Lin Shengyan: "Wah!"
Lin Rusong's youngest sister had returned from abroad in the past couple of days.
The Lin family was
a large family. Lin Rusong was the eldest son, and after his mother passed away, Old Master Lin had married two more wives, one after the other.
Lin Rusong's mother had given birth to a son and a daughter, his second wife to two sons, and his third wife to just this one daughter.
Their youngest aunt was lively, lovely, free-spirited, and carefree, and she was very close to Lin Rusong. Because she believed in love freely chosen and refused to marry, her relationship with Old Master Lin had become very strained.
So even when she returned, she never went back to the old residence and only stayed at her eldest brother's place for a few days. Bai Yaxin was also very fond of this younger sister-in-law, and the Lin family even had a room set aside for her.
As soon as she heard she was coming back, Bai Yaxin instructed someone to clean her room thoroughly. She had just come out of the room when she heard someone downstairs announce her sister-in-law's arrival.
Lin Tingyue, Lin Xiawan, and Lin Shengyan, who had no work these past few days, all obediently went downstairs and lined up to greet their youngest aunt.
"Oh my, Shengyan, you're getting more handsome by the day. A big star really is something else!"
Lin Jiasi handed Lin Shengyan his gift.
No man could resist being called handsome, and Lin Shengyan was no exception. He smiled and said, "Thank you, Auntie."
Behind Lin Shengyan was Lin Xiawan.
This was Lin Jiasi's first time meeting this niece. Looking at Lin Xiawan's features, which resembled both Lin Rusong's and Bai Yaxin's, Lin Jiasi said, "Xiawan, all that matters is that you're home. I didn't know what you liked, so I picked out a few things young girls like."
Lin Xiawan smiled. "Thank you, Auntie."
As her turn approached, Lin Tingyue began rubbing her hands together impatiently.
"How could I forget Yueyue?" Lin Jiasi said. "Ta-da!"
Lin Tingyue accepted the pretty box and said sweetly, "Thank you, Auntie."
Having brought gifts for the younger generation, Lin Jiasi had not forgotten her eldest sister-in-law either.
The atmosphere in the living room was harmonious. Bai Yaxin told Lin Jiasi, "Rusong and Yuhuan will be back soon."
"Okay."
Lin Jiasi picked up her phone and glanced at it. Her gorgeous face immediately fell a little. Bai Yaxin asked, "What's wrong?"
"Dad knows I'm back. He wants me to have a meal with him."
Originally, Lin Jiasi had intended to refuse. The rift between her and the old man had not formed overnight. How could one meal mend it?
But everything the old man said hinted at how much he missed her, and he had invited her eldest brother and sister-in-law too.
Perhaps it was just a reunion dinner?
Lin Jiasi replied that she would go if her eldest brother and sister-in-law went.
Neither Lin Rusong nor Bai Yaxin refused. However, Lin Shengyan happened to have a commercial shoot that day, Lin Xiawan had to go to school at short notice, and Lin Yuhuan was busy at his company and never attended family dinners anyway. In the end, only Lin Tingyue was left to go with them.
Still, if the old man and the others really had any bad intentions, one Lin Tingyue would be more than enough!
Receiving looks from her mother and youngest aunt, Lin Tingyue suddenly felt a heavy responsibility weighing on her shoulders.
Lin Tingyue was bewildered. What responsibility?
She was going there to eat!
They had called it a family dinner, yet it was being held in a private room at a hotel.
As Lin Jiasi pushed open the door to the private room, she had an ominous premonition.
Sure enough, she walked in and saw an unfamiliar man.
The unfamiliar man was sitting with her parents and appeared to be around her age.
So this so-called family dinner was actually a matchmaking dinner?
The old man still would not abandon the idea. Lin Jiasi immediately rolled her eyes and turned to leave.
But before she could leave, Old Master Lin spoke first. "Lin Jiasi, is asking you to have a meal with your parents really such a hardship?"
Seeing that Lin Jiasi remained unmoved, he began playing the emotional card. "Your mother and I are getting old, and you're always running all over the place. How many more days do we have left to sit down and eat together like this?"
"Fine, fine, fine." Lin Jiasi's ears were practically growing calluses. She pulled out a chair and sat down. "There. Happy now?"
Once everyone was seated, the old man began introducing the unfamiliar man beside him. "This is Fu Jingtian. He's just returned from abroad too. Jiasi, you two should have plenty to talk about."
He looks like he's introducing him to everyone, but he's really just trying to set Auntie up with him.
Wow, was it really this amazing?
She had heard her eldest sister-in-law say that they could hear Lin Tingyue's thoughts, but it was actually this useful.
Lin Jiasi immediately looked at Lin Tingyue with stars in her eyes.
Lin Tingyue: "?"
What's Auntie looking at me for? Ignore this man. This man has some juicy dirt.
Bai Yaxin sneered. Just as expected.
Old Master Lin had been sucking Lin Rusong's blood all along, and now he was being this careless even with his youngest daughter's marriage?
She truly had no idea whom he actually cared about.
