also nodded and smiled, "There's a reason why Tangxin was able to beat Sweety-candy and gain market share in the dessert market. I can take this opportunity to experience Tangxin's operating model."

He is a very good at disguising himself. He is very restrained and polite in front of Qin Manshu. Even if Qin Manshu does something impolite, Yu Jingchen can always cover it up for her.

Now, Qin Manshu showed little interest in him, only fiddling with her phone with her head down. When had Yu Jingchen ever ignored women like this? But he still managed to restrain himself and asked in a good mood when he saw Qin Manshu smile, "May I know why Miss Qin is smiling so happily? Is there a secret on your phone?"

Qin Manshu then looked up at Yu Jingchen and asked with a smile, "Mr. Yu, haven't you asked around about my situation? You must have already done so, so why waste your time here with me?"

"What do you mean by 'waste'? Do you mean the fact that you have someone you like?" Yu Jingchen suddenly laughed, shaking his head as he said, "I really didn't expect the only daughter of the Qin family to be so preoccupied with such meaningless things. I did find out that Miss Qin has someone she likes, but I also know that the Qin family matriarch doesn't have a good impression of the Ji family. As far as I know, although you are currently managing the Qin family, the real person in charge should be your grandmother, otherwise you wouldn't have come to the appointment despite having no interest in me at all."

Qin Manshu wasn't angry. She smiled and said, "I didn't force myself to come to the appointment. It's a good choice to relax than to deal with a bunch of things at the company."

"It's a pity the person you're meeting isn't the one you're thinking of." Yu Jingchen smiled and pushed up his glasses slightly. Although he said he came to check on Tang Xin's operations, Yu Jingchen hadn't actually touched the desserts there. It was clear that although this proud man's Sweety-Candy had lost its once near-monopoly landmark status, he still didn't think much of Tang Xin, or rather, he looked down on Jiang Jianian, the shareholder behind Tang Xin.

He has always valued lineage highly. He has his own circle and likes to be in a dominant position within it. He is very purposeful in everything he does and also pursues the maximization of benefits. He can even use his own marriage as a tool for calculation. He thinks Qin Manshu is a very good choice at this moment, so he continues to extend an olive branch, "Miss Qin, you should know that even if you like the young master of the Ji family, you can't go against your grandmother's wishes. Instead of wasting your time and energy on these unnecessary struggles, why not consider how to maximize the benefits of the marriage?"

"What do you mean by maximizing the benefits of marriage? Do you mean marrying me?" Qin Manshu asked with a smile.