Qin Mu let out a low groan in pain, and afterward, no matter how excessive he was, she could only endure it by holding him tight, with only broken, muffled whimpers.
Qin Mu had been kept busy until two or three in the morning and couldn’t get up early, while the other members of the Mu Family were already having breakfast in the dining room.
Mu Zihao looked at his granddaughter feeding herself with a spoon and smiled approvingly: "Huanhuan is really quite similar to you when you were little."
"However, you can’t just bring her over to stay the night because of that. What if the Jing Family finds out? How awkward would our situation be?"
Feng Fanghua complained as she looked at her son.
"Awkward? I’ve already made it known that I want to marry Qin Mu. Now, everyone in the city with some connections knows I’m not interested in an arranged marriage with the Jing Family."
"But our relationship with the Jing Family..."
"Mom, I admit the Jing Family and the Mu Family have always had a good relationship, but if that relationship crumbles just because Jing Qing and I don’t work out, then I can only say the foundation you built in the past wasn’t strong. In other words, the Jing Family is not worth your care."
Mu Yichen didn’t want to listen to Feng Fanghua going on about those things and had to lay out the facts.
Who in Rongcheng didn’t know the standing of the Jing Family? Joining the two families was an excellent move, and many other families aside from the Mu Family would love to secure a marriage with the Jing Family. Jing Feng had been fond of Helian Hao since childhood, and though Helian Hao hadn’t agreed yet, it was a matter of time. Naturally, Jing Qing became the prize many prominent families competed over. Originally, Mu Yichen had to give up, but once Mu Yichen backed out...
Feng Fanghua believed what her son was giving up wasn’t just a woman, but an excellent backup.
"But do you really want to marry the girl upstairs?"
Mu Zihao and Feng Fanghua exchanged looks, neither very pleased but choosing not to say more. However, when they both looked at their granddaughter, their eyes were filled with extra tenderness, and Feng Fanghua couldn’t help but reach out to stroke Huanhuan’s hair lovingly.
Mu Yichen was somewhat stunned by Feng Fanghua’s gesture.
His mother was actually this caring? He had never noticed before. Although Feng Fanghua often engaged in charity, he had never seen her show such genuine affection to any child from the orphanages.
By the time Qin Mu woke up, he had gone to work, Mu Zihao had taken Huanhuan out, and just as Feng Fanghua was about to follow, Jing Qing happened to visit, so she stayed to entertain Jing Qing.
Of course, Jing Qing also brought along her follower, Qin Mingzhu.
"Auntie, you don’t know how shameless that wild girl is. It’s one thing for her to cling to Yichen’s apartment and not leave, but she even dared to slander Jing Qing. Jing Qing and Yichen were engaged since they were very young."
"What you’re saying is not without reason. She has indeed gone too far, but after all, she is your father’s eldest daughter. Is it appropriate for you to call her a ’wild girl’?"
Feng Fanghua’s words were light, but the warning in her eyes was not to be taken lightly.
Qin Mingzhu blinked blankly: What should I call her then? Sister?
The idea made her want to laugh.
"Auntie, it would be too much for Mingzhu to call her ’sister.’ She’s been spoiled by Uncle Qin to the point of forgetting about Qin Mu."
Feng Fanghua suddenly remembered a time long ago, wasn’t Qin Haiming doting on Qin Mu and their mother then?
But so quickly, he had changed. Feng Fanghua thought of the girl upstairs, who every time she saw her seemed as frightened as a little girl who had done something wrong, and sighed helplessly: Life is truly different for everyone!
If Qin Haiming had stayed with Mingzhu’s mother from the start and then met Qin Mu’s mother later, things would probably have been very different.
"Auntie, I actually came today to bring you some fruit. My brother picked these from the orchard on his way back yesterday. They’re especially fresh. You must try them right away."
A large basket of fresh oranges, Feng Fanghua looked very pleased.
"You still know best what Auntie likes to eat," Feng Fanghua immediately said happily.
"Auntie has treated me like her own daughter all these years, it would be unfilial of me not to know what she likes to eat,"
Jing Qing immediately said.
"Sister Jing Qing is really thoughtful, I also grew up by Auntie’s side, but I don’t know what she likes to eat," Qin Mingzhu immediately chimed in.
"You girl!" Feng Fanghua scolded her with a laugh.
"But from now on, I’ll remember, Auntie likes juicy oranges."
Qin Mingzhu said, without forgetting to show her eight teeth with a smile.
Jing Qing hadn’t expected Qin Mingzhu to suddenly be so sweet-tongued, and she was surprised, but then she didn’t think much of it.
"Miss Qin, you’re awake!"
She actually felt awkward when the servant greeted her, so she nodded her head, lowering her voice.
She just hadn’t expected to come downstairs and see such a lively scene in the living room; she instantly wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
Realizing that she probably shouldn’t have appeared, Qin Mu immediately smiled, Should I go back to my room first?
"What a lack of manners, not coming down to greet the guests when they arrive?"
Feng Fanghua sat there and ordered with a side glance.
Qin Mu had no choice but to come downstairs reluctantly.
Both Jing Qing and Qin Mingzhu were frightened, with Jing Qing’s expression just unnatural, but Qin Mingzhu’s eyeballs nearly popped out.
Nobody had expected that Qin Mu had actually spent the night at the Mu Family’s home.
What this signified, only a fool wouldn’t understand.
Jing Qing opened her mouth a few times, unable to successfully pretend to greet Qin Mu graciously.
Qin Mu timidly stood beside Feng Fanghua and then lifted her hand, Hey, hi to you two young ladies!
Jing Qing just looked up at her; at that moment, it felt as if she was struck by countless arrows, not all at once, but wave by wave piercing her heart, leaving only fragments of her heart behind.
Qin Mingzhu stared at her dumbfounded, You... how come you are here?
"She had too much to drink last night and was mistakenly brought here by the hotel people," Feng Fanghua spoke for her.
Qin Mu thought to herself, when had she ever drunk too much? Mistakenly brought over by the hotel? She had clearly been forcefully kept here by Mu Yichen while she was completely sober.
"I see," Jing Qing regained her composure.
Qin Mu asked to leave.
"There’s breakfast left for you in the kitchen, go eat,"
but she didn’t expect Feng Fanghua to actually tell her to go eat; God, she felt her entire worldview had been overturned.
That woman who hated her the most, the woman who had her secretly become Mu Yichen’s mistress, was actually telling her to go eat, and in front of Jing Qing and Qin Mingzhu no less.