To be honest, when Su Le stood up, everyone who had been chatting just moments ago fell silent and quietly focused on her.
See, everyone is still very concerned; they just needed someone to start the discussion.
Su Le thought to herself, feeling much more at ease.
"Is it that Bai Ningning? The Bai from Bai Ningning, and the Ningning from Bai Ningning?" Lin Yi chimed in, "What a coincidence, I've seen it online recently too."
"You saw it too? Was it that video about the comic convention?"
"Yes, yes, I thought it looked like her. After all, there aren't many girls as pretty as her in Xicheng."
"Are you saying that's really her? No way, no way! Then who is that girl she kissed?"
"Don't talk nonsense; they didn't kiss, just almost. They just had a bit too much physical contact, that's all."
The two of them exchanged remarks, almost revealing everything. Qin Yue sat nearby, her hands trembling under the table.
Although she had anticipated this and knew what to do, listening to the two of them speak in unison still made her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.
"Alright, Su Le," Qin's second uncle had to speak up, "We've all seen that video you sent us."
"Really? Everyone has seen it?" Su Le felt a surge of joy but showed a hint of concern on her face, "Actually, I don't believe that's really my sister-in-law; there must be some misunderstanding."
Bai Ningning took a sip of flower tea and lightly said, "That's me."
Great!
Su Le and Lin Yi almost jumped up in joy.
It was good that she admitted it; next, the elders should be furious.
"..."
For a full five seconds, no one spoke. The elder noticed the atmosphere had frozen and had to say, "Bai girl, what's going on with that?"
Su Le and Lin Yi exchanged glances, both filled with uncertainty.
The elders of the Qin family were speaking up, which was a good thing, and everyone around looked serious and concerned about the matter, which should have been a very good situation.
But why did the elder's tone sound so cautious, his voice low yet not heavy, as if he were carefully probing?
Something was off; they hadn't heard that the elder of the Qin family had such a good temper. Even if he was afraid of offending Qin Yue, it shouldn't be to this extent.
Facing the gaze of the entire table, Bai Ningning still wore a cold expression, "If it's the complete video, you should have seen it clearly. We lost the competition, and the punishment was to eat that thing together. If it were someone else, they would definitely have fallen into the trap and kissed, but because it was me, the organizer's scheme didn't succeed."
The elder nodded slowly, "So it was because you lost the competition."
No, what do you mean, so that's how it is? What are you all doing?
Su Le was getting a bit agitated and sneered, "So, my sister-in-law actually turned misfortune into fortune? The fortune is that she didn't kiss, and the misfortune is that they were pressed together, especially…"
Bai Ningning blinked, "Why is it misfortune?"
Lin Yi said, "Sister-in-law, we all believe that it's nothing, but to outsiders, it looks very intimate."
Bai Ningning tilted her head:
"You must be having a hard time,"
Su Le and Lin Yi immediately erupted in anger: "What did you say!"
"Cough, cough," Uncle coughed a couple of times and lowered his voice, "Bai girl, just speak your mind, but don't insult others."
Don't insult anyone, the whole family, including family friends, is at the table, so calm down.
"I didn't insult anyone," Bai Ningning blinked, "I just think that if they don't even have a friend, their lives must be quite unsatisfactory."
Su Le gritted her teeth: "What do you mean!"
"I mean, if they had friends, they wouldn't be so startled," Bai Ningning shrugged her delicate shoulders, "It's normal for friends to hug, isn't it?"
Between friends, especially same-sex friends, hugging is indeed quite normal.
Some people were already nodding quietly, and Su Le, seeing this scene, was anxious.
"You are being unreasonable," she said, "If it's so normal, then why are there so many people in the comments saying you two are this or that?"
"Exactly," Lin Yi chimed in, "The comments are full of those remarks, like 'they're dating' or 'they're locked,' how do you explain that?"
This is an undeniable fact, an inescapable trap. But after the words were spoken, Lin Yi was surprised to find that the elders around them had almost no reaction, as if they didn't care at all.
Su Le quietly tugged at her.
Are you stupid? What do you mean by 'dating' or 'locked'? Do the elders understand this?
Lin Yi had no choice; the comments were indeed about these things, and she couldn't alter what others had said, or Bai Ningning would definitely catch her on it.
The generation gap became a shield wall, blocking Bai Ningning. But she didn't need it at all, and even wanted to explain:
"That makes it even less relevant; the online comment sections are always like this. Not just me and my friends, even your dad and your grandpa walking down the street would have people commenting 'dating' or 'locked.'"
Qin Mom couldn't help but cough.
Ningning, dear, it's enough to insult your peers; Su Le and Lin Yi's dads are at the table.
But Su Le's dad wasn't angry; instead, he lowered his head and fell into thought. To be fair, the last time he posted a photo with his father on Weibo, there was indeed a passerby who kept commenting 'dating' and 'locked.'
"So that's how it is, a misunderstanding," Uncle spoke up at this moment, "Since that's the case, let's leave it at that. However, Su Le and Lin Yi are right; Bai girl, you should be a bit more careful in the future, just in case someone else misunderstands."
What? Just like that? After such a big incident, all it takes is to be a bit more careful in the future?
Su Le and Lin Yi's pupils dilated in shock, hardly believing their ears. The perfect opportunity they had worked so hard to seize, the highest level of backstabbing in the shadows... and it ended up like this?
Qin Dad looked at his daughter, who appeared very calm.
"Everyone is almost here," he said, "Let's serve the dishes."
Just now, Qin Dad figured out why Qin Yue said not to worry. The first reason was that it was too absurd—because it was too absurd, combined with Bai Ningning's assertive attitude, everyone actually didn't believe Su Le and Lin Yi's accusations.
Because it was just too absurd!
The second reason was that if the accusations were true, then it would be a bit unpleasant to talk about. As the saying goes, family shame should not be aired, especially with three family friends present.
So, just as Qin Yue had anticipated, as long as Bai Ningning could provide a reasonable excuse, leaving the two "plaintiffs" with nothing to say, that would be enough.
"Okay, I understand," Bai Ningning nodded obediently, then looked at Su Le and Lin Yi, "But about this friend... I can introduce you to someone, a good friend of Yueyue, Dr. Chen. She's really nice, and her professional skills would also be helpful to you."
No need to thank me, we have plenty of friends.