No one was surprised to hear this; clearly, everyone already knew. But who had started the rumor? It had been spread so vaguely.
Second Aunt and Qin Mei exchanged a look. Second Aunt cleared her throat and asked tentatively, "This is just absurd. Where is the Jie Family?"
"Doctor Qiao is at the state-run restaurant hosting a welcome dinner for her daughter-in-law's brother," Granny Guo said. "Everyone went except for Jing Er. Jie You went too. Jing Er must not have been invited because they probably didn't know he was back from his business trip. As for Teacher Lin, she was supposed to be helping look after Jie You. Now that Jie You has left, why would she still be at the Jie Family's home?"
"Jie You might be gone, but isn't Jing Er home?" one of the women asked with a sly smile, her implication hanging in the air.
"What nonsense is that? The person Teacher Lin likes is Jing Si, not Jing Er," Granny Guo said, looking at Qin Mei. Her words were clearly meant to sow discord.
