Uncle, this is something I'm tired of playing with.
Lin Zhen'er silently looked at the scenery rushing past the window, losing all interest in continuing to fiddle with the ring.
She certainly wanted to visit the Golden Banquet House to see what a real wealthy family was like and gather material on the lives of the rich, instead of having to constantly open the social media accounts of luxury real estate agents to draw inspiration when writing about business tycoons.
Just ten days ago, she was the girlfriend of the other party's nephew. Just two months ago, she was sitting in her ex-boyfriend's house, sitting in front of the tea table because she didn't know how to make tea, hoping someone would come to her rescue.
Jin Chaosheng, who had always relied on her family background, was timid and remained silent under everyone's meaningful gazes that day. After a long while, they only managed to pull her out of the room with an excuse. But the director's family lived in an old villa on the outskirts of the city.
The car is now entering a residential complex, one of only three garden villas in the entire Pingyang area, a legendary, exorbitantly priced estate. I wonder what kind of lavish entertainment awaits me, something reserved for the wealthy, waiting to embarrass this guest whose life has changed so dramatically in such a short time.
"I've invited a few relatives from my family. We're getting married, and there are still many things we need them to take care of."
I've also cleared out the second floor; feel free to add whatever you like. It will be used specifically for your work from now on.
Having observed his lover for a long time, he seemed to sense those subtle emotions. The woman, trying to appear calm, gripped her skirt tightly, her eyes wide as she surveyed the surrounding pavilions and gardens. She followed behind him like a timid little rabbit, hiding her usual cunning and playfulness.
Hearing this, she nodded obediently, glanced at the koi in the pond, and then walked cautiously around the flowers and trees in the garden.
"Sister Li, this is my fiancée. She will be the mistress of this place from now on."
See what flowers and plants she likes later, and arrange for a gardener to come and change them.
"And for anything else at home, we listen to her."
Just as the two were about to step through the glass doors into the hall, Jin Yanzhi's hand wrapped around her waist. A warm kiss gently landed on her head. As the people in the room rose one by one and the butler approached, he aptly announced her identity.
The man, adopting the demeanor of the head of the household, calmed his heart, which was fluttering incessantly in his chest like a dove.
Although he and Jin Chaosheng were relatives, their personalities and ways of doing things were so different. The woman leaned back slightly without making a sound, her eyes a little red. So this is what it feels like to be pampered and supported by someone you can rely on. The person behind her seemed to notice something and hugged her even tighter.
The butlers of these wealthy families are always good at reading people's expressions. They seemed to have noticed her unease at first, so they quickly and respectfully suggested that the future mistress go upstairs for a tour while everyone was exchanging pleasantries, saying that they needed to ask what else they wanted to add to the second floor.
The house was exactly as described online, with each floor being extremely spacious. Ms. Jin, who was exchanging pleasantries with everyone, also had very modern taste. Everywhere she looked, there was simple yet high-quality furniture. The sofas she could touch and the crystal chandeliers overhead were all from top Italian luxury brands that she had seen on social media before.
Every window here offers a view of lush greenery, which is incredibly soothing to the eye.
"Madam, this is the master's bedroom. Please let me know if you need anything added or replaced."
Sister Li's voice wasn't loud, but the person who entered the bedroom forgot to answer.
Lin Zhen'er immediately spotted the incongruous red octopus blanket amidst the spacious bed and light brown furnishings in the bedroom. It was the blanket she wore to keep warm in her pinned selfie on WeChat Moments, a movie merchandise item that cost only a hundred yuan or so including shipping. Now, a similar blanket was quietly folded next to President Jin's pillow, becoming the most eye-catching thing in the room.
Did he buy it because he saw that photo?
The feeling of watching the other person wash dishes on the sofa last night washed over me again like a tide. Coming back to my senses, I bit my lip, which was trying to turn up in a smile, and secretly felt happy inside.
"Zhen'er, we need to go downstairs now. Everyone in the family is here, it's time to eat."
He stepped out of the elevator excitedly and saw his fiancée coughing twice as she stared blankly at the blanket. He quickly went over and took her hand. They hadn't held hands many times, but in that short time, they had become quite adept at it, their fingers intertwined as they walked out of the elevator.
"Hello, Auntie. It's only been a few days, and our generational relationship has changed."
Jin Chaosheng, sitting at the table, looked somewhat haggard. His eyes were fixed on the two people standing side by side. His hands, which he wanted to raise, were firmly pressed under the table by his parents, but he still couldn't resist the urge to make sarcastic remarks.
"You did something shameful yourself, how dare you criticize others?"
His cousin, who was more than twenty years older than him, was clearly afraid that things would get worse, so he sternly reprimanded his son.
Today was an auspicious day, and not wanting to escalate the situation further, Mr. Jin pulled his fiancée to sit down and announced the start of the banquet. Amidst the delicious food and wine, the table was filled with relatives wearing flattering smiles, praising the couple as a perfect match, some even pulling out their phones to recommend auspicious wedding dates in the near future.
The only quiet person at the table was a noblewoman. Lin Zhen'er immediately noticed that she and her fiancé looked about 70% alike. The future mother-in-law was dressed simply, wearing only a string of green Buddhist beads. After greeting her, she focused on eating the vegetarian dishes in front of her and did not participate in the discussion at the table.
“That’s my mother. She has been devoted to Buddhism for over ten years. She won’t interfere in my affairs and will not live with us anymore.”
