22 Chapter 22
Everyone in the office felt that Chen Ying had been acting strangely in recent days.
He is the first one to arrive at work and the last one to leave. Once he arrives, he buries himself in work, reading securities trading information, analyzing market information, and working hard.
Even though she doesn't need to work overtime recently, she still refuses to leave when it's time to get off work, striving for perfection. She even neatly categorizes the icons on her computer before leaving, rearranging them according to her mood until she feels comfortable.
Wu Qianqiu's wedding was on a Sunday, and after much deliberation, Chen Ying decided to go and show her face in front of the elders. Otherwise, if she didn't go to her cousin's wedding, it would be embarrassing in front of the elders, and who knows what they might say behind her back.
It just so happens that the Mid-Autumn Festival is right after this, so why not have some fun and relieve the recent boredom.
The wedding was held at the Dongquan Hotel in Wangfeng District. Ye had an urgent work job this morning and would be there a little later.
Chen Ying arrived early, and her parents also arrived early and were busy greeting the guests. Her mother was not in good health, so it was her father who greeted the guests most of the time. He also had to keep an eye on his wife's condition and find a stool for her to sit down if she was tired.
Chen Ying showed her face in front of her uncle, said hello, and then found a corner to sit and check her phone.
She is not a person who likes to play with mobile phones. She feels bored when holding her mobile phone. She flips through various apps and then becomes bored again.
Some of the guests had already arrived, all of them were his uncle's friends, coming to congratulate him in advance. Chen Ying just looked up and saw someone leading Zhou Baixi's family in and sitting in the front row.
Xiao Doukou also came, wearing a gorgeous gauze dress. Zhou Baixi was also in formal attire. He walked in slowly holding her hand, giving off the feeling of a princess and a knight.
He is still very handsome and still looks youthful even in his twenties. He is in the workplace but his heart is in the campus. He is sunny and positive without losing his maturity.
"I'm such a face-chaser." Chen Ying pouted softly, lowered her head silently, and slipped out from the edge of the hall.
I don’t feel like eating, nothing is fun here, it’s so boring.
Originally, her uncle suggested that Chen Ying join the bridesmaids group to play, but she was rejected immediately. Now she feels fortunate that she was rejected. She decided that it would be better to eat quietly in the corner with Ye Jinyi.
The wedding is about to begin, but Ye Jinyi hasn't arrived yet.
Everyone seemed to have their own friends, chatting and laughing together, or reminiscing about the past. Many of Wu Qianqiu's classmates also formed a neat and uniform group of groomsmen, which was also a beautiful sight.
Chen Ying was bored waiting and wanted to go find Xiao Doukou to play with her, but then she thought that she must be with Zhou Baixi, and she suddenly became listless and chewed the wedding candy listlessly.
"Beautiful lady, alone?"
Suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder, startling Chen Ying. She turned around to see a man she didn't recognize, smiling at her while holding a red wine glass. She frowned and was about to leave when she heard a soft, innocent laugh. It was Xiao Doukou, who was in Zhou Baixi's arms.
Enemies often meet on a narrow road.
This hotel is not big enough. She has to hide in every corner, but we can still meet her like this.
"Xiao Doukou has been looking for you for a long time." Zhou Baixi naturally put Xiao Doukou down and let her hug Chen Ying, and then nodded to the strange man as a greeting.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know this lady was married."
He obviously misunderstood. He started to talk to Chen Ying because he saw that she didn't have a wedding ring on her finger. He didn't expect that she was not only married, but also had such a grown-up child.
Chen Ying was so upset that she was about to explain, but the other person had already left.
She thought again, what’s the point of explaining? I don’t even know him.
"Xiao Doukou looks so beautiful today! And she smells so good!" She pinched Xiao Doukou's baby fat and squatted down to talk to her.
"My mother came to see me and bought me a new dress." Xiao Doukou said proudly.
"It's very beautiful, just like a princess! Princess, don't you want to eat the cake? Auntie will take you to eat it."
“Yes, yes, yes!”
The two chatted back and forth, completely ignoring Zhou Baixi. Before they left, Zhou Baixi finally got a chance to interrupt and ask, "Why are you suddenly ignoring me?"
Chen Ying was very surprised and asked him, "Really? We're not very familiar with each other."
There's no need to say hello as soon as you meet someone.
Zhou Baixi felt frustrated and didn't know what to say. He just stood there, pursed his lips, and stared at their backs in a daze.
Along the way, Xiao Doukou rarely spoke. She only asked when she took the small cake from Chen Ying: "Auntie, did you have a fight with my uncle?"
"No." Chen Ying coaxed her with a smile.
"But my uncle hasn't been very happy these days."
Chen Ying thought to herself, I’m still not happy.
"If he's unhappy, you have to coax him, or ask your aunt to coax him."
Xiao Doukou said seriously, "But my uncle said he hopes you will be my aunt."
