Qin Qing led Zhou Linlin in a spin across the dance floor. His masterful skill made Zhou Linlin feel like a butterfly dancing on his fingertips. When he released her, she spun out involuntarily. When he pulled her back, she fluttered back into his arms. It wasn’t dancing; it was controlled flight, light and joyful.
“Qin Qing, Zhou Yourou calls you a country bumpkin behind your back, but I think you’re a born aristocrat.” Zhou Linlin whispered in awe.
Qin Qing looked down at her and smiled: “Tonight, I’m just a flower.”
“Huh?” Zhou Linlin was confused.
Qin Qing laughed softly, his voice full of gentle comfort: “A flower to adorn your crown.”
Zhou Linlin took a moment to understand. She looked around and indeed saw many people gazing at her with envy; men and women, young and old, all captivated. Being so intimately accompanied and danced with by Qin Qing must be many people’s dream. Yet this fascinating man said he wanted to be her flower. In a daze, she felt as if she was truly wearing a crown of pure gold, entwined with blooming flowers. Zhou Linlin unconsciously straightened her back, showing a proud smile. The self-esteem and confidence that had been broken by her parents’ rejection seemed to be slowly returning. But her smile froze instantly. She saw Cang Ming. He was standing at the edge of the dance floor, holding two glasses of whiskey, his hawk-like gaze fixed on them, and coldness spread in an instant.
Zhou Linlin’s flushed face turned pale. She patted Qin Qing’s arm and asked, “Did you offend President Cang? He’s looking at us.”
Qin Qing glanced back and saw Cang Ming raise the two glasses in a gesture. The piano piece ended, and the couples on the dance floor slowly dispersed. Qin Qing took Zhou Linlin’s hand and walked over to Cang Ming.
“Who is she?” Cang Ming handed one glass to Qin Qing but didn’t offer the other to the lady.
He never followed conventional etiquette.
“She’s my sister.”
A waiter passed by, and Qin Qing took a glass of champagne from the tray and handed it to Zhou Linlin, easing her tension and embarrassment. She looked at Cang Ming and Qin Qing with wide eyes, feeling that the two standing together created an unexpectedly harmonious atmosphere.
“Sister? Aren’t you an only child?” Cang Ming asked in a low voice. He completely ignored Qin Zishi, who had also been raised in the Qin family.
Zhou Linlin quickly looked away, smiling gleefully. It seemed Qin Zishi didn’t even exist in President Cang’s eyes. He really was just borrowing the tiger’s might!
“She and Zhou Yourou are cousins. Zhou Yourou is my cousin, so she’s like a sister to me too.” Qin Qing explained.
Cang Ming nodded understandingly, his cold, dark eyes softening involuntarily. Just then, a man in a bright red suit walked into the banquet hall, looking around. He had a delicate, feminine appearance, a slender figure, and hair slicked back with so much gel it gleamed. Many people were drawn to his flamboyant outfit. Zhou Linlin also saw him. Her smiling face suddenly turned dark and fierce.
“My boyfriend is here,” she said in a low voice.
Qin Qing turned to look. “He’s the one who sold you that knockoff pink dress as authentic?”
“Sold, not gave. I paid him four hundred fifty thousand.” Zhou Linlin ground her teeth. “He was also my stylist. All those tacky looks I used to have were his doing.”
Qin Qing frowned, beginning to understand. But something even more surprising happened. The red-suited man saw Zhou Linlin but didn’t approach her. Instead, he walked toward Zhou Yourou. The two clinked glasses and smiled knowingly. They were clearly familiar with each other. Zhou Yourou took a slow sip of champagne, raised an eyebrow, and shot a mocking look at Zhou Linlin. Zhou Linlin clenched her fists, ready to charge over, but Qin Qing held her shoulder, stopping her.
“Damn Zhou Yourou. That man was her pawn. They set me up together.” Zhou Linlin was nearly in tears.
“Don’t be impulsive. Zhou Yourou is deliberately provoking you.” Qin Qing soothed.
Just as he finished speaking, a middle-aged wealthy businessman with a large belly walked over and put his arm around the red-suited man’s waist. The red-suited man smiled in surprise and, ignoring everyone around, kissed the businessman passionately on the mouth. Zhou Yourou raised her glass to Zhou Linlin from across the room, then took out her phone and sent a message. Zhou Linlin immediately pulled out her phone and looked at it. Her face turned pale.
[Your boyfriend is actually just a male prostitute. Surprised? By the way, I suggest you get a checkup. You might have caught something nasty.]
Every word on the screen was laced with venom. Zhou Linlin looked up at Zhou Yourou, her eyes red. Zhou Yourou raised her glass again in a toast, then laughed coquettishly. Once this eyesore was destroyed, she would once again be the little princess of the Zhou family’s first branch. Next, she would do the same to Qin Qing.
