Chapter 96: Holding his arm in public Chapter 96: Holding his arm in public Wen Zhi leaned against the railing, lazily watching the scene below, “The Xie Weiyue I met that day was very dominant toward her sister.”

Meng Fan had an ‘I told you so’ expression, “She’s just good at hiding it; otherwise, why would her sister, born from the same mother and feared by no one at home, be afraid of her alone?!”

Wen Zhi recalled the moment when Xie Weiyue arrived, and the terrified look on Xie Jinyi’s face.

It wasn’t just fear but also terror.

“Zhizhi, look, look—”

Wen Zhi’s arm was tapped by Meng Fan, snapping her back to reality, and she followed the direction Meng Fan was pointing.

She saw Xie Weiyue had gone a step further, affectionately hooking her arm into Shang Hexing’s.

But the next second, Xie Weiyue let go, her face adorned with a natural smile, graceful and proper.

The people nearby showed an understanding look.

Meng Fan asked Wen Zhi, “Can you read Xie Weiyue’s lip movements?”

Wen Zhi had already figured it out, drawing a quick breath, “She said to Mr. Shang, ‘When I was young, they bullied me, and I loved to hide beside you because you were the only one who would protect me.'”

After hearing this, Meng Fan clucked his tongue twice, “That’s justice for Uncle, he wouldn’t allow bullying under his watch, but now Xie Weiyue turns it into something ambiguous, haha.”

Wen Zhi stayed silent and said nothing.

Meng Fan didn’t notice Wen Zhi’s change in mood, continuing on, “Although I don’t like her, that doesn’t prevent the elders from liking her a lot. Since childhood, I’ve always heard the elders hold Xie Weiyue up as an example. I have to admit, she really is impeccable in every way. Uncle might actually marry her.”

All of a sudden, Wen Zhi turned and went inside.

Meng Fan noticed Wen Zhi had left and quickly followed her, “Zhizhi, why do you look so down?”

Wen Zhi said, “It’s a bit stuffy in here, I want to find a place to get some fresh air.”

“But the banquet is about to start,” Meng Fan said.

Wen Zhi seemed to snap back to the moment, “Oh, that’s right, then let’s go in and find a place to sit.”

Meng Fan was puzzled, she hadn’t noticed at first, but now she increasingly felt that Wen Zhi was troubled.

Was it related to Liang Yin?

It didn’t appear so.

Could it be…

Meng Fan suddenly grabbed Wen Zhi’s hand, asking earnestly, “Zhizhi, tell me the truth, are you unhappy because you saw Xie Weiyue with Uncle?”

Suddenly having her concerns guessed, Wen Zhi instinctively denied it, “You’re imagining things, it’s not that.”

Meng Fan preferred to trust his intuition, “I think that’s exactly it.”

Wen Zhi glanced at Meng Fan.

Meng Fan joked teasingly, “I know you too well, plus you did mention some things in front of me a while back, about planting trees and such…”

Wen Zhi was disinterested in continuing that topic, “Those are incidental matters, I’ve almost forgotten about them already.”

“You haven’t forgotten what I told you on our day in Lailin City, did you?” Meng Fan asked.

Wen Zhi couldn’t remember for a moment and took a while to recollect.

—Uncle seems a bit interested in you.

—I worry that you will be at a disadvantage with him, following in his steps could be exhausting.

—Zhizhi, I hope you find a man who will revolve around you and only have eyes for you.

The words Meng Fan had spoken then resurfaced in her mind, clearer and clearer, reminding Wen Zhi of the purpose of their trip to Lailin City.

“Zhizhi, I think Liang Yin is actually quite good.”

No sooner had Meng Fan finished speaking than Liang Yin came walking over from the opposite direction, precisely hearing Meng Fan’s comment.

“Are you praising me?” Liang Yin asked, flattered.

Meng Fan rolled his eyes at him, “You heard wrong.”

Liang Yin’s laughter was especially unrestrained, and he promptly asked Wen Zhi, “Zhizhi, you’re the closest, did I really hear wrong?”

“Is ‘Zhizhi’ for you to call?” Meng Fan was clearly annoyed.

