Chapter 191: Chapter 188: Two-Faced
Jin Jumo remained silent for a while, shook her head, and walked past her into the stylist room.
Jian Liangtong was momentarily stunned and was about to turn back when she saw Ying Jingyao coming out from the staircase.
Ying Jingyao also saw her, his handsome face slightly tense, nodding at her with no expression.
Jian Liangtong squinted her eyes, turned around, and walked into the stylist room.
As Jian Liangtong’s figure disappeared into the stylist room, Ruan Chen appeared from seemingly nowhere, standing next to Ying Jingyao.
Ying Jingyao glanced at him and asked coldly, "Give me a cigarette."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Chen was not surprised, he took out a cigarette and handed it to him.
Ying Jingyao skillfully held the cigarette between his two long, fair fingers, placing it between his thin lips, while Ruan Chen raised an eyebrow and, as if performing magic, a lighter appeared in his hand, lighting it for him.
Watching the thin smoke veil his graceful face with a layer of mystery, Ruan Chen finally spoke, lightly saying, "Smoking here, not afraid of your goddess seeing you?"
Ying Jingyao’s fingers holding the cigarette tightened slightly, squinting as he glanced in the direction of the stylist room, his tall figure ghost-like as it disappeared down the hallway.
With the sudden disappearance of the figure, Ruan Chen lowered his head, spun the lighter around his fingers for a couple of rounds before gripping it firmly in his palm, tucking it into his pocket, and walked leisurely toward the stylist room.
Ruan Chen returned to Vincen’s workspace, instructing Vincen to take care of Jian Liangtong and Jian Chenghao as well.
Jian Liangtong glared, staring intensely at Ruan Chen.
Ruan Chen smiled a good-natured smile at her, then slipped out of the stylist room again.
Strangely, although Vincen got along with Ying Jingyao as friends and always complied with Ying Jingyao’s requests, he would often argue back verbally.
Yet, once Ruan Chen opened his mouth, Vincen’s attitude turned respectful, nodding repeatedly as if afraid.
This reaction from Vincen made both Jin Jumo and Jian Liangtong frown doubtfully, watching Ruan Chen’s departing figure, a look of contemplation flashed in their eyes.
At a quarter past seven, they finally left the styling company.
At half past seven, a black stretch limousine stopped at the entrance of a high-end restaurant.
Ying Jingyao and Ruan Chen were the first to get out, standing like gentlemen on either side of the car door.
Jin Jumo, holding Xixi and Hanhan by her sides, walked to the car door. Ying Jingyao slightly bowed, his long arms wrapping around and carrying Xixi and Hanhan off the car.
Standing straight again, he extended a wide, fair hand to Jin Jumo.
Jin Jumo glanced at the restaurant, then slowly placed her hand in his palm.
Ying Jingyao immediately held on tight, leading her out.
Jian Liangtong and Jian Chenghao were at the back.
As soon as they reached the entrance, Ruan Chen came to meet them.
For some inexplicable reason, Jian Liangtong instinctively put on a defensive face upon seeing Ruan Chen, and after witnessing Vincen’s strange behavior towards him, her guard was raised even higher.
So as soon as she saw him, Jian Liangtong furrowed her brows, watched as he took Hao Hao out of the car, and then offered his hand to her.
Jian Liangtong clenched her fingers, lowered her head, deliberately ignoring his hand, and lifted the fluffy hem of her dress with both hands, stepping off the car by herself.
However, just as her foot hit the ground, Jian Liangtong suddenly tripped, tumbling forward awkwardly.
"Liang Tong!" Jin Jumo exclaimed, breaking away from Ying Jingyao’s hand to rush forward.
Ruan Chen was a step ahead of her, weaving his long arm through the air before Jian Liangtong fell, standing up with her horizontally in his arms, gazing at her panic-stricken face with amusement, his tone gentle, "Look at you, trying to show off, and ended up falling!"
"..." Jian Liangtong slightly opened her small mouth, taking a few deep breaths, furrowing her brows and looking at Ruan Chen in a delicate and shy manner.
All of a sudden, this man seemed incredibly frightening to her!
Clearly, he tripped her on purpose just now and thought she wouldn’t know?
Ruan Chen noticed the fear in her almond-shaped eyes, his smile deepening, flicking her pert nose with his long finger, "Dazed?"
"..." Jian Liangtong swallowed dryly, about to step back when abruptly, she felt something odd at her chest.
Her eyes widened dramatically, her ears turning red hot, as she glanced down at his arm resting across her chest, her thin body shivering fiercely twice, she fiercely pried his arm away, her dense lashes trembling with humiliation, glaring at him furiously, pressing her red lips together, and holding Jian Chenghao’s hand as they walked into the restaurant.
Vowing internally to stay far away from this hypocrite who was rotten to the core underneath!
Entering the banquet hall at half-past seven, most guests had already arrived.
Jin Jumo and her group walked in on the red carpet laid out from the entrance of the restaurant, immediately drawing the attention of everyone there.
Xixi, being young, was not scared seeing so many people looking at her, her big dark eyes observing curiously around.
Hanhan, facing so many people watching, also remained calm, with his small mouth slightly pursed, obediently standing by Jin Jumo’s side.
"Jingyao." A gentle voice came from within the crowd.
Ying Jingyao raised his brows slightly, watching a man and woman emerge from the crowd.
The man appeared to be in his fifties, yet his posture was tall and firm like a pine, dressed in a black business suit, with features somewhat akin to Ying Jingyao’s, showing faint delight on his face.
