Lady

Later, Ju Hui really didn't go to Loft, and Sheng Qijing didn't cause any trouble for her.

Unfortunately, she had some bad luck the next day. She went back to Songzhuang to sign the lease for the house, only to be told that someone had snatched it up the day before and had rented it for two years.

Ju Hui was heartbroken. There were suitable replacements in Langfang, but Kan Yu rejected the idea: "Let's go to Daxing and take a look. It's closer to the airport, which means it's closer to President Sheng!"

With no other accommodations available, Ju Hui had no choice but to set her sights on the Persimmon Courtyard, where Bian Jiaping had "secretly" driven her there once.

Ju Hui glanced quickly at the furnishings, revealing an expression that Bian Jiaping mistook for "dissatisfaction."

She scratched her eyelids; this place wasn't as scary as Sheng Qijing had described.

The house was bought three years ago. The residential area was renovated first, so Ju Hui could move in with just her bags. The yard and garage were also left as bare shells so Ju Hui could make use of them. It's clear that Jia Ping really wanted this house.

She accepted the house: "Not bad, your apology was sincere. I'll treat you to dinner later, so you can see if the food I earned myself is any good."

Bian Jiaping chuckled: "I'm looking forward to it."

After saying that, Ju Hui rubbed her hands and feet and left the courtyard.

Saturday arrived stealthily.

Ju Hui wore the "wine tasting party dress" that Kan Yu had bought with her—a long, form-fitting black gown. There were more expensive options, but Ju Hui said she liked this one; the fabric was soft, and she could keep it for everyday wear later.

Kan Yu saw the driver who was supposed to pick her up arrive at the door and checked her makeup one last time: "You'd better hang out with President Sheng tonight and get to know more investors. If you can talk to a buyer, I'll give you a new dress."

After saying this, Kan Yu smiled at "President Sheng's people," Bian Jiaping nodded, and closed the door. He had been standing downstream from the conversation and heard everything clearly, including Ju Hui's certainty.

The car silently drove towards the East Third Ring Road.

Bian's parents have moved. Their previous house was too big and they didn't like it because it felt too impersonal. They moved to the building next to Bian Jiaping's in the same community.

Upon arriving home and opening the door, Rong Zhenfang was initially delighted but then became worried. She was busy praising Ju Hui's good temperament and nagging her to buy a cashmere coat. It was still early autumn, and she was getting old and didn't like going out to see the yellow leaves.

Despite saying that, Aunt Rong still jogged back to her bedroom to try on her new clothes, with Ju Hui being pulled along behind her.

After trying on the clothes, Ju Hui came out with a smile on her face when suddenly, a loud and clear "You brat!" rang out. Bian Shansong walked out of the tea room.

Bian Jiaping had already walked away indifferently, taking off his coat and hanging it on an old-fashioned clothes rack. The fishing gear that Ju Hui had given him lay against the door frame, with a large part of it still exposed on the porch, blocking the doorway.

The lure was handmade, the woodwork both rough and meticulous, the fish belly gleaming with scales. He turned his mouth down and met Ju Hui's polite face.

Bian Shansong and his son had always maintained this superficial relationship. He had reflected on the first half of his life several times at night, attributing this estrangement between father and son to two main reasons:

First, his son succeeded in starting his own business but refused to inherit it. This was not Bian Shansong's original intention. He let his son start a business hoping that he would experience failure and be more cautious in running a food factory. He didn't expect his son to work so hard.

Secondly, there was Ju Hui's appearance. He understood what his son regarded this little girl as.

Bian Shansong nodded at Ju Hui, who was dressed in all black; anyone who didn't know better would think she was there to pay her respects at a funeral.

He grew impatient and kicked the lure rod next to him again: "I usually do platform fishing."

Ju Hui had anticipated this rebuttal. She had known beforehand that Uncle Bian didn't do lure fishing, and was about to mention that the Taiwanese fishing rod she had asked a friend in Norway to buy was still being shipped when Bian Shansong added:

"This lure fishing... is it fun? It looks pretty comfortable standing there, come over here."

