So, a group of girls went to the children’s playground in the backyard, which had a bubble ocean, slides, and trampolines. Fortunately, none of them were overweight, so they could all play.
Originally, as the oldest among them, Ji Fei wanted to act mature and not join in the fun, but seeing how happy everyone was, she got influenced and ran in to play too.
Qin Rong secretly took many videos of her and sent them to Qin Xian.
After seeing them, Qin Xian saved each one and immediately decided to build a similar playground at his own home.
After playing for a while, Duan Yi was the first to leave, as if she had already outgrown such childlike behavior.
Outside the playground, there was a resting area where tea and snacks were served. Duan Yi sat there, waiting for everyone. Soon, Aunt Mao came over, seemingly to urge Duan Yi to leave quickly.
Ji Fei watched from the trampoline, feeling that the more Aunt Mao treated her daughter this way, the more resentment Duan Yi would harbor toward Qin Tiantian.
Clearly, the two of them had another disagreement, and in the end, Aunt Mao had no choice but to leave temporarily, not daring to escalate the situation.
When everyone came out after getting tired, Duan Yi seemed to have recovered, at least her face showed no signs of anything being wrong.
But when they sat down to eat the pastries, Ji Fei suddenly noticed Duan Yi deliberately knocking a spoon off the table with her elbow.
And she specifically aimed it toward Qin Tiantian.
“Ah, sorry,” Duan Yi said, but she didn’t move to pick it up.
Qin Tiantian, seeing the spoon was close to her, bent down and picked it up casually.
Ji Fei kept sneaking glances at Duan Yi and saw her flash a smug smile when Qin Tiantian bent down to pick it up.
Ji Fei was utterly confused—was that something to be proud of?
However, after picking it up, Qin Tiantian said, “It’s dirty, don’t use it. Let’s ask for another one.”
Duan Yi’s expression instantly turned subtle.
Ji Fei, who considered herself of humble origins, couldn’t understand Duan Yi’s thought process.
Did Qin Tiantian’s single remark make Duan Yi feel humiliated?
Was her dignity made of glass?
Ji Fei found it all baffling.
But since Duan Yi didn’t do anything else, Ji Fei decided to let it go.
When everyone went back to play, Qin Tiantian wanted to go on the slide, so she climbed up to the top platform. Since it was designed for children, the railings weren’t very high.
Walking normally wouldn’t be a problem.
Unless someone gave her a push from behind.
The ground below was covered with soft padding, but if someone actually fell, they could still get hurt.
So when Qin Tiantian called for Duan Yi to join her, Duan Yi suddenly had a wicked thought as she looked at Qin Tiantian’s sweet smile.
She wouldn’t dare to do anything outright malicious, but what if she and Qin Tiantian fell together? Better yet, what if it looked like she had tried to save her…
She knew she shouldn’t take such a risk, especially since Qin Tiantian had recently promised to secretly help her with her repeat studies and even offered to fund her without telling Aunt Mao, fearing that Aunt Mao might prevent her from continuing her education due to family issues.
If Qin Tiantian got hurt and suddenly became difficult, Duan Yi might lose her future again.
But… she couldn’t help it.
The things her mother had said earlier—how she wasn’t fit to play with the young lady, how this wasn’t her fate—felt like needles piercing her heart.
She was so upset; if she didn’t vent, she felt like she would explode.
Sometimes, a moment of impulse is the birth of a devil.
Duan Yi suddenly reached out, but before she could touch Qin Tiantian, she felt someone bump into her from behind, causing her to stumble.
“Ah!” Duan Yi instinctively cried out.
Qin Tiantian immediately turned around and saw Duan Yi and Ji Fei colliding.
“Oops, sorry! I thought you were moving forward. I didn’t expect you to stop,” Ji Fei said with a smile.
Qin Tiantian quickly laughed it off, “It’s my fault for being too slow. I’ll slide down right away, sister-in-law, don’t rush.”
Duan Yi, meanwhile, turned pale, not daring to look Ji Fei in the eye. She thought no one could possibly know what she had been planning. Even though she had reached out, it could be explained as anything.
Duan Yi convinced herself that she had just failed and scared herself, so she let it go. She didn’t notice the icy gaze from the person behind her.
While playing, Qin Rong overheard Ji Fei’s thoughts.
*It seems Duan Yi can’t stay around Qin Tiantian anymore. I need to warn someone. As for Qin Tiantian’s promise to help…*
Honestly, Ji Fei didn’t know how to handle it. Even though they were relatives, they weren’t particularly close.
*Oh, right! I witnessed this myself. I can just tell someone. I’ll discuss it with the others later and see what they think.*
Qin Rong: ???? What’s going on? Did Duan Yi do something bad?
The half-baked information made Qin Rong start observing Duan Yi more closely.
As she watched, Qin Rong found it absurd—she even thought Duan Yi and Qin Tiantian looked somewhat alike.
Later, Qin Tiantian invited Duan Yi to stay for lunch and then afternoon tea.
She even wanted to keep her for dinner, but Aunt Mao had to hand over her shift. As soon as her shift ended, Aunt Mao immediately pulled Duan Yi away.
Duan Yi wanted to stay a little longer, but Aunt Mao’s almost stern, even fierce, glare stopped her.
Duan Yi rarely saw her mother like this and was intimidated. Though she felt wronged, she had no choice but to obey her mother, who was her only support.
Just as Aunt Mao was taking Duan Yi away, Sixth Uncle Qin and Sixth Aunt Qin returned.
The two of them managed part of Qin Corporation’s affairs, so they had been at the company earlier and hadn’t met Duan Yi.
Duan Yi had seen them when she was very young, picking up Qin Tiantian.
The image of the three of them, so close and harmonious, was like a scene from her dreams.
The way the couple doted on Qin Tiantian wasn’t just enviable to her—even their classmates were jealous. It was like she was a precious gem.
She often thought that Qin Tiantian was just lucky. If she had parents like that, even if they weren’t wealthy, she would be happy too.
But instead, she not only lacked such parents but also had a mother who seemed to despise her to the core. At this moment, she should have stepped forward to greet them, but her mother was practically trying to hide her, as if she was an embarrassment.
Yes, her clothes were shabby, but wasn’t that because of her mother? Not only did her mother support that pair of men, but she also forced Duan Yi to support them. Otherwise, she could at least dress like a normal person.
This reminded her of the scene earlier when Qin Tiantian had tried to give her some clothes before she left.
Even without her mother stopping her, she would never accept them. Even if she could never afford nice clothes, she wouldn’t take Qin Tiantian’s cast-offs.
Perhaps Aunt Mao pushed too hard, because Duan Yi suddenly lost her temper and stepped out from behind her mother, standing conspicuously at the entrance.
Aunt Mao was horrified and rushed to pull Duan Yi back.
“What are you doing? Don’t block the way of the hosts. Come here!” Aunt Mao desperately tried to shield Duan Yi.
By now, not only Sixth Uncle Qin and Sixth Aunt Qin, but everyone else had turned their attention to them.
Ji Fei frowned slightly.
*This Aunt Mao… Didn’t she also lack tact last time, pushing herself forward? Why is she so against her daughter doing the same? Besides, it’s only polite to greet someone you meet at the entrance. After all, Duan Yi was invited by Qin Tiantian as a guest, and they seem to know each other.*
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