Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Invitation

"Are you really going?" Tang Ya opened a bag of potato chips with a crisp crunching sound, and leaned against the door of the room watching Jiang Yiyu change clothes and put on makeup.

"What else?" Jiang Yiyun patted lotion on her face. "After all, we are old classmates. It would be inappropriate to not see them when I return to China. He has asked me out three times. I can't just keep rejecting him."

Tang Ya curled her lips and muttered softly, "What a malicious intention."

Ever since Jiang Yiyu came to live with her, the past few days have been unusually peaceful. Even Cheng Shuze hasn't come to her house like crazy to look for her. It's like they've returned to the time when they lived together and played every day during the winter and summer vacations during school.

"How about you come with me? You and Ling Jingzhi haven't seen each other for a long time, right?"

"No, no, no." Tang Ya shook her head in fear, almost choking herself to death on the potato chips. "You two... If I go there, I'll be a pure light bulb. It's strange that Ling Jingzhi doesn't hate me."

"It's not as serious as you say. We're just meeting for dinner. We've booked a place at Yugu Pavilion. Didn't you always say you wanted to go?"

Tang Ya swallowed her saliva hard: "What's wrong with Yugu Pavilion? It's not like I haven't eaten there before. I can go with you next time..."

"But there are wild bluefin bream today." Jiang Yiyu urged in a very seductive tone, "Are you really not going? It's hard to get an appointment."

Tang Ya gritted her teeth in grief and anger: "That's too much! I'm not going today! You have to compensate me next time."

"If we don't go this time, the next time we want to eat it, we may have to wait until the fishing moratorium is over, which means we have to wait another two months. How about this? Go change your clothes and go downstairs with me. If Ling Jingzhi asks you to go with him, we can go eat together."

Tang Ya was torn between her conscience and her desires. Ling Jingzhi must want to ask Jiang Yiyu out for dinner alone. If she went, she would definitely be the third wheel. But if she didn't go, she would be like the Bluefin Tuna, who was extremely difficult to get out of the relationship with. She was reluctant to let him go.

"Okay, then it's a deal. I'll take you downstairs. If Ling Jingzhi calls me, I'll go. If he doesn't, then forget it." In the end, the desire for delicious food overcame everything. Tang Ya piled up the leftover potato chip bags and ran to find clothes to change into.

A smile flashed across Jiang Yiyu's face.

"It's really agreed that I'll just take you downstairs. I'm still very tactful." On the way downstairs in the elevator, Tang Ya held Jiang Yiyu's arm and kept chattering all the way.

"Okay, okay, come and have dinner with me, so that I won't be embarrassed." Jiang Yiyu brushed her curly hair.

She found a sky blue long dress today, matched it with a headband of the same color to simply secure her long hair behind her head, and decorated it with clear sapphire earrings. Her eyebrows were curved like willow leaves, and she looked extremely graceful.

Tang Ya looked at Jiang Yiyun's reflection in the elevator mirror and joked, "It's just a meal, why are you dressing up so grandly? What if someone misunderstands?"

"This is already the simplest outfit. Didn't you see I've taken off my necklace and bracelets? And this skirt must have been out of the closet a few years ago. When did I leave it with you? Two years ago?" Jiang Yiyun retorted, "You go with me, it's safe."

"I declare that I am only responsible for eating. I really can't hear anything he says..."

While the two were bickering, the elevator had already reached the first floor of the small high-rise building where Tang Ya lived. When the elevator opened, it faced the main entrance of the lobby. At a glance, she saw a handsome man waiting downstairs by the car.

Once school days were over, everyone really changed dramatically. His facial contours hadn't changed much, but his features had matured. Unlike Cheng Shuze's sharp, delicate features, his features were perfectly balanced. He was gentle and soft, like jade, his peach blossom eyes drooping as he looked over with a smile.

Jiang Yiyu had seen recent photos of Ling Jingzhi on her phone, but it was obvious that the real person was more impactful. Judging from the face alone, the odds between Ling Jingzhi and Cheng Shuze were probably 40-60, but those eyes that seemed to have broken their smile always reminded her of a certain type of central air-conditioning type of person who always had a smile on their face.

