What to do if you become the female lead's best friend?

Chapter 22

Old Master Jing was silently planning that it was time to arrange a few matchmaking events for Jing Hao. He wasn’t looking for a woman with a family background and abilities to help him, just someone who wouldn’t embarrass him in public.

However, this could be postponed for now. The immediate priority was to apologize to Mu Mingcheng and gain his forgiveness.

Old Master Jing said a few polite words and asked the onlookers to disperse. As the oldest and most senior person present, everyone gave him some face when he spoke.

Furthermore, the scandals involving the Jing and Mu families were not something everyone could see, so people left to mingle with business associates or chat with familiar acquaintances.

The party became livelier, but people’s eyes occasionally flicked towards the scene.

Once everyone had dispersed, Old Master Jing asked the servants to bring over a few glasses of wine. He cheerfully raised his glass and said, “Mr. Mu, my grandson was disrespectful and offended you. I hope you can forgive him for the sake of an old man like me.”

He then gave Jing Hao a look, signaling him to raise his glass and apologize.

Old Master Jing thought: People often say that Mu Mingcheng is a man of great demeanor, whether it's genuine or an act. With everyone watching, even I, an old man in my seventies, have taken the lead in pleading. If he values his reputation, a single glass of wine should settle this.

However, after waiting for a while, Jing Hao did not move. Old Master Jing turned his gaze coldly towards Jing Hao.

Jing Hao, who had been raised by Old Master Jing, understood the unspoken message in the old man’s look. Yet, as a proud young man who had always been in the limelight, it was humiliating for him to apologize to someone of similar age whom he felt unjustly hostile towards.

Jing Hao’s lips were tightly pressed. Under Old Master Jing’s subtle coercion, he had to suppress his reluctance.

He picked up the glass from the servant’s tray, applied a bit of pressure, and walked to Mu Mingcheng. With a stern face, he said, “Mr. Mu, I didn’t recognize your identity earlier. My apologies.”

His words came off as a bit insincere. It seemed he was apologizing because of Mu Mingcheng’s status.

Gu Jin watched the veins on Jing Hao’s hand bulging and raised her eyebrows in admiration. Indeed, power was a wonderful thing; no wonder so many people pursued it.

“Not at all,” Mu Mingcheng did not even look at Jing Hao. His gaze fell on the wine glass handed to him, and he smiled gently, saying, “If Jing Shao wants to make amends, he should do so with my girlfriend.”

He turned to Gu Jin, looked at her deeply with gentle and calm eyes, and said, “My girlfriend was also raised in luxury and cannot be expected to serve others or play the role of a dutiful maid.”

Hearing this, Gu Jin tilted her head to meet his serious expression, held back her impulse to rub her forehead, took a deep breath, and managed a faint smile.

She withdrew her gaze and sighed slightly. Since she had completely offended Jing Hao, she might as well let the storm be as fierce as it could be.

Jing Hao’s face darkened severely. He clenched the wine glass in his hand, and the wine in the glass quivered slightly. It seemed that if he exerted a bit more force, the glass might snap in half.

He could barely convince himself to bow to Mu Mingcheng for the sake of power.

But to apologize to a woman he looked down on?