Lin Tingyue looked over. A man and a woman flanked the middle-aged man, presumably Old Wei's son and his son's girlfriend, whom they had been talking about.
Lin Yuhuan had fallen behind. Lin Tingyue waved to him, and the three of them were about to head inside when someone who loved a spectacle blocked the entrance and asked, "Old Wei, when are you welcoming a daughter-in-law into the family?"
[Oh dear, he definitely can't marry her.]
[These two are both married. They're both cheating. If they want to register their marriage, they'll have to ask whether marriage law allows it, won't they?]
Both cheating?
This juicy???
Chapter 21
[Wei Qishui and his wife were college classmates. When they graduated, Wei Qishui proposed, and she accepted. They registered their marriage at lightning speed, but Wei Zheng never liked this daughter-in-law. He thought their families weren't a suitable match. Even after learning his son was already married, he kept finding ways to send him on blind dates.]
A married man going on blind dates?
The looks everyone gave Wei Qishui gradually filled with disgust.
[Oh, Wei Qishui refused at first, but to be filial to his dad... what a wonderfully filial son. If you refused to go, those legs are yours. Could your dad tie you up and drag you there? Your wife really had rotten luck marrying you. He went on a few blind dates, but hardly anyone satisfied him, until one day, fate brought him and Chen Jiao together.]
[Chen Jiao was just like his dream girl. She was elegant and gracious. They talked about everything under the sun, watched movies, went on walks... wait, so they started dating, huh?]
[Wei Qishui was certain Chen Jiao was his true love. He had only married Jiang Leyu because he hadn't met Chen Jiao yet. His pounding heart told him it had to be Chen Jiao... how disgusting.]
Lin Tingyue gagged.
[Please, if you can't tell who your true love is, could you just not get married?]
[And this Wei Qishui thinks Chen Jiao likes him. Hahahaha, likes what about him? He's the textbook example of ugly and short. His only redeeming feature is money. Of course Chen Jiao likes your money.]
[You thought you'd met your dream girl, without realizing she'd tailored a trap precisely to your tastes.]
Wei Qishui's and Wei Zheng's expressions inexplicably turned ugly. The look Wei Qishui gave Chen Jiao was even more complicated.
Chen Jiao asked with a smile, "What's wrong, Qishui?"
Impossible. If Chen Jiao really liked his money, why had she turned him down when he heard her family was struggling and offered her five million?
Chen Jiao couldn't possibly be after his money!
[Whoa, Wei Qishui actually offered Chen Jiao five million, but she refused.]
[Tsk, tsk, tsk. Wei Qishui is worth far more than five million. It must be over a hundred million by now. Why would Chen Jiao give up a hundred million for five million? Even an idiot would know which to choose.]
Wei Qishui's vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
[What was that noise?]
Lin Tingyue glanced down.
[Wei Qishui really has nerves of steel. Jiang Leyu is about to storm the hotel entrance, and he can still sleep?]
What? Jiang Leyu was coming?
Wei Qishui scrambled up from the ground again.
[Whoa, a medical miracle.]
Laughter began to rise around them.
Lin Yuhuan finally experienced the feeling of eating melon in person. He went to support Bai Yaxin and caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye. His elegant mother had long since reached her limit and was holding back her laughter so hard she was about to suffer internal injuries.
Wei Zheng urged everyone to hurry inside. The hotel was huge. As long as Jiang Leyu couldn't find them, things wouldn't get too ugly. As for Chen Jiao, he would deal with her later.
[Too late.]
[You old geezer, you should've known this day would come when you sent your married son on blind dates.]
A taxi stopped at the hotel entrance, and a woman in a floral maxi dress got out. This was Jiang Leyu. In the blink of an eye, she had walked right up to Wei Zheng and Wei Qishui.
[Here it comes, here it comes! My favorite part!]
Jiang Leyu pointed at Chen Jiao beside Wei Qishui and asked, "Wei Qishui, who is she?"
"Leyu," Wei Qishui stammered, "hear me out first."
"Hear what? Someone told me you were going on blind dates behind my back, and I didn't believe them. But now..."
"Leyu, I didn't..."
"You didn't what? Go on blind dates, or cheat?" Furious, Jiang Leyu looked at Wei Qishui's fingers. "If you have nothing to hide, why did you take off your wedding ring?"
[He didn't take it off. He simply never wears it unless he's in front of Jiang Leyu.]
Wei Qishui instinctively hid his hand behind his back.
Wei Zheng couldn't stand watching any longer. "Enough of this," he said authoritatively.
He stared at Jiang Leyu with a dark expression. "
Leyu, why must you be so aggressive and embarrass everyone?"
[Called it. This old geezer might not know anything else, but he's great at turning around and blaming the victim.]