Chen Ying was stunned. The voice in her head stretched out infinitely, forming a sentence that she could not understand.
But my uncle said he hopes you will be my aunt...
I hope you'll be my aunt...
You are my aunt...
Aunt...
"What did he say?!" Chen Ying asked again and again.
Xiao Doukou recalled the past and said, "My uncle said that I can't call you sister, because that would make us different in generation. I will probably have to call you aunt in the future."
Chen Ying was embarrassed. "He's just teasing you, don't believe him."
Having said that, she was no longer calm, and the balance in her heart began to tilt from rationality to decadence.
"Did he really say that?" I still wanted to confirm it.
"Yeah!" Xiaodoukou nodded, with a little cream on her lips.
If she had heard this before that phone call, Chen Ying would probably be ecstatic and go crazy with joy, but Song Xia said that he had someone he liked, and Chen Ying was not sure who the person Xiao Doukou was talking about was.
Maybe Zhou Baixi was talking about that girl, but Xiao Doukou happened to know Chen Ying and misunderstood.
"Then you misunderstood. The person your uncle was talking about is not me." Chen Ying didn't think that the girl Zhou Baixi liked was her by chance.
If she had just graduated from high school, she would have believed it. But now so many years have passed, she couldn't guarantee that Zhou Baixi would still like her until now, even if he liked her again, it was impossible.
No one will always love the same person unwaveringly, and if there is, it is very rare.
For example, if she wants to like someone else, she needs to learn to let go.
"But uncle said he missed you very much."
Xiao Doukou was not willing to give up and still wanted to speak for her uncle.
Ye Jinyi called just in time, and she thought he was about to arrive. Chen Ying didn't bother to correct her, so she took her hand and walked out, looking for Ye Jinyi.
"Where are you? I'm in the inner hall."
"Here, here, here! Left, look up!"
Chen Ying glanced to the left and saw Ye Jinyi waving there.
"This is the little cardamom baby, so cute, big sister kiss~"
Xiao Doukou giggled and hid behind Chen Ying to prevent her from kissing her.
"My sister is so sad that she won't let me kiss her." Ye Jinyi pretended to be angry.
Xiao Doukou raised her head and kissed her face quickly, saying with a smile: "Sister, you can go and kiss Xiao Doujiang. He likes it very much."
Not only did Ye Jinyi not understand what was said, but Chen Ying was also confused.
"Who is Xiaodoujiang?" they asked in unison.
Xiao Doukou patted her skirt and tilted her head and said, "Little Bean Milk is Little Bean Milk. I heard when mom and dad named him. Dad said I'll be able to see him in six months."
Chen Ying remembered that she had met Xiao Doukou's mother when she went to the hospital to visit her last time, and it seemed that some traces could be seen at that time.
Ye Jinyi pulled a stool over and sat down, then asked exaggeratedly, "Why is it called soy milk?"
"Because I like drinking soy milk, and I like my younger brother."
"How do you know it's your younger brother?" Ye Jinyi asked again.
"That's my younger brother."
She couldn't explain why, but her serious look made Ye Jinyi laugh out loud.
"By the way, this is also a happy event in your family, why don't you go and help welcome the guests." After laughing, Ye Jinyi remembered to ask.
"I'm here to welcome you." Chen Ying also sat beside her, picked up Xiao Doukou and sat down next to her. "My uncle said that when I come, I'm responsible for eating well and having fun, and I don't have to worry about anything else. Wu Qianqiu also said he would give me a big red envelope."
"Have you given it? Have you given it?" Ye Jinyi asked anxiously.
Chen Ying smiled. "I've only seen him twice so far. He was in a hurry and I was in the corner. I guess he didn't even see me."
After finishing the two small cakes on the plate, Chen Ying took a wet towel to wipe Xiao Doukou's hands.
"Besides, who wants a red envelope from him? I'm self-reliant and make my own money. I wouldn't accept it even if he gave it to me."
"You're awesome." Ye Jin gave her a thumbs up. "What if he forces it on you in front of everyone?"
"No." A sly smile flashed across Chen Ying's lips. "If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have stayed here for dinner at all."
Ye Jinyi exclaimed why.
"It's Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. I want to go back to my hometown to celebrate it. Do you want to go back with me?"
"Go! Of course I'll go!" She had already agreed with her family not to go back for Mid-Autumn Festival, so she decided to rely on Chen Ying. She would go wherever Chen Ying went. "I don't feel like eating either. What should I do?"
At this time, Xiao Doukou said: "Eat the cake, the cake is delicious."
The two adults looked at each other, nodded, and immediately said it was wonderful.
Chen Ying went to her mother to ask for the key to her hometown, and took Xiao Doukou to Zhou Baixi. Without saying anything, she returned the person and left.
When he was still a child, Chen Ying didn't know if it was an illusion, but she saw loneliness on his face.
