Take her as my wife

Liu Jiaren went to open the door, and Jiang Ni followed her to the doorway.

Upon seeing Tan Wen's appearance clearly, Liu Jiaren exclaimed, "Wow—a handsome guy in uniform!"

Jiang Ni and Tan Wen both stared at her blankly, because Tan Wen was clearly wearing a black sleeveless hooded T-shirt and matching cargo pants.

Liu Jiaren's eyes lit up with excitement, and she added, "Nini, last time we went on a blind date, I told you I saw a really handsome guy, it was him!"

She flirtatiously tossed a strand of hair behind her ear and extended her hand to Tan Wen: "Handsome little brother, let's get acquainted. My name is Liu Jiaren, Liu as in willow tree, and Jiaren as in stunning beauty. I'm your sister Jiang Ni's childhood friend and best friend."

Tan Wen caught the word "blind date" and glanced at Jiang Ni.

He remembered Liu Jiaren's face; Jiang Ni had sent him her photo before.

Because she was Jiang Ni's childhood friend, Tan Wen was noticeably warmer towards her, reaching out to shake her hand and saying, "Hello, Sister Jiaren."

In Jiang Ni's eyes, however, some new interpretations emerged.

After all, Jiang Ni knew that he always maintained the same aloofness and coldness towards unfamiliar women, even when they first met.

Therefore, Liu Jiaren appeared particularly special at this moment.

Jiang Ni's first thought was: Tan Wen is interested in Liu Jiaren.

Tan Wen was completely unaware that she had misunderstood, and in order to make a good impression on Liu Jiaren, he added an unnecessary compliment: "Sister Jiaren is indeed a stunning beauty."

This made Liu Jiaren extremely happy.

Not long after Tan Wen arrived, the two became friends on private messaging.

Aunt Zhou wasn't there, so Jiang Ni went to pour water for Tan Wen. One second Tan Wen was chatting with Liu Jiaren, and the next second he stood up and followed Jiang Ni: "I can do it myself. I'll also wash the lychees for you to eat."

He placed the small plastic basket on the counter, his gaze falling on the wound on her forehead: "How did this happen?"

Jiang Ni briefly recounted what had happened that day to him. Tan Wen's eyes darkened: "Does it still hurt? Next time something like this happens, call me. It'll be more useful than calling the security guard in the neighborhood. If I don't answer or my phone is off, call my friend's number. His last name is Yang."

As he spoke, he operated his phone with one hand and sent a string of numbers to Jiang Ni's private message.

Jiang Ni saved the number: "It didn't really hurt that much, thank you."

Liu Jiaren was watching their movements from the living room when she saw Tan Wen reach out and touch Jiang Ni's forehead. The gesture was so gentle, as if any more force would hurt Jiang Ni.

As a seasoned lover, Liu Jiaren felt she had seen through everything.

Wow, that's interesting—the younger brother is trying to steal his older brother's girlfriend.

No, that idiot Tan Yan is already out of the game, so it doesn't count as him poaching someone.

"Will it leave a scar?" Tan asked, frowning.

Jiang Ni felt his hand was strangely hot, so she tilted her head and replied, "My sweetheart bought me a scar removal cream, and it works quite well, so it shouldn't be a problem."

After washing the lychees, the two of them returned to the living room together.

Tan Wen wanted to sit next to Jiang Ni, but Jiang Ni wanted to create an opportunity for him and Liu Jiaren to interact. In the end, Tan Wen sat in the middle of the sofa, with Jiang Ni and Liu Jiaren sitting on his left and right.

However, Tan Wen's body was noticeably closer to Jiang Ni's.

He peeled the lychee for Jiang Ni with natural movements, and he did so with great skill, removing half the shell and leaving the other half, so that the sweet juice wouldn't get on her hands when he handed it to her.

What surprised Liu Jiaren was not Tan Wen's thoughtfulness and consideration, because when Tan Yan was pursuing Jiang Ni, he was not necessarily worse than Tan Wen.

What Liu Jiaren found truly unbelievable was Jiang Ni's reaction.

She and Jiang Ni grew up together. Jiang Ni was an extremely slow-to-warm-up person. Liu Jiaren keenly sensed that Jiang Ni trusted Tan Wen a lot. The best proof of this was that she did not subconsciously avoid physical contact with Tan Wen.

For example, right now, after she had eaten her fill of lychees, Tan Wen casually grabbed a wet wipe from the coffee table to wipe her hands.

Her hand was gently held in the young man's large palm. Tan Wen placed the wet wipe in her hand, and Jiang Ni said "thank you" and began to wipe her hands as if nothing had happened. It seemed that she had not thought at all whether handing over the wet wipe required the ambiguous step of "holding her hand".

"Little brother, I'd like a wet wipe too." Liu Jiaren smiled and looked at Tan Wen.

Tan Wen tore off a wet wipe and handed it to her. As soon as Liu Jiaren touched the wet wipe, he immediately let go without touching it again.

She gave Tan Wen a meaningful look, but Tan Wen remained calm, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

Jiang Ni's attention wasn't on them; she had just received an email informing her that the trial date for Chen Siyao's bullying case had been set for the beginning of next month.

She was using her tablet to supplement and organize relevant information. While she was working on it, she greeted Tan Wen and Liu Jiaren and went into the study.

The living room became even quieter, with only the sound of the movie still playing.

Tan Wen knew that Jiang Ni was busy with work, and he also had things to do in the afternoon, so he simply stood up and prepared to leave.

"Sister Jiaren, I'll be going now. Please remember to call her for lunch later, I'm afraid she'll forget the time when she's busy."

Liu Jiaren replied with a smile, "So thoughtful. You two brothers are quite alike in this respect. But Tan Yan couldn't keep up the act any longer after all this time. How long do you think you can keep up the act, little brother?"

Her outward appearance remained gentle and mild, but the second half of her words completely changed, revealing scrutiny, disdain, and wariness.

She disliked none of the Tan family members, and this scheming young man might not be as good as Jiang Ni thought.

To put it bluntly, they all have ulterior motives.

"You two aren't a good match. I advise you to stay away from her." Liu Jiaren also stood up, her smile fading away.

A woman's mood can change as quickly as the weather, and Tan Wen truly experienced this profound saying firsthand.

He feigned confusion, his tone indifferent: "What are you talking about, Sister Jiaren? I don't quite understand—are you disliking me because my brother hurt you?"

Liu Jiaren was too lazy to play along with him. She crossed her arms and spoke bluntly: "You're definitely more sophisticated than your idiot brother, and you're more handsome too. But the Tan family isn't a good match. Whether you marry him or you, you probably won't have a good life. And with your good looks, finding a richer heiress than hers is a piece of cake."

"So, stay away from Jiang Ni and don't provoke her anymore."

Tan Wen agreed with some of the points she made, such as calling Tan Yan an idiot.

With his hands in his pockets, he pretended to be confused, saying, "Sister Jiaren, you're overthinking it. I don't have any bad intentions. I'm just very grateful for her help and kindness to me."

Seeing that he was unyielding, Liu Jiaren didn't want to waste her breath arguing with him, so she walked straight past him and went to the study to find Jiang Ni.

This younger brother is shameless and cunning. Jiang Ni, this little white rabbit, can't possibly outsmart him.