Chapter 17 Mandarin Ducks
Jiang Qingying's playful attitude and deliberately coquettish tone for flirting showed that she didn't take any love rivals seriously.
But Shen Shuyun is a member of the Lu family.
She wouldn't say she was jealous, but the thought of having someone who disgusted her in her home after marriage made her irritable.
"I'm petty and can't tolerate any nonsense." Jiang Qingying raised an eyebrow and deliberately asked him, "Will you do it, or should I?"
Lu Jinyuan lowered his eyes, looking at her red, moist lips, and hesitated for half a second before saying, "Whatever."
Jiang Qingying: "Are you heartbroken?"
Lu Jinyuan narrowed his eyes, a hint of helplessness appearing in his usually calm gaze.
Lu Jinyuan met Shen Shuyun at Lu Qicheng's 70th birthday banquet, which was also the first time he made a public appearance in front of everyone.
He lost both his parents in an accident when he was three years old. After the funeral, he was taken in by Lu Qicheng and secretly raised in a neighboring city for many years. Apart from Lu Qicheng and his wife, very few people knew about this. Therefore, he was not really close to his nominal sister. To him, Shen Shuyun was the same as Chen Liqian was to Jiang Qingying—both were insignificant and unimportant people.
The Lu family members are all ruthless. Lu Jinyuan was raised by Lu Qicheng from a young age, so he is naturally ruthless as well. He doesn't care what Jiang Qingying will do to Shen Shuyun. If Jiang Qingying doesn't take action, he can solve the problem for her.
He might even do something more ruthless than Jiang Qingying.
Even though Lu Qicheng treated Shen Shuyun like his own daughter, he had plenty of ways to keep Shen Shuyun away from Jiang Qingying.
"Where are you going, you little drunkard?"
"I'm looking for Qingying. The bartender said she's been here for quite a while."
"She probably had something come up on the way and couldn't make it. We'll go back and wait for her."
"No way, she's playing somewhere else. I'm going to find her and play with her."
The door was only a third open, offering little soundproofing; all the sounds from the hallway were clearly audible, and they seemed to be getting closer. Jiang Qingying immediately recognized Lin Tingwan and Song Mingxu. Lin Tingwan had probably been drinking and insisted on coming out, and Song Mingxu was worried about her, so he was with her.
Jiang Qingying looked up at Lu Jinyuan, raised an eyebrow slightly, her beautiful eyes sparkling, and whispered in his ear on tiptoe, "I'm going back now."
Jiang Qingying was on the taller side for a girl, and even though she was wearing high heels, she was still a few centimeters shorter than Lu Jinyuan. So when she stood on tiptoe, half of her body was leaning against Lu Jinyuan's chest, her soft skin gently pressing against his hard chest. The almost imperceptible touch made it even harder for him to control himself, and he longed to stay in that moment.
Lu Jinyuan pressed down on her waist, his Adam's apple bobbing, his breath brushing against her face. "When will it be over? I'll pick you up."
He wouldn't let Jiang Qingying get down, so she simply moved even closer, supporting all her strength on him. "You want to control me before we're even married?"
Lu Jinyuan found it amusing; how could he possibly control her, and she wouldn't let him control her either.
After making the joke, Jiang Qingying added, "You don't need to wait. I'll have Zhou Yu pick me up later, or you can come with me?"
Before Lu Jinyuan could speak, she interrupted again: "But they're all afraid of you, so if you go, you'll ruin the atmosphere."
Lu Jinyuan glanced at her coldly and suddenly felt there was nothing left to talk to her about.
The noise outside continued, and just as Lu Jinyuan was about to put Jiang Qingying down, the half-closed door was kicked open. Inside the private room, the deafening music from the dance floor gradually amplified, accompanied by gasps of surprise and suppressed emotions.
The two were very close. In the dimly lit room, the man held the woman's slender waist, and the daughter leaned against the man's chest. Their heads were intertwined, and from a distance, they looked like mandarin ducks with their necks entwined.
Jiang Qingying took a slight step back, turned her head to look at the two people standing at the door, a broad smile on her face, her long, curled eyelashes fluttering up and down. Slowly, up and down, casually, her eyes seemed to carry a gentle knife, silently killing people with fear.
Lu Jinyuan kept observing with his eyes lowered. The woman in his arms showed no embarrassment at being caught in the act. Instead, she calmly watched the two who had stumbled upon each other, as if they were the ones who should be ashamed.
Lin Tingwan covered her mouth with both hands, trying hard to control her surprise. She sobered up a lot in an instant. She didn't dare to look but was very curious. Just as she was struggling with this, Song Mingxu covered her eyes in time.
"Sweetie, we won't look at things we shouldn't see."
Lin Tingwan subconsciously tried to pull his hand away, but was startled when she met Jiang Qingying's gaze. The other person was clearly smiling, but it gave her the creeps.
She could read Jiang Qingying's eyes. "Is the show good? If you keep watching, you'll get angry."
So she grabbed Song Mingxu and ran away.
Jiang Qingying turned her head back and looked at Lu Jinyuan innocently, saying, "See? They're really afraid of you."
