She was supposedly a part of this family, and although she only visited once a year, it had already been more than ten years or so. In comparison with Lin Chu who had only been together with Yan Beicheng for a couple of months, they should be closer and more intimate with her! 

Besides, Lin Chu was only dating Yan Beicheng. They were still not married, yet she was already regarded as the Yan Family"s daughter-in-law. 

She was even asked to address Lin Chu as her sister-in-law.

Lin Chu had no status, she should be the outsider instead. 

She, on the other hand, who was the granddaughter of the Yan Family seemed like the outsider right now, in comparison with Lin Chu. She was the one who seemed to be rejected by everyone else. 

Yan Zhiqing"s eyes turned red all of a sudden. She held on to Old Lady Yan"s arm with tears in her eyes and called out softly, "Granny."

"What"s wrong?" Old Lady Yan was shocked at her granddaughter"s wronged expression. 

"You… Do all of you like Sister-in-law more than me?" Yan Zhiqing asked in a choked voice as a teardrop rolled down her cheek. 

Lin Chu jumped up in surprise. The previously happy and harmonious atmosphere suddenly became tense, and the peals of laughter died down. Everyone felt awkward and kept quiet. 

"My child, what nonsense is this?" Old Lady Yan retorted with a frown. Clearly, she was not happy with Yan Zhiqing who started crying suddenly for no reason, completely ruining the atmosphere. 

This child had never acted like this in the past. 

"Even Ningbai seems to dislike me, "Yan Zhiqing muttered. 

Yu Zi"s expression turned sour as well. How could she put herself against a small child? 

Yan Zhiqing was speaking bad of Yan Ningbai. 

However, she was just a daughter-in-law of the family, so she remained silent. Yan Huaian, on the other hand, had a furious look on his face. "Ningbai"s just a kid and he"s shy with strangers. He"s like that around people whom he"s not familiar with. Lin Chu often spends time with Ningbai so it"s only natural for him to be closer with her. You"re already an a.d.u.l.t, why are you still behaving like a kid, fussing over such a small matter? After what you"ve said, it"ll be harder for Ningbai to get close to you in the future. Will you still blame him then?" 

"I didn"t mean it that way," Yan Zhiqing whispered, "Uncle… Don"t be so fierce…" 

Old Lady Yan heaved a heavy sigh. She regretted her actions, not allowing Jiang Changdai to bring her granddaughter back to visit just because of her anger towards Jiang Changdai. If not, her granddaughter might not have turned out this way.

Her att.i.tude right now was exactly as Jiang Changdai back then. 

"Enough, let"s not talk about this anymore. My child, kids are just that simple-minded. He"s just not familiar with you, that"s why he"s not close to you. There"s nothing more to it, so stop overthinking," Old Lady Yan comforted Yan Zhiqing as she patted her hand. 

Old Lady Yan pulled Yan Zhiqing towards Yan Ningbai, who immediately tightened his arms which was circling Lin Chu"s neck. With Yan Zhiqing staring at him, he quickly buried his face in Lin Chu"s neck, looking like he was extremely frightened. 

"Look now, you"ve frightened Ningbai, haven"t you? How can you expect him to get close to you in the future?" Old Lady Yan asked. 

Yan Zhiqing, "..." 

She had a feeling this little fatso was just putting on an act! 

If he could act so well, he should become an actor! 

She could barely contain the anger and frustration in her that the child was scheming against her. 

"Alright, that"s enough. Come on, let"s dinner," Old Lady Yan said, intending to put this matter behind them. 

At the dinner table, Yan Zhiqing felt slightly guilty. She felt that she had acted a bit too much earlier on so she was worried the Yan Family would dislike her because of it. 

With that thought in mind, she quickly took a piece of Coccola chicken wing and placed it in Yan Ningbai"s bowl. "Ningbai, I"m sorry for the misunderstanding earlier on."

