From the other end of the phone came Mr. Si's full-bodied voice:
"You little brat! I asked the kitchen to prepare your favorite matsutake mushrooms. It's already so late and you haven't come back yet? The girl from the Tang family has been waiting for you all day!"
Si Wenjie's face darkened instantly.
When he looked down and saw Shi Yining, whose face was blushing in his arms, he suddenly smiled meaningfully.
"Got it, Grandpa." He said slowly, "I'll take someone back with me."
After saying that, he hung up the phone without waiting for the old man to respond.
Turn your attention back to Shi Yining.
"It seems..." His thumb gently stroked her swollen lips, "We have to meet the parents in advance."
Shi Yining's ears felt hot and he lowered his head to look at his clothes.
A newly bought black down jacket, paired with a red cashmere sweater and dark blue jeans.
This outfit is fine for everyday wear, but it's a bit too casual to meet elders.
"Should I go home and change into something more formal?"
Si Wenjie straightened her collar and said, "No need. You look best this way."
Shi Yining bit her lower lip and said, "Then... shall we go buy some gifts first?"
Si Wenjie's eyes flashed with cunning, and he suddenly let go of her and walked towards the bookcase, "There's something ready here."
He took out two gift boxes from the cabinet and placed them on the desk.
Shi Yining moved closer curiously. Inside the box were bird's nests and wild ginseng. The packaging looked low-key and luxurious.
"The souvenir the pharmaceutical representative gave me last month has been sitting here gathering dust."
"This is not good..." Shi Yining chuckled and punched his shoulder lightly with his fist.
But in the next second, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms.
Si Wenjie lowered his head and placed a kiss on the back of her hand. "These are just formalities."
He walked out holding the gift box in one hand and holding her hand tightly in the other.
"Let's go, let them see the person I've been hiding in my heart for five years."
Shi Yining looked at the two people's interlocked hands.
Suddenly I wished this corridor could be longer so that they could walk hand in hand like this forever.
…
An hour later.
The car drove into the courtyard of the Si family's old house.
Shi Yining looked at the quaint Chinese courtyard through the car window.
Brand new Spring Festival couplets are pasted on the vermilion gate, and red lanterns are hung under the eaves, exuding the festive atmosphere of the New Year everywhere.
Si Wenjie parked the car and patted the back of her hand gently.
"Don't be nervous, just focus on eating and leave the rest to me."
Shi Yining felt warm in her heart, "Okay."
The two walked towards the old house holding hands.
Suddenly, a cute voice came, "Brother Wenjie!"
Tang Xinyi was seen walking quickly towards me wearing an expensive red cashmere coat, with a sparkling diamond necklace around her neck.
She grabbed Si Wenjie's arm, but glanced at Shi Yining with disdain on her face.
In her eyes, Shi Yining was just an adopted daughter abandoned by the Shi family who had been hiding abroad for five years before returning.
How could she, the eldest daughter of the Tang family, lose to such a person?
"Ms. Tang, please let go."
Si Wenjie calmly withdrew his arm, put his arm around Shi Yining's waist, and solemnly introduced her, "This is my fiancée, Shi Yining."
Tang Xinyi's heart tightened.
She suddenly remembered her father's phone call this morning: "Si Wenjie, this connection must not be severed. Tang's financing for the second half of the year is counting on you."
But at this moment, Si Wenjie's hands were tightly around the woman's waist.
She forced a laugh, but her voice was as cold as ice. "Miss Shi, I haven't seen you for five years, but you haven't changed at all... You still know how to choose the right time to come back."
Shi Yining didn't bother to pay attention to him, as if she didn't hear what she said, and continued walking forward.
The restaurant is warm and cozy, and the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall on the Eight Immortals table is filled with rich aroma.
Mr. Si was sitting in the main seat, drinking tea.
Seeing them come in, the old man looked back and forth at Shi Yining.
Si Wenjie looked calm as he placed the gift box on the dining table. "Grandpa, this is the wild ginseng and bird's nest that Yining prepared especially for you."
Shi Yining called out sweetly, "Grandpa, Happy New Year."
Before the old man could speak, the beautiful woman in a dark green cheongsam beside him suddenly chuckled.
"Girls nowadays are so clever."
"But the old man is used to the ginseng chicken soup I make... Xinyi went to the countryside before dawn to pick out an old hen and even simmered it in the clay pot for four hours."
She glanced at Shi Yining, her smile not reaching her eyes. "Miss Shi has been abroad for a long time. I'm afraid you don't know that some things... just spending money can't show your sincerity."
Shi Yining of course recognized that the woman in front of him was Tang Yaqing.
Si Wenjie's stepmother and Tang Xinyi's cousin.
Five years ago, it was she who instigated Mr. Si to give two small pharmaceutical factories that were on the verge of bankruptcy to Si Wenjie.
He also doesn't allow his family to help him.
Shi Yining still remembers that Si Wenjie only took an old suitcase with him when he left that night.
If Shi Heng hadn't intervened in time, now...
Si Wenjie's thumb gently stroked her palm, like a silent comfort.
"Wenjie."
Tang Yaqing slowly wiped the jade bracelet with a silk handkerchief. "Xinyi turned down several good marriage proposals from the Chen and Lin families to wait for you. The current market value of Tang Pharmaceuticals..."
"Auntie." Si Wenjie picked up a piece of steamed sea bass and put it in Shi Yining's bowl.
"Kangrui Hospital's market value tripled last year. I don't think we need to rely on marriage to maintain our respectability."
Si Meiyun sneered, "Bringing outsiders back during the New Year, what will it look like if it gets out?"
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