Fu Jingtian walked over to Lin Jiasi carrying two glasses of wine. He did look gentle and refined as jade, with gold-rimmed glasses perched on his high nose bridge. "Miss Lin, a toast to you."
Aaaaaah! Auntie, don't drink it! This man drugged the wine!
With a crash, Lin Jiasi let the wineglass slip and shatter.
Chapter 15
Old Master Lin assumed Lin Jiasi was unhappy about being set up on a blind date and was deliberately embarrassing Fu Jingtian. His face immediately darkened. "Lin Jiasi, is this how you treat a guest?"
When Lin Jiasi ignored him, he turned his fire on her mother. "Look at this! This is the fine daughter you raised."
Lin Jiasi's mother was still in a daze. What had she just heard? This man had actually drugged her daughter's wine?
Looking at the shattered glass, Lin Jiasi's mother breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, thank goodness. Her daughter had not drunk it.
Only then did she seem to remember that Old Master Lin existed. She asked, "What did you just say?"
Old Master Lin was practically dying of anger. He furiously struck his cane against the floor three times. Lin Tingyue felt a little conflicted.
Will we have to pay if he damages the floor in this private room?
It should only be pocket change to the old man, but...
Lin Rusong rose to persuade him. "Dad, your health isn't good. Don't get angry."
Fine, just fine. Old Master Lin had been looking for someone to vent his anger on, and Lin Rusong had walked right into his path. Old Master Lin snapped, "This is all your fault! Would your sister be like this if you hadn't spoiled her?"
A classic case of holding others to strict standards while going easy on yourself. Tsk, tsk, tsk. If she didn't have a father like you, would Auntie refuse to come home?
Why don't you reflect on yourself?
Old Master Lin even raised his cane, looking as though he was about to hit someone.
Dad-
Lin Jiasi walked over to Old Master Lin and swiftly caught his cane. "Dad, you're right. I've been rude. I'll apologize to this... Mr. Fu right now."
"That's more like it."
Hitting his eldest son in front of so many people really would not look good. Since Lin Jiasi had offered him a step down, he took it.
Old Master Lin looked at Lin Jiasi before him and thought that, although he already had one foot in the grave, he could still command some fear from the younger generation.
Bai Yaxin had a vague sense of what Lin Jiasi wanted to do. She stood and brought over a fresh glass, but just as she was about to hand it to Lin Jiasi, Fu Jingtian took it.
Fu Jingtian said courteously, "I was too forward with Miss Lin. How could I let her pour the wine? Allow me."
Lin Jiasi gave an inscrutable smile. "All right."
She turned and exchanged a glance with Bai Yaxin.
Once Fu Jingtian had poured the wine, Bai Yaxin suddenly said, "Jiasi, I think there's a stain on your skirt."
"Is there?"
Lin Jiasi lowered her head to look. She was wearing a white tailored skirt that day, and the red wine stain was quite conspicuous.
Girls all liked looking pretty, and getting their clothes dirty would put them in a bad mood. Perhaps feeling that victory was already in his grasp, Fu Jingtian set down the two glasses of wine in his hands and bent down to help Lin Jiasi straighten her skirt.
Seeing this, Lin Rusong and Lin Jiasi's mother joined forces to draw Old Master Lin's attention, while Bai Yaxin seized the chance to switch the two glasses.
Lin Tingyue watched, dumbfounded.
Could Auntie, Mom, Dad, and the others have known something all along?
Beautifully done!
Lin Jiasi said, "Never mind the stain on my skirt. What matters is that Mr. Fu and I really hit it off today."
Lin Jiasi raised the glass of wine that belonged to her and smiled, her captivating smile as intoxicating as red wine. "Mr. Fu, cheers."
"Miss Lin, cheers."
Their glasses met with a crisp clink that sounded rather lovely.
Ooh, I can already see how things will end for this Mr. Fu.
When dinner ended, the Lin family went downstairs with Fu Jingtian.
At Old Master Lin's insistence, Lin Jiasi and Fu Jingtian had just exchanged contact details. Old Master Lin wore a satisfied smile.
He had persisted in arranging blind dates for Lin Jiasi for so many years, and today he had finally seen results.
Old Master Lin was immensely pleased with himself.
The unexpected happened as they left the elevator and walked from the elevator lobby toward the hotel lobby.
Fu Jingtian suddenly felt very hot, but he thought nothing of it. After all, to make a good impression on Lin Jiasi today, he had worn formal attire. Wearing a suit and
tie in weather like this really would make him rather hot.
Fu Jingtian had completely forgotten that he was still inside the hotel, and the hotel had air-conditioning on.
Old Master Lin was very satisfied with the future son-in-law he had personally selected. He was the first to notice Fu Jingtian tugging at his tie and asked with concern, "Are you hot, Jingtian? Honestly, you've put so much thought into Jiasi. If you're hot, take off your jacket."
Fu Jingtian was growing somewhat delirious from the heat. At those words, he nodded. "All right."
Fu Jingtian yanked his tie loose and tore the buttons off his suit jacket. He stared blankly at the person beside him.