Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Fan Qing’s eyes widened in shock. And if she wasn’t mistaken, some of these people were supposed to be married couples, right?

Where did that voice come from?

Before Cao Namei could process it, the voice poured out like a string of firecrackers.

"Take Yin Xiang near the door, for example. The woman on his left is his girlfriend, and the one on his right is his ex-wife."

"Comforting his girlfriend and soothing his ex-wife—two birds with one stone, all while keeping up his gentleman act."

Ex-wife?!

Zhong Xia was ready to blow. She and Yin Xiang had reconnected through a blind date. Back in school, Zhong Xia had had a little crush on him.

The matchmaker had hyped Yin Xiang up endlessly, and since he was successful now with a promising future, Zhong Xia had said yes.

Yin Xiang had never told her he’d been married before. To make things worse, Zhong Xia touched the ring on her finger—just last week, she had accepted his proposal.

Calm down, calm down. What if none of it was true?

"Yin Xiang visits his ex-wife’s house every month to see their child and pay child support. Poor girl, totally clueless."

There's a child too?!

Zhong Xia had had enough.

She clenched her fists. Thankfully, they were only engaged, not married—she still had time to back out. But no way could she just let this go!

And this guy? Even worse. He’s actually gay, but because his parents keep pressuring him to marry, he’s planning to marry a woman, have a kid, and then bail. Tsk tsk, he was even flirting with that male waiter earlier.

What the—?!

Guan Ming froze. Was she really a beard?

Thinking back, when the waiter came to take their order, Fang Shi *had* been eyeing him. Guan Ming had even asked about it, and Fang Shi had said he liked the waiter’s pin.

So that was just an excuse?!

"This one… looks so refined, but he’s actually a domestic abuser!"

"That one… looks plain, but she’s got a man in every city."

Lin Tingyue was dropping bombs left and right—everyone was sweating buckets as secrets they'd buried deep were suddenly unearthed.

Cao Namei breathed a sigh of relief. Although she had no idea what was going on with that voice, at least it hadn’t mentioned her or her husband.

She relaxed, gripping her husband’s hand proudly. At least he didn’t cheat or cause any drama—how admirable.

Seeing this, Lin Tingyue couldn't help shaking her head. "Even at a time like this, Zhang Yi is still cozying up to his 'white moonlight' under the table."

"Seriously, what’s with people who cheat in front of their spouses? Do they think it’s exciting or something?"

So it wasn’t that there was no scandal—it was just that hers hadn’t come yet.

Cao Namei was furious enough to spit fire.

She looked down abruptly—Zhang Yi and his “white moonlight” were caught mid-rub, legs still entangled. Busted.

Cao Nami felt her eyes were violated. After gagging once, she began to scream, "Ewwww, you disgusting couple!"

She stood up and landed a hard slap on Zhang Yi’s face.

Hearing the commotion in the VIP room, the waiter, worried something was wrong, pushed the door open. Seeing this scene, Guan Ming also lost it. The room broke out into total chaos.

People were hitting and cursing everywhere, and eventually started smashing things in the room. The restaurant owner could only lament how unlucky he was today—encountering lunatics was bad enough, but a whole pack of them?

Fearing greater losses, the owner called the police directly.

Lin Tingyue and Fan Qing slipped away in the chaos.

Walking down the street, Fan Qing seemed lost in thought. Lin Tingyue asked worriedly, "Qing Qing, are you okay?"

Fan Qing shook her head, took Lin Tingyue's hand, and said with exaggerated seriousness, "Yue Yue, I’m way too naive."

"Huh?" Lin Tingyue was confused.

Fan Qing continued, "I was naive enough to think this was just an ordinary class reunion, never looked beyond the surface. This was clearly, clearly..."

A deliberate pause, left for Lin Tingyue to fill in.

Lin Tingyue really didn’t want to.

After some hesitation, she thought, *Ugh, fine—what are best friends for?*

Lin Tingyue asked, "Clearly what?"

Fan Qing burst out laughing. Lin Tingyue tugged at her arm, reminding her, "Hey, Qing Qing, where are your manners?"

"Hahahaha, it’s not like I’m a professional celebrity anyway."

Lin Tingyue said, "Don’t laugh yourself sick."

Fan Qing nodded to show she understood but still couldn’t stop laughing.

Once Fan Qing finally stopped laughing, the two entered a restaurant.

They hadn’t checked the sign when they walked in and only realized while ordering that it was a Thai restaurant—light and summery, perfect for summer, but now, with winter approaching, it wasn’t exactly ideal.

In the end, Lin Tingyue and Fan Qing ordered the tom yum soup hotpot, strongly recommended by the manager.

When it arrived, steaming hot, Lin Tingyue peeled shrimp while asking aloud, "But why did they suddenly start fighting like that?"

*Duh, because of you. If there were a Nobel Prize for Honesty, Lin Tingyue would be first in line.*

But she had to cover for her. Fan Qing said seriously, "Karma’s a thing."

Lin Tingyue actually believed it. She nodded and placed the peeled shrimp into Fan Qing’s bowl.

Fan Qing paused, stunned. Disbelieving, she asked, "Yue Yue, did you peel this for me?"

