Treating guests to a meal
In the evening, the city lights gradually light up, illuminating the whole city with brilliant lights.
There is a constant stream of traffic in front of the Jiefang Hotel, and the neon signs are flashing with a slightly old-fashioned light.
Wen Lingyi pulled Su Qing, who was obviously reluctant, through the revolving door and walked straight to the front desk.
"Excuse me, which direction does box C1 go?" Wen Lingyi asked the front desk clerk.
"During the time Zhou Jianxing was in the hospital, I didn't actually provide any substantial help," Su Qing followed behind her, complaining softly, her eyes surveying the old-fashioned and elegant interior of the hotel. "Why did you have to drag me along? Are you inviting me here just to eat dog food?"
Not only does the sister-in-law dance in front of the toxic fan, but she also has to force her head down to feed her?
It’s a bit hard to understand, right?
Wen Lingyi glanced at her watch and continued to hurriedly pull her in the direction indicated by the waiter.
"She said she wanted to treat everyone to this meal, and she specifically asked me to bring you along," she turned her head to glance at Su Qing, "You should appreciate this kind gesture, right?"
Su Qing pursed her lips and did not refute.
She knew in her heart that as long as Zhou Jianxing and Wen Lingyi were still together, she and Zhou Jianxing would inevitably meet, and she could not avoid it next time even if she could avoid it this time.
"What era is this? They still choose Jiefang Hotel for a dinner party," Su Qing couldn't help but grumble in a low voice, trying to hide her discomfort by being picky. "How old-fashioned."
In her memory, the Jiefang Hotel was once the most high-end banquet venue in City C.
Later, with the rise of landmarks such as Zhaohua Building and the introduction of more fashionable catering brands, this place gradually lost its former glory.
But it is still the first choice for formal occasions in the minds of many older generations.
Zhou Jianxing is such a down-to-earth person.
·
Pushing open the heavy wooden door of box C1, there was already a bustling scene inside.
The round table was filled with exquisite cold dishes and hot dishes. It was obvious that they arrived last because of the traffic jam.
Wen Lingyi took a quick look around. In addition to the familiar Zhou Jianxing's parents, Chu Wei, Ajie and Xiaomin, there were also many unfamiliar middle-aged people in the private room.
"Lingyi, you're here." Zhou Jianxing's eyes lit up immediately when he saw her.
She walked over quickly, took her hand naturally, and led her to a gentle middle-aged woman. "This is my aunt."
"Hello, aunt." Wen Lingyi nodded slightly and greeted politely.
"This is my second aunt."
"Hello, Second Aunt."
"This is my uncle."
"Hello, uncle."
"This is my second uncle."
"Hello, Uncle."
"This is my uncle."
"Hello, uncle."
"This is my aunt."
"Hello, auntie."
…
Zhou Jianxing took Wen Lingyi by the hand and patiently walked around the huge private room for almost a circle, introducing almost every elder relative present.
At first, Wen Lingyi just followed Zhou Jianxing's lead and greeted him politely, but gradually, she sensed something unusual.
This scene was too formal, too much like some special introduction.
My heart skipped a beat. Even though I was used to big scenes, I still felt a little nervous.
Su Qing had already sat down in the empty seat next to Chu Wei, with her arms folded across her chest, her face expressionless, as she watched them coldly as they walked around the field.
Finally, Zhou Jianxing took Wen Lingyi's hand and walked to Zhou Shufen near the main seat.
Her free hand clenched and unclenched unconsciously, and then clenched again.
Zhou Shufen noticed her daughter's nervousness, reached out her hand, gently placed it on Zhou Jianxing's clenched fist, and gave her silent encouragement with her eyes.
Zhou Jianxing took a deep breath, as if he had made a great decision.
She raised her voice a little and glanced at every family member and friend in the room.
"Dear family and friends." Her voice was a little trembling at first, and she spoke a little quickly.
But she quickly adjusted her breathing and deliberately slowed down her speech, making each word clear and firm.
"Today, I would like to solemnly introduce someone to you." As she said this, she turned her head and looked at Wen Lingyi beside her, her eyes instantly softened.
It seemed that as long as this person was by her side, all the pressure and tension could be relieved and she would not be afraid of anything.
"This is my girlfriend, Wen Lingyi."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Jianjun and Zhou Shufen were the first to applaud, and then there was warm and long-lasting applause in the private room, mixed with the elders' gratified laughter and Chu Wei and others' cheers.
Amidst the sudden applause and laughter, Wen Lingyi was stunned and her mind went blank for a moment.
She subconsciously looked around and saw smiling faces filled with kindness and blessings.
Zhou Jianxing’s family… turned out to be so open-minded and accepted it so easily?
Zhou Jianxing looked so conservative, she thought...
Chu Wei, Ajie and Xiaomin had obviously known about it for a long time and were smiling particularly happily at this moment.
