The protagonist of the longevity banquet, Jing Lao Taiye, was wheeled out by his bodyguard due to his mobility issues.
Jing Qishan failed to keep an eye on her, and Li Yu hugged Dan Wuyan’s arm as she went forward.
Li Yu smiled and called out, “Great-grandpa.”
The elderly man looked up in response. Though advanced in age and troubled by leg problems, his spirits were still quite vigorous. “Little Yu, come to your great-grandpa.”
Li Yu obediently went over and squatted in front of the old man, while Dan Wuyan stood quietly to the side. After a moment, the old man noticed the person nearby and asked, “How come I’ve never seen this child before? Is she Little Yu’s friend?”
“Mm~ Yes! She’s my—”
Before Li Yu could finish, Jing Qishan quickly covered her mouth and grinned at the old man. “Grandpa, this is Little Yu’s friend. Her name is Dan Wuyan.”
Seeing Jing Qishan covering his great-granddaughter’s mouth, the old man clearly wasn’t pleased. “Little Yu has her own mouth. What are you doing as her father?”
Jing Qishan’s face showed embarrassment. As he withdrew his hand, he muttered softly in Li Yu’s ear, “Say it properly.”
“Great-grandpa… There’s something I don’t know if I should say…” Li Yu said this deliberately, giving the old man a heads-up first.
The man in the wheelchair was a bit curious. “Go ahead.” Then he glared at Jing Qishan. “Your great-grandpa is here—no one dares to say anything about you. Speak freely.”
After hemming and hawing for a while, Li Yu finally spoke. “She’s actually my girlfriend…”
The bombshell was too much, and the man in the wheelchair didn’t react for a moment.
The old man seemed shocked into looking a few years younger, his wrinkled eyelids widening. “Girlfriend… girlfriend?”
Jing Qishan was so furious his teeth itched; he simply couldn’t stop this bratty girl.
Fortunately, those around Jing Lao Taiye were all family members. The other guests stood on the periphery, chatting and laughing, occasionally piecing together the family’s relationships.
Li Yu did this to present a fait accompli—before meeting anyone she actually liked, she wanted to settle the storm for her “girlfriend” first.
Jing Qishan gnashed his teeth in frustration on the side.
Seeing the mood of the person nearby turn off, Dan Wuyan tactfully stepped half a pace to the side.
Jing Ming swirled his wine glass, eager to stir things up. He deliberately whispered in the ear of Jing Yan, who seemed calm, “Sis, Dan Wuyan already has someone. Just give up.”
Jing Yan took a sip of the red wine, her gaze still fixed there. “So what?”
Jing Ming pouted and let out a barely audible tsk.
Just as everyone was still immersed in the banquet’s joy, a burst of mournful music suddenly echoed through the hall.
The three Jing brothers, busy mingling with guests, looked troubled and ordered their subordinates to search for the source of the sound.
The noise abruptly stopped, and the hall doors swung open. A man around sixty strode in boldly from the entrance.
It was a familiar face—Jing Lao Taiye’s fourth son, Jing Fuxin.
Jing Fuxin approached step by step, then halted in the center of the hall under everyone’s gaze. He glanced disdainfully at Jing Yan and her brothers. “Long time no see!”
Seeing this man there, Jing Lao Taiye grew visibly agitated. “Get out! What are you doing here?”
Jing Fuxin paused with each step, sneering contemptuously. “Dad, you still remember this son of yours? I thought you’d already gone to the heavens.”
As the eldest brother, Jing Eldest couldn’t stand this younger brother who had run away from home years ago and held a grudge against the Jing family for decades. He roared, “Old Four! Look at the occasion today! Do you have to make everyone uncomfortable?”
Jing Yan tapped her nails on the table, propping her cheek as she watched the unfolding scene with indifferent eyes.
“What does this occasion have to do with me?” Jing Fuxin pointed viciously at Jing Yan and her brothers. “Unless these two don’t exist! We’re the real family! Dad’s gone senile—have you all lost your minds too?”
At that moment, Jing Yan stepped forward. Jing Ming worriedly grabbed her wrist. “Sis, don’t…” But knowing he couldn’t stop her, he let go.
Jing Yan’s clear voice rang out. “Fourth Brother, should I call you stupid? Or courageous?”
Jing Fuxin scoffed. “Everyone, judge for yourselves!”
He continued his humiliation. “This woman’s mother forced her way into the Jing family! She gave my sixty-year-old dad—now Jing Lao Taiye—a son and a daughter.”
“She stole what should have belonged to my mother!”
Hearing this, Jing Yan let out a light hum.
Jing Fuxin was resentful, and Jing Yan understood.
She couldn’t choose her origins, nor did she have the right to choose whose daughter she was.
Unable to tolerate the verbal abuse any longer, Jing Ming said angrily, “My mom and dad were legally married. You’re twisting the truth, you lunatic!”
…
The scene descended into chaos.
Jing Fuxin was eventually driven out by Jing Eldest’s men.
They were reluctant to completely break ties due to shared blood from the same mother, but this Old Four was simply too outrageous—wild in his youth and unchanged in old age.
Mud couldn’t stick to the wall.
