Moved by the lie, Lü Qingqing relented and decided not to expose her drugging of Hu Jia.
Truthfully, it wasn't entirely Lü Qingqing's fault. At the time, she hadn't harbored much affection for Hu Jia; standing by his side was merely a duty.
Now, however, especially after the recent events, Lü Qingqing recognized the shift in her feelings towards Hu Jia.
Even if it wasn't explicitly stated, she had to admit that she hadn't hesitated, and had even felt a surge of excitement, when she informed everyone that Hu Jia was her fiancé.
It was as if she had finally found an outlet, a way to release her emotions.
Turning all the unknowns, uncertainties, and instabilities into a definite certainty.
If she had been forced to accept this fiancé before, now she was accepting him willingly.
"Let's go," Lü Qingqing called to everyone in the special task force.
"Hold on!" To everyone's surprise, it was Tong Hua who spoke up.
With a furious expression, he walked before the crowd, "I heard Miss Lü wasn't feeling well, and my little sister kindly offered you a place upstairs to rest. Was that wrong? Miss Lü, not only are you ungrateful, but you've also spoken harshly. Isn't that rather impolite?"
After speaking, Tong Hua solemnly demanded of Lü Qingqing, "Please apologize to my sister."
Lü Qingqing glanced at him, a wry smile playing on her lips. So, some people truly did need a lesson.
The person who administered the drug was Tong Hua's subordinate. It was impossible that he didn't know about Tong Meng's misdeed, yet he still wanted an apology from Lü Qingqing?
In that case, there was nothing more to discuss.
Lü Qingqing picked up the wine glass Hu Jia had set down, a smile on her face as she approached Tong Meng, "I offer this wine as an apology. Do you dare to accept it?"
As she spoke, she extended the glass to Tong Meng.
"This is too much. Even if Miss Tong didn't know Captain Hu was your fiancé, she didn't do anything outrageous. Miss Lü, isn't this being too aggressive?"
"Exactly. I heard that Hu Jia is a great detective, but it seems his ability to solve cases is vastly different from his ability to find a female companion."
"Poor Tong Meng, her kindness was mistaken for ill intent. Someone like this shouldn't have been invited to the birthday party."
Murmurs arose from all sides. Lü Qingqing seemed unfazed, pushing the wine glass even closer to Tong Meng.
Hu Jia, meanwhile, swept his cold gaze across the crowd, "Is the well-being of my woman something you lot can understand? Whoever has an opinion, then fine, let them drink this wine in Tong Meng's stead."
When Hu Jia saw Lü Qingqing stop him from drinking, and now saw her holding the wine glass to threaten Tong Meng, he had already guessed that the wine was problematic.
Since someone wanted to stand up for the Tong family, he didn't mind taking their head.
"So?" Tong Meng still held the cup. "If Miss Tong doesn't dare to drink this, it's also fine to find someone here to drink it for you. After drinking this glass, I, Lü Qingqing, will steer clear of you in the future."
The words had gone this far, but Tong Meng still didn't dare to take the glass. This was because she knew all too well what was in it.
Everyone present was astute. Coupled with Hu Jia's veiled meaning and Tong Meng's pale face, anyone could guess that the wine was problematic.
For a moment, everyone watched like spectators, no longer speaking, just observing.
But there are always exceptions, and some simpletons just didn't think things through.
"I'll do it!" a young man stepped forward. "You've disrupted Miss Tong's birthday banquet, what face do you have to ask for forgiveness? I'll accept this glass on Miss Tong's behalf, and you should all go back where you came from."
Yu Yue glanced at the man as if he were an idiot. Indeed, having a foolish teammate was truly draining.
Li Yang and Luo Wenwu watched this with cold smiles. The Tong family's moment of humiliation was finally at hand.
"Alright, let's leave this glory to this clever and kind protector of fair maidens." With that, Tong Meng moved to shift the direction of the cup.
