Chapter 20 Unable to withstand the onslaught

Lin Zaoyi sipped her water, listening attentively.

Xi Xi's tone turned wistful, "A few days ago, I passed by the study and overheard Meng Henian chatting with Brother Duan Lin. He said that Brother Zhao Jing has a woman, and he's keeping it very well hidden. It seems like it was a one-night stand, and his neck is covered in hickeys."

Cough cough cough—

The sound of choking.

It was Lin Zaoyi who choked her, making her pale and disfigured.

Xi Xi handed over a tissue, "Why are you getting so worked up about something that's not even your real sister?"

Lin Zaoyi chuckled and wiped the water droplets from her lips. "I just find it quite unbelievable."

Meng Jinxi raised an eyebrow. "Right? I was shocked too."

Tan You didn't believe it. "Are you sure my brother didn't mishear?"

"No." Meng Jinxi casually rested her chin on her hand. "It's quite a coincidence that it happened at the Yulan Club. I'll try to get some information out of Meng Henian later."

“A trap,” Lin Zaoyi broke out in a cold sweat, changing the subject, “What about the second one?”

Meng Jinxi smiled, "It's still Brother Zhaojing's love life."

Without any hesitation, he directly stated the person's name, "Yuan Lai."

The two people didn't react at all, not even uttering an "oh".

She was annoyed and slammed her finger on the table. "What do you mean? At least say something!"

Lin Zaoyi: "Squeak".

Then Tan You said: "Squeak."

Meng Jinxi: "...Annoying."

......

After finishing lunch, the three of them drove to the club in two cars. Just as they arrived, Meng Jinxi's agent called and told her to come to the company immediately.

I had no choice but to stand them up.

The two were unaffected and played from the bright sunshine until the last rays of the setting sun.

After leaving the club, Lin Zaoyi received a call from Ms. Ming, asking if she was coming back for dinner.

"Mom, wait a minute."

Holding the phone, she turned her head and asked, "Tan You, what are you having for dinner tonight?"

"I'm fine with either."

Mingxian recognized Tan You as the person with her daughter. "Why don't you come back for dinner?"

Lin Zaoyi didn't care and relayed, "My mom asked if you wanted to go to Xiyuan?"

After a half-second pause, he said, "How about we go? I'm covered in sweat and feel uncomfortable."

She forgot to bring a change of clothes.

Tan You: "OK".

Lin Zaoyi replied to her mother, "Come back and eat."

After hanging up, Mingxian asked the aunt to add two more dishes.

"Who wants to come?" Tan's father, who was playing chess with his son, took a moment to ask.

"Tan You, come back with Zao Yi."

Mingxian said as she walked into the kitchen with her aunt, "The crab is good today, let's not steam it, let's stir-fry it, Tan You loves it."

Mr. Tan smiled and said, "Your Aunt Ming is treating Tan You as her son-in-law ahead of time."

Tan Zhaojing's eyelashes drooped slightly, and her voice was indifferent, "I didn't notice."

"Didn't you notice that? Hey, you lost!" The father, like a general who had just attacked his son from across the mountain, said, "Were you distracted, or were you deliberately letting me win?"

Tan Zhaojing: "My chess skills are inferior to yours."

Tan's father took this lightly. Zhao Jing's chess skills were truly passed down from his grandfather. He only won occasionally when his son let him win.

Tan Zhaojing got up from the sofa. "Dad, I'm going to return a work call."

Move outside.

The afterglow faded, and night took its place.

When Tan You was almost at Xiyuan, he received a call from his agent, who told him that his agreed-upon two-week vacation was ending early and that he needed to join the crew the next day.

He was furious, "Why should I!"

The agent stated frankly, "Filming started ahead of schedule at the request of the production company."

Tan You was so choked up that he hung up the phone.

"What's wrong?" Lin Zaoyi looked at him.

Tan You clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Work starts tomorrow. If I remember correctly, the producer is Xingyao. I guess some of their executives have nothing better to do."

As they were talking, the car drove into the courtyard, and the two got out.

As they passed the pavilion, they all slowed their pace, because there was a figure with a very strong presence standing there.