"I'm being aggressive?" Jiang Leyu laughed in anger. "Dad, I know it's your birthday today. It's fine that you didn't tell me. I came especially to wish you a happy birthday, only to see this... you know perfectly well who's being aggressive and taking a mile when given an inch."
Jiang Leyu was cursing the mulberry tree while pointing at the locust. Wei Zheng's expression turned ugly. "Jiang Leyu, are you married to Qishui just because you say so? Do you have a marriage certificate? Any proof?" Wei Zheng glanced down at the ring on Jiang Leyu's finger and scoffed. "Just that ring on your hand?"
[Aaaaaah, this damned old man is driving me mad! Do we really have to throw the marriage certificate in your face?]
[The problem is, who carries their marriage certificate around these days?]
"I brought it."
A deep male voice came from behind the crowd.
[Huh?]
[It gets this good?]
Lin Tingyue turned around and saw a man who looked like a domineering CEO stride over and fling the documents in his hand into Wei Zheng's and Wei Qishui's faces.
Four sheets in total, two each.
[Pretty fair, actually... wait, why are there four?]
[Oh, this man is actually Chen Jiao's husband?]
[Oh, so that's what happened. After Jiang Leyu realized something was wrong, she went to find Chen Jiao's husband. The two of them specifically chose today.]
Lin Tingyue glanced at Wei Zheng, who was about to pass out from anger.
[I have to say, they picked a truly excellent day.]
The three members of the Lin family had their fill of melon, but melon couldn't replace a meal. Their banquet plans had fallen through again, leaving them no choice but to find another restaurant.
Lin Tingyue sighed inwardly.
[Why do we never get to eat?]
Bai Yaxin and Lin Yuhuan looked at Lin Tingyue in unspoken agreement. Of course it was because wherever she went, there was melon to eat.
Splat.
A chunk of the watermelon Lin Tingyue was munching fell onto the table. She looked up in bewilderment.
Bai Yaxin burst out laughing and handed her a tissue.
When they got home, Lin Xiawan had already returned. Seeing Bai Yaxin, she reached out and tucked a bouquet into her arms.
It was a bouquet of white Pride flowers in full bloom.
Clearly pleasantly surprised to receive the flowers, Bai Yaxin asked Lin Xiawan, "What made you think to buy Mom flowers?"
Lin Xiawan said, "I happened to see them on my way home, so I bought a bouquet."
[That's not true. Sister Xiawan went to the flower shop early this morning to order them.]
[Just to give Mom a surprise.]
Lin Xiawan: "..."
Lin Tingyue, you're putting me in a difficult position!
Bai Yaxin smiled with her lips pressed together. Stroking Lin Xiawan's hair, she said, "Mom loves them. I promise I'll treasure this bouquet just as much as I treasure you."
Bai Yaxin's palm was warm, and that warmth passed through it into Lin Xiawan. Lin Xiawan nodded.
Bai Yaxin asked, "Have you finished dealing with things at school?"
Lin Xiawan said, "There's still a little left."
[What else is there to do at school?]
[But my plan to make money from the variety show fell through. Should I find something else to do?]
Lin Shengyan heard this as soon as he entered the living room. What did she mean, the variety show had fallen through?
Looking at Lin Tingyue's wistful face, he suddenly understood something. He sat down on the sofa and said, "Director Zhu called me today."
Lin Tingyue's eyes visibly brightened. "We can start filming?"
Lin Shengyan nodded. "He's found someone else. He should notify you in the next couple of days."
[Judging by Second Brother's expression, nothing should go wrong this time!]
[Ten million! My ten million!]
For a fleeting moment, Lin Shengyan saw Lin Tingyue's eyes turn into glowing copper coins. He couldn't help smiling. Lin Tingyue, that hopeless money-grubber.
[But just in case, I'd better ask. The entertainment industry's waters run too deep. What if Director Zhu can't handle it?]
Lin Shengyan: "..."
Lin Tingyue, what was with that seasoned old hand's tone?
Looking at Lin Shengyan, Lin Tingyue asked, "Second Brother, what's that person's name?"
Lin Shengyan paused. "I don't know."
After thinking it over, Lin Shengyan also felt he ought to ask. "Wait a moment. I'll ask Director Zhu."
Lin Tingyue nodded obediently.
Director Zhu replied quickly. Lin Shengyan said, "His name is Jin Zhao. He's a popular young actor from the new generation... I've dealt with him before. He's good-looking and has a decent character."
He was a very polite young man who knew how to respect others.
But...
Lin Tingyue let out a piercing internal shriek.
[No, no, absolutely not him!!!]
For Lin Tingyue to react so strongly, this person most likely had some melon.
In Lin Shengyan's chat with Director Zhu, messages from Director Zhu arrived one after another. He was brimming with confidence.
Director Zhu: Nothing will go wrong this time, guaranteed. I vetted him for ages and checked his entire credit history. I even looked through his criminal records. Nothing can go wrong.