Four stars
In mid-January, Huaizhou had its second snow of the winter.
Because Zhao Yingxun, the only son of the Zhao family, returned to China, the Zhao family specially held a welcoming banquet for him. After all, he was a beloved young master, so the scale of the welcoming banquet was very large, and half of the social circle came.
The Feng family has always been on good terms with the Zhao family, so they were naturally invited to participate.
That evening, everyone was dressed in formal attire. In the magnificent conference hall, bright crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting a warm light evenly into every corner.
Mr. Feng was followed by several people. When they met Mr. Zhao, they exchanged a few polite words. Suddenly, he asked, "Hey, why don't you see Yingxun?"
This sound reminded Old Zhao that he had not seen his little grandson since the first time he met him when he came here.
He asked the assistant beside him, "Where did Xiaoxun go again?"
The assistant replied, "The young master said a friend was coming, so he went to greet that friend first."
The moment the words fell, the assistant glanced inadvertently at the corner and caught a glimpse of something. He whispered to Mr. Zhao, "The young master is there."
He pointed in a direction, and everyone subconsciously looked in that direction. Near the edge, in front of the bar where the wine was being made, besides Zhao Yingxun, there was another casually dressed woman.
She seemed to treat this dinner as just an ordinary party. She wore a comfortable coat and loose jeans, which was out of place in the grand hall.
But the place where they stayed was not eye-catching, so no one would notice them.
Both of them were holding wine glasses in their hands, talking and laughing, and seemed to have a good relationship.
Old Master Feng was stunned for a moment, then turned to Feng Chibai: "Is that person..."
Feng Chibai smiled and nodded: "It's Miss Lin."
Hearing this, Mr. Zhao asked doubtfully, "Do you know that little girl?"
Old Master Feng explained, "That little girl saved my life last month. It's rare to see her again, so I have to go over and thank her properly."
After saying that, he took the lead and walked in that direction.
As soon as he left, the people behind him naturally followed.
The other end.
Lin Tang sat side by side with Zhao Yingxun. They had known each other since college and had always gotten along well, thanks to their compatible personalities. When he returned to China this time, he heard that the old man was hosting a welcoming party for him, and he immediately invited Lin Tang to join them.
She was rejected the first time. After all, she didn't like to go out and show her face, and she didn't know anyone here, so she felt awkward just thinking about it. But then, he offered her some excellent wine, which immediately attracted this drunkard.
I was sitting quietly in this corner chatting and drinking, but for some reason, a large group of people suddenly gathered in front of me.
This time, both of them were confused.
Lin Tang subconsciously looked at Zhao Yingxun.
He quickly shook his head to clarify that these people were not sent by him.
Of course Lin Tang knew this too, after all, there were a few familiar faces here.
Her eyes passed over Old Man Feng and fell on Feng Chibai behind him. She smiled softly and raised her eyebrows.
As if to say, we meet again.
In the sudden quiet atmosphere, everyone's eyes fell on Lin Tang.
Although I had seen her once on the big screen that day, seeing this face in person at this moment made me feel more realistically the similarities between her and the old man's first wife.
Old Master Feng was the first to break the silence. He said, "I didn't expect to see you here again. Thank you so much for last time, little girl. I wanted to treat you to a meal before..."
When Xu Jianyun mentioned this, an idea immediately popped up in her mind. She quickly interrupted, "Hey, Xiao Chi should have told Miss Lin about the meal, right? You two had dinner together that day."
She wanted to test the truth of what Fengchi said last time.
There was no change on Lin Tang's face. He glanced at Feng Chibai lightly, but he didn't remember that they had eaten together.
However, she could also smell the smell of gunpowder in the air.
Knowing that such a large family would inevitably have some conflicts, although she didn't want to interfere in their "internal fighting", but considering that he had helped her twice, she still avoided the main issue and said, "Well, I declined the invitation to dinner to repay the favor. Mr. Feng has already paid the medical expenses, so this matter is over."
She put down her glass and stood up from her chair. The complexities of interpersonal relationships still gave her a headache.
"I have something else to do, so I have to go back first. I won't disturb your fun."
Hearing this, Old Feng glanced at Xu Jianyun, as if to warn her of her lack of etiquette. Towards Lin Tang, he acted kindly again: "Then I'll let Xiaochi take you back."
"No need." She quickly made a stop gesture, "My friend will take me back."
After saying that, she patted Zhao Yingxun's back lightly and put her arm around his shoulder naturally.
Zhao Yingxun understood what she meant and quickly said, "That's right, I'll just take her back. I'll be leaving for a while then."
He pulled Lin Tang's arm down and put his arm around her shoulders. The two of them leaned close to each other, as if they had something to whisper to each other.
In the noisy meeting room, Feng Junming lowered his voice and asked Xu Jianyun, "Where is Xiao Jingren?"
Xu Jianyun was also anxious: "He said earlier that he was on his way."
But now I haven't seen anyone.
Their voices weren't loud, but perhaps because they weren't far away, they still reached Feng Chibai's ears. However, at the moment, he didn't really want to care about their family's affairs. He narrowed his eyes, his gaze lingering for a long time on Zhao Yingxun's hand holding Lin Tang, and suddenly smiled.
After passing through the noisy conference hall, the still bright corridor seemed much quieter.
Everyone seemed to be gathered in the conference hall, and they were the only two people in the aisle.
Zhao Yingxun lowered his head and asked her, "What's going on?"
"What's going on?" Lin Tang asked.