996 emerged from a corner with a piece of steak in its mouth, ran to Qin Qing’s feet, and sighed: “Damn, isn’t Zhou Yourou supposed to be the white lotus supporting female? Why is she more vicious than Zhou Linlin, the evil supporting female?”
Qin Qing ignored 996 and whispered to Zhou Linlin: “Don’t go over there and argue with her. That’s exactly what she wants. She’s hoping your outburst will expose your relationship with that man, ruining your reputation. Just let it go.”
He reached out and gently patted Zhou Linlin’s back.
Zhou Linlin gritted her teeth and sobbed: “How can I let this go? Being gay is so disgusting. Why don’t they just die?”
“This isn’t about being gay. It’s about character. I’m gay too.” Qin Qing came out casually.
“What?” Zhou Linlin’s attention was successfully diverted. The tears threatening to spill were held back.
“I like men.” Qin Qing stated clearly.
Zhou Linlin was stunned for a moment, then apologized hastily: “Oh, I’m sorry. I said the wrong thing. Liking men or women is fine. What I meant to curse was the trash who deceives others’ feelings.”
Cang Ming, who had been standing by indifferently, now fixed his gaze on Qin Qing. The whiskey in his mouth suddenly felt hotter.
996 swallowed the steak in one gulp and shamelessly said, “Since we’re on the subject, Qin Qing, why don’t you just confess to Cang Ming? He’s a man too.”
Qin Qing: “…”
Cang Ming drained his glass of whiskey in one gulp, his dark eyes slightly hazy.
Qin Qing glanced quickly at Cang Ming and silently asked, “What equation is there between me liking men and me liking Cang Ming?”
Cang Ming raised his glass to drink again but found it empty. His Adam’s apple rolled, as if suppressing some unspoken desire. He handed the empty glass to a passing waiter, his whiskey-warmed eyes now completely focused on Qin Qing. But Qin Qing was looking down at 996.
996 smiled sheepishly, then said excitedly, “How about this: I’ll teach Zhou Yourou a lesson for you, and you follow the plot for me? Zhou Linlin is like a benefactor to you; you should help her, right?”
Before Qin Qing could react, 996 had already darted to Zhou Yourou’s side, leaped up, and smacked her arm with its paw.
“Ah!” Zhou Yourou, who was sipping red wine, cried out in surprise.
Pale red wine dripped down her head and onto her white gown, staining her chest. Everyone turned to look at her, smirking contemptuously. How could someone be so clumsy as to spill a drink all over herself?
“Pfft!” Zhou Linlin quickly covered her mouth.
Qin Qing rubbed his forehead and sighed. Cang Ming took a fresh glass of whiskey and sipped it as he waited. Zhou Yourou, utterly humiliated, gathered her dress and headed for the restroom outside the hall. 996 stuck out its little leg and tripped her. Zhou Yourou screamed and fell near the long table laden with refreshments. The corner of the white tablecloth fell in front of her. 996 reached out and tugged the tablecloth. With a crash, the tablecloth slid off, sending plates of food crashing down on Zhou Yourou’s head. Zhou Yourou covered her head and screamed for help, her voice nearly breaking. But to onlookers, it looked like she had grabbed the tablecloth when she fell, causing the entire mess.
“Who is that?” a guest asked.
“I think she’s Zhou Guohua’s niece,” someone answered.
“Oh, the one Zhou Guohua raised like a daughter?”
“Yes, that’s her.”
“Can’t even walk properly, let alone drink.”
“Where’s Zhou Guohua? Someone get him to take her away.”
“Zhou Guohua, Zhou Guohua…”
People kept calling for Zhou Linlin’s father. He walked over with a dark expression, but instead of helping Zhou Yourou himself, he called two attendants to do it. Zhou Yourou, helped up by the attendants, tearfully called out “Uncle,” but received not the usual gentle comfort, only a cold, disgusted reprimand: “Shut up and get out.”
“Songyun, come help her.” Zhou Guohua ordered his wife.
Zhou Linlin’s mother had no choice but to lead the messy Zhou Yourou away, her face filled with embarrassment. After taking two steps, Zhou Yourou seemed to remember something and looked back. She assumed Cang Ming wouldn’t care about such things, but to her surprise, he was watching with deep, dark eyes. This meant that all her humiliating moments had been witnessed by the person she cared about most. After a stunned moment, Zhou Yourou felt the world spin.
Her face flushed, then turned pale. Without thinking, she screamed, “Someone pushed me just now, that’s why I fell. It was Zhou Linlin. She’s getting revenge on me.”
Zhou Linlin, minding her own business: “…Damn it.”
