âSo, has your son changed at all recently?â Jin Lan tried asking casually.
Chen Fanâs mother thought for a moment and replied, âChanged? Hmm, heâs been calling me more often. Seems like heâs finally maturing, learning to be filial.â
âOh, and what else?â
âWell, he bought a car, but it wasnât an expensive oneâjust a regular one for getting around. Heâs also stopped yelling at the housekeeper. I guess heâs grown up.â
Jin Lan almost blurted it out but felt something blocking her, making it impossible for her to say it. She didnât fully understand, but one thing was clear: some things were meant to be known but never spoken.
âDo you want me to make something special for you to eat?â
âNo need, anythingâs fine. Itâs been a while, letâs have some drinks tonight,â Chen Fanâs mother said, nodding in agreement.
Time passed slowly, and soon, the main guests started arriving one by one.
Chen Fanâs father, along with some of the familyâs relatives, arrived.
Members of Lin Qingyueâs family, along with some of their relatives, also showed up. Everyone gathered together, chatting with one another.
Lin Qingyueâs family was in real estate, a business that required close ties with certain government departments. In Qincheng, Jin Lan was in charge of many major affairs, so naturally, they wanted to establish a relationship with her.
As for Chen Fan, he politely handed out cigarettes to everyone and then stepped back, staying out of the way.
âWhen will Qingyue arrive?â
âSheâs already downstairs,â came the reply.
As soon as they spoke, the door opened, and Lin Qingyue entered, accompanied by a young man. The man had short, messy hair and dressed plainly, but wore a special ring on his hand. That ring was unique to Ye Aotian, the male lead, symbolizing his identity as the Dragon King.
Oh right, this guy also had tattoos and scarsâanother typical setup for novel protagonists. For some reason, the male leads in these stories are always designed like this.
In real life, this guy would be considered a thugâsomeone whoâs quick to fight.
Seeing Lin Qingyue, Chen Fan immediately stood up and began his performance.
âQingyue, long time no see. Youâve become even more beautiful.â
Chen Fan eagerly ran over.
Jin Lan, meanwhile, paused her conversation and quietly watched the scene unfold.
This should be one of the plot moments in the novel world where Chen Fan has to play his part.
She was growing more curious about what kind of novel world they were living in.
Lin Qingyue looked at Chen Fan and smiled coldly. âLong time no see.â
Her icy expression almost made Chen Fan burst out laughing internally.
As expected of the female leadâjust look at that disdain sheâs directing at the antagonist. Perfect.
âAnd who might this be?â Chen Fan asked.
âHeâs Ye Aotian, my boyfriend,â Lin Qingyue replied.
The room fell silent.
Jin Lan almost reached for some sunflower seeds to munch on. This ⦠this story was getting interesting.
Chen Fanâs father, Chen Tianqiang, let out a cold laugh. âLin Youfu, youâre quite bold, arenât you?â
Lin Youfu, Lin Qingyueâs father, turned pale and hurriedly stood up, apologizing, âIâm sorry, Iâm sorry. I had no idea this would happen.â
Chen Fanâs motherâs expression darkened as well. âThe Lin family owes us an explanation.â
Meanwhile, Lin Qingyue stood there calmly, saying nothing. Ye Aotian, however, spoke with pride, âItâs the modern era. Do you still believe in arranged marriages? Your daughter isnât a commodity to be traded. Is it worth it to exchange your daughterâs happiness for future benefits? I think Iâll be able to take good care of Qingyue.â
His words brought silence to the room.
Chen Fan sighed, taking a deep breath.
âAnd who do you think you are, some random guy? Why do you think you have any right to speak here? Qingyue, youâve always disliked me because you liked
, right? What did I ever do wrong? Iâve been waiting for you all this time.â
Chen Fan delivered his lines with great emotion, even wiping at his eyes.
Tears immediately welled up.
Chen Tianqiang, watching his son cry, felt a bit regretful. His son was too wrapped up in matters of the heart. If it werenât for Chen Fanâs feelings for Lin Qingyue, he wouldnât have bothered dealing with the Lin family. To Chen Tianqiang, the Lin family was of little importance.
Lin Qingyue, looking at Chen Fan, calmly replied, âBut I donât like you.â
âSo you like him instead? Whatâs so great about him?â Chen Fan shot back.
Jin Lan almost clapped. If she hadnât already known about the engagement cancellation, she might have been moved.
Chen Fanâs mother interjected, âLin Qingyue, watch your tone. Xiao Fan likes you; you should feel honored.â
Ye Aotian retorted, âHonored? My woman doesnât need anyoneâs approval.â
Chen Fan screamed, yelled, and roared in frustration.
At that moment, it was as if he were trying to tell everyone that he was a total simpâa loyal, miserable simp.
âYou donât deserve Qingyue. She belongs to me ⦠Sheâs only mine â¦â With that, he charged toward Ye Aotian.
, using only one percent of his strength.
At this point in the story, the male lead hadnât yet fully developed his powers or learned any ancient martial arts.
Ye Aotian wasnât intimidated, throwing a punch of his own.
The normal sequence of events: Chen Fan would take the punch to the face, get knocked down, and then wipe his nose. Afterward, Ye Aotian would whisk Lin Qingyue away, while Chen Fan would cry like a stray dog.
After all, the third chapter was the engagement breakup, and in the fourth and fifth chapters, he would be reduced to a heartbroken loser.
Lin Qingyue raised her hand to stop him and said, âItâs true, I donât like you. But I donât like him either. Heâs just someone I brought to pretend. Thereâs no need to overthink this. I, Lin Qingyue, donât need a man to give me a sense of security. Mom, Dad, Iâm leaving now. You all enjoy your meal.â
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