He had the nerve to crash his own father’s longevity banquet.
This interlude left Jing Lao Taiye quite upset. Jing Ming felt lingering fear; Old Four’s humiliation of their mother, who was still recovering at home, left him stifled, but he didn’t want to burden his sister with it.
Chen Ran selected a quick-acting heart pill from the medicine prepared by the Jing family butler and fed a few to Jing Lao Taiye.
The banquet continued, and the protagonist was wheeled away to rest.
The hall’s liveliness returned to normal.
However, the topic among the dignitaries now centered on Jing Yan and her brothers. They said Jing Lao Taiye had been quite the playboy in his youth—his first wife died, and he quickly remarried and had children.
It was all foggy; no one could piece the whole story together.
Rumors from the outside always carried a kernel of truth, especially when people believed only what they wanted.
Everyone had witnessed Old Four’s tantrum at the banquet. But it was the Jing family’s private matter—after some chit-chat and laughs, it faded away.
Jing Fuxin, booted out, fumed inwardly.
He spat on the grass. “A bunch of ungrateful wolves!”
A sound came from behind him, and a tall woman in a suit stood before him.
“Mr. Jing Fourth.” Dan Wuyan called out to him.
Jing Fuxin’s tone wasn’t friendly, his anger burning. “Who are you?”
Dan Wuyan didn’t answer. Instead, she clenched her five fingers into a fist and held it in front of Jing Fuxin. “Guess what I have in my hand?”
This piqued Jing Fuxin’s curiosity in an instant. He lowered his gaze impatiently. “What?”
Dan Wuyan tightened her fist and brought it closer to his face. “I’ll open it—take a look then.”
Jing Fuxin stared at Dan Wuyan. “Are you crazy? Like this whole family, out of your—”
Before he could say “mind,” Dan Wuyan punched him square in the right eye. He howled in pain, peering through his fingers at her face, which wore a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“You freaking psycho!”
Dan Wuyan shook out a handkerchief and wiped her fist casually. “You ran your mouth without restraint. A punch as apology isn’t too much.”
Jing Fuxin thought she was a thug sent by his old man. After all, though Jing Lao Taiye was old and not as decisive as in his youth, nodding for someone to beat his son was effortless.
A visible bruise bloomed on his right eye. Before the Jing family could fully escort him away, he wisely left on his own.
As Dan Wuyan turned, Li Yu watched silently from the corridor corner.
She thought Li Yu would scold her for such an impulsive act, but instead, Li Yu led her to a wooden bench in the garden. The first thing she said was, “Old Dan! I’m so touched~ You actually punched my fourth grandpa for me~”
Dan Wuyan tugged her lips down slightly and coughed twice. It wasn’t surprising, though—Jing Fourth had attacked the Jing family from all angles without mercy.
“Does your hand still hurt?” Li Yu leaned in closer on purpose, taking the hand of the person beside her, remembering her initial role.
Dan Wuyan changed the subject, pulling her hand away lightly. Then she whispered, “Here… do we have to keep going?”
Li Yu tugged her tie and muttered close to her ear, “For your sister’s happy life, bear with it a bit. Today was lucky—my fourth grandpa popped up as the fall guy. Great-grandpa’s probably still fuming over him for a while.”
She continued, “Why not take advantage and get them to accept early that I like women?”
The two huddled together, scheming. In the nearby east and north wall corners stood two women respectively.
Jing Yan leaned against the corner, lighting a cigarette and holding it between her fingers, her peripheral vision flicking outward now and then.
In the other spot stood Chen Ran, hiking up her inconvenient skirt hem, practically pressing her whole face to the wall as she eavesdropped intently on the pair outside.
Li Yu seemed to notice something and led Dan Wuyan toward a corner. As they approached slowly, she wondered if her absent mother had sent someone as a spy to monitor her.
Only when she saw nothing by the wall did she realize she was overthinking. Her parents had divorced long ago; their only connection was her, and her proud mother certainly wouldn’t set foot in the Jing family estate.
Half a meter away near the door, Jing Yan stood chatting with a server. “How old are you?”
This face and voice were enough to fluster any hot-blooded young man; his voice pitched up unconsciously. “Sis… Sister, I’m twenty-three.”
Seeing Dan Wuyan and the others walk away, Jing Yan gave a cold hum.
The server looked up, but Jing Yan had already left.
A moment later, Chen Ran peeled away from the corner, letting out a long breath as she tried to steady her emotions—she’d nearly been exposed.
Jing Yan stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray, her gaze occasionally drifting to Dan Wuyan and Li Yu.
The two were all lovey-dovey.
Jing Yan’s light-colored pupils took it all in clearly, yet she couldn’t stop it.
Li Yu closed her eyes and leaned in for a kiss. “Baby~ Wipe my mouth for me~”
Dan Wuyan blinked—was this overacting?
In such a large drawing room, Jing Qishan suddenly appeared from somewhere, paper towel in hand. He rushed over and wiped at Li Yu’s lips like she was a dirty rag.
The moment Li Yu opened her eyes, the sky fell.
Jing Yan exited the chat page from five minutes ago, remarked with Jing Qishan’s name, and snapped her phone screen shut.
