Chapter 54
Pei Ning was not surprised.
The very first thought that jumped into her mind when she heard Lin Zhiqiao’s inner voice was: Just as I thought.
Just like she had guessed, Jiang Ling’s sudden invitation for her to attend the banquet was not well-intentioned at all.
Jiang Ling was still waiting for her response. Pei Ning kept her expression calm, nodded at him, and said, “Alright, I understand.”
Although he knew Pei Ning most likely would not refuse, hearing her confirm it still made Jiang Ling quietly let out a breath of relief inside.
If the person he had set the trap for did not even show up, wouldn’t all his arrangements go to waste?
Pei Ning caught the trace of darkness he had failed to hide in his eyes.
“Is there anything I need to prepare?” Pei Ning asked. “Any requirements for clothing or makeup?”
Jiang Ling shook his head. “Nothing special. Just pick a dress you like from the wardrobe.” His gaze turned affectionate. “You look best in anything.”
Jiang Ling’s sweet talk came effortlessly. Pei Ning looked as if she had been made a little shy by the compliment, lowering her head slightly, her long lashes fluttering to hide her eyes.
And because of that, Jiang Ling did not see the disgust and impatience in them.
‘He really is something. I’m crying. No one knows how to put on an act better than he does.’
‘Cameraman ge, stop giving the scumbag screen time. I only want to watch the pretty sisters being close, QAQ’
Ning Qiu was still sitting motionless on the sofa. Hearing Jiang Ling’s words, she let out a faint, unreadable snort.
Jiang Ling glanced at her—
Ah, damn.
He had forgotten Ning Qiu was still here.
Jiang Ling thought Ning Qiu was expressing dissatisfaction at the interaction between him and Pei Ning, so he gave her a look that said, be patient, don’t worry.
He believed that Ning Qiu was smart enough to understand the situation he was in now.
Ning Qiu was indeed dissatisfied, but not in the way Jiang Ling imagined.
She stared at the hand Jiang Ling had resting at Pei Ning’s waist, and sparks practically shot out of her eyes, as if she wanted to burn that “salty pig hoof” into ashes on the spot.
Lin Zhiqiao caught her expression and declared with certainty: [She’s jealous!]
[But now is not the time to be jealous, Little Sister Ning! Your Sister Pei is about to walk right into the trap, ahhh!!!]
That one sentence instantly yanked everyone’s thoughts back.
Lin Zhiqiao was anxious beyond belief. Gong Tiantian and the others also looked worried, while Ning Qiu directly knitted her beautiful brows into a tight frown.
And yet Pei Ning, the very person who had already agreed to attend the banquet, was the calmest person present.
Jiang Ling still had many things to prepare. After telling Pei Ning about the banquet, he once again used company business as an excuse and hurried off.
Lin Zhiqiao could not resist complaining in his heart: [Is “the company has business” the only excuse you know, Jiang Scumbag? Be careful or the company might actually run into trouble next time!]
Jiang Ling’s departure eased the atmosphere a little.
Pei Ning did not rush to prepare what she would need for the banquet that evening. Instead, she told everyone to continue working on their respective tasks.
After thinking for a while, Ning Qiu finally shifted her attention away from Pei Ning for once.
She pulled out her phone and seemed to be messaging someone.
Not long after, Ning Qiu put her phone away again.
She had already found out that there was indeed a banquet tonight—but the host was not Jiang Ling. It was a certain young master from the Song family named Song Qingwen.
Song Qingwen was one of Song Fengshi’s cousins. He did not really belong to the Song family’s direct main branch, but rumor had it that he was on fairly good terms with Song Fengshi.
So it looked like Jiang Ling was merely “borrowing” Song Qingwen’s banquet.
In just a few short minutes, Ning Qiu had already gotten invitations to the banquet for that night.
She was the eldest daughter of the Ning family. Although the Ning family was nowhere near as massive as a giant like the Song family, getting a few invitations to one of Song Qingwen’s banquets was still ridiculously easy for her.