Lu Jinyuan pinched the soft flesh on her side, put her down, and said in his usual calm voice, "Let's go."
Jiang Qingying left him without a trace of lingering affection, without saying another word to him, and went to the private room they had originally agreed upon.
As soon as Jiang Qingying entered the private room, she saw Lin Tingwan huddled in a corner of the sofa. Amused, she walked over and patted Lin Tingwan's shoulder, "Are you sober yet?"
Lin Tingwan quickly hid in Song Mingxu's arms and shook her head violently: "Not awake." Then, realizing something was wrong, she nodded and said, "A little awake."
Jiang Qingying was amused by her, "Was the show good?"
Lin Tingwan immediately shook her head, like a rattle-drum: "It doesn't look good."
"Hmm?" Jiang Qingying frowned, deliberately teasing her.
Lin Tingwan said with a long face, "It looks good, it looks good."
Everyone present burst into laughter. Song Mingxu hugged the girl in his arms and said to Jiang Qingying, "Stop teasing her."
Jiang Qingying poured herself a glass of juice, took a couple of sips to soothe her dry throat, and said, "It's not my fault, Wanwan was just too much fun."
Song Mingxu expressed his understanding, while Lin Tingwan dared not speak out against his anger.
Jiang Qingying glanced at the people around her. In addition to the three girls who were inseparable, there were also a few friends who usually visited her. They had all heard about her marriage and were teasing her while raising their glasses.
Everyone here is shrewd. It's common knowledge that Jiang Qingying can't hold her liquor. Since they finally got a chance to get her to drink a few cups, they naturally wouldn't let it go. Each person took a sip, which was about Jiang Qingying's limit.
Everyone decided to call it a day. Jiang Qingying leaned back on the sofa and dozed off when she was suddenly patted on the arm. She looked over with glazed eyes and saw a drunkard who was even more drunk than she was.
"You should come to gatherings less often; if you do come, you just go to sleep," Lin Tingwan said, throwing a drink.
Jiang Qingying and Nan Chun exchanged a smile and explained helplessly, "I worked all day today, and then worked overtime for a few more hours after get off work. I don't live the life of a pampered young lady like you, eating, drinking, and having fun every day."
"Only Song Mingxu can put up with you," she added.
Nan Chun gently rubbed Lin Tingwan's face and said with a smile, "You've been getting crazier lately, playing outside every day. Aren't you afraid of getting a scolding?"
Lin Tingwan scoffed, "Song Mingxu's family has so many rules. He won't be able to have fun after he gets married. I might as well have as much fun as possible before the wedding."
Nan Chun: "Song Mingxu cherishes you so much, how could he not protect you? You still do whatever you want."
Lin Tingwan: "I don't want to keep causing him trouble."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Qingying said with relief, "Our Wanwan has grown up."
"..." Lin Tingwan rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "The Lu family seems even stricter than the Song family. You should be prepared."
Nan Chun clinked glasses with Lin Tingwan. "Baby, have you forgotten that the woman sitting next to you is the future matriarch of the Lu family? She's the one who sets the family rules."
Lin Tingwan: "..."
Jiang Qingying glanced at Nan Chun, her tone full of disdain: "'The mistress of the house' makes me look at least ten years older."
Although Nan Chun is right, the impression of a matriarch is generally that she is older, but she is only twenty-seven this year, very young!
"It's been several days, and I still can't believe you're going to marry Lu Jinyuan." Nan Chun said casually, but she was subtly trying to get information out of him.
Jiang Qingying understood perfectly well, but the innocent and naive Lin Tingwan kept nodding in agreement with Nan Chun's words. She smiled, glanced at the half-drunk Lin Tingwan, then at Nan Chun beside her, and then blurted out in her drunken state, "I like him."
The more casually, humorously, and simply you say such things, the less likely anyone will believe you.
Especially those who are carefree and lack shrewdness.
Jiang Qingying could almost see the black lines hanging on Lin Tingwan's forehead. She couldn't help but laugh and tilted her head back to gulp down a few mouthfuls of orange juice, trying to suppress the taste of alcohol in her mouth.
"Tch, that's just a perfunctory response. Who would believe you?" Lin Tingwan pouted, dissatisfied.
It's no wonder Lin Tingwan is so carefree. Although Jiang Qingying is slightly tipsy, she looks much less serious than usual. Her slightly upturned red lips are extremely alluring, and her eyes are flirtatious. She is unhurried and has no trace of the shyness one would show when expressing love. Instead, she looks just like the girl before she started working at Jiang's, who was carefree and lazy, but could always easily deceive people and manipulate everything.
In fact, for a moment after she said those words, Jiang Qingying was stunned and doubted their truthfulness.
...It's probably half true and half false.
Nan Chun and Jiang Qingying exchanged a strange look, then smiled and tacitly remained silent. She saw things much more clearly than Lin Tingwan, but a sudden wave of envy washed over her.
Lin Tingwan is kind and innocent, and it's relaxing and comfortable to be around her, which is why she's so likable. It's good to be like her; she's always pure and unrestrained. Every day, she only needs to worry about whether she's eating well, where she wants to go, and if she gets into trouble, someone will protect her. She doesn't need to be cunning or scrutinize people and things.
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