Zhou Linlin, about to charge over, was pulled back by Qin Qing. He patted her back gently, looked at Zhou Yourou, and said helplessly, “If saying that makes you feel better, fine, let’s say Zhou Linlin did it. You’re all dirty, go clean up.”
Zhou Linlin quickly caught on and pretended to shout angrily: “Qin Qing, why are you defending her? You all saw it. I didn’t push her. Why does everyone believe her every time she throws mud on me? I’m straightforward, but I’m not as sneaky as her. You’re all so unfair.”
As the words left her mouth, a wave of sorrow hit her. Zhou Linlin’s eyes reddened, tears spilling involuntarily. She was truly wronged.
Qin Qing half-embraced her, patting her back: “Don’t make a scene. Just let her have this. Can’t you see she’s already upset?”
“Fine, I admit it. I pushed her. I admit it. Are you satisfied now?” Zhou Linlin shouted, then buried her face in Qin Qing’s shoulder and sobbed quietly.
Everyone watched this drama unfold. Whether Zhou Linlin actually pushed Zhou Yourou was clear to all. From that distance, Zhou Yourou had managed to pin the blame on Zhou Linlin, and from Zhou Linlin’s words, this wasn’t the first time. Hadn’t they fought at a banquet before? At the time, everyone thought Zhou Linlin was crude and arrogant, but now the truth seemed more complicated. Many glanced at Zhou Linlin’s parents with meaningful looks. Zhou Guohua and his wife stood frozen. If they hadn’t witnessed it themselves, they wouldn’t have believed that the niece they treated like a daughter would use such a vile lie to frame their daughter.
Sensing everyone’s suspicion, Zhou Yourou didn’t back down. Instead, she screamed even more angrily: “What do you mean ‘you admit it’? Even if you didn’t push me yourself, you must have bribed a waiter to do it. I want to see the surveillance footage. I’ll prove my innocence.”
What surveillance footage? No one had even been near Zhou Yourou. She had fallen on her own. Wasn’t she just lying through her teeth?
People whispered and chuckled mockingly. Just then, Cang Ming raised his arm. Everyone looked at him, including Zhou Yourou.
“Take her away. She’s too noisy.” A cold, indifferent, slightly annoyed voice rang out.
The event organizer quickly stepped forward to apologize, then personally escorted Zhou Yourou out. He appeared gentle but was essentially dragging her out by force. Being seen in such a state by the man she secretly loved, and being rejected, Zhou Yourou burst into tears.
She struggled and shouted back at Cang Ming: “President Cang, someone really pushed me. Check the surveillance footage. It was Zhou Linlin framing me. Go check.”
The doors slammed shut, cutting off the piercing cries. The organizer hurried back in, wiping his hands with a towel, and said awkwardly, “Please continue, everyone. A small interruption, now over.”
But the guests remained standing, not saying anything but visibly displeased. The organizer smiled even more awkwardly, bowing and apologizing to everyone. Zhou Linlin’s father, still in the banquet hall, wished he could crawl into a hole. He was extremely image-conscious, which was why he had thought his countryside-raised daughter was beneath him. But after tonight, he would probably never think that way again. The hall remained in awkward silence. The organizer broke out in a cold sweat. Then Cang Ming gestured to a nearby waiter. The waiter walked over and handed him a glass of whiskey.
He took a sip and said calmly, “Continue.”
Just three simple words, carrying an unyielding authority. The eerie atmosphere in the banquet hall came alive again. The piano began playing, guests smiled elegantly and happily, and the sounds of conversation, clinking glasses, and dancing feet filled the air. That was Cang Ming’s influence. Most of the time he was silent, but whenever he wanted, he could easily control everything around him. The organizer hurried toward Cang Ming to thank him but was stopped by a single glance. Zhou Linlin’s father also walked over.
Cang Ming stared at Zhou Linlin, who was leaning against Qin Qing, and said coldly, “Your father is coming.”
Zhou Linlin quickly looked up, then ran behind Cang Ming to hide. Her father dared not come closer. He looked embarrassed and guilty, sighed softly, and silently walked away.
996 slipped back to Qin Qing, patting its chest: “How was that? Impressive?”
Qin Qing took a deep breath: “…Impressive.”
Zhou Linlin hid behind Cang Ming, laughing uncontrollably. That was so thrilling. What was wrong with Zhou Yourou? Had she lost her mind?
996 grabbed Qin Qing’s leg and urged anxiously: “I helped you. Now it’s your turn to help me. Say ‘I like you’ to Cang Ming.”
Qin Qing looked at Cang Ming. Cang Ming downed a glass of whiskey, handed the glass to a waiter, and stared back, his dark eyes unwavering. The hot, burning liquid bathed his racing heart.
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gingerbread On LC chapter 2