Chapter 210: with translation of chapter title

I was just joking, Baobao, don't argue with me.

Wen Ling gave him a fake smile, then immediately withdrew her smile, kept a detached expression, and continued to do her makeup.

Zhou Yinhe was just talking off the cuff; how could he be so oblivious to his own good fortune?

He pitifully grabbed Wen Ling's hand, placed her hand against his lips, and said, "If you won't hit my mouth, it's all because my mouth is cheap."

Wen Ling lowered her gaze, looked at him seriously, stayed silent for a moment, then slapped Zhou Yinhe's hand away and gave him a slap on the mouth.

That slap wasn't heavy, but it wasn't light either; Zhou Yinhe endured the sting, pressed his lips together, and leaned in toward Wen Ling again.

"Don't be angry..."

Wen Ling remained silent, just not letting Zhou Yinhe let out a sigh of relief.

Usually his offhand boasting would be tolerable, but he's pushing further; if she doesn't properly discipline him, Wen Ling worries she won't be able to keep him in check later.

All the way until they got in the car, Zhou Yinhe kept looking at Wen Ling cautiously; Wen Ling glanced at him sideways and ultimately softened her heart at his gaze.

"Not to happen again."

Zhou Yinhe's eyes lit up, he nodded vigorously, the car stopped at the parking lot of Feng Qi Yuan, and the first thing he did after unbuckling his seatbelt was to go hug Wen Ling, softly saying: "I will definitely not talk like that again."

Wen Ling let out a humored laugh and didn't bother to argue with him much.

Just then the steward came to the courtyard to fetch something, saw Zhou Yinhe's car stopped but no one got out, and walked over curiously to take a look.

Wen Ling saw the steward approaching through the car window, patted Zhou Yinhe's back to signal him to move away.

"The steward is coming."

Zhou Yinhe reluctantly let go of her, exhaled a breath, then opened the car door and got out.

"Fifth Young Master's return is quite a coincidence; Second Mister and Young Master Jingyuan are here as well."

Upon hearing "Second Mister", Zhou Yinhe felt a slight ache in his waist and legs, pursed his lips, his expression wasn't good, and Wen Ling clearly saw his reluctance.

"Are you unwilling to see your cousin, or your second uncle?"

She asked knowingly; Zhou Yinhe gave a light hum, walked around the car to stand before Wen Ling, put his arm around her, and whispered: "Baobao, can we just sit a while and then leave?"

His second uncle is nothing like his father; he spouts reasoning at the drop of a hat, the whole family tolerates him greatly, but this second uncle criticizes him every time they meet.

"That won't do; I haven't come in a long time, so I really ought to chat more with Aunt and Eldest Sister‑in‑law." Wen Ling teased him, seeing his aggrieved expression, she pressed her lips together to hold back laughter.

"After the proposal, didn't you spend several days playing with my mother and the eldest sister‑in‑law? Can we chat a little less today?" Zhou Yinhe tried to negotiate with Wen Ling.

Wen Ling gave a perfunctory nod and tossed out: "Let's see later."

After saying that, she shoved Zhou Yinhe's arm aside and headed toward the villa's main gate, ignoring his helpless expression behind her.

As soon as Wen Ling entered, Ning Qing happily came over, took Wen Ling's hand and led her to the living room, even tossing her beloved little son behind her.

"Ah Ling, what a coincidence that you've come; just now your second uncle arrived, and later I'll call your brothers and sisters back so we can all have a family meal."

Wen Ling smiled and nodded, glanced sideways at the reluctant Zhou Yinhe, and innocently said: "Aunt, ask him whether he's willing; he just said he'd wait a little while and then go home."

Just then the second uncle heard this, furrowed his brows and glared at Zhou Yinhe, scolding: "If you don't want to eat with me, just go on your own; how dare you meddle in Ah Ling's affairs?"

Zhou Yinhe opened his mouth, not knowing how to rebut, so he just closed his mouth and swallowed his words.

"Come, come, come, sit beside me and let's have a good chat." The second uncle waved his hand at Zhou Yinhe like calling a puppy; Zhou Yinhe froze in place, unmoving, and when the second uncle glared, he had no choice but to walk over and sit beside him.

"Second uncle, I didn't mean it that way."

"So you mean Ah Ling is lying? She's a well‑behaved, obedient girl—could she lie?" The second uncle reached out, grabbed Zhou Yinhe's ear and twisted it, making Zhou Yinhe yelp in pain.

Wen Ling stood aside watching, couldn't help stepping forward to advise: "That second uncle, don't use so much force… he's rather delicate…"

Only then did the second uncle release his grip; Wen Ling hurriedly rubbed Zhou Yinhe's ear and whispered: "Does it hurt? Let me rub it for you."

Zhou Yinhe looked pitifully at Wen Ling and also whined softly: "It hurts."

Ning Qing stood to the side, completely indifferent to her son's feelings, teasing: "Such a delicate one—he's been like this since childhood; your second uncle didn't even use any strength, Ah Ling, don't bother with him."

"Ah?" Wen Ling lowered her hand doubtfully, glanced at Zhou Yinhe's earlobe—still red—and, not knowing if it was her imagination, actually felt it a bit swollen.

She furrowed her brows and went to look at Zhou Yinhe's eyes.

Sure enough, Zhou Yinhe avoided her gaze, embarrassed to meet Wen Ling's eyes, and Wen Ling instantly understood.

"Bastard, you lied to me." Wen Ling bit her lip; although she wasn't especially angry, she also felt a bit shy, after all, in front of so many people.

Zhou Yinhe grabbed her hand and pulled her to his side, whispering: "Hey, I was just teasing you."

Wen Ling hummed twice, turned her face away, too lazy to bother with him; just then her eyes met Zhou Jingyuan's, she smiled, and though she had met this cousin fewer times than Jiang Jibai, she felt a bit curious.

Zhou Yinhe then asked: "Didn't you go abroad on a business trip right after seeing the proposal? When did you come back?"

"Just got back a few days ago, and I came with my father to visit my uncle and aunt." Zhou Jingyuan gave a light laugh, then said to Wen Ling: "Sister‑in‑law, we've met few times; I'm his cousin."

"Hello, cousin."

The second uncle interjected: "Look, Xiao Wu already has a fiancée and is about to get engaged; you, on the other hand, have made no plans for your lifelong matter—are you planning to stay single until Xiao Wu's kids are running all over the place?"

Zhou Jingyuan shrugged indifferently, lazily saying: "Isn't there still the second elder brother? I'll think about it only after he settles down."

Ning Qing rolled her eyes and said: "Your second elder brother is even more stubborn than Xiao Wu in this regard; don't follow his example, learn more from Xiao Wu—look at him: although he has a bad temper, is quick‑tempered, stubborn, willful, and even delicate, when it comes to finding a wife he's top‑notch."

"……" Upon hearing that, Zhou Yinhe felt as if black lines were dropping onto his head, tangible.

He truly didn't know whether his own mother was praising him or disparaging him.

But Wen Ling knew that Ning Qing was praising her.

She directly abandoned Zhou Yinhe, rose, sat beside Ning Qing, and linked arms with her in great intimacy.

"Aunt, I just realized I had custom‑made jewelry for you, the eldest sister‑in‑law, and the two sisters; it should have been delivered to my place, and I'm having someone bring it over now."

Ning Qing exclaimed delightedly: "Oh my, when did you secretly order this, you child."