The Billionaire's New Wife in Chief
Chapter 185 - 103: He said he liked her, not loved her

Chapter 185: Chapter 103: He said he liked her, not loved her

Song Qiao frowned and looked up at him, but quickly shifted her gaze to the flickering numbers, bit her lip, and then spoke indifferently, "No need, after all, you are the financier."

Whether he knows what she likes or dislikes makes no difference. With a man like Lu Jingchen, who has such status, position, and background, and is so powerful that he almost has no rivals in An City, how could he possibly bend over backwards to accommodate her?

Sometimes it’s enough just to listen to certain things; there’s no need to take them seriously.

Just then, the elevator doors opened. Lu Jingchen looked at the suddenly serene little face, not sure if he was overthinking or if it really was so, but now Song Qiao seemed even more distant, even showing some rejection to his closeness. He squinted slightly, a faint undercurrent flickering in his eyes, but said nothing, reaching out to take the girl’s hand and walked out of the elevator that had just opened its doors.

Looking at her hand that was naturally taken by the man, Song Qiao just frowned, but did not immediately pull away.

"Sister?"

Just as Lu Jingchen walked out of the elevator with Song Qiao, Mu Shinian came over, sounding somewhat surprised as he greeted Song Qiao and Lu Jingchen, then turned his curious gaze onto Lu Jingchen.

"Shinian." Seeing Mu Shinian, Song Qiao paused slightly, about to pull away from Lu Jingchen’s hand, but found herself unable to break free. She frowned and glared at the man beside her, then turned to Mu Shinian, seeing him holding a wallet, and asked with a soft voice, "Where are you going?"

Mu Shinian looked down at the wallet in his hand, a charming smile crossed his face, and he unconsciously scratched the back of his head, "Grandpa suddenly wanted wanton from the shop on South Street, so I was preparing to go buy some for him."

He had come over in the morning and was doing his homework in the ward all along, also accompanying Grandpa.

Since his cousin told him those things yesterday, he hadn’t been able to do anything, even skipping his tutoring job today.

Perhaps because Song Qiao didn’t believe that Mu Shinian would really quit his tutoring job, she called the parents of his student in front of him last night and resigned for him personally.

Song Qiao, looking at Mu Shinian in front of her, furrowed her brows and asked, "South Street is so far from here, do you want me to go with you?"

Mu Shinian shook his head subconsciously and cheerfully replied, "Sister, don’t worry, I’m not that little kid who gets lost all the time anymore. I can go by myself. You should go see Grandpa quickly, he’ll definitely be happier to see you in the hospital. You have no idea how he’s been missing you all morning!"

"Alright then, be careful on your way!" After hesitating for a moment, Song Qiao conceded.

She was actually not very reassured about Mu Shinian going alone, because a few years ago, he was a total directionless wanderer. It’s only in the past few years that he has gotten much better. Usually, he would come to the hospital by car, with a driver picking him up and taking him back!

This morning, the driver had called her to say that there was a small issue back home that required him to take a few days off, and she had agreed to it, only to forget about her directionally-challenged cousin Mu Shinian!

"I’ll go with him!" Lu Jingchen, who had been standing by Song Qiao’s side without speaking, then spoke up, saying indifferently, "We forgot to buy fruits on the way up just now. I’ll go buy some while I’m out. You wait for me at the hospital, okay?"

Song Qiao looked up at Lu Jingchen, hesitated for a moment, but then nodded and turned to Mu Shinian.

Knowing what Song Qiao was about to say, Mu Shinian spoke before she could, "Sister, I know what you’re going to say. Don’t worry!"

In front of Song Qiao, Mu Shinian had always been very obedient. In his heart, Song Qiao was not just like a sister to him, but also took the position of a parent in his life.

In this world, he only had two family members left, his grandfather and cousin, and he cherished this kinship very much, no matter what.

Regarding his own birth, Mu Shinian always felt that he was a mistake. Being abandoned at a very young age had long cast a psychological shadow in his heart.

He also knew how much effort and sacrifice Song Qiao had made for him.

...

Sitting in Lu Jingchen’s car, Mu Shinian looked utterly astonished, even seemingly unsure where to place his hands and feet.

The understated yet luxurious car was something that a car and football star enthusiast his age would somewhat recognize. Moreover, before the Mu Family went bankrupt, he had seen quite a few expensive cars.

Before getting into the car, when he saw the winged emblem, Mu Shinian had seen it in real life before, but even when the Mu Family was wealthy, he had never touched one.

The black Bentley Mulsanne, if he wasn’t mistaken, was worth at least eight or even nine million.

