Qin Qiqi only regretted not having the foresight to grab a watermelon and a small stool, smacking her lips while watching leisurely.
Tsk tsk tsk… The sun must have risen from the west today.
Her arrogant, overbearing, and exceedingly noble uncle had been repeatedly given the cold shoulder by Mu Ci, and the key point was that he had endured it without losing his temper.
How novel.
“Let’s eat, let’s eat, the food will get cold soon!”
Cai Qiushuang personally went to the kitchen to oversee the dishes. After they were all served, she went to the backyard to call everyone.
Seeing the painting on the art table, she asked in surprise, “Who painted this?”
The ink wasn’t completely dry yet—it was clearly freshly painted.
Qin Yuanhe shamelessly claimed credit, “Who else could it be? Of course, it was me.”
Cai Qiushuang scoffed, “With your amateur painting skills, if this were really your work, even the dogs in the front yard would know by now.”
Qin Yuanhe coughed awkwardly, “Wife, give me some face.”
Cai Qiushuang had no intention of sparing her husband’s dignity. Her gaze swept over the group before finally settling on Mu Ci, “Young lady, you painted this, didn’t you?”
Mu Ci nodded, “It’s my birthday gift for Father.”
“Struck gold.”
Cai Qiushuang said this to Qin Yan, then couldn’t resist boasting, “The Qin men may not excel at much, but their taste in wives is truly exceptional.”
Qin Yuanhe chimed in instantly, “It’s mainly my taste that’s good.”
Everyone: “…”
This sudden display of affection.
_
Cai Qiushuang and Qin Yuanhe genuinely liked Mu Ci from the bottom of their hearts. When they heard she was pregnant, they were even more overjoyed and excited.
During the meal, they kept piling food onto her plate, urging her to eat more.
Qin Yan sat beside her, ignored by his wife and neglected by his family, looking every bit like an unwelcome live-in son-in-law.
After dinner, night fell.
Knowing that pregnant women needed rest, the elderly couple didn’t keep them long. Before they left, they even instructed the servants to pack plenty of tonics for them.
“Qiqi, I’ll ride in your car.”
As they reached the parking area in the front yard, Mu Ci suddenly said this.
Qin Yan turned his gaze, the anger he had suppressed all night finding its outlet. His voice was low and heavy, “Mu Ci, what do you mean by this?”
Mu Ci remained expressionless, “I’m staying at her place tonight. It’s been a long time since we last hung out.”
Qin Yan laughed coldly.
Giving him the cold shoulder wasn’t enough; now she was pulling the “running away from home” card, was she?
Half an hour earlier, Mu Ci had already coordinated with Qin Qiqi. Seeing the situation, Qin Qiqi quickly chimed in, “Yeah, Uncle, it’s been ages since I last slept with Xiao Ci. We used to sleep together often…”
The rest of her words got stuck in her throat when she met Qin Yan’s dark, menacing glare.
Mu Ci didn’t even look at him, “See? I’m sleeping at Qiqi’s tonight.”
“No.”
Qin Yan opened the passenger door, his voice cold as if coated in ice, “Get in the car.”
Mu Ci remained unmoved. Two seconds later, she walked straight to Qin Qiqi’s car, opened the door, and got in.
Qin Qiqi glanced timidly at the man with a darkened expression, “Uncle, we’ll head off first then.”
With that, she dashed into the car as if sprinting a hundred meters.
Starting the engine, shifting gears, and turning the steering wheel—all in one smooth motion.
Soon, the car disappeared into the night.
“Xiao Ci, do you know how much psychological pressure I have to endure for offending Uncle?”
Qin Qiqi stepped on the gas, her fear still lingering, “Uncle’s glare looked like he wanted to eat someone alive.”
Mu Ci gazed out the window, the flickering lights and shadows falling on her radiant face, “What’s there to fear? I’m shielding you. If he’s angry, he’ll come at me.”
She just didn’t want to go home.
She didn’t want to face him.