The woman looked a few years younger than the man, wearing a purple evening gown, her every move was elegant and graceful, with joy in her eyes and brows.
"Dad, Mom," Ying Jingyao called out.
Even though Jin Jumo was prepared in her heart, hearing Ying Jingyao call out "Dad and Mom" still made her brow twitch involuntarily.
Ying Yunheng patted his son on the shoulder with a smile, his gentle eyes, so similar to Ying Jingyao’s, unabashedly showed affection and pride.
Ying Jingyao tugged at the corner of his lips, his clear gaze turned towards Xu Ruyao who stood beside Ying Yunheng, "Mom."
Xu Ruyao nodded with a smile, looking somewhat eager, unable to wait to talk to Ying Jingyao, she looked tenderly at Xixi and Hanhan who were being held by Jin Jumo, "These must be Xixi and Hanhan?"
The two children were not shy, but since they didn’t know Xu Ruyao, their little faces were a bit puzzled, blinking their curious big eyes at Jin Jumo.
Jin Jumo pressed her lips together, softly saying, "Call her Grandma Ying."
"What Grandma Ying, just call me Grandma."
Saying so, Xu Ruyao didn’t mind her image anymore, squatting down she picked Xixi up, gently looking at Xixi, "Good girl Xixi, call Grandma."
Xixi looked at Jin Jumo.
Seeing this, Xu Ruyao also looked at Jin Jumo.
Not only Xu Ruyao, but also Ying Yunheng, Ying Jingyao, and the guests present all stared at Jin Jumo.
Jin Jumo glanced at Ying Jingyao.
Ying Jingyao slightly furrowed his brows, his eyes deep, staring at her.
Jin Jumo’s eyes flickered faintly, she gently nodded to Xixi.
"Grandma." Xixi then crisply called out.
"Hey." Xu Ruyao’s joyful voice could be heard almost throughout the entire venue.
"Xixi, I’m Grandpa, call me Grandpa." Ying Yunheng, unwilling to be lonely, also joined in.
Ye Xixi blinked, thought for a while, then quietly said, "Grandpa."
"Our Xixi is so good!" Ying Yunheng’s expression became prouder, reaching out to grab Xixi from Xu Ruyao’s arms.
Of course, Xu Ruyao was unwilling to give her up, shooting him a glare.
Ying Yunheng looked sheepish, his eyes drifting to Hanhan, his eyes lit up as he scooped Hanhan up, "Hanhan, Grandpa will hold you."
Seeing Ying Yunheng pick Hanhan up, Xu Ruyao pursed her lips with some resignation, if she could hold more than one, she would have wanted to snatch Hanhan over too.
"Wow, the kid in Chairman Ying’s arms looks more and more like Jingyao." Suddenly someone in the crowd burst out with this comment.
Jin Jumo’s brow slightly furrowed imperceptibly, turning to Ying Jingyao.
Ying Jingyao looked back at her warmly, his face gentle like a breeze, showing no displeasure or peculiarity because of this comment, instead appearing to enjoy it.
Seeing him like this, Jin Jumo should have felt happy, but for some reason, her heart felt incredibly heavy.
Upon hearing this, the smiles on Xu Ruyao and Ying Yunheng’s faces grew even deeper, refusing to let go of Xixi and Hanhan.
Seeing this, Ying Jingyao’s eyes showed traces of helplessness, looking at Ying Yunheng and Xu Ruyao, he said, "Mom, Dad, please take it easy, don’t scare the children."
"What are you talking about? Xixi is my granddaughter, how could I bear to scare her?" Xu Ruyao scolded, glaring at Ying Jingyao.
"Exactly," Ying Yunheng agreed.
Ying Jingyao curled his lips, looking softly at Jin Jumo.
Jin Jumo did not like crowded places, which made her feel oppressed, and the excessive enthusiasm Xu Ruyao and Ying Yunheng showed towards Xixi and Hanhan made Jin Jumo feel heavy; although she tried to keep a calm expression, her stiffness was still noticeable.
Ying Jingyao approached her, gently brushing the hair from her forehead, his voice soft and lingering, "I’ll go entertain the other guests, is it alright for you to be here alone?"
Although Xu Ruyao and Ying Yunheng focused most of their attention on the two children, Ying Jingyao’s actions didn’t escape their notice.
Hearing this, Xu Ruyao chuckled, teasing, "What? Do you think your dad and mom would eat your Xiao Xiao?"
Ying Jingyao raised an eyebrow, sliding a hand down from Jin Jumo’s arm to gently hold her hand, saying to Xu Ruyao, "Would you?"
"...You brat!"
Xu Ruyao froze, then quickly retorted angrily, "What do you take your parents for? Xiao Xiao has given our family both a son and daughter, she’s a great contributor to our family, I can’t cherish her enough, let alone give her any trouble!"
Upon hearing Xu Ruyao say this, Ying Jingyao smiled without speaking.
Ying Yunheng looked at Ying Jingyao with affection, "You can rest assured and do what you need to. I promise you that when you come back, your Xiao Xiao will be just fine."
"With Dad’s words, I’m reassured."
Without waiting for Xu Ruyao to retort, Ying Jingyao quickly said with a smile, under Xu Ruyao’s indignant glare, he squeezed Jin Jumo’s hand, turned, and went to entertain the guests.
As Ying Jingyao let go of her hand, Jin Jumo clenched her hand, glancing around from the corner of her eye but didn’t see Jian Liangtong who had come in with her; her water-clear eyes flashed with surprise, and just as she was about to look up to search, a warm hand clasped her clenched hand.