While thinking about it, Pei Yuan's phone rang.

【Pei, the banquet starts in an hour, should I come to pick you up?】

Pei Yuan frowned. "The banquet is about to begin. We should quickly change clothes."

Qiao Chuchu blinked. "Banquet?"

Lin Qing enthusiastically draped her arm around Qiao Chuchu’s shoulder. "Little Chuchu, you didn’t forget, right? Today is Grandpa Zhao’s birthday banquet. We all have to attend."

Qiao Chuchu suddenly remembered. How could she forget Grandpa Zhao's birthday banquet?

The Zhao family is one of the prominent families in Lan City, and Grandpa Zhao has always been kind to her since she was young. He's a very kind elder.

But in order to cause trouble, she had deliberately chosen to act out two hours before Grandpa Zhao's birthday banquet, attempting to take her own life. This not only caused her brothers to miss the banquet but also deeply saddened Grandpa Zhao, who found out about her suicide attempt on the day of the banquet.

She had been led around by the system for so many years that she had become completely tamed by it. Every day, she was only focused on how to complete the tasks, completely forgetting the harm she caused to those around her.

Qiao Chuchu looked at Pei Yuan and the others, feeling guilty.

【I almost dragged my family down and prevented them from attending Grandpa Zhao’s birthday banquet.】

Her brothers looked at her in surprise.

Qiao Chuchu lowered her head. 【It’s strange, but now I feel like I could save my family’s fate, even though I haven’t done anything.】

Lin Qing and the other eight people awkwardly turned their heads away. No, she had done a lot more than that.

Lin Qing hugged Qiao Chuchu with a bright smile. "Can I borrow your stylist, and maybe your dress too? I'm afraid I won’t make it in time for mine."

Qiao Chuchu felt a bit awkward. "But I don’t have a dress."

Pei Yuan interjected, "No, you do."

Qiao Chuchu blinked. "?"

Pei Yuan looked down at her. "Grandpa Zhao specifically asked for you to attend. I’ve prepared a gift for you, and a dress too. I even prepared several, as long as you haven’t gained weight, it should fit perfectly."

Qiao Chuchu froze. Pei Yuan knew her size? This was a detail the system had never told her.

Lin Qing cheered, "That’s perfect! I’ll borrow Chuchu’s dress then."

Pei Youchuan, standing nearby, scoffed. "Not lending it to you."

Lin Qing's smile instantly disappeared. "Pei Youchuan, are you itching for a fight?"

Pei Youchuan didn’t care. He retorted, "Lin Qing, don’t forget, you were the one who prioritized romance over friendship. I’ve been your best buddy, but after you got together with Ji Yan Chuan, you completely ignored me. Now you come looking for us? No way!"

Lin Qing’s breath caught, and she immediately felt a pang in her chest. Her eyes reddened.

But her gaze quickly averted, and the blunt Pei Youchuan didn’t even notice, continuing to cross his arms and grumble.

"Dumping your friend when you're in love, but picking me up when you're not? Do friends mean nothing to you?"

Lin Qing was choked up, feeling guilty and sad, but couldn’t retort. She could only mutter, "Fine, I get it."

As soon as she finished, Qiao Chuchu sprang up like a leopard and slapped Pei Youchuan across the face. "Shut up!!"

Qiao Chuchu, who was only 1.6 meters tall, jumped and hit the back of Pei Youchuan’s head, making it look like she dunked him into a basket.

Pei Youchuan, clutching the back of his head, looked completely confused. "Qiao Chuchu, what are you doing?!"

Qiao Chuchu quickly hugged Lin Qing. "I’m willing to lend my dress to Sister Lin Qing! Who are you to stop me?!"

Pei Youchuan was stunned.

Pei Xun stared blankly. "Oh my god, so it turns out Qiao Chuchu has to jump to reach the back of Third Brother’s head?"

