Another Day of Pretending for the Wealthy Couple - Chapter 23

Puppy? Little dog?

Did Ji Tanyuan name her dog “Little Dog”?

Ji Tanyuan hurried over and took the excitedly wriggling puppy from her cousin’s hands.

The floppy-eared dog barked and nuzzled vigorously against Ji Tanyuan. The beagle was beautiful, even as an adult, it retained the charm of its prime, with its brown and white fur.

“Mom missed you so much.”

In contrast, her cousin seemed somewhat numb. “I never want to raise a beagle again.”

Ji Tanyuan disagreed. “She’s very well-behaved.”

This cousin was Ji Quan, the youngest daughter of Ji Tanyuan’s third uncle. She had just turned 18 and was relatively close to Ji Tanyuan. Ji Quan glanced at Zhong Yan behind her and greeted him softly, “Brother-in-law.”

Zhong Yan gave a noncommittal hum, his eyes fixed on the dog, which was also staring back at him.

Ji Tanyuan held the dog, rubbing its ears as she introduced, “Puppy, this is… uh…”

“Your dad.” Zhong Yan finished for her.

Both Ji Tanyuan and Ji Quan looked up at him. Zhong Yan remained unfazed. “You’re her mom, so of course I’m the dad.”

The dog placed its front paws on the woman’s shoulders, unwilling to let go. Its round puppy eyes gazed at Zhong Yan, while Zhong Yan watched the gentle expression in Ji Tanyuan’s eyes.

Ji Quan observed the scene and thought how pleasing they looked together, like a dazzling, extravagant vision from a celestial palace.

So well-matched.

But little did she know that just moments ago, these two had nearly fallen out over conflicting interests.

Ji Tanyuan and Zhong Yan entered the second private room. As soon as they stepped in, the women inside turned to look at them.

Seated inside were Ji Tanyuan’s eldest aunt, second aunt, and her female cousins. Her third aunt and Ji Tanyuan’s mother were not present. The entire family was dressed in elegant, eye-catching attire. The eldest aunt, Tian Ruomei, smiled warmly and took Ji Tanyuan’s hand affectionately.

“Huanghuang, we’ve finally waited for you. We originally planned to sit at one table, but there wasn’t enough space, so we thought this arrangement would work just fine.”

Having spent ten years abroad, Ji Tanyuan was not particularly close to any of them except Ji Quan. She exchanged a few polite words with them.

There was no need to force familial bonds. Maintaining this level of decorum was more than enough.

Tian Ruomei held onto Ji Tanyuan and glanced at Zhong Yan. “Zhong Yan, why don’t you sit down and have something to eat?”

Ji Tanyuan declined, “No need, we just ate over there.”

“But A-Yan hasn’t eaten yet. Yingying, come and greet your brother-in-law.”

She then called over her own daughter.

“Hello, brother-in-law. I’m Ji Ying. We met last time, you can call me Yingying.” Ji Ying extended her hand toward Zhong Yan.

Ji Ying was Tian Ruomei’s eldest daughter, a year younger than Ji Tanyuan. In appearance, however, they were quite different. Ji Ying had double eyelids, a smiling mouth, a heart-shaped face, a refined nose, and elegantly contoured cheeks. Anything that wasn’t up to standard had been refined, all in an effort to embody the image of a noble lady.

She believed she was more suitable than Ji Tanyuan, with a better figure to boot. That was why Ji Ying had once volunteered for the arranged marriage but was turned down by the Zhong family, simply because she wasn’t Ji Qing’s daughter.

She couldn’t accept it. Just because Ji Tanyuan was Ji Qing’s daughter? Wasn’t she Ji Ting’s daughter as well?

Zhong Yan looked at the hand extended toward him but made no move to shake it. Instead, he took the dog leash and ruffled Ji Tanyuan’s hair. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

He had already lost patience with the chaotic dynamics of Ji Tanyuan’s family.

She truly had remarkable composure. He had initially thought she was just a clueless young lady, but now it seemed she was simply adept at enduring.

Ji Tanyuan gave a soft hum. Ji Ying, who had been ignored and felt a bit awkward, took the opportunity to save face: “Perfect timing, I’ll go outside for some fresh air.”

Seeing this, Ji Quan quickly intervened, grabbing Ji Ying’s arm. “Sister, don’t go. Wait until Tanyuan leaves, and I’ll accompany you for some air.”

Ji Ying clicked her tongue in annoyance, glanced at Ji Quan, and warned in a low voice, “Let go.”

