Chapter 187

"Qiyue, what are you laughing at?" Madame Zhai asked displeasedly.

Zhou Qiyue tugged her chin, speaking word by word: "Laughing at how stupid you are."

"What do you mean!" Zhai Anhao couldn't help shouting loudly; her face might be ruined, the hospital told her that to avoid scarring she could only get plastic surgery, and at this moment she felt fragile inside, always on the verge of breaking down, and because of Zhou Qiyue's words she completely lost control.

She seemed to have gone mad, rising and rushing forward to grab Zhou Qiyue.

Zhou Qiyue sat firmly unmoving; a bodyguard not far away dashed over at great speed and pressed Zhai Anhao to the ground.

Madame Zhai anxiously rose to try to stop them, but the bodyguards of Feng Qi Yuan wouldn't listen to her; with a shove, Zhai Anhao screamed and fell flat.

"Madam Zhou, are you really just letting your daughter and bodyguards bully guests?"

Ning Qing's face had lost its earlier gentleness; she sneered, "You came to my house, first slandering my future daughter-in-law, then indulging your granddaughter in wanting to attack my daughter—do you think the Zhou family is easy to bully?"

Madame Zhai was startled by her tone and expression, taking a step back before reacting.

The lady before you is not one who knows propriety and decorum; she is a Ning family miss, raised from childhood beside the notorious miserly Ning old master, and though marriage has tempered her temper somewhat, her nature is hard to change.

A young lady like that—what kind of truly pure and good child could she raise?

Ning Qing stood up; she did not want to bully the elderly lady before her, but she would no longer give the Zhai family face.

"Madame, when I choose a daughter-in-law, besides my son liking her, I also have to like her—do you understand now?"

Madame Zhai nodded dumbly, and Ning Qing continued, "Your granddaughter looks not bad; I had actually liked her before and wanted to engage her to my Xiao Wu, never expecting it was all an act for me."

"Old age makes one easy to deceive."

Zhou Qiyue lay lazily on the sofa arm, eyes downcast on Zhai Anhao, who was pressed to the ground wailing and sobbing, and she lightly laughed, "It's not that you're easy to fool; it's your kindness."

Although it was to get Zhou Yinhe to come out sooner, Ning Qing initially had no other thoughts; it was Madame Zhai who somehow got the news, brought Zhai Anhao to the door, and hinted at this matter in conversation.

Seeing Zhai Anhao weepingly confess how long she had liked Zhou Yinhe and her willingness to die for him, Ning Qing then agreed to the engagement.

"Kind-hearted?" Madame Zhai thought, recalling how back then the Ning family's collateral branches, seeing no male heir to inherit, tried to seize power; Zhou Shuanglin was trapped abroad, the household held only a few young children, and Ning Qing single-handedly split the Ning family, firmly grasping the inheritance—right up to now the Ning collaterals dare not show their faces.

Why? Because back then Ning Qing personally abolished, in front of everyone, the only male of the branch that had caused the most trouble, and issued a stern warning: if they ever dared to harbor such delusions again, she would not hesitate to act again.

Ning Qing couldn't be bothered to continue dealing with them; as she rose to leave and passed Zhai Anhao, she said indifferently, "See them out—just looking at them is annoying. Ah Ling is better, pretty and obedient; thank goodness Xiao Wu didn't go along with me back then, or I'd regret it to death now."

Zhou Qiyue did not leave; she merely watched the two silently, and only after Ning Qing walked away did she speak.

"Get lost—don't bother my brother and sister-in-law anymore; if you find out what I've done later, don't blame me."

In the Zhou family, high and low, there isn't a single decent person.

Madame Zhai took Zhai Anhao and left; on the way home she received a call from Ke Chengyu himself.

"Madame Zhai, I regret to inform you that the cooperation between the Ke and Zhai families has been cancelled." Ke Chengyu said with a smile, then added thoughtfully, "Oh right, even if you went to see my grandmother this time it would be useless, because the Ning family has taken over."

Madame Zhai widened her eyes in disbelief and pressed for more, but Ke Chengyu had already hung up.

She could hardly avoid suspecting that Ke Chengyu's call was meant to anger her, adding insult to injury when her goal had not been met.

"Do you have Zhou Yinhe's phone number?" Madame Zhai turned to the still-weeping Zhai Anhao, who sniffled, pulled out her phone, found Zhou Yinhe's number, and handed it to Madame Zhai.

The call was placed; at the moment it connected, Madame Zhai could not keep her questioning tone in check, gritting her teeth: "Was it you who did this? Xiao Wu, no matter how I say it, I've watched you grow up—why are you targeting me, this old lady?"

Zhou Yinhe was about to answer when Zhou Shuanglin came from behind, snatched his phone, and hung up directly.

He looked down at Zhou Yinhe with a reproachful tone: "How is it that you inherit nothing of me?"

Is this because you dislike his being fussy in his actions?

Ning Qing glared, eyebrows furrowed, and demanded: "Are you saying he takes after me???"

Zhou Shuanglin curled his lips, only smiling without answering; Ning Qing rose to strike him, he stepped back a pace and reached out to embrace her waist.

"……" The siblings rolled their eyes, rose together, and walked toward the parking lot.

Zhou Qiyue said, "Take me to my older sister's place."

Zhou Yinhe refused: "Going to my sister's would require a detour; I'm not going—I want to go home to find Ah Ling."

"Not going is not an option." Zhou Qiyue raised her hand, threatening: "Come on, take me, or I'll make you feel my older sister's affection."

"……" Zhou Yinhe wore a bitter face: "How old am I, and you still want to hit me?"

"If it deserves a beating, I won't hold back." Zhou Qiyue opened the passenger door, got in, and glanced back at Zhou Yinhe with a provocative smile.

Zhou Yinhe had no choice but to get in the car, called Wen Ling while starting the engine and turning the vehicle around.

"What's wrong?" Wen Ling's voice soft and sweet, Zhou Yinhe smiled with a curved lip: "Nothing, I was already heading home, but I need to first go to my eldest sister's to drop off my second sister."

"No rush."

Zhou Qiyue rolled her eyes and said to Wen Ling on the phone: "Ah Ling, I had Xiao Wu take me, but he insists on going home to find you—how do you put up with his clinginess?"

Wen Ling was soaking in the bath at that moment; hearing Zhou Qiyue's words, she puffed out a laugh.

Zhou Yinhe hastily hung up, fearing Zhou Qiyue would say something mocking him and damage his image in Wen Ling's heart.

Wen Ling smiled, pursed her lips, put the phone aside, rose to rinse off the foam, wrapped herself in a robe and walked to the washbasin to clean up; Jiang Jibai and the others probably knew, so instead of asking Zhou Yinhe to go out and play—knowing he'd refuse—they simply called her, arranged to meet tonight at a bar, and she agreed.

She knew she took a while to get ready, so she simply waited for Zhou Yinhe to return while doing her makeup.

Zhou Yinhe dropped Zhou Qiyue off at the company entrance, didn't even say a greeting, stepped on the accelerator and drove off.