Chapter 102 Golden Hook Fishing - Sixteen Promises
To be honest, Ayu has never been a shy person. Running a supermarket is essentially a service industry job, and she often encounters customers who give her the cold shoulder, but she never takes it to heart. However, today, for some reason, even though she was mentally prepared, after her boyfriend's relatives gave her a cold shoulder in public, a feeling of grievance welled up in her nose.
She turned to Bowen and forced a smile to express her gratitude, but Bowen noticed that his good friend's eyes were red.
Ma Bo patted Xu Zhiyu's thigh, and then, to everyone's surprise, she picked up the wine bottle on the table and filled everyone's glasses, smiling generously as she said:
"Mr. Rong, President Lin, President Rong, Mr. Rong, Aunt Qin, and all the elders, good afternoon. Please allow me to introduce myself: I am Miss Xu's childhood friend."
She was very experienced; the smile on her face must have been practiced countless times.
“My name is Ma Bowen. I have been working for two years and am now a manager at a small-to-medium-sized private enterprise in the old capital. I know that all the elders at this table are high-ranking figures in the industry. The reason I am honored to dine with you all today is because of our Ah Yu.”
Ayu looked at Bowen. Her gaze was firm as she spoke, and the curve of her lips was the result of many sleepless nights. Having always stayed in her comfort zone, she had no idea that Bowen had been venturing out on her own for the past two years and could handle such situations with ease.
"I don't know how everyone here views love, but as far as I know, the relationship between A-Yu and Lin Xingmian is absolutely touching. From the very beginning, when Lin Xingmian started pursuing my childhood friend, after learning about his upbringing and family background, everyone who cares about A-Yu, including myself, didn't have high hopes for this relationship. You might smile knowingly, thinking we were self-aware, but what I want to say is—A-Yu grew up spoiled by her parents, and her friends and neighbors all adore her. It's perfectly normal for a love-starved boy like Lin Xingmian, who is obsessive, depressed, and even capable of suicidal thoughts, to fall for A-Yu!"
Her voice gradually rose, and as the words she used to describe Lin Xingmian became more and more unpleasant, the faces of the Rong family members opposite her also became more and more ugly!
Ayu felt uneasy after Ma Bowen asked those questions. Wasn't Bowen supposed to be here to build connections? Why was she saying such nasty things right off the bat? Was she planning to offend Xingmian's entire family?
She reached out and tugged at Bowen's sleeve, not quite understanding his intention. Her ears felt hot, and her heart felt warm too.
Old Rong was puzzled, but he accurately grasped the key point of the young woman's words. His eyes were sharp as knives as they swept across Lin Shukai's eyebrows: "What did she mean by saying Xingmian committed suicide?"
Upon hearing the question, the three members of the Rong family cast questioning and worried glances at each other, eager to get an answer.
However, before Lin Shukai could answer, Ma Bowen immediately interrupted, "Look, as Lin Xingmian's maternal grandfather, you don't even know about such a big thing about him. No wonder he lacks love!"
Lin Shukai: "..."
Old Rong's face was extremely grim.
Ma Bo asked, "Actually, I'm not saying this to stir up trouble between you and your grandson. I just want to say that love isn't about coercion or arrangement, but about understanding and respect. Since Lin Xingmian chose the girl he loves most, and he's doing everything he can to pursue her, you, as his family and support, can't even give him this much face, making him lose face in front of the girl he loves, letting her see that he has such a difficult group of elders. If she avoids him like the plague, who knows if he might attempt suicide again?"
"What a sharp tongue you have!" Old Rong said with a forced smile, referring to Ma Bowen, but his ambiguous gaze fell on Lin Shukai.
The Rong family was unaware of this matter, which was naturally because someone was deliberately concealing it!
Today is Xingmian's graduation banquet, and Ayu really doesn't want to cause any trouble today. Although she is usually someone who doesn't suffer any loss, she doesn't want to bother her younger brother with such a small matter.
She knew that Bowen was speaking up for her, and she was very grateful. However, she still felt that Bowen's words were a bit too sharp. After all, they were Mianmian's elders, and given their long-term pampered lifestyle, it was normal for them to be a little taller.
So Xu Zhiyu tugged at Ma Bowen's skirt again, and said before Grandpa Rong could speak, "I'm sorry, Grandpa Rong, my best friend is just a straightforward person, sharp-tongued but kind-hearted. She's never been very nice with her words, so if she's offended anyone, I hope the elders will forgive her..."
She forced a smile. "As for Xingmian's impulsive act of harming himself last time, since it happened during a crucial period before his college entrance exams, to avoid it repeatedly bringing back bad memories, Uncle Lin and I agreed that we would all treat it as a thing of the past and not bring it up again. Bowen is my best friend and family. I didn't tell Xingmian what he did, but Mianmian texted me last night saying that he and Bowen talked until very late, so he must have told her himself..."
Ah Yu's words were flawless, leaving no room for criticism.
