The lines at the corner of her eyes and her fidgeting to set the camera right almost made her look like an endearing mom.
"It's my day off. What did you want to talk about?" Sun Li asked, looking at Qian Meng with confusion. Mo Qingchen was not in frame at this time, so it was obvious that she had no idea someone else was in the room.
"Oh. I just—" she couldn't finish before Sun Li cut her off.
"Is this about the bank account and all that fuss?" Sun Li asked, her brows furrowed.
Mo Qingchen pressed his lips together in dissatisfaction. These people didn't talk to each other about anything apart from money, it seemed.
"No, I sorted that out. You don't need to worry about being pestered about it any longer. This is about something else. I want you to meet someone."
Sun Li looked stunned. She blubbered for a minute before she shouted over her shoulder. "Honey! Kids!"
Qian Meng recoiled at the sound and dug closer to Mo Qingchen. He pushed her forward and his arms slid around her shoulders to hold her close, a gesture Qian Meng was thankful for.
There were a flurry of footsteps and sleepy people coming into frame. Sun Li fumbled to show three golden haired men of different ages. The older man was Daniel, Sun Li's husband. The two boys were Ryan and Chris, Yun Qian Meng's so-called siblings.
Qian Meng slowly shifted the camera so that both Mo Qingchen and she was in frame. There was a collective greeting. Mo Qingchen nodded. "How are all of you?" he asked casually.
Qian Meng could see that he was being polite on her behalf. She was grateful for that.
"Who is this?" Sun Li spoke up, almost teasing. Qian Meng was surprised by the tone. It sounded more like a friend asking another, but Qian Meng responded nonetheless.
"My fiancé," she said quietly.
Sun Li smiled. "Oh yes. I heard about you from Yun Sui Bo. You are Bai Ye Qing, right?" she asked casually. She didn't seem interested in the topic.
"No," Mo Qingchen responded immediately, sounding rather offended.
Sun Li looked confused, as did Daniel.
"I thought you were marrying some Bai person," Daniel said. He was a little more interested in knowing about the matter than Sun Li, that was evident.
"No. Father arranged that. I didn't like the guy. This is the one I am marrying. He is Mo Qingchen," she said proudly.
"Oh!" Sun Li responded, surprised.
"I'm thrilled to finally meet you," Mo Qingchen said but they couldn't hear a trace of happiness in his voice. Qian Meng almost choked on her laughter.
"I'm glad to meet you too, although I can't say finally. I didn't even know Qian Meng was seeing anyone, let alone breaking an arranged marriage and marrying her boyfriend," Sun Li answered. "Oh, call me by my name. No need for courtesy."
Mo Qingchen scathingly thought that there was no way Sun Li could have known any of this. "Qian Meng and I were keeping our relationship a secret until recently," he allowed an explanation for Qian Meng's sake.
"Qian Meng has time to romance these days?" Daniel asked lightly. It seemed that he had tried to set her up with people before only to be shot down. Mo Qingchen smirked.
"No. We make time for each other. It's about prioritizing," Mo Qingchen voiced.
Sun Li looked at him intently and scoffed, making Qian Meng smile.
This aggressively protective man, slyly reprimanding her mother for being a shitty parent. What would she possibly do about him?
Sun Li was unimpressed but Daniel was laughing.
"Is this your boyfriend?" Ryan asked, wide-eyed with fascination.
"Yup," Qian Meng responded lightly.
"He's handsome," he nodded enthusiastically.
"Thank you," Mo Qingchen replied, a trace of a genuine smile on his lips. Qian Meng stared for a solid second before turning back to the people on the screen.
"So, Mo Qingchen, what do you do for a living?" Daniel asked.
"I own a technology and software company", he responded. "However, that is not the only area of business that I've taken part in. I'm an investor in a few businesses."
"Wow. That's… impressive," Sun Li answered, seeming not sure of what else to say. "Wait. Mo, right? Is your family in real estate?"
"You're thinking about the right family," Mo Qingchen replied with a smile.
"Oh." Sun Li became quiet.
"You certainly seem very accomplished," Daniel complimented.
"I have worked hard," Mo Qingchen said lightly.
"So, how rich are you?" Sun Li asked without a shred of shame. "I mean. Hardly anyone is richer than Qian Meng. I hope you can match her," she corrected quickly when she saw Qian Meng's reaction.
Mo Qingchen didn't know how to answer. No one really asked him this question. It was easily available on the internet. "You could search online," he told her. "I hope the number satisfies you."
Qian Meng chuckled.
Daniel was already on the business. "You're in the top70 richest people on the planet!" he choked out.
"I am?" Mo Qingchen sounded embarrassed by that. Qian Meng laughed some more.
"Yes, I think he earned something around 136 million yesterday," Qian Meng boasted. Mo Qingchen squeezed her shoulder and shushed her. "He's upset he's not in top 5, I assure you," she snickered.
Was this showing off her wealthy husband? Who knows? She didn't care. She was proud of this man.
"So, how did you two get together?" Daniel asked, brushing aside the topic. He looked rather embarrassed by it.
"We run in the same social circles and I went to university with his sister. We started dating recently, though," Qian Meng said confidently.
Sun Li looked shocked. "And what do your parents think about it?" Sun Li asked. The question was thrown at both Qian Meng and Mo Qingchen.
"My family is thrilled. You are the first person from Qian Meng's side who knows. We'll tell Yun Sui Bo in a few days." Mo Qingchen said on Qian Meng's behalf.