Chu Ge returned to the sofa this time. After a brief moment of silence in the suite, soft whispers began to surface again. Just as Chu Ge anticipated, neither Qin Ruojing nor Tong Yaqi came out again, and the three of them spent the night peacefully.

After waking up, Chu Ge initially thought that after yesterday's events, Qin Ruojing would feel a little awkward facing him, but in reality, Qin Ruojing seemed entirely unaffected, behaving even more gracefully than usual. It was Tong Yaqi who gave him a few reproachful glances, appearing slightly embarrassed.

As for the attitudes of the two women, Chu Ge didn't mind much. He was going to act the way he always did anyway. Since he knew Qin Ruojing wasn't truly interested in him, things were much easier. Even if he occasionally teased her or took small liberties, he felt no psychological burden.

This time, the executive class lasted only for yesterday, and in the following two days, the three seemed to be on a real vacation. With Qin Ruojing as the guide, they visited a few famous places to relax and have fun, while Chu Ge maintained his flamboyant demeanor like a young master.

During these two days, Chen Yujie, who had suffered a major setback from Chu Ge, was not idle. Not only did he investigate Chu Ge, but he also arranged for someone to keep an eye on him. From the investigation results and feedback from his subordinates, he found Chu Ge to be quite an enigma. The more he pondered, the less he could ascertain whether Chu Ge was bluffing or truly fearless.

So, even though Chen Yujie was very displeased with Chu Ge, since he wasn't humiliated in public and Chu Ge hadn't physically assaulted him, it wasn't too big of a deal. For now, he decided to just keep this matter in mind and didn't take any further actions.

On the morning of the fifth day in the provincial capital, while rowing a boat in the central lake of the provincial city park, Qin Ruoying called.

"Sis, when are you coming back?" As soon as the call connected, Qin Ruoying asked anxiously.

Qin Ruojing originally planned to return in a day or two, but upon receiving her sister's call, she thought of her sister pursuing Chu Ge and deliberately replied, "I'm having fun with your brother-in-law. We'll talk in a few days."

"Sis, stop messing around and hurry back. Mom's come over from Kyoto."

"What?" Qin Ruojing was startled, letting go of the oar in her right hand and standing up quickly from the boat. She nearly fell into the lake from the abrupt movement.

"I said Mom's here. She arrived an hour ago. I took advantage of her going out to buy groceries to finally find the time to call you."

Hearing her sister's words, Qin Ruojing felt a headache coming on. It was already enough trouble with her sister causing confusion, and now her mom was here to join the fray. What kind of situation is this?

"Xiaoying, Mom... really came?"

Although Qin Ruojing basically believed her sister wouldn't joke about such matters, she still asked with a hint of hope and hesitation.

"Sis, do you really think I'd find joking about this funny?"

Qin Ruojing sighed deeply and said, "I understand," then paused before anxiously asking, "By the way, you haven't been talking nonsense to Mom, have you?"

Of course, Qin Ruoying knew what her sister meant by "nonsense." She immediately replied, "Not yet, but if you and brother-in-law don't come back soon, I can't guarantee anything."

Just as Qin Ruojing was about to ask her sister more questions, she heard a knock on the door over the phone, followed by her mother's voice faintly saying, "Xiaoying, open the door for Mom."

"Sis, I can't talk now. Mom's back from the groceries. Oh, and don't call Mom, she told me not to tell you."

With that, Qin Ruoying hung up the phone. Qin Ruojing stared at her phone for several seconds, pinched her forehead, and had a wry smile on her face.

"Auntie's at your place?"

Although Chu Ge didn't pick up the phone, he was right next to her and naturally caught the gist of the conversation.

Hearing Chu Ge's voice, Qin Ruojing sighed again. She put away her phone and nodded helplessly.

"What do you plan to do?"

Qin Ruojing hesitated for a moment, initially planning to use the excuse of a business trip to stay with Chu Ge a few more days. However, as soon as the thought arose, she dismissed it.

She could avoid the first day of the month but not the fifteenth. How long could she really delay? Besides, leaving Qin Ruoying alone with their mom made her uneasy about her sister's big mouth.

In the end, Qin Ruojing said helplessly, "What else can we do? Let's go home."

This unexpected development meant the boating had to be cut short. The three of them left the park, checked out from the hotel, and drove straight back to Lidu.

During the drive, Qin Ruojing remained mostly silent. When they entered the Lidu City District, Tong Yaqi offered to get off, took a taxi, and left, providing Chu Ge and Qin Ruojing the time and space to discuss the matter.

