Fang Qian'an's face stiffened slightly as he said, "Yutong is on the phone and can't accompany Lulian. Siling came out to avoid making Lulian feel awkward."
"Is that so?" Ming Yuqian smiled. "Maybe it's my eyesight, but I feel Siling looks at Lulian differently."
Just like Ming Yutong, Ming Yuqian didn't like Ming Siling either.
His dislike was more straightforward.
He didn't even extend goodwill towards Ming Siling as Ming Yutong did at first.
From the beginning, he didn't like Ming Siling, but he didn't dislike her either. He just kept his distance when they didn't get along.
Upon meeting Ming Siling for the first time, he, as a man, felt that Ming Siling was insincere.
Her expressions and actions were too contrived.
Externally, Ming Yuqian had never liked such an affected woman like Ming Siling.
Such women had never been to his liking.
Even though there was now such a woman as his cousin, he kept his distance, managing not to dislike her.
Later on, Ming Yutong also saw through Ming Siling, so the siblings both didn't care for her much.
Perhaps Ming Siling's way of doing things was very liked by the elders.
The elders probably thought that after suffering so many years outside, and with such a gentle and weak character, they couldn't help but be a bit more affectionate.
Ming Yutong didn't get along with Ming Siling, so they didn't interact much.
But Ming Yuqian didn't give Ming Siling much face.
Especially seeing the way Ming Siling looked at Jiang Lulian just now.
Ming Yuqian sneered.
He knew Ming Yutong didn't like Jiang Lulian.
But not liking someone was one thing. Now the whole family was deliberately trying to match Ming Yutong with Jiang Lulian.
In this situation, Ming Siling was still trying to seduce Jiang Lulian. It was too disgusting.
Fang Qian'an forced a smile. "Because of Yutong's relationship, Siling has always seen Lulian as an older brother. You must have misunderstood."
Ming Yuqian smiled and said nothing more.
But such a reaction clearly showed his disagreement with Fang Qian'an's words.
***
Ming Yutong answered Little Jingshi's call softly, "Jingshi?"
"It's me, Tong Tong!" Little Jingshi was home alone, and Fu Yinxiu was busy with something.
He huddled on the sofa, which felt as wide as a small bed to him.
Next to his legs was a bag of potato chips, folded into a cylinder for easy access.
Chewing on potato chips, Little Jingshi asked, "Are you at home, Tong Tong?"
"No, I'm at my grandparents' house," Ming Yutong replied. "Are you at home?"
"Yeah, Dad went out," Little Jingshi said unhappily. "I wanted to come see you."
Ming Yutong immediately felt the impulse to leave and go find Little Jingshi.
Just as she was about to respond, Ming Yuqian burst in without even knocking. "Sis, guess what I saw outside? Ming Siling seems to be interested in Jiang Lulian—"
He didn't finish his sentence, suddenly quieting down as he noticed Ming Yutong was on the phone.
Ming Yutong gave him a helpless glance and covered the phone. "Can't you knock before coming in?"
"You're on the phone, aren't you?" Ming Yuqian sat down unceremoniously on the bed.
They each had their own rooms in the villa in Yu Garden.
The mansion was large, so during the Chinese New Year, everyone stayed here to celebrate together and naturally had their own rooms.
Even Ming Siling, after returning to the Ming family, had a bedroom here.
Ming Yuqian's voice was loud enough for Little Jingshi to hear clearly.
Suddenly, he stopped eating the potato chips, his heart breaking. "Tong Tong, are you... have you met each other's parents?"
Ming Yutong: "..."
What did that have to do with anything?
This child, at such a young age, where did he learn so many words?
"No," Ming Yutong had to explain, "he's... his family has a good relationship with ours, so they came."
Upon hearing this, Little Jingshi suddenly felt that his father's rival wasn't easy to deal with!
Wasn't that just a matter of getting closer to the moon?
"Tong Tong, even if... even if there's a huge age gap between us, you can't agree to him! Isn't there still my dad?" Little Jingshi suddenly said.
Ming Yutong was stunned. She hadn't expected Little Jingshi to suddenly bring up Fu Yinxiu.
Ming Yutong nervously gripped her phone, unsure of how to respond.
"Although Dad is a bit worse than me, after all, I think there aren't many people better than me. But Dad is definitely much better than Uncle Jiang!" Little Jingshi wanted to list some of Fu Yinxiu's advantages.
The soft, white hand that had been clenched into a fist extended a finger.
Another finger extended, indicating a bad temper.
Another finger extended, indicating always being absent from home.
Another finger...
Wait, he wanted to list Dad's advantages, but how could he list all his disadvantages!
"My dad... my dad looks better than Uncle Jiang." In the end, Little Jingshi found only this advantage.
Ming Yutong chuckled, knowing that this little guy probably couldn't find anything else positive to say.
But seven years ago, Fu Yinxiu's temper was worse, but he always restrained it around her.
If he made her cry, he would immediately comfort her.
He wouldn't say sweet words, but when she was bullied, he was always there for her, giving her endless security.
That man with the bad temper was always saying one thing and thinking another.
Once, she wanted to spend a romantic Valentine's Day with Fu Yinxiu.