Tian Ruomei patted her daughter’s back and scolded, “So impulsive.”

She then adjusted her shawl and waited until Zhong Yan had left before saying, “Huanghuang, you and your husband seem so distant.”

Ji Tanyuan hummed again. “There wasn’t much affection to begin with.”

She smiled at her aunt, but in front of others, she carried an air of a long-suffering wife. Tian Ruomei’s eyes flickered, and she gave her daughter a meaningful look. Ji Ying, catching her mother’s signal, stepped forward to console her: “Then you must be very lonely there. Let me come and keep you company.”

Ji Tanyuan ignored her remark. If the words fell flat, so be it, she had no obligation to respond with polite pleasantries.

She walked forward and sat at the table.

“Let’s get down to business.”

A shadow of resentment flickered across Tian Ruomei’s face as she comfortingly patted her daughter’s back.

Zhong Yan walked out with the dog in tow. The dog was surprisingly sociable, following him without hesitation, and seemed quite familiar with the surroundings.

When they reached the lobby on the first floor, Zhong Yan’s assistant, Liang Zhufu, was sitting on a sofa, seemingly engrossed in his phone but actually eavesdropping on the front desk staff.

Just moments earlier, he had informed Chu He that his “exile” was over. The man on the other end of the line had practically thanked him profusely through the phone. However, when he heard that his redemption task was to collect DNA samples from Ji Tanyuan’s family for testing, he was taken aback.

Chu He and Liang Zhufu were different. Liang Zhufu had worked hard for over 20 years in school to earn the right to work by Zhong Yan’s side, while Chu He had been his bodyguard and study companion since their early years. In workplace terms, Chu He was the loyal sidekick. When it came to understanding Zhong Yan, Liang Zhufu couldn’t match Chu He’s level of insight.

Upon hearing the task, Chu He fell into a rare silence before abruptly hanging up.

Liang Zhufu sighed. Though he came from a middle-class background, working for Zhong Yan had given him a front-row seat to the hidden dealings of the wealthy and political circles. Witnessing their lifestyles and endless schemes still left him astonished, there was always an invisible barrier between social classes.

As a result, he often reacted with surprise before thinking things through. Chu He, on the other hand, though not particularly sharp, had seen it all and was rarely fazed by anything.

Lost in his thoughts, Liang Zhufu overheard the front desk staff chatting: “Miss Ji came today. Should we inform the manager?”

Another young woman replied, “Are you stupid? Miss Ji is married now. She and the man upstairs missed their chance. What’s the point of saying anything?”

“She even brought her husband. Wouldn’t that just upset him?”

“You’re right. I always thought Miss Ji and he would end up together, they were such a perfect match. Who would’ve thought things would change so much? One married far away, the other transferred south.”

“Married far away, transferred south” Liang Zhufu, sitting with his back to the front desk, felt his expression stiffen.

“Exactly. They were so close back then, almost crossing that line. They even picked up a stray dog together. And now? The poor dog is left all alone.” another voice chimed in.

Another person chuckled, “You feel sorry for that dog? The outfit it’s wearing costs tens of thousands, that’s three months of your salary.”

“Enough, enough, we have a customer.” And with that, the conversation ended, leaving only Assistant Liang to speculate.

Assistant Liang was lost in thought when someone kicked him.

He looked up to see his boss staring down at him. Even as a straight man, he couldn’t deny how handsome his boss was, rugged yet refined, with distinct features. Under the lobby lights, dressed in a black shirt and black suit pants, he looked like a male model.

It made Assistant Liang feel a bit inadequate. Oh, wait, he was just a sidekick anyway.

He stood up to make room but tripped over something, followed by a dog’s bark, startling him. He looked down and couldn’t help exclaiming, “Holy crap, where did this dog come from?”

Zhong Yan clicked his tongue, “Whose else could it be? Ji Tanyuan’s. My son.”

Then he bent down to take a closer look, his long, pale fingers adjusting the puppy’s clothes. “It’s a daughter. Why hasn’t your mom gotten you spayed yet?”

Assistant Liang let out an “oh,” then froze in shock. The boss’s wife’s dog, he remembered the earlier conversation.

He looked at Zhong Yan, at a loss for words. You’re the stepdad here, calling her your daughter or son.

“Boss, which is harder to accept, emotional cheating or physical cheating?”

Your wife might have been one half of a star-crossed couple torn apart before marriage.

Just as Assistant Liang was lost in thought, he got slapped on the back of the head:

“Are you seriously grading shades of green on the cuckold scale?”