Yan Ningbai gulped hard as he stared at the chicken wing in his bowl greedily. To everyone"s surprise, he refused the temptation of good food without a second thought. His eyes widened in fear and he straight away turned around and buried himself in the arms of Yan Huaian. 

"Daddy, I"m scared!" 

Yan Zhiqing, "..." 

Why was this kid such a nuisance! 

"It"s alright, don"t be afraid." As Yan Huaian pretended to pat Yan Ningbai"s head in a comforting manner, his other hand reached below the table and pinched his son"s chubby hand, signaling him to not push his luck. 

Then, he picked the chicken wing up from Yan Ningbai"s bowl with his chopsticks. "Zhiqing, please don"t mind him. After all, kids can be quite timid. He was scared from earlier on, and just need some time to calm down. He"ll be alright if you guys get along more in the future." 

Yan Zhiqing responded with a bright smile, seemingly unaffected by the little boy"s temper. "I understand, I"ll come by more often to play with Ningbai." 

Yan Ningbai finally crawled out from Yan Huaian"s arms and immediately picked up his chopsticks to get another piece of chicken and started eating happily. 

Yan Zhiqing paused for a second as she reached out for a dish, casting a hateful glance at Yan Ningbai when n.o.body was paying attention before she continued to eat. 

Since Yan Zhiqing had come such a long way over, she decided to spend the night at the Family Mansion to accompany the two elders, and they had also agreed happily. 

They wanted to take the opportunity to spend more time with Yan Zhiqing and hopefully have some good influence on her. It would be even better if they were able to teach her a little something. 

Meanwhile, Yan Beicheng and Yan Huaian left with his family after dinner. 

When they got into the car, Yan Ningbai sat in the child safety seat in the back seat. After Yu Zi buckled his safety belt, she finally asked, "Why do you dislike Yan Zhiqing that much?" 

Yan Ningbai took out a chocolate ball from his pocket. After removing the wrapper, he popped the chocolate into his mouth, his round cheeks now completely stuffed.

"What"s the saying again? A child"s eyes are the purest and can see through who"s the good guy and who"s the bad guy," he mumbled. 

Yan Huaian, "..."

Yu Zi, "..." 

Yan Ningbai seemed to know that he was being slightly ignorant toward his parents, so after licking off the chocolate stain that was stuck to his thumb and index finger, he continued, "Oh, she isn"t even as nice as she pretends to be! Last time when she came to see Eldest Uncle and Eldest Auntie, she was very well-behaved too, just like today." 

Yan Ningbai sloshed the chocolate in his mouth. He smiled happily as he tasted the sweet and smooth chocolate in his mouth. "However, when Eldest Uncle and Eldest Auntie aren"t around and there"s only both of us, her att.i.tude changes completely and she just ignores me. Poor me, I was still so young and innocent back then so I didn"t know what to think of it." 

Yan Huaian, "..." 

Yu Zi, "..." 

"Back then I just wanted to play with her! I took my toys and went to look for her, but she pushed me away and even ordered me not to bother her very fiercely." Yan Ningbai curled the chocolate up with his tongue and pushed it into his other cheek to suck on it. "From then on, I just started ignoring her! She was suddenly so affectionate tonight so I knew she was just putting on a show for all of you. I"m not going to act alongside her! Since she"s so evil, I"m just going to ignore her." 

As Yan Ningbai continued talking, he reached out his small arms towards Yu Zi in a pettishly charming manner from his safety seat. 

Yu Zi was unaware that her son had been mistreated by Yan Zhiqing. Her son was such an adorable kid, who could dislike him? 

She was not boasting because he was her son, there was no denying the fact that he was indeed a sweetheart whom everyone adored. 

Moreover, he had been loved and adored by the family since young. But now that Yu Zi found out that he had been mistreated by Yan Zhiqing and although she was furious, she tried not to show it in front of Yan Ningbai. 

Her heart ached for her son who had had his little innocent heart hurt and reached out to unbuckle his seatbelt, then took him into her arms. 

"Alright, just ignore her in the future then," Yu Zi said. 