"Please pull me back. I don't want to be on the blacklist anymore," he said.
Chen Ying also felt uncomfortable and explained that she had pooped accidentally.
The mobile phone number and WeChat were blacklisted in front of him. This feeling was very subtle. She inexplicably felt that it was her fault, and she felt guilty for no reason.
Zhou Baixi sent a period and sent both the text message and WeChat, and this time they were all sent successfully.
"Did I do something wrong?" he asked helplessly.
Chen Ying shook her head, "It was really an accident."
The distance in his eyes was obvious.
She almost fled in panic. Chen Ying was always a loser in front of Zhou Baixi. A single question made her panic and uneasy.
She found a take-out box to pack two boxes of small cakes, and couldn't wait to pull Ye Jin away.
Before going back, I have to go to the supermarket first. It’s always a good idea to stock up on snacks. There is a shopping mall next to the hotel.
The two of them pushed the shopping cart around and picked out a lot of delicious food. When they arrived at the milk area, Chen Ying found the back of a girl in front of her strangely familiar.
"Song Xia?"
The girl turned around and it was really her.
"I'm surprised to meet you here."
Song Xia was also very excited. "My home is in Wangfeng District. This is the largest shopping mall here. I come here every weekend to shop. How come I haven't met you before?"
Chen Ying explained that this was her first time here.
Song Xia saw that their shopping carts were full of snacks, so she pulled her own cart over to show them. It turned out that most of the snacks inside were the same.
The three of them smiled at each other.
"Why did you buy so much? How long will it take to finish them?" Song Xia randomly picked up a few bags of snacks and looked at them.
Ye Jinyi said proudly: "I want to go back to my hometown with her to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. This is all our Mid-Autumn Festival food."
Chen Ying nodded.
Song Xia's eyes suddenly lit up, and she asked hurriedly, "Can I join you? I'm spending Mid-Autumn Festival alone."
So, I took away one more snack.
With Song Xia here, you don’t have to take a taxi back. He’s a free driver and can transport people and goods.
The trunk was filled with snacks and the car was filled with laughter. Chen Ying was indescribably excited as it was the first time she had returned to her hometown after many years and brought two friends with her.
Before she met Ye Jinyi, she had never brought friends to her home; before she met Song Xia, she had never felt that apart from Ye Jinyi, there was someone else who could get along with her so well, have a similar personality, and a good temper.
On the first day at home, the three girls cooked their own meals and then went for a stroll around the area after eating.
Chen Ying hasn't been back for many years. The trees downstairs have grown into towering trees. The plum tree and pomegranate tree that she grew up eating are still there, and there are two more trees next to it, both plum trees.
The plums in Chen Ying's family ripened later than those in her neighbors', so now was the perfect time to eat them. They each picked a small bunch and carried them back home in their pockets.
As night fell, the three of them played until late at night and were reluctant to go to bed.
Chen Ying couldn't sleep at all. She'd been taking medicine since returning to Fanhua City for the first week, but then she gradually stopped. She'd thought everything was fine, but then a few days ago, because of Zhou Baixi's incident, she couldn't sleep again.
How could she forget him after so many years of liking him? Although she always joked and asked Ye Jinyi to introduce her to a male friend so that she could like someone else, when Ye Jinyi pretended to introduce her to someone else, she got scared again.
If I had met Zhou Baixi in advance, it would have been impossible for me to like someone else in the future.
Ye Jinyi also asked her what she liked about him.
Chen Ying couldn't quite put her finger on what she loved about him, but she often thought back to her sophomore and junior years of high school, his smile, his glittering presence on the podium. Every time Zhou Baixi won an award, Chen Ying felt a little less impressive, so she worked hard to catch up, hoping to narrow the gap between their names on the transcript.
At that time, she was too self-conscious. Even though she could feel that Zhou Baixi was a little special towards her, she didn't dare to regard that special feeling as love.
She just felt that she was lucky.
Even now, she is confident and serious about her studies and work, but when she meets Zhou Baixi, her inferiority complex starts to take over. She thinks of many possibilities, but she dares not think that Zhou Baixi would like her.
Starting from the night she blocked Zhou Baixi, Chen Ying started taking medicine again. She felt uncomfortable and couldn't sleep without taking the medicine, and she felt psychologically depressed. Ye Jinyi felt uncomfortable when she saw it, and she didn't want Ye Jinyi to worry.
Song Xia, who was next to her, was tired from playing and had already fallen asleep. Chen Ying took two pills with water and fell asleep with her head resting on Ye Jin's arm.
The next day, she was awakened by the noisy conversation downstairs.
She didn't want to think about it, but in a daze she seemed to hear her mother calling Zhou Baixi's name.
Her eyes were no longer sleepy and her mind was clear. Chen Ying got out of bed, opened the curtains a little, and looked down from the window. Sure enough, she saw Zhou Baixi standing in her yard, busy helping to move things.
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