"Those people just now, you actually know them."
While the two of them were chatting, their attention wasn't focused on the road ahead. As a result, they didn't notice that not far ahead, there was a person walking in the opposite direction of them.
The man lowered his head, looking at his phone with an impatient expression, and seemed not to have noticed the two people.
At the moment when their figures crossed each other, because he didn't grasp the distance well, his arm bumped into Lin Tang's.
The force wasn't strong, and Lin Tang stumbled slightly. He quickly raised his hand and apologized to him, but his gaze didn't shift to Zhao Yingxun. Instead, he continued to reply, "I don't really know him, I've only met him a few times."
"Lin Tang, you're being disloyal. You don't even share this with me."
The two continued walking forward, not noticing that the person she had just bumped into suddenly stopped in his tracks.
After sending her downstairs to the residential complex, Zhao Yingxun asked, "So you and Ms. Xiaofeng also met because of this?"
On the way, Lin Tang told him the general situation. Hearing his question, he answered frankly.
Zhao Yingxun asked again: "Are you two familiar with each other?"
Lin Tang immediately sensed something was wrong and said unhappily, "What are you doing?"
Zhao Yingxun didn't feel embarrassed when he was seen through. He laughed twice and said, "I have a project that I'd like him to invest in. If you know him well, please help me."
"That's unfortunate." Lin Tang chuckled and unbuckled his seatbelt. "We've only met a few times."
She got out of the car, closed the door, and called out to herself, "I'm leaving first."
*
In the empty corridor.
Feng Yunjing suddenly stopped when she heard the words "Lin Tang".
He subconsciously turned around to see the figure getting farther and farther away.
Until she completely disappeared from his sight.
After a long time, he vaguely withdrew his gaze, sneered, and continued walking forward.
When he walked into the conference hall, Xu Jianyun noticed him at a glance.
Glancing at him, she saw that he was still wearing an informal performance outfit, and couldn't help but frown and scold him, "Why did you come here wearing something like that?"
Feng Yunjing's voice was cold: "Aren't you guys the ones who keep pushing me?"
Feng Junming snorted coldly upon hearing this, his voice stern: "You spend all day messing around with useless things. If I had known this would happen, I would have devoted all my energy to training Feng Chibai."
Feng Yunjing retorted, "You still have time now, but it depends on whether he still recognizes you as his father."
Feng Junming's eyes were piercing with fire. Seeing this, Xu Jianyun quickly separated the two of them and persuaded her husband, "Alright, both of you should stop talking. The old man and Feng Chibai are talking to someone over there. You should go over and listen."
After he left, Xu Jianyun pulled his son aside and asked him, "Lin Tang just left not long ago. Did you see him when you came?"
"No." He said bluntly.
Xu Jianyun sighed and said earnestly, "Xiao Jing, you know we are not welcome in this family."
From childhood to adulthood, whether at home or at school, he was always labeled as the son of a mistress.
What follows him are always unpleasant ridicule and abuse.
"Lin Tang is a real sweetheart. She's a great tool for us mother and son to gain a foothold in this family. Mom isn't just doing this for herself, she's also thinking about you. If you can hold onto her, your dad won't blame you even if you continue to play in the band, okay?"
Feng Yunjing is a soft-hearted person, so when she softened her attitude, his temper also subsided.
Perhaps at the beginning, he was very resistant to this proposal, for his own sake.
He was just thinking quietly, but he couldn't think for himself. Born in this family, he and Xu Jianyun were like grasshoppers tied to the same rope.
Many times, he couldn't follow his own ideas.
He had no choice.
So at the moment he could only say: "Let me think about it again."
*
The day before New Year's Eve, Lin Tang had already returned to Jingluo.
That night, she went to the hospital with a box of food.
The entire hospital was silent, totally inconsistent with the festive atmosphere.
She walked through the dimly lit corridor and stopped in front of a ward.
The moment I pushed the door open, I could see the old man lying on the hospital bed.
Noticing the commotion over here, the old man cast his gaze over, his kind face full of smiles, but his voice was weak: "Sui Sui is here."
Suisui is her nickname.
But it wasn't with her since birth.
She was born into a family that favored boys over girls. Because of her gender, she was not liked by her parents. Her parents' relationship was not good and they often quarreled. When she was ten years old, her parents divorced and she was forced to live with her father.
A year later, her father remarried and felt that she was a burden.
So one night, he took her to a busy shopping mall and lied to her that she should wait for him there and he would be back after buying something.
But as the night deepened, the crowds gradually dispersed, and even when the shopping malls were closed, her father still did not come back to find her.
She was left there.
She was still young at that time and didn't know the way home, so she squatted quietly outside the shopping mall.
The night wind was very cold that night, making people shiver, but she didn't shed a single tear, as if she had expected it.
She thought her life would end on that day.
But then, grandma showed up.
She took her hand and said she would take her home.
That day, Grandma had a big argument with Lin's father. She said that if he didn't want to raise Lin Tang, she would do it.
She gave her a nickname, Sui Sui.
She had not received much education and could not recognize many words, but she hoped that Lin Tang would be safe and sound every year.
From then on, grandma became her only family.
She paid for her schooling and raised her.
Lin Tang once said with great enthusiasm that when she became successful, she would let her grandmother live in a big house and taste all the delicacies from the world.
Unfortunately, fate played a trick on her. The year she graduated from graduate school, Grandma Lin was diagnosed with stomach cancer, which was already in the middle to late stages.
From then on, the ward became her home.
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