Wen Zhao was anxious, but she didn’t let it show.
The System sat opposite her, holding a cup of hot cocoa in both hands, looking at her thoughtfully. Wen Zhao tried very hard to mask it, but her expression still betrayed a hint of anxiety.
They were waiting for someone.
The wealthy family gossip that had been spreading like wildfire this morning was no longer visible on the trending lists. Wen Zhao remembered the System’s requirements for her; after silently accepting the System’s invitation, she hadn’t asked a single follow-up question.
The System only said that Qin Zhuyu would come.
Wen Zhao suppressed her emotions, took Qin Zhuyu out of her “Do Not Disturb” list, and waited with the System until now. Finally, Wen Zhao saw a familiar vehicle stop outside the coffee shop.
Qin Zhuyu walked in with her lips pressed tight, her expression complex.
There were two bags placed on the chair next to Wen Zhao. Seeing this, Qin Zhuyu didn’t say a word; she picked up the bags, moved them to the chair next to Wen Qian, and then sat down.
The eldest Miss Qin didn’t speak, and Wen Zhao didn’t know what to say either.
“Wen Qian” pretended not to notice the awkward atmosphere between them and spoke up bluntly: “Junior, I really didn’t expect that I’d be able to get an appointment with you.”
“Who is your junior?” Qin Zhuyu said crossly, her peripheral vision constantly drifting toward Wen Zhao.
Wen Zhao’s complexion had actually improved quite a bit.
Qin Zhuyu felt a secret pang of resentment and let out a huff, pushing her cup away in dissatisfaction.
She was always like this; as soon as she was near Wen Zhao, she couldn’t help but make a scene, ideally to draw all of Wen Zhao’s attention to herself.
Wen Zhao understood and let out a sigh. “Don’t like drinking this? Here, order something yourself.”
She was extremely frustrated internally, but Qin Zhuyu couldn’t tell.
Because no matter how bad Wen Zhao’s mood was, whenever Qin Zhuyu was by her side, she was always the one being indulged.
Qin Zhuyu’s face brightened slightly, and she picked up the ceramic cup again. “I suppose I can manage to drink this.”
Wen Qian’s eyes darted between the two of them, and she couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
Both of their gazes snapped toward her.
Wen Qian immediately raised both hands in a gesture of surrender and said, “What I’m laughing at has nothing to do with you two.”
“…Fine,” Wen Zhao looked down, her tone soft and yielding. “Whatever you have to say to Miss Qin, say it quickly. Do I need to excuse myself?”
Up until this moment, Wen Zhao had no idea what the System intended to do today.
Out of trust in the System, Wen Zhao chose to cooperate.
This bit of cooperation, in Qin Zhuyu’s eyes, took on a different flavor.
Qin Zhuyu’s malice was directed toward Wen Qian without any disguise.
She could tolerate Zheng Miaoning having a higher priority than her, but Wen Qian? What kind of thing was Wen Qian?
“Please don’t. If you excuse yourself, Miss Qin might just tear me apart,” Wen Qian added, adding fuel to the fire as if she hadn’t made Qin Zhuyu angry enough already.
Wen Zhao held Qin Zhuyu back and frowned at the System.
She could see it now—the System was provoking Qin Zhuyu. But was there any point in doing this?
Ultimately, Wen Zhao scolded the System half-heartedly: “If you have something to say, say it properly. Don’t be so sarcastic.”
Sitting opposite them, Wen Qian shrugged nonchalantly.
Qin Zhuyu exploded.
The bristling Miss Qin immediately turned her verbal artillery toward Wen Zhao, questioning her fiercely: “Are you very close with her? Why are you talking to her in that tone?”
Wen Zhao: “…”
All three people present knew what Qin Zhuyu was angry about.
Wen Zhao’s gentle, comforting tone might have come from politeness, but that subconscious slip into admonishment and guidance only happened toward people she cared about.
It had taken Qin Zhuyu nearly a year to earn that treatment.
“Yes, we are quite close,” Wen Zhao admitted candidly.
Qin Zhuyu glared fiercely at Wen Qian.
