Before Yan Qiubai or Meng Ruochao could reply, she deliberately put her arm around one of her childhood friends beside her.
But her eyes were fixed on Meng Ruochao, and her voice was coquettish yet carried an unyielding assertiveness.
"Sister - in - law, look, it's really fate that we, friends for so many years, finally get to gather here and happen to meet you.
"Why don't we have dinner together? It'll be livelier with more people. And it's a good chance for us to 'get to know' you better. What do you think?"
Meng Ruochao frowned slightly.
She came today to have an important private talk with Yan Qiubai.
Having a bunch of strangers around was obviously inappropriate.
However, her innate upbringing and her reluctance to make Yan Qiubai uncomfortable stopped her from directly asking his so - called "friends" to leave.
So, she turned her gaze to Yan Qiubai, her eyes calm with a clear message: They're your friends. You deal with it.
This look, in the eyes of Shen Xinyin, who was already blinded by jealousy,
turned into a sign that Meng Ruochao was timid and indecisive, relying on Yan Qiubai.
Immediately, as if she'd caught some handle, Shen Xinyin scoffed and said in a sarcastic tone.
"Oh~ What's this? Can't you even make decisions on such a small matter, sister - in - law? Do you still have to look at Brother Qiubai's face?"
She dragged out her words and took on the air of an "experienced person".
"Hey, I really have to give you some advice. Girls nowadays should be more self - reliant.
"You can't rely on men for everything. You've got to have your own opinions. Otherwise, you're likely to be looked down upon. Am I right?"
On the surface, her words were "advice", but in reality, every word was demeaning Meng Ruochao while boosting her own image as an independent young lady.
At the same time, she subtly ramped up the tension -
If Yan Qiubai were to tell Shen Xinyin and her friends to leave at this moment, it would seem as if Meng Ruochao was indeed "indecisive" and "relying on a man".
Yan Qiubai's face had turned extremely ugly, with the veins on his forehead twitching slightly.
He loathed Shen Xinyin's nagging and scheming face.
Of course, he wanted to tear things apart and tell these people to get out without a second thought.
But in the end, he changed his words.
"Xinyin's right. It's livelier with more people."
Yan Qiubai almost gritted his teeth as he squeezed out these words.
His cold eyes swept over Shen Xinyin and the childhood friends behind her who were as silent as mice.
"Since we've 'happened' to meet, let's dine together."
He deliberately emphasized the word "happened".
He couldn't let Ruochao be labeled as the one who "made him uncomfortable" or "made him drive away his friends" just after she arrived.
Even more so, he couldn't let Shen Xinyin's nonsense sully Chaochao.
But this feeling of holding back his anger was making his chest ache.
Shen Xinyin smiled smugly, as if she'd won a battle.
She was the first to pull her friends to sit down and deliberately took the seat closest to Yan Qiubai.
During the following ordering process, it almost turned into a show - off and interrogation session for Shen Xinyin.
She skillfully listed a series of expensive dishes and drinks, and then casually steered the conversation towards Meng Ruochao.
"What does your family do, sister - in - law? I don't think I've seen you in our circle before."
Shen Xinyin swirled her wine glass, her eyes scrutinizing.
Meng Ruochao replied calmly, "Just an ordinary family."
She had no intention of mentioning the Du family, as it had nothing to do with her.
The only money she could control was what she earned herself, so her "family background" was indeed ordinary.
"Oh? Ordinary? But you don't look ordinary, sister - in - law."
Shen Xinyin dragged out the words and smiled ambiguously, then continued to ask.
"What about you, sister - in - law? I heard you're very busy at work. Brother Qiubai even has to wait for the right time to ask you out."
There was an obvious sarcasm in her tone when she said "very busy".
"Yes, I have a small studio. I do fashion design."
Meng Ruochao remained concise.
"Fashion design? Oh, that really requires 'aesthetic sense' and 'talent'."
Shen Xinyin exaggeratedly exclaimed, but her eyes glanced at the seemingly simple but well - tailored and high - quality cheongsam on Meng Ruochao, implying something.
"But running your own business must be really hard, right? Unlike us, sometimes we're so idle that we can only go around and have fun."
She seemed to be complaining, but in fact, she was flaunting her social status and leisure.
Meng Ruochao just smiled faintly and didn't respond.
This level of showing off and belittling meant nothing to her.
Shen Xinyin felt as if she'd punched a pile of cotton, and she was even more annoyed.
Her eyes darted around, and suddenly, they fixed on the small and delicate velvet jewelry box beside Yan Qiubai's seat!
Obviously, it was the gift Yan Qiubai had prepared for Meng Ruochao.
Shen Xinyin's eyes lit up instantly, as if she'd discovered a huge secret.
She suddenly reached out and grabbed the box, deliberately shouting.
"Wow! Brother Qiubai, this is the gift you prepared for sister - in - law, right?
"Open it and let us take a look! Let us see how you make your new girlfriend happy!"
Without waiting for Yan Qiubai to stop her, she opened the box on her own initiative.
Inside was a dazzling diamond bracelet, exquisitely designed and extremely valuable.
"Wow! It's so beautiful!"
Shen Xinyin exclaimed. She picked up the bracelet, but her eyes glanced at Meng Ruochao, and her tone became sour and full of insinuations.
"Tsk tsk tsk, no wonder girls these days are all scrambling to get close to Brother Qiubai.
"It turns out there are really 'tangible' benefits to be had! Such generosity!"
These words were almost a blatant mockery, implying that Meng Ruochao was a "gold digger" who was after money and trying to climb up by being with Yan Qiubai!
The air in the private room instantly dropped to freezing point.
Even on Meng Ruochao's usually calm face, there finally appeared a crack, and her eyes turned cold.
Several of the childhood friends didn't even dare to breathe, embarrassed to the extreme and wishing they could disappear immediately.
Yan Qiubai's face was beyond just ugly; it was a sign of an impending storm. He suddenly slapped the table and was about to explode -
"Miss Shen."
A clear voice sounded calmly, interrupting the explosive atmosphere.
It was Meng Ruochao.
She raised her eyes and calmly looked at Shen Xinyin, who was holding the bracelet with a smug and provocative look on her face.
There was no expected shame or indignation, nor an angry retort.
There was even a hint of... pity in her eyes?
"First of all."
Meng Ruochao's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"This bracelet is very beautiful. Thank you for appreciating it.
"However, whether to accept this gift or not is a matter between Qiubai and me. It doesn't seem to concern anyone here."
Her tone was calm, but she firmly slapped back Shen Xinyin's over - stepping behavior, pointing out that her actions were impolite and unnecessary.
The smug look on Shen Xinyin's face froze for a moment.
Meng Ruochao continued, her eyes sweeping over the expensive, barely - touched dishes and drinks on the table.
"Secondly, regarding 'scrambling to get close' and 'tangible benefits'... It seems that Miss Shen has a lot of experience and can analyze it so clearly.
"However, with all due respect, the idea of measuring a relationship by material things or defining a person's value by wealth is really shallow.
"She tilted her head slightly, as if really puzzled.
"Is it that in Miss Shen's perception, there's nothing more precious in human relationships than calculating interests?
"What about respect? What about feelings?"