CHAPTER 237: CHAPTER 237: HE QI’AN ARRIVES

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaoyan looked at her sister-in-law and said apologetically, "No need to wait for him deliberately. You guys go ahead and eat. Sis-in-law, if you’re hungry, just eat. You know how you get acid reflex; it’s worse when you’re hungry."

Fan Lalan glanced inexplicably at Liu Qin and grabbed Lin Xiaoyan’s hand, "I’m not hungry. There is so much food, I just ate a lot. I’m not hungry at all."

She pointed to the nuts, fruits, and snacks on the table and spoke earnestly.

Lin Mu looked at Liu Qin, "Qin Qin, you’re hungry, aren’t you? Go ahead and eat first; we’re not hungry."

The others echoed that they weren’t hungry either.

Liu Qin looked at everyone, and with a sheepish smile said, "I’m not hungry either."

Her husband, Wang Jingze, glanced at her and gave her a stern glare.

Feeling rebellious after being glared at by her husband, Liu Qin glared back fiercely.

Everyone else saw this moment and quickly turned away, exchanging glances and signaling one another.

Aunt Lin turned her head, trying not to watch the pair, and sighed.

"Auntie, where is Uncle?"

"Your uncle went to work in the mountains; he’s not home."

"Oh."

For a moment, no one spoke, and the atmosphere became a bit awkward.

"I’m going out for a smoke." Lin Fu couldn’t stand the tension and stood up to leave.

"Uncle, I’ll come with you." Wang Jingze got up to join Lin Fu.

Lin Xiaoyan glanced down, wondering where He Qi’an had gotten to.

She had just sent the message when she heard Lin Fu’s hearty laughter coming from outside.

"Why did you buy so many things? You didn’t have to; just coming here is enough. Come in quickly, the food is ready..."

"Brother, I’ll take it, I’ll take it..."

Everyone inside heard the commotion outside and became a little excited, "Yanyan, is Xiao He here?"

Lin Mu stood up and hurried to the door.

Lin Xiaoyan heard the familiar voice, and her heart started pounding quickly.

"Ah, he’s here, he’s here..." Zhou Ji walked to the door, calling out joyfully.

When the door was opened, a young man with sharp features, standing about six foot tall, with a bright, confident gaze, came into view.

Everyone’s eyes lit up at the sight, thinking he looked really good!

"Hello, Auntie."

He Qi’an greeted Lin Mu quickly.

"Ah, Xiao He is here, come in, come in..." Lin Mu took the things from He Qi’an’s hands, inviting him in warmly.

As soon as He Qi’an stepped inside, he was surrounded by various gazes.

His eyes flashed sharply as he surveyed the room, but softened slightly as he looked at his girlfriend, and he smiled at Lin Xiaoyan.

Lin Xiaoyan’s lips curled up slightly as she looked at He Qi’an with bright eyes.

At that moment, she felt a wealth of emotions she couldn’t quite describe.

Lin Xiaoyan walked over, pulled him further inside, and began introducing everyone.

He Qi’an greeted each person warmly.

He felt everyone was quite impressed with him, except for one person...

He Qi’an’s sharp gaze landed on one woman, Liu Qin, whose jealous and resentful eyes met his.

Seeing Lin Xiaoyan’s boyfriend looking over, Liu Qin felt pleased at first, but when faced with his cold and piercing gaze, she lowered her head, feeling frightened and guilty.

He Qi’an calmly withdrew his gaze, while feeling his hand being lightly squeezed twice.

He looked down and saw Lin Xiaoyan signaling to him that she had noticed Liu Qin’s gaze too.

He Qi’an gave her a reassuring smile and lightly squeezed her hand to show everything was fine.

"Xiao He, come eat quickly. Everyone sit and eat before the dishes get cold."

Uncle Lin gestured for everyone to sit and start eating.

Because there were quite a few people, they had set up two tables, one for the men, one for the women.

He Qi’an sat between Uncle Lin and Lin Fu, and seeing the setup, Lin Xiaoyan’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly said, "You guys shouldn’t drink. He’s been busy with work lately, and has cases to handle, can’t drink."

Lin Fu nodded to show he understood, "It’s fine, just a couple of drinks."

"Dad..." Lin Xiaoyan called out, a bit exasperated.

Lin Mu came over with a bowl and chopsticks, scolding her husband, "He said Xiao He is busy, and today he’s hurried over here. Isn’t it fine to just eat without drinking? Can’t seem to sit down without thinking about drinking..."

He Qi’an hurriedly comforted her, "It’s alright, Auntie, I’ll just drink a little to unwind."

Hearing He Qi’an, Lin Fu immediately chimed in that it’s fine to have just a little.

He Qi’an looked softly at his girlfriend, indicating it was okay.

"Then... just a little, okay!"

Lin Xiaoyan thought back to the time he drank with her brother and got drunk, feeling a bit worried.

"Sis, I’ll keep an eye on things. You go eat." Wang Jingze reassured Lin Xiaoyan.

Lin Xiaoyan nodded, turning to eat, though she occasionally glanced over to check the situation there.

"I didn’t expect Xiao He to be your boyfriend; last time I went to Sea City, I asked your brother if Xiao He had a girlfriend, not expecting Yanyan to be his girlfriend, hahaha..."

Fan Lalan said with a laugh.

Lin Mu looked at her daughter, "Last time we went to Sea City, you were together?"

Lin Xiaoyan flushed red and said bashfully, "No, we weren’t yet, it was after you left that we..."

"Oh." Lin Mu nodded.

Aunt Lin asked while eating, "You mentioned Xiao He had a case to handle; what’s going on? What does Xiao He do for work?"

"Police officer. He’s an officer in Sea City’s headquarters and even a team leader." Lin Mu said proudly.

"Wow, that’s really impressive!" Aunt-in-law said, her tone tinged with envy as she glanced at her daughter, wondering if her daughter could find such a good husband someday.

But Zhou Li showed no interest in her mother’s thoughts, sitting beside Lin Xiaoyan and asking about their relationship story...

If she knew, she wouldn’t even consider it!

Who needs a man! Being single is so free and comfortable!

Eat when you want, sleep when you want; no need to dress up daily for a man, or worry all the time about trivial matters because of one...

Dating? What madness!

Liu Qin ate her meal half-heartedly, feeling suffocatingly upset!

Why can Lin Xiaoyan, who isn’t even as pretty, find such an impressive boyfriend?

Why does she, Liu Qin, end up with such a loser!

No money, no looks, no height, nothing at all!!!

Lin Xiaoyan’s table was lively with Aunt Lin occasionally cracking jokes.

Liu Qin ate for a while then took her bowl over to Wang Jingze’s table.

Lin Xiaoyan’s group glanced over, Aunt Lin shook her head, indicating they should just ignore it.

"Brother, you work in Sea City too, and my sister works there, do you two live together?"

Suddenly, Liu Qin’s voice intruded into everyone’s ears.

Lin Xiaoyan frowned, glancing over.

He Qi’an glanced at Liu Qin, sensing Lin Fu’s gaze. He chuckled softly, "Of course not, Brother Hao is in Sea City too; we live in the same neighborhood."

"Oh, Jingze says my sister has thick body hair; she even used to shave her body hair when she was a child. If you two lived together..."