While everyone was taking a break, Ning Qiu brought it up. “Perfect timing. I also just received an invitation to tonight’s banquet, and I happened to ask for a few extra.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up. Gong Tiantian asked, “Is it the same one Ningning is going to tonight?”
“Of course.” Ning Qiu nodded. “Anyone want to go?”
Every single person shot their hand up at once, terrified they would be left behind if they were even a second slower.
Ning Qiu paused, looking a little helpless. “There are only five.”
Besides Pei Ning, and counting Ning Qiu herself, only four of the remaining people could get invitations. That meant four others would not be able to go.
Everyone looked at each other. Invisible smoke from battle erupted over the small coffee table. Clearly, nobody wanted to miss such a perfect chance.
Suddenly, Ji Ran’s phone notification sound rang out, breaking the tense war atmosphere.
He lowered his head and looked at it, then let out an “ah.”
“I got an invitation to the banquet too.” Ji Ran looked a little surprised. “Tonight at eight, at the Royal Dilante Hotel… could it be the same one?”
Ning Qiu smiled brightly. “What a coincidence. The time and place both match exactly.”
“Then that’s perfect.” Ji Ran’s eyes lit up. “My dad got me several!”
The moment he said that, the sword-drawn atmosphere in the living room disappeared completely, and everyone instantly went back to their usual warm and harmonious state.
Lin Zhiqiao was deeply moved: [Thank you, Dad… no, thank you, Uncle Ji! This is basically help arriving in the middle of a snowstorm!!!]
‘Hahaha I’m dying, the scene just demonstrated what plastic friendship looks like’
‘Friendship? Of course gossip is more important [dog head.jpg]’
Pei Ning’s lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just pressed them together and stood up, walking toward the restroom.
The restroom was behind a little corner. Sensing that Pei Ning’s mood seemed off, Ning Qiu hesitated for a moment before following after her.
A faint sound of running water came from behind the door, from the sink area.
Ning Qiu did not say anything. Pei Ning came out very quickly, a little moisture still on her face. When she saw Ning Qiu, she froze slightly. “Why are you…”
Ning Qiu spoke almost at the exact same time, lowering her voice as though she did not want the others to hear: “You’re in a bad mood? Something on your mind?”
Pei Ning froze, a little startled by how sharply the other woman had picked up on the change in her emotions.
She was just about to speak when Ning Qiu cut in before her again. “Tell me the truth. I’ll know if you lie.”
So Pei Ning shut her mouth, and only after a pause did she say, “…This is my matter. You didn’t need to get involved.”
“What do you mean, your matter?” Ning Qiu frowned in disapproval. “President Jiang clearly doesn’t think so. And neither do I.”
Both of them understood that the moment Jiang Ling chose Pei Ning as a “substitute,” this could no longer be something belonging only to two people.
What was more, Ning Qiu had come back for Pei Ning in the first place.
Their voices were both very low. What they did not know was that just a few steps away, behind the corner, people were crammed together shoulder to shoulder.
[…Just as I thought! From the very beginning, Miss Ning suddenly returning to the country was all for Sister Pei!]
Lin Zhiqiao’s eyes shone with excitement, his face full of the look of someone who had absolutely shipped it.
At the side, Gong Tiantian was recording frantically in her notebook. Her writing speed looked like it had doubled, almost leaving afterimages.
[Ever since their first meeting in high school, and then losing contact, the next time Ning Qiu saw Pei Ning was on the big screen.]
[At the time, Ning Qiu was still studying abroad, and she recognized Pei Ning at a glance when she saw her singing on screen. After learning that Pei Ning had become a singer back in China, Ning Qiu originally wanted to return and reconnect, but then she saw the official announcement, not long before that, of Pei Ning and Jiang Scumbag being together.]
What came after that, Ning Qiu did not want Pei Ning learning from Lin Zhiqiao.
So she spoke first. “At the time, I thought that although Jiang Ling had been really annoying when he pursued people, his family background was good, and he treated you very well.”
Back then, Pei Ning had only just been pulled out of her slump with Jiang Ling’s help. Anyone would have thought Jiang Ling was a good match.