How long had it been since the contract ended? This Wen Qian…
Qin Zhuyu gritted her teeth in anger. She knew it! This Wen Qian used to follow them around at school all the time; she must have been looking for an opportunity to steal her away!
Wen Qian continued to play innocent.
Except there were a few more hints of triumph on her face.
Wen Zhao knitted her brows and said in a low voice, “Enough, enough. Wen Qian, if you have something to say, say it quickly. Miss Qin, don’t be so quick to get angry. Since you agreed to Wen Qian’s invitation, there must be something about Wen Qian you’re curious about. Can you both stop being so childish?”
Being called childish along with the other person actually made Qin Zhuyu’s expression look much better.
She calmed down, tilted her chin up haughtily, and looked at Wen Qian. “Fine, I’ll listen to Wen Zhao. If there’s something, say it quickly.”
Wen Qian didn’t take Qin Zhuyu’s patronizing attitude to heart.
Because she had enough confidence that her words would make Qin Zhuyu drop that posture.
When Wen Qian began to speak, Wen Zhao initially only felt a sense of relief, glad that the two “ancestors” had finally moved past their confrontation and onto the right track.
Gradually, Wen Zhao’s expression became just as grave as Qin Zhuyu’s.
Zheng Lihui and his wife rarely had time to stay home and have a proper meal with Zheng Miaoning.
Today was an exception.
After the two of them, who had been feeling miserable for half the day, calmed down, Xu Hexuan spoke up: “Then the dinner we originally arranged…”
She didn’t finish her sentence.
Zheng Lihui rubbed the bridge of his nose. “We’ll proceed according to the original plan. Just remove the photographers, the media, and… Pingchun.”
The homecoming banquet carefully planned for the youngest daughter had ultimately become an ordinary dinner time for them and their eldest daughter.
At the repeated request of the butler, Zheng Miaoning nodded and agreed to attend.
The butler and servants had spent more time taking care of Zheng Miaoning than Zheng Lihui and Xu Hexuan ever had.
After changing into a casual set of clothes, Zheng Miaoning sat by the bed, staring blankly at the family photo on the table.
In the photo, Zheng Miaoning was being held by her parents, and all three of them were smiling.
When the teenage Zheng Miaoning used to stare at the family photo and miss her parents, her parents were busy smiling with Zheng Pingchun.
If Wen Zhao hadn’t barged in, even if things repeated a thousand or ten thousand times, Zheng Miaoning would still have ended up clashing with that family of three today, leaving everyone bruised and battered.
She didn’t care about inheritance rights or reputation; she only wanted those three people to have a miserable time.
But now, all of that had to yield to Wen Zhao.
Zheng Miaoning only wanted Wen Zhao to stay here forever.
After changing, Zheng Miaoning went downstairs in silence. Her parents were still sitting on the sofa, and the two had very little interaction, which didn’t surprise Zheng Miaoning.
After hesitating for a long time, Zheng Miaoning walked toward the door.
The words of comfort Zheng Lihui had prepared got stuck in his throat. Xu Hexuan was much more composed; she picked up her coat, tugged him to his feet, and the couple walked side-by-side behind Zheng Miaoning.
The fact that Zheng Miaoning came downstairs on time and gave them the face to go to dinner was already a surprise to Xu Hexuan.
From the start, she had prepared herself to act as a mediator between her husband and her daughter.
Zheng Miaoning sat in the back row of the car.
As she expected, Xu Hexuan sat down next to her first, and Zheng Lihui also got into the back row at Xu Hexuan’s signal.
The spacious back seat was suddenly filled to capacity.
The warmth from her mother’s body transferred through two thin layers of fabric to Zheng Miaoning’s leg. Zheng Miaoning turned her head, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
“Ningning, take a look and see if there are any other dishes you’d like to eat that Mom and Dad haven’t ordered yet.”
As awkwardness spread through the car, Xu Hexuan pulled up the menu sent by the butler on her phone and held it out to Zheng Miaoning.
Zheng Miaoning took the phone with a stony face.
After swiping through it randomly a few times, Zheng Miaoning tilted her chin and handed the phone back, her tone softening considerably. “This is fine.”