Although she had a good personality and she got along well with Lin Chu, her family was still well-known for its background. Her grandfather was part of the Ministry of Justice, her father was the head of the Prosecutor General"s Office, her mother was part of the Court of Justice, whereas her brother was a famous lawyer. 

As a matter of fact, her family"s social standing was not low at all. She was a valiant lawyer in court and she certainly did not lack strength in character. Just that Yan Huaian had a more imposing manner, so she was not as conspicuous when she was with him. 

As the youngest daughter in the family, she had been coddled since young so it was only natural for her to have a bit of a temper. However, the Yan Family had always been good to her, so naturally, there were no quarrels or arguments. Therefore, after hearing about Yan Zhiqing"s behavior toward Yan Ningbai, Yu Zi could not be bothered to ask her son to pretend to like Yan Zhiqing and put on a false front. 

If her son disliked her, he should just ignore her. There was no need for him to give her face! 

Yan Huaian noticed his wife"s furious expression through the rearview mirror but stayed silent with a smile on his face. 

He had no particular feelings toward Yan Zhiqing from the start, but now that he found out she had been secretly mistreating his son, how could he possibly allow his son to please her? How big did she think of herself? 

Yan Ningbai wriggled around in Yu Zi"s arms and said, "I still prefer Big Nephew and Big Niece-in-law!"

Yu Zi smiled and flicked his round head.

Before Lin Chu met Yan Zhiqing, she never felt much toward her. Yan Zhiqing was just a young lady whom she had never met, but she was still slightly excited. After all, Yan Zhiqing was Yan Beicheng"s younger sister. 

However, after meeting her, it was obvious that Yan Zhiqing was on Lu Weining"s side. Every word she said was an indirect stab at Lin Chu. 

Lin Chu was merely amused. Lu Weining had nothing to do with Yan Beicheng since the very beginning. Moreover, the elder brother already disliked her, so how could this younger sister force their relations.h.i.+p when she was not even close to her brother? 

As Lin Chu continued thinking about Yan Zhiqing, someone reached out to hold her hand. 

When she finally recovered only did she notice that Yan Beicheng had reached over to hold her hand and rested them on her knees. 

"You don"t have to take Zhiqing"s words to heart. If she continues to behave like this, you don"t have to care about her either. You can just ignore her," Yan Beicheng said, his clear voice sounding very warm in the quiet car. "If she crosses the line, you can just talk back to her. It"s alright." 

Lin Chu who was originally upset about it started to laugh as she heard what Yan Beicheng said. From his words, he sounded as if this sister of his was dispensable and not important at all. 

Although it was not appropriate, she still felt happy. 

The two elders usually went to bed early, so Yan Zhiqing retired to her room early as well. 

Her laptop was placed on the small round table in the room, and as she was about to launch the Internet browser, she received a call from Lu Weining. 

Turns out Lu Weining knew that she had come over and invited her out for a drink.

Yan Zhiqing changed her clothes and went downstairs with her bag in hand. Just then, she b.u.mped into Aunt Chen. 

Although Aunt Chen disliked Yan Zhiqing, she was still courteous and polite to her as she was still the granddaughter of the two Yan family elders. "Miss, it"s late already. Are you going out now?" 

"It"s only 9.30 p.m., it"s not that late," Yan Zhiqing said impatiently. Deep down in her heart, Aunt Chen was merely a n.o.body. 

During the day in front of the old master and the old lady, she was still polite toward Aunt Chen, but now that n.o.body was around, she was too lazy to even bother to pretend to be nice. 

She was not stupid. She was certain that Aunt Chen would not tattle tale to the old lady about such a small matter, and even if she was at fault, the old lady would not be happy with Aunt Chen if Aunt Chen were to complain about her. 

Therefore, even if she was rude to Aunt Chen, Aunt Chen still had to endure it. 

However, Aunt Chen, on the other hand, did not overthink the situation. She had no intentions of stooping down to her level, and in her opinion, Yan Zhiqing"s behavior was merely ridiculous. It was not worth her time to be angry over something like that. 

