Chapter 43

Although they are old friends in name, it is only a friendship formed between the two generations. After the elders passed away, the two families have less contact, and at most they visit each other and drink tea during the Chinese New Year.

If I count carefully, the last time I saw Xu Yibai was last time.

Song Zhiyi sighed inwardly and pulled his brother's hood to get him out of the car.

"What are you resisting about? Aren't you just coming here to give gifts as a formality?" After pulling his brother out of the car, Song Zhiyi asked again.

"I'm not... Oh, forget it," Song Zhiyu scratched her hair, luckily avoiding making a bird's nest hairstyle, "It's hard to say. Anyway, after they finish the engagement process, we will find an excuse to leave immediately. This is what you promised me."

"Yeah." Song Zhiyi nodded nonchalantly, muttering to himself.

The Xu family's invitation was sent in a hurry, only four days in advance. Song Zhiyu's schedule was very busy in the past half month, and it seemed that he would not be able to make it. Song Zhiyi did not tell him and planned to go to the appointment by herself.

As it happened, the filming at Song Zhiyu's place went exceptionally smoothly and was completed a day early. He flew back from another city early yesterday morning, just in time for the engagement party.

He came back late last night, and Aunt Lin didn't explain in detail, just said there was an engagement party and asked him if he wanted to go. At that time he agreed happily, but after waking up and hearing that it was Xu Yibai's engagement party, his expression changed immediately.

I have the impression that Song Zhiyu recorded a variety show with Xu Yibai in the first half of the year, but when I first went there, he said that Xu Yibai took good care of him, so the two of them probably didn't have any conflicts.

As for the other host of the engagement party, Lu Qizhi, most of his family's business is in Haicheng, and the two families don't have much interaction. They should not have any grudges against each other, right?

Song Zhiyi walked and thought, and entered the banquet hall under the guidance of the waiter.

Although it was just an engagement banquet, the two families obviously intended to make a big deal of it. The interior of the banquet hall was decorated luxuriously and exquisitely. On the left side of the entrance was the dessert and beverage area. Further in front, there were more than ten round tables that could seat eight people. At first glance, it was not an exaggeration to say that it was a formal wedding banquet.

They arrived neither too early nor too late, and quite a few people were already seated at the table. Song Zhiyu went to find a seat first, while Song Zhiyi looked around with the gift in his hand and walked straight towards a girl in a white shirt and a black vest.

"Hello, can you take me to see Aunt Xu?"

"Okay, please come here." The girl smiled professionally and bowed as a gesture of invitation.

Song Zhiyi's gaze lingered on her face for two more seconds, and he frowned slightly, but didn't say much. He took the gift box and left the banquet hall under her leadership, going to the lounge on the third floor.

But, the timing of coming is probably unfortunate.

The door was half open and three steps away from the lounge, when a loud clattering sound of something being pushed over was heard from inside. Immediately afterwards, an emerald green object flew out from the gap in the door and was about to hit the waiter in the face.

"Be careful." Song Zhiyi pulled her back and barely avoided the attack of the "hidden weapon". The momentum of the thing did not decrease until it hit the wall and shattered with a snap.

Song Zhiyi looked down at the debris beneath his feet and thought, what an unfortunate opportunity.

The waitress' name was Jia Zhenzhen. She had obviously not expected this incident and was still in shock. She bowed and thanked Song Zhiyi, "Thank you, Miss Song. Please don't cut your hand. I'll find someone to clean it up right away."

"It's just a small matter, no need to thank me, but let's come back later." Song Zhiyi looked down at the broken pieces of the jade bracelet on the ground, and felt that now was not the time for her to come out. She immediately pulled Jia Zhenzhen back and asked casually, "Why haven't I seen you before?"

"Me?" Jia Zhenzhen was stunned and tentatively replied, "I was just transferred here to be in charge."

"That's not what I'm asking." Song Zhiyi stood in front of the elevator, watching the number slowly decrease. "You're not from the Xu family..."

"...I'm telling you again! You have to get married whether you want to or not!" The door of the lounge was opened, and a well-maintained middle-aged woman walked out, her face flushed and her body trembling slightly with anger. When she saw the broken remains of the jade bracelet in the corridor, her voice rose another octave.

"This is something the Lu family gave you! If you just throw it away, how do you plan to receive it at the engagement party later..."

bite--

[Third floor, here we are.]

