Chapter 119: Playing Ball

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Liang Siyuan and Zheng Suning were walking ahead.

Zheng Suning had no idea what Liang Siyuan was up to, and said with mild reproach, "What were you thinking, inviting him along too? What if it makes little sister even more unwilling to look at anyone else because of him?"

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Liang Siyuan's mouth. "Don't worry. No one in today's group is someone little sister has taken a liking to. Yan Zhao is the only one she's somewhat familiar with. Still, I can see quite a few of them are rather taken with her. Let Lu Qi'an see that little sister has plenty of admirers!"

Zheng Suning hadn't expected Liang Siyuan to have such a hidden motive, and couldn't help giving him a thumbs-up.

Lu Qi'an followed Liang Siyuan and Zheng Suning into the outdoor area of the club.

His gaze immediately locked onto Qin Miaoyu.

Naturally, he also saw that two or three men were now standing around her, and the whole group looked as if they were chatting and laughing together.

His hand clenched unconsciously.

He had touched down early that morning. Originally, he had planned to rest up a bit and present himself in better form before going to see Miaoyu. But the moment he walked out of the airport, he saw the message from Yang Linxue, saying that Liang Siyuan had organized a gathering at Jingxin Club today, and among the people attending were Qin Miaoyu and no small number of eligible young bachelors.

The moment Lu Qi'an heard that, he abandoned all thought of resting. He got into the car and told the driver to take him straight to Jingxin Club. Then, carrying the congratulatory gift prepared for Liang Siyuan, he entered the club—afraid that one step too late might lead to something beyond repair.

Liang Siyuan glanced back at him, saw his expression, and looked away in satisfaction.

Qin Miaoyu had originally been talking with Yan Zhao. Unexpectedly, the men who had followed her second brother into the conversation joined in on their own, and before long they were all chatting together.

As expected of people who had passed her second brother and second sister-in-law's scrutiny, they spoke with proper restraint, without making things feel too distant. The conversation was quite pleasant.

One of the men was the first to notice the three approaching. "That other one looks a bit familiar. Could it be—Mr. Lu from Jingcheng?"

"Mr. Lu from Jingcheng? Seems like it really is him."

Qin Miaoyu heard the words "Mr. Lu" and lost focus for a moment. Then her gaze drifted toward the approaching group. It really was Lu Qi'an!

He was always busy from morning to night—how had he suddenly appeared here?

The three of them drew near, and Liang Siyuan introduced Lu Qi'an to the others. "This is Mr. Lu of the Lu family from Jingcheng. We happened to run into each other, so I invited him over for a bit of fun."

The others hadn't expected that it truly was Mr. Lu from Jingcheng, and they all greeted him.

Hearing Liang Siyuan's introduction, Lu Qi'an naturally understood that he didn't want to expose the relationship between him and Qin Miaoyu. He made no objection and returned everyone's greetings one by one.

Seeing Qin Miaoyu looking at him with a hint of surprise, he extended his hand. "Miss Qin, hello."

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Under the gaze of everyone present, Qin Miaoyu naturally couldn't give him the cold shoulder. She held out her hand and clasped Lu Qi'an's. He returned the handshake, restraining himself to a brief squeeze before letting go.

After they had finished greeting each other, Liang Siyuan said to Lu Qi'an, "Mr. Lu, I hear you're very skilled at golf. How about a round?"

Lu Qi'an agreed readily. "If Second Brother wants to play, I'll gladly keep you company."

Liang Siyuan took the lead walking toward the course. Lu Qi'an glanced sideways at Qin Miaoyu, then followed.

The others, seeing this, followed along as well, curious to see what the match would be like.

Zheng Suning said, "Miaoyu, shall we go watch too?"

Sister Suning had asked something like this before, but in the past the players had been no one she knew apart from her second brother, so Qin Miaoyu had never felt much interest and naturally didn't want to go watch.

But now, with Lu Qi'an, whom she knew, added to the mix, Qin Miaoyu suddenly no longer felt like refusing. In fact, she was rather curious to see how things would turn out.

She linked her arm through Sister Suning's. "All right, Sister Suning, let's go over."

Zheng Suning had only made the suggestion offhandedly, never expecting Qin Miaoyu to actually agree. Hearing her say yes, she gave Qin Miaoyu a surprised look. Then, seeing Lu Qi'an already walking over there, Zheng Suning suddenly sensed something.

Liang Siyuan and Lu Qi'an walked at the front.

Liang Siyuan asked, "Why the sudden trip to Nancheng?"

"Didn't I already say? I came to deliver the congratulatory gift to you and Second Sister-in-law."

Liang Siyuan scoffed. "A mere gift—you could have sent someone. Did Mr. Lu really need to lower himself to make the journey in person?"

Lu Qi'an thought of the person behind him. "Since Second Brother already knows the reason, why ask?"

"I naturally have to ask. Miaoyu is my sister. As her brother, I have a duty to screen any potential match for her."

"So Second Brother organized this gathering in order to introduce suitors to Miaoyu?"

Liang Siyuan didn't answer that directly. Instead, he began listing off the identities of the men following behind them.

Every one of them came from a distinguished family at the top of Nancheng society. From their academic credentials to their current positions in their companies, from their appearances to their characters, Liang Siyuan described them all in detail.

"Does Mr. Lu think any of them is more suitable for Miaoyu? These men have been praising Miaoyu to me for quite some time."

Lu Qi'an said coldly, "With all due respect, none of them is suitable. None of them deserves Miaoyu."

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"None of them deserves her? Then who does? You?"

"Yes."

"Mr. Lu, that's quite an arrogant claim. Have you forgotten how angry and hurt you made Miaoyu a year ago?"

Lu Qi'an knew he was in the wrong on that matter, so he fell silent.

Seeing this, Liang Siyuan's mood improved even further.

Zheng Suning led Qin Miaoyu to sit in the viewing area at the side and briefly explained a few things about golf to her.

Knowing that Qin Miaoyu wasn't interested, she only gave a short introduction, just enough to let Qin Miaoyu roughly follow the game.

After listening, Qin Miaoyu's gaze nonetheless did not linger on the course.

She had no idea why Lu Qi'an had suddenly come.

Earlier, she had told him to have someone deliver the gift. It had never occurred to her that, in the end, he would come all this way himself to deliver it.

Her thoughts kept drifting, until she was pulled back by Zheng Suning's reminder.

"Lu Qi'an has the upper hand."

Liang Siyuan stared at Lu Qi'an and said, "Mr. Lu's golf skills truly live up to their reputation. I've been taught a lesson today."

"Not at all," Lu Qi'an replied. "I simply got lucky. Does Second Brother want another round?"

"No, let's take a break." Liang Siyuan had already been playing for quite a while and was starting to grow tired of golf.

Lu Qi'an smiled. "Then it's just as well—I don't feel like playing anymore either. Let them continue. Second Brother, why don't you introduce Miss Qin to me?"

Liang Siyuan ignored him and walked straight over to Qin Miaoyu and Zheng Suning, with Lu Qi'an following behind.

Liang Siyuan asked, "What exactly are you trying to do now? You made Miaoyu sad and full of regret, and now you want to win her back?"

Lu Qi'an gave a wry smile. "Second Brother, hurting Miaoyu was never my intention. But I do admit that some of my concealments caused her pain."