Before going to the restaurant in the evening, Xu Tingyu changed into a knee-length, waist-cinching, sleeveless dress. She looked slender-waisted and long-legged, quite eye-catching.
Qi Shifeng leaned beside her, watching for a long time. The look in his eyes grew darker and darker.
Finally, he couldn't help but stride over. "This dress doesn't suit you. Change into that one."
He hardly ever interfered with Xu Tingyu's choice of clothing. So when she heard him say this, she really thought he didn't find it nice.
She also thought the color of this dress was a bit dull. So she twirled around in front of the mirror.
After thinking for a moment, she finally changed into the modified cheongsam Qi Shifeng had chosen.
This one was much more conservative than the previous one, but it made her waist look even more slender, as if she were a gentle beauty stepping out of an ink-wash painting.
Qi Shifeng lightly licked his back teeth. A flash of regret passed through his eyes, as if he was wavering about his decision to have her change clothes.
But since he was the one who had chosen the dress, it was obviously not good for him to take it back.
He could only step closer and closer until there was only a few centimeters of distance between them.
"I really want to hide you away," he murmured, bending down and getting close to her ear.
Xu Tingyu looked up and met his deep eyes.
They were filled with strong possessiveness.
She smiled, brushing past the corner of his lips. "Do you think I'm Thumbelina?"
After saying that, without waiting for his reaction, she turned around and walked away.
Qi Shifeng stayed where he was. The faint fragrance on her body still lingered in the air. He smiled.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Qi Ruixi had just arrived as well.
As soon as she saw Xu Tingyu, she was immediately dazzled. She quickly stepped forward and said with a smile, "Sister, you're so stunning today that you take my breath away."
She had also gone to watch Xu Tingyu's performance last time and had even brought her friends.
At that time, she and her friends had stared blankly at Xu Tingyu on the stage.
Afterwards, her friend had talked to her about it a lot, still full of admiration.
"Is this really your former sister-in-law? No wonder your brother still can't forget about her."
"If it were me, I'd never get divorced!"
"Going home every day to face such a beautiful face, all my anger would just disappear. I'd just want to be with my wife all the time."
Qi Ruixi felt extremely proud. At the same time, she was speechless about her brother's "failing to recognize a real treasure".
"My brother is blind. He missed out on such a wonderful sister-in-law, which is why he's still single until now. If I looked like my sister-in-law, I'd change partners every day."
Now seeing Xu Tingyu, she thought she looked even more beautiful than on the stage that day.
She seemed more glamorous and charming.
Xu Tingyu gave her a gentle smile. "You're just teasing me."
After saying that, she stuffed a small gift box into her palm. "This is a new product just launched by our company. It hasn't been on the market yet. I'll give it to you first."
Inside was a delicate ruby brooch with a Chinese-style design. It was dazzling and very appealing.
Qi Ruixi immediately thanked her. "Thank you, sister. I knew you loved me the most."
Xu Tingyu tapped the tip of her nose. "Of course I love you the most."
And as soon as Qi Ruixi turned around, she took out a big box from behind and said to Youyou, "Come and see the gift from your aunt."
It was a Lego racing car.
Youyou also liked her aunt very much. He immediately ran over. "Thank you, aunt."
Seeing the two of them go to play, Qi Shifeng immediately got closer to Xu Tingyu, lowered his head and said, "Don't smile at Qi Ye like that later."
Even Qi Ruixi was dazzled by her. What would happen if Qi Ye saw her?
Xu Tingyu knew that he would be jealous as soon as he encountered Qi Ye. She didn't plan to pay attention to him.
"You mind everything. Do you even care if people smile or not? Do you live by the sea?"
She secretly pinched him on the waist, glared at him, and then gracefully took her seat.
Qi Ye came the latest.
As soon as he entered the door, he apologized first. "Sorry. There was a traffic jam on the way. I'm late."
"We just arrived," Xu Tingyu knew that the three siblings were distant from each other. To prevent the atmosphere from becoming strange, she took the initiative to speak first. "Come and sit."
Qi Shifeng was sitting on her right hand side, playing with her fingers under the table.
Hearing this, he pinched her fingers gently but firmly, showing his protest.
Xu Tingyu remained calm and pretended not to notice.
And Qi Ruixi also politely greeted Qi Ye.
Youyou looked at him curiously. Only after Xu Tingyu's hint did he say, "Hello, uncle."
When Qi Ye saw Youyou, he smiled even more gently and kindly.
"Youyou has grown so tall. You look just like your mother."
As he said this, he took out a sandalwood box and put it in front of Youyou.
"This is a gift from your uncle. I've wanted to give it to you for a long time, but I never had the chance."
Since it was a gift from the elder uncle, there was no reason for Xu Tingyu and the others to refuse.
But Qi Ruixi had been watching for a long time. Suddenly, she asked curiously, "Brother, what you gave Youyou isn't the bracelet left by grandma, is it?"
Hearing this, Qi Shifeng, who was holding Xu Tingyu's hand, also paused.
Among the three Qi siblings, only Qi Ye had met their grandma.
She had been very ill when Qi Ye was one year old. On her deathbed, she had left a pair of bracelets from her dowry to Qi Ye.
"Give it to your granddaughter-in-law in the future."
When they were kids, Qi Ruixi and the others had seen the bracelets in the safe. They had a good luster and were really rare.
The most important thing was that they had a good meaning.
Qi Ye smiled. "Yes, it's the one left by grandma."
Seeing Qi Shifeng frown, he then explained.
"I've been hospitalized twice this year. I feel that I probably won't be able to get married and have children. So giving this bracelet to Youyou has the same meaning."
"And the one I gave to Youyou is just one. Ruixi, there's another one. I'll leave it to your child in the future."
"Our relationship as siblings is just so-so, but after all, we're blood siblings. I love your children as if they were my own."
Qi Ye was the eldest of the three. Whenever they were together, he always took good care of them.
Now hearing him say that he wasn't in good health, the other two were both stunned.
Especially Qi Shifeng. He frowned even tighter and said his first words after seeing Qi Ye.
"Haven't you assembled a medical team? Why do you still have such worries?"
No matter how bad their relationship was, they still couldn't seem to accept him saying such discouraging words.
As he had said, they were blood siblings after all.
Qi Ye smiled. "No matter how excellent a medical team is, they're not omnipotent. Of course, I'm not terminally ill. You don't have to worry about me."
The more he said this, the more uncomfortable it made people feel.
Qi Shifeng was more reserved. Qi Ruixi immediately said, "Brother, I don't want your bracelet. It's for your wife."
"When I get married and have a child in the future, you can buy something else for my child. My child won't fight with your wife for things."
Although she sounded very proud, there was actually a bit of moisture in her eyes when she spoke.
Yes, although the Qi family had many strange people, deep down in their hearts, they still craved family affection.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit heavy, Qi Ye said with a smile, "Come on, I was just joking. What are you all doing? Can't I decide to give away my own things?"
"Youyou, this is the gift from your uncle. Next time when you go to your uncle's place, you can pick whatever you like from the safe."