“You can’t control that,” Liang Yin came to Wen Zhi’s side.

Wen Zhi looked at Liang Yin, her expression somewhat dreamy as she said, “You heard right, you’re pretty good.”

Liang Yin was momentarily stunned, joy bursting from his chest so much that he momentarily forgot how to react.

Wen Zhi, seeing his somewhat silly demeanor, smiled lightly and said, “Let’s go.”

Liang Yin snapped back to reality, his joy unhidden, “Okay.”

–

The seating arrangement at tonight’s banquet was meticulously planned.

Most of the gentlemen came with their families, and everyone had their pre-assigned seats. No one could sit in the wrong seat or just anywhere.

As usual, Meng Fan sat next to Rong Huaishen, and Wen Zhi next to Liang Yin.

On the other side, Xie Weiyue and Shang Hexing’s seats were together.

Wen Zhi wasn’t actually looking in that direction, but Liang Yin suddenly mentioned near her ear, “I didn’t expect Xie Weiyue to come tonight either. Second Brother and Xie Weiyue still look a perfect match as always.”

Wen Zhi pretended not to hear and just focused on the dishes on the table that could rival a state banquet.

After the banquet.

Mrs. Tan came over to invite the ladies to play cards. Those who didn’t want to play could go downstairs to dance or sing. The arrangements were very diverse.

Liang Yin, with his collar open, holding an unlit cigarette, asked Wen Zhi, “Do you play cards?”

Wen Zhi, absent-mindedly, “I have bad luck.”

Liang Yin smiled, “My luck is good.”

Wen Zhi glanced at the card table, “It looks like they are short one player, you go ahead.”

Liang Yin took the cigarette from his mouth and tucked it behind his ear, stood up with a smirk, and pulled Wen Zhi up, “Come over and watch my cards.”

Wen Zhi actually wanted to leave; she was already feeling restless, but she knew she couldn’t kill the mood in such a setting, so she went along.

Liang Yin had her sit next to him.

“Yo, Xiaoyin is here, and this must be your girlfriend?” asked a distinguished lady sitting on his left.

Liang Yin, with a hooked lip, casually replied, “Mrs. Jiang, you are mistaken, she is my friend.”

The lady known as Mrs. Jiang showed an ‘I understand’ expression, then hurried him to arrange his tiles.

Wen Zhi, the subject of their misunderstanding, seemed not to care either, quietly sitting by his side, though her thoughts were elsewhere.

The sound of mahjong tiles clashing was very crisp.

After three rounds, Liang Yin proved that his luck was indeed good, playing a lively game with both eating and declaring a ‘Kong.’

Mrs. Jiang and another Mrs. Luo took turns scolding him jokingly.

Liang Yin playfully replied, “Luck is on my side, she passed it to me.”

Wen Zhi pursed her lips and remained silent.

Just then, Meng Fan came over, and upon seeing Wen Zhi sitting next to Liang Yin watching him play, immediately pulled her away, “There you are, we are one short on our side, come join us.”

Wen Zhi wasn’t in the mood, “I’m not really in the spirit, afraid I’ll dampen your fun, you guys play.”

“It’s just for fun, come on, come on,” Meng Fan dragged Wen Zhi away.

Liang Yin watched as Wen Zhi was pulled away by Meng Fan, just smiled and lowered his head, continuing with his hand, planning to join them after finishing this round.

On the other side.

Meng Fan pulled Wen Zhi to sit down, Meng Fan on her left, Rong Huaishen on her right, and a gentleman opposite them.

The gentleman unhappily remarked, “Isn’t it odd for a couple to sit at the same table?”

Meng Fan domineeringly replied, “Are you playing or not?”

“Play, play, let’s arrange the tiles,” the gentleman also knew it was rare to gather a table, it was just for fun after all, and the stakes weren’t high.

Wen Zhi was amused by Meng Fan’s domineering attitude and began arranging tiles.

At that moment, an extra chair appeared beside her, and someone sat down by her side.

She thought it was Liang Yin who had come over, so she didn’t think much of it and didn’t turn to look, until she noticed something off about Meng Fan’s look.