Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Fan Qing couldn’t help rolling her eyes at that.

Back then, her father had been head over heels for Tang Xiao. The moment she suggested a DNA test, Fan Tian and Tang Xiao ganged up on her.

With tears in her eyes, Tang Xiao said, “Fan Wei, why would I lie to you about this? If your daughter doubts me and A-Tian, we might as well leave.”

Fan Tian immediately chimed in, agreeing to go, and linked arms with Tang Xiao like they were about to walk out. Seeing that, Fan Wei naturally chose to side with the so-called “mother and son.”

She’d always thought there was something shady about them—and now it was confirmed!

But if Tang Xiao and Fan Tian were actually lovers, that meant Tang Xiao had planned from the start, the moment they reunited, to con Fan Wei out of his cash.

Fan Qing glanced toward Fan Wei, who was busy calling in favors to bail Fan Tian out, and shook her head.

A police officer came out and asked Tang Xiao and Fan Wei to step back inside. Then he turned to the crowd gathered at the station entrance and said, “Everyone can go now.”

They muttered half-hearted replies: “Yeah, we’re going right away.”

In reality, no one moved an inch.

Seriously, this gossip was too good—why would they leave and risk missing the climax?

Inside, the officer handling registration asked, “What is your relationship with Qin Tian?”

Fan Wei looked confused. “Who’s Qin Tian?”

Tang Xiao, however, went pale for a second.

“Hah! Didn’t expect that twist, did you? ‘Fan Tian’ was just a fake name—the cops dig up everything.”

The officer patiently clarified, “It’s about Fan Tian. His real name is Qin Tian.”

Fan Wei frowned and turned to Tang Xiao. “A-Xiao, didn’t you say you’ve always loved me? That you named him Fan Tian the moment he was born? Why is he called Qin Tian? Were you lying to me?”

Years in the ruthless business world had honed Fan Wei’s edge. His glare had Tang Xiao sweating bullets.

She latched onto his arm. “How could I lie to you? Let me explain—”

Fan Wei waited. But Tang Xiao couldn’t get a single word out.

“Hah! Tang Xiao’s brain right now: *Quick, make up an excuse!*”

The crowd cracked up. Lin Tingyue gave them a puzzled look.

“Wait, why’s everyone laughing at a police station?”

Coming to the station might not be fun, but drama this wild? Hell yeah.

Meanwhile, outside the station, Wu Hai’s stomach dropped the moment he saw Fan Wei. He tried dragging Qiao Mei away.

But Qiao Mei refused to budge. She asked, “You were a groomsman at a wedding lately, weren’t you?”

“Mei, why bring this up now—”

Qiao Mei locked eyes with him. “Yes or no. Now.”

Wu Hai’s fists tightened…

He held her hand and said, "No."

"You’re still lying to me???"

"Hey, Wu Hai was a groomsman at Fan Tian’s wedding back then. Didn’t he see Tang Xiao at that time?"

"Oh, right! Fan Tian accidentally found out about Wu Hai and Tang Xiao’s relationship and deliberately sent Wu Hai away before Tang Xiao arrived."

"If he hadn’t sent Wu Hai away, it would’ve turned into: my lover fell for my son?"

Everyone: "!!!"

Wu Hai whispered, "Meimei, let’s go home..."

Before he could finish, Qiao Mei slapped him, shaking with rage. "Wu Hai, you’re still lying to me."

"Meimei, why would I lie to you? I’d never lie to you."

Another officer came out and walked straight to Wu Hai, who was still in a standoff with Qiao Mei. "Mr. Wu Hai, right? We have a case involving marital infidelity and need your cooperation."

Wu Hai’s face turned pale instantly. His lips quivered as he said, "I don’t know... I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m going home with my wife."

With that, he reached for Qiao Mei’s hand.

Qiao Mei dodged and crossed her arms. "Which wife—the man or the woman?"

"Meimei..."

"We’re done. My lawyer’ll call you. You should go find your *male* wife now—though it seems he’s been arrested."

After coldly delivering these words, Qiao Mei grabbed her bag and left coolly.

"Dang, she’s awesome!"

Wu Hai tried to chase after her but was knocked flat by Tang Xiao, who had just come out. Tang Xiao cried out, "What did I do to deserve this? My son went after my boyfriend!"

"I’m the one who sinned."

Fan Wei wanted to puke at the thought of having treated Tang Xiao’s lover as his own son.

"Someone call Fan Tian—now! Tell him his boyfriend is getting beaten up by his girlfriend!"

"HA!"

Fan Qing laughed so hard she could barely stand straight. Finally, Fan Wei spotted her.

He walked up to her. "Qing Qing, I know..."

Fan Qing ignored his outstretched hand and instead hooked arms with Bai Yaxin and Lin Tingyue. "Auntie Bai, can I *please* crash at your place for dinner tonight?"

Bai Yaxin naturally agreed. Fan Wei messed up—he could dig himself out without dragging Fan Qing into it.

Fan Qing hopped in the car with Bai Yaxin.

With the show over, everyone else left, except Wu Hai and Tang Xiao, who were still brawling.

...

"Wow, that was wild."