“How did you end up marrying my uncle? It’s like something out of a novel.”
Absurdly coincidental.
“Yeah,” Mu Ci murmured with a hint of sarcasm, “stories come from life, but real life is far more dramatic than any story…”
Her words were drowned out by the roar of a revving engine.
A pure black Koenigsegg sliced through the air, overtaking them like a bolt of lightning.
Qin Qiqi was startled. “Uncle’s car!”
At that speed, under normal circumstances, Qin Qiqi would have cursed: Driving so fast, are you rushing to be reborn?!
Mu Ci’s cool gaze followed, but the car had already disappeared around the bend, leaving only the fleeting shadow of its rear.
He must be angry too, she thought.
Both were proud people; how could they easily lower their heads?
She laughed at herself mockingly.
Emotions were far more complicated than she had imagined.
It wasn’t just about physical compatibility. Indescribable feelings and unspoken frustrations swirled like a massive vortex, suffocating and unsettling.
“Hey, we can’t get through…”
Qin Qiqi’s car had just rounded a narrow bend when she was forced to stop.
The Koenigsegg was arrogantly parked sideways in the middle of the road. The man leaned lazily against the car, lighting a cigarette.
The crimson glow flickered as he tilted his head back slightly, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he exhaled a plume of bluish-gray smoke that blurred his features.
The streetlights cast a glow more alluring than the night itself.
Qin Yan slowly lifted his gaze, revealing no emotion, and stared straight through the car window at Mu Ci, his eyes dark enough to swallow a person whole.
A few seconds later, he flicked away the cigarette butt and strode closer, step by step, under the heavy cloak of night.
“Qiqi, don’t unlock the door,” Mu Ci said, her fingers tightening on her lap.
“…Okay!”
Qin Qiqi couldn’t stay as calm as Mu Ci. Flustered, she fumbled for the button, but—
A soft click sounded as the lock disengaged.
Mu Ci closed her eyes, truly exasperated by her friend’s foolishness!
The driver’s side door was pulled open.
The man’s shadow loomed over them, the cool light falling on his shoulders as an oppressive pressure suddenly filled the car.
“Switch cars.”
His voice was cold and deep. At the same time, a car key landed on Qin Qiqi’s lap.
Two seconds of deadly silence passed.
Qin Yan’s unfathomable gaze bypassed Qin Qiqi’s stiff profile and locked onto Mu Ci.
As Qin Qiqi shifted slightly, Mu Ci spoke up: “We’re not switching.”
“Switch!”
One on the left, one on the right.
Qin Qiqi, caught in the middle, was utterly overwhelmed.
For heaven’s sake, can’t you two argue without dragging me into it?
“Um… let me say something…”
Qin Qiqi swallowed hard, shrinking her neck as she spoke timidly: “You’re newlyweds, and Xiao Ci is pregnant. There’s no need to make things so tense between you.”
Qin Yan’s patience ran out, his tone impatient: “Qin Qiqi, get out of the car!”
Under the pressure of familial authority, Qin Qiqi instinctively unbuckled her seatbelt.
Mu Ci pressed her hand down. “Qiqi, are we good friends or not?”
Qin Qiqi suddenly snapped back to reality.
Right. If she abandoned Xiao Ci now, wouldn’t that be throwing her into the fire?
What kind of person would that make her?
She slowly turned her head, giving her friend a determined look. Don’t worry, I’ve got this!
“If you don’t switch, this car is confiscated. If you switch, that car is yours.”
The man’s cold, deep voice carried an undeniable pressure.
Hesitating for even half a second would be disrespectful to the Koenigsegg. Qin Qiqi declared righteously:
“The car isn’t what matters! What’s important is that couples shouldn’t let grievances linger overnight. You must clear things up today!”
She grabbed the keys and her bag, getting out of the car in one fluid motion.
The engine vibrated against the road as the black Koenigsegg sped away, its exhaust fumes practically shaped like joy.
Mu Ci: “…”