Song Baiyan came to the Lai Family without informing them in advance.
Upon hearing that the guest outside was named Ji, Lai Wenyan immediately stood up.
This morning, the Song Family came to discuss marriage, and now, upon hearing the surname Ji, Lai Wenyan instinctively thought of the chief guard beside Song Baiyan.
What Lai Wenyan thought of, Ouyang Qian also thought of.
However, the couple had different thoughts.
On such a late night, Tan Palace even sent someone; how much importance are they placing on this marriage?!
Ouyang Qian tightly gripped the fruit knife she was using to peel a piece of fruit.
As for Lai Wenyan, he had already left the living room to greet the guest.
Not long after, a servant hurried back in to inform Old Madam Lai and Ouyang Qian and her daughter that a distinguished guest from Tan Palace had arrived, and Lai Wenyan asked his youngest daughter to avoid the meeting.
"Who from Tan Palace?" Lai Yuaner didn’t understand.
Ouyang Qian’s expression changed slightly, and she took her daughter’s hand to lead her upstairs.
Once upstairs, and back in the bedroom, Ouyang Qian explained to her daughter, "If my guess is correct, Song Baiyan himself has come."
Lai Yuaner tightened her grip on her mother’s hand.
Ouyang Qian walked to the bedroom’s balcony.
Sure enough —
At this moment, more than one car was parked outside the Lai Family’s gates.
If it truly was Song Baiyan, as the hostess, Ouyang Qian had to go downstairs to entertain him.
Actually, Lai Yuaner also wanted to go down.
She wanted to know why Song Baiyan had come to the Lai Family.
Even though she had realized that she had been played by Song Jingtian for several days, she still held an indescribable feeling for Song Baiyan in her heart. She even faintly hoped that if Song Baiyan saw her, he might change the person involved in the marriage proposal.
However, Ouyang Qian insisted that she stay in the room.
When Ouyang Qian went downstairs, she indeed saw Song Baiyan in the living room.
Ji Ming was standing right behind Song Baiyan.
At this time, Old Madam Lai was politely chatting: "A few days ago, I went to Tan Palace to invite Mrs. Song to our house. We’ve been eagerly waiting for Mrs. Song, but we’ve ended up welcoming you instead!"
Even though Old Madam Lai was older, she didn’t dare act superior in front of Song Baiyan: "Speaking of which, Old Madam Bai visited this morning, and there were still areas we didn’t entertain her properly."
Everyone present knew why Song Baiyan had come.
He certainly wasn’t just out for a night stroll.
— A stroll that brought him to the Lai Family.
So, Lai Wenyan called a servant and instructed her to bring Tang Li downstairs.
After giving these instructions, Lai Wenyan turned back, saying, "Ah Li had dinner with friends tonight and hasn’t been back for long."
Song Baiyan listened without showing any sign of agreement or disagreement.
He then closed the lid on the white porcelain cup, his eyes gentle: "Coming unannounced like this, it’s my intrusion."
Song Baiyan visiting in person was considered an honor for the Lai Family.
On the night of the marriage proposal, Song Baiyan lowering himself to visit showed his fondness for Tang Li.
Although Lai Wenyan wasn’t quite sure where this fondness came from, he assumed it was a man’s innate flaw, just like him—didn’t he also like young girls at this age?
Despite his high position and authority, Song Baiyan was ultimately just an ordinary man.
Therefore, when Lai Wenyan caught a glimpse of Tang Li from the corner of his eye, he immediately urged, "Your Excellency is here, and you’re not going to greet him?"
As his words fell, everyone in the living room turned towards the stairs.
Tang Li had no choice but to continue walking down.
On the sofa, Song Baiyan put down his teacup and looked at her with deep eyes, the warmth in his gaze momentarily blanking her mind.
In front of the Lai Family, Tang Li couldn’t appear too familiar with Song Baiyan.
As she stepped into the living room, she did not immediately speak.
Instead, it was Song Baiyan who spoke first: "Since Ah Li is downstairs, I would like to speak with her privately about the marriage."