Tang Ya was wondering why she didn't notice that Ling Jingzhi had peach blossoms in his eyes when they were in high school. The man saw them and walked over to them.

"Jiang Jiang, long time no see." The tone was gentle and soft, with a hint of tenderness, but these were not important. The main thing was that this name scared both of them. Jiang Yiyu subconsciously grabbed Tang Ya's arm.

"It's been a while indeed." Jiang Yiyu maintained a smile on her face. "I don't think I've seen you since we graduated from high school. It's been almost six or seven years now? I didn't even recognize you at first glance."

"It's been seven years. It feels like a long time since we last met, let alone seven years. But fortunately, it's all over now. We can see each other often in the future." Ling Jingzhi smiled and turned to Tang Ya beside him. "Miss Tang, long time no see."

Tang Ya was silent for a rare moment.

"Let's not talk about it for now. Ladies, please get in the car." Ling Jingzhi opened the back door of the car gentlemanly and made a gesture of invitation.

Tang Ya felt that Ling Jingzhi definitely had ulterior motives towards Jiang Yiyu and that this meal would be a bloody one. She struggled for a moment, but before she could even say "I'm not going", Jiang Yiyu forcibly grabbed her arm and stuffed her into the car.

The car was driving smoothly on the road, with light music playing inside the car and the three of them chatting casually.

After all, they hadn't seen each other for years, so it wasn't possible to immediately become as familiar as they were in high school. Furthermore, Cheng Shuze was always there back then, so they weren't very close. Talking about the past, memories, and the present, they always had to mention another person who had left a deep impression on their lives, but Ling Jingzhi cleverly avoided any topic involving Cheng Shuze.

"Life abroad is monotonous and boring." Ling Jingzhi held the steering wheel with one hand, driving at a steady speed and in a relaxed posture.

"Instead of going to the party, why not drive out to have fun?" Tang Ya asked.

"I did go to the place Miss Tang mentioned during the first two years I went to the United States, but it wasn't fun to go alone, so I stopped going later."

Being alone is boring, so why not have a girlfriend? Tang Ya was about to respond when Jiang Yiyu nudged her with her elbow, and the words that were about to come out of her mouth were quickly changed.

"One... stop calling me Miss Tang or something like that. It sounds weird, like you're having dinner with a client."

Ling Jingzhi laughed: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was dealing with the family business some time ago, and I got used to saying this. I haven't changed it for a while."

Ling Jingzhi looked up from the rearview mirror at Jiang Yiyu, who was sitting in the back seat, leaning on her hands and looking out the window: "Jiang..."

"Stop, stop, stop. And don't call me Jiang Jiang. It makes me feel even weirder."

"But that's what I called you in high school."

Jiang Yiyun paused: "Back in high school, we were all young and it didn't matter. But now it's a bit inappropriate to call me that."

Ling Jingzhi didn't mind the obvious rejection and followed Jiang Yiyu's words: "Okay, whatever you say is what I will do."

Tang Ya immediately lowered her head and began to study the pattern on the leather seat, pretending that she did not exist and avoiding Jiang Yiyu's pleading gaze.

Fortunately, the road was clear today, and they arrived at the reserved restaurant quickly. After parking the car, Ling Jingzhi walked in front, and the two girls followed slowly behind, whispering in each other's ears.

Jiang Yiyun: "If he says anything later, I will definitely help me."

Tang Ya lowered her voice: "How can I help? I told you not to come out for dinner. Why don't you send a message to Cheng Shuze and ask him to come over."

"I'm already divorced, so I won't contact him no matter what. Otherwise, he'll think I can't live without him."

"Then you're on your own."

As the top Japanese restaurant in Linjiang City, Yuguting is impeccable from service to food.

After the professionally trained waiter led them to a private room for four, Tang Ya began to wink at Jiang Yiyu frantically.

Tang Ya: You had already decided that I should come and help you ward off the romantic interests, right? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?

Jiang Yiyun: I told you earlier that you disagreed. Do you still want to eat tuna?