Ning Qiu had thought the same.
“I thought that as long as you were happy, that was enough. You had just gotten together with him, and your relationship looked so good. If I had come back then… it would only have disturbed you.”
Then Ning Qiu’s tone changed abruptly. “Who knew he’d turn out to be such a scumbag!”
Pei Ning said nothing.
Ning Qiu almost ground her teeth. “If I had known he was treating you like… and had done something that excessive to you, I should’ve come back much earlier!”
Pei Ning comforted her instead. “It’s not your fault,” she said. “It’s the scumbag’s fault.”
Ning Qiu froze, then laughed softly. “That’s right. It’s the scumbag’s fault.”
[Exactly! It was always Jiang Scumbag’s problem. Sister Pei is still clear-headed and not cpu-ing herself.]
[Though… does this mean Sister Pei and Ning Qiu already know about what President Jiang did back then? How do they know? How did Jiang Ling get exposed?]
Lin Zhiqiao stole a glance at Ning Qiu, then suddenly understood: [Got it. Having family backing really is powerful. They could even dig up things from that many years ago!]
Lin Zhiqiao immediately relaxed.
With Ning Qiu around, he no longer had to worry that Pei Ning would get dragged into Jiang Ling’s pit.
Ning Qiu, who had inexplicably been handed an oversized halo: “…”
Forget it.
She would just let it count as her discovery.
After saying it out loud, Pei Ning’s mood had clearly improved quite a bit.
She said softly, “Ning Qiu, thank you.”
“I don’t want to hear you thank me.” Ning Qiu raised a brow, the upturned corner of her eyes carrying a trace of teasing. “If you really want to thank me… maybe use the way I prefer.”
Pei Ning fell silent for a moment. “…”
Then she suddenly stepped forward two paces, turning her eyes toward the group hiding behind the corner.
“What are you all doing?”
At the front of the group, Lin Zhiqiao choked slightly, drenched in the guilty feeling of being caught red-handed. “We-we… we were lining up to use the restroom!”
After saying that, he wiped away nonexistent sweat from his forehead and gave himself a thumbs-up in his heart for his own quick wit.
The people behind him chimed in: “That’s right, that’s right, exactly!”
Pei Ning: “…”
“There’s more than one restroom on the first floor. There are also plenty upstairs.” Pei Ning revealed her devilish smile. “Why don’t all of you spread out and solve your biological needs separately, then hurry back and continue your tasks?”
“If you don’t reach the target progress, there will be punishment.”
The moment they heard that, the whole group reappeared around the coffee table in the blink of an eye.
Ning Qiu folded her arms and watched the scene unfold, and with her sharp eyes caught yet again that the tips of Pei Ning’s ears had gone red, red, red.
Cute.
Wanted to pinch them.
*
Meanwhile, Song Fengshi, who was at Song Group, received a phone call from his friend Fang Xinnan.
“Make it short. I still have things to do later.”
Song Fengshi’s tone was flat, as if he were not speaking to a friend at all, but sitting at a negotiation table instead.
Fang Xinnan, who had originally wanted to chat idly for a bit, immediately changed course. “Song Qingwen has a banquet tonight. You should’ve received the invitation already, right? Going?”
“Not going. I have a meeting tonight.”
Fang Xinnan was not surprised. “I’m going, though.”
Song Fengshi sounded like he was asking an idiot a question: “What does you going or not going have to do with me?”
“So heartless?” Fang Xinnan clicked his tongue. “Lin Zhiqiao’s going too.”
Song Fengshi: “…Isn’t he still filming your variety show?”
“Yeah.” Fang Xinnan sighed. “But all my guests collectively skipped work. What can I do? I can only follow them and go along too!”
He paused, then pressed again, “So are you going?”
The other end of the line fell silent. After a moment, only a single word came back:
“Going.”
Fang Xinnan thought to himself, Just as expected, but still deliberately feigned surprise. “Didn’t you just say you had a meeting tonight—”
The only answer he got was the cold beep beep from the receiver.
