When they arrived, both sets of parents were already seated in the private room.

"Mom and Dad, Aunt and Uncle."

Cheng Qicai greeted people one by one, as did Yun Suni, while only Lu Qi greeted the aunties and uncles on both sides.

Ms. Yun glanced at the empty space beside Cheng Qicai, then at Lu Qi and Yun Suni who had entered hand in hand, and at the closed door.

She snorted coldly and looked at Cheng Qicai, "Where's your boyfriend?"

Cheng Qicai tried her best to play dumb, "Uh, Mom, can't you see? My boyfriend is right next to me, he's 1.8 meters tall!"

She described an emperor's boyfriend, but who else but herself could see it?

Ms. Yun frowned and said, "Cheng Qicai, are you kidding me?"

"You're too fierce, you scared them away." Cheng Qicai smiled shamelessly.

Seeing that Ms. Yun was acting like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water and was about to get angry, Cheng Qicai slyly hid behind the female lead's father.

She has someone backing her up now, so she's not afraid.

"Bei Xiu, talk to the child nicely," Yun Rucheng comforted her. "Now that everyone's here, let's eat."

Mr. Cheng tugged at her sleeve, and Ms. Yun reluctantly sat down.

Although they were celebrating together this year, to avoid waste, they chose a small cake, divided into sections by color and name, and only 23 candles were evenly placed on the cake.

In the darkness, the two listened to their family singing "Happy Birthday," and together they closed their eyes and made a wish as the birthday candles flickered.

Cheng Qicai's wish every year is to make a fortune! And this year is no exception.

This year, an additional clause was added: it is hoped that Ms. Yun will forget about Ji Xing and not mention it again.

The lights came on, the wishing was over, and Cheng Qicai and Yun Suni picked up the cake knife together and cut the cake.

Cheng Qicai saw the female lead secretly give the cake with the words "Su Ni" on it to Lu Qi.

She felt like she had tripped!

Cheng Qicai ate her dog food and placed the cake piece with her name on it on her plate.

Hmph! Those two words take up a huge chunk! She could eat a little more.

While the two over there were enjoying their sweet time together, Cheng Qicai was in a terrible situation.

She made a wish one minute, and was told the next that it had failed.

Ms. Yun angrily accused the woman's family, "Brother and sister-in-law, you're all here. Please speak up for Cheng Qicai. I, as her mother, told her to be nice, but she wouldn't listen. I introduced her to a good partner, but instead, she swore at others and lied about having a boyfriend."

Yun Rucheng initially thought that Ms. Yun's words were a bit harsh, but after hearing what she said, he felt that Cheng Qicai had indeed gone too far. He kindly said, "Qicai, no matter what, you should still talk to the other party properly. If it's not suitable, don't make everyone feel embarrassed."

Cheng Qicai nodded like a quail. It would be impossible for him not to have imagined cursing like Gu Liji, so he couldn't say that Gu Liji was responsible.

When Ms. Yun heard that Yun Rucheng was helping her, she felt even more justified in her words, "I even had someone calculate their compatibility; they are a match made in heaven. She doesn't cherish such a good marriage."

"Fortune telling?" Song Luo, the female lead's mother, disapproved upon hearing this. "How can you accurately predict fate? Whether it's suitable or not depends on the children themselves."

Ms. Yun didn't believe it and waved her hand, "It's very accurate. That master has done fortune telling for many people. All the family members I play mahjong with have consulted him. The master said they weren't compatible, and they really did break up later. The compatible ones got married in less than a year."

She glanced at Lu Qi and the others again, "How about I have him do a fortune telling for Lu Qi and Su Ni as well?"

Song Luo declined, saying, "Bei Xiu, thank you, but we feel that everyone is happy when the two children are together, so it doesn't matter whether it counts or not."

"That's true. Your Su Ni will be the boss's wife of a big company in the future. With such a golden nugget, things will be alright even if they don't work out." She turned to Su Ni and said, "Su Ni, you'd better treat Lu Qi well. By the way, when are you two getting married?"

“We’re still young, no need to panic,” Yun Suni replied politely, though she was displeased.

"Get married while you're young, then stay home and take care of the kids. Your salary isn't even as much as Lu Qi's meager earnings..."

Cheng Qicai felt that Ms. Yun was going too far, so she nudged her waist with her hand. But Ms. Yun didn't understand her intention at all, glared at her, and slapped her right leg with her left hand.

She continued, "If you ask me, your job is dispensable. It wouldn't matter if you lost it. If you don't have your child with you, he'll be just as disobedient as Cheng Qicai is now."

"Mom, say less." Cheng Qicai stood up abruptly.

Even though the female lead is portrayed as an innocent and naive character in the novel, she is actually a serious, responsible person who values ​​her work. Otherwise, she wouldn't have joined the male lead's company, completed every project perfectly, and concealed her relationship with Lu Qi after they started dating.

The male protagonist's interest in her stemmed from her participation in a technology innovation competition, where he was drawn to her earnest and thoughtful demeanor.

Although the author portrays the male and female protagonists as having unequal social statuses, their thoughts are absolutely aligned, which is what drew Cheng Qicai to continue reading.

Even if she's the male lead or the third male lead, Yun Su Ni is absolutely worthy of their affection.

Mr. Cheng, who was standing nearby, also noticed that the atmosphere was not right. He tugged at Ms. Yun's sleeve and called out to everyone, "Eat your food, everyone, eat your food."

Then he said to Cheng Qicai, who was standing, "Qicai, don't just stand there. Go ask the restaurant if they have fried bananas. Your mom loves them the most."

"The older the child gets, the more disobedient they become..." Ms. Yun muttered resentfully.

Cheng Qicai heard this, took a deep breath to suppress her anger, and seeing so many people around, she didn't want to make the already tense atmosphere cold again.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!