"Yeah."

"Aww, that’s so sweet! No one’s ever peeled shrimp for me before."

Lin Tingyue smiled, her eyes shining. "Then I’ll peel shrimp for you from now on."

How could we keep letting Lin Tingyue do all the giving? Fan Qing pressed her hand over Lin Tingyue’s and said, “I’ll peel some for you too—a whole bowlful!”

Lin Tingyue smiled warmly. “Okay.”

The two ate a lot of seafood, and after leaving the restaurant, they went to the mall to browse around.

Fan Qing had originally wanted to buy a few pieces of clothing, but after flipping through several racks, she didn’t find anything she liked.

She sighed. “Forget it. Yue Yue, let’s go home.”

Lin Tingyue nodded. “Okay.”

As they exited the mall, Lin Tingyue suddenly noticed the big screen outside and stopped to look. Fan Qing glanced over—it was just a birthday fan video, nothing special. Back when Fan Qing used to follow a celebrity, she’d even paid for a screen tribute before.

But ever since she started gossiping with Lin Tingyue about stars’ scandals, Fan Qing had become guarded—now in full emotional lockdown mode.

Lin Tingyue wasn’t the fangirl type either, so why was she… Wait—“Happy Birthday Ying An, October 20th”?

Fan Qing realized: this was a birthday tribute for Ying An!

Lin Tingyue hadn’t expected Ying An’s birthday to be coming up soon. More than just aromatherapy, she felt she should get him a real birthday gift.

Back home, Lin Tingyue thought it over before sending Ying Ning a message.

Little Moon: Ning Ning, is your brother’s birthday coming up?

Ying Ning bolted upright in bed, clutching her phone as she typed back quickly: Yeah! How did you know?

Lin Tingyue sent Ying Ning a photo of the mall’s big screen, explaining where she saw it, then asked what Ying An liked.

Well, her answer wouldn’t be as good as straight from the source!

Ying Ning threw open her door and yelled. Soon, Ying An appeared at her doorway, sighing, “You trying to bring the house down?”

Waving her phone in front of him, Ying Ning grinned, “Dear bro, your chance is here. Seize it or not?”

At first, Ying An wasn’t paying attention—he had no interest in his sister’s antics. He turned to leave, but froze the moment he saw the screen.

“Give me that,” he said.

Ying Ning handed him the phone. After typing something, Ying An shoved it back into her arms and walked off without hesitation—his earlier nerves completely gone.

Ugh, she should’ve filmed that reaction. As Ying Ning turned to close the door, she suddenly remembered, “Hey, don’t forget the invite!”

Ying An waved dismissively.

Leaning against the doorframe, Ying Ning stared at her phone, almost snorting in disbelief. “Anything is fine”? Really?

In all those interviews, her brother always seemed emotionally intelligent—how’d he flub this so bad?

Maybe she should’ve replied herself. Would Little Moon think he blew her off?

Or…

Whatever Lin Tingyue gave, as long as it came from her, her brother would be thrilled.

The more Ying Ning thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After shipping all her brother’s fake ships, she’d finally hit the jackpot!

First thing the next morning, Ying An personally went to the Lin household to deliver the birthday invitation.

Lin Yuhuan was unusually home today. After his workout at the gym, he found Lin Tingyue sprawled on the sofa and tried to get her to join him for a game of badminton.

When Ying An arrived, Lin Tingyue was serving. She had her head lowered, staring intently at the shuttlecock in her hand, completely focused.

Lin Tingyue tossed the shuttlecock and put all her strength into the swing—but the serve went way off, and Lin Yuhuan missed it.

In fact, Lin Yuhuan hadn’t returned a single one of Lin Tingyue’s serves.

Both were worn out by this badminton match.

The moment Lin Tingyue saw Ying An, she saw her savior. She darted over and thrust the racket into his hands. “Mr. Ying, go play a few rounds with my brother.”

“Miss Lin…”

Lin Tingyue gave him puppy-dog eyes. “I really love watching experts compete.”

“Aaaahhh!!! I need a break! Let me rest!!!”

Ying An: “…”

Lin Yuhuan: “…”

And so, later, Lin Tingyue kicked back comfortably, sipping juice while watching the expert showdown.

Ying An and Lin Yuhuan ended up tied. Lin Yuhuan remarked, “You’re very skilled.”

“You too, brother.”

Hearing Ying An also call him “brother,” Lin Yuhuan’s expression twitched slightly.

As the two approached, Lin Tingyue passed them juice.

Lin Yuhuan said, “Seems like badminton really isn’t your sport.”

Lin Tingyue nodded enthusiastically. “Yep yep.”

“In fact, no sport suits you.”

Lin Yuhuan: “…”

“You could get a dog! Then you can play frisbee!”

Lin Yuhuan pursed his lips. How did this suddenly shift to dogs???

Lin Tingyue turned to Ying An. “Why’d you come today?”

Ying An replied, “I came to give Miss Lin an invitation.”

“Oho!” Lin Chengyan appeared out of nowhere, snatching the invitation from Ying An’s hands with a mocking tone. “Only inviting Lin Tingyue, huh?”