The Jing Family patriarch's eightieth birthday was attended by old friends, as well as their children, but that evening, the reunion of some old acquaintances was obviously not a pleasant one.
When Qin Haiming saw Qin Mu, his expression was as if his heart had been shot, his mouth opened but no words came out.
Mrs. Qin stood by the side, looking over Qin Mu: This girl looks so familiar.
"Is it just familiar? Qinqin, come over here."
Mu Yichen's voice was indifferent as he addressed Mrs. Qin, but then he turned and gently called the girl who was standing beside Helian Hao to come over to his side.
After the Jing Family patriarch came downstairs, everyone gathered around to wish him well. At this moment, he sat in the central main seat, and the others sat in their respective places according to their status and identity, with the younger generation, including Mu Yichen, standing.
But this made him all the more conspicuous.
Qin Mu lifted her eyes, which remained undisturbed by honor or disgrace, and looked at him, not wanting to go over, but Mu Yichen reached out and held her wrist, gently pulling her to his side, where he firmly held her shoulders.
Jing Qing's face turned an angry green, and her twin brother Jing Feng, who was a senior prosecutor, also had an unsightly expression.
The rest were incredulous at the sight, even the parents of Mu Yichen were stunned, completely clueless as to why their son was holding another girl's hand in front of his official girlfriend.
Little did they know that their precious son had already secretly registered for marriage with this girl they were no longer familiar with.
"Is this… Xiaomu?" The Jing Family patriarch finally deigned to raise his eyes and look at her properly, his brows furrowed with doubt that outweighed the distance in his voice.
"Grandfather, happy birthday, I wish you happiness and longevity," Qin Mu greeted politely and neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"Hm! I didn't expect you to have grown so much."
The old patriarch said to her, while Qin Haiming sneaked glances at her from the side, his brows also full of worry.
It was as if no one wished to see her there.
Qin Mingzhu stood behind her parents, watching everyone's attitude as they spoke to Qin Mu, and suddenly she remembered the childhood stories her mother told about her father having a daughter who was sent away. As she looked at Qin Mu, her heart suddenly leaped.
"Mom, is she that vile girl?"
Qin Mingzhu bent over to whisper in her mom's ear, her eyes filled with defense and resentment.
As if the girl opposite them shouldn't have come to this city, better off dead.
"Behave yourself, we'll talk about it when we get home," Mrs. Qin said in a low voice, soothing her daughter while slightly turning to face her.
"She's not here to steal my place, is she? Mom, I hate her, I hate her to death," Mingzhu said.
"Calm down."
Mrs. Qin seemed afraid her daughter would lose her temper as a spoiled young lady and hastily patted her daughter's hand on her shoulder to calm her.
The Mayor of Qin City slightly cleared his throat to signal to his wife and daughter to stop their antics, Mrs. Qin immediately sat up straight, and Qin Mingzhu also stood upright, but her gaze towards Qin Mu was filled with even more dissatisfaction and hatred.
Qin Mu only felt a piercing gaze on her and subconsciously looked back, meeting Qin Mingzhu's jealous eyes.
"Grandfather, I invited Xiaomu over this evening, so please don't be angry," Jing Qing went behind her grandfather, massaging his shoulders while speaking softly to him.
"I'm not angry, but even if we were to meet, there's a time and place for it," the old patriarch turned his head and looked affectionately at his granddaughter before frowning at the girl in front.
"I…"
"I have something else to do later, so I'll take my leave after wishing Grandpa a happy birthday,"
Just as Qin Mu was about to speak, Mu Yichen pre-empted her with those words. Qin Mu instinctively looked up at him.
"Yichen, don't be inappropriate," Jing Feng instinctively warned Mu Yichen.
"I'm fully aware of what's important. Let's go," Mu Yichen said coldly, glancing at the people diagonally across from him, then took Qin Mu's hand and started walking out.
Suddenly, several of the elders in the hall looked towards their retreating backs in shock, and the Jing Family patriarch was extremely frustrated.
"Please calm down, Grandfather. Yichen must have an emergency which is why he is hurrying off. I will make sure he comes to apologize and make amends tomorrow as soon as he has time," Mu Yichen's father immediately assured the patriarch.
"Hmph! What do I need his apologies for? If he doesn't know what he is doing, it is your duty as parents to remind him," the patriarch coldly said, his voice considerably chiller than before.
"Yes, yes, yes!"
"Grandpa, I already said Qin Mu was invited by me. What are you doing?" Jing Qing asked discontentedly, her face falling.
"Child, does your grandfather not know who you are? You've been with Yichen for so many years without any formal status. If you want to pursue him, do so without involving matchmakers. Fine, go ahead and chase him. But aren't you naively pushing him towards another girl?"
The words of the patriarch also reflected the thoughts of the other elders present. Jing Qing hung her head low and stopped talking.
"How could Qinqin be just another girl? We grew up together,—even though she was sent away later." Helian Hao began but was cut off by a glance from his mother, forcing him to shut up. Still, he looked resentfully at Qin Haiming's family.
"This girl is talking nonsense—what growing up together?" Helian Hao's mother said with a laugh, although somewhat tense.
Qin Haiming kept his head down and did not speak. The patriarch just snorted: Her mother was an ill-mannered woman, and it was not hard to imagine that she wouldn't be much better. The Mu Family had better remind that boy properly not to go astray.
"Ah!" Upon being singled out, Mu Yichen's mother lifted her eyes and quickly agreed, realizing what had been said.
As Qin Mu's biological father and once the husband of the disrespected woman who had passed away, Qin Haiming's gaze grew unfathomable when he heard these words.
Madam Qin watched her husband's every subtle expression: Perhaps that girl won't stay long once she returns. After all, this isn't her home.
Her words seemed to defuse the tension, but on closer listening, they hinted at something else.
The patriarch nodded, as if a huge weight slowly lifted from his heart.
Only when the birthday cake was brought in did the birthday banquet regain some semblance of cheer.
Qin Mu suddenly called for a stop on the way. When Mu Yichen stopped the car and looked outside following her gaze, he turned his attention out as well.
"Wait here for me, I need to buy something from the pharmacy."
He suddenly remembered the night when they first got intimate at the hotel; Zhao Huai had told him she went to buy emergency contraception on her own.
Subconsciously, he wondered if she had also gone to buy birth control on her own after that night more than two years ago?
He hadn't used a condom for the past several days. He really disliked wearing them, and each time he remembered only after penetration. Since they didn't have any at home, he went ahead without.
He had heard that taking birth control pills could cause significant harm to a woman's health...
Tonight...
She got back in the car: "We can go now."