Xu Yan's face turned slightly red. "I-I just wanted you to see first. You can decide after you've had a good look."
Xu Mo's face was full of irritation. "You're not even officially in a relationship. Why are you holding hands? Let go!"
Xu Yan blinked her eyes and weakly retracted her hand under her brother's dangerous glare.
Ye Jin watched as Xu Yan walked over to sit on the sofa. He then picked up his things and approached, "Uncle, Aunt, I've brought a small gift."
Bai Hua and Xu Yi weren't particularly concerned about the gifts. They made some room and said, "Have a seat first. We'll talk more when your sister arrives."
Afraid of making a bad impression on Xu Yan's family, Ye Jin sat awkwardly on the sofa.
The others tactfully remained silent. Only Xu Yan tried to speak up several times, but after receiving a glare from Bai Hua, she too fell quiet.
They didn't have to wait long before there was a knock at the door.
Xu Mo went to answer it, instinctively saying as he opened the door, "Hello, are you Ye Jin's sister?"
As he looked up, he suddenly froze.
The woman before him appeared exceptionally calm. She wore a long red dress, her brown hair slightly curled and casually draped over her shoulders.
Liu Lingxiao nodded slightly when she saw Xu Mo, "Hello."
Xu Mo snapped back to reality and cleared his throat, "Uh... please come in!"
Liu Lingxiao's expression remained neutral as she followed Xu Mo inside. She gracefully greeted Bai Hua, "Mrs. Xu, Mr. Xu."
Bai Hua was also taken aback upon seeing Liu Lingxiao. She stood up, inviting her to sit together, "Hello."
Liu Lingxiao smiled, "My surname is Liu. I'm Liu Lingxiao."
Bai Hua felt an inexplicable familiarity with the surname Liu. "Please, have a seat. I understand you're here about these two children."
Ye Jin and Xu Yan sat obediently to the side, not daring to speak out of turn.
A hint of amusement flickered in Liu Lingxiao's eyes. "We shouldn't have rushed this, but I'm based in the north and might not be able to visit Ye Jin again for two or three years. So this is a bit of a necessary measure."
Bai Hua nodded in understanding. "It's alright. We've gotten to know Ye Jin a bit and feel comfortable with him. It's mainly that our Yan is still young, and we weren't quite prepared."
Liu Lingxiao thought for a moment, then turned to Ye Jin. "Did you give Yan the bracelet?"
Ye Jin started, quickly producing the item. "It's right here."
Bai Hua and the others looked at the bracelet in Ye Jin's hand. It was an antique-looking string of Buddhist prayer beads, with one bead carved with the character for "Liu." It was clearly valuable.
Liu Lingxiao explained calmly, "This is considered our family heirloom. Now Ye Jin is giving it to Yan. I know it's not much, but it at least shows my intentions. So please be assured, Yan will never be mistreated in our family."
Bai Hua felt the bracelet looked familiar, though she was sure she'd never seen it before.
Hearing Liu Lingxiao's words, she pushed these confused thoughts aside. "Ms. Liu, this is too precious..."
Liu Lingxiao smiled, "What's meant to be Yan's will be hers."
With that said, Bai Hua didn't feel she could say more.
Liu Lingxiao glanced out the window, then suddenly handed Bai Hua a card. "Consider this my token. If your family ever encounters any trouble, take this card to any government office. They will assist you to the fullest extent."
Bai Hua didn't understand the significance, but Xu Yi and Xu Mo's expressions changed dramatically upon seeing the card.
Before they could speak, Liu Lingxiao stood up, preparing to leave. "I'm sorry, but it seems we'll have to end our chat here. I need to go now. If there's anything else, you can have Yan contact me directly. She knows what to do."
She finished by winking at Xu Yan.
Xu Yan nodded obediently, "Okay! Goodbye, big sister!"
Bai Hua was dazed throughout, bewildered as she saw Liu Lingxiao off and returned home.
Xu Yi looked at the card in his wife's hand and took a sharp breath. "Ye Jin, your sister..."
Ye Jin looked innocent, "I don't know much about her affairs either."
Xu Yi recalled some fantastical stories his business partners had mentioned at drinking parties. He seemed to sense something. "In that case, we won't discuss these matters. If you're going to be with our Yan, she must never suffer any grievances. Otherwise, I'll bring her home immediately, and you'll never see her again."
Ye Jin's expression turned serious. "Uncle Xu, please rest assured. I will never let Yan suffer any grievances."
Xu Yi studied Ye Jin for a long moment before finally nodding with satisfaction. "Then let's prepare for dinner."
Bai Hua was still somewhat confused, but after catching Xu Yi's eye, she didn't say anything more.
What they might not have realized was that none of them had truly rejected Ye Jin from the start.
Only Xu Mo seemed to really dislike Ye Jin, but even he hadn't done anything out of line.
Tonight's dinner felt warm and pleasant to all five of them.
After dinner, Xu Yan tried to push her luck by asking Ye Jin to stay over.
But Ye Jin was perceptive enough to politely take his leave.
He walked home in high spirits, but as he reached the door of the pub, he suddenly halted.
"Why hide? Why not come out for a drink?" Ye Jin's expression turned cold as he spoke calmly.
In this moment, he truly resembled Liu Lingxiao.
As soon as he finished speaking, several people dressed in what looked like police uniforms emerged along the street.
The leader stepped forward, "Mr. Ye, we're here to find Ms. Liu. We really need her help."
He added weakly, "Of course, if you're willing to help us, that would be fine too..."
Ye Jin pushed open the pub door and walked in. "Liu Lingxiao is out traveling. I can't reach her either. If you can enter the pub before dawn, I'll help you. If you can't get in, don't come looking for me for the next few years."
With that, he entered the pub without waiting for a response.
He didn't even bother to close the door behind him.
Despite such an arrogant attitude, those few people were indeed intimidated.
The leader hesitated for a moment, then turned to his subordinates and said, "You guys go in."
His underlings looked at each other, but all collectively shook their heads. "Boss, have you forgotten how Mr. Ye dealt with us last time? He's not even closing his front door; there must be something waiting for us inside."
The leader's face showed his exasperation at their incompetence. Mustering his courage, he took a few steps forward himself.
However, before he could even step over the threshold, two shrill voices rang out from inside the tavern: "No entry! No entry! Enter and we'll eat you all up!"
"No entry! No entry! We'll eat you! We'll eat you!"
The leader's footsteps faltered, and he turned around without hesitation: "Let's get out of here."
