Chapter 154: Increasingly Natural

But it was met with Jian An'an’s impatient reply, "I don't need it!"

She had been feeling irritable due to the recent incident, and the words had slipped out subconsciously. Soon after, she realized that she might have been a bit too harsh. She quickly added, "I just accidentally upset my stomach. I feel much better now, thank you for your concern."

No matter how much she said, the cameraman could not forget the tone she had used for those three words. His expression remained cold. "Understood. Let’s continue filming."

He didn’t take her subsequent words to heart; in his view, she was a somewhat hypocritical woman.

When Jian An'an returned to the dining room, she found that everyone was already eating without waiting for her. A look of dejection appeared on her face. Seeing this, Shen Yue quickly said, "An'an, you're back! Come and eat. We only just started; Auntie said she was really hungry, so she had a little something first."

Jian An'an looked at the table, where one dish was already completely empty, then glanced at the smiling Shen Yue. You call this "a little something"?

Deng Jinfeng could tell that Jian An'an was displeased, but she couldn't care less about her feelings. Given Jian An'an's family background, she thought, the girl should be the one begging her son to be with her. Yet, her foolish son not only failed to leverage his advantages but also hovered around Jian An'an as if he were terrified she might run away. What a fool.

During a tea party the other day, he had gifted Jian An'an a pair of earrings worth over a hundred thousand, which made her heart ache with frustration. No, once this variety show ended, she would make her son dump her and force her to return the earrings. She wouldn't want to give her a single cent, even if it meant throwing the money away like water.

"Why are you standing there instead of sitting down to eat?"

Jian An'an said nothing, simply nodding before sitting down.

At that moment, she had just started her live stream. A crowd of fans flooded in; unaware of what had transpired, they only saw their idol being wronged.

[Jin Jianyi’s mother is too mean! An'an hasn't even married into the family yet, and she's already treating her so harshly. How will she survive after the wedding?]
[An'an was only gone for a moment, and they ate the food like this. That’s so disrespectful.]

However, there were plenty of dissenting voices.

[Seeing her doing poorly makes me happy.]
[Isn't that just "If you aren't doing well, then it's a sunny day"?]
[Who does Jian An'an think she is? And what are you lot? She isn't even a formal daughter-in-law of the Jin family yet, so don't talk about "marrying in"—it’s wishful thinking.]
[Exactly. It’s just a variety show; does she really think she’s part of the family? It’s hilarious.]

Jian An'an had been quite popular online for a while, and despite the growing number of haters recently, she still had a large base of die-hard fans.

[You trolls, have some decency!]
[I really don’t understand what Jian An'an ever did to you all. Is it necessary to chase and bite her like mad dogs every single day?]
[If you don't like watching, just leave the live stream! Stop barking like mad dogs!]

Jian An'an clenched her fists tightly, *Old woman, just you wait! With how obsessed Jin Jianyi is with me, getting him to marry me is just a matter of saying the word. Once he inherits the family assets as the eldest son, the entire Jin family will be under my control! As for your foolish son, he’s already wrapped around my finger.*

Despite her deep resentment, she kept a smile on her face and picked up some food for Deng Jinfeng. "Auntie Jin, have some more of this; it’s good for your health."

Deng Jinfeng glanced at her chopsticks and remarked coldly, "Use serving chopsticks next time."

Jian An'an was mortified, but she forced a laugh. "Auntie Jin is right. It was my carelessness this time."

Elsewhere, Song Wanning had left the commercial building without buying anything. Gu Yan followed behind her, asking curiously, "Wanning, how do you plan to handle this?"

The cameraman was also curious but too embarrassed to ask about such personal matters, so he kept it to himself. Now that he heard Gu Yan ask, he pricked up his ears to listen.

Song Wanning replied, "Handle it? Wasn't the punishment just now enough?"

Gu Yan looked confused. "What punishment?" She had indeed heard a scream from the stairwell earlier, but she was too far away, and when she arrived, she heard nothing, so she assumed she had misheard.

Song Wanning’s lips curled slightly. "Children shouldn't know too much."

"Ah! What is it? Tell me! I’m not a child, I’m only two years younger than you and just a bit shorter!"

Song Wanning had to look down to meet her eyes. She didn't need to say a word; Gu Yan understood immediately. She felt extremely annoyed, but her height was an incurable flaw.

Just then, a black car pulled up in front of Song Wanning. The rear window rolled down, revealing half of Wen Jingxing’s face. "A-Ning."

At his call, Song Wanning’s expression brightened as she walked over. "Jingxing, why are you here?"

"I heard from Cheng Mu that you were here, and since my meeting just ended, I came to pick you up."

Chen Shaoyuan, who was driving in the front, had a complex expression. Young Master Wen was truly capable of lying without blinking. He had clearly ended the meeting early and rushed over specifically to pick her up after hearing that Gu Yan had found her. He didn't even know how long he had been waiting here for Song Wanning.

Song Wanning replied, "Thank you." She then gave him a sweet smile.

Wen Jingxing felt a warmth in his heart as he watched her. "Get in. You must be tired after such a long day; I'll take you back."

Beside them, Gu Yan stared at Song Wanning, then lingered on Wen Jingxing. The person she had missed for so many years appeared before her, leaving her feeling strangely flustered. Normally, someone who finally met the person they had been longing to see would cling to them, but Gu Yan did the opposite—she bolted.

"Wanning! I’ll come find you to play later! I suddenly remembered I have an urgent matter, so I’m leaving first!"

Seeing her dash away so suddenly, Song Wanning felt a bit strange. Wen Jingxing took her hand. "Alright, don't look anymore. Your hands are so cold, but your face is flushed. Did something happen just now?"

Song Wanning shook her head. "It’s nothing, just caught a petty thief~"

"A thief?"

"Yeah, that's right!"

Song Wanning told him what had happened, and he finally understood where the thief in the Huadu Plaza had come from. He patted her head. "Don't chase after them yourself next time. Just let Cheng Mu handle it."

Song Wanning looked up at him. *Since when did Wen Jingxing’s touch feel so natural?*

As for Gu Yan, who had run off, she hadn't gone far. She hid behind a stone pillar, watching the car drive away, and let out a silent sigh. *When did I become such a coward...* But through the afternoon, she could truly feel that Song Wanning was a genuinely wonderful person.