C3 Little Uncle

A slap followed by a sweet treat—this kind of trick might fool a child.

"Mom, don't tell Jinxi about the job arrangement. I'll explain it to him myself tomorrow." Lishan stepped away from Zhen Hanmeng's embrace, took her seat, and kept serving food to her parents. She wanted to make up for everything she owed them.

Under her parents' puzzled gazes, Lishan finished dinner and returned to her room. She was about to call Jinxi when her phone buzzed with an unfamiliar number.

"Hello, who is this?"

"It's Chi Tianche, Jinxi's uncle."

The voice on the other end was cold, steady, and deep. Lishan suddenly remembered. It was Chi Tianche who had rescued her. She admired this young, accomplished man, known as the most eligible bachelor in the city. His mysterious and decisive nature intrigued her. Their relationship had grown slightly closer after the incident, which led Jinxi to suspect something between them, even to the point of tarnishing their reputations.

Given Tianche's strained relationship with the Chi family, perhaps she could use this connection...

"Thank you for saving me! How about I treat you to dinner sometime?"

After a moment of contemplation, the other person simply replied, "Alright."

Qiao Lishan's lips curled into a triumphant smile. "It's a deal!"

She was determined to secure this crucial piece for herself.

After some small talk, Qiao Lishan hung up the phone and switched over to her old classmates' group chat. The conversation there was full of mocking remarks about her being foolish.

With a cold laugh, Qiao Lishan turned off her phone and went to sleep.

The next morning, she woke up early and headed straight to school, not waiting for Chi Jinxi to pick her up. As soon as she got out of the car, she noticed a girl in a white dress stepping out of a nearby white sedan.

Qiao Lishan smirked. What a coincidence to run into Chi Jinxi's long-time crush here.

"Qiao Lishan, I'm really sorry about the other day. I didn't mean to pull you into the water. You don't hold it against me, do you?" Mu Tian'ai greeted her warmly, with a gentle and gracious smile, her features radiating kindness.

She seemed like an ethereal beauty, with delicate and elegant features.

Qiao Lishan smiled slightly. "Of course not. I just didn't expect you to be so strong. I was worried others might think you pushed me in on purpose, so I explained it to my dad for a long time to make sure our families' businesses weren't affected by such a small incident."

Her light remark hit Mu Tian'ai right where it hurt.

"Qiao Lishan, are you threatening me? Don't forget, Chi Jinxi likes me. If I tell him exactly what you said, what do you think will happen?" Mu Tian'ai whispered, tears welling up in her eyes, her voice low enough for only the two of them to hear.

Lishan chuckled softly, "Of course not. I'm just stating the facts. Besides, even if you told him, he probably wouldn't believe you."

"You..." Tian'ai's eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn't believe that Lishan, who used to get so nervous at the mere mention of Jinxi, was now so confident.

Tears were about to spill over, and her pitiful look drew the attention of onlookers.

"Your mascara is smudged. You should wipe it off," Lishan offered 'kindly,' handing a tissue to Tian'ai.

Tian'ai paused for a moment, then instinctively grabbed the tissue from Lishan and gently dabbed under her eyes.