Hearing the AI ​​prompt sound of the elevator, the woman turned around and her expression suddenly changed.

"Knowing the meaning?"

"Aunt, long time no see." Song Zhiyi smiled awkwardly, pretending that she had just walked out of the elevator, holding the gift box and walking towards Xu's mother naturally. Her eyes inadvertently swept across the debris on the ground, and she quickly exclaimed, "Oh, what happened? Oh, oh ...

"It's a small matter. We can find someone to clean it up later." Xu's mother closed the door and pretended nothing happened. She asked, "Aren't your parents here?"

"They are still abroad," Song Zhiyi handed over the gift box and said with a smile, "What a coincidence, the gift my mother asked me to bring to Sister Yibai is a bracelet. Auntie, why don't you wear it for fun first, and I will give Sister a separate gift to enhance her makeup some other day."

As she spoke, she opened the box, revealing a clear, emerald green bracelet.

Mother Xu stared at the bracelet, her throat rolling, she put her hands behind her and pulled her sleeves to the back of her hands, then stretched out her right hand to take the box, "Since it's for Yibai, let her wear it, and pass it to me to decide how it looks."

*

Accompanied by the soothing music played by the symphony orchestra, Song Zhiyi took a sip of red wine and breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

The bracelet could even fly out of the door. Of course she did hear the quarrel inside, but the sound was vague and sharp. She almost didn't recognize the owner of the voice and was almost forced to eavesdrop and was caught.

If I don't perform well and reveal my flaws, it will be awkward to contact my relationship during the next Chinese New Year.

Song Zhiyi couldn't help but curl her toes, thinking, if Xu Yibai doesn't want to get married, then she doesn't have to get married, but why did Xu's mother keep forcing her to do so, and even broke up with her and smashed all the bracelets that the Lu family had given her on the day of the engagement party?

As for the Xu family selling their daughter, their family backgrounds were not that different from the Lu family's. Xu Yibai had an older brother, so they didn't have to seek benefits through marriage. Moreover, Xu Yibai was in poor health when she was a child, and the Xu family almost always granted her requests. They didn't seem like the kind of people who would sell their daughter.

Song Zhiyi glanced around calmly. Almost all the guests in the banquet hall had arrived. There were some people in the back row with work badges and cameras, obviously waiting to shoot first-hand material.

Xu Yibai is not even 30 years old, which is a period of career growth for a female artist. If she is a love-minded person, it would be fine if she insisted on getting married, but she doesn't seem to be willing at all. This marriage is really weird in every way.

I can't figure it out, so I don't want to think about it anymore. Song Zhiyi took another sip of red wine and glanced at his brother who was chatting happily beside him.

There were many artists of all sizes near their table. Song Zhiyu's social attributes were fully activated, and he chatted with them like a fish in water. From time to time, he would sign autographs for other guests.

She always thought her brother was a nobody, but it seems like he's much more popular than she thought?

"Sister," just as she was thinking, the famous star Song Zhiyu came over, shook her and whispered, "I'm not wearing invisibility, can you help me see if that's Boss and Nanfeng over there?"

"Where?" Song Zhiyi asked as he turned around to look. Before he got an answer, he found the familiar figure standing in front of the window.

The weather was very good today, and the banquet hall was bright enough. Only a few ambient lights were on, creating a hazy atmosphere. Qi Nanfeng stood by the window, and the bright morning light poured down from behind him, creating a fluffy halo.

He stood lazily with one hand in his pocket, talking to the person in front of him with his eyes slightly downcast. The other party answered something, Qi Nanfeng smiled, nodded, then turned around and looked at the table, then his smile deepened, and he greeted Chen Yuning who was talking to a middle-aged couple next to him, and walked over.

Song Zhiyi picked up a dessert from the plate in front of her brother, took a bite and said, "It's him... What is this?"

"One hundred percent pure, ultra-rich chocolate," Song Zhiyu said happily, "Didn't I just tell you that this is very bitter? Why did you choose it?"

Song Zhiyi rolled her eyes and gulped down two more sips of red wine in bitterness.

"Stop drinking, stop drinking. You've already had a few drinks. I'll go get you some Coke." Song Zhiyu snatched the cup away and ran away from his seat. He intercepted Qi Nanfeng on the way and went to get Coke with his arm around his shoulder.

