ct pretentiously and said, "Old brothers, I have something here. With all the busyness of recent days, I haven't had time for anything, but now that you're here, can you give me a professional opinion...Chapter 194: Unhappy Parting

Jin Xiu Zhu sat beside Xiao Yu, secretly pleased. She turned her head挑釁地看了看 Yun Xi, then began chatting with Xiao Yu.

In response to Jin Xiu Zhu's actions, Yun Xi didn't speak but helplessly shook her head and started talking to Xiao Yu and Xiao Jian Ying instead.

Seeing this scene, neither Xiao Jian Ying nor Xiao Yu could say anything. After seeing that Yun Xi wasn’t angry, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Xiao Yu sat there with a bitter smile on his face. If it were just ordinary chatting, he wouldn't care. However, looking at Jin Xiu Zhu's eyes, he knew something was wrong and helplessly looked towards Yun Xi for assistance.

Yun Xi saw Xiao Yu's gaze, pursed her lips but didn’t speak, instead turning around as if she hadn’t seen anything.

Jin Xiang Lin and Xiao Jing Ru were also無奈, but they couldn't criticize their daughter in front of so many people.

Soon after, the dishes were served. Jin Xiu Zhu kept putting food on Xiao Yu's plate while occasionally casting a provoking glance at Yun Xi.

Sensing that Xiao Yu wasn’t stopping her from serving him, Jin Xiu Zhu’s eyes lit up with excitement. She had already inquired and knew that both Xiao Yu’s and Yun Xi’s families were ordinary ones; people like them could be bought off with money.

"Sister Yun Xi, the pendant around your neck is so ugly! Tomorrow I'll buy you a jade pendant made of Hetian white jade. Wearing stones isn't good, especially when attending banquets or parties—people might laugh at you!"

When Jin Xiu Zhu looked at Yun Xi, she noticed the necklace hanging around her neck. The pendant was very rough and obviously not a quality item; why would anyone make such an ugly piece out of something good She then gave Yun Xi a smug smile.

Sitting there eating while seeing Xiao Yu’s miserable face, Yun Xi secretly smiled. Hearing Jin Xiu Zhu talk about her necklace, she unconsciously touched the pendant around her neck and glanced at Xiao Yu with an expression of happiness.

She didn’t refute Jin Xiu Zhu’s words; whether it was a stone or jade, it couldn't match Xiao Yu's intentions.

Jin Xiu Zhu saw Yun Xi bowing her head touching the necklace and not speaking, thinking she had hit a sore spot with Yun Xi. She continued, “It doesn’t matter, Sister Yun Xi; you don’t have to spend money on it! It’s from your little sister!”

Jin Xiu Zhu said this with a smile, her tone dripping with condescension, as if she were bestowing a favor upon Yun Xi.

At this moment, Xiao Yu, who had initially been unable to refuse Kim Soo-joo's enthusiasm, suddenly turned cold upon hearing her words.

Xiao Jianying and Xiao Yu’s originally smiling faces also turned cold. Yun Xi could now be considered a member of their family, and Kim Soo-joo’s clearly insulting remarks instantly made them think less of her.

Kim Sang-rim and Xiao Jingru heard their daughter's words and saw the change in the expressions of Xiao Yu and others. They inwardly cursed as they realized that although their daughter's words might not sound too bad, her tone was extremely offensive.

"Soo-joo, how can you speak like this Quickly apologize!" Xiao Jingru said with a scowl.

"Mom, what’s wrong Why should I apologize Xi-yeon Sister doesn’t have money and even has an old piece of stone around her neck. What's the problem if I say I want to buy her jade"

Hearing her mother's reprimand, Kim Soo-joo stretched out her voice and pouted at Xiao Jingru in a spoiled manner, but there was a sense of superiority hidden between her words.

Kim Sang-rim looked at the cold-faced Xiao Yu and inwardly sighed. This Xiao Yu wasn’t someone he could easily offend; even if he didn’t know what happened to Xiao Jianying after his graduation, just thinking about him from back then made his whole body shiver.

All of those friends now held high positions, and perhaps it was partly due to them quietly helping him out in the past because he had always been following Xiao Jianying.

"Bang!" Kim Sang-rim slammed the table as he stood up and looked at Kim Soo-joo, saying each word with a heavy tone, "Soo-joo, if you keep talking like this, don’t blame me for sending you back home."

After scolding Kim Soo-joo, Kim Sang-rim turned to Xiao Jianying and Dr. Xiao, saying apologetically, "Ms. Ying, Doctor Xiao, we’re truly sorry. We’ve spoiled this child too much, making her ungrateful. Please don’t take it to heart."

Xiao Jianying’s expression gradually softened as Kim Sang-rim had already apologized. She didn’t want to overthink the matter since it was just a child.

Hearing her father scolding her, Kim Soo-joo was momentarily stunned; she had never been shouted at by him before, and now that he did, she felt even more displeased with Yun Xi.

