Chapter 123 The Calm Before the Storm

When a group of people came in noisily, Yue Zifeng came up and gave Fu Yun a big hug: "Aunt Fu, why did you and Uncle Shen sneak in here with them without calling us?"

Fu Yun and Shen Changyuan were really surprised. They smiled helplessly but also a little moved: "It's not a big day. I'm glad you still remember it."

"Why isn't it a big day? If you and Uncle Shen hadn't gotten married thirty-two years ago, and one of you married someone else, then the entire pattern of the wealthy family circle in Yancheng would have changed. Do you think it's important or not?"

Fu Yun was amused by his twisted logic: "Okay, okay, you're the only one who can say that."

Zuo Zhong said, "It's a good thing Zifeng reminded us. I just wonder if we came here without telling you, will it bother you?"

"How can it be a disturbance? I can't wait to welcome you." Fu Yun smiled.

Lu Manman handed the gift in her hand to Shen Changyuan, gave her blessings sweetly, and complained to Fu Yun: "Aunt, the gift I gave you was snatched away by the quilt."

Yue Zifeng argued: "They are all gifts for Aunt Fu anyway. Whether you give it to me or I give it to you, it's all gifts. Why should we distinguish between yours and mine?"

Lu Manman: “…”

Fu Yun and Shen Changyuan accepted the gifts and blessings from everyone with a smile. Shuang Xu glanced at He Tingzhou when no one was paying attention.

If everyone comes together, his appearance won't be out of place at all.

Was it arranged by him? Why did he make such a big fuss?

Maybe they had agreed to create a surprise together, and He Tingzhou arrived earlier and took the opportunity to scare her?

The original tranquility of the villa was swept away after these people arrived, and it was as lively as Chinese New Year.

The Shen family came here for a leisure vacation. There were no servants in the villa. Shen Changyuan and Fu Yun were in a good mood and prepared dinner for the children themselves.

Yue Zifeng, Lu Manman and a few others were touring around the villa, and there were noises everywhere upstairs and downstairs.

Shen Yu took the fishing spoils to clean and process them, and Shuang Xu went back to making tea for everyone.

The message alert sounded and she took out her cell phone to take a look.

Tingting: [Look at me]

Shuang Xu turned his head and his eyes met He Tingzhou's as expected.

He was leaning lazily on the sofa, his right hand supporting his forehead, his body tilted towards the tea bar.

Their eyes met, he put down his hand that was supporting his head and patted the sofa beside him.

The meaning is obvious.

Fu Yun wanted to let them stay for the night. Everyone was choosing rooms and arguing about who the extra person would squeeze in with. Only He Tingzhou sat alone in the living room, as if it had nothing to do with him.

Shuang Xu looked around and saw that there was no one around, so he walked towards him.

Halfway through the walk, Shen Yu stood at the kitchen door with his sleeves rolled up and called her, "Xiaojiu, come and help."

Under his eyes, Shuang Xu hesitated for a moment, then turned around and walked towards him: "Coming."

With so many people around, dinner is not an easy task. Soon, the people upstairs came down to help prepare the ingredients after they came to an end the argument.

Shuang Xu was asked by Shen Yu to help out, doing some small jobs like delivering things, washing and picking vegetables. It wasn't tiring, but he didn't have much free time either.

I stayed by Shen Yu's side the whole time and had no chance to talk to He Tingzhou alone.

He Tingzhou was lazily and felt at ease. He sat in the living room with his feet up like a grandfather. He found a magazine from a year ago from somewhere and flipped through the pages carelessly, but his eyes frequently wandered to the kitchen.

Someone noticed the longing in his eyes and said, "Do you want to ask Master Zhou to come over and help?"

"Him?" Yue Zifeng sneered, "Your Master He has never even touched a spatula in his life. He is born to be served by others."

Fu Yun cut the fruit plate and called Shuang Xu: "Bring it to your brother Tingzhou. Dinner will be ready soon. If you are hungry, eat some fruit first."

Shuang Xu was about to answer it, but Shen Yu said slowly, "She just touched the fish and didn't wash her hands. Zifeng, go ahead."

"I'll go, I'll go." Yue Zifeng was eager to take the opportunity to take a break, so he picked up the fruit plate and went out.

Lu Manman took two boxes of ice cream from the refrigerator and shared them with Shuang Xu: "This cantaloupe flavor is delicious, try it."

Shuang Xu knew that he'd better be honest and not do anything stupid, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel a little moved.

He stared at the box of ice cream with troubled eyes and was about to take a bite.

Shen Yu seemed to see through her intention and said directly: "You can't eat today." After that, his tone became a little softer, "Be obedient."

Lu Manman understood immediately and took the ice cream back: "Then I'll eat two myself."

Everyone else was busy and no one noticed. Only in the living room, He Tingzhou's already uninterested look became even duller.

He threw the magazine on the coffee table, leaned back on the sofa, and stared coldly at the ceiling.

By the time dinner was finally ready, night had already fallen.

Many people contributed a special dish, and the dishes on the long dining table were unexpectedly rich.

Yue Zifeng went to Shen Yu's wine cabinet to search: "Why are there so many treasures in your wine cabinet? Are these all produced by your winery?"

Shen Yu walked in, took the bottle of red wine he had just taken down from the top shelf, put it back, and took out two more bottles for him: "Don't touch the top four bottles."

"It's the year my sister was born, right?" Yue Zifeng saw it with his sharp eyes, "Was the wine from that year particularly delicious?"

“The taste is average.” Shen Yu said, “The winery was flooded that year, and the production was very low. Only these four bottles were found.”

"That's quite rare." Yue Zifeng said, "You know what, returning the wine is quite meaningful. I'll also save a few bottles of wine from the year Yue Zizhao was born for her and give them to her as a gift on her wedding day."

Shen Yu didn't say anything. He took the wine out, pulled out the cork, and poured the red wine into the decanter.

When they sat down, Shen Changyuan and Fu Yun sat in the main seats without a doubt, Shuang Xu and Shen Yu sat on the same side. It was not known whether it was a coincidence or intentional, but He Tingzhou pulled out the chair opposite her.

A group of people sat around the dining table. Shen Changyuan was quite touched. "It is a blessing for Ah Yu to have friends like you who share the good and bad times with him. It is also a blessing for our Shen family. Good friends are precious. I would like to toast you with this glass of wine. I hope your friendship will last forever. Take care of each other when things are going well, and remember to support each other in adversity."

Yue Zifeng responded enthusiastically: "Come, let's celebrate our everlasting friendship!"

Everyone at the table clinked glasses and had a very enjoyable dinner with lots of laughter. Everyone drank a lot and was a little tipsy by the end.

Shuang Xu couldn't drink alcohol, so she drank the red date tea that Fu Yun specially made for her, and poured it into a glass to deceive herself into thinking it was foreign liquor.

Everyone was joking around, and she would glance across at He Tingzhou from time to time.

He was unusually quiet tonight. He didn't eat much, didn't drink much, didn't join in the group's idle chat, and hardly said a word.

Shuang Xu guessed that it was because she didn't go when he called her before dinner, which made him unhappy. At that time, under Shen Yu's nose, she didn't dare to be too presumptuous.

But he neither took the opportunity to make sarcastic remarks or insinuations towards her, nor did he deliberately try to frighten her into retaliation.

Occasionally Shuang Xu met his eyes, and he was extremely calm.

This nonchalant reaction is even more startling, like the calm before the storm.

I always feel like he's up to something bad.