This man seems to have quite a complex identity.

"Are you Qiaoqiao’s younger brother?" After Lu Jingchen got into the car, he turned his head to glance at Mu Shinian, who was sitting in the passenger seat with the posture of a diligent student, and asked with a tone that carried a hint of warmth.

Mu Shinian felt a surge of nervousness inside him, daring not to move around carelessly, afraid that he might accidentally bump into something and damage it!

Hearing Lu Jingchen’s words, he hurriedly nodded like pounding garlic, and perhaps due to his age, his voice carried a low and mellow quality, very pleasant to hear, "Hello, my name is Mu Shinian, Song Qiao is my cousin."

The sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy still had an innocent look on his face that seemed to be free from worldly concerns, and a clean face adorned with his attractive smile.

Mu Shinian was very good looking, almost a mirror image of Song Qiao’s uncle; despite his young age, he was already a school idol, someone who is talked about within school circles. Moreover, due to his quiet yet gentle and refined personality, many of the female students regarded him as a god among men.

Looking at Mu Shinian before him, Lu Jingchen felt a sense of familiarity, and upon closer inspection, he remembered that he might have seen Mu Shinian’s photo at his nephew’s place.

Perhaps because this kid was Song Qiao’s cousin, that aura of being unapproachable was not exuded. Instead, Lu Jingchen’s expression softened, and it was only after starting the car that he spoke, "I’m your sister’s husband; according to family hierarchy, you should call me cousin-in-law."

Almost without any concealment, Lu Jingchen spoke frankly of his identity, his tone as if he was merely commenting on the nice weather today.

However, the big boy who was feeling a little tense and nervous suddenly widened his eyes, staring at Lu Jingchen incredulously, and after a moment, he reached out to point at Lu Jingchen, stammering slightly, "You mean to say... you and my sister are married?"

How could this be? Song Qiao is only twenty-one years old now, and she has said before that she would not marry until she was at least twenty-five or twenty-six.

And if she was married, why didn’t she tell him and Grandpa?

Lu Jingchen’s expression didn’t change, remaining calm, he simply nodded, steering the wheel, and with a laughing intonation in his voice he said, "So, if you call Qiaoqiao ’sister’, according to reason, you should call me ’brother-in-law’."

Seeing the obedient Mu Shinian, Lu Jingchen was instantly reminded of his wild nephew at home, suddenly feeling a headache coming on, and if he had a choice, he wouldn’t mind picking Mu Shinian.

In comparison, his own nephew and Mu Shinian, their personalities and level of obedience, were worlds apart.

"I won’t call you that." Mu Shinian outright refused to call Lu Jingchen brother-in-law, quite matter-of-factly, "My sister didn’t tell me she was married, how would I know if you’re not deceiving me?"

Although he had just seen this man being intimately close with his sister, it could just be that this man was pursuing his sister, right?

"You don’t believe that your sister and I are married?" Lu Jingchen wasn’t annoyed; he raised his eyebrows slightly and spoke with an expected calmness.

Mu Shinian felt his thoughts were in disarray, almost disbelieving Lu Jingchen’s words, and hearing Lu Jingchen ask him, he naturally nodded, the tone resolute, "I don’t believe you."

At a red light stop, it was but a moment before he took out a red booklet from the storage drawer in front, and directly handed it to Mu Shinian, "This is my marriage certificate with your sister."

The most straightforward and brutal method of proof was to show his marriage certificate with Song Qiao to Mu Shinian because, after all, whether he believed it or not, he had to accept it now.

As Lu Jingchen pulled out that red booklet, Mu Shinian already had an ominous premonition; now hearing Lu Jingchen say it was the marriage certificate between him and his cousin, his mouth gaped open wide enough to swallow an egg.

With a trembling hand, he took it, flipping through it to see the two people photographed together inside, then looking at the names registered below, Mu Shinian didn’t know what to say, not even sure how to describe his emotions.

As the green light flickered on, Lu Jingchen started the car, not breaking the sudden silence and calmness first.

Mu Shinian flipped through the marriage certificate back and forth for a long time, trying to find something different but ending in failure. He finally turned his head back towards Lu Jingchen, his lips twitching, and said, "Are you really married to my sister? Do you love her?"

Lu Jingchen’s hand on the steering wheel tightened as his gaze remained fixed ahead, flashing with an unusual emotion, yet he smiled and hummed in response, "I like her."

He said ’like’, not ’love’.

But Mu Shinian apparently missed this nuance, continuing to inquire, "Looking at the marriage certificate, your name is Lu Jingchen. You wouldn’t happen to be that very wealthy Lu Family’s person, right?"