Tong Yaqi got out of the car, and Chu Ge glanced at Qin Ruojing, saying, "Chairman, since your mother is here, shouldn't we just tell her the truth about us? Or say that we've already broken up?"

Qin Ruojing met Chu Ge's gaze and shook her head, saying, "Call me Xiaojing. Since I've decided to be with you, there's no need to say those things. When you meet my mom later, you're still my boyfriend, and rightfully so."

Hearing Qin Ruojing say this, Chu Ge couldn't help but feel a little speechless and amused. She clearly doesn't like him at all, yet she insists on this matter.

If he hadn't been sure of this point, Chu Ge would definitely refuse now. But at this moment, Chu Ge had no worries. Anyway, he wasn't at a loss, and it was fine to continue playing along as long as they didn't cross a boundary. This game was quite interesting.

"It's not unthinkable to continue pretending, but are you sure there won't be any issues with your sister?"

Qin Ruojing shook her head somewhat irritably and instinctively said, "I'm not sure, we'll see as it goes."

Chu Ge curled his lips into a smile and said nothing more until a few seconds later, Qin Ruojing suddenly realized she had let something slip and quickly explained, "What do you mean by pretending? Between you and me, this is not an act at all."

Chu Ge grinned, saying nothing in agreement or disagreement, knowing that in this situation, any explanation would only seem like a cover-up.

On the way, Chu Ge made a round of phone calls to those around him, telling them not to contact him unless it was important in the next couple of days, just in case there were any slip-ups when he was with Qin's mother.

Qin Ruojing sat in the passenger seat, and after Chu Ge finished his calls, she couldn't help feeling a bit irritated for no reason. All of these calls seemed to be to women.

However, Qin Ruojing was already enough to stress about, and what Chu Ge was doing was at least preventive. She just rolled her eyes at Chu Ge without saying more.

Soon, Chu Ge drove into the Huafu Garden District and stopped at Qin Ruojing's house. Having not been there for a while, Chu Ge did actually feel a bit nostalgic.

Qin Ruojing took a deep breath, adjusted her mood and expression, and then took out the key to open the door.

Upon opening the door, they saw Qin's mother sitting on the sofa with Qin Ruoying, occasionally glancing at the TV while knitting something.

"Mom? How come you're here?"

Qin Ruojing displayed a very surprised expression, as if she really didn't know her mother was there, and Chu Ge was also stunned for a moment before quickly greeting, "Auntie."

"What, am I not welcome?"

At the sound of the door, Qin's mother had already turned her head. She nodded at Chu Ge with a cheerful grin saying "Xiao Chu," and then looked at her elder daughter with feigned annoyance.

Qin Ruojing changed her shoes, entered the house, approached her mother's side, and with some trepidation, grabbed her mother's hand, smiling, "Mom, what are you talking about? I'm overjoyed that you're here; how could I not welcome you?"

Qin's mother put down her knitting and said, "I heard from Xiaoying that both of you are wrapped up in work all day long. By coming here, wouldn't I just be a bother to you both? Do you really welcome me?"

From the moment she entered the house, Qin Ruojing had been secretly observing her mother's and sister's expressions. Seeing nothing amiss, she finally relaxed somewhat and smiled sweetly, "No work is more important than my mom. Of course, I truly welcome you."

Hearing this, Qin's mother finally looked pleased and patted her daughter's hand, "Hmm, at least my big girl has a conscience."

Immediately after, Qin's mother turned her gaze to Qin Ruojing's belly, "Any movement there yet?"

Qin Ruojing was taken aback, her face suddenly blushing a bright red, and she coyly called out "Mom" with a long drag in her voice, filled with embarrassment and awkwardness.

Even Chu Ge, not just Qin Ruojing, hadn't anticipated his "mother-in-law" would mention such a topic in his presence. Feeling awkward, he quickly said, "Auntie, you see, Xiaojing and I didn't know you were coming, so we didn't prepare anything in advance. Is there anything you'd like to eat? I could go buy some groceries."

Qin's mother smiled and shook her head, "Xiao Chu, you and Xiaojing just got back from out of town. Sit down and rest a bit. I've already done the shopping. Also, you don't need to divert for my big girl. We're all family here, nothing to be embarrassed about."

Chu Ge's intention was indeed to steer away from that topic, but since his "mother-in-law" said so, he could only agree with an "eh" and sat on the sofa next to Qin Ruojing.

"Precisely, Mom's right, we're all family here. I wasn't embarrassed, so what are you two shy about?"

Qin Ruoying chuckled, picked up the knitting her mother had left on the sofa, waved it in front of Chu Ge and Qin Ruojing, and said, "Sis, brother-in-law, take a guess, what is this? And who is it for?"

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