Lu Yan arched his hands, looking even more solemn than before. "This is my wife and the young mistress of the Lu family."
At this moment, Ning Anmiao also looked calm and composed, with red lips and white teeth, and her posture was equally proper and gentle. "Hello, Mr. Lin. I'm Ning Anmiao. You can just call me Miaomiao."
Ning Anmiao?
Mr. Lin rolled his eyes. The name seemed vaguely familiar.
There weren't many people with the surname Ning in the circle. A shrewd and deep - scheming junior like Lu Yan surely wouldn't make a mistake in choosing his spouse.
Could it be that this Ning Anmiao was...
"Are you the daughter of the master of traditional Chinese studies, Mr. Ning Zhijing?" Mr. Lin suddenly exclaimed, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at her in disbelief.
As soon as he said this, the whole room fell silent for a moment.
Ning Anmiao smiled faintly and nodded calmly. "Yes. I didn't expect you to recognize me."
When they saw Lu Yan enter with such a graceful woman just now, everyone had guessed that she had an extraordinary identity. But they never expected it to be so prestigious.
No wonder she stood out from the crowd as soon as she entered.
The rest of them were just pretending to be elegant in the social scene, while Miaomiao exuded true elegance from within.
"Oh my! I never thought that the inheritor of Mr. Ning's bloodline would attend my business banquet full of the smell of money. I have no regrets in my old age!"
Hearing this, Ning Anmiao frowned imperceptibly.
She disliked this kind of affected elegance.
Lu Yan naturally noticed this and gently pressed the back of her hand. The moderate pressure signaled her to calm down.
"Sir, besides recognizing the eldest young master, what are your expectations for your upcoming grandchild?"
With just a few words, Lu Yan shifted the topic to something else.
Mr. Lin was a smart man. Just as he was about to follow Lu Yan's lead, he saw Lin Chuluo and Jiang Xixi sitting beside him, who had remained silent all this time.
"Chuluo, bring Xixi over to meet the guests." Mr. Lin cleared his throat and his voice deepened. "Mr. Lu and Miss Ning are our honored guests. We should receive them well."
Hearing Mr. Lin's voice, Jiang Xixi gently pushed Lin Chuluo. "Husband, Dad is calling us."
Lin Chuluo remained silent, his eyes still fixed on Jiang Xixi's fingers.
He had heard that one could tell the gender of the unborn child by looking at the length of the pregnant woman's fingers and the lines on her palm. He didn't know if it was true or not.
After today, he must take Jiang Xixi for an amniocentesis...
"Lin Chuluo! Come here now!" Just as Lin Chuluo was lost in thought, a loud and angry command came from the center of the hall.
It made Lin Chuluo look up immediately.
Making a fool of himself in such a situation would be extremely embarrassing.
Jiang Xixi pleaded in a low voice. "Let's go quickly. Dad will get angry if we keep this up."
Lin Chuluo frowned.
He quickly regained his composure. Almost instantly, he suppressed the gloom in his eyes and replaced it with a gentle look. He took good care of Jiang Xixi and slowly walked up to Mr. Lin.
"Dad, Xixi is pregnant. Don't be so impatient." Lin Chuluo's expression remained gentle, as if the previous gloom had never existed.
Mr. Lin cared about his reputation. Since Lin Chuluo had come over, he didn't dwell on his rudeness just now. He pointed at Lu Yan beside him. "Young Master Lu is here. As the host, you should say a few words to welcome him."
"As for Xixi, women should just let the nanny take care of them."
His words were full of casualness towards women.
Hearing this, Ning Anmiao felt even more uncomfortable.
She couldn't imagine how a pampered princess like Jiang Xixi, who usually carried herself so proudly, could tolerate Mr. Lin's tone.
But unexpectedly, Jiang Xixi remained calm. Instead, she pushed Lin Chuluo's arm, signaling him to go ahead. "I'll just sit over there by myself. You don't need to worry about me."
She was so considerate that it was unlike her.
Ning Anmiao was surprised but didn't show it. She just buried her doubts deep in her heart.
Jiang Xixi had changed.
But she wasn't happy.
As Lin Chuluo walked over step by step, Lu Yan lazily raised his eyebrows, looking calm and emotionless. "Congratulations, Young Master Lin."
Lu Yan's eyes were sharp. Standing tall in the center of the hall, although he was a guest, he exuded an air of oppression.
This simple "congratulations" was too plain, without any emotion, more like a formality. But Lin Chuluo still had to respond reluctantly. "Thank you, Mr. Lu. I also wish Mr. Lu good things will come soon."
These words were insincere.
Lin Chuluo didn't want to say them at all.
He wished he could just kick Lu Yan out and get rid of all the sycophants and hypocrites in this villa.
But he couldn't.
Mr. Lin was still undecided. Any impulsive act on his part might change the final outcome.
He hated.
Lin Chuluo hated his father, and he hated Zhou Si who had suddenly appeared even more. He hated everyone who had taken away everything he had originally owned.
Especially Lu Yan.
He hated Lu Yan even more than this half - brother who had suddenly appeared.
Lin Chuluo had been brought up in luxury and was raised as the heir of the Lin family. He was supposed to be the center of attention and expectation, and this had indeed been the case for more than a decade.
It wasn't until he met Lu Yan in college.
Lu Yan didn't have a good family background or a strong backer. He had become the focus of everyone on campus just by his studies and abilities. Lin Chuluo thought it was unfair.
How could someone from a single - parent family be better than him, the young master of the Lin family who had received top - notch education since childhood?
So he had an idea and gradually got closer to Lu Yan and became his friend. They joined the basketball club together, and their relationship grew closer because of club activities.
But all of this fell apart when Ning Anmiao told Lin Chuluo that she had fallen in love with Lu Yan.
Lu Yan, Lu Yan, Lu Yan! It was always Lu Yan!
"Mr. Lin?" Lu Yan cleared his throat and gave him a half - smiling look.
That look seemed to say -
Give up. You can't beat me.
...
The hall was really boring. Ning Anmiao didn't like this kind of atmosphere in the first place. Seeing Lu Yan socializing with others at the venue, she greeted him and decided to take a walk around the villa.
Lu Yan was right. Mr. Lin was indeed a person who affected elegance. The plants outside were planted in an extremely elegant way, with unique and lush colors.
Ning Anmiao stood on the gravel path and felt much better.
Just then, she suddenly saw someone sitting behind the pavilion. His back looked very familiar, as if he was an acquaintance.
Curious, she walked over step by step to take a look at his face.
Just then, the person turned around first.