The two parents had already headed to the dining room first, leaving the two young people standing frozen in place.
Amid Lin Wanshuang’s struggling, Ming Jiao snapped out of her daze. Her subconscious reaction was to let go, but fearing she might drop her, she took a step forward and set Lin Wanshuang down onto the sofa so she could stand.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Lin Wanshuang whipped her head around to see if her mother had caught them. Fortunately, only the retreating backs of their two mothers were visible.
She then clenched her fist and smacked Ming Jiao right on the shoulder. She hit her so hard that her own hand throbbed, yet Ming Jiao didn’t show a single hint of a reaction.
“What are you doing?! Have you lost your mind?!”
Ming Jiao didn’t know what had crossed her mind at that exact moment either. Flashing a placating, apologetic smile, she said, “Ahem, I’m so sorry, Eldest Miss. I lost my composure just now. I thought you were reaching out because you wanted me to hold you. My bad, truly my bad.”
“Who wanted you to hold me! I wanted you to give me a hand!” Wearing only socks, Lin Wanshuang hopped down onto the floor. She glared at Ming Jiao with wide, dark, glittering eyes, then huffed and kicked Ming Jiao in the shin. “You are so annoying!”
With that, she silently resolved in her heart never to let Ming Jiao pull her up ever again.
Right on cue, Lin Chenqing called out to them again to come eat. Holding back her irritation, Lin Wanshuang turned and walked away. Ming Jiao exhaled a sigh of relief in her guilt, casually ran her fingers through her hair to calm her nerves, and quickly hurried after her.
No one else was at the dining table, just the family of three plus Ming Jiao. The Lin family didn’t observe strict rules about silence during meals. It was as if the two mothers had seized the perfect opportunity, taking turns back and forth to ask Lin Wanshuang about how things were going since she returned to work.
They asked about trivial matters like whether she was adapting to the workload and if she was getting along well with her colleagues.
Lin Wanshuang answered every single question thoroughly, showing no resistance toward her mothers’ inquiries. It was obvious she kept no secrets from her family.
Ming Jiao quietly observed the interactions of the three family members. For a fleeting moment, she even felt a pang of envy toward Lin Wanshuang. Her family truly loved her deeply.
As the meal drew to a close and Lin Wanshuang’s mood had significantly improved, Lin Chenqing saw her chance and finally brought up the reason they had called the two back.
Looking at her daughter and the Alpha sitting beside her, Lin Chenqing spoke up, “Your mother and I discussed it, and we would like to arrange an engagement party for the two of you first. What do you both think?”
Lin Wanshuang looked up, a hint of surprise in her eyes. “So suddenly?”
Lin Chenqing and Zuo Xiangjun exchanged a look, their expressions turning grim. Zuo Xiangjun sighed, “We received word that the head of the Sang family is coming to Jincheng. We suspect they are coming for you.”
“The Sang family’s absolute fixation on securing an alliance with you is definitely about more than just collaborating with Shunlin Group.”
This meant that even if Lin Chenqing chose to let Shunlin Group completely sever ties and push the Sang family away, the other party still would not give up on the marriage alliance.
Looking at her daughter with a face full of concern, Zuo Xiangjun added, “You possess something they want. And it is something so significant that it makes them scramble over one another just to obtain it.”
“Though your mother and I don’t know what it is, we know it must be extremely important to you. That’s why, Shuangshuang, we need you and Ming Jiao to hold a legitimate engagement to cut off the Sang family’s designs at the root.”
Although the news of Lin Wanshuang having a fiancée had been brought back to the Sang family by Sang Xuerui, the family clearly hadn’t taken it seriously. A fiancée was just a fiancée, as long as no marriage had taken place, they still believed they had a chance.
For a moment, silence fell over the room. All four of them weighed the situation.
Lin Wanshuang wasn’t actually surprised by this turn of events. She had known from the very beginning what the Sang family was truly after, and she knew that even her mother using the corporation as a threat wouldn’t stop them.
Thus, she proactively turned her head to look at Ming Jiao, asking softly, “What do you think?”
Those dark, serene eyes locked onto Ming Jiao, devoid of any other emotions, no coercion, no inducement. She was simply, plainly asking for Ming Jiao’s opinion.
This was an issue between Lin Wanshuang and Ming Jiao; no one else’s opinion mattered except theirs.
Ming Jiao’s gaze sank into those calm, steady eyes. She reached up to brush aside the platinum-blonde bangs that obscured her vision, curled her lips, and nodded as a matter of course. “As long as it helps resolve the Eldest Miss’s troubles, it works for me.”
Having received the answer she wanted, Lin Wanshuang retracted her gaze, looked back at her two mothers, and calmly dropped a bombshell.
“Then let’s just get married.”
“Mm, good, as long as you both agree. ” Lin Chenqing abruptly caught herself. “Shuangshuang, what do you mean directly get married?”
Lin Wanshuang nodded. “I don’t believe the Sang family will restrain themselves just because of an engagement. We might as well get married directly to eliminate any future trouble. Neither Ming Jiao nor I have any objections.”
She knew exactly what the Sang family wanted, and she knew a mere engagement would never completely kill their ambitions. Therefore, she needed a powerful remedy.
As the “powerful remedy,” Ming Jiao blinked and nodded along in total agreement. Yep, whatever the Eldest Miss decides is best.
Since Lin Wanshuang had already primed her mothers from the start with the idea of marriage, bringing it up directly now wasn’t that difficult for them to accept.
Furthermore, in the eyes of Lin Chenqing and Zuo Xiangjun, aside from being an E-rank Alpha, there was absolutely nothing to find fault with regarding their daughter’s marriage partner.
Moreover, given the unique circumstances between them, the fact that she was an E-rank Alpha was actually the perfect fit. The two parents didn’t have to worry at all about their daughter being overpowered or forced into anything by this Alpha.
Both mothers were decisive figures who commanded the business world, once they cleared their thoughts, they harbored no aversion to the two children getting married. In fact, they even began enthusiastically brainstorming and planning for the wedding.
Once marriage entered the equation, things naturally became much more complex. Lin Chenqing and her wife, Zuo Xiangjun, loved their child dearly, so they naturally wished for this wedding to be grand and magnificent, even if it was a sham.
The two young people found it impossible to cut into the busy planning of the two parents. Seeing that Lin Wanshuang was genuinely looking a bit tired, they decided to head home first.
Before they left, Zuo Xiangjun pulled Lin Wanshuang aside for another round of relentless nagging and advice, only letting her go when she saw her daughter growing slightly impatient.