Mingyuan completely ignored Qiu Qiu's look and still maintained a distance from Yan Meng.

Although I really wanted to give Mingyuan a thumbs up in my heart and thank him for speaking out against Yan Meng on my behalf, I was also afraid that Mingyuan's reaction would annoy Yan Meng and cause us trouble.

However, Yan Meng's expression was calm, without showing a trace of anger.

He gave Mingyuan a faint smile and said calmly, "My mother is the goddaughter of the second elder of the Ming family. I call you 'uncle' just to follow the order of seniority."

He paused, looked at me with burning eyes, and the smile on his lips deepened: "As for whether we can become a family, who can say for sure about the future!"

Mingyuan's face became even darker, and he made no attempt to hide his unfriendly attitude towards Yan Meng.

Qiu Qiu also noticed the tit-for-tat between the two, so he pulled Mingyuan to sit down with one hand and joked to ease the deadlock.

"Ayuan, look, I'm your elder now! I guess I'm getting a great deal, right?"

I also agreed: "Yeah, if you guys move faster and get married soon, then I'll have to call you 'little aunt' instead!"

Qiu Qiu teased me cheerfully, "Shout out now and let's hear it."

I raised my chin proudly, "I can't let you take advantage of me so early. What if my uncle doesn't want you anymore in the future? I can still find a best friend."

"He dares!" Qiu Qiu snorted, looking at Mingyuan domineeringly, but in fact he was answering me, "If he dares to leave me, I will go to your Ming family and pester him! It means that the men in the Ming family are irresponsible!"

Qiu Qiu's jokes made Mingyuan's expression ease a little, and a helpless smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I agreed with Qiu Qiu just now because I didn't want the situation to be too awkward and arouse Qiu Qiu's suspicion, and I also didn't want Yan Meng to hold a grudge against Mingyuan because of his words.

Yan Meng had already ordered the dishes and served them one by one after we sat down.

He put a shrimp in my bowl and said considerately, "I prepared all the dishes on the table today according to your preferences. Thanks to Qiu Qiu."

"That's right." Qiu Qiu boasted proudly, "Shanshan and I have been together for so many years, it can't be in vain!"

I looked at Qiu Qiu helplessly.

Qiu Qiu did know my preferences, but when it came to trying to match me up with Yan Meng, I don’t know what was wrong with her. She just thought Yan Meng was right for me.

I guess Qiu Qiu’s fan filter for Yan Meng hasn’t been broken yet.

With Qiu Qiu here, there were many things we couldn't talk about frankly. Mingyuan and I each had our own thoughts, so the meal was boring.

"I'm going to the bathroom. You guys eat first." Qiu Qiu said in a low voice, got up and left.

Since Qiu Qiu wasn't around, I put down my chopsticks, looked at Yan Meng with scrutinizing eyes, and said tentatively, "I was also scared by what happened at the auction last time. I've been recuperating at home these days and haven't been to the company much. Are you okay?"

I found an excuse to explain why I have been "avoiding" him these days.

Yan Meng nodded in understanding, but didn't delve into it. He just asked suspiciously, "I heard from the school that Xiaofeng hasn't been to school these past few days?"

My heart trembled, and sure enough, Yan Meng was staring at Che Xiaofeng.

If Mingyuan and I had not been cautious and not let Che Xiaofeng go to school, I'm afraid he would have been taken away by Yan Meng by now.

Mingyuan said at the right time: "Xiaofeng has had a cold these days, so we didn't let him go to school."

"Oh, so that's how it is." Yan Meng smiled, his eyes dark and unclear, "I thought I was deliberately letting him avoid me!"