The bright streetlights illuminated the girl's joyful expression clearly; Tan Zhaojing could even notice the curve at the corners of her eyes, but when she saw him, the smile on her lips vanished in an instant.

He recalled that the girl never seemed to smile at him properly; it was all fake.

His gaze slid down to the two people's clothes, and his eyes darkened.

"elder brother."

Tan You stepped forward, half-jokingly, "Did you know I was coming and came out to greet me?"

He was met with nothing but air; even the way he looked at others was as silent and colorless as air.

"......"

A sudden chill ran down his spine. "What's wrong?"

Still no response.

Confused, she turned her head and asked, "Zaoyi, is my brother in a bad mood?"

That's a good question.

Lin Zaoyi gestured for him to ask her directly.

Make room for the two brothers to have a good chat, but just as they took a step, Tan Zhaojing's voice rolled into their ears, "Change your clothes before you eat."

She was certain that the sentence was directed at her, but she didn't understand why he had said it that way.

His eyes blinked slowly.

Noticing her confusion, the man mercifully added, "Don't you shower after exercising?"

"..."

So it turns out he disliked her.

I hadn't washed my hair, and I was worried that everyone would be waiting for dinner, so I just took a quick shower. But I was still too late; they were already seated in the restaurant.

The apology had barely left her lips when a new problem arose: Tan You had taken her original seat, and Tan Jiani was not there, so she was now faced with the choice of sitting next to Tan Zhaojing.

She doesn't want to.

She quickly moved closer to Tan You and said, "Uncle Tan, I'm not craving food today. I want to chat with Tan You."

The father smiled and said, "These two kids have such a good relationship."

Mingxian is a bit of a perfectionist, and she reached out and tugged at her daughter across the chair, saying, "We can chat like this if you sit across from each other."

Because of their familiar relationship, Lin Zaoyi waved her finger at Tan You and said, "You sit over there."

Just sit here without looking up. If you sit in a row, you might end up touching each other.

Tan You had no idea about such a roundabout way of things, and he was too lazy to move. "I'm a guest."

He lifted her up and said, "Go."

Tan Zhaojing remained silent throughout, his eyes half-closed, his peripheral vision catching the reluctant figure landing beside him.

He turned his gaze away, "You seem to be putting on a brave face."

Lin Zaoyi said something insincere, "No."

With a slight curve at the corner of her eye, she revealed what she thought was a rather sweet smile. "Brother Zhaojing, you've misunderstood. I really just wanted to make it easier to chat with Tan You."

Tan Zhaojing managed a weak laugh, "Then I'd like to hear what you're talking about."

Tan You was peeling a crab. At home, he wasn't wearing gloves and didn't need to worry about his image, so he ate it naturally and without any burden. "Zao Yi and I talk about everything. We even talked about you at lunch today. Do you want to hear more?"

Lin Zaoyi: "!"

He quickly gave Tan You a wink, and Tan You smiled nonchalantly, "What's there to be afraid of? My brother isn't an outsider."

Tan Zhaojing wasn't really interested, but since the girl had stopped him, he took over the conversation, "Go on."

With his uncle and aunt present, Tan You relayed the story in a slightly more polite manner: "Someone saw that your neck was covered in kiss marks from a woman."

It wasn't much more civilized; it remained simple and crude.

Lin Zaoyi really wanted to pinch someone. Can't they just eat their food properly?!

Mr. Tan immediately put down his chopsticks. "Really?"

Tan Zhaojing didn't answer immediately, but looked to his right. "What do you think?"

Lin Zaoyi lowered her head, pretending to be dead while holding her breath, but the other party persisted, calling her name, "Lin Zaoyi."

"......"

She feigned surprise and looked up. "Ask me?"

He said in a serious tone, "I think there's a mistake. Brother Zhaojing, you're not such a casual person."

"That's not true."

Tan Zhaojing smiled cryptically, thinking, "It could have been resolved in a single sentence, but they had to do it twice."

After a half-second pause, he added, "But the girl suddenly pounced on him."

It seemed intentional; the volume was limited to what she could hear.

Lin Zaoyi's heart tightened. Had Tan Zhaojing remembered something...?

He forced a smile, "Brother Zhaojing, don't joke around..."

The man's lips curved slightly, his expression nonchalant. "Do I look like I'm joking?"