“Do you like rings?”
In the restaurant, Ling Jue noticed her glancing a few times at the server’s wedding ring and asked with a smile.
Three days earlier, they had gone to the jewelry store to pick up the ring. The staff mistook Qin Shuyi for the Miss Tao in question and offered to help her try it on.
Just as Qin Shuyi was about to decline, Ling Jue, who had returned from taking a call outside, casually interjected.
“It’s not for her.”
The atmosphere in the store instantly turned awkward.
Qin Shuyi smiled and pushed the ring back. “Its owner hasn’t returned to the country yet. Please wrap it up.”
Afterward, at his request, she selected another set of jewelry for herself, deliberately avoiding any rings.
He had assumed she didn’t like them.
Qin Shuyi shook her head. “I don’t like them. You know my work makes it inconvenient. I never wear them except under special circumstances.”
“What special circumstances?” he asked instinctively.
Qin Shuyi propped her elbow on the table, resting her chin in her hand as she watched Ling Jue peel shrimp for her, a faint smile on her lips.
“A wedding ring, I suppose.”
It had to be said that even with only a thirty-percent investment, Ling Jue made a rather decent boyfriend.
The man’s hands didn’t stop moving. His face was obscured by the steam rising from the tea on the table, yet he seemed to be teasing her. “Are you hinting at marriage?”
He pushed the plate full of peeled shrimp toward her, washed his hands, and said, “Isn’t dating good enough?”
He patted her head. “Be good.”
Qin Shuyi’s almond-shaped eyes curved slightly. “Okay.”
He had made it clear before that he didn’t want to get married.
But he didn’t know that Qin Shuyi’s marriage prospects didn’t include him either.
…
Qin Shuyi had been staying at the Jiang Family residence these past few days.
Her aunt, Zhou Tinglan, had set a curfew for everyone in the household—they had to be back by eleven at the latest.
At the entrance of the Jiang Family estate.
In the dimly lit driver’s seat of the car, the man’s veined hands gripped the slender waist beneath the qipao of the woman straddling him, his force as fierce as a beast seizing its prey.
Her graceful body was pressed tightly against his chest, the sounds of their fervent kisses filling the air.
After a long while, the man, whose cold and handsome features were now tinged with a seductive flush from overwhelming desire, steadied his breathing. He lifted his face from her chest and chuckled softly, gently rubbing her fair earlobe.
“Little Qin Shuyi, are you really twenty-five this year and not fifteen?”
He never imagined that the esteemed Ling Family Crown Prince would find it so difficult to get close to his girlfriend.
What era was this? How could something as archaic as a curfew still exist?
Qin Shuyi leaned against his chest, also smiling.
Actually, there hadn’t been one before. It was only after she started dating Ling Jue that it was implemented.
To avoid being exposed, Jiang Yuzhou, who felt guilty for dragging his cousin into the lion’s den, strictly adhered to the house rules, as did the fun-loving Qian Youyou. They returned on time every day, which actually saved her aunt and uncle a lot of trouble.
To this day, Ling Jue still didn’t know that this curfew was specifically meant to keep him out.
Qin Shuyi straightened up, still sitting on him as she tidied her disheveled clothes. Then, leaning over, she retrieved a compact from her purse in the passenger seat to cover the smudged lipstick around her mouth from their kisses.
Her movements inadvertently brushed against something, causing Ling Jue to let out a muffled groan.
It was both pleasurable and provocative.
Qin Shuyi remained unfazed. After finishing her touch-up, she skillfully opened the door, swung her legs out, and got out of the car.
Watching the slender figure walk gracefully toward the main gate, Ling Jue glanced down at himself and raised his left hand to cover his forehead.
“Tsk, so heartless.”
…
The lights in the living room were still on. Zhou Tinglan, draped in an apricot-colored shawl, was sitting on the sofa waiting for her.
“You’re back?”
Qin Shuyi changed her shoes and nodded. “You’re still awake?”
Zhou Tinglan snorted with a light laugh. "He called you out in such a hurry halfway through dinner—of course I had to make sure he brought you home safely."
