Act 5: First meeting with elders
After rushing around, Qi Jixin and Xu Ran's scenes were successfully filmed in the morning, and the first scene in the afternoon was Bing Jie's solo show.
Although he didn't have a wealthy family background in the play, his appearance with Qi Jixin was enough to arouse considerable curiosity among the people at the banquet. As soon as Qi Jixin was taken away by Xu Ran, someone came to talk to him.
Bing Jie was indifferent and distant to everyone, but no matter where he went, he could not avoid people who came to pry into his thoughts. So, he simply started chatting with a more easy-going old lady at the dining table.
"Is this delicious?" he asked.
The old lady looked up at him with a little surprise, squinted her eyes and then exclaimed "Ah" in sudden realization: "You are the celebrity of today's banquet." There was no sense of being watched by others in her words. At least, Bing Jie was not disgusted by these words.
"You speak more pleasantly than others. Just now, someone even asked me directly what means I used to take down President Qi." Bing Jie picked up a glass of wine and took a sip contentedly. It was obvious that he only regarded these words as a small matter and did not take them seriously.
The old lady snorted, "Is this all the young man drinks?" Then she picked up a glass of wine, clinked it with his, and drank it all in one gulp.
Now it was Bing Jie's turn to be surprised. Naturally, he wanted to drink up the glass of wine. After all, the amount of red wine in the glass was only the amount of one sip, so it shouldn't be a problem if he drank it.
The old lady was happy at this, and was about to pick up another glass of wine. Bing Jie quickly held her arm. Before he could persuade her to drink less, the old lady spoke first: "Just drink as much as you can and forget all those nonsense. I have lived for seventy years, and I am sure that Ji Xin really likes you."
Even without her advice, Bing Jie was not sad about those imaginary words. He just felt moved and amused when he heard her say it so openly. He couldn't help but wonder who this old lady was.
Could it be her grandmother, or her great-grandmother?
It was too polite to ask directly, so he didn't really want to know who this person was. Bing Jie stopped dwelling on it and said jokingly, "You've been studying her for seventy years!"
The old lady quickly waved her hands, amused by his over-interpretation, and also became playful: "I am the gardener in Ji Xin's family. I watched her grow up since she was a child, so I know her very well."
Bing Jie pretended to be suddenly enlightened and looked her up and down again. She was wearing an expensive and exquisite suit, and the necklace and ring she wore were all dazzling. I'm afraid each piece must be worth a lot of money. Moreover, even though she was old, she still had elegant manners. Bing Jie thought, this person must have lived a life of luxury all her life.
Gardener? That's a funny joke.
"She actually likes her childhood sweetheart very much. Maybe I am just a temporary entertainment for her." He lowered his eyebrows and seemed a little depressed.
Qi Jixin, who was off-camera, grumbled quietly, "Wow, this guy is really good at confusing right and wrong. Isn't he just pretending to be innocent?"
Sister Zhuo turned her head and looked at her deeply, thinking, Ancestor, please be more lenient with your past self... Of course, Sister Zhuo would not be lenient with her.
"Actually, you think this is fun, right?"
Qi Jixin frowned in disgust, but the next moment he smiled and nodded heavily: "Of course, of course!" Sister Zhuo sighed helplessly and said nothing more.
The old lady in the camera put down her wine glass in disbelief, pointed in the direction Qi Jixin left and asked, "Child, don't believe what that man says to you. He's your love rival! Forget it, forget it. Are you going to meet Qi's parents later? I'll go with you and see who dares to bully you."
Bing Jie was so happy to have a backer out of nowhere that the smile on his face was particularly bright. The old lady also looked at him as if he were her doting grandson, patted his arm, and the approval and satisfaction in her eyes couldn't be more genuine.
The filming stopped at this moment. Before Bing Jie went to find the director, he patted her on the back and bent down to hug her. "Teacher, thank you for coming."
"Kid, that's not true. I hope everything goes well for you. I also want to be your wedding witness again in the play."
Bing Jie nodded: "I definitely will."
"Maybe, I can wait until your third time." She glanced at Qi Jixin who was whispering with others in the crowd, then turned to look at Bing Jie. The smile on his face was quite forced, even embarrassing.
He said, "Probably not."
While the entire crew was busy with the next scene, Qi Jixin was familiarizing herself with her lines on the sidelines. Xu Ran offered to help her with her lines, but because he didn't have many lines and they were all very aggressive, Xu Ran started to recite the lines of Bing Jie, who interacted with her more.
Bing Jie saw all of this. Under normal circumstances, he would be upset about it, but today he wanted to stay away from Qi Jixin. Apart from filming, he didn't want her to ask him anything else.
Last night, on a whim, he invited his mentor who had officiated their wedding. When he arrived at the set this morning, Bing Jie was hesitant and regretful. He wanted to recreate what happened back then without any mistakes, but he was also afraid that something would irritate her and cause her memory to recover - something he didn't want to see.
But in the end, he still invited a teacher.
Deep down in his heart, he knew why: Bing Jie always felt uncomfortable seeing Xu Ran sticking to Qi Jixin. He could only find comfort in the memories of the past, so he also wanted to find an acquaintance from his memories to accompany him, even if it was only for a short scene.
