Ye Xuan looked at Lin Tong in astonishment.

Lin Tong shook her head with a light smile: "Judging by the way she acts, she’s deliberately behaving this way. Most likely, she won’t let you get close to her."

Ye Xuan was taken aback.

At this moment.

Leng Qiuge suddenly spoke loudly, "Tonight, no men are allowed to come near me, dogs included!"

Leng Qiuge spoke in Yan Country language.

Ye Xuan raised an eyebrow, almost unable to resist going over to reason with her.

Among us here, only a few old friends are from Yan Country. What do you mean by speaking Yan Country language? There aren’t any dogs here, what do you mean by dogs included?

Did I, Ye Xuan, ever wrong you, Leng Qiuge?

You, Leng Qiuge, left the country without a word, and now you’ve gone mad? Don’t make it seem like I’m a heartless man, okay?

"Let me go talk to her."

Lin Tong gave a helpless smile, lifted her foot, and walked towards Leng Qiuge.

Ye Xuan could only stand in place, holding Xiao Yunduo and watching from afar.

In no time, Lin Tong reached Leng Qiuge, with Leng Feilong, who was by her side, wisely keeping a good distance of several dozen meters away.

Leng Qiuge slanted her gaze in a certain direction, not looking up at Lin Tong, nor did she speak, staying silent to the point of discomfort.

Lin Tong pressed her lips together. Usually reluctant to take the initiative, she began with a smile: "Qiuge, long time no see. How have you been?"

"Quite well." Leng Qiuge said flatly, with few words.

Lin Tong was taken aback. This side of Leng Qiuge was so unfamiliar; once, her good friend would get giddy upon seeing her.

But the many years of friendship also made Lin Tong understand that the more distant Leng Qiuge acted, the more it showed everything was just a disguise.

It’s like a child sulking—when you ask if they’re mad, they’ll say no, and then go to great lengths to prove they’re not mad.

With a light sigh, Lin Tong spoke again: "He misses you."

The air suddenly turned quiet.

Lin Tong earnestly gazed at Leng Qiuge, remaining very silent.

Leng Qiuge still eyed another direction, sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, lazy yet haughty, as if the woman standing before her was a complete stranger.

A long while passed.

"He?" Leng Qiuge’s lips slightly curled, casually smiling, "Who is he?"

"You know who he is," Lin Tong said.

"Funny, I don’t know." Leng Qiuge replied.

Silence followed.

A death-like silence.

Lin Tong deeply regarded Leng Qiuge, suddenly at a loss for words.

She knew Leng Qiuge was angry, but she didn’t know why.

Wasn’t this utterly baffling?

You were the one who left without saying goodbye, leaving a farewell note telling Ye Xuan not to look for you, to forget you. How free and magnanimous were those words? How can you be so confusedly resentful against Ye Xuan?

Even her best friend of many years got innocently caught up in this?

Lin Tong couldn’t figure it out.

Nor would she openly ask, because Leng Qiuge wouldn’t say.

Pressing her lips, Lin Tong spoke again: "Qiuge, come back, help me."

"What?" Leng Qiuge appeared surprised.

"Eastern Group needs you, Ye Xuan and I need you," Lin Tong said in a low voice.

"Does it have anything to do with me?" Finally turning her head, Leng Qiuge glanced at Lin Tong with interest and laughed, "My own family has such a vast estate waiting for me to take charge. The life of a young lady is so good. Why would I go to the small place like East Sea to live like an ordinary person?"

At this moment, Leng Qiuge appeared truly cunning and calculating, yet logical and justified.

Sure, Leng Qiuge wasn’t the only heir of the Leng Family that Lin Tong knew; she had a brilliant brother who was destined to take charge, it would surely be her brother.

It’s also why Leng Qiuge could frivolously spend years at Eastern Group. If not for Ye Xuan, she might still be carefree...

But why?

Honestly, as the eldest daughter of the Leng Family, Leng Qiuge had no reason to waste time at a small company like Eastern Group, just as she can now, with just a word, add to Wang Family’s troubles, who wouldn’t covet such power?

Lowering her beautiful eyes, Lin Tong stood there for quite a while without speaking.

Finally, she gave a rueful smile: "Sorry to disturb you."

With that, she turned and left.

Leng Qiuge didn’t stop her.

She glanced indifferently at Lin Tong’s retreating figure, then ignored it, picking up a glass of red wine, contemplating its sourness alone.

Lin Tong returned to Ye Xuan’s side, wearing a helpless, bitter smile: "I don’t know why, but she seems to hold a great grudge against you."

"Perhaps she resents me for going back on my word."

Ye Xuan sighed quietly. He had promised Leng Qiuge not to reconcile with Lin Tong again, but by the next day, he and Lin Tong had reconciled.

Perhaps because of this, Leng Qiuge left decisively? 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Because that night, her relationship with Ye Xuan was no longer pure, and her friendship with Lin Tong was unknowingly fractured.

With Ye Xuan’s appearance and the absurdity of that night, her life was shattered; she could no longer face Lin Tong nor Ye Xuan without shame.

So, Ye Xuan wasn’t surprised by Leng Qiuge’s decisiveness and aloofness.

After pondering for a moment, Ye Xuan finally gave up on the idea of finding Leng Qiuge himself, realizing it would only upset her further.

"Daddy, that auntie is so strange. Why doesn’t anyone greet her when she arrives? Is she a bad person?" Xiao Yunduo, standing beside Ye Xuan with wide eyes, watched Leng Qiuge in confusion.

"No." Ye Xuan shook his head with a smile: "That auntie is very kind; she just doesn’t want to be hurt by anyone anymore, doesn’t want to be sad, so she acts bad, making everyone scared to approach her."

"That’s so complicated." Xiao Yunduo pouted sympathetically, "Turns out auntie has it so hard; the person who hurt her must be very bad!"

Ye Xuan gave a bitter smile.

Lin Tong glanced at Ye Xuan and quickly said, "Xiao Yunduo, the person who hurt auntie isn’t necessarily a bad person. There are many things in this world you don’t understand yet."

"But..." Xiao Yunduo tilted her head in confusion: "Didn’t you say, mama, that a good person wouldn’t make another good person sad?"

Lin Tong suddenly found herself speechless.

Ye Xuan sighed heavily, shaking his head repeatedly: "Mama is right. A good person wouldn’t make another good person sad. The person who hurt auntie is a bad person."

Finally, taking one last distant look at Leng Qiuge, Ye Xuan led Xiao Yunduo, along with Lin Tong, and after a brief greeting with Carter, left the banquet scene.

After Ye Xuan left.

Leng Qiuge, who was sitting alone on the sofa, finally turned her gaze to the door, a beautiful face showing anger.

Just leaving like this?

"Hmph!"

With an angry snort, Leng Qiuge stood up and walked out: "Uncle Leng, we’re leaving too!"

Leng Feilong followed with a face full of helplessness.