The clinking of glasses and the exchange of blessings on the table created quite a commotion, but the people around her seemed to keep their eyes glued to her, ready to protect her at any moment while also being able to keep track of everything she was looking at.
When the meal was almost over, the ex, who had endured the entire meal, seemed to be getting restless again. Just as everyone was about to get up, he answered a phone call and then smugly whistled towards the garden outside the French windows.
As everyone looked out, Lin Zhen'er immediately saw the woman standing on the stone bridge outside, the very same young woman who had been embroiled in a scandal with Jin Chaosheng a few days ago.
The other woman was wearing a form-fitting cheongsam. Beneath her delicate, arched eyebrows, her eyes, full of charm, were slightly narrowed as she surveyed the room. She recognized this face; she had seen her picture on her ex's computer a long time ago.
But it was still somewhat unexpected that such a beautiful face would appear on such a occasion as today.
"Have you really lost your mind, Jin Chaosheng?"
She had never seen her fiancé look like this before. His usually calm and collected eyes were now red with anger. He pursed his lips tightly and turned his head to look at the instigator of this farce.
"I'm just throwing caution to the wind. The whole world knows I'm having an affair with someone else's wife, so I'm bringing her here today for everyone to see."
But my uncle, he brought back a woman I'd grown tired of, and he's making a big show of marrying my nephew's girlfriend. How glorious does that sound?
These words were like an invisible yet resounding slap across Lin Zhen'er's face. She used all her strength to maintain her upright and dignified posture, not daring to look at anyone present, especially the man behind her who had just proposed.
She knew from the beginning that the philandering director wasn't serious about the relationship. He needed a docile and obedient girlfriend, someone he could bring home to appease his parents and someone he could take out to socialize with his friends. Meanwhile, she, who was being bullied by her cronies at work and almost lost her job, also needed a powerful figure to rely on.
Unfortunately, none of them expected that their seemingly perfect plans would shatter so miserably in the end.
"It seems you're not planning to go out properly today."
The person behind her was breathing heavily. Before she could react, Jin Yanzhi had already rushed up, grabbed the playboy whose laughter hadn't even faded, and shoved him out through the slightly ajar door.
The dull thud of a fist hitting flesh, the ex-boyfriend screaming in pain, the relatives trying to break up the fight, the young woman's affected exclamations, and finally, the splashing sound of Jin Chaosheng being knocked into the fishpond—all of this was like a symphony, playing out in a lively and exciting manner the day after she accepted the proposal.
She wasn't the one who cheated first, nor was she the one whose story was exposed, but in the end, she was the one who became the laughingstock. An uncle and nephew fighting over a woman, and her ex-boyfriend showing up with his mistress on their engagement day to provoke them—these are plots that Lin Zhen'er wouldn't have dared to write in her previous works.
Jin Yanzhi, who wouldn't stop until his opponent was bruised and battered, didn't have time to clean up the mess before pushing through the chaotic crowd in the courtyard. He rushed in and tightly embraced his pale-faced lover, his heart filled with regret and guilt. The person in his arms, however, was unusually quiet. She obediently followed her fiancé through the relatives and into the car without uttering a single word.
The disheveled man, still fuming after closing the door, tightly grasped those cold little hands. He shouldn't have invited so many relatives, and he certainly shouldn't have carelessly let that young woman in, allowing his unruly nephew to ruin such an important family dinner.
He should suppress the urge to show off like a victorious general after finally winning over his beloved. He should never have done anything wrong, and the worst thing he could have done was to scare her.
"Zhen'er, I'm sorry. I will never let anyone hurt you again... I..."
The figure sitting beside him was slender; the woman sat in the car with her head down, making no sound. Unable to suppress his worry, he reached out and pulled the small person into his arms, lowered his head and murmured words of comfort, then gently patted her back as if soothing a child.
Although he was usually fearless in business debates, today he seemed to have a knot in his throat, unable to utter a single, coherent sentence. He stammered out a thousand apologies and promises, but couldn't express the guilt in his heart, and broke out in a sweat.
"When did you buy that octopus blanket?"
Lin Zhen'er's reply was somewhat disjointed, and her voice was soft and low, causing Mr. Jin, who was not good at coaxing people, to stop immediately, afraid of missing a single word.
"I saw what you bought on your WeChat Moments... That thing is really hard to find. I don't know how to shop online. I bought from two different stores, and they were different from yours. It wasn't until I bought from the third store that I finally got the right one..."
His voice was slightly stammering with shyness, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down more rapidly due to nervousness.
Looking up at that face with its smooth jawline, deep-set eyes, and high nose, the woman's extremely sad emotions seemed to be caught in a large net.
"I want to plant a fringe tree. When it blooms, the white flowers cluster together, it's so beautiful."
She lowered her head and buried her face in the collar, which had lost a button in the fight, and quietly inhaled her lover's scent. The faint woody aroma mixed with the slight warmth of his chest, and a reassuring hormone spread through her nostrils.
"Plant them! If one isn't enough, plant ten. If that's still not enough, then move all those Podocarpus macrophyllus trees by the entrance."
The man repeatedly agreed to his fiancée's request, pecking her head several times with his chin. Lin Zhen'er's grievances seemed to melt away suddenly. She closed her eyes, letting the warm tears soak their clothes, and nodded vigorously.
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