CHAPTER 628: CHAPTER 545 HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE

Li Si and Leng Ning might have arrived early. After walking around the venue, they still didn’t see Yin Xuan or Jin Yichen.

Unexpectedly, Li Si bumped into Liu Manlian! She warmly greeted Li Si and revealed that she came with her older brother.

"Li Si! Let me introduce you. This is my big brother Ruotong’s uncle, Liu Yuanqing!"

This older brother was, in fact, the owner of the club where they had dinner the other day.

He was a well-maintained middle-aged man—no beer belly, no balding—a remarkably sharp and energetic individual.

He exchanged polite pleasantries with Li Si, coming across as neither irritating nor overly eager.

After Li Si warmly greeted him, she quickly pulled Leng Ning away.

Once Li Si left, Liu Yuanqing remarked, "I really didn’t expect you to have such connections with her! Make good use of this. You’ve been wanting to start that luxury goods store, haven’t you? Building a relationship with her will absolutely give you a boost!

From what I’ve heard, she runs a beauty club and has extensive connections!"

"But, big brother, you know my family’s situation. He opposes me handling this matter, afraid it’ll have bad repercussions!"

Liu Manlian hesitated, torn.

"How about this: we partner up, each investing half the capital. If anything crops up, I’ll take responsibility!"

"What about my sister-in-law?" She didn’t want to stir up trouble.

"I’ll take care of it! Don’t worry!"

Li Si and Leng Ning finally spotted the tardy Jin Yichen and Yin Xuan.

Jin Yichen was dressed in a sleek black tuxedo, looking dashing and refined. Beside him, Yin Xuan wore a delicate black dress, appearing dainty and lovable.

It wasn’t just Leng Ning’s expression that turned sour upon seeing them.

Even Li Si thought that, if she didn’t know Jin Yichen and Leng Ning were a couple, she might perceive them as a perfectly matched pair through an outsider’s eyes.

Jin Yichen noticed Leng Ning and Li Si, immediately leaving Yin Xuan behind and striding quickly toward Leng Ning.

After nodding at Li Si, he softly asked Leng Ning, "Why are you here?"

Leng Ning glanced at Yin Xuan, who had followed him, then turned to him with biting sarcasm: "Someone invited me here! Wasn’t it Yin Xuan?"

She wasn’t the type to bottle up her feelings silently, like characters in novels.

She wanted Jin Yichen to understand exactly what was going on.

Jin Yichen turned back to Yin Xuan in astonishment, demanding, "Yin Xuan! What’s going on?"

Hadn’t she asked him for help?

She claimed the organizer of today’s banquet was pursuing her, leaving her no choice but to attend, and she was worried about an awkward situation arising. Hence, she called him for assistance.

She assured him that with someone present, nobody would dare act improperly.

But Jin Yichen, fearing Leng Ning would get upset, had used a vague excuse instead of explaining the full story.

Yin Xuan smiled openly, "How could that be! I didn’t do anything like that. Miss Leng, are we perhaps dealing with some kind of misunderstanding here?"

Li Si gave Yin Xuan a dubious look. Her demeanor didn’t seem fake, but it was equally impossible that Leng Ning was imagining things.

What exactly was happening?

Jin Yichen studied the expressions of the two women before finally turning to Leng Ning. "Xiao Ning! How exactly did you find out?"

Li Si felt a sharp pain in her arm as Leng Ning held onto it tightly. That’s when she knew that Jin Yichen’s question had hurt Leng Ning.

Li Si glared at Jin Yichen reproachfully, "What do you mean by that! Are you suggesting Xiao Ning could be lying?"

This time, Li Si wouldn’t take his side. It was infuriating!

Leng Ning felt a pang of heartache. So he would rather trust Yin Xuan than her?

With a mocking smile, she pulled out her phone from her small handbag and showed him the text message sent by Yin Xuan.

"Take a look! This is the message Yin Xuan sent me!"

Without this message, she wouldn’t have learned that her supposedly committed boyfriend had attended a banquet with another woman—the very woman she had always felt uneasy about.

Was he trying to humiliate her in front of everyone? Was he being duplicitous, or did he simply not care about her feelings?

Li Si carefully observed Yin Xuan’s reaction. Upon hearing mention of a text message, her face remained full of puzzlement.

What was going on? Was her acting really impeccable, or was there some hidden truth?

Jin Yichen solemnly took the phone. Upon reading the message, he froze.

It was indeed Yin Xuan’s number, and the contents read: "I’m Yin Xuan. I’ll be attending a banquet with Yichen. If you’re free, you’re welcome to join!"

Li Si grasped Leng Ning’s hand to calm her down.

Leng Ning maintained her mocking smile, "Do you see it clearly? This text message couldn’t possibly be forged by me, right?"

She straightened her posture and quietly observed Jin Yichen’s facial expressions, along with Yin Xuan’s persistent calmness.

Jin Yichen handed back the phone to Leng Ning, hastily explaining, "Xiao Ning! Please don’t get mad. Let me explain later, alright?"

He truly hadn’t anticipated things spiraling to this point.

Leng Ning laughed faintly, "Alright! I’ll be waiting!"

Despite the pain in her heart, she forced herself to stay strong and composed.

After all, it was just a man.

Jin Yichen glanced at Yin Xuan in disappointment, "Yin Xuan, why would you act this way?"

She clearly knew he was about to get engaged to Leng Ning. They had always treated each other as siblings, and he never thought she would harbor feelings like this.

But now, her actions were plainly attempting to create conflict between him and Leng Ning.

Yin Xuan protested tearfully, "Yichen, what do you mean by that? Don’t I know myself if I did or didn’t send a text? I’ve never sent her any message!"

Jin Yichen’s disappointment deepened, "But it’s your phone number. Should we have Xiao Ning call it to confirm?"

"Impossible! I’d know if I did anything!"

Yin Xuan hurriedly pulled out her phone, checking her sent messages. Finally, she discovered a sent text in her outbox!

Her face changed drastically! What was going on?

The expressions of the others revealed they understood clearly. The text had indeed been sent from her phone.

Whether she sent it herself—who could say?

Yin Xuan anxiously grabbed Jin Yichen’s arm, "Yichen, let me explain! I truly don’t know anything about this! Think about it, I managed to ask you to join me for this banquet—how could I possibly tell Miss Leng about it?"

Jin Yichen shook off her hand in frustration, "Actions speak louder than words! Yin Xuan, you’ve let me down!"

Saying so, he grabbed Leng Ning’s hand, "Xiao Ning! Let’s go!"

Leng Ning tried to shake his hand off, but she couldn’t. Seeing the anger on his face, she quietly followed him.

Li Si trailed closely behind, deciding to let them talk while she asked the driver to take her home.

Just as she reached the door, she bumped into Tian Yaruo and Yan Xuefeng!

The three stared at each other in brief surprise. Li Si had no intention of talking to Tian Yaruo, but Tian Yaruo quickly intercepted her. "Li Si! I’d like a word with you!"

"I don’t have time!" Ahead, Jin Yichen and Leng Ning were walking rapidly. In the brief exchange, the two had already left through the front entrance. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to recommend or vote for it. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)