The younger sister mistakenly identified her brother when visiting relatives and was kissed by the c

These words were spoken.

The entire Zhou family living room fell into a deathly silence.

You could hear a pin drop.

Zhou Zejun was stunned.

Liu Hongmei, holding Qiao Mingzhu's hand, froze in mid-air.

The three members of the Zhou family gasped in unison, staring at the Qiao family members with disbelief.

Sitting in his wheelchair, Zhou Liguang turned his head in astonishment, his sharp gaze fixed on Qiao Xinxin, who had been sitting quietly in the corner since entering, like a mural.

She would like me?!

Zhou Liguang's deep eyes narrowed dangerously, revealing a strong sense of scrutiny and darkness.

Right at this extremely delicate and awkward juncture!

Qiao Xinxin, who was being watched by everyone, did not follow the script rehearsed by the Qiao family at all.

Instead of bowing her head in embarrassment, she suddenly raised her head, her clear eyes filled with shock and confusion.

Like a startled fawn, she immediately stood up from the stool, her face full of confusion and even a touch of innocent urgency, and loudly retorted, "Dad! What are you talking about? When did I ever say I liked Zhou Liguang?"

She pointed to her nose, her voice clear and loud, echoing throughout the room: "I've only been back in the compound for a few days! This is only the second time I've seen Comrade Zhou. How could I not know I like him?!"

boom--!

This was undoubtedly another heavy blow to the Zhou family's hearts!

Seeing Zhou's parents' faces, which had just been full of gratitude, instantly turn as black as the bottom of a pot, and even show signs of impending rage...

"Qiao Xinxin!"

Qiao Lijun was terrified. He stood up abruptly and yelled at Qiao Xinxin loudly, with a strong sense of warning.

Has this brat gone mad?! Didn't she promise me that before?!

After yelling, Qiao Lijun felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly turned around, forcing a smile at Zhou Zejun and Liu Hongmei, whose faces were ashen, and dryly explained, "Uncle, Aunt, please don't take it to heart!"

"Xin Xin is a girl who came back from the countryside. She hasn't seen much of the world. She's shy, so she's embarrassed to say it. After all, she's a young woman, and she's easily embarrassed. How could she admit it in front of so many elders?"

"Yes, yes! Old Zhou, Hongmei, please don't misunderstand!"

Qin Fangfang was also sweating profusely from the anxiety, and quickly took over the conversation, starting to make up a story without blushing or skipping a beat:

"This girl saw Li Guang from afar at the family reunion banquet and fell in love with him at first sight! As soon as she got home, she hid under the covers and told us, the old folks!"

As Qin Fangfang spoke, she guiltily wiped her sweat: "We were thinking that we've wronged this girl too much over the past twenty years. Since she truly loves Li Guang, we mustered up the courage to think of letting her marry into our family, so as to fulfill her devoted love!"

To make the act more convincing, Qin Fangfang even went so far as to belittle her own beloved daughter, sighing as she said, "Originally, we felt that doing this would be unfair to Mingzhu. After all, she and Li Guang grew up together as childhood sweethearts. But we didn't expect Mingzhu to be such a sensible child!"

Qin Fangfang put her arm around Qiao Mingzhu's shoulder, her face full of "gratification" and "emotion": "As soon as Mingzhu heard that her sister liked it, she didn't hesitate and even cried as she agreed to give up this good marriage to Xinxin! Tell me, how can she be so sensible and well-behaved?"

"Since Xin Xin is a true member of the Qiao family, we think it would be best to return the marriage to her and let her serve Li Guang!"

Listening to the Qiao family's flawed and futile performance, Qiao Xinxin, standing in the corner, secretly curled up a cold smile of anticipation.

Act on, act to your heart's content.

Just wait, your time to cry will come!

As the head of the Qiao family, Qiao Shouguo took a deep breath and decided to take shamelessness to the extreme.

He not only insisted that Qiao Xinxin was in a one-sided love affair, but also subtly belittled his own daughter while praising Qiao Mingzhu to the skies: "Old Zhou, this is absolutely true! Xinxin is so stubborn, she's convinced that Li Guang is the best! Our Mingzhu, on the other hand, as soon as she heard her sister liked him, she didn't hesitate to give him up without a second thought. Mingzhu has always been kind, considerate, and sensible; she'd rather suffer herself than let her sister be unhappy at all when she comes back!"

Hearing Qiao Shouguo's arrogant words, Qiao Xinxin lowered her head, her eyes practically rolling to the sky in her mind!

