They didn't actively seek out Cheng Yue, as he didn't yet have that privilege.
But what they never expected was that when the butler brought someone in, it turned out to be Cheng Miao.
Since it was evening, everyone was present. All eyes fell on the newcomer.
A girl who could be described as pretty, with a polite and proper demeanor, the type of appearance that would make parents feel at ease letting their children play with her.
In the past, the Qin family had treated her quite well, often giving her gifts, but ever since her brother got together with Qin Rong, everyone had become unfriendly towards her.
She stood in the living room, awkwardly enduring those unfriendly gazes.
Among them was one particularly piercing look; she traced it to its source and found it belonged to Qin Rong's second sister-in-law, though she hadn't met this person much before.
However, the way she looked at her was strange, as if her eyes weren't focused.
Qin's Mom was about to say something from an elder's perspective, but then came the sound of Qin Rong's hurried footsteps.
"Miao Miao!"
"Rong Rong!"
The reunion of the good friends immediately showed how close their relationship was.
Qin Zhao went straight into sarcasm mode: "While the girlfriend is desperately fighting for their love, the boyfriend doesn't even dare to show his face, instead sending his sister. What kind of lowly, spineless man is he?"
Qin Rong immediately said, "I didn't want you to give Cheng Yue a hard time, so I told him not to come."
Cheng Miao also said apologetically, "I just came to see Rong Rong. My brother is worried about her too, but he knew you might get angry if you saw him, so he didn't dare to come and disturb you. It was my brother's mistake to move in together without informing the Qin family first, but he really likes Rong Rong so much, that's why he did it. I apologize on behalf of my brother!"
She then bowed to the Qin family members.
The Qin family had no intention of giving other girls a hard time, so naturally, they didn't say much.
Qin Rong immediately pulled Cheng Miao back to her room.
In the living room, Qin Zhao kept mocking the sneaky Cheng Yue. Among those present, only he had accidentally bumped into Cheng Yue once. According to him, although Cheng Yue looked presentable, he had a sleazy air about him - one look and you could tell he wasn't a good person.
But such bad boys seemed to have a fatal attraction for good girls.
The Qin family members sighed and fretted, not knowing how to handle the situation.
Since meeting Cheng Miao, Ji Fei, who was sitting on the sofa, had been quiet.
It wasn't until Qin Xian brought over some yogurt for Ji Fei and saw her frowning more and more that he couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
Ji Fei's mouth twitched as she looked at Qin Xian, then glanced at the others. "Nothing."
Although she said this, her expression was quite complex.
The Qin family members: ? Why do we have such an ominous feeling?
[How should I tell them? Maybe I should just ask the bodyguards to strengthen the security work at home, that should prevent it.]
Qin family members: Security? What's going on? Don't leave us hanging, it's making us anxious!
[I feel like I've been hit by the viciousness of human nature. The evil of human nature can truly surpass imagination.]
The Qin family members started to get nervous. Why does it sound so serious?
[I never expected this. I always thought it was just an overconfident, greasy little punk PUA-ing a rich girl. I never imagined it was a demon's lackey, an enemy's honey trap trying to climb over the corpse of a naive girl to succeed.]
Qin family members: !! Wait... isn't this description a bit too horrifying? Are you saying that the Cheng Miao girl is actually worse than Cheng Yue?
Qin Xian's eyes changed for a moment.
At this moment, there was a sound from upstairs. Qin Rong was escorting Cheng Miao down, presumably preparing to leave.
Now, everyone's gaze towards Cheng Miao became even more suspicious.
Cheng Miao felt uneasy and was about to say goodbye when Qin Xian suddenly spoke up: "Qin Rong gave up her spot for the international exchange program. I heard it happened to be passed down to you."
Ji Fei immediately perked up, looking at Qin Xian with some admiration. [Impressive, he discovered the key issue so quickly.]
When the others heard this, their gazes towards Cheng Miao instantly became sharp.
Could it be because of this?
Faced with Qin Xian's inherent CEO aura, Cheng Miao almost lost control of her expression.
"Yes, I happened to be right after Rong Rong in line, but I had tried to persuade Rong Rong before, it's just..." Cheng Miao put on a helpless look.
In fact, she was also emphasizing on the side that she didn't steal the spot, it was Qin Rong who gave it up, and she just picked up a bargain.
Qin Zhao snorted and said, "What a coincidence? Don't tell me you siblings planned this together, one manipulating my sister's feelings, the other scheming for my sister's spot."
