“Come here, Tangtang!” Qin Man waved at Yao Tang. This was the first time she had addressed the girl by a nickname.
“Hurry and explain yourself. Tell this young man about your relationship with President Zhang. Don’t toy with his feelings and end whatever you have between you while it’s still early.”
She shot a warning look at Yao Tang.
“Given your family’s current situation, President Zhang is the best choice for your marriage partner. You know this, too, don’t you? You’d better break up with this man right here, right now. He might treat you well, but I can tell that he has no plans to marry you. Not that I blame him, since you’re just a nobody from the countryside.”
Qin Man crossed her arms over her chest and spoke like a wise elder.
“You should count yourself lucky that someone like President Zhang was willing to take a chance on you. Heed my advice, okay? You’re young, so you have no idea how cruel the world is to people like you. Stop being selfish and think of your family. They need your help.”
Yao Tang raised an eyebrow and slowly shook her head. “I already told you, didn’t I? If you want that marriage so much, you can go ahead and marry President Zhang yourself.”
Her offhanded comment enraged Qin Man anew.
“You impudent child! Stop talking nonsense. No matter what, I am still your aunt. Did no one ever teach you to respect your elders? Look at you, already tugging at multiple men at such an early age. Do you not care about your reputation at all?”
Yao Tang opened her mouth to retort, but Cheng Yan pulled her behind him before she could get a word out.
“My relationship with Yao Tang has nothing to do with you,” he declared.
“I do wonder, though, just who do you think you are? Do you honestly think you are in a position to criticize me right to my face?”
Cheng Yan scowled, and Qin Man took an involuntary step back.
“You… I… Of course, as Yao Tang’s aunt, it is my responsibility to guide her properly, so she wouldn’t destroy her future. I don’t expect someone like you to understand.”
She sniffed haughtily before looking at Yao Tang. “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m doing this for your own good? Why are you being so stubborn?”
Qin Man made it sound like she was scolding an errant junior who had strayed from the path much too many times.
But Yao Tang could see through her act. The woman was just as batshit crazy as she had always been, if not more.
Just then, another person came through the door and joined them.
“With all due respect, Aunt, Tangtang is my sister. You should worry about your own family’s affairs before you meddle with ours.”
Everyone turned to the source of the voice, even as the newcomer continued to speak. “In fact, you should focus more on Cousin Yao Ran instead of constantly sabotaging Tangtang like this. You should start plotting constructively, don’t you think?”
Everyone watched as Yao Yan sauntered over and stopped in front of Qin Man. He tilted his head and smirked at her.
“After all, you know as well as I do that Cousin Yao Ran is not as good-looking as Tangtang, nor is she as intelligent and talented as my sister.”
As it happened, Yao Yan was just as glib-tongued as Qin Man, and he could certainly hold his own against her when it came to manipulating the conversation.
Qin Man blinked at him, and was about to say something when Yao Yan whirled around to address somebody else.
“Cousin Yao Ran. Since you’ve been here all this time, why don’t you come over and have a chat with us?”
Qin Man’s eyes widened in shock, and she followed the direction of Yao Yan’s gaze.
Sure enough, Yao Ran was sitting in a table across the room.
‘This girl… She never told me she was coming here!’
Qin Man did recall mentioning the name of the café to her daughter before she had set out this morning, but she had never expected this development.
A strange feeling began to surge in her heart.
Yao Ran couldn’t have done this on purpose… Right?
Meanwhile, Yao Ran was momentarily frozen in shock as everybody’s attention fell on her, she quickly composed herself.
Left without a choice, she stood up and greeted her so-called relatives.
“Hello, Mom, Cousin Yan, Sister Tang.”
She pasted the most amiable smile she could muster on her face and told herself to remain calm.
It was then that Qin Man spotted Yang Nian sharing a table with Yao Ran.
She eased the discomfort in her heart and forced a smile of her own.
“Ah, Ranran. So you and your friends were here, too,” she said, though her eyes were trained on Yang Nian.
“That’s right,” Yao Ran nodded and walked over to them. “We saw that you were busy with… things, so we thought it best not to disturb you. But I did send you a message.”