Lin Tingyue handed the fruit platter to Fan Qing and asked, "Qing Qing, care for more fruit?"

Fan Qing speared a piece of fruit and took the chance to press her cheek against Lin Tingyue's. "Yue Yue, you're the sweetest."

Lin Tingyue said proudly, "I know, right?"

Fan Qing: "..."

"Lin Tingyue, getting a bit cocky, huh?"

Fan Qing reached out, and the two started roughhousing on the sofa.

Midway through their tussle, Lin Xiawan returned.

Lin Tingyue pulled Fan Qing upright and asked, "Sis Xiawan, you’re back so early today?"

"Yeah, no work today, so I came back a bit earlier."

"Miss Lin’s home!" Zhang Ma called.

"I’ve already eaten, thank you, Zhang Ma."

Lin Xiawan looked at Lin Tingyue and Fan Qing. "Parents mentioned you two went to the police station. Everything okay?"

After Lin Tingyue and Lin Xiawan’s relationship gradually improved, Fan Qing stopped targeting Lin Xiawan.

Originally, Fan Qing had disliked Lin Xiawan because of Lin Tingyue, but now that the two were thick as thieves, Fan Qing naturally got along better with Lin Xiawan too.

Lin Tingyue and Fan Qing answered in unison, "We're fine."

Fan Qing grinned. "And we got some hot gossip too."

Lin Xiawan raised an eyebrow, but just as Fan Qing was about to elaborate, her mother called.

Fan Qing snatched a fruit and bolted. "Yue Yue, Sis Xiawan~, catch you later!"

"See you next time."

So it fell to Lin Tingyue to recount the hot tea to Lin Xiawan.

She narrated it vividly, having Lin Xiawan riveted.

Lin Xiawan thought to herself that occasionally getting the scoop with Lin Tingyue didn’t seem like such a bad thing.

"By the way, Tingyue, I bought two movie tickets. Wanna come with?"

Lin Tingyue gave a knowing look. Lin Xiawan smiled and asked, "What?"

Lin Tingyue hugged Lin Xiawan’s arm. "Sis Xiawan, since when do you randomly buy two tickets? You just wanted to go with me, didn’t you? No need to play coy, Sis Xiawan~"

As she spoke, she nuzzled into her arm.

Lin Xiawan’s heart was mush from Lin Tingyue’s affection. She stroked Lin Tingyue’s fallen hair and said, "Alright, yes, I got them just for you. So, are you coming?"

"Of course I am! What time are we heading out?" Lin Tingyue looked at Lin Xiawan eagerly.

"It starts at 3 p.m.," Lin Xiawan glanced at her watch. "We oughta get going."

"So you came all the way back for little ol’ me, right?"

Looking at the adorable Lin Tingyue, Lin Xiawan nodded and said, "Yes."

Lin Tingyue looked very pleased.

By the time they came out of the movie theater, it was almost six o'clock. They decided to get something to eat at the restaurant across the street.

They'd just walked in when someone called Lin Xiawan's name.

"Lin Xiawan, what are you doing here?"

Lin Xiawan first explained to Lin Tingyue, "A classmate of mine."

Then she turned to Xiang Yuan: "I just came out of a movie with my sister."

"Oh," Xiang Yuan glanced at Lin Tingyue beside Lin Xiawan. "So this is your sister."

Most classmates knew something about Lin Xiawan's family situation, and Xiang Yuan was no exception. However, he clearly wasn't interested and simply asked if she wanted to sit with him.

Lin Xiawan declined, though their tables weren't far apart, allowing them to chat occasionally.

Noticing Xiang Yuan staring intently at his phone, Lin Xiawan offhandedly asked, "Still in an online relationship?"

Xiang Yuan waved his phone and said, "We're meeting up tonight."

Lin Xiawan replied, "Congratulations."

Xiang Yuan grinned. "Thanks. Actually, this online relationship was introduced by my ex-girlfriend. I should thank her. Who says you can't stay friends after a breakup? We're getting along great. Maybe I should take her out to eat sometime with Xi Xi."

Xiang Yuan was determined to make tonight work.

"Introduced by your ex? Online dating, and meeting up tonight?"

Lin Tingyue smelled trouble.

"This sounds like hot gossip. Let me look into this."

"Ah, you really need to be more careful. Staying friends with an ex? You won't even know what hit you."

Huh? What's going on?

The onlookers grew curious—was his ex-girlfriend deliberately tricking him?

"This Xiang Yuan seems fine on the surface, but he has a controlling know-it-all attitude, always telling people what to do. His ex couldn't take it anymore and broke up with him. To get back at him, she casually recommended Xiang Yuan's contact info to her ex-boyfriend's father."

"Exactly. The ex's ex was great in every way, except for his dad—who was a total control freak and into cross-dressing. After the breakup, the ex had a brilliant idea and came up with this genius plan... Nothing could stop her. She's practically a genius. Isn't this just fighting fire with fire?"

"If that's the case, then the person arriving soon must be..."

Lin Xiawan was hearing Lin Tingyue's mental commentary when Xiang Yuan, sitting nearby, said excitedly, "She's here."

Everyone all looked toward the entrance, waiting to see who would walk in.