The four of them sat around the dining table. There were five dishes and a soup, which were northern-style dishes. In the end, it wasn't Aunt Rong who cooked them, but the housekeeper that Bian Jiaping hired came to cook. Now, everyone in this family except Ju Hui has to pay attention to their diet.

"So you've decided to stay in Ruobei? You've also given up your jobs in Norway, right?" Aunt Rong picked out a piece of fish for Ju Hui.

Ju Hui nodded in affirmation.

The fish was so tender that the chopsticks tapped against the rim of the bowl, illuminating the phone on the table. She hadn't turned on the notification sound; it only showed a new message from Sheng Qijing.

It's 7:40 PM now. The wine tasting started 30 minutes ago, and Sheng Qijing has probably already dealt with a wave of people flattering him.

Ju Hui put the phone away and continued, "Some works are still stuck there, and I may go back for a short business trip in the future."

"Return them?" Bian Shansong raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair. "The company also has an art storage facility in that industrial park in Liaoning. There are piles of stones and iron blocks. I chose that location because it was clean and well-regulated. If you need me, I can arrange for someone to contact a transportation company to bring the artwork back to China."

Ju Hui hadn't expected Bian Shansong to be such a chatterbox. She added, though not entirely accurate, "Most of my iron blocks have been sold. I'm going back to meet the buyers, deliver the goods, and make a good impression."

"So it sounds like you can't let go of your clients over there. When your parents aren't around, your heart always wanders far away."

The dining table instantly fell silent after Bian Shansong's words. Ju Hui heard a strange noise coming from under the table, and she lowered her head to take a sip of the still-scalding soup.

Pretend not to see your uncle and aunt glaring at each other.

“Your phone lit up three or four times, take a look,” Bian Jiaping gestured to the light emanating from the side of her phone.

Sheng Qijing: [Not here yet?]

Sheng Qijing: [I invited many artist friends, not just you.]

Sheng Qijing: [Coward.]

In the past, Ju Hui could see a mocking smile behind this coward, holding a long-handled sledgehammer and laughing at her for not daring to damage a piece of lifeless plaster.

But that was his graduation project.

Ju Hui ultimately failed to smash it.

Later, when Sheng Qijing was wiping away tears, he mentioned this incident again. At that time, the graduation exhibition had ended, and the final version of the graduation project was placed behind the glass in the garage, which was out of place with the artwork wall. He said that Ju Hui was not afraid of smashing it, but was afraid of getting involved in his messy affairs.

"Xiao Hui is at an age where she should be settling down," Aunt Rong said.

Ju Hui stared at her phone unconsciously for a long time. After coming to her senses, she first looked at Bian Jiaping to make sure he was looking at Aunt Rong and not peeking at her messages before looking into Aunt Rong's eyes. The other woman's smile widened even more.

"Hmm, just turned twenty-eight." Ju Hui held back the rest of her sentence; it was still a long way off.

What does Xiaohui think of Jiaping?

The air seemed to freeze for a moment before the words finally came from Bian Shansong, who was sitting far back.

Bian Jiaping chuckled: "I'm old enough to be a father, but you're only sixty. How can you talk such nonsense?"

Bian Shansong cursed at his son, "Don't talk, let Xiaohui speak."

“You don’t need to say anything. This food makes me feel nauseous. I’ll take you home.” Bian Jiaping stood up.

“It’s fine.” Ju Hui tugged at Bian Jiaping. “Uncle, Brother Jiaping is fine.”

Bian Jiaping frowned, unsure whether she was feigning ignorance or answering seriously. Just as he was struggling with this, Ju Hui stood up, tripping over the stool leg, and immediately felt relieved.

"But I really have to go back. My dog ​​keeps barking, and my neighbor told me to go back and take care of it." She leaned on a chair, looking somewhat helpless.

Rong Zhenfang put down her chopsticks and saw Ju Hui and the others off at the door. When they reached the elevator, she noticed that Ju Hui's stomach was still empty. She sighed and told her before the elevator doors closed, "Come to my house for dinner next time."

Back in the car, the air conditioning from when we arrived still seemed to be working.

Ju Hui felt that she was the one being "criticized," and that she should be the one who was angry. But Bian Jiaping walked very fast on the way to the parking lot, and Ju Hui followed behind him, taking two steps for every three steps. Finally, she sat down and had to carefully comfort him as he rubbed his temples: "Are you alright?"

