Upon hearing this, Ni Sitian almost choked and coughed twice.
Xu Tingchuan raised his hand and gently patted her back, asking softly with concern, "Are you alright?"
Ni Sitian couldn't hold back her laughter any longer, so she simply let it out. His cold and indifferent tone had been full of sarcasm, which was really satisfying.
Unexpectedly, Xu Tingchuan, who is usually not very talkative to outsiders, is quite sharp-tongued.
“Haha,” Ni Qianshan laughed awkwardly, as if he really didn’t understand the implication in his words, and said with a smile, “Then you two are really quite destined.”
"Yes, it was quite a coincidence. She was almost going on a blind date with another man back then, but luckily I proposed early."
Xu Tingchuan spoke with a calm expression, but Ni Qianshan felt immense pressure.
“At the time, we didn’t know that Sitian already had a boyfriend.” He Cuiyun’s hands, which were hanging on her knees, were clenched into fists. She was unwilling to accept that such a man had taken a liking to Ni Sitian. She deliberately said, “Although Sitian studied at Yihai University, she could only get into the most unpopular agricultural major. I was afraid that she would be unemployed after graduation, so I kindly made that arrangement.”
This passage implies that Ni Sitian has low abilities, is at the bottom of her class even after getting into a prestigious university, and lacks life skills after graduation.
"Hehe." Xu Tingchuan chuckled twice and said indifferently, "Madam Ni, you should use this kindness on your own daughter in the future. Being a stepmother is not easy. People who don't know the situation might think you have ulterior motives."
He Cuiyun gave an awkward laugh, lowered her head, and picked up her water glass to hide her embarrassed expression.
Seeing that things had come to this point, Ni Ziqi sighed with feigned regret, "We really did put a lot of effort into Sitian's future. She could have gone to other schools to study better majors, but she was young at the time and insisted on going to Yihai University for the sake of her boyfriend, which is why she could only get into a less popular major with lower score requirements."
Ni Sitian frowned and looked at Xu Tingchuan uneasily. Although she had already explained her past with Qin Mubei clearly, she couldn't stop the mother and daughter from stirring things up.
“Everyone has a time when they are young and ignorant.” Xu Tingchuan squeezed Ni Sitian’s palm reassuringly, then turned to look at Ni Ziqi and said with a faint smile, “Isn’t Miss Feng the same? She has experienced a lot at such a young age.”
Ni Ziqi's original surname was Feng. It was only after He Cuiyun took her to follow Ni Qianshan that she changed her surname.
Xu Tingchuan's use of the term "Miss Feng" clearly distinguished her from Ni Sitian, showing no intention of treating her as Ni Sitian's older sister. Moreover, the remark about her having experienced so much at such a young age was clearly pointed at something.
Ni Ziqi lowered her head and gritted her teeth. Just how many bad things had that brat said about them to Xu Tingchuan?
The three people were speechless after Xu Tingchuan's words, and the dinner table became quieter.
Ni Sitian had a great appetite. It was the first time she had ever seen them so speechless, so she ate an extra half bowl of rice.
As the meal was about to end, Xu Tingchuan wiped his hands and gestured to Xiao Zhang.
At this moment, Xiao Zhang brought over the gift boxes and, as instructed by Xu Tingchuan, delivered them to each person.
Upon seeing the exquisitely packaged gift box, Ni Qianshan's earlier unpleasantness vanished, and he laughed heartily: "We're all family, why be so polite?"
"It's our first meeting, so I don't know what you like. Please accept this as a gift," Xu Tingchuan said politely.
"You've prepared such an expensive gift, I'm so embarrassed." Ni Qianshan's face was all wrinkled with smiles as he spoke politely, but he couldn't help but start unwrapping the gift.
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