Father Ji had expected her to fly into a rage upon hearing of something so contrary to conventional morality.
Instead, Cheng Wenqing merely gave a mild acknowledgment, then turned toward Grandmother Ji, who sat primly in the seat of honor.
"My dear older sister, this son of yours really is just like you."
Grandmother Ji's hand paused around her teacup, and the gloating in her eyes instantly turned to anger.
Cheng Wenqing gave her an inscrutable smile, then suddenly shifted her gaze to Ji Huaijin.
"Come to think of it, our last meeting was so rushed that I never got to thank you properly."
"My boy, I'm grateful for the way you've looked after Yueyue. Without you, I never would have felt safe leaving him there!"
Ji Huaijin bent forward and clasped her outstretched hand, his expression respectful. "You're too kind. It was only what I should have done."
Under his tender, affectionate gaze, Cheng Yue rubbed the tip of his nose in a rare show of bashfulness.
"Good, good! You're both such good boys!"
Watching all this, Cheng Wenqing showed none of the distaste Father Ji had imagined. Instead, she happily opened the handbag she had brought and pulled out a handful of jade pieces.
"Here, these are my thank-you gifts!"
Looking at the Emerald Jade Thumb Ring, the Pigeon Blood Seal, and several pieces of exceptionally fine, lustrous jade in his hands, Ji Huaijin did not know whether to laugh or cry. "This is far too much."
Cheng Wenqing waved a dismissive hand. "Not at all!"
Before coming, she had specifically asked someone to look into Cheng Yue's life over the past six months and learned how much care Ji Huaijin had taken of him.
Though she knew that care had come naturally from his feelings, as Cheng