Chapter 405: Sophisticated
The guests arrived one after another.
Zhou Xingzhi invited his uncle and aunt from the next room, as well as some close friends.
Besides Nan Zhiyi's family and Zhou Anping's family, Zhang Yueran's side also included two senior female students from the lab.
Those two senior female students were invited by Zhang Yueran at Aunt Feng's insistence.
Aunt Feng had originally suggested that she invite Professor Chen as well, but Zhang Yueran nearly jumped three feet high, saying, "Why invite so many people? I just want to do research in the lab..."
Aunt Feng was so angry that she slapped her silly daughter several times. This girl really doesn't understand any social etiquette.
This engagement also serves as an opportunity for the lab staff to know that Zhang Yueran is a girl with connections, not someone struggling alone in Beijing.
Zhang Yueran didn't understand her mother's good intentions, but in the end she obediently listened and invited two senior sisters with whom she had a good relationship.
The private room gradually became lively as the guests took their seats.
Gu Xiao brought Gu Zhao back to find Nan Zhiyi. Li Xiaoxuan, who was sitting next to Nan Zhiyi, did not get up and said with a smile, "Minister Gu, why don't you take Xiaoman to sit with Lao Qin? We sisters can have a chat."
She pointed to the men's table, where Qin Fen was holding his daughter Yao Yao and chatting amiably with Meng Qingshan.
Gu Xiao then noticed Zhou Anping holding the child on Nan Zhiyi's other side. He nodded to his wife and led his son over there.
As the banquet was about to begin, Zhou Xingzhi gently took Zhang Yueran's hand, and the two walked side by side to the silk painting of "Magpies on Plum Blossoms" on the main table.
The guests gradually quieted down.
Feng Xuemei, Zhang Jianguo, and Zhou Xingzhi's distant uncle also stepped forward.
Zhang Jianguo, representing the bride's parents, cleared his throat and said, "Thank you all for coming. Today is the auspicious day for Yueran and Xingzhi's engagement."
Feng Xuemei looked at Zhou Xingzhi and said, "Our Yueyue has always been independent since she was little. Now that she has chosen such a good young man as Xingzhi, we parents are completely at ease!"
Zhou Xingzhi took half a step forward and bowed solemnly to Zhang Jianguo and Feng Xuemei: "Uncle and Aunt, please rest assured."
This unexpected courtesy brought tears to Feng Xuemei's eyes instantly.
Zhou Xingzhi turned to look at Zhang Yueran beside him, "Auntie, I will be good to Yueyue for the rest of my life."
Zhang Yueran blushed and, amidst the good-natured laughter of the room, tightly grasped his hand in return.
Zhang Jianguo patted Zhou Xingzhi on the shoulder and said, "It's good that you two get along so well. As your parents, we just hope that you will respect and love each other in the future."
Zhang Yueran and Zhou Xingzhi bowed solemnly once again.
Mr. Zhou gestured to a young man to bring over some drinks and distribute them to the soon-to-be-married couple and the Zhang family elders.
Then, Mr. Zhou slowly began, "Dear relatives and friends, I am deeply honored by your presence today at the engagement celebration of my nephew, Xingzhi. As an elder of the Zhou family, I offer this humble toast to wish the two young people a harmonious and joyful future together. I also thank the Zhang family for raising such an outstanding daughter. Please join me in drinking this toast to this auspicious union!"
Everyone raised their glasses.
Feng Xuemei gently nudged Zhang Yueran, whose face flushed red. Zhang Yueran and Zhou Xingzhi raised their glasses to toast everyone.
After a simple ceremony, the waiters served the dishes in an orderly manner.
Eight cold dishes were arranged in an exquisite pattern; the hot dishes were even more dazzling, including steamed shad, braised prawns, crispy duck, braised lion's head meatballs... all made with seasonal fresh vegetables, chicken, fish, meat and eggs, and there were also a few dishes such as crab roe tofu and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, which require skill and expensive ingredients.
Besides Moutai and Wuliangye, the drinks also include red wine and soda, which are popular with women.