Zhou Jianxing simply made public a secret that everyone knew.
In the warm atmosphere, only Su Qing remained with her arms folded, with no expression on her face, looking out of place.
Zhou Jianxing looked at Wen Lingyi's dazed face, which seemed to have not yet fully reacted, and as if by magic, he took out a dark blue velvet jewelry box from the inside pocket of his coat.
She opened the box, and lying quietly inside was the ring that Wen Lingyi had returned, still shining as ever.
The moment she saw the familiar ring, Wen Lingyi felt her eyes suddenly warm up, her vision quickly blurred, and everything in front of her was covered with a layer of water.
"Zhou Jianxing will always love Wen Lingyi." Zhou Jianxing held the small ring and solemnly stretched it in front of Wen Lingyi.
Wen Lingyi couldn't hold back any longer, and tears silently rolled down her cheeks.
She raised her head and stared into Zhou Jianxing's eyes. She always felt that everything that happened tonight was as beautiful as an unreal dream, lacking a sense of solidity.
She slowly stretched out her right hand, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably due to the fluctuations of emotions.
The cold metal ring touched his skin, and then Zhou Jianxing slowly and firmly pushed it to the base of his right ring finger and put it on securely.
The moment the ring was put on, all the sense of reality suddenly returned.
Wen Lingyi could clearly hear the well-intentioned cheers of her relatives and friends in the box and the pounding of her own heart in her chest.
It seems that you can even hear the subtle buzzing caused by the blood rushing to the brain.
Zhou Jianxing's warm hand held her ring-wearing hand in due time, wrapping her firmly.
At this time, Zhou Shufen took out a large bunch of red roses from under the table and handed them to Zhou Jianxing, indicating that she should give them to Wen Lingyi.
"Wen Lingyi," Zhou Jianxing began to feel shy now. With a blushing face, he held the bouquet in front of Wen Lingyi, his voice trembling with nervousness, "I love you."
Wen Lingyi's tears became more and more violent, and Zhou Jianxing gently wiped them away with a clean tissue.
Fortunately, her eyeliner and mascara were waterproof, so Wen Lingyi couldn't help but be distracted.
"Give me a kiss! Give me a kiss!" Chu Wei laughed so hard that her body shook, and she took the lead in cheering loudly.
"I can't take it anymore!" Xiao Min pinched her philtrum exaggeratedly, "I'm dying!"
Zhou Jianxing smiled as shyly as when they first met, a little clumsy and silly, with her non-aggressive facial features gently unfolded.
"Is it okay?" She lowered her head slightly, moved closer to Wen Lingyi, and asked for her opinion in a low voice, her eyes a little evasive.
"Yeah." Wen Lingyi responded softly.
At this point, what else is there to refuse?
The atmosphere had already been set, and her heart was filled with excitement.
She closed her eyes and tilted her face up slightly.
Zhou Jianxing's lips gently touched hers, like a piece of spring catkins falling on her lips and then being blown away by the wind.
"Ahhhhhhh!" Xiao Min burst into excited screams again, her hands clenched into fists and she kept hitting Ajie beside her, "I can't take it anymore! This is too sweet!"
She announced that from now on she would be the leader of Yixing and Yiyi’s CP fan base.
"So fast?" Chu Wei, holding up his phone to record, exclaimed regretfully, "I didn't even have time to take a picture! I haven't even found the right angle yet!"
"Hey, you two, look at this camera!" Chu Wei quickly adjusted the angle of his phone and pointed it at the two protagonists again. "Come on, smile and look here!"
Wen Lingyi subconsciously raised her hand, which was tightly clasped with Zhou Jianxing's, and displayed the ring, which was gleaming under the light, unscrupulously in front of the camera.
The moment the shutter sounded, an unreserved and brilliant smile broke out on her face for the first time.
Let all the happiness and sweetness be firmly frozen in this moment.
·
"Alright, alright, let's all sit down and eat." Zhou Shufen couldn't stop smiling. She reached out and pulled Wen Lingyi to sit in the empty seat next to her. "If you don't eat now, these dishes will get cold."
"Lingyi, try this. Snowflake chicken soup is their signature dish. It's very tender." Zhou Shufen said, scooping a spoonful of tender chicken mince with a spoon and placing it in the small bowl in front of Wen Lingyi. "Eat more. You look so thin."
"Thank you, Auntie." Wen Lingyi was a little flattered and quickly picked up her bowl with both hands to receive it.
"My dear, come, let's have a drink." At this time, the uncle came over with a glass of white wine and smiled. "Your mother praised you to the skies. Now that we meet, you are indeed beautiful and generous!"
"Uncle," Zhou Jianxing immediately put down his chopsticks and looked at his uncle, acting like a child, "Please don't urge her to drink. She has to drive back later."
"It's okay," Wen Lingyi turned her head and patted Zhou Jianxing's thigh soothingly. "I'm happy today. Come drink with uncle."