"No!" Tong Meng suddenly reached out to stop her, and in her panic, knocked over the wine glass.
Looking at the mess before her, Tong Meng calmed down, "I don't accept your apology!"
Lü Qingqing casually placed the glass back onto the tray. "Don't accept?" she said, pouring a little more red wine into the glass. "One glass spilled, but there's a second. Shall we continue?"
"You... leave!" Tong Meng barely managed to swallow the word "scram."
The incident had become extremely unpleasant, and no one was in the mood for singing or dancing anymore. The absurdity had passed, leaving only a mess.
Standing in the empty living room, Tong Hua's lips curved slightly upwards. "In this world, only blood ties never change. Your brother will always be the best for you."
Tong Meng snorted, "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. You deliberately provoked Lü Qingqing just to force me to drink that wine, didn't you?"
"Even if you drank it, it would have been fine, because it only contains glucose and nothing else can be detected," Tong Hua's smile didn't diminish.
"What?" Tong Meng looked at Tong Hua in astonishment, then realization dawned. She slapped Tong Hua across the face. "You're calculating even against me."
Tong Hua didn't dodge, taking the slap directly. "I told you long ago, you can't have Hu Jia. I was just helping you face reality sooner."
"No wonder Lü Qingqing knew there was something in the wine. You told her, didn't you? Was it you?" Tears welled up in Tong Meng's eyes. She thought her plan was meticulous, but she hadn't expected Tong Hua to be the mantis stalking the cicada.
"It's a shame that woman had a soft heart and didn't expose you on the spot," Tong Hua shook his head, full of regret.
"Despicable, scoundrel!" Tong Meng tried to slap Tong Hua again.
This time, Tong Hua grabbed her hand and violently flung it away. "I took that slap just now. If it weren't for the fact that you're my sister, I wouldn't have had to lift a finger."
"Get out! Get out!" Tong Meng roared with all her might. She had planned for so long, waiting for this day to make Hu Jia her pillow companion. She never expected that all her efforts would make her look like a clown.
According to the plan, Hu Jia would feel dizzy and be sent to a room to rest. Then, Tong Meng would tear her clothes, feigning assault. This way, she could marry Hu Jia as a victim, without anyone saying anything. Most importantly, this scheme would cover up the fact that she was no longer a virgin.
To lure Hu Jia there, she had even sought help from Tong Hua. Tong Hua had been very cooperative, not only organizing her birthday banquet but also inviting many people to witness this "historic moment."
Unfortunately, she had never imagined that Tong Hua had never intended to help her from the very beginning.
He hadn't drugged the beverages. Instead, he deliberately leaked information to Lü Qingqing. This way, Lü Qingqing would surely fly into a rage, thus revealing her fiancé relationship with Hu Jia and making Tong Meng give up all hope of being with Hu Jia.
It was just that Tong Hua hadn't anticipated Lü Qingqing letting Tong Meng off the hook and not revealing the matter of the wine.
"It's a pity. If she had exposed the drugging then, but the wine was proven safe and non-toxic, Lü Qingqing would have been branded as a false accuser. Given Hu Jia's personality, he would have defended her, which would have also given Hu Jia the reputation of being unable to judge character. How could he then remain in the police force?"
Tong Hua looked at his sister, who had collapsed on the floor. "Don't say your brother doesn't treat you well. Look, I really put my mind to it to prevent you from being called a poisoning woman."
Tong Meng no longer wanted to argue with Tong Hua. She only knew that her life had been ruined once again.
The first time was ruined by Lian Xianhai, and Tong Hua hadn't rescued her.
This time, it was ruined at her birthday banquet, with Tong Hua orchestrating it.
Truly, my good brother!
"Tong Hua, you're doing this to use me to climb up, aren't you? I agree," Tong Meng stood up. "But I have a condition."
"You say it. Between us siblings, who is who?"
"Take me to see Sixth Master!"