"Tone it down a bit, Dad might see you soon."
Jing Zeqian couldn't care less. He had just seen that Dad was too busy to pay attention to him right now.
Recalling Lin Ruiqing's expression earlier, Jing Zeqian sidled up to his brother, eyes full of gossip.
"Bro, how long do you think it'll take Dad to appease Mom this time?"
This was their go-to entertainment whenever Jing Beicheng upset Lin Ruiqing. They would guess how long it would take their father to make amends.
Jing Zeyou glanced up at him. Nearly thirty years old, yet still so childish in behavior.
"One hour."
Might as well take the money offered.
Jing Zeqian didn't agree with this answer. An hour seemed too long for Dad; it surely underestimated the experience he had accumulated over the years.
His almond-shaped eyes glinted with mischief as his thin lips curled into a smirk. He held up two fingers to Jing Zeyou.
"Half an hour, twenty thousand."
Mom didn't look too upset today. Given Dad's skills, he could sort it out in half an hour.
Jing Zeyou raised an eyebrow and upped the stakes.
"Twenty thousand? That's too little. I'm more interested in your share of profits from that movie you invested in last time."
Jing Zeqian's eyes widened as he suddenly sat up straight, his earlier nonchalance gone.
"Bro, that's too harsh!"
In the past, this had just been a little game between brothers, so the amounts were never large. But this time, Jing Zeyou clearly wanted to teach him a lesson.
"Not playing?"
"...Fine! Then I want a share of Hengjing's profits from that software development last time!" Who's afraid of whom? Let's see who can play harder!
Jing Zeyou shrugged indifferently, not caring what his brother wanted. He was confident he'd win anyway.
He was certain that their parents wouldn't come down within the hour.
Upstairs, Jing Beicheng followed Lin Ruiqing into the bedroom.
Lin Ruiqing sat on the sofa, her face expressionless.
Jing Beicheng slowly walked over to sit beside her, but she immediately moved away.
She seemed extremely upset.
Jing Beicheng cleared his throat, pondering how to start appeasing her.
"Why did you have to mention the banquet in front of Jing Yi?"
Lin Ruiqing couldn't help but question him. This matter could have been discussed slowly, but there was no need to give the girl such a harsh welcome on her first day at home.
What truly angered her was that her husband would use such tactics on a girl in her early twenties.
Even if it was for their own daughter.
Jing Beicheng sighed, moving closer to Lin Ruiqing and firmly grasping her hand to prevent her from moving away again.
"The banquet was already set in stone, whether we mentioned it earlier or later..."
Seeing that he was about to gloss over it, Lin Ruiqing glared at him angrily, and Jing Beicheng stopped mid-sentence.
"Alright, I'll be honest. I did want Jing Yi to understand certain things from the start."
For instance, that Jing Zejun should have more. It might be cruel, but Jing Beicheng had to do it. Perhaps now they knew Jing Yi wasn't a bad person, quite the opposite – she was extremely innocent. But he couldn't guarantee that over time, her innocence wouldn't change and affect Jing Zejun.
He had seen too many relatives turn against each other for fame and fortune throughout his life, let alone people who weren't even related.
Lin Ruiqing was exasperated, "We could have explained it gradually. There was no need to treat her like this as soon as we brought her home..."
"Ruiqing, the longer we wait, the harder it becomes to bring it up. We had to say it anyway, so what's wrong with saying it earlier?"
Lin Ruiqing opened her mouth to argue but stopped when she saw Jing Beicheng's serious expression.
She knew that what he said was right and that he was considering her and Jing Zejun's interests.
She just felt... more conflicted.
She didn't know whether to be relieved that Jing Yi was carefree enough not to dwell on the deeper implications of Jing Beicheng's words,
Or to feel guilty about her own selfishness...
"Don't worry, I don't really want to make things difficult for her. I just want to nip any unnecessary troubles in the bud."
Perhaps due to his years in a high position, Jing Beicheng's approach to problems had become more direct. He preferred to use the most efficient method to achieve the same result.
Lin Ruiqing sighed, her mood growing heavier.
At this point, Jing Beicheng also felt a bit of regret for not considering his wife's feelings.
Although she hadn't said it, Jing Beicheng knew that his wife had always felt some guilt towards that child.
But in his view, they didn't owe Jing Yi anything. His mother had adopted her from the orphanage, given her a life of comfort and love, and they would continue to take care of her, as long as she didn't change.
Jing Beicheng put his arm around Lin Ruiqing's shoulders, letting her lean on him, slowly easing her mood as he continued to explain in a low voice.
As the atmosphere upstairs gradually improved, downstairs became particularly gloomy, though only for Jing Zeqian.
Watching the seconds tick by with Jing Beicheng and his wife still not coming down, Jing Zeqian's heart sank bit by bit.
The extra money he had worked so hard to earn was about to go to his brother.
Over the past half hour, Jing Zeqian's state had changed from confidently lounging on the sofa, to showing signs of anxiety and frequently glancing towards the stairs, to finally collapsing on the sofa as if his dreams had been shattered.
Jing Zeyou casually lifted his hand to check his watch, then shifted his gaze to Jing Zeqian, who was now sprawled on the sofa with a look of utter despair.
"Five more minutes until it's a full hour."
"If it goes over the hour you predicted, then this round is void!"
Jing Zeqian suddenly sat up, his eyes wide open, a gleam of wild joy in them, as if he felt his extra cash hadn't yet left his pocket.
Jing Zeyou made no comment, silently waiting for a few minutes until he heard the footsteps of Jing Beicheng and his wife.
He smirked, tapped his watch, and raised an eyebrow at Jing Zeqian, who once again looked utterly dejected.
"Transfer the money to my account."
Then he leaned back in his chair lazily, looking completely at ease.
In stark contrast to Jing Zeqian on the sofa beside him.
Lin Ruiqing came downstairs to find the two brothers in this state and looked puzzled.
"Zeqian, what's wrong?"
His head was tilted back on the sofa, swaying slightly, his mood very low.
"It's nothing, Mom. I just suddenly realized that life's greatest disappointment is when you think you're about to succeed, but instead you fall into an even deeper abyss."
Jing Beicheng shared the same confused look, not knowing what nonsense his son was spouting now.
Lin Ruiqing thought her younger son had encountered some major problem and was about to inquire further.
Jing Zeyou lowered his head and chuckled, the smile spreading across his face.
"Don't worry about him, Mom. He's fine."
Since her elder son said it was nothing, it probably wasn't anything serious.
Lin Ruiqing decided not to dwell on Jing Zeqian's melancholy and instead pulled Jing Beicheng along to check on the two girls who hadn't returned from their outing yet.