The cup was snatched away, Song Zhiyi curled her lips in dissatisfaction, and stuffed the dessert into her mouth, trying to reduce the bitter taste in her mouth. Jia Zhenzhen was nearby and witnessed her being attacked by chocolate. After thinking for a while, she picked up some dessert and sent it over.

"If you want chocolate, you can try this. It's very sweet."

"Thank you." Song Zhiyi thanked him, picked up one and threw it into his mouth, chewing it while keeping his gaze closely following Jia Zhenzhen's busy figure.

Song Zhiyu looked around and finally found Coke. The brown-red sparkling water was poured into a tall glass, which looked quite real. After returning the glass, he noticed his sister's gaze and asked, "Who are you looking at? What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing, maybe I was seeing things." When she saw Jia Zhenzhen today, she felt that she looked familiar. She originally thought that she was a young man who came to help, but judging from the reaction of Xu's mother, Jia Zhenzhen seemed to be a real employee of the hotel.

Song Zhiyi retracted her gaze and wanted to ask her brother why he was so reluctant to come to this wedding banquet, but she felt that the occasion was not right, so she sullenly threw a chocolate with wine filling into her mouth and looked at Qi Nanfeng, "Is it okay for you to come here by yourself and leave Sister Chen behind?"

"It's okay. My aunt is acquaintances of Lu Qizhi's parents. I stayed there and delayed their conversation. However," Qi Nanfeng said with a long sigh, and begged with a rather bitter smile, "My aunt is not here, can you please not call her Sister Chen when you mention her?" He always felt that he was inexplicably a head shorter in generation.

Song Zhiyi blinked and made an OK gesture.

While we were talking, the engagement party had already begun. The curtains were drawn and only some of the ceiling lights were on, making it a little dim. The stage in the front was lit up with colorful lights, and the MC came on stage with a microphone, making witty remarks to adjust the atmosphere and cue the process.

——That sounds a bit annoying.

Song Zhiyi tugged at his collar, puffed up his face, and threw another chocolate into his mouth. He chewed it and complained softly, "When will it end? I'm so hot."

"The man's parents just came on stage to give their speeches. It's still too early." Song Zhiyu glanced at her and suddenly his eyes widened. "What's wrong? Why is your face so red?"

"Don't you think it's boring here?" Song Zhiyi muttered, with annoyance on his face. "I'm so bored. I want to go out."

"No, someone else is getting engaged. I beg you, come, drink some iced Coke... No, why do you still smell like alcohol in your mouth?" Song Zhiyu took her cup and took a sip. "I changed it to Coke, didn't I?"

"That," a girl at the same table couldn't stand it anymore and pointed at the plate in front of Song Zhiyi, "She ate a lot of chocolate with liquor filling."

Song Zhiyu looked in the direction of her finger, and saw on the clean white porcelain plate, there was something in a gold-red package that looked like a cone-shaped candy, and next to the plate was a small mountain of wrapping paper.

Yes, finished.

"Nanfeng," Song Zhiyu took a deep breath, slightly moved the stool, and whispered, "I'm going to take my sister out to get rid of the alcohol. Please save the seat for us first."

"Is she drunk?" Qi Nanfeng naturally noticed Song Zhiyi's abnormality and asked with a frown, "Can't she drink red wine?"

"Red wine is fine, but other drinks will make you drunk. And my sister is different from others when she is drunk. She has to do whatever she wants to do, and she can't stop me." He waved to a waiter and asked, "Hello, is there a side door to go out?"

After finding out the location of the side door that could be used to exit, Song Zhiyu pulled his sister and said kindly, "Do you see that door? We'll exit from there. Remember to bend down and don't disturb others."

Song Zhiyi responded with a sour face, his collar was wrinkled, but he was still obedient. He shook off his hand and walked towards the side door with his waist bent.

When he failed to hold on, Song Zhiyu quickly stood up and followed: "No, wait for me..."

"Young man, are you Song Zhiyu?"

"It's definitely Song Zhiyu. My daughter has put up a lot of his posters at home."

Two people appeared out of nowhere and blocked his chair. The old man held a notebook and said cheerfully, "My granddaughter likes you very much. Can you sign an autograph for her?"

Seeing that his sister was about to leave, Song Zhiyu hurriedly lowered his head and signed sloppily, "Sorry, I..."

"I want one too. My son likes you very much."

Another notebook was handed to him, and Song Zhiyu explained anxiously: "I have something to do now, wait a moment..."