Tang Ya: Eat, eat, eat.

Probably because Tang Ya was there, the meal went smoothly. Ling Jingzhi did not try to inquire about Jiang Yiyu's relationship status. She did try to find out, but she was very tactful, and Jiang Yiyu dealt with it by changing the subject.

The wild bluefin tuna that lured Tang Ya to have dinner with her was also served. The raw materials used by Yuguting were caught no more than twelve hours before being served on the table, and were processed by the best knife masters. Not only did they have no fishy smell, but the meat was firm and tender, leaving a lingering fragrance in the mouth.

Sea fish easily die out of water, and their meat becomes fishy when congested. If you want to make this dish well, time and processing skills are of utmost importance. In Linjiang City, only Yuguting makes the best one, but it also depends on the season and requires reservations in advance.

Tang Ya fulfilled her wish and no longer cared about Jiang Yiyu trying to get her to avoid romantic opportunities.

As the meal was coming to an end, Ling Jingzhi asked, "I wonder if Miss Jiang has time recently?"

Calling her Miss Jiang is much more normal than calling her Jiang Jiang. Jiang Yiyun looked up: "What's the matter?"

Ling Jingzhi took out an invitation and handed it to her: "Fulley Auction will hold a charity auction at the end of this month. If you are free, Miss Jiang, I hope you can come and support us."

Ling Jingzhi paused and added, "This is mainly because this is the first large-scale auction I've been responsible for since returning to China. If Miss Jiang can come, I'll feel more at ease. Miss Tang, this is your invitation."

Ling Jingzhi was very meticulous in his work. Since Jiang Yiyun said that she was living with Tang Ya now, and the three old classmates were meeting and chatting, he naturally would not forget to prepare invitations. Two invitations were already prepared.

Tang Ya exclaimed, reached out to take it, opened it and looked at the room number on her invitation, then leaned over to take a look at Jiang Yiyu's.

"Actually, there's no need to go through so much trouble. Just give us one and we can save you a private room."

The Fulai Auction was owned by the Ling family, attracting numerous wealthy and famous figures. Small business owners could only afford a seat in the main hall, while invitations to private rooms were incredibly expensive. Aside from a few businesses with close ties to the Ling family who had reserved private rooms year-round, a third of the rooms had to be reserved for external use, with the remainder used as favors. Even if the Ling family, the organizers, wanted to vacate two rooms, it would be a difficult task.

Ling Jingzhi smiled: "It's okay, it's just a private room, it's not a big deal. It just so happens that there's a vacancy this time. I just wonder if you two have time to come?"

Tang Ya glanced at Jiang Yiyun and said, "I'm free."

Now that they had said that, it would be too rude for her to refuse. She had been to this auction before, and the Jiang family always received invitations. This time, Ling Jingzhi just gave her another one. Jiang Yiyu nodded and said, "I have time too, but I don't know what I can give as an invitation."

The items offered at charity auctions are essentially exhibits displayed by the organizers, along with some donated items by attendees. The money isn't important; what matters is the connections between the upper echelons of the business community. New business owners hope to connect with top executives, while established businesspeople also use the opportunity to evaluate and screen new investments.

As for the money from bidding on items, since it is a charity auction, the organizer will collect a small portion of the money as management fees, and the rest will naturally be donated to various Hope Projects. The bidder's name will be written on the donor's name, which can be regarded as a contribution to charity.

There were many auctions of this kind, and the Ling family ran them well, earning a good reputation. However, most of the people sitting in the private rooms were auctioneers. Since they had two invitations, they had to bring something to show their appreciation.

"Miss Jiang, you can take anything. Any antique or jewelry is fine. It's just a token of your appreciation. Don't take it seriously."

"I don't have any antiques, but I have quite a few jewels." Jiang Yiyun thought for a moment, "So I'll go back and look for them, and then have someone send them to you directly."

Tang Ya quickly raised her hand and added, "Then mine and Sister Jiang's will be counted together."

"It would be great if you two could come," Ling Jingzhi raised his glass. "Then I'll be waiting for Miss Jiang at the Fulai Auction House on the 20th."