In reality, she and Lin Shukai never made such an agreement. Lin Shukai was simply keeping it a secret from the Rong family because this matter was not honorable. If the Rong family found out, they would definitely make a big fuss about visiting Xingmian during that period. Even worse, perhaps Old Master Rong would be so angry that he would send Xingmian back to the Rong family, which would not only not be good for Xingmian's condition, but might even worsen it.
After hearing Xu Zhiyu's explanation, a smile suddenly appeared on Master Rong's tense face: "I was just making a comment, why are you so nervous?"
Xu Zhiyu was stunned for a moment: "I..."
Rong Lao: "I know Xingmian likes you. I never said I was against you two. Why are you so afraid?"
He was right, because she only sensed a hint of hostility, but the other party had not explicitly said or done anything. After what Master Rong said, Ayu suddenly wondered if she was being too sensitive.
Ma Bowen didn't think so at all. She believed there was something wrong with the other person, so she answered for A Yu: "You didn't say it, but when Uncle Lin introduced A Yu, even if it was out of politeness, you should at least have responded. Instead of letting people guess that you're too old to hear or that you have a sore throat and can't speak!"
Xu Zhiyu: "..."
Lin Shukai: "..."
Others: "???"
This girl is indirectly insulting Master Rong, saying he's both deaf and mute!
How could old man Rong Yuzhong not understand such obvious sarcasm?
He was so angry at the young woman opposite him that he was about to explode and say something harsh when all the lights in the room suddenly went out!
As soon as the lights went out, the venue fell silent, and everyone looked at the large screen on the stage in the center.
Something began to play slowly on the screen, sometimes bright and sometimes dark.
Ayu sighed at the opportune moment! She seized the opportunity to pull Bowen down to sit properly, patting her chest as she leaned closer and whispered, "Stop talking! He's so old, what if you upset him with your words? I know you mean well, but these kinds of relationships are bound to have some conflicts, and one of us has to suffer a little. Xingmian is so good to me, I'll just put up with it and not hold it against her!"
Ma Bo shook his head and sighed, "Sigh, it's my fault. I was a bit impulsive. I couldn't help it, I couldn't bear to see you suffer, and I couldn't hold back my anger..."
Ah Yu: "Of course! Have you forgotten why you came here today? If you offend the biggest boss, how are you going to make connections?"
Bo asked: "If the price of building connections is seeing you wronged but not being able to speak up for you, then I wouldn't have come today! You know, although I want to climb up the social ladder, loyalty is my bottom line, and protecting my own is my instinct."
Mr. Xu was deeply moved by Ms. Ma's words.
"..."
"..."
The two were still whispering to each other when, unbeknownst to them, a pillar-shaped cold spotlight slowly moved from the high ceiling to Xu Zhiyu, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
In the dark banquet hall, she seemed to be wearing moonlight, her pale purple gauze dress shimmering under the lights.
The girl had a beautiful oval face, and her long, curly hair adorned with small flowers made her look fresh and charming. Especially the butterfly behind her ear, which seemed to flutter its wings with every movement of hers, made it hard to tell if it was real or not.
Xu Zhiyu looked up at the spotlight above her, wondering why it was shining on her alone.
Feeling the curious and inquisitive gazes from everyone, she subconsciously grinned, looked around, and smiled sweetly, responding to their stares.
The large screen lit up again, and it started playing some short, pieced-together videos.
The camera first shows a street lined with tall, thick locust trees. The wide street is very clean. Walking in the middle of the street, the camera stops in front of a convenience store.
A group of kittens were sleeping sprawled out in front of the convenience store, while the store owner was also sleeping sprawled out inside.
Upon entering the convenience store, the crisp sound of wind chimes forced the sleeping owner to turn over.
Upon seeing this, a burst of laughter erupted in the room, seemingly charmed by the supermarket owner's behavior. Meanwhile, some observant individuals silently compared the girl in the video to the woman in the purple dress at the event.
Immediately afterwards, the camera focused on the sleeping boss, freezing on her—three seconds later, the scene began to switch rapidly, a short dynamic video showing the girl's every bright smile.
Ah Yu was stunned, and everyone present was stunned.
What stunned them was not only the girl's bright smile in the documentary, but also these loving scenes. Without any words or narration, everyone could deeply feel the documentary writer's affection for the female protagonist just through these shots.
The cold light shining on Miss Xu changed color to a warm yellow. Bubbles rose around the banquet hall, snowflakes fell from above, and grass and clumps of white lilies of the valley grew on the floor.
Ah Yu stood up, caught a snowflake in her hand, looked down at the lifelike lilies of the valley covering the ground, tilted her head blankly, and looked up to search for someone's figure on the field.
The stage was now empty, with only the echo lingering in her ears, unable to dissipate:
"It is this warm, sunny smile that gives meaning to every road I travel."
“Sister, Lin Xingmian is not good with words. He is willful, stubborn, and extreme, yet he is also so greedy. He has come to fulfill his promise ahead of schedule today.”
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