"Don't worry," Qi Nanfeng patted his shoulder, "I'll go take a look."

“…”

After leaving the banquet hall and getting some fresh air, Song Zhiyi finally felt that the dryness in her body had subsided a little.

Intellectually, she knew that she was attending someone else's engagement party and she just needed to be patient. However, who could talk rationally to a drunkard?

Blame it on those boozy chocolates.

Although her alcohol tolerance is not very good, it is not that bad. There must be something wrong with the chocolates. She has a conflict with chocolate today!

But those chocolates with liquor filling are really delicious. Song Zhiyi kicked the fallen leaves and thought with a bad look on his face that he should ask the hotel staff what brand of chocolate this is before leaving.

Song Zhiyi walked with his head down, going out of every door and walking on every road. When the smell of alcohol dissipated a little, he realized that he didn't know where he had been.

This looks like a small garden, but it must have been abandoned. The fountain in the center has accumulated some rainwater and a thick layer of fallen leaves. It's quite quiet.

Song Zhiyi walked to the stone bench, looked at the dust on it, bent down to pick up a handful of dry fallen leaves, and laid a layer of yellow natural cushion on it.

"Finally found you..." He was only half a minute late, and when he went out, he couldn't even see anyone. Qi Nanfeng walked and asked along the way, and finally caught up with him.

Song Zhiyi was squatting on the ground having fun. When he heard the sound, he jumped up from the ground, stood still, and waved his hands downward in parallel, making a demonstration gesture, "Clang clang! Look, what is this!"

It was rare to see her so lively. Qi Nanfeng stared at her bright eyes for a while before moving his gaze to look at the "fallen leaves" on the ground.

The masterpiece is divided into three parts. On the top left, there are a few yellow fallen leaves stacked up, and below is a large pile of green leaves. There are also a few torn red leaves placed at the boundary between yellow and green.

Honestly, if you only look at the green part, it looks like a frog with a yellow flower on its head. But that's definitely not the answer.

Qi Nanfeng went to look at the two on the right. Both had more red leaves. One of them was torn into particularly pieces, with a thin green stem underneath.

After a moment's silence, he answered firmly: "The little prince, the fox, and his rose."

"That's right, 100 points!" Song Zhiyi nodded with satisfaction, taking photos of her masterpiece from various angles with her phone. "I said it was easy to recognize. Only that idiot Xiaoyu would mistake it for a frog, a red carp, and fish bait."

"..." Red carp and fish bait? They look quite similar.

Qi Nanfeng wisely did not say this out loud. He coughed lightly and said, "How are you doing now that you're sober? Zhiyu was worried about you."

"Almost done." After finishing the masterpiece, Song Zhiyi looked up and quickly locked onto his target - a ginkgo tree.

Song Zhiyi was looking at his phone one second ago, and the next second he took two steps, stepped on the stone bench and jumped out. He climbed up the tree trunk in a few steps, pulled out a leaf with perfect shape, and then put the leaf into the phone case in this posture.

"..." Xinru was almost frightened to death. Qi Nanfeng stroked his chest, walked over and coaxed him softly, "It's dangerous down there, come up first and then deal with it, okay?"

They were now on a small platform, and what Song Zhiyi had just done was no different from jumping directly down from the second floor.

"Not very good," Song Zhiyi lowered his head and looked at something, and replied after a while, "Come over and take a look, who are those two people down there?"

"Down there?" This place has been abandoned since the hotel was renovated and few people come here. Qi Nanfeng leaned out and of course saw nothing.

"Come down here," Song Zhiyi stood up and moved aside to reveal the table below, then raised his hand and tugged at Qi Nanfeng's sleeve, "There is a small flower hall here."

"..." Qi Nanfeng said nothing. He turned over swiftly and stood behind Song Zhiyi. His furry hair rubbed against his neck, making his ears itchy.

"...Did you see that?" When he didn't get a reply, Song Zhiyi poked him with her elbow, "Am I drunk and seeing things? Why do I feel like they are Xu Yibai and her brother?"

"Let me see." Qi Nanfeng calmed down and forced himself to shift his attention to the round thing on the back of your head, and finally looked at the place Song Zhiyi said.

Immediately, the blood in his body cooled down rapidly due to shock.

Through the greenish glass, he clearly saw Xu Yibai, who was dressed in a suit, kissing a man.

That man is Xu Yisong.

Xu Yibai's biological brother.