Huo Qinglin's lips twitched, clearly itching to shove this repulsive woman away.
But with things having come to this point, if he failed to secure the land, not only would he be unable to face Grandpa, he wouldn't even be able to enter the company's shareholders meeting. His parents would lose face, and worst of all, he'd be looked down on by the ever-arrogant Huo Yanting.
So no matter how disgusting the woman standing in front of him was, he had to endure it.
"Banxia, of course I love you. Otherwise, why do you think I've been coming to your house every day for the past six months? It's all because of you. Be good, listen to me. Let's not talk about it now. When we see your father later, we'll ask his opinion." Huo Qinglin wanted to placate Lin Banxia first. He was certain Lin Kunhuai would convince her to hand over the pear garden's title deed.
After all, if Lin Kunhuai didn't settle this matter, the Lin Family company would also be implicated.
Everyone had their eyes on profits; no one treated money as a trivial matter.
Lin Banxia laughed coldly to herself. Huo Qinglin, oh Huo Qinglin, you want to use my dad to pressure me?
She had never truly cared about that father of hers, and now, she cared even less.
"Cousin…"
Just as Lin Banxia was strategizing her next move, a sweet voice floated over from the entrance.
Lin Banxia's body stiffened. She turned her head to see Lu Huan Ning gliding toward them in a snow-white dress, ethereal and elegant.
She really did look like a fairy—a fairy so infuriating that Lin Banxia wanted to punch her right then and there.
Why couldn't you choose to be a decent person? Why insist on being a shameless mistress?
"Brother-in-law…!" Lu Huan Ning only seemed to notice Huo Qinglin's presence at that moment. She blushed shyly, lowering her head as she called out to him.
Lin Banxia was practically floored by their acting skills. She felt like handing them an award.
Putting on such an unfamiliar front in her presence—if only they hadn't already been sleeping together.
"Ahem… Hey, Huan Ning, the other day I was wandering around downtown and bumped into Zhang Shu. You've been seeing him for over two years, haven't you? He mentioned you've been ignoring him lately. Did you get yourself a new boyfriend?" Lin Banxia's revenge was officially underway.
She wasn't the type to gossip in the past—never the kind to actively hurt or attack anyone.
Especially someone like Lu Huan Ning, who played the demure, delicate damsel so convincingly that even other women felt protective of her. Much less call her out.
"Cousin, what Zhang Shu or Li Shu are you talking about? I don't know what you mean. You must be mistaken. How could I have been dating anyone?" Sure enough, Lu Huan Ning panicked, hurriedly denying Lin Banxia's words in front of Huo Qinglin.
Lin Banxia smirked, her gaze flicking to Huo Qinglin and catching his darkened expression. Was this what jealousy looked like?
"Oh? Did I get it wrong? That's impossible. We've had quite a few meals together, haven't we? You even called him 'husband' yourself," Lin Banxia pretended to misremember, rattling off nonsense.
Lu Huan Ning's face immediately fell upon hearing that, her expression turning stiff. She pursed her lips and said, "Cousin, how could you slander me like this? When have I ever said such irresponsible things?"
Lin Banxia glanced at Huo Qinglin again. His face was so dark, it could rival iron.
"Ahem, I think my memory's pretty reliable, but anyway, Huan Ning, Zhang Shuren's really a good guy. His family's well off, too. You should seriously consider being with him…"
"I'm feeling thirsty. I'm going to head inside for a drink." Huo Qinglin suddenly interrupted in a detached tone, cutting off Lin Banxia.
After hearing that, Lin Banxia became even more convinced of the not-so-innocent relationship between the two.
These two scumbags—seriously, were they already hooking up at a time like this?