nucmednet Chapter 116 Otherwise, would he still be protecting you?
Chapter 116 Otherwise, would he still be protecting you?
She patted the chilling "family rules document" and deliberately dragged out her words, "However, I'm particularly good at turning rules into useless scraps of paper. Second brother, will you cheer me on?"
Qin Yu's smile froze at her provocation, but he wasn't one to lose face easily. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Qin Reng: "This 'Young Mistress Qin' is indeed a woman of strong character. No wonder Grandpa is so interested in her."
“It’s not just Grandpa who’s concerned; some people seem to be overly ‘concerned.’” Qin Reng said lazily, as if he were casually taking a knife for Yu Yuetong. “However, if you’re here to watch the show, Second Brother, don’t just stand on the sidelines. Dinner is about to start, so why don’t you stay for a simple meal and let me… ‘entertain’ you properly.”
Qin Yu smiled without saying a word. His gaze lingered for a moment between the old lady's stern expression and Qin Reng's mocking face, then he casually picked up a grape from the table. The moment he put it in his mouth, his expression was meaningful: "You're probably impatient, aren't you? But it seems I haven't left yet; the excitement has only just begun."
The long table in the dining room was brightly lit, and Qin Yu sat down without any hesitation when the waiter pulled out a chair.
“I never imagined that the phrase ‘advancing and retreating together’ could be so vivid.” Yu Yuetong suddenly spoke as she shoved the file back onto the table, her slightly upturned lips unable to suppress her playful ruthlessness.
Upon hearing this, Qin Reng stretched out his long leg from under the table and lightly swept it, kicking her toes. His gaze was sharp and dangerous: "Shut up and eat. Don't make things worse."
However, the next moment, Yu Yuetong picked up her wine glass, her face seemingly saying, "I'm going all out." She stood up, turned her head, and raised her glass to Qin Yu: "Wishing you, Second Brother, a smooth and successful career, and all the best!" But her voice held a sharp sarcasm.
A few seconds of silence fell over the room, but then Old Madam Qin slammed her cane on the floor and shouted sharply, "Enough!"
Just when the tension was so palpable that the air itself seemed to burn, the hall door was pushed open again. The butler rushed in and whispered a few words to the old lady.
The old lady's displeased expression instantly changed, her brows furrowing into a deep knot. She waved her hand, turning to leave, but then glared fiercely at Qin Reng and Yu Yuetong: "You two, come to the study later! Especially you, Yuetong—don't let me see those annoying eyes of yours again!"
The atmosphere froze like ice, but Yu Yuetong secretly sneered, "Study? Are they going to stew me?"
But Qin Reng merely tugged at her sleeve and scoffed in a low voice, "Don't overthink it, or you'll end up with a fishy smell."
Yu Yuetong and Qin Reng followed the butler along the long corridor covered with thick carpets, heading towards the old lady's study. The atmosphere was terribly oppressive; their footsteps were almost swallowed up by the carpet, as if only their heartbeats echoed in the entire world.
"Look at the mess you've made." Qin Reng lowered his voice, shook his head, and glanced at Yu Yuetong with a half-smile, his tone full of disdain. "Are you just a troublemaker? You can cause a lot of trouble wherever you go."
"Sorry, my constitution is just special." Yu Yuetong quickly adjusted her skirt, casually tightened her waist belt, and squinted her eyes to retort sarcastically, "But young master, is this all the responsibility our Qin family's future hope is? You start shifting blame as soon as you get a bullet taken from you. Who knows, Grandpa's whip might be on your back tomorrow. Can you handle it?"
Qin Reng sneered upon hearing this, put his hands in his pockets, and slowly approached her. His tone was chilling yet playful: "Want to see if this scoundrel infected me? After all, my 'title' is still on your shoulders, 'Young Mistress'."
Yu Yuetong was so angry that she almost rolled her eyes a hundred times on the spot, but she swallowed it back when the butler turned around and glanced at her. She could only lower her voice and retort softly: "Don't think that I'm the one who's blaming everything. Right now, you're the one who's in trouble. Even if you're foul-mouthed, you have to stand on my side."
"Don't worry," Qin Reng said with a forced smile, "just remember to pull me back before you jump into the fire."
The butler knocked on the antique study door, the heavy wooden door making a slight scraping sound as it slowly opened and closed. When the two entered, the old lady was already sitting behind her desk, her face gloomy, coldly scrutinizing them with her stern eyes.
"Sit down." She pressed a jade ruyi on the table and, without waiting for either of them to speak, waved her hand and ordered, "Standing is an eyesore."
Yu Yuetong instinctively shifted her position, but just as she was about to sit down, Qin Reng snatched her seat, pressing down on the chair with an air of authority that practically screamed "Young Mistress Qin." She paused, then, annoyed, simply stood there, arms crossed, giving him a sour look on his handsome face as a form of protest.
The old lady squinted, sharply scanning the two of them, and snorted coldly: "Yuetong, you've become even better at arguing than before, and your courage has grown too."
Yu Yuetong forced a smile, just as she was thinking of how to gloss over the situation, when she saw the old lady pick up a document and slam it on the table. The loud bang startled both Qin Reng and Yu Yuetong.
"You two are quite something, making this old man like me lose face at home? Qin Reng, everyone here knows she's your wife, and now you're actually mocking Yu'er with a wine glass in front of the whole family. Do you think I'm getting old and my eyesight is failing, or do these rules no longer apply to you two?"
Qin Reng twitched the corners of his mouth and slowly said, "Grandma, I'm the one who said it was her, but you were the one who arranged it... or do you think that we're just a couple in name only, and that all your expectations are empty?"
A brief silence fell over the entire study. Yu Yuetong inwardly sighed, feeling that the scene of the grandmother and granddaughter bickering before her resembled a clandestine battle, with a powder keg ready to ignite at any moment. Unfortunately, she seemed to be an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire.
"Qin Reng! Shut up." The old lady slammed her hand on the table, her voice deep and trembling. "You made this mess yourself, so don't try to shift the blame to others. I'm quite curious, given your personality, why are you listening to her so much now?"
The old lady's gaze was now fixed on Yu Yuetong, and her expression turned inscrutable: "Yu Yuetong, you've improved a bit in the matter I entrusted to you, otherwise, would he still be protecting you?"
Yu Yuetong raised an eyebrow, keenly sensing the hidden meaning in the old lady's words. Just as she was nervously trying to figure out which side the black swan was siding with, she suddenly heard a "thud." She turned her head sharply and saw—Qin Reng had actually kicked the table leg hard, his expression extremely interesting.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the study was strange and subtle.