Chapter 146: Attending the Banquet

If there were a mirror in front of him, Lu Qi’an would surely see a face burning with jealousy!

He then set his phone down with a sense of despondency. Although Qin Miaoyu had agreed to see his grandmother and parents twice now, the unease in his heart persisted. Even though her attitude toward him was no longer as cold and resistant as it had been days ago, it did nothing to put his mind at ease. Instead, it gave him the feeling of the calm before a storm.

Yet, he didn't know what he could do. Having been in the business world for so long, he wasn't unfamiliar with using schemes, but he did not want to, nor would he ever, use such tactics on Qin Miaoyu. Perhaps people are just inherently greedy. Before, he felt content just watching her from afar and occasionally hearing news about her. Later, through a twist of fate, they ended up married; that should have been enough, yet he found himself longing for them to truly be together.

However, he was helpless when it came to Miaoyu. Even though he could guess her intentions, he dared not act rashly, lest he find himself in an irredeemable situation.

Not long after Qin Miaoyu arrived home, she received a message from An You.
[You: Are you home yet?]
Qin Miaoyu wasn't in the mood to chat; it was quite late, and she was tired, so she simply replied with a brief "Yes." Fortunately, the person on the other end was understanding.
[You: Good, as long as you're home safe. Get some sleep, goodnight!]

After replying with a goodnight, Qin Miaoyu tossed her phone aside, washed up, and went straight to bed, naturally missing a message that Lu Qi’an had sent and subsequently retracted. When she woke up the next morning, she saw the notification that he had retracted a message. She tapped into it, but there was nothing else there. Assuming it wasn't anything important, she didn't bother asking and went off to work.

The studio was gradually getting on the right track, with orders coming in consistently, leading them to hire more staff. Fortunately, the space was large enough to accommodate the new employees. As Qin Miaoyu walked in, several unfamiliar faces greeted her. The last one to greet her even called out to stop her.

Qin Miaoyu turned around and asked, "Is there something you need?" She glanced at the employee's badge; it was someone newly hired for the design department.
"Ms. Qin, does the design department's concept art not require confidentiality?" the new employee asked.
Surprised by the question, Qin Miaoyu looked at her and asked, "Why do you say that?"
"I've noticed Deng Huanhuan is always carelessly discussing these things with others, so I was just curious."
"What if you can? What if you can't?"
"If it's allowed, then it's fine, but if it's not, then she should definitely be told!"
Qin Miaoyu nodded. "Understood. Go back to your workstation; we will handle this matter."

The new employee nodded. Once she left, Qin Miaoyu hurried to her office, dropped off her bag, and went to find Xu Xiaoqi.
Upon reaching Xu Xiaoqi’s office, Qin Miaoyu’s first words were, "Have there been any results regarding the matter between Chen Xuanyu and Deng Huanhuan?"
Xu Xiaoqi shook her head. "I haven't seen any of our concept art online yet. Let's keep observing, but it's been decided that Chen Xuanyu will be fired. As for Deng Huanhuan, we'll see later."

Qin Miaoyu nodded and took the coffee from in front of Xu Xiaoqi. "At least eat something in the morning before drinking coffee."
Seeing Xu Xiaoqi’s pleading gaze, Qin Miaoyu didn't soften in the slightest. She walked to the door with the coffee. "Go downstairs, buy some breakfast, and bring it to my office."

Qin Miaoyu had thought that after meeting Lu’s parents, there wouldn't be anything else, but Lu’s mother called her unexpectedly.
"Are you saying you want me to accompany you to the banquet on Saturday?"
Xia Yun, on the other end, confirmed it. As if sensing Qin Miaoyu’s curiosity, she explained, "You wouldn't have to go, but we ran into people from the Qi family at the mall last time. After a few of the ladies talked, everyone found out about your marriage to Qi’an."

Qin Miaoyu still didn't understand how this concerned her.
"For one, my friends want to meet you, and for another, I need you to help me fend off those people. People are always trying to play matchmaker; if you’re by my side, I won't have to deal with those who keep fishing for information about Qi’an's marriage."

Qin Miaoyu didn't agree immediately, hesitating whether she should go.
At that moment, Xia Yun’s voice lowered as she asked, "Miaoyu, tell me the truth—are you and Qi’an having problems?"
Qin Miaoyu instinctively denied it. "No, we're fine."
"Really? When we were at the mall, I felt like something was off."
"Not at all. Mom, we’ve always been reserved in public. Did you say there was a banquet on Saturday that you wanted me to attend?"
"Yes, it's on Saturday."
"Alright, Mom, I'll go with you then!"

