☆、Fanbian 50: You were the person I hated the most when I was little (Qiao Yipian)

Qiao Yi pretended to be obedient and well-behaved, sitting next to Qiao Yao and trying her best to minimize her presence.

But what's coming will come eventually. Mr. Qiao glanced at her and casually asked, "Have you and your brother figured out a reason to make up?"

Qiao Yi smiled awkwardly and nudged Qiao Yao from below, urging him to speak.

"Dad, Qiao Yi is such a grown woman, it's not illegal for her to find a boyfriend, is it? Why are you making such a big fuss? I thought she did something wrong."

Mrs. Qiao patted Mr. Qiao's arm, trying to smooth things over, "That's right, Yi Yi is all grown up now, it's not easy for her to meet someone she likes. It's so rare."

Mr. Qiao glanced at Qiao Yao, then turned to look at Mrs. Qiao, before finally turning his gaze to Qiao Yi. "Hmm? Shall the parties involved come out and take a few steps?"

Qiao Yi immediately straightened her posture, closed her eyes, and explained in one breath, "Dad, I'm in a relationship."

"Well, go on."

"I'm aiming for marriage, I won't do anything reckless." At this point, her confidence had already waned.

Who knows, they're only at the preparatory stage of a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship right now. Either way, it's a dead end, so she should try to appease her dear father first.

She's so young, she still wants those beautiful legs.

"Oh, then call them over for dinner later." Mr. Qiao said casually, forking his steak with a fork.

Qiao Yi looked at Qiao Yao again with a pleading gaze, to which Qiao Yao responded with an expression of helplessness.

"Okay, Dad, I'll ask him if he's busy."

Mr. Qiao raised an eyebrow, his scrutinizing gaze fixed on her again. "Perfect timing, make the call now."

Qiao Yisheng, feeling utterly hopeless, stomped on Qiao Yao with all his might, pleading for help once again.

Qiao Yao coughed lightly twice. "Dad, it's so embarrassing for young people to date in front of so many people."

"Yi-yi, go to your room and call." He winked at Qiao Yi, signaling her to escape quickly.

After Qiao Yi slipped away, Qiao's father glared at Qiao Yao, his tone full of disappointment, "You spoil her so much, look at the state you've created."

Qiao Yao casually served food to his father, saying, "Dad, Yi Yi is a girl, of course she should be pampered more." He then looked at his mother as if serving water, "Don't you think so, Mom?"

Qiao's mother chuckled and replied, "Girls should be pampered more."

Mr. Qiao sighed, feigning concern. "I'm getting old, and your hearts have all turned away from me."

"Dad, you're the one who favors my sister the most. I used to be very jealous of her."

Mr. Qiao glared at him, then buried his head and ignored him, as if the truth had been exposed.

...

The phone rang for a second before Song Libai answered, his clear voice ringing out with a smile, "Did you miss me, baby?"

Qiao Yi nodded repeatedly, "I need you, big brother."

Hearing her address, Song Libai raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's wrong? Weren't you at home?"

Qiao Yi lay paralyzed on the bed, looking utterly hopeless. "My dear father knows about us."

Song Libai flipped through the documents in his hand, nonchalantly saying, "So what if they know? They were bound to find out sooner or later."

"The matter of the two of us going to a hotel."

Upon hearing this, Song Libai stopped what he was doing and asked her in a deep voice, "Do you need me to explain?"

Qiao Yi nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes, you have to pretend, pfft, admit that you are my boyfriend, and that we are aiming for marriage."

Song Libai remained silent for a long while before speaking softly, "Isn't this the truth?"

"It's true, so you have to come to my house to clarify, big brother. My dear father doesn't believe me!" Qiao Yi explained in a fit of anger, wishing she could rush up to him and shout in his ear.

Song Libai hummed in agreement and said gently, "I'll be there soon."

After hanging up the phone, he felt a little dazed. For a moment, he admitted that he had misunderstood. He thought that in her heart, they were just playing around, and that he needed to fabricate lies to deceive her father.

He gave a slight, bitter smile. When did he learn to be so anxious and insecure?

When Song Libai's car arrived at the Qiao family's gate, he saw Qiao Yi already waiting for him in the distance, and felt a sweet warmth in his heart.

He strode forward, took her hand, and said gently, "Have you been waiting long?"

"Oh, no, it's been less than ten minutes."

"By the way, I reckon my dear dad will give you a hard time later, so you'd better be prepared." Qiao blinked her big eyes at him, silently pleading.

Song Libai patted her head to comfort her, "Don't worry, baby."

Mr. Qiao was also somewhat surprised to see the two people coming in from the door. "Xiao Bai?"

Song Libai nodded obediently and replied, "Uncle Qiao, it's me."

Qiao Yi looked at her father and then at Song Libai, wondering if this was some kind of large-scale family reunion.

Song Libai is her father's son, and she is his daughter-in-law.

Look at how affectionate and doting her father's eyes are when he looks at Song Libai, and how disgusted and disappointed he is when he looks at her.

"Long time no see, Uncle Qiao," Song Libai greeted Qiao's father politely.

"Indeed, you've grown so much." Mr. Qiao took a sip of tea, his eyes filled with undisguised praise.

Qiao Yi coughed softly, and then Qiao's father got back to the main topic, "I never thought it was you, you brat, who stole her away."

Song Libai gripped her hand tightly, looking at Qiao's father with a serious expression, "Uncle Qiao, I'm serious about Yi Yi."

Mr. Qiao chuckled and said, "I've watched you grow up, and I trust your character."

Qiao Yi was a little stunned. That's it? That's it? That's it?

"I remember you two didn't get along very well when you were little. You even fought when you met. Yi-yi even said that you were the person she hated the most when you were little." Mr. Qiao smiled as he looked them over and talked about the past.

Qiao Yi frowned, turned her head to look at Song Libai, her eyes full of doubt. Was that so?

Actually, Song Libai didn't remember clearly either. He never expected that they would have fought when they were kids.

Seeing the puzzled expressions on their faces, Mrs. Qiao smiled and added, "It seems you don't remember. You were both quite young at the time, and we don't know why you started fighting."

"Yi-Yi was quite fierce when she was little..."

Qiao called out, "Mom and Dad." She was indeed not their biological child; Song Libai was.

Mr. Qiao glared at her, then looked at Song Libai with pity, "Xiaobai, you've had a hard time."

Qiao Yi wondered what she had done as a child that made her father look at her with such pity.

The development was completely different from what she had expected.

Song Libai caught a glimpse of the girl's suspicious look out of the corner of his eye, patted her head to comfort her, "Uncle is exaggerating. Yiyi is very well-behaved, and we have a good relationship."

"That's good, that's good. I'll need you to continue taking care of her from now on," Mr. Qiao said with a smile, seemingly having already accepted the marriage proposal.