Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Lin Tingyue's evaluation of this camping trip was that it started off rough because of some creep, but everything went smoothly afterward, and the stars were beautiful.

Those who went camping with Lin Tingyue, however, felt it was rough the entire time. As they watched the twinkling stars in the sky, all the gossip Lin Tingyue spilled and the dirt she revealed were as numerous as those stars.

Thanks, but no thanks—they never wanted to go camping with Lin Tingyue again—even if she told ghost stories instead.

Lin Tingyue was startled by Lin Chengyan’s glaring look. She patted her chest and said, "Second Brother, what’s wrong? You look like a ghost."

Lin Chengyan replied gloomily, "Not just any ghost—I can float too."

Lin Tingyue dodged Lin Chengyan's floating approach.

"Ah, I guess this is the mental state of a lovestruck idiot."

"No, maybe this is the mental state of a lovestruck idiot destined for lifelong unrequited love."

Lin Chengyan: "..."

This lovestruck idiot act had quite the depth, he thought expressionlessly.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiawan was deleting Yang Hui’s contact information. She even thought about dismantling her phone to disinfect it, as it felt tainted.

Lin Tingyue stopped her. "That's overkill, Sis."

"After being taken apart and disinfected, would the phone even still work?"

Probably not.

Lin Xiawan was too thrifty and didn’t want to replace her phone just like that. In the end, Lin Tingyue wiped it down with disinfectant wipes for her.

In the afternoon, Lin Chengyan had an event to attend, leaving Lin Xiawan and Lin Tingyue stuck at home with nothing to do.

Bai Yaxin, who was heading out for afternoon tea, invited both sisters to tag along.

The afternoon tea was at a café that not only served coffee but also offered ikebana workshops for artistic refinement.

Lin Tingyue stared at her messy, haphazard flower arrangement and was ready to lose it.

She was losing it.

"Ikebana doesn't seem to be cultivating my temperament."

The café patrons all glanced toward the flower arrangement room.

Lin Tingyue then looked at Lin Xiawan’s work—exquisitely elegant, like a water lily in bloom.

"Of course, the heroine's good at everything."

Good at what?

Lin Tingyue's thoughts censored something again, but it was probably praise. Lin Xiawan patted Lin Tingyue’s head and said, "You'll get there, Tingyue."

"Keep stuffing my face—message received, Xiawan-jie."

Lin Xiawan: "..."

No challenge is too great when you quit.

Lin Tingyue got up decisively and went over to Bai Yaxin to mooch some snacks. Bai Yaxin handed her a small plate of cake and gave another piece to Lin Xiawan, who arrived later.

Wu Qianyun watched, burning with envy. She said, "You're so lucky to have two such sweet daughters."

Bai Yaxin smiled and replied, "You’ve got a sweet daughter too, don’t you?"

Zhao Ru added, "And I heard Tao Tao’s due date is next month. You’ll soon have another pride and joy—granddaughter or grandson."

Mentioning her daughter Tao Tao, Wu Qianyun’s face lit up with joy and pride. "Granddaughter or grandson, doesn’t matter—they’ll both be my pride and joy."

"But Tao Tao is so stubborn," Wu Qianyun sighed.

Bai Yaxin and Zhao Ru exchanged glances. Tao Tao had basically married down, choosing a man from an unsuitable background. After what happened to Zhao Ru, Wu Qianyun grew even more worried.

Zhao Ru said, "Don’t stress over it. Tao Tao still has you and Old Xiang, doesn’t she?"

Wu Qianyun nodded. "If anyone dares to bully my daughter, I’ll go after them!"

"Hey," Bai Yaxin peered over Wu Qianyun’s shoulder and said, "That person over there looks a bit like Tao Tao."

Wu Qianyun turned around. Sitting by the window was a woman in a blue maternity dress—who else but her daughter Tao Tao?

Wu Qianyun didn’t approach immediately. She looked around the café but couldn’t spot Tao Tao’s husband. Her daughter was about to give birth—why would that man let her go out alone? Why wasn’t he by her side?

Fuming, Wu Qianyun stormed over to Tao Tao’s table.

Tao Tao looked shocked. "Mom, what are you doing here—"

Then she noticed Bai Yaxin and Zhao Ru and understood. "Oh, you’re having tea with Aunt Bai and Aunt Zhao."

"Cut the small talk," Wu Qianyun sat down beside Tao Tao, her face stern. "Where’s Feng Qin?"

Tao Tao stalled. "Feng Qin was originally with me..."

"Then where is he now?"

Tao Tao knew things were about to get ugly. Her parents had opposed her marriage to Feng Qin from the start, and now her mother had caught her out alone without him.

She could just picture the grilling Feng Qin was in for.

Tao Tao made excuses for him. "He’s been really busy at work lately and couldn’t accompany me. But today, he took the day off just to hang with me."

Wu Qianyun wasn’t buying Tao Tao’s excuses. She pressed, "Then where is he?"

Cornered, Tao Tao admitted the truth. "There was an emergency at the company, so he had to go. But he asked me repeatedly if I’d be okay alone, and I said yes before he left."

That was no excuse. Wu Qianyun was incredulous. "He just left you, a woman about to pop, alone on the street?"

Tao Tao sighed.

