Nan Qiao arrived at the bar where Huo Siyu, Hou Ze, and Zheng Qinnian were already waiting at the door.
Huo Siyu was wearing shorts and a sleeveless top, sporting an explosive hairstyle. Nan Qiao couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the sight.
"Xiao Yu, what’s with your hair?"
"I’m trying to hide my face from my family in case they find me here. Even if someone sees me, they might not recognize me."
Hou Ze said, "Xiao Yu, I have to say, you’re really smart."
Huo Siyu raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Ah Ze, you’ve got good taste."
Hou Ze chuckled and leaned closer to Huo Siyu, "Xiao Yu, you still don’t know me well. I’ve always had an eye for quality."
Huo Siyu walked over to Nan Qiao, linked her arm, and headed inside, "Qiaoqiao, let’s go. Today, we won’t go home unless we’re drunk."
Zheng Qinnian followed closely behind, and Hou Ze eagerly tagged along.
Zhou Jingya and Liu Yanfang were sitting at home waiting for Zhou Hongqi to come back for dinner.
When Zhou Hongqi arrived, he also brought a gift for Zhou Jingya.
"Xiao Ya, this is a dress Daddy bought for you. Check it out—it’s from Huai Xi. You’ll definitely look good in it."
The reason Zhou Hongqi was suddenly so nice to Zhou Jingya was that he saw the paternity test report.
It stated that he and Zhou Jingya were father and daughter, guaranteed authentic.
Seeing this answer, Zhou Hongqi finally felt relieved.
Zhou Jingya felt a bit guilty but accepted the gift nonetheless.
Such a beautiful dress, she liked it!
"Thank you, Daddy. You must be tired, and here’s some soup Mom cooked especially for you. Please have a taste."
Zhou Jingya dutifully served Zhou Hongqi the soup and handed him the chopsticks.
Liu Yanfang also breathed a sigh of relief; fortunately, she had tampered with the results and bribed the doctor.
The three of them dined together, each with their own thoughts.
Zhou Hongqi said, "In a few days, there is a design competition. Xiao Ya, you have a talent for design. You should participate. Winning first place could drive the company’s development. Let’s seize this opportunity to launch the design. We’ll surely make a fortune."
Zhou Jingya was silent.
Her design talent wasn’t that great either. For this, she had even enrolled in a training class, but her level hadn’t improved.
Lacking design talent and a unique vision, Zhou Jingya felt stressed.
Now, Zhou Hongqi was actually asking her to participate in a design competition. Wasn’t this asking for her life?
"Daddy, I want to study," Zhou Jingya finally spoke.
Liu Yanfang also said, "Xiao Ya is still young. You are pushing her too hard. She’s young, let her focus on her studies for now."
Hearing this, Zhou Hongqi became even more furious and almost flipped the table.
"What books should she read? She couldn’t even pass the college entrance exam. What’s next? Can’t bribe our way to a spot either. I can’t lose face like that."
Zhou Jingya bowed her head, sobbing softly.
"It’s my fault. If I hadn’t been swapped at birth and had a good learning environment, I wouldn’t have performed so poorly..."
Upon hearing this, Liu Yanfang felt bitter.
"Zhou Hongqi, what do you mean? Are you looking down on Xiao Ya? Can you blame her for performing poorly? If she hadn’t been swapped at birth and lived with the Zhou family, receiving a better education, couldn’t she have made it to university? Xiao Ya would have been the top scorer in the national college entrance exam!"
Zhou Hongqi sneered, "Liu Yanfang, don’t you blush when you say that? When Nan Qiao was with us, did you enroll her in training classes? Did you pick her up from school or attend parent-teacher meetings? She always lived in the countryside and didn’t receive good education either!"
Zhou Jingya & Liu Yanfang were speechless.
The two women almost doubted if Zhou Hongqi was Nan Qiao’s biological father.
Liu Yanfang was furious, her expression sharp and caustic, as she fiercely scolded Zhou Hongqi, "Zhou Hongqi, Xiao Ya is your daughter. Why praise Nan Qiao? She’s the top scorer, but why don’t you say it’s because of her father’s intelligence? It’s your lack of intelligence that’s to blame, not Xiao Ya’s!"
Zhou Hongqi was silent.
What should have been a pleasant dinner turned into a battleground of insults.
Zhou Hongqi and Yanfang exchanged harsh words about each other’s parents, then started throwing punches.
Zhou Jingya tried to break up the fight, only to end up with two black eyes.
The servants hid in the kitchen, too frightened to come out, exchanging looks and sighing in dismay.
"Zhou Jingya just can’t measure up to Nan Qiao. She’s so bad at studying she has to repeat years, and even if she repeated ten times, she wouldn’t get into university."
"I even saw a guy with yellow hair looking for Zhou Jingya the other day. Considering her past, who knows how dirty her life was."
"The guy with yellow hair was all over her, and she just laughed and responded playfully. Neither of them is any good."
Huo Siyu was very excited today, his emotions running high, and he drank a lot until he was soon drunk.
When Nan Qiao tried to drink from a glass, a slender hand snatched it away, drained the beer, and then sat next to her, squeezing into her chair.
Nan Qiao smelled the familiar scent and knew Li Yehan had arrived.
Under the dim lighting, Nan Qiao saw Li Yehan’s perfect jawline.
His handsome eyes looked over, his arm sliding around Nan Qiao’s slender waist, "Drink less."
Huo Siyu instantly sobered up, "Who are you? How can you sit with Qiaoqiao?"
Huo Siyu came over, trying to pull Li Yehan away.
Li Yehan remained unmoved, his sharp gaze landing on Huo Siyu, "I’m her man."
Huo Siyu was baffled.
"That’s impossible, Qiaoqiao didn’t tell me she was seeing someone, you’re lying," Huo Siyu belched.
Hou Ze pulled her away, "Xiao Yu, you’re drunk. Let me take you to wash your face."
Hou Ze led Huo Siyu away while Zheng Qinnian just sat there, watching Li Yehan’s domineering actions.
Nan Qiao held her forehead, massaging her temples, "Li Yehan, why are you here?"
"I came to be your driver, just in case you drank too much. I can drive you home."
Nan Qiao, "I’m not drunk, you can go back first."
Li Yehan, "I’ll leave when you leave. If you’re not going, I’ll just sit here. Aren’t they your friends? It’s a good opportunity to introduce us. Qiaoqiao, you can’t keep leaving me without a title, right?"
A darkness crossed Zheng Qinnian’s eyes, "I’ll go check on Si Yu."
Zheng Qinnian walked away.
Nan Qiao pushed Li Yehan, "Move over a bit."
Instead, Li Yehan pulled her closer, "I’m not moving. We sit together."
Nan Qiao picked up a glass of wine and took a sip, but Li Yehan kissed her, taking all the cold wine into his mouth.
"I just wanted a sip of wine, Li Yehan, what are you doing?" Nan Qiao blushed, clearly embarrassed.
Unable to stay any longer, fearing he might do something more extreme,
she stood up, saw Zheng Qinnian returning, and said to him, "Ah Nian, I’m going home. Please let Xiao Yu and Ah Ze know."
Zheng Qinnian nodded, "Be careful."
As soon as Nan Qiao left, Li Yehan followed.
When Nan Qiao tried to get to her own car, Li Yehan scooped her up around the waist, "Get in my car."
Nan Qiao struggled desperately, "I won’t go, let me go."
Nan Qiao sat in the car, and Li Yehan quickly drove off.
The car sped toward Li Yehan’s house.