[That's right, they planned it together, both deceiving the naive girl! Of course, their purpose isn't just this...]
The Qin family members became even more anxious. What else could there be?
Cheng Miao's eyes instantly reddened, as if she had suffered an insult. She gently tugged at Qin Rong's sleeve beside her.
But she found that Qin Rong's face had turned a bit unpleasant, her eyes wandering. After realizing this, Qin Rong quickly said, "My choice has nothing to do with Miao Miao! Second brother, third brother, please don't give Miao Miao a hard time."
[This must be what they call a fool who helps count money for the con artist even after being deceived.]
Qin Rong's momentum immediately faltered at the sarcasm. She stole a glance at Ji Fei. Why did everyone think that what the second sister-in-law said must be true? Such mysterious things are hard to be certain about, right?
She still chose to believe her friend. She endured it, pretending not to have heard.
Seeing that Qin Rong was still as firm as ever, Cheng Miao knew she hadn't wavered, but there was another proposal that she hadn't agreed to yet.
Her eyes darted around, and suddenly she spoke up with a sincere face: "The exchange student matter really was a coincidence. I know you all have issues with me because my brother is dating Rong Rong. I also know that my brother isn't good enough for Rong Rong, but he truly likes her and wants to be good to her for a lifetime. I hope you can give them a chance, don't cruelly separate them."
Qin Zhao was immediately provoked: "Truly likes her? Have you shown any sincerity? You're all just a bunch of liars, stop pretending in front of us. I'll make this clear today, we, the Qin family, will absolutely not allow such a lowlife to be Qin Rong's boyfriend! Never!"
With these words, Qin Rong froze.
Although Qin Zhao had acted on impulse, the fact that no one else objected meant that this was the stance of the entire Qin family.
Cheng Miao's eyes flickered as she looked at Qin Rong, but the corner of her mouth secretly curled up.
This should finally make her make up her mind, right?
"Why... why are you being so absolute? Even if you don't like him, won't you give him even a slight chance?" Qin Rong's eyes reddened.
Cheng Miao quickly supported Qin Rong, silently comforting her, as if they were two helpless people standing together against an evil force.
"I originally didn't want to say this and make you worry, but you're being too much. Do you know that during the previous overseas trip for inspiration, if it wasn't for Cheng Yue saving me, I might have been in danger!"
"What!" Qin's Father and Qin's Mom were immediately shocked and couldn't sit still. "What happened?"
Qin Rong then recounted the reason why she gradually opened her heart to Cheng Yue.
In the past, Qin Rong was obsessed with painting. If no one was watching her, she would often get dizzy from hunger due to painting, and in severe cases, she would even faint from low blood sugar. One night, she was the only one left in the studio. She got so absorbed in painting that she forgot to eat and eventually fainted from hunger. It was Cheng Yue who found her and carried her back to the dorm.
"When I woke up, the room was filled with the aroma of food. It felt like an invisible hand had pulled me out of a dark and cold place. I had heard before that he never cooked, but that day, he used the kitchenware in the rental apartment to make me three dishes and a soup. After that, for the remaining time, he kept an eye on me every day. Whenever I forgot to eat again, he would definitely bring me food he made himself. He doesn't even do this for his own family members, only for me. If I miss out on such a good person, who else would treat me like this?"
Qin Rong was immersed in self-pity.
But Qin Zhao couldn't stand it anymore, "Is that all? Our family's housekeeper auntie can make you seven dishes and a soup!"
Qin Rong immediately retorted, "It's not the same. This is a kind of warmth. Those meals contain care and love. Even if they're not the most delicious, I can taste the difference. It's the first time I've eaten..."
Qin Yan also couldn't listen anymore, "Little sister, have you forgotten? When we were young, our mom also tried to cook for us herself, but she's a kitchen disaster. There was one time when you got food poisoning, that's why mom isn't allowed in the kitchen anymore. What do you mean 'first time'? What care and love? Has our whole family given you too little?"
The whole family looked at Qin Rong, the accusation in their eyes made her unable to stand her ground.
Qin Rong choked up, just about to say something. Then she heard Ji Fei's inner thoughts break into an exaggerated laugh.
[Hahahahaha, I'm dying of laughter! So this is what made her heart flutter? For this, Qin Rong was even planning to elope with that narcissistic, sleazy man behind her family's back!]
[She doesn't even know that that dinner was nothing more than takeout food the scumbag had reheated and plated up!]