Bian Jiaping said it was nothing, quickly got back to normal, opened the navigation and asked, "You have an appointment with Bian Jiaping, right? Where are you meeting? I'll give you a ride."

Ju Hui was stunned: "Oh, no need, just take me home."

"Don't be stubborn. Mo Cun is one of the best in the country. He'll definitely introduce you to connections in the art world tonight." Bian Jiaping pursed his lips and said apologetically, "He's the one who can help you the most, you know that."

Ju Hui remained silent.

In that last sentence, she sensed a poignant sadness in her father handing over the bride's hand.

She kept saying she didn't have an invitation, wasn't in the right mood, and didn't have the right clothes. When she still couldn't get him to let her off the hook, she finally said, "How about your hotel? Sheng Qijing's wine tasting event is too mediocre. They didn't even notify you, the big boss."

Bian Jiaping slowly withdrew his hand from the navigation app: "...He invited me, but not tonight."

Ju Hui didn't understand.

"The tasting event is scheduled for tomorrow night at Yunque. He knew you wouldn't be going today, so he gave you false information." Bian Jiaping started the car and glanced at her. "You have to go tomorrow."

-

The second night was a wine tasting.

This morning, Sheng Qijing sent Ju Hui a copy of the real invitation, but there was no response, so he was unsure whether Ju Hui would come.

The banquet table, extending from afar to near, can accommodate more than twenty people.

He arranged for Ju Hui to sit next to Yun Aonan, near the entrance to the terrace garden, with her name tag placed next to her cold food, facing the Blue Moment outside the high-rise building.

At this moment, Ruobei was as he remembered him. The afterglow of the sunset shone into the rearview mirror during the evening rush hour; ahead was the blue of the headlights of the cars ahead, and behind was the red of the taillights.

Today is a holiday adjustment for the National Day holiday, which is Sunday and also Monday for working people, so the traffic jams are even worse.

When guests came to the terrace to toast with Sheng Qijing, they joked with him: "Mr. Sheng probably deliberately scheduled the tasting event for this time, wanting to trap people in the car and not let them taste his old-fashioned Pente."

Sheng Qijing smiled and took a sip of wine.

Today is just the fastest Pente has arrived in China; otherwise, he could have asked them to come even earlier so he and Ju Hui could stand side by side.

He has been waiting for this day for a long time.

They're right, Ju Hui is probably anxiously waiting 300 meters away.

Looking down from the high building, Sheng Qijing could accept whether she came or not. Ju Hui's name had already been the subject of everyone's attention on the terrace.

Half of them are big names and up-and-coming figures in the art world, and the rest are his and her friends. Those who should have known about Ju Hui's return to China now know.

Sheng Qijing smiled; he had always been the one to organize a welcome party for her.

It doesn't matter whether Ju Hui comes or not.

Sheng Qijing already had a real feeling that Ju Hui was returning to China.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and the sky completely darkened. Sheng Qijing faced the inner hall and exchanged pleasantries as usual. Yun Aonan and Liuli, whose eyes were fixed on him, suddenly stood up from their seats and looked towards the doorway that he could not see.

He put down his wine glass and walked straight out of the conversation.

Stepping into the room, I saw that Ju Hui had returned.

At the end of the line, she was impeccably made up, her high heels clicking merrily as she was led by Liuli's son, Xiaohuan, to her seat.

He greeted Ju Hui as soon as she entered the door. He was as tall as her waist, and his suit was impeccably tailored, making him look like a little gentleman. Ju Hui was overjoyed.

Xiao Huan knew to shake hands with the lady halfway and then turn back every few steps to draw her attention to the tiny roadblock.

Ju Hui kept an eye on his curly hair the whole time. They walked and stopped, made two turns, and finally stopped in front of the last roadblock. Suddenly, Xiao Huan reached out her hand to him.

"Xiao Huan is so sensible."

Sheng Qijing rubbed Amber's head, and Xiao Huan chuckled.

Ju Hui reacted and tried to pull her hand away instantly, but she was still a step too slow.

Sheng Qijing naturally grasped her four fingers in his palm and gently squeezed them.