Qiao Yiming stared wide-eyed at the man in front of him, meeting his angry and aggressive gaze. His waist was supported by the man's strong forearm, leaving him nowhere to retreat.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a rather unfriendly gaze on her side, and only then did she realize she needed to struggle. Was he crazy?

"Mmm..."

After forcefully pushing him away, the script guidance that flashed through my mind was "at this moment, the female lead raised her hand and slapped her."

But she remained rational and didn't do it. "You!"

The next second, her neck stiffened, and the words caught in her throat.

Standing at the door were Qiao Yiyang and Song Xingyao. All four of them were frozen in place, except for Song Xingyao, whose gaze quickly swept over Qiao Yiyang beside her.

His unexpected calmness and silence only made the atmosphere even colder.

Qiao Yiming felt even more embarrassed at this moment than when she was filming a French kissing scene with a man in front of her parents.

"Brother..." she called out softly, but Qiao Yiyang acted as if he hadn't seen anything and calmly turned and left.

Qiao Yiming didn't even glance at Bai Xiujin again before following him. When she met Song Xingyao's concerned gaze, she blinked easily, then lifted her skirt and ran out.

Seeing Bai Xiujin still lost in thought, she asked softly, "Are you alright, Xiao Bai?"

"Um, sorry, I made you laugh."

Song Xingyao chuckled softly and didn't go any further. "What do you have to apologize for, Xiaobai? It's different when people meet someone they like than when they meet something they like. When they like something, they will obviously express their passion and possessiveness, but when they like someone, they will become dull and timid. So don't miss out on anything because of this."

Having just experienced such a scene, Song Xingyao thought he would probably want to be alone.

So she left the terrace and happened to run into Fu Siming, who was coming out of the banquet hall looking for her. She slowly walked up to Fu Siming and intertwined her fingers with his.

Having drunk quite a bit of wine, Fu Siming's body was tinged with the sweet scent of red wine, which blended harmoniously with the pleasant sandalwood fragrance, creating a rich and mellow aroma.

Fu Siming saw the direction she came from from afar. Bai Xiujin stood there in a daze. Song Xingyao's slender thumb was scratching uncontrollably in her large palm. Only when the hand exerted a little force did it stop.

"Fu Siming, carry me on your back."

Perhaps because she had just watched an idol drama, Song Xingyao was unusually cheeky.

She released his hand and opened her arms to him.

Fu Siming glanced at her hand, then without hesitation scooped her up in his arms in a princess carry. "Okay, let's go home."

With her injured hand hanging loosely at her side, Song Xingyao squinted comfortably and gently nuzzled against his chest, like a delicate, boneless kitten boldly marking out her own territory.

When Qiao Yiming ran to the car, Qiao Yiyang was already waiting inside. Although she wasn't cold after running, she still couldn't help but shiver before getting in the car.

She lifted her skirt and got into the car, only to hear him coldly say, "Drive."

Qiao Yiming thought to himself, "It seems he heard everything."

On her way there, she was still thinking that she hoped her brother only saw her being forcibly kissed by Bai Xiujin and didn't hear what she had said.

Now she wants to go back to that terrace, glue her mouth shut, and tell you to shut up for talking nonsense!

“Brother…” Her guilty voice echoed in the car.

The driver caught Qiao Yiyang's gaze in the rearview mirror and wisely raised the soundproofing panel.

Qiao Yiming then began to act boldly and reached out to grab his sleeve.

"Brother...why don't you listen to my excuses?"

The man remained unmoved, his expression unchanged, but the chill emanating from him was so intense that even the car's heater couldn't penetrate it.

He glanced down at the white Xiujin coat that was still draped over her shoulders and found it jarring.

Qiao Yiming immediately threw his coat aside, "Brother~ Good brother~ Listen to me!"

Like spilling beans, he vividly described his trip to S country, where he was drugged and ambushed, embellishing the story and turning it into a crisis. Then, he omitted some messy details and summarized it as Bai Xiujin saving him from being poisoned on the street.

From this perspective, both of their sins seem much less serious.

Qiao Yiming thought to himself: Bai Xiujin, you should thank me; I saved you.

The Qiao family has strict family traditions and could not accept her losing her virginity under such circumstances, let alone her older brother, a conservative virgin of such a young age.

After listening to her rambling, low-pitched voice and the expression that suggested she was about to cry, Qiao Yiyang sighed and was about to speak.

A pleading voice came from the side: "Brother, please don't tell Mom and Dad about this, okay?"

Her eyes were still glistening with tears; if you didn't know she was being dishonest, you would almost have been fooled.

But Qiao Yiyang couldn't help but retort, "You've already done it, and now you're scared?"

It wasn't that they were truly afraid. If Qiao's parents found out, who knew what would happen to their relationship with the Bai family? Not to mention that Qiao's parents would probably be rushing to demand an explanation, and that would be a real joke.

Perhaps because she knew that she had taken the initiative that day, she naturally didn't want Bai Xiujin to be made difficult.

"Okay, brother, I'm an adult now, I'll handle this."

Knowing that his words meant he agreed, she clung to his hand and acted coquettishly. The last time she acted like this was when she asked him to accompany her to the hospital to see Bai Xiujin.

It's still because of him.

When will she be able to tell herself that she is an adult?

Qiao Yiyang thought of Song Xingyao's parental mindset and fell into deep thought.

However, Qiao Yiming was indeed not in the mood. Seeing that Qiao Yiyang surprisingly did not feel angry this time, he was pleasantly surprised but still a little unaccustomed to it.

She leaned back in her chair and joked, "Brother, you're not getting any younger. Aren't you planning to date? I think Mom and Dad are planning to stay here for a while. Do you think they're waiting for you to get married?"

"I just saw Uncle Qin talking to you. He's not trying to set you up with someone, is he? No way! His wife is even more domineering than me. You definitely won't like her, and neither will I. Brother, you can't agree to that!"

"Brother?? Hmm?"

Hearing the chattering noises beside her, Qiao Yiyang spoke up, "If you keep making noise, I'll have my parents go to the Bai family to propose marriage for you when we get back."

With the words stuck in his throat, Qiao Yiming made a zipping motion with his hand over his mouth, then turned and lay back on the chair.

The car finally quieted down.

Having taken over the Qiao Group for so many years, day after day, with even his assistants being men, he seemed never to have considered what it would be like to have a woman by his side.

Suddenly, that stubborn figure appeared in my mind.