Lin Xi flushed under Xue Yang’s blatant stare, her eyes darting elsewhere. "Have you... had your fill of looking?"

Her voice was soft, like the gentle mew of a kitten, sending a flutter through one’s heart. If it weren’t for the engagement ceremony, Xue Yang would have pulled the woman before him into his embrace right then and there.

"No, I can never get enough. No matter how much I look, it will never be enough, not in this lifetime or the next."

Such words, if spoken by someone else, would have sounded like they came from a playboy. But from Xue Yang, they didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. On the contrary, they were the sweetest words of affection.

Lin Xi’s cheeks were crimson, her voice growing even more intoxicating. "Then... you can take your time~" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The moment she said it, Lin Xi wanted to bite her tongue. Why did that sound like I was inviting him to do something?

Xue Yang leaned in slightly, his warm breath brushing against her neck. "I’ll have plenty of chances to take my time."

He controlled the distance between them perfectly—not too close, not too far. To onlookers, they simply appeared to be whispering intimately. In such a setting, it was perfectly normal for an engaged couple to speak closely to one another, and no one would read anything more into it.

Lin Xi, however, was getting flustered. There were too many people around; even if she wanted to make a move on Xue Yang, she wouldn’t dare. This only made Xue Yang bolder. What tormented her most was his warm palm, which remained firmly around her waist. She wanted to break free but couldn’t bring herself to do it, so she could only lean softly against him.

Xue Yang truly adored this feeling, and the smile on his face widened.

Seeing how effortlessly he handled himself, everyone couldn’t help but marvel. No wonder Chairman Lin had engaged his precious daughter to a poor lad. This young man was no simple character.

「...」

Xue Xing had spent the entire time by Si Wen’s side and hadn’t had a chance to see his parents. By the time he finally found them, the engagement ceremony was nearing its end.

"You little rascal, where did you run off to? You didn’t call, and you didn’t even come find your dad and me when you arrived. Getting too big for your britches, huh?" The moment Yang Zhaodi saw Xue Xing, she habitually rapped him on the head and launched into a tirade.

Xue Xing rubbed his smarting head and explained, "My brother told me to stick with Sister Si Wen. I wanted to find you and Dad as soon as I got here, but the villa is so big, and I didn’t dare wander around and get in the way. See? I came looking for you as soon as I had the chance."

Hearing it was Xue Yang’s idea, Yang Zhaodi’s expression softened. Xue Yang now held an incredibly high status in their hearts. They would generally follow his instructions without question. Asking Xue Xing to stay with Si Wen was one thing; even if Xue Yang told him to follow her every day, Yang Zhaodi probably wouldn’t dare object.

She glanced behind Xue Xing but didn’t see Si Wen.

"Don’t look. Sister Si Wen went to find my sister-in-law," he said.

Yang Zhaodi simply grunted in acknowledgment. She once thought she wouldn’t want a girl like Si Wen as her daughter-in-law. But now... it wasn’t that the thought had completely vanished, but she was far less resistant to the idea. Today, she had witnessed things she had never dreamed of seeing. If not for riding on Xue Yang’s coattails, she probably would have gone her whole life without such an experience.

"You have school the day after tomorrow, so you’re coming home with us tomorrow," Yang Zhaodi stated, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"But I haven’t seen my sister-in-law yet," Xue Xing pouted, clearly unwilling to leave without seeing Lin Xi.

"Once the ceremony is over, you can go say hello to your sister-in-law," she relented.

Xue Xing nodded, content to wait by his mother’s side.

After the engagement ceremony ended, Xue Yang and Lin Xi stood at the entrance with Lin Zhenhai and Xue Yang’s parents, seeing the guests off. Xue Yang had wanted his parents to stay and enjoy Yancheng for a few days, but they were anxious to get home. Besides, it felt strange to stay on when it wasn’t their own son’s engagement, so they decided to take an early morning flight back. Xue Yang didn’t insist and arranged the flight for them.

When most of the guests had departed, Lin Xi told Xue Yang she was going to her room to change into something more comfortable. The gown was beautiful, but terribly inconvenient.

Just as she reached the villa’s entrance, she heard a voice call out.

"Miss Lin, please wait a moment."

Lin Xi turned and saw Wang Doudou walking toward her. Wang Doudou’s family had been on the invitation list, so it wasn’t surprising to see him here, but she had no idea why he would approach her.

"Can I help you?" Lin Xi asked, tilting her head. She was already stunningly beautiful, but the simple gesture amplified her charm to its peak.

Wang Doudou was momentarily spellbound, staring blankly. His jealousy of Xue Yang reached its peak. Why? Why can he win Miss Lin’s affection, while I can’t even get Si Wen? How am I any worse than him?!

As Wang Doudou’s mind churned, the atmosphere around him soured. Lin Xi frowned slightly. If it weren’t her own engagement ceremony, she would have already walked away.

Seeing her displeasure, Wang Doudou snapped back to his senses. "Miss Lin, I know there’s an old saying: ’It’s better to demolish a temple than to ruin a marriage.’ But if I don’t tell you this, my conscience won’t be clear for the rest of my life."

A trace of confusion appeared on Lin Xi’s exquisite face. "What are you trying to say?"

"Miss Lin, I ran into Miss Si Wen a few days ago."

Lin Xi looked at him, waiting for him to get to the point.

"She was with a boy, and they seemed quite intimate."

Lin Xi’s brow furrowed. "If you came to me just to say this, then I’m sorry, but I’m very busy. I don’t have time to listen to your gossip."

With that, she turned to leave.

From behind her came Wang Doudou’s anxious voice, "Miss Lin, don’t you want to know who she was with?"

"If Si Wen is with someone, she’ll tell me herself. I don’t need you to tell me."

Hmph. Xue Yang said Wang Doudou wasn’t a good person, and he was right.

Just as Wang Doudou saw Lin Xi about to enter the villa and moved to stop her, a cheerful voice called out from the side.

"Sister-in-law!"

Hearing the voice, Lin Xi stopped and turned to see Xue Xing running toward her.

"Xue Xing~"

Xue Xing ran up to Lin Xi, conveniently blocking Wang Doudou’s path. "Sister-in-law, I came to say goodbye. I’m heading back to Hui City tomorrow afternoon. I don’t know when I’ll see you again."

"Don’t be so sure. We might see each other again during the New Year."

At her words, Xue Xing’s eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously. "Yeah!"

After nodding, Xue Xing turned and finally noticed the other person standing beside Lin Xi. I think I saw him with Sister Si Wen the other day. This guy is a bad person.

"Sister-in-law," he said aloud, "don’t get too close to him. He’s not a good person."