Qin Qing nudged Qin Xin's hand and made a gesture with her small mouth.
'What's going on?'
Qin Xin shook her head, her beautiful eyes trembling slightly.
She had already prepared herself to respond with indifference, lowering her head to eat, pretending she hadn't heard anything. Let them talk; after all, they had been talking for over a decade.
But she never expected that her aloof senior would actually speak up to help.
There are two ways to help: one is the gentle approach, which involves saying nice things to Qin Xin, with average results. The other is the radical approach, which involves attacking the speaker, leading the topic into the next round of argument.
Bai Ningning's question, "What about you?" was quite radical, causing Qin Xin to clench her hands in worry.
Not just Qin Xin, but everyone present was taken aback. Even the second uncle was stunned for a moment, finally speaking up after a while: "Me?"
"Yes," Bai Ningning calmly repeated, "What about you?"
The second uncle forced a smile: "What does that have to do with me? We're talking about the younger generation."
"That's strange," Bai Ningning tilted her head, "If the younger generation can speak, why can't the elders?"
"I…"
"In terms of achievements, the elders have gone through decades of experience, dealing with countless big and small matters," Bai Ningning said gently, "Your resume must be quite impressive, right?"
The second uncle had never expected her to say this, and for a moment he was caught off guard, instinctively wanting to say a few words: "I once…"
"How does it compare to Sister Yueyue?" Bai Ningning didn't give him a chance to speak.
The second uncle's expression immediately darkened: "Girl, that's a different matter; you can't compare like that."
"Why not?" Bai Ningning blinked innocently, "You compared when talking about Qin Xin, so why not compare with others?"
"They are sisters; we are elders…"
"Exactly because you are elders, you have an advantage when comparing achievements! If the disadvantaged younger generation can compare, why can't the advantaged elders?" Bai Ningning rested her chin on her hand, "We can't have double standards; it's better to treat everyone equally."
The atmosphere at the dining table dropped to freezing point, and several relatives looked displeased.
The younger generation was already stunned, not daring to breathe. Qin Xin's eyes were a bit red, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
Qin Yue still didn't speak, only symbolically furrowing her brow. Many people at the table were paying attention to her expression, guessing her thoughts.
Qin Dad and Qin Mom felt a bit awkward, exchanging glances and suddenly recalling something.
Yesterday, they had called Aunt Zou, asking her to remind Bai Ningning before they set off and to take care of their possibly wronged second daughter during the gathering.
Could this be her way of taking care of things?
Qin Mom quietly glanced at Aunt Zou in the corner, only to see her wide-eyed, her eyelids twitching wildly.
No, ma'am, I really didn't ask her to do these things! I could never have imagined this!
Just then, Bai Ningning also subtly shot her a grateful look.
Thank you, Aunt Zou, you woke me up; not suppressing myself is my strongest moment.
I didn't teach you those things! I didn't!
Aunt Zou was dumbfounded; fortunately, everyone's attention wasn't on her, or she would have had to perform an apology on the spot.
"Ning girl," the eldest uncle finally remembered the girl's name, "We were just joking; don't take it seriously."
"Coincidentally, I was joking too," Bai Ningning laughed, "No one would really take it seriously, right? Hehe."
Both the eldest and second uncles felt a pang in their hearts.
At this point, Qin Yue could no longer pretend to be mute; she had to express her stance.
"Ningning," she spoke up, "You…"
"What?" Bai Ningning suddenly said, "Want to sleep on the sofa?"
Qin Yue stood up and then sat back down, as if nothing had happened. This scene left everyone else in shock.
This girl from who knows which suburb actually managed to put the head of the Qin family under the thumb of his wife?
How did she do it!
Qin Mom threw her hands up, internally screaming that it was a disaster. She recalled two hours ago when she had a heart-to-heart with Qin Yue, who confidently told her that she would completely turn the situation around and change her habit of not getting out of bed.
And this is the result?
Bai Ningning still maintained a calm expression, as if she had done something trivial. In reality, her heart was racing.
That last sentence had slipped out unconsciously; her family status wasn't really like that. She hadn't actively put Qin Yue in the position of sleeping on the sofa. If Qin Yue really intended to sleep on the sofa, it would be for her own health, a temporary measure (to abstain).
Bai Ningning quietly raised her head and found Qin Yue looking at her, her eyes filled with deep meaning, as if asking: How do you plan to thank me?
Got it, it's a transaction.
"Alright, alright," Qin Dad spoke up at this moment, "It's normal to have debates in conversations, but let's change the topic. Second brother, I heard you recently acquired a new painting?"
The second uncle let out a sigh of relief: "Yes, I brought it; I'll show it to you later."
Someone warmed up the atmosphere, the atmosphere suddenly improved. Before long, some were eating, some were chatting, as if nothing had happened just moments ago.
But everyone knew it was different now. Usually, at this time, everyone would still be discussing Qin Xin's studies and Qin Yue's achievements. But today, not long after lunch began, they had already moved on to the "boring" topic of calligraphy and antiques.
Qin Xin had little appetite and quickly finished her meal before heading outside. Bai Ningning noticed this scene, wiped her mouth, and got up to follow her.
Although she ate slowly, she was quite fast and was almost full by now.
Stepping outside, Qin Xin was indeed waiting for her in the corridor.
"Ningning, senior," Qin Xin said, her eyes red, "Thank you so much."
"Oh, it's nothing. I didn't do much, just expressed myself freely," Bai Ningning thought about how to respond humbly when Qin Xin suddenly added, "But you really don't have to help me."
...What?
"You offended my family to help me, and that's... not worth it," Qin Xin bit her lip, "They will have opinions about you, and besides..."
Besides, those relatives never really accepted you, and offending them will make things difficult for you in the Qin family in the future.
"But what about you?" Bai Ningning asked, "Just let them keep talking and laughing?"
Qin Xin's lips curled bitterly: "I've gotten used to it, it's fine. Eventually, they will stop talking."
Bai Ningning suddenly crossed her arms, her gaze cold.
"Listen, I don't care if you heal over time or what happens to them in the future, that has nothing to do with me," she said, "I only know one thing: as a senior, I have to protect my junior. I won't stand by and watch you get bullied."
Even if it means paying a certain price—it's just a trade with the big sister, so be it!