Just as we were talking about Xu Yin during the day, a message popped up in the family group chat that evening. My uncle posted, "My daughter Xu Yin is getting married soon, and I cordially invite everyone to attend."
Xu Yan replied in the group chat: "Uncle, can you please stop being so bookish? You can't even imitate it properly."
Xu Lai chuckled to herself, thinking that Xu Yan was really tired of living. Sure enough, her uncle bombarded her with voice messages. Xu Lai didn't even need to listen to them to know that he had given her a thorough dressing down.
The aunt replied, "Brother, I think Xiao Yan is right. You just announced the wedding without saying when, how are we supposed to go?"
Aunt replied, "The 20th of the fifth month in the lunar calendar."
Then Xu Yin messaged her privately, "Xiao Lai, can you be my bridesmaid?"
Xu Lai frowned. It wasn't impossible, but her relationship with Xu Yin had always been lukewarm. The two were close in age and had often fought over each other when they were young.
She replied, "Sure, where did you marry? I've never heard your aunt mention it."
Xu Yin smiled as she typed on her phone: "He's from City B, but he's a department manager at the most famous company in our county. They'll be having a banquet in the county, and his big boss will be there too."
Xu Lai casually replied, "Oh."
Xu Yin felt powerless, like punching cotton. She wanted to compare herself to Xu Lai. When they were young, everyone said she was not as good as Xu Lai. She just wanted to show those people that she, Xu Yin, married better than her!
Xu Lai genuinely didn't care. Perhaps she used to have a competitive spirit, but as she got older, she found such things quite boring.
Xu Yin continued, "I heard from my mom that you broke up with your boyfriend. If you ask me, it's better to get rid of that kind of guy. When my husband's friends come to the wedding, you can pick one out. If you find someone suitable, tell me and I'll help you find a match."
Xu Lai: "Yes, thanks in advance." Even while getting married, he didn't forget to set her up on a blind date.
Xu Lai was about to tell her grandparents about this when they said they already knew. They said her uncle had just called and that her grandparents would never go if the wedding were held in their area.
They were both getting old and couldn't handle long journeys, but since the matter was being handled in the county, they had to make the trip.
Getting married is a big deal, and Xu Lai guessed that one of Xu Lai's parents, who were her uncle and aunt, would definitely have to come back.
She glanced at the calendar; there were still about ten days until the wedding. There was still time to take her grandparents to buy new clothes. The two of them had always been reluctant to spend money, and they hadn't bought new clothes for several years.
She stood on the balcony and called out, "Zhao Qingyun, are you in your room? Come out for a moment, I need to talk to you about something."
The door opened quickly, and he took off his glasses, asking, "What is it?"
Xu Lai got straight to the point, "Could you give me and my grandparents a ride to work tomorrow? I'll take them for a medical check-up and buy them a couple of new outfits."
Zhao Qingyun nodded, "Okay, we can leave a little later tomorrow, no rush."
Xu Lai asked in confusion, "Don't you have to clock in?"
Zhao Qingyun thought for a moment, and since he was the boss, he figured he could be a little late, so he said, "It's okay."
When they set off the next day, Grandma Jiang was sitting in the back row. Xu Lai greeted her, "Grandma Jiang, what brings you here too!"
Grandma Jiang said with a smile, "Qingyun said you were going for a physical examination. I haven't had one in a long time, so he made an appointment for me and told me to go with you."
Xu Lai nodded: "That's good, Grandma Jiang, don't worry, I'm very reliable."
During this time, Zhao Qingyun received a phone call. The secretary was at work but did not see the boss. She was a little puzzled. Why was the boss, who was rarely late but often left early, not at work?
"Mr. Zhao, is there something you need? Why aren't you at work?"
Zhao Qingyun frowned: "Chen Hang, are you starting to interfere with me now?"
Chen Hang quickly said, "It's not that I'm rushing you, it's just that many people want you to sign something."
Zhao Qingyun thought for a moment and said, "I have a stamp in my drawer. Take a look at those documents, and if there are no problems, please stamp them for me. I believe you've been with me for so long, you must have this much ability, right?"
Xu Lai listened from the side, feeling somewhat resentful. This person sounded to be of a rather high rank, and even had subordinates.
Upon arriving at the hospital entrance, Xu Lai waved her hand and said, "Go ahead and get busy."
Zhao Qingyun peeked out and said, "Then I'll come pick you up this afternoon."
Xu Lai gave an OK sign and led the grandparents inside. They first had their blood drawn and completed all the procedures that prevented them from eating breakfast. Only then did Xu Lai take them to have breakfast.
After a morning of medical check-ups, Xu Lai found a restaurant with decent ratings and took her grandparents there for a meal.
When it was time to pay, Grandma Jiang took out her phone, as she also knew how to use WeChat Pay. Xu Lai quickly stopped her, saying, "Grandma Jiang, let me pay. How can I let you pay?"
Grandma Jiang said proudly, "You think I'm an old woman with no money? Grandma has money, don't worry, let me pay."
Xu Lai tried to dissuade her, saying, "Next time, Grandma Jiang, please treat me to something next time, okay?"
After dinner, she took them to the largest shopping center in the county. The grandmother exclaimed that it was too expensive, but Xu Lai comforted her, "It's okay, your granddaughter can afford it."
Xu Lai picked out clothes for the three of them. Grandma Jiang initially just sat on one side. She didn't lack clothes. She had a wealthy daughter and son-in-law, and a successful grandson. Her mindset was already much higher than that of many other elderly women her age.
After buying clothes, Xu Lai spent most of the day browsing in the mall. When she came across a jewelry store, she suddenly had a whim to buy her grandmother a gold bracelet.
Grandma only has one silver bracelet, which was a gift from my aunt several years ago, and it's time to replace it.
She asked the shop assistant to bring out several items for her grandmother to choose from, knowing that her grandmother was not cooperating because she didn't want her to spend more money.
Xu Lai advised, "I can make money now, so you can choose whatever you like without worry."
In the end, she and her grandmother chose a plain gold bracelet. When it was time to pay, she looked at the diamond rings over there, and the sales assistant started to promote them: "Miss, would you like to take a look? We have the latest models."
Xu Lai smiled and shook her head: "I'm single."
The sales assistant apologized as she wrote the invoice.
She didn't take it to heart at all, saying, "It's okay."
Seeing that it was almost time, Zhao Qingyun picked up her car keys and prepared to leave work. Secretary Chen looked at her watch and asked in surprise, "It's only 4:30?"
Okay, okay, the boss is leaving get off work earlier and earlier every day now. He feels that in a few more days, the boss might just clock out and leave.
Zhao Qingyun drove to the mall's parking lot. Ten minutes earlier, Xu Lai had sent a message saying that she was having dinner with her grandparents and asked him to join them so that he wouldn't have to cook when he got back.
When Zhao Qingyun arrived, the dishes hadn't been served yet. He pulled up a chair and sat down, and Xu Lai handed him a menu. "We've already ordered. Is there anything else you'd like to eat?"
Zhao Qingyun took it and placed it under her elbow, saying, "It's okay, I'm not picky, anything is fine."
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