During the meal, Zhu Qianying suddenly remembered that Xiaoyu had asked her last night if she wanted to invite Young Master Yan.

She replied to Xiaoyu, "No! It's not proper!"

Now, she wanted to test whether her guess was accurate.

"Young Master Yan, I've made plans with my sister Xiaoyu and her boyfriend tonight. Would you like to come along?"

Aside from the fact that her relationship with Yan Shao was not officially legitimate for the time being, she had a premonition that even if she asked Yan Shao, he would refuse without hesitation.

As expected, Young Master Yan didn't even bother to glance at her, simply saying, "No time!"

Zhu Qianying felt like she was being incredibly foolish. She thought about how Young Master Yan had always avoided her family like the plague, and even with her, he probably wouldn't want to see her at all unless he wanted to order her around. Wasn't this probing just like offering herself up to him for a slap?

Having gotten herself into an awkward situation, Zhu Qianying, as usual, finished a large bowl of rice at an extremely fast pace. When she got up to ladle out some soup, she said to Yan Shao.

"Young Master Yan, I'll leave after I finish my meal, so Xiaoyu won't have to wait."

Zhu Qianying certainly wouldn't presume to think that Young Master Yan would invite her to dinner. She simply stated that she had to leave soon and couldn't stay here any longer to be his free maid and cook.

"Hmm!" Young Master Yan did not try to stop her, presumably because he didn't care much about her leaving or staying.

After finishing her meal and soup, Zhu Qianying took the damp towel from Uncle Hai to wipe her mouth and hands before getting up to say goodbye.

"Young Master Yan, I'll be going now."

Yan Shao had only eaten half of his meal when he said, "Hmm."

Zhu Qianying had no idea what she had done to offend this young master. When she saw him today, she seemed to have said no more than ten words to him.

This puzzlement was completely forgotten after she left the Yan family's gate. Since she didn't have to face him anymore, she couldn't be bothered to figure out the source of his inexplicable bad temper.

Uncle Hai, who was still in the dining room serving Young Master Yan, assumed that Zhu Qianying was angry, which was why she put down her bowl and left immediately without even eating the fruit after the meal.

"Young Master..."

Although Uncle Hai had watched Young Master Yan grow from a baby into a handsome young man, he was used to being subservient and a lackey in front of Young Master Yan. Now, when he wanted to stand up for Zhu Qianying and speak up for her, he stammered and couldn't get the words out.

"Spit it out!"

Yan Shao was clearly in a bad mood.

Yesterday, photographer A-Jian sent him the edited wedding photos of him and Zhu Qianying. Originally, he wanted Zhu Qianying to come over and take a look.

She was quite something; she came and hid in the kitchen, only coming out when it was time to eat. Before he had even finished his meal, she started nagging to leave.

He even said he made plans with his sister and her boyfriend, but that's probably just an excuse.

As far as he knew, her sister didn't have a boyfriend at all. Just a couple of days ago, Takeozumi was busy trying to find her sister a wealthy husband.

She couldn't possibly not know this. If she did know, yet still used her sister as an excuse, was she treating him like a fool?

Uncle Hai wasn't very brave to begin with, but after being glared at and threatened by his young master, he immediately stopped talking.

After his afternoon nap, Yan Shao went to his study to handle official business, and Uncle Hai brought him freshly brewed coffee.

Where did the driver take her?

Uncle Hai paused for a moment, noticing the young master staring at him. After a while, he realized that the young master was asking about Zhu Qianying's whereabouts.

"Ying'er was reading in a bookstore on Haibin Road. Xiao Zhang watched her sit down, order a drink, and then leave."

"one person?"

"Yes, alone." Uncle Hai nodded.

Young Master Yan was somewhat surprised, "Are you sure?"

Uncle Hai pushed the poured coffee in front of him. "How about I call Xiao Zhang up so you can ask him?"

Young Master Yan waved his hand, indicating that it was unnecessary.

He had thought that she was in such a hurry to leave because the Xing family was visiting Xing Bailun, but now it seemed that he had misunderstood her.

So, is it true that she made an appointment with her sister?

Mistaken for secretly visiting Xing Bailun, Zhu Qianying stayed at the bookstore until after 5 p.m., paid the bill, and slowly walked to the restaurant across the street, which was the restaurant that Ji Huan and Xiao Yu had booked.

When Zhu Qianying saw Ji Huan, her eyes lit up. To be honest, she had seen plenty of handsome men, but a man like Ji Huan, who was handsome and exuded a flamboyant aura, yet was impossible to dislike, was truly rare.

She stood up and extended her hand to him. "Hello, I'm Xiaoyu's older sister, Zhu Qianying. I didn't expect you to be even more handsome and stylish than I imagined."

Zhu Qianyu nudged her hand, "Sister, can you change your bad habit of drooling over handsome guys?"

"Xiaoyu, I'm just acknowledging your good taste. Besides, everyone appreciates beauty, what's wrong with taking a few extra glances at a handsome guy?"

Zhu Qianying spoke quite frankly, and after finishing, she smiled and looked at Ji Huan, "Young Master Ji, am I right?"

“That’s right, but if Xiaoyu looks at other handsome guys like that, I’ll probably get jealous!” Ji Huan said with a smile, pulling out a chair for Zhu Qianying to sit down first, then pulling out the chair next to him for Zhu Qianyu to sit next to him.

Zhu Qianying laughed at his humor and frankness. "Xiaoyu, you'd better keep a close eye on Young Master Ji."

Little Yu, that silly girl, nodded honestly, "Don't worry, sister, I'll buy a chain to lock him up as soon as I go out."

The three were all around the same age, and they spoke without any formality or respect, creating a very lively atmosphere. There was no nervousness or awkwardness typical of meeting parents or a first meeting.

Of course, from a normal perspective, this cannot be considered meeting the parents, because Zhu Qianying is a year younger than Ji Huan.

However, the situation of the Zhu sisters is special. In Zhu Qianyu's mind, Zhu Qianying has always been more like a parent than her mother, Chen Jing.

After the three of them laughed and joked for a while, Ji Huan presented a gift with both hands.

"Sister, Xiaoyu and I just saw this while shopping and thought it would suit you."

Zhu Qianying took the box, but didn't rush to open it. Instead, she said to Ji Huan, "Xiaoyu said you are twenty-one years old and I am twenty. We are about the same age. You can call me Yingzi."

Ji Huan didn't stand on ceremony, "Okay."

Zhu Qianying opened the box, took out the bracelet inside, and examined it carefully for a while before turning her attention to the amethyst bracelet on her sister's wrist.

"Did you buy these two bracelets together?"

"Yeah, I clearly like green crystal, but he insisted on putting this amethyst one on me." The little girl pouted in dissatisfaction.

Zhu Qianying patted her head with a smile, "Silly girl, how can you be so silly!"

After teasing her younger sister, Zhu Qianying smiled apologetically at Ji Huan, "I'm sorry, Ji Huan. My silly Xiaoyu didn't understand your good intentions at all. Please bear with her in the future."

Ji Huan smiled and raised his hand to rub Zhu Qianyu's head. "It's okay. I like her just the way she is. Anyway, I'm smart enough. It doesn't matter if she's smart or not."