Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Zhang Liyuan let out a bitter laugh, crossing her arms in mock disdain. “Bai Yaxin, do you just hate seeing me happy?”

Bai Yaxin: “?”

Unable to hold back any longer, she snapped, “When have I ever wanted anything but the best for you?”

Look, Bai Yaxin and Zhang Liyuan had once been close friends. They’d only stopped being friends because of their differing values. Now over twenty years had passed—both women had grown children. How could Bai Yaxin not wish Zhang Liyuan well?

Was she really that petty-minded?

But across from her, Zhang Liyuan was already whining, “Bai Yaxin, I know—you landed a better husband than me back then, had two sons, and now you’ve got this picture-perfect family. You think you’re better than me!”

Bai Yaxin was floored. What did their falling out have to do with their families?

She shot back coldly, “I never thought that cutting things off with you without an explanation all those years ago would make you spiral like this. Fine—I’ll spell it out. I ended our friendship because you always put me down. I was into wearing dresses, but you said pants were classier. How annoying is that? And yeah, I married well—but that’s because *I’m* a catch to begin with. Why don’t you say Lin Rusong married up instead?”

After getting all that off her chest, Bai Yaxin finally felt some relief.

“Go off, Mom! You’re killing it!”

Smiling, Bai Yaxin waved over the gaping waiter holding the seafood platter. “Tingyue, you must be starving. Let’s eat.”

“Okay.”

Without even looking at Zhang Liyuan, Bai Yaxin dropped casually, “We’re about to start eating. What are you still doing here?”

“You—”

Zhang Liyuan couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Was Bai Yaxin like this just because she married Lin Rusong?

What was so great about having a husband anyway? She had one too.

Muttering to herself, Zhang Liyuan stood up and dialed Liang Zihong. But today was just not her day—she’d run into Bai Yaxin, taken a verbal beating, and now her husband wasn’t even answering his phone.

Zhang Liyuan was seeing red.

Calm down, calm down. Maybe he’s just busy. She couldn’t give Bai Yaxin the satisfaction of watching her lose it.

What she didn’t realize was that Bai Yaxin and Lin Tingyue were happily eating together, already tuning her out completely.

Fumbling with her phone, Zhang Liyuan suddenly remembered—she could tap into the surveillance cameras at her husband’s company!

She could check if he was actually working. If he wasn’t, she’d give him a nasty little surprise through the feed.

But as soon as she opened the app, something wasn’t right. Wasn’t this supposed to be work hours? Why was the office totally empty?

Maybe everyone was out on business?

Pressing a hand to her chest, she told herself not to freak out yet.

Scrolling through the office feed—no sign of Liang Zihong.

Checking the main workspace—still no Liang Zihong.

Had he stepped out?

Just as she was about to exit, she realized there was one place she hadn’t checked yet. Heart racing, full of anticipation, she clicked in—only to scream at the sight of blurry pale bodies tangled up on screen, her phone clattering to the floor in shock.

Bai Yaxin was completely lost—what had just happened?

"Are they out of their minds? Connecting the surveillance to the wife’s phone and still having the guts to mess around with his secretary in a meeting room???"

"Now I get why people chase thrills—getting caught at any moment, that really is intense."

Bai Yaxin looked at the stunned Zhang Liyuan, stood up, picked up the phone, and placed it in her hands. "Shouldn’t you save the evidence?"

After finishing their porridge-based hotpot, Lin Tingyue and Bai Yaxin returned home. Lin Rusong, who was rarely home, was actually there—he sat on the sofa with a cup of strong tea on the coffee table, the day’s financial news playing softly in the background.

"Huh, everything’s here. Only thing missing is a newspaper."

Lin Rusong: "..."

That’s what felt off today—a newspaper.

He picked up the nearby paper and started reading carefully.

"Ah, that’s better."

Bai Yaxin sat down beside him, and he automatically put down the newspaper to massage her shoulders. “So, how did it go?”

Bai Yaxin thought for a moment. “Four words sum it up.”

“Big drama?”

“Dug his own grave.”

Lin Tingyue stared blankly.

How is she this uncultured?!

As Bai Yaxin recounted the story, Lin Rusong’s expression shifted from calm to shock. Finally, he shook his head. “Totally played himself.”

After saying that, Lin Rusong nodded toward something on the balcony. “Tingyue, that’s the gift your Aunt Wu sent you. Go check it out.”

Lin Tingyue walked over and unwrapped the neatly wrapped package, only to find a painting inside.

“Looks impressionist? At least it’s not too abstract.”

Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong exchanged a glance.

Lin Rusong gasped. “This is by Jousdiyi! This one’s probably worth tens of millions.”

“Wait, HOW much?!”

Lin Tingyue’s eyes almost bulged out of her head.

“I never even dreamed that one day an easy billion would just fall into my lap!!!”

Bai Yaxin and Lin Rusong both covered their ears at once.