Hearing this, Xia Yun stopped pressing the issue and began discussing what to wear to the banquet. After hanging up, Qin Miaoyu felt a bit dazed—how did she end up agreeing to accompany Mrs. Lu to a banquet? But since she had already promised, she couldn't back out. She sent a message to Lu Qi’an about it.

Lu Qi’an replied quickly and followed up with a phone call.
"Relax. The banquet my mother mentioned is likely the Xiang family’s. The Xiang and Pei families are connected by marriage, so the Pei family will definitely be there, and Pei Yixue will be among them. You can hang out with her if you get bored."
Upon hearing this, Qin Miaoyu let out a heavy sigh of relief.
"How did the Qi family let word of our marriage slip?"
"The wealthy ladies in Jingcheng love their afternoon teas; news spreads fast. It wasn't exactly a state secret, so it was bound to get out."

Because they were on the phone, Qin Miaoyu couldn't see Lu Qi’an’s expression. At that moment, he was pleasantly surprised. Mrs. Qi’s gossipy nature had, in a way, done him a favor. Once his mother took Qin Miaoyu to the banquet and everyone knew she was his wife, he hoped the unwanted advances from other women would significantly decrease!

Lu Qi’an asked again, "Miaoyu, is what you said last time still valid?"
Miaoyu thought for a moment, guessing what he was referring to.
"Have you figured out how to resolve the situation with Elder Lu?"
"With my father back, the old man certainly won't keep harping on our affairs!"
Qin Miaoyu gave a soft laugh. "Is that so? That’s good."

Hearing her calm tone, the unease in Lu Qi’an’s heart bubbled up again, but he didn't dare to ask.

On Saturday, Qin Miaoyu was startled by the delivery of clothes and jewelry.
"Ms. Qin, these three designs were brought specifically for you. Please try them on and choose the most suitable one. These jewelry pieces were sent at Mrs. Lu’s request; please see which one you like."
Qin Miaoyu didn't have the energy to try them all on; she picked one at random and chose the matching jewelry. As the makeup artist worked on her, she kept complimenting Qin Miaoyu’s features.

Looking at her reflection, Qin Miaoyu felt a bit dazed. Before she knew she had been switched at birth, she always thought her face inherited the best traits from Su Yaqing and Qin Shengyi, with a hint of her grandmother. But now, she realized her face truly resembled Xi Ruofen’s, and even more so, her second brother’s.

Speaking of which, she hadn't paid much attention to the affairs in Nancheng since she returned. Her second brother had mentioned a few things to her, but she hadn't looked into them carefully. She opened her phone, found the chat with her second brother, and scrolled up.
Su Yikun was going to be sentenced for other crimes, with a minimum of three years. After hearing this, Liang Sixuan had flatly demanded a divorce, but the Su family refused to budge, hoping the Liang family would help. As for the Liang Corporation, she heard they had managed to secure some investment from somewhere, allowing them to hang on for a while longer.

Qin Miaoyu felt a tinge of regret, but she understood that even a lean camel is bigger than a horse, especially since the Liang Corporation hadn't collapsed yet. She put her phone away, got up once the stylist finished her look, and prepared to head downstairs to the banquet.

Xia Yun had sent a driver, but Lu Qi’an had squeezed out time to pick up Qin Miaoyu himself. Seeing her impeccably dressed, he couldn't hide his awe. He was used to her wearing no makeup, and seeing her like this, he was stunned for a moment. It wasn't until she waved a hand in front of him that he snapped out of it and gentlemanly invited her into the car.

Seeing him like this, Qin Miaoyu couldn't help but smile. "Alright, let's go, don't keep your mother waiting."
Hearing how she addressed his mother, Lu Qi’an’s eyes darkened.

After picking up Qin Miaoyu, Lu Qi’an drove to the Lu family estate to get his mother. Once Xia Yun was in the car, she chatted happily with Qin Miaoyu in the backseat, occasionally sharing funny stories from Lu Qi’an’s childhood. Lu Qi’an, sitting in the front, wore a helpless, resigned smile.

Soon, they arrived at the Xiang family villa. As the three of them walked to the entrance, the master and mistress of the house were already waiting. Seeing them, Mrs. Xiang greeted Xia Yun, exchanged pleasantries with Lu Qi’an, and then turned her gaze to Qin Miaoyu.
Xia Yun introduced her: "This is my daughter-in-law, Qin Miaoyu. Miaoyu, this is Mrs. Xiang."
Qin Miaoyu wore a polite smile and said softly, "Hello, Mrs. Xiang, I am Qin Miaoyu."

Mrs. Xiang, seeing that Qin Miaoyu was a new face, realized she wasn't from any of the local Jingcheng families, but given her refined aura, she clearly wasn't from a humble background. Regardless, she didn't care; the Xiang and Lu families had a good relationship, so she wouldn't pry into Qin Miaoyu’s background in public.