A Visit

"Dad, where's Mom? Why hasn't she come out?"

Seeing her father enthusiastically usher Ling Yun inside while completely leaving her by the wayside, Jiang Yingqing hurriedly spoke up to make her presence known, her tone carrying a hint of reproach.

"Your mother? The moment she heard you were back, she started bringing all the good dishes out of the kitchen!"

Jiang Mingyuan answered without turning his head, his attention clearly still fixed on Ling Yun.

Jiang Yingqing helplessly pursed her lips and quickly caught up.

The moment she stepped into the spacious, brightly lit living room, the enticing aroma of food wafted toward her.

A beautiful middle-aged woman in a simple yet elegant qipao, with a gentle and refined air, emerged from the kitchen carrying a beautifully arranged plate of steamed spotted grouper.

The fish was snowy white, drizzled with amber-colored soy sauce and garnished with emerald-green shredded scallions. Its fragrance filled the room.

"Mom!" Jiang Yingqing cheerfully went up to her, took the plate from her mother, and placed it on the enormous dining table before introducing him, "This is Ling Yun!"

Mother Jiang's gaze fell on Ling Yun. A hint of surprise flashed through her eyes, and a warm smile bloomed across her face. "Oh my, so this is Ling Yun? He certainly is a fine-looking young man. No wonder..."

She did not finish her sentence, instead casting her daughter a meaningful glance.

Jiang Yingqing's cheeks flushed slightly, and she hurriedly interrupted, "Mom! Where's my sister? Why hasn't she come down yet?"

Her voice carried a trace of urgency, clearly trying to shift the topic away from herself.

Mother Jiang understood and chuckled in a lowered voice. "You know your sister's schedule. She just woke up and is getting ready."

Before she had finished speaking, faint footsteps came from the stairs. Everyone looked up and saw Jiang Yingxue walking lazily downstairs in a silky smoke-gray camisole nightdress, her snowy-white feet bare.

Her slightly curled long hair hung loosely over her shoulders, carrying the drowsiness of someone who had just woken up.

When her eyes fell on Ling Yun in the living room, her steps paused almost imperceptibly. The sleepiness in her eyes instantly faded somewhat, and a trace of surprise and scrutinizing curiosity flickered through her deep, fathomless eyes.

"Sis! This is Ling Yun!" Jiang Yingqing once again took on the role of introducer.

Looking at his "aloof and socially anxious editor," Ling Yun gave her a polite, sincere smile. "Sister Yingxue, we finally meet. You're really beautiful."

Ling Yun did not say that Jiang Yingxue looked even better in person than in the selfies she had sent him. He was afraid Jiang Family would misunderstand.

The corners of Jiang Yingxue's lips lifted slightly. "Brother Ling Yun, welcome to my home. You're very handsome too!"

Her gaze lingered on Ling Yun's face for a moment before moving away.

"Xiao Yun, you... know our Yingxue?"

Jiang Mingyuan and Mother Jiang watched their daughter's unusual reaction—especially the smile she had shown, something she had almost never revealed to a man outside the family—and struggled to hide their surprise.

Ling Yun briefly explained how he had found Jiang Yingxue online and hired her as his editor.

Only then did Jiang Mingyuan and Mother Jiang understand. They repeatedly thanked Ling Yun for "looking after" their daughter, and their favorable impression of the young man deepened.

Could Sis really have feelings for Ling Yun?

Watching her sister's subtle reaction just now and recalling what Zhou Da had said about the "selfies," Jiang Yingqing felt as if tiny cat claws were scratching at her heart. For some inexplicable reason, she grew a little flustered.

"All right, all right, don't just stand there!"

Mother Jiang smiled as she called out, breaking the brief silence. "All the dishes are ready. Sit down quickly, or they'll get cold!"

Jiang Yingqing immediately sat down beside Ling Yun.

Jiang Yingxue sat across from them with her parents. During the meal, her gaze occasionally swept over Ling Yun seemingly without meaning, carrying a hint of curiosity and an interest even she herself had not noticed.

This "boss" who had worked with her online and given her a long-missed sense of accomplishment was far more... pleasing to the eye in person than she had imagined.

Ling Yun, meanwhile, focused on the delicious food in front of him.

The tender freshness of the steamed spotted grouper, the rich and springy texture of the garlic-braised king crab legs, and all kinds of exquisite dishes whose names he could not even identify... The standards of this family feast far exceeded anything he had experienced in either of his two lives.

In his previous life, he had guarded the inheritance left by his parents and had never been willing to indulge so extravagantly. Although he had become rich overnight in this life, he had not yet had the chance to enjoy it. He ate earnestly and contentedly.

Seeing how natural Ling Yun's table manners were, Jiang Mingyuan and Mother Jiang smiled even more warmly and kept placing food in his bowl with the serving chopsticks.

"Xiao Yun, try this... This one's good too!" Jiang Yingqing chattered beside him about amusing things from school, and the atmosphere was warm and harmonious.

Suddenly, there was a soft clack.

The chopsticks slipped from Jiang Yingxue's hand and fell to the floor.

She frowned slightly and naturally bent down to pick them up.

The long tablecloth hung down, blocking the view beneath the table. In the shadows where no one could see, her smooth ankle seemed to "accidentally" brush lightly against the instep of Ling Yun's foot for the briefest moment.

In that instant, their eyes met beneath the edge of the table.

Jiang Yingxue's movements paused almost imperceptibly. A ripple flickered deep in her eyes, so quick that it could have been mistaken for an illusion.

She immediately looked away and straightened up as if nothing had happened. Her face remained as cool and distant as before, as though the incident had never occurred.

Ling Yun calmly drew his foot back and continued picking up food, as if only a faint breeze had brushed past beneath the table.

However, that brief contact, so fleeting that it had almost not existed, was sharply caught by Jiang Yingqing, who had been watching her sister and Ling Yun the entire time!

Her fingers tightened slightly around her chopsticks. The unease in her heart spread like water plants, and she could not help stabbing at the dish in front of her several times in silent frustration, producing faint tuk-tuk sounds.

Jiang Mingyuan and Mother Jiang seemed to sense the barely perceptible awkwardness in the dining room as well. They exchanged a glance. Jiang Mingyuan cleared his throat and was just about to say something to ease the tension—

Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang abruptly, breaking the slightly stifled atmosphere.

"I'll get it!" Jiang Yingqing nearly leaped to her feet and rushed toward the door as if she had seized a lifeline.

When she opened the door, a young man in a crisply tailored navy suit stood outside, his hair combed perfectly into place and a carefully practiced smile on his face. "Good evening, Yingqing. I was passing by and thought I'd come see Yingxue."

Seeing that it was Chen Xuanyu, a flash of impatience quickly passed through Jiang Yingqing's eyes, but she forced a polite smile onto her face. "Brother Xuanyu, come in. Sis, Brother Xuanyu is here." She stepped aside.

When Jiang Yingxue heard that name, her brows drew together almost imperceptibly, and the warmth in her eyes instantly dropped to freezing point.

She set down her chopsticks and stood up. Her tone was flat and emotionless. "Chen Xuanyu, what do you want?"

As if he had not heard the distance in her voice, Chen Xuanyu smiled and handed her an exquisitely wrapped gift box. "Nothing in particular. I just wanted to come see you."

His gaze passed over Jiang Yingxue and naturally landed on the unfamiliar yet exceptionally striking young man seated at the head of the dining table—Ling Yun.

The smile on Chen Xuanyu's face instantly froze. Wariness and scrutiny suddenly rose in his eyes, and his tone carried undisguised curiosity. "Who is this...?"