But Lin Tingyue felt kinda bad. After all, it was a gift from Wu Qianyun—just selling it off immediately didn’t seem right.

“Even if I’m greedy, I’ve still got standards!”

Bai Yaxin laughed. “I think your Aunt Wu left a note inside. Check it.”

“A note?” Lin Tingyue shook the torn wrapping wildly until she finally noticed the note tucked into the bottom right corner of the frame.

The calligraphy was so exquisite that Lin Tingyue initially mistook it for part of the painting.

Lin Tingyue picked it up and read—

Tingyue, Auntie really likes you. I’m giving you this painting because I hope you’ll stay as innocent and happy as the characters in it.

P.S.: You can cash it in for money if you want. It’s totally fine.

Lin Tingyue: "!"

"Auntie Wu is so sweet, wuwuwu..."

"Yue Yue, Yue Yue, over here!"

As soon as Lin Tingyue entered the restaurant, she spotted Fan Qing waving at her and hurried over.

Once seated, Fan Qing passed the menu to Lin Tingyue and said cheerfully, "Yue Yue, I ordered my favorites but didn’t pick anything for you. Take a look and see what you like."

"Okay," she replied.

"Ah, these chicken feet look so good! And the ribs—oh! These egg tarts totally hit the spot! I wanna order the whole darn menu!"

The whole... menu?

Fan Qing, who was about to take a sip of water, froze. She gave Lin Tingyue a thoughtful glance. Since when did Yue Yue have such a big appetite?

"But too bad—I can’t eat all of that, wuwuwu..."

Whew, thank goodness. Just a passing thought, not an actual plan to eat everything.

Fan Qing took a drink and turned back to see Lin Tingyue watching her with shining eyes. "What is it, Yue Yue?" she asked.

Lin Tingyue propped her chin in her hands. "Why did you decide to treat me to lunch today?"

Fan Qing shot back, "Do you need a reason to treat a good friend?"

"That’s true."

"Good friends are just good friends. We don’t need any reasons to be together."

Fan Qing’s eyes curved into smiles, but suddenly a screechy voice cut through the air—

"The hell are you doing here?"

Who else could that annoying voice belong to?

Fan Qing rolled her eyes and gently pressed down on Lin Tingyue’s head, whispering, "Ignore him. It's my bastard half-brother."

Lin Tingyue nodded. If Fan Qing disliked someone, so did she. She didn't even plan to look his way, and they kept chatting happily.

Being completely brushed off made Fan Tian furious. Ever since he was accepted back into the Fan family, wasn’t he always the center of attention wherever he went?

Only Fan Qing kept giving him trouble. He was running out of patience!!!

Fan Tian strode over to their table, banged on it, and raised his voice. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"What?" Fan Qing looked up with disinterest. "Oh, it's you, Brother. I thought it was some stray dog. This place is pet-friendly, but seriously, not putting a leash on and just walking in? That's not cool."

"You—"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH Qing Qing, don't stop now!"

Shockingly, Fan Tian didn’t get angry—he actually laughed. He stuffed the hand that had been pointing at Fan Qing into his pocket and grinned. "You’re not stalking me, are you?"

Lin Tingyue’s laughter stopped dead.

"Who thinks like that?"

"Are you kidding? You're the messed-up one here, not Qing Qing and me."

Fan Qing couldn’t agree more. "If I’d known today would be the day I ran into trash, I would’ve checked my horoscope first. Who knew today would be my bad luck day?"

"You—"

"Wanna fight?" Fan Qing clenched her fist. "You can't even jog to your mailbox without wheezing. What makes you think you can take me?"

"Dang, that pathetic? Could there be something wrong with your kidneys or something?"

Fan Qing lost it laughing, making Fan Tian even more flustered.

"What's so impressive about beating up a guy? Good luck ever getting married!"

Fan Qing fake-punched toward him, and he jumped back three meters instantly. Can’t blame him—it was a reflex. When he was first accepted back into the Fan family, Fan Qing beat the crap out of him. He never forgot how much that hurt.

As people around them started laughing, Fan Tian’s pride took a serious hit. Through gritted teeth, he hissed, "Fan Qing, what do you have to be so proud of? Worry about yourself first. Now that I’m married, once my wife has a kid, the whole Fan family money will be mine. Then what'll you have left?"

Fan Tian looked her up and down, his eyes finally landing on her fist. He smirked. "Gonna punch the lawyers? Or threaten Dad into changing his mind with those fists?"

"Can I threaten them with my fists?"

Fan Qing pondered this deeply, as if a new world had opened up before her. But Lin Tingyue thought she was too furious to speak.

Feeling indignant on Fan Qing’s behalf, Lin Tingyue looked into the Fan family drama—and surprisingly found some tea about Fan Tian!

"You're a gay man faking being straight for the inheritance, and you actually had the nerve to get married???"

Fan Qing’s eyes lit up.