Chapter 38: Chapter 38

Qin Zhen frowned, “Jiu’er and I have only been together for a little over half a month. It’s too early for an engagement.”

Wei Caihong continued, “You’ve been in a relationship with Jiu’er for so many years. Even if you get married now, it wouldn’t be abrupt, right? Jiu’er has suffered for so many years while you were alone overseas. You can’t pretend not to know about it…”

Qin Zhen’s tone was somewhat impatient. He did not like being pressured and said directly, “It was her own choice to go abroad for further studies! What do I know?”

Wei Caihong choked, “Then… her inability to return for a year was because your ex-wife caused her to be blacklisted at the customs…”

Qin Zhen replied, “You just said it was done by my ex-wife. What does that have to do with me? I just got divorced, it’s not suitable to get engaged. Let’s talk about this later.”

Wei Caihong fell silent.

Wei Jiu’er, who had been hiding in the kitchen, pretended not to know what was happening in the living room and walked out slowly, saying, “Zhen, I cooked a few dishes. Let’s eat.”

The meal was consumed in silence, and regardless of what Wei Jiu’er said, Qin Zhen maintained a cold expression.

After dinner, Wei Jiu’er walked Qin Zhen to the door and held his hand, saying, “Zhen, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect my mom to bring up this matter. She just wanted to meet you…”

Qin Zhen examined her, trying to discern the sincerity in her words. In fact, Mother Qin initially opposed his relationship with Wei Jiu’er because of Wei Caihong’s influence. When Wei Caihong married her current husband, some unfavorable rumors circulated, and Qin’s mother cared about reputation, so she naturally did not want Wei Jiu’er, a pseudo-socialite, as her daughter-in-law.

However, Qin Zhen was well aware that those things were done by Wei Caihong and had nothing to do with Wei Jiu’er. Since her father passed away when she was young and life was difficult, he cherished her a lot. But he genuinely disliked some of Wei Caihong’s actions.

Moreover, he always felt that Wei Caihong was deliberately brought in by Wei Jiu’er to test him. Since the incident where Wei Jiu’er pretended to be injured, he couldn’t trust her as completely as before.

Wei Jiu’er’s eyes turned red, “Zhen, don’t you believe me? Apart from the fake injury incident, I have never lied to you. Just because of that one thing, are you going to give up on me completely?”

Qin Zhen hesitated for a while but still pulled her into his arms, comforting her softly, “How could that be…?”

Although he said so, the doubts in his heart remained. Even if she had deceived him, he still had an obligation to protect her for the rest of her life. She had saved him, and that was something he should do.

…

Shen Qingxue was a senior student majoring in performing arts. She had managed to secure the lead role in a mini-drama on the day of the university’s anniversary celebration by pulling some strings.

Shen Qingxue entered the dressing room and greeted Ling Bing’er. Ling Bing’er was her junior, and they had met at a family banquet when Shen Qingyue was still married to Qin Zhen. They had become friends because of Shen Qingyue, and Ling Bing’er also participated in this performance.

After a while, Shen Yi’an entered with a professional makeup artist. The other students were doing their own makeup, but Shen Qingxue had hired a makeup artist, a renowned one at that, which made others envious.

Shen Qingxue felt proud inside.

However, Shen Yi’an didn’t care how proud she was and reminded her, “Be serious later. Since you want Grandpa Bo to invest in your film and make your debut, you can’t miss this opportunity.”

Shen Qingxue confidently replied, “You can trust my acting skills.”

Shen Yiyan did not trust her at all. He knew how terrible her acting skills were. But in order to earn more money, he hired a professional acting teacher for her, hoping for some improvement.

…

When Shen Qingyue and Shen Jun arrived at the venue, half of the people had already gathered in the auditorium.

The Shen family arrived early and occupied a row of seats. As they entered, they noticed someone sitting next to her grandfather! Had someone installed a GPS tracker on her?

However, Shen Jun was delighted, “Chi Ming?”

Chi Ming looked up and also became stunned. This time, he was not pretending, “Grandfather Shen, hello.” He

had come to support his younger brother.

However, soon Shen Qingyue also realized that Chi Ming might not have come for her this time because one of the emcees was Chi Ming’s younger brother, Chi Yan.

People continued to enter the auditorium, filling up all the seats. Only a few empty seats remained on the right side of Chi Ming. He took out his phone and took a few pictures to send to his parents. In the darkness, two people came over.

The voice of the woman sounded somewhat familiar, “Excuse me, are these seats taken?”

Chi Ming casually replied, “No one is sitting here.”

After answering, he realized that it was Wei Jiu’er and Qin Zhen! Damn it, what a bad omen.