The other brothers looked just as shocked. "She’s really fired up. It’s like seeing a kitten jump up and slap a tiger."

Qiao Chuchu truly looked like a cat asserting its territory, puffing her cheeks in defiance at Pei Youchuan. "Pei Youchuan, if you have a girlfriend, would you accept that she has a really close male friend?"

Pei Youchuan was caught off guard.

Qiao Chuchu continued, "If I get a boyfriend, would you accept that I have a close female friend who’s even closer to me than my boyfriend?"

Pei Youchuan didn’t think for a moment before answering. "I’d break that guy’s legs!"

Qiao Chuchu nodded, pleased. "See? You can’t accept it either."

Pei Youchuan was furious. "The reason I can’t accept it is that someone is actually dating you. Whoever dares to date you, I’ll break their legs!"

Qiao Chuchu blinked. "…Huh?"

Pei Youchuan didn’t think there was anything wrong with his words and awkwardly turned to Lin Qing. "I got too harsh with my words earlier, sorry."

Lin Qing’s eyes bulged!

Pei Youchuan, this stubborn mule, actually apologized to her under Qiao Chuchu’s few words?! When he was a kid, he’d been cornered by older boys in the restroom and kicked until his face was covered in blood without asking for mercy, even drinking toilet water and spitting it in their faces like a total brat!

Lin Qing was stunned and turned to look at Qiao Chuchu. "This stubborn mule must’ve saved the entire galaxy in his past life to have a sweet sister like you."

Qiao Chuchu was confused, but Lin Qing kissed her on the cheek!

Lin Qing’s eyes sparkled. "Thanks for standing up for me. From now on, I’ll protect you!"

Qiao Chuchu was still baffled. "How will you protect me?"

Lin Qing grinned mischievously. "My family runs a media company, and we have several popular young stars under our wing. I can introduce you to them and let you have some fun."

Qiao Chuchu grabbed Lin Qing’s hand eagerly. "Then please, protect me!"

Lin Qing laughed heartily.

Pei Yuan’s face darkened as he pulled Qiao Chuchu aside. "Don’t embarrass our Pei family at the banquet later, okay?"

Qiao Chuchu straightened up and nodded, a little worried.

【According to the plot, a lot will happen at the banquet, but in the original script, neither I nor my brothers were present. It was just the male lead, female lead, and second female lead Lin Qing. I wonder what will happen now that we’ve entered the scene.】

Lin Qing’s eyes flashed with a dark glint as she said to Pei Yuan, "Pei, let’s talk."

Pei Yuan nodded and reminded Qiao Chuchu, "At the gathering later, remember not to speak recklessly. Also, stay away from the Lou family father and son."

Qiao Chuchu became excited.

That’s right, today was the first appearance of the Lou family father and son—Crazy Old Man and Little Crazy Man!

They were two of the characters she was most eager to meet, aside from the male and female leads!

Qiao Chuchu couldn’t help but feel excited!

She was really looking forward to the appearance of these two crazy villains!

In the still-unofficial banquet hall, Lou Ting Si lazily played with a lighter on the sofa.

Light it, extinguish it, light it, extinguish it.

Beside him, Lou Yue Jue’s face was dark, his uninterested gaze scanning the room. "Dad, when are we leaving here?"

Lou Ting Si glanced at his watch. "In two hours. Stay put for now. There are several boys over there, you can go play with them."

Lou Yue Jue glanced at the boy fiddling with his phone, rolling his eyes. "I’m not interested in people my age."

Lou Ting Si didn’t bother with him anymore, getting up to chat with other people as he walked further away.

Lou Yue Jue sighed in boredom, his gaze freezing at one spot.

Qiao Chuchu, dressed in a pale pink tulle dress, entered the banquet hall, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.

Lou Yue Jue was stunned.

He watched as the delicate girl bathed in the light, her smile showing shallow dimples, and her eyes shining like stars.

He muttered in disbelief, "Is this… an elf?"