"It"s dangerous for a young lady like you to go out alone at night though…"

Before Aunt Chen could finish her sentence, Yan Zhiqing interrupted impatiently, "I"ve already made plans with a friend, so it"s not like I"m going out alone. I"m meeting Sister Lu, so if you"re still worried, would you like to give her a call?" 

Yan Zhiqing waved her handphone in front of Aunt Chen, clearly trying to provoke Aunt Chen.

Although Aunt Chen was angry, she knew that Yan Zhiqing was just an insensible little girl, so there was no need for her to take offense. 

If she did not know what was good for herself, Aunt Chen was too lazy to even bother either. "Alright then. Be careful, miss," Aunt Chen responded with a soft smile. 

With that, she turned around and left. 

However, she could still hear Yan Zhiqing behind her back. "Who do you think you are, sticking your nose into my business! Even the maid at my home doesn"t dare to control me!" Yan Zhiqing did not even bother lowering her voice, her words heavily laced with sarcasm. 

Aunt Chen"s expression darkened as she snorted. If she was to bother this girl next time, she would call herself a b*tch. 

Following the address Lu Weining had given, Yan Zhiqing arrived at a lounge bar that mainly sold coffee, alcohol and some simple western dishes. The atmosphere in the bar was pretty good. The warm lights were dim and the seats were all sofa booths, soft and comfortable. In addition to the soothing jazz music that was playing in the bar, one did not have to worry about other people eavesdropping when one talked. 

The customers in the bar were conversing in soft voices, so the atmosphere overall was not all that bad. 

As Yan Zhiqing entered and glanced around, there were some foreigners seated in the round sofa booths, each of them with a beer in hand as they chatted. 

Her eyes swept through the entire bar and finally found Lu Weining standing in front of a round sofa booth chatting with a man. 

The man was expressionless, and although he did not seem impatient, he did not seem friendly either. It was as if he was simply answering every question Lu Weining asked and he kept his responses short and curt, making Lu Weining felt incredibly awkward. 

After a while, Lu Weining finally left. It seems that she had finally noticed that the man was not interested at all. 

As she turned around and noticed Yan Zhiqing standing at the entrance, she waved her over. 

Then, Yan Zhiqing returned to her seat. She could not help but took another look at the man from earlier on. n.o.body in that booth was comparable to him, regardless of appearance or temperament. 

He was extremely outstanding among the group.

Yan Zhiqing even felt that even if he stood beside Yan Beicheng, he might not lose too. 

"Is he an acquaintance?" Yan Zhiqing asked. Her eyes could not help but drift over as well, and the more she stared, the more she could not retrieve her stare. 

Lu Weining noticed her reaction and smiled. "I wouldn"t dare call him an acquaintance. He"s Wei Zilin, the younger brother of Wei Ziqi from the Wei family. He opened a public relations company and it"s one of the best and most well-known ones in the industry. Do you know about the two new artists signed by our company? We opened a studio for one of them and we"ve started a working relations.h.i.+p with Lin Yi. All public relations matters will be handled by them from now on. It just so happened that he brought some of his male colleagues from his company here to get together so I just went over to say h.e.l.lo." 

"No wonder, he has quite an aura to him and he"s almost as good as my brother," Yan Zhiqing said as her eyes remained glued on Wei Zilin"s face. 

"I"ve watched you grow up since young and I"ve almost forgotten that you"re already 18. You"re a young lady now," Lu Weining said with a smile. "Although I"m not exactly familiar with Wei Zilin, we still have a somewhat working relations.h.i.+p so perhaps I can help you out a bit. Would you like me to find an opportunity to introduce you to him?" 

In Lu Weining"s opinion, Wei Zilin would never take a fancy to Yan Zhiqing.

However, she had to continue coaxing her because of Yan Beicheng. 