Young people in love rarely practiced abstinence. While Qin Shuyi was out on her own, Zhou Tinglan didn’t interfere, but as long as she was staying with the Jiang Family, that piece of meat couldn’t be snatched away right under her nose.
After all, her sister and brother-in-law had entrusted her with this responsibility once; she couldn’t fail them again.
Staring at her niece’s swollen lips, she suddenly asked, "You and Ling Jue… is there really no chance?"
Qin Shuyi’s expression remained detached. "Aunt, Tao Wangxi is coming back."
Zhou Tinglan fell silent for a moment, her energy deflating at once.
"Fine. Some matches are simply too unequal."
During the nearly year-long relationship between Qin Shuyi and Ling Jue, there had been plenty of gossip outside. Some speculated that Zhou Tinglan, a commoner-born woman who had remarried, was deliberately using her beautiful niece to cling to the Crown Prince in order to solidify her position in her husband’s family.
Zhou Tinglan didn’t care what they said—the tangible benefits she had gained were real enough.
But to say that after the two officially started dating and Ling Jue seemed to have turned over a new leaf, she hadn’t fantasized about Shuyi marrying into a higher status would be a lie.
After her previous failed marriage, her goal in remarrying was clear: to secure a better life for herself and her daughter.
There was no need to hide that.
If Qin Shuyi truly married Ling Jue, it would objectively benefit not only Shuyi herself but also her aunt, Youyou, and even the Jiang Family.
However, that was based on Ling Jue being young, handsome, and powerful. She believed her own niece was certainly worthy of him.
But after several years in wealthy circles, she understood that this world wasn’t easy to navigate, especially since the Ling Family was countless tiers above the Jiang Family.
Being the matriarch of such a family was no simple task.
Her sister and brother-in-law had always only hoped for their daughter to find modest happiness and stability.
Shuyi had grown up in a simple environment. Though clever, her personality wasn’t suited to the complexities of the Imperial Capital’s elite circles.
Then, thinking of that daughter of a family friend—Tao Wangxi, who was said to be in poor health but highly regarded by the Ling Family and acknowledged by Ling Jue herself—if she hadn’t gone abroad for treatment, she might have long since become Young Madam Ling. Zhou Tinglan sighed.
The Crown Prince of the Ling Family was like a dragon soaring in the sky, destined to be matched with a phoenix. Perhaps it was better for Shuyi to choose an easier path.
Interests could sway hearts, but the happiness of loved ones always came first.
"Wasting a whole year on him for nothing."
Though Zhou Tinglan had adjusted her mindset, her words still betrayed a hint of complaint.
Qin Shuyi pursed her lips into a light smile, sat on the sofa, and wrapped an arm around her aunt’s shoulders.
"Dating a man like Ling Jue, I didn’t lose out either."
Zhou Tinglan curled her lip. Fortunately, the two had become an open, proper couple, not some messy, ambiguous relationship. Otherwise, she would have rushed abroad to apologize to her sister.
"Alright," she patted Qin Shuyi’s hand. "Since there’s no future for you two, why not schedule a meeting with the match your mom introduced? I heard he’s the son of her colleague, also a doctor—young, accomplished, and good-looking. Your parents have dedicated themselves for so many years and are about to retire. In a few years, they can come back and help you with the kids."
Qin Shuyi nodded. "After Ling Jue and I officially break up."
Ling Jue had no intention of marrying her, but Qin Shuyi came from a happy family with loving parents, so she wasn’t opposed to marriage itself.
Getting married and having children had always been part of her life plan.
Zhou Tinglan nodded in satisfaction.
Her niece was still rational—not blinded by love or a handsome face.
But thinking about how the breakup had to be initiated by the Crown Prince made her feel even more frustrated.
What truly unsettled her was how she couldn’t see any signs of Ling Jue growing tired of her.
“When will you two break up?”
Recalling the phone call Ling Jue took outside the restaurant, with faint words like “Tao Wangxi” and “airport pickup” drifting over, she fell into thought.
“Soon.”
From Xu Chen’s attempt to dissuade her outside the private room, it was clear the Tao Family did not appreciate another woman standing beside the future fiancé of Miss Tao.
Tonight was only the beginning.
However, if they were to get engaged, she would have a reason to ask for a breakup.