He didn't want to be alone in this scene. Recalling the past, the happiness of that day seemed to be right in front of him...
And the fact was just as Bing Jie wished. Thanks to Xu Ran's sticking to Qi Jixin like a dog-skin plaster, he didn't say a word to Qi Jixin before the filming started.
In the camera, Bing Jie was still talking to the old lady, and they were so happy that neither of them noticed that Qi Jixin had walked up to them at some point.
She skillfully passed her hand through Bing Jie's arm and took his arm. Bing Jie looked at her sideways. He didn't expect that she could smile so obediently in front of outsiders. When he was stunned, he didn't care at all. The smile was not actually directed at him.
"Teacher, I should have come to you earlier. I'm sorry." She extended her hand to the man. The old woman smiled and shook her hand back, shaking her head. "It's no big deal. Isn't your fiancé here to entertain me?"
Bing Jie woke up as if from a dream, and his speech was a little intermittent. When he thought about the nonsense he had just said, his bright brain suddenly froze and he couldn't say anything. Qi Jixin pinched his hand and comforted him silently.
"This is my teacher. I don't think she introduced herself to you, right?" Qi Jixin raised an eyebrow at the teacher, then tilted her head and whispered to Bing Jie, "She's quite the naughty old woman. She must have teased you just now."
Bing Jie blinked helplessly before nodding to her. The teacher opposite him was not deaf or blind, so he could clearly see the two people's little movements. "Okay, let's talk about me slowly when we get back. Aren't you going to take him to meet your parents? It's a good opportunity to take me with you."
The three of them walked to another banquet hall, but the door opened from the inside. Xu Ran stuck his head out, and when he saw the old lady, he immediately came out to support her properly, and even reminisced with her in a familiar manner: "Hey, teacher, why didn't you tell me you were coming? Mr. Qi and I would definitely come to pick you up."
Qi Jixin glanced at Bing Jie and saw that he was not affected by those sarcastic words. Before he could swallow the words, he almost laughed at the teacher's words.
"Why bother you? Her husband can just go out and pick me up."
“…”
Xu Ran was choked by the teacher's words. The two of them, who were a step behind, smiled at each other quietly. She whispered, "It seems my teacher likes you very much."
Bing Jie's mind flashed with her passionate and loving eyes at that time, and he repeated what she said word for word: "But the teacher told me that she loves me because of my love for you. Mr. Qi, how much do you like me?" After saying that, he raised his eyebrows.
Qi Jixin lowered her head and smiled dotingly, confessing his words and directly promising: "You will know, you will know later."
There were four elders with extraordinary temperament sitting in the room. Since the door was opened, they had been looking at the door silently. The sense of intimidation was self-evident. But when they saw the teacher who came in first, they still stood up politely and greeted her. When they looked at Bing Jie next to Qi Jixin, the expressions of the four people were wonderful in their own way.
A slightly younger couple looked at Bing Jie warily but openly. The man had a square face and regular features, but his figure showed some signs of weight gain in middle age. When he was silent, he looked quite kind, but when he opened his mouth -
"Ji Xin, this kind of person is just for fun, why did you bring him here?"
Qi Jixin was disgusted by his scolding and harsh expression. Everyone, including the teacher, turned to look at her and Bing Jie. Xu Ran's eyes still had a hint of anticipation, as if he had been looking forward to humiliating Bing Jie for a long time.
Qi Jixin looked calm, as if he didn't hear his shouting. He introduced the elders to Bing Jie one by one: "This is Uncle Xu and Aunt Xu." Bing Jie nodded to them one by one and was about to speak when he was interrupted by Qi Jixin.
"Remember, there's no need to greet them in the future." She didn't even glance at them, but turned to introduce him to another more calm and proper couple: "These are my parents."
"Hello, uncle and aunt." After Bing Jie greeted them, the virtuous Aunt Qi waved to her and the teacher, asking everyone to sit down and chat slowly.
Qi Jixin and Bing Jie naturally sat together. Opposite them sat the teacher and Xu Ran. On Qi Jixin's left and right sat Xu's parents and her own parents respectively.
Qi's father, who was intimidating without saying a word, spoke with a tone of accusation: "How can you talk to your uncle and aunt like that?" The implication was that she should apologize.
Bing Jie looked at Qi Jixin with some worry, but she smiled freely and never let go of the hand that was holding Bing Jie's.
"Dad, it's okay for me to apologize, but does Uncle Xu also have to apologize to my boyfriend?" Qi Jixin said calmly.
"Oh, boyfriend?" Uncle Xu crossed his legs, as if he had heard some huge joke, leaned back, and looked at Bing Jie with disdain. After all, the only people he could control in the whole audience were his own son and Bing Jie.
Father Qi also looked at Father Xu with a little displeasure. His stern eyes were indeed somewhat similar to Qi Jixin's. Seeing that his servant was still so sullen, Father Qi was so angry that his breathing became heavier.
Qi Jixin wasn't angry. She raised her lips slightly, turned her gaze towards Uncle Xu, and said clearly, "I really shouldn't call him my boyfriend."
Among those present, some were secretly delighted, some were surprised, and some were even nervous. Bing Jie also frowned and looked at Qi Jixin, then shook his head at her.
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