A sudden surge of intense disgust rose within Yun Xi as she turned to look at the lowered head of Kim Soo-joo in surprise.

Kim Soo-joo kept her head down and glared, silently vowing that anything she wanted would be hers, even if it was in someone else's possession.

This had been how Kim Soo-joo behaved since childhood. Whenever she saw something in another person’s hands that she desired, she would go to great lengths to get it for herself.

Slowly, the gloom on Jin Xiuzhu's face faded away as she replaced it with a smile and looked up at Yunxi: "Sister Yunxi, I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything else; I just wanted to buy you a prettier pendant!"

Although Jin Xiuzhu apologized to Yunxi with a smiling face, her detest for the latter did not lessen in any way.

"It's fine. Thank you for your kindness, but I still prefer this pendant," Yunxi said as she touched the pendant hanging around her neck.

The pendant Xiao Yu had given her was more precious than white jade or sheep fat jade to her.

Although Jin Xiuzhu had apologized, she knew very well who Xiao Yu was. Even though he couldn't read Jin Xiuzhu's mind, he could sense something wrong and thus his expression remained unchanged.

Xiao Ying looked at the smiling Jin Xiuzhu with a slight chill in her heart, thinking how deep this person's mind was.

How could these little tricks fool Xiao Ying She had gone through so many things that she couldn't even imagine. If she didn't see through them now, it would be a waste of the fifty years of life she lived.

Jin Xianglin and Xiao Jingru also understood their daughter's thoughts to some extent. They began feeling anxious, knowing they had to explain everything clearly to her tonight; otherwise, there might be trouble if something bad happened.

"Director Jin, thank you for your hospitality today. We won't bother you further! My mother and the others have been busy since yesterday without any rest; I'll take them back to get some sleep."

After this meal, no one was in high spirits, and everyone ate silently. Soon after Xiao Yu finished eating with his family, he bid farewell to Jin Xianglin's family.

"Sister Ying, if my daughter did anything wrong, please bear with her! You should get some rest too; I will visit you tomorrow."

Jin Xianglin also knew it wasn't appropriate to stay longer and was eager to clarify the seriousness of the situation with his daughter. Otherwise, given his daughter's character, something might happen.

After both parties bid farewell, Xiao Yu drove back to the antique city with his family. His mother had boarded a train in the middle of the night yesterday, and they hadn't stopped since this morning; thus, Xiao Yu took them up to their rooms on the top floor.

Xiao Yu escorted his mother and sister into their room before heading towards Yunxi's room.

"Yunxi, get some rest early. Call me if you need anything," said Xiao Yu as he looked at her.

"Hmm!" Yunxi replied with her head down.

The moment Xiao Yu entered the room, she felt a bit anxious. She had good feelings for Xiao Yu and even liked him, but since they weren't married yet, she was worried about what to do if he wanted to stay with her tonight.

Xiao Yu looked at Yunxi who kept her head down; she appeared blushing and bashful, which stirred something inside Xiao Yu. He slowly walked towards where Yunxi stood.

Yunxi felt Xiao Yu approaching and couldn’t help but breathe more quickly as her hands nervously clutched a corner of her clothes and rubbed it repeatedly. However, neither of them spoke; all that could be heard in the room was their hurried breathing.

"Knock knock knock."

Just when Xiao Yu was about to reach Yunxi, sudden knocks broke the silence.

Xiao Yu, who was walking towards her, froze and inwardly cursed. Who could it be at this hour

Hearing the door knocking, Yunxi ducked her head even lower, like a frightened rabbit retreating two steps back and patting her chest to calm down, though she couldn’t hide the rosy blush on her face.

After a moment, when Yunxi felt her breathing steady again, she went to open the door. There stood Xiao Jiangying at the entrance.

Sight of him standing there made both Xiao Yu and Yunxi feel awkward.

"Yunxi, come on, I need you; tonight, sleep with me!" Xiao Jiangying glared at his son before pulling Yunxi towards her room.

Xiao Jiangying knew that even if his son moved in with Yunxi, nothing would happen between them. If they got married, it was fine, but breaking up could harm Yunxi.

Yesterday was the first time he met Yunxi, yet after a day of getting to know her, he liked her very much; she was innocent and kind-hearted, hard to find in today’s society. So from his heart, he cared for her and didn’t want her to suffer any future harm.

Though he knew his son well, before marriage, anything could happen. Moreover, when Yunxi's mother subtly mentioned that young people might act impulsively and asked him to keep an eye on them, because a girl’s first time should be reserved for the wedding night, he felt responsible.

Hence, as soon as Xiao Jiangying saw his son come out of his own room and head towards Yunxi's, fearing they couldn't control themselves, he intervened by taking Yunxi to his room. made small bets; now with this forty thousand, I can make bigger bets, and winning ten to twenty thousand wouldn’t be an issue.'With these thoughts in mind, he not only took the forty thousand yuan b...