Li Xiaoxuan picked up a piece of shad with her chopsticks, leaned close to Nan Zhiyi's ear, and whispered, "Look at this feast, this extravagance... Zhou Xingzhi, that old blockhead, once he starts burning, it's a raging inferno! Such a grand engagement, what will happen on the actual wedding day...?"
Nan Zhiyi looked towards the main table, where Zhou Xingzhi was listening to Zhang Yueran speak with his head slightly turned, while his subordinates were serving her food. The natural and heartfelt appreciation he showed her filled Nan Zhiyi with genuine joy for her younger sister.
She withdrew her gaze, gave Li Xiaoxuan a faint smile, and everything was understood without words.
Li Xiaoxuan then brought up the trip to Chengde on Saturday and Sunday, saying that Lao Qin had invited Zhou Xingzhi and Zhang Yueran to come along, saying it was to celebrate their engagement, and Zhou Xingzhi had agreed.
Nan Zhiyi: "Yueyue told me this morning that we should go together. It'll be more lively with more people."
After the engagement banquet concluded successfully, Mr. and Mrs. Feng Xuemei, who were filled with reluctance and had given their best wishes, left. Before they knew it, it was Friday night.
The originally planned weekend trip to Chengde suddenly expanded into a group trip involving four families because Qin Fen warmly invited Meng Qingshan to his engagement banquet.
The night before leaving for Chengde, Gu Xiao put the last folded dress into his rattan suitcase and looked up to see her gazing out the window, lost in thought.
He walked over, took her hand, and led her to sit on the sofa next to the fan.
"Don't you want to go anymore?"
Nan Zhiyi slowly shook her head, her hair brushing against her shoulders with the movement.
"It's not that... I can't quite put my finger on it." She pursed her lips, her brow furrowing slightly.
In the end, she chose to be honest with Gu Xiao:
“I just… I feel a bit awkward being with Anping right now. Gu Xiao, we’ve been together for over twenty years… We used to be able to talk about anything. No matter what happened to her, I wanted to be there for her and help her, just like before. But now… I don’t know how things have turned out this way between us. I don’t even know how I can talk to her comfortably anymore… This feeling… is so strange and so painful.”
Her voice lowered, and her head lowered as well.
Gu Xiao gently lifted her chin and wiped away the moisture from the corner of her eyes with his fingertips. Then he pulled her onto his lap and let her lean on his shoulder.
He knew that since his parents-in-law passed away, his wife had closed half of her heart, and she had lost contact with most of her former colleagues and friends, except for Zhou Anping, with whom she had grown up.
Now, even this last vestige of old friendship has gradually grown distant due to the changing times, which inevitably leaves her feeling lost.
He didn't offer empty words of comfort; he simply stroked her back gently with his palm.
After a while, seeing that Nan Zhiyi's emotions had calmed down a bit, Gu Xiao said softly, "People are like two rivers, sometimes flowing side by side, sometimes separating. It's not anyone's fault, it's just that they flow through different terrains."
“Zhou Anping now has her family and career to take care of, you have your books to write, Xiaoman to teach, and me… to worry about. Your relationship is still there, but you don’t have to be together all the time like when you were little girls.”
He gently rubbed his chin against her forehead. "Just let things take their course, don't be too hard on yourself. True friends, even if they drift apart for a while, are still close at heart. Look, isn't this trip a chance to get closer again?"
Nan Zhiyi sighed softly, wrapped her arms around his neck, and buried herself deeper into his embrace.
That warm and reassuring aura was like a silent harbor, gently enveloping her.
"If you really don't want to go, then we won't go."
"How can I do that? Yueyue took a day off, I can't spoil her fun. Otherwise..." She bit his neck, "Gu Xiao, can you pick me up this weekend?"
"able."
He agreed without hesitation, then lifted her up by the waist so that their eyes were level. "I'll set off at noon on the weekend to pick up my darling wife and take her home."
Nan Zhiyi then smiled, "Okay, my son and I will be waiting for you."
Gu Xiao pulled her closer to him, his warm breath brushing against her neck: "Now that we've finished talking about business... shouldn't you spend some time with me?"
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