Before getting out of the car, Zheng Miaoning dropped the sentence, “I also invited my aunt’s family over,” leaving Xu Hexuan and Zheng Lihui looking at each other in bewilderment.
Following the waiter’s guidance, they skillfully went upstairs; Zheng Miaoning’s posture remained haughty.
Seeing her like this, Xu Zhenjing—Zheng Miaoning’s maternal aunt—breathed a sigh of relief. She stepped forward with her two girls to check on Zheng Miaoning, casting a reproachful look at her sister and brother-in-law behind Zheng Miaoning.
Tonight was originally supposed to be Zheng Pingchun’s homecoming banquet.
Xu Zhenjing, her stepdaughter, and her adopted daughter were all ready, only to receive a message from her sister halfway through saying they didn’t need to come. Not long after that, her niece sent another message asking them to come over in the evening for a family reunion dinner.
Xu Zhenjing could guess most of the twists and turns.
But she didn’t think her niece was being willfully troublesome; instead, she was very dissatisfied with Zheng Lihui and his wife.
“Ning, you’ve been back in the country for so long and didn’t even know to come see your aunt. I’m angry.”
Xu Zhenjing feigned anger.
Her play-acting made Zheng Miaoning smile. Zheng Miaoning tilted her head innocently. “I wanted to come find you to play, too, but I heard from Qingshi that you’ve been very busy this past half year, so I only dared to chat with you on my phone.”
Zheng Miaoning winked at Xu Zhenjing. Xu Zhenjing’s face turned red, but she quickly regained her composure.
With a billionaire brother-in-law like Zheng Lihui, Xu Zhenjing herself had married well. She and her husband, who were estranged, each lived their own lives; both were well-known socialites in their circles.
Last year, while traveling abroad, Xu Zhenjing took a liking to a white college student and chased him through several countries before finally getting what she wanted.
Facing her niece’s teasing, Xu Zhenjing just smiled and let it pass.
Unexpectedly, Zheng Miaoning was grabbed by the shoulders by Xu Zhenjing and spun around to face the dark-faced Xu Hexuan.
Even though she was still in a cold war with her parents, Zheng Miaoning still felt an urge to roll her eyes.
Xu Hexuan’s dark expression certainly wasn’t aimed at her.
Despite the fact that Xu Zhenjing was nearly forty, Zheng Miaoning still felt that her aunt was in a rebellious phase, often making Xu Hexuan extremely angry.
“Don’t use me as a shield.” Zheng Miaoning looked away, not wanting to see her parents. She turned a corner and led Xu Qingshi and the very awkward-looking Xu Yingzhi toward the dining table.
Zheng Miaoning had her own plans for inviting Xu Zhenjing’s family.
The most important point was that Xu Zhenjing would get scolded, and then she and her two cousins could step in to break up the fight. Softening her attitude in that context would make it less likely for Zheng Lihui and the other to become suspicious.
The feelings were gone, but the money was still there.
Zheng Miaoning only wanted the shares and money in their hands.
For this purpose, a reconciliation was necessary, and it had to seem effortless—as if it happened because of outsiders—to be both quick and natural.
Over there, Xu Zhenjing, who hadn’t been back in the country long, was being lectured by her sister and brother-in-law. Over here, the three women—Zheng Miaoning and her cousins—seemed quite harmonious.
Xu Yingzhi was Xu Zhenjing’s stepdaughter; she only had a foreign name before, but after her father married Xu Zhenjing, she simply took Xu Zhenjing’s surname. Xu Qingshi was Xu Zhenjing’s adopted daughter.
Zheng Miaoning shared no blood relation with either of her cousins.
But since Xu Qingshi was raised by Xu Zhenjing, their familial bond was deeper.
That was why Xu Hexuan only tried to play matchmaker between Zheng Miaoning and Xu Yingzhi.
The results just weren’t very good.
Zheng Miaoning ignored Xu Yingzhi’s awkwardness and said casually, “Sit down and hang out for a bit. Your mom will probably have to endure being scolded for a while longer.”