After saying that, she picked up her wine glass, filled a small cup with white wine, stood up, and drank it all in one gulp very happily.
"Hey! This girl is really smart! She has the right temper for me!" Seeing this, the uncle laughed even more happily, and his satisfaction with Wen Lingyi obviously increased a lot.
With their uncle taking the lead, other relatives of the Zhou family also came over with smiles and took turns to drink with Wen Lingyi.
Zhou Jianxing was a little anxious watching from the side and wanted to speak up to stop them, but Wen Lingyi signaled with her eyes that it was okay.
She was in a very good mood today and accepted almost everything offered to her, drinking very happily.
"You," Zhou Shufen smiled and pointed at Zhou Jianxing with her finger, "Lingyi is happy today, so let her drink a little. It's okay."
"If she's really drunk, we'll take her back together later."
"My dear, why are you just sitting there and not having a drink?" Auntie walked up to Zhou Jianxing with a glass of wine and a smile on her face.
"Aunt, it's not that I don't want to drink with you," Zhou Jianxing quickly declined with both hands, his expression somewhat helpless. "I just had a liver resection a while ago, and the doctor told me to be careful with my liver and absolutely not drink."
"Oh?" Upon hearing this, Auntie pinched Zhou Jianxing's cheek with a wicked smile. Then, she glanced at Wen Lingyi beside her with a meaningful look and said jokingly, "Look, your 'little darling' is right here, isn't it?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Zhou Jianxing and Wen Lingyi's cheeks instantly flushed and they lowered their heads in embarrassment.
On the other side, the eldest uncle and the second uncle also came to Zhou Jianjun and Zhou Shufen with wine glasses.
The middle-aged and elderly people have loud voices, and their words can be heard clearly throughout the round table.
"Jianjun," the uncle was obviously a little drunk. He put his hand on Zhou Jianjun's shoulder and asked with a thick tongue, "Tell me, does your family's Jianxing find you a wife or a son-in-law?"
"That's right, I'm curious about this too," Second Uncle said, laughing and making fun of him. "From now on, how should we address each other? Should we call each other Xiao Wen?"
To be honest, Zhou Jianjun and Zhou Shufen have never really thought about this issue carefully.
"Lingyi," Zhou Jianjun simply threw the question to the person involved, looking at Wen Lingyi with a smile, "Tell me, what do you think is the most appropriate way for us to address you?"
Wen Lingyi was speechless for a moment when asked, and was so embarrassed that she almost wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
She felt her cheeks getting very hot, and she didn't know if it was because of the alcohol or just shyness.
"You... can call me whatever you want, it doesn't matter to me." She replied in a low voice.
"Forget it, forget it. Why go through all the formalities?" The uncle waved his hand generously. "I think we should just call him 'Xiao Wen'. It's more friendly and convenient!"
"Child, don't just talk. Pick this fish to eat. It's fresh." Zhou Shufen noticed that Wen Lingyi stopped eating with her chopsticks because of embarrassment, and quickly passed a plate of steamed river dumplings in front of her, urging her kindly.
Zhou Jianxing had mentioned before that Wen Lingyi likes to eat fish very much.
Wen Lingyi ate the tender fish in small bites. While no one was paying attention, she nudged Zhou Jianxing beside her with her elbow and said in a low voice, "You're such a fool! Why did you have to make such a big scene and do this in public?"
"They didn't even inform me in advance. What if... what if they objected? How embarrassed would I be then?"
"I just wanted to give you a surprise." Zhou Jianxing replied in a low voice.
As she spoke, she secretly swapped the untouched glass of white wine in front of her with the almost empty glass next to Wen Lingyi.
"Besides, I've already told my parents about it, and they've also given advance notice to the relatives... They actually know everything and are mentally prepared."
So everything that happened tonight, although it seemed sudden, was actually not an unprepared accident.
"Come," Chu Wei also walked up to Wen Lingyi with a glass of wine in hand and a smile on his face. "Miss Wen, I'll toast you too."
"I wish you and our Zhou Jianxing a long and sweet life together, and preferably grow old together!" After saying that, Chu Wei drank the wine in his glass generously, and then looked at Wen Lingyi with a smile.
Wen Lingyi picked up the wine that Zhou Jianxing had just exchanged for her. After hearing Chu Wei's words, she corrected him, saying, "It's 'our' Zhou Jianxing."
The moment the liquid in the cup entered my mouth, the expected spicy and stimulating taste of the liquor did not appear.
Instead, a stream of warm, tasteless boiled water slid across my mouth.
Wen Lingyi was stunned for a moment, then reacted and turned her head to look at Zhou Jianxing beside her.
Zhou Jianxing was seen lowering his head and pretending to eat the food, but there was a little cunning smile of success on the corner of his mouth.
It turned out that she had secretly replaced her wine a long time ago.
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