The video continued to play. Qin He sat in a corner as everyone watched Ji Xiangchen walk forward.
The original monitor audio was low, but after special processing, the voices became clearer.
"Hello."
Qin He looked up, her expression calm. "Hello, who are you?"
Ji Xiangchen then proceeded with his self-introduction, until Qin He sarcastically said she had sent all of his words to Shen Yilin, and Ji Xiangchen left in embarrassment.
Everyone present was sharp; by listening to their conversation and watching the footage, everything became clear.
This was a man from a humble background, trying to climb the social ladder by latching onto the Qin family's eldest daughter!
Instantly, all eyes turned to Ji Xiangchen with disdain.
Zhang Tingting felt as if her entire world had collapsed!
In her perception, Ji Xiangchen was the most outstanding man in the world.
To discover the truth was so different was a complete slap in her face!
Ji Xiangchen had no hint of arrogance in front of Qin He. His ambiguous tone and the expression on his face as he suggested taking photos in the garden made Zhang Tingting want to vomit!
Ji Xiangchen's face turned ashen, and he turned to leave!
But as he turned, he saw Gu Qichen standing behind him.
His feet suddenly felt rooted to the spot.
Qin He finished watching the entire scene and sighed softly.
It was best not to offend treacherous and cunning two-faced people like Ji Xiangchen.
However, she hadn't expected Madam Gu to stand up for her today.
Qin He's gaze shifted slightly towards her.
Madam Gu looked over with an air of arrogance. Upon meeting Qin He's eyes, her expression hardened.
Qin He smiled. "Thank you, Auntie."
Madam Gu seemed a bit surprised. After the divorce, Qin He had lost her memory and hadn't called her Auntie since.
This address seemed to bridge the gap between them. Madam Gu seized the opportunity, nodding, her voice softening slightly.
"This is the Gu family's banquet, naturally, you wouldn't be allowed to suffer any grievances."
Qin He smiled. "Where is Grandma Gu? I haven't seen her tonight."
"Your grandmother—" Madam Gu paused mid-sentence. "Qichen's grandmother isn't feeling well. She had an episode this afternoon and is resting in her bedroom upstairs."
Qin He nodded.
While the atmosphere here was harmonious, Zhang Tingting stood clutching her hands for a long moment before suddenly walking towards Qin He.
Seeing her aggressive approach, Qin He instinctively took a slight step back, on guard.
Unexpectedly, as Zhang Tingting approached, she bowed ninety degrees. "I'm sorry, Miss Qin. I misunderstood you just now!"
She didn't try to shift the blame onto Ji Xiangchen.
Qin He raised an eyebrow slightly. "Don't you think Ji Xiangchen is the one who caused this misunderstanding?"
Zhang Tingting shook her head. "Being deceived is my own foolishness. My foolishness is my fault!"
Qin He's impression of her improved slightly, and her tone softened. "I accept your apology."
The two then turned to look in Ji Xiangchen's direction.
He was scanning Yu Jing's QR code with his phone, paying for the phone.
Seeing the notification of ten thousand yuan received, Ji Xiangchen's heart bled.
He came from a poor family, and this ten thousand yuan was the sum he had painstakingly saved!
Gu Qichen certainly wasn't short of money for a phone. This payment was merely to make Ji Xiangchen pay some interest for his mistake.
It was not appropriate to handle the rest here.
After paying, Ji Xiangchen left in a hurry, gritting his teeth.
Madam Gu announced loudly, "Just a small interlude, it has been resolved. Please continue to enjoy yourselves."
The banquet hall regained its liveliness. Soon, Lu Mingxi and Xu Wanwan found them.
Xu Wanwan was anxious. "I just went to the garden and came back to hear people talking about your name. I knew something had happened, so I rushed over. What's going on? What happened here in the short time we were gone?"
Qin He smiled. "Nothing much."
Xu Wanwan's curiosity was insatiable, and she kept pestering Qin He with questions. Qin He finally recounted the incident with Ji Xiangchen that evening.
Lu Mingxi raised an eyebrow slightly. "There are still people like that nowadays? How embarrassing. If he's so ambitious, he might as well go work as an escort at Kalaya Club."
Xu Wanwan added sarcastically, "Kalaya Club only accepts honest escorts, not pretentious ones."
With Qin He's little interlude, throughout the rest of the banquet, people kept casting glances at Qin He and her belly.
The Qin family's eldest daughter was pregnant, but who was the father?
Attendees speculated, and some close acquaintances whispered amongst themselves.
Some guessed it was Gu Qichen's, while others speculated it was Lu Mingxi's.
Qin He had originally asked Lu Mingxi to be the child's fake father solely to deceive Gu Qichen, and had not made this public.
But today, everyone had noticed... Qin He sighed inwardly.
The banquet ended, and Xu Wanwan had drunk quite a bit again.
Standing at the entrance of the Gu residence, Qin He instructed Lu Mingxi to take Xu Wanwan home.
Ming Xue was now on very good terms with Gu Ranran and begged to stay at the Gu residence for the night.
It was Gu Ranran's birthday today, and the Gu residence was indeed very safe, so Qin He agreed.
Ming Xue went to find Gu Ranran at the Gu residence, and Lu Mingxi, pulling Xu Wanwan along, reluctantly departed.
Soon, Qin He was alone in front of the old Gu family mansion.
She waited at the door for a while, and then Di Shishi arrived.
"Let's go, Miss Qin."
The two got into the car. Di Shishi sat in the driver's seat. "Let's go home."
...
In the Gu family's hall.
Madam Gu stood by the window, watching Qin He's car slowly drive away.
The guests from the banquet had all left, and now only she and Gu Qichen remained in the hall.
Madam Gu placed her wine glass on the windowsill and sighed.
"Qichen, perhaps I was wrong before. I had a great misunderstanding of Qin He."
Gu Qichen didn't know why his mother's attitude had suddenly changed.
"Why do you say that?"
"Actually, Qin He was quite good before. Looking back now, she was probably sincere towards you. At that time, I disliked her mainly because of her profession and personality. I always felt it was too inauspicious."
"But now, I think Qin He has a kind heart. She saved me when I was harmed by Song Nuan. And I always felt she wasn't good enough for you. I didn't know she was such an outstanding surgeon before. If I had known, I might have treated her better back then—"
Gu Qichen initially listened to Madam Gu without much thought.
But when Madam Gu mentioned Qin He being an excellent surgeon, he looked up abruptly!
"What surgeon?!"
Madam Gu looked surprised. "I thought you knew. You didn't?"
"Know what?"
Madam Gu's eyes widened as she recounted how she had seen Qin He at the hospital a few days ago and heard others call her Professor Harlan.
After speaking, she also expressed her bewilderment. "Qin He really kept it well hidden. It seems you truly didn't know!"