Qiao Shouguo and Qin Fangfang truly live up to their reputation as a couple who can't sleep in the same bed without being two different kinds of people. They are equally shameless, and their skin is thicker than the corner of a city wall!

Shameless!

But to her utter surprise, the brother and sister Qiao Lijun and Qiao Mingzhu were not to be outdone.

They immediately displayed the Qiao family's "fine tradition" of going along with things and echoed their parents' words.

Qiao Mingzhu took out a handkerchief and pretentiously wiped away non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes, displaying the scheming, manipulative behavior of a green tea b*tch who had suffered a great injustice but still had to consider the bigger picture:

"Yes, yes, Uncle and Aunt, my sister's feelings for Brother Liguang are truly sincere! Although I am reluctant, I also know that my sister has suffered for twenty years outside, and all of this originally belonged to her, so I am willing to give in. My sister is just shy and doesn't dare to admit it in public, but I understand her feelings for Brother Liguang."

Qiao Lijun immediately chimed in, covering for his beloved sister and desperately trying to smear Qiao Xinxin: "Exactly! Xinxin's just a country girl, thin-skinned, and suffers for the sake of saving face! She's always been thinking about Li Guang, and probably wishes she could marry into the Zhou family right now! It's just that she's too embarrassed to admit it in front of Li Guang!"

The four of them spoke in unison, their coordination was absolutely seamless.

In just a few words, Qiao Xinxin's shocking rebuttal was immediately nailed to the pillar of shame as "shy," "embarrassed," and "a shallow-minded young lady in the throes of first love."

Alright! Since you love to act so much, then I'll give you an Oscar to show off!

Qiao Xinxin was also busy.

As they relentlessly attacked her, a cold glint flashed in her eyes, and she instantly activated every acting skill in her body.

She first stared wide-eyed in disbelief, as if she had heard something unbelievable.

As the Qiao family of four spoke with increasing fervor, Qiao Xinxin felt as if she had been struck by a tremendous injustice. Overwhelmed with resentment, her thin shoulders began to tremble violently.

She bit her lower lip hard, her lips trembling with grievance, her eyes instantly reddening, and glistening tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to fall but not quite. She looked utterly pitiful and broken, unable to defend herself.

When the Qiao family finally finished their performance, the living room was quiet for a second.

Qiao Xinxin seemed to finally break down, and tears streamed down her face.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, as if suppressing her emotions to the extreme, and then opened her eyes again, staring intently at her biological parents and siblings with an extremely sorrowful and desperate gaze.

"Dad, Mom..."

Qiao Xinxin's voice was soft and weak, tinged with a sob. Though not loud, it pierced the ears of everyone in the living room like a sharp awl: "I know you feel sorry for Mingzhu, you can't bear to see her suffer, and you don't want her to marry Zhou Liguang. But... but you can't talk about me like this!"

She suddenly raised her voice several octaves, tears streaming down her face like broken beads: "My sister didn't want to jump into this fire pit, and you, just to protect her reputation, have the heart to push your own daughter, me, into it alive?! When did I ever tell you I liked Zhou Liguang?!"

boom--!

The moment the words "fire pit" were uttered, it was like a bombshell, causing an uproar in the Zhou family's living room!

Qiao Xinxin stood there, tears streaming down her face as if they would never end. Her frail body swayed precariously as she desperately questioned her family, "Have you all considered my situation when you slander me like this? If word gets out, what will people in the compound think of me? How can I ever face them again?! They'll just gossip behind my back and say I'm coveting my sister's man as soon as I returned to the city, shamelessly stealing his man!"

She clutched her chest, sobbing uncontrollably, her violently trembling body betraying her utter breakdown: "When you were worried about my sister's reputation, did you even consider me? Not even a little bit?!"

This tearful accusation was filled with bloodshed and pierced the heart!

The smiles on the faces of Zhou's parents, who were sitting on the sofa, vanished completely after Qiao Xinxin's tearful outburst.

After Qiao Xinxin finished saying the last word "fire pit," Zhou Zejun and Liu Hongmei's faces were as dark and gloomy as the night sky before a storm!

"A fire pit?"

Zhou Zejun, enraged, laughed, slammed his hand on the table, and stood up.

"Good! I only found out today that our Zhou family has become a 'fire pit' that your Qiao family avoids like the plague?! Qiao Shouguo, if you don't explain those two words clearly to me today, our decades-long friendship is fucking over!"