Sitting at the dining table, Pei Ge had an elegant posture. The way she picked the dishes for the children was gentle. They were a happy family with a strict father and a loving mother.

  Qu Jingwan slowly brought herself to the dining table. Today, she would have her last meal in the Ji family. She was unwilling to leave no matter what, but upon hearing the last few words of Pei Ge, she had the thought of leaving.

  “Miss Qu, this is your favorite medium well steak; the nutritionist specially prepared it for you today.”


  Standing beside the missy, Auntie Zhang saw her smile at the steak and continued. “Have a try, and if you’re unhappy with it, I’ll get the nutritionist to cook you another one.”


  She did not speak. Ji Ziming was right beside her, and even if she was unsatisfied, she dared not speak her mind.

  Her lips curled as she awkwardly picked up the fork and knife. She placed a piece in her mouth. The taste was just nice; the nutritionist’s skills were exceptionally good.

  “No need, Auntie Zhang. I like it; help me thank the nutritionist.”


  She raised her brow as she looked at the man and the boy, who was sitting opposite of her. There was joy in her voice as she smiled. “Baby, do you want to try Auntie Jingwan’s beef?”


  She noticed then that only she was having western steak, while the rest had Chinese food. She was unsure if Pei Ge had purposely isolated her or she just did not belong to this family to begin with.

  “No need, Auntie Jingwan; you can have it yourself.”


  Ji Chi fed himself a spoonful of porridge; the fragrance from it made him happy.

  “This beef is very delicious, though.”


  Qu Jingwan did not give up. She wanted to use the boy to deal with Pei Ge but did not expect the mother-son pair to have gotten much closer after going overseas. Instead, her relationship with Ji Chi seemed to have become quite lukewarm.

  She could sense the deliberate alienation in the boy’s eyes.

  “Miss Qu, Ping An said that he doesn’t want it.”


  Pei Ge could no longer bear to hear further and spoke.

  Her pink lips were no worse than Qu Jingwan’s red lips, and in fact, they were better than the latter’s.

  “A-Alright, then.”


  She awkwardly picked up her utensils and cut another slice for herself. She rarely had steak in the Ji family and only ordered Auntie Zhang to make it when the couple was overseas.

  Alas, the old cook was only good at making Chinese dishes, so she threw the steak the latter had made into the bin straightaway. Although Auntie Zhang had been serving the Ji family for so long, she had never seen someone as brazen as her, who was even pickier and more demanding than her young master.

  It was more accurate to say that Qu Jingwan was deliberately making life difficult for her. She vainly attempted to find her role in the Ji family before she even married Ji Ziming and wanted all the helpers to follow her orders.

  Nevertheless, she had miscalculated because Auntie Zhang was not an idiot. Everything she had done was recorded by the old cook and sent to Pei Ge’s mailbox. Therefore, during the two’s discussion earlier, Pei Ge used this ‘evidence’ of her actions to make the lady leave the family.

  If the lady was unwilling to leave, she would have Madam Ji do so herself. Qu Jingwan knew how the older woman would react. If her actions were revealed, the annulment of her engagement with Ji Ziming would be a light punishment and the Qu Group faltering on the market would be a heavy punishment.

  After weighing her options, she promised Pei Ge that she would leave the next day.

  Even though it was a dishonorable departure, she promised to be back to tell this woman that she was the true mistress of this household.

  After having her dinner, she went upstairs without speaking to or looking at the man.

  Such a Ji Ziming terrified her because he was like a silent beast whom she could not tame the moment he got angry.

  That was because she had never been his opponent.

  Back in her room, she hurriedly called Old Lady Qu, but the latter did not pick up even after five missed calls.

  “What’s going on? Why isn’t grandma picking up?”


  Qu Jingwan muttered as she thought of how she should explain everything to her grandmother. After a night of waiting, she still did not get a return call from her grandmother. That was because the elderly woman was in the courtyard, speaking softly to her close aide, and could not be bothered with her granddaughter, who was far.

  “Are you certain that this news is true?”


  Old Lady Qu’s face darkened. She did not believe that the person whom she always ignored would do such a thing under her nose.

  “I’m certain, madam. I followed him myself and he did enter the Ji family.”


  The close aide had a confident look. He was trying to use this matter to ask for praise from her.

  “Very good. He actually went to investigate Pei Ge behind my back!”


  The elderly woman gripped the handkerchief in her hand, which was made of genuine silk and specially used by the British aristocrats. It was a limited edition with only two hundred pieces around the world, too.

  “Madam, why don’t I……”


  The close aide did an attacking motion as ruthlessness filled his face. He had always been hidden in the dark, helping in matters that could not be seen in daylight. Hence, there was a faint bloody aura around him.

  “No need. He’s after all the son of your Old Master. I’ll deal with him myself, and if there’s nothing else, you may go.”


  Old Lady Qu gave it a careful thought. Qu Xiujie merely went to the Ji family once. There was no need to beat the grass and frighten away the snake. What if that guy wanted to help her, though the probability was so low that even she would not believe it.

  “Okay, I’ll leave now.”


  The close aide walked to a dark corner in the courtyard, skillfully climbed over the wall, and left.

  Right at this instant, Old Master Qu entered and asked while feeling baffled, “My wife, who were you speaking to?”


  Old Lady Qu was frightened. She knew that it was too dangerous to speak to her close aide in the Qu family. Her husband had actually bumped into them.

  “Old master, who could I be talking to? Isn’t there just this magnolia tree? I’m telling it that you planted it for me; do you remember?”


  Her face appeared gentle; the earlier ruthlessness was nowhere to be seen.

  “I remember it.”


  The old man’s eyes narrowed as he looked at this tall tree. Upon her reminder, he recalled that it had indeed happened not long after he married this woman. She said that she liked magnolia trees, so he specially flew this tree here from far away.