She knew this would happen.

"Come on, Mom, it couldn’t be helped. He’s really busy—his good friend went with him too!" Tao Tao buttered her mom up.

Seeing Wu Qianyun hadn’t returned for so long, Bai Yaxin and Zhao Ru came over just in time to hear this.

Bai Yaxin disapproved. "Tao Tao, he’s just slacking off."

Zhao Ru agreed, "Men can be such con artists, Tao Tao."

"Wasn't she played like a fiddle by Yun Yongchang back then? If it weren’t for Lin Tingyue..."

"Right, Lin Tingyue!"

Bai Yaxin and Zhao Ru had a lightbulb moment—if Feng Qin really screwed Tao Tao over, Lin Tingyue would definitely know.

One tugged Lin Tingyue while the other yanked Lin Xiawan, dragging them over to the table.

Tao Tao said, "Aunt Bai, Aunt Zhao, and Mom, I know you're worried about me, but Feng Qin is an absolute sweetheart."

"Sweetheart? Sweet enough to ditch his wife when she's about to pop for some shady meetup?"

What?

Wu Qianyun shot to her feet, fuming.

Tao Tao was startled. "Mom, what's wrong?"

Wu Qianyun was livid. "Call Feng Qin. Ask him where he is."

Though reluctant, Tao Tao didn’t want to upset her mother. She called, and Feng Qin answered after a while: "Hey, honey, what’s going on?"

Tao Tao asked, "Where are you?"

"I'm at the company."

"Yeah, babe,"—the guy on the phone piped up—"Feng Qin and I are at the company. The client’s breathing down our necks, so Feng Qin had to haul ass over. Sorry about that, sis."

"It's fine, it's fine."

Tao Tao hung up and looked at Wu Qianyun.

"What does that prove? Only that Feng Qin and his buddy are in cahoots!"

"Ha! So Feng Qin’s buddy started playing the field when his wife was pregnant... Now their kid’s a year old, and he’s still at it. He’s a serial cheater!"

Wu Qianyun’s expression turned thunderous. "You just believe whatever he says?"

"Exactly! He says he’s at the company, but he’s actually at the Yunting Grand Hotel."

The Yunting Grand Hotel wasn’t far. Wu Qianyun thought—she’d nail that bastard.

Tao Tao, still pregnant, couldn’t go along. Wu Qianyun called her husband to pick their daughter up.

She said, "I have to handle some business at the Yunting Grand Hotel. Go home with your dad—he misses you."

Tao Tao hadn’t been home in a while, so she agreed. "Okay, Mom, I’ll be fine."

Wu Qianyun always trusted her daughter. It was that no-good husband she didn’t trust!

"Yunting Grand Hotel? You’ve gotta be kidding me."

Then Tao Tao watched as everyone headed to the Yunting Grand Hotel.

Was everyone there on some errand?

Five minutes later, Wu Qianyun and the others arrived at the Yunting Grand Hotel.

"OMG! We’re right outside! That dirtbag’s in Room 506! Get him!!!"

Wu Qianyun stepped directly into the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor. Lin Tingyue, who witnessed this, felt her brow twitch.

"Could it really be such a coincidence? Aunt Wu is going to the fifth floor on business!"

"Tch, trash men really shouldn’t do bad things."

After exiting the elevator, Wu Qianyun headed straight for Room 506. She had been reminded by Bai Yaxin and Zhao Ru not to reveal that she could hear Lin Tingyue’s inner thoughts.

Wu Qianyun’s acting went into overdrive. She took out her phone and checked the numbers one by one, "5, 0, 6—yup, this is the place."

Naive as Lin Tingyue was, she fell for it completely.

"Holy crap, this really is too much of a coincidence!"

"Wah... Even if it’s just some mystical stuff, it really feels like a mother will always protect her daughter."

Wu Qianyun froze. She absolutely couldn’t let this man continue to mess with her Tao Tao.

Determined, Wu Qianyun knocked on the door.

The first knock went unanswered. Wu Qianyun was beside herself—did they already bolt?

So quickly?

Lin Tingyue was also puzzled.

"Bolted? No way, they must still be inside. If they didn’t even hear that, how deep were they in it?"

This time, Bai Yaxin took over the knocking, banging on the door loud enough to wake the dead. Someone finally stirred inside.

"The fuck?"

Wu Qianyun was about to speak when Zhao Ru tugged her sleeve. Feng Qin would recognize Wu Qianyun’s voice, which might tip him off.

No one answered. As long as the door remained unopened, Bai Yaxin kept knocking.

Ding Zhuo angrily swung the door open. "The fuck—knocking and knocking—"

His voice cut off abruptly. Before he could warn Feng Qin, Wu Qianyun had already barged past him, phone raised as she stormed in.

Wu Qianyun aimed her camera at Feng Qin on the bed and bellowed, "What are you doing?!"

The people on the bed were still in their own world—no wonder they hadn’t heard the knocking earlier. Startled by Wu Qianyun’s shout, they finally came to their senses.

Feng Qin recognized Wu Qianyun and went ghost-white. "Mom? What are you doing here?"

His face was now dead center in Wu Qianyun’s camera.

Meanwhile, Lin Tingyue was busy counting how many people were on the bed.

"Five... a five-way?"