In reality, Yan Zhiqing was no more than a little girl who had yet to grow up. She was clearly not the brightest bulb, yet she thought she was capable of everything. Other than that, she had the nerves to think that she had rather good qualities, but in Lu Weining"s perspective, Yan Zhiqing was unattractive to men. Sadly, she was completely unaware of it. 

To put it bluntly, she had no sense of self-awareness. 

Wei Zilin was almost twelve years older than her. In Wei Zilin"s eyes, Yan Zhiqing was merely a little girl so he would certainly not even consider her at all. 

Although Yan Zhiqing had come to legal age, she had technically not graduated from high school. Her college entrance examination was still two months away. At such an age, Wei Zilin would only regard her as a child so it was impossible for him to develop any romantic feelings or such. 

It would be like dating a minor, and since when did Wei Zilin had such taste in women?

Furthermore, Yan Zhiqing had an unpleasant temper. What kind of woman had Wei Zilin never met? Why would he settle for her? 

Although Lu Weining sounded courteous, she sneered in the back of her mind. 

"How can you say that, Sister Lu?" Yan Zhiqing let out an awkward cough, her flushed face still visible underneath the dim lights, "I just…" 

Yan Zhiqing"s eyes twinkled as she quickly continued, "I"m here in B City now, aren"t I? I still don"t know anyone though. If you have any suitable meetings or occasions, please bring me along and introduce some people to me, okay?" 

"That"s no problem at all," Lu Weining said with a smile as she swirled the straw in her c.o.c.ktail gla.s.s. "However, with the Yan Family"s status, they should know more people than me. After all, their status is much higher than mine. You should let Bei… Master Yan bring you out and introduce you to everyone. If he"s busy, he should have his girlfriend to bring you out. I"m sure Master Yan has already introduced Lin Chu to everyone. She knows everyone I know, but there are many people she knows who I don"t. Other than her, there"s still Yu Zi, no?" 

At the sound of Lin Chu, Yan Zhiqing immediately started to boil with rage and the look of disdain that appeared on her face was uncontrollable. 

She also noticed the sudden change in the way Lu Weining addressed Yan Beicheng. "Why are you acting like a stranger now? You"ve always called my brother by his name directly." 

Lu Weining stopped twisting the straw and let out an embarra.s.sing smile, "Well, his status is different now. Master Yan didn"t have a girlfriend in the past so n.o.body would"ve misunderstood if I addressed him that way. However, he has a girlfriend now, and Lin Chu doesn"t like it when I address him by his name." 

"Who is she to dislike it? You"ve known my brother way earlier than her, so how can she control the way you address him? Besides, even if she"s my brother"s girlfriend, does that mean she has the right to control my brother"s circle of friends?" Yan Zhiqing shrieked furiously.

Right then, the waiter came over to take her order. Although Yan Zhiqing was slightly impatient, she still ordered a c.o.c.ktail. 

Yan Zhiqing might be a legal a.d.u.l.t now, but it was still inappropriate for her to start drinking outside so soon. However, Lu Weining did nothing to stop her.

As long as Yan Zhiqing was happy, she was not about to be the evil person. 

"I don"t know," Lu Weining shook her head, "I didn"t want to tell you in the first place, but since you brought it up, I figured it"s best that I tell you everything or you might find that I"m unreasonable. Well, our company"s working with Lin Yi now and as you know, Lin Chu"s working at Lin Yi. I didn"t know about this before, so when I saw her in the office the other day at Lin Yi, I thought it"d be nice if I offer this business deal to her since we know each other. I even asked her out for a drink but not only did she not appreciate my kindness, when she heard me addressing Master Yan as Beicheng, she spilled an entire gla.s.s of water on me and warned me not to do so anymore." 

Lu Weining continued with a bitter expression. "I… All my life, I"ve never seen such a vulgar person. She embarra.s.sed me in public too. At that moment, I just really… I just wanted to crawl inside a hole and hide. Even after I left the cafe, I was still burning from shame from head to toe. It was so embarra.s.sing! People might have thought I was some mistress or something…"

"That"s too much!" Yan Zhiqing restrained herself from slamming the table.