Zhang Hongmei was really bored. Zeng Zhongkang had also finished eating, and only then did the two of them remember Zhao Haozheng. They couldn't just keep watching the show, could they? After all, they'd had enough of the jokes.
I picked out some of his favorite foods and carried them into the crowd.
"Zhao Haozheng, even if you're not going to eat, you still have to eat, even if you're seeing a good friend, right?"
Zhao Hao glared at Zhang Hongmei. This ungrateful woman! Who was he doing all this for? He'd been dragging these people along all this time; otherwise, she would be in this situation. And she was even heartlessly mocking him.
He took the tray, smiled, and nodded to the group. "I'll go eat first, and we'll talk later."
The group finally caught Zhang Hongmei and now surrounded her.
Zhang Hongmei memorized each of their self-introductions, knowing it would be awkward if she didn't recognize them later. After all, she still had over two years left to live there.
She always just smiled and nodded; she would only reply with one sentence for every ten sentences someone said.
But it didn't make people feel disgusted; on the contrary, they felt that the little girl was very shy.
Eighty percent of the people were quite happy. Coming here, they realized there's no such thing as chastity; even girls back home have learned this indifference.
Such a shy and pretty young girl shouldn't be a promiscuous person. That's good. Who wants their wife to be impure? You need to be outgoing when you're out having fun, but once you're married, someone like this is best.
Therefore, they became even more eager to get to know Zhang Hongmei. Everyone was trying to impress her, hoping to make a good impression.
Zhang Hongmei didn't know what they were thinking, and even if she did, she wouldn't care. That was their opinion, what did it have to do with her?
Zeng Zhongkang stood beside her, his expression blank, his face expressionless.
Seeing their favorite men all gathered together, the girls also gathered around. It became quite lively. Everyone was chattering away, saying all sorts of things. Zeng Zhongkang, however, didn't answer any of the questions asked.
Zhang Hongmei was a little better; she always had a smile on her face, and although she didn't say anything, at least she didn't annoy others.
After performing for more than forty minutes, Zhang Hongmei felt she had performed enough.
"Sorry everyone, I'm a little tired. I'll go rest for a bit. Please make yourselves at home." With that, she smiled and walked towards an empty table. Zeng Zhongkang followed behind her, and the two sat down.
Would you like something to drink?
Zhang Hongmei shook her head, "No, thank you. I haven't said much, and my mouth isn't dry."
Zhao Hao had finished eating a while ago, but he was determined to get revenge, so he just watched the two of them being surrounded. He had no intention of going in.
But seeing the two of them come out, he also sat down with his wine glass in hand.
"How are you feeling? Pretty good, right?"
"It's alright, but my face looks a little stiff. When does the party end?"
"I don't know either. There's a gathering every year around this time, which is a way for everyone to get to know each other."
Zhang Hongmei nodded. That's how it is. Maybe there will be good projects and collaborations? That's why all the Chinese people here will come.
The three of them were bored out of their minds. Looking at Madam Yu in the distance, Zhang Hongmei truly admired her; she was incredibly shrewd and worldly-wise.
After another ten minutes or so, Zhang Hongmei got a little annoyed. But she couldn't very well say she wanted to leave in this situation.
Madam Yu then came over. "Hongmei, why are you sitting here? There's a dance party later, you young people should have some fun."
Zhang Hongmei was worried that she was too embarrassed to go directly to this lady.
"Mrs. Yu, I'm a little tired. I'm very sorry I can't attend the ball. I'll leave early. I hope you won't be upset."
Zhang Hongmei noticed a momentary stiffness on Madam Yu's face, then immediately smiled and said, "It's alright, why don't you go to the guest room and rest for a while?"
"How could we possibly accept that? We'll head back now. Aunt Wang is heavily pregnant, and we're worried about leaving her at home."
Zhao Haozheng spoke up in perfect unison, “Yes, Aunt Yu, we’re worried about my mother being home alone. We’ll come visit you again next time. Zeng Zhongkang, you and Hongmei go wait outside, I’ll go call my dad.”
"Okay, you can leave now if you have something to do at home, but you'll definitely come back to visit next week."
Zhang Hongmei smiled and watched Zhao Haozheng leave. "I'm so sorry, Madam Yu, the four of us want to skip a grade and are currently preparing our studies, so we won't have the opportunity before the exam."
After Zhang Hongmei finished speaking, she smiled and said, "You go ahead and do your work. We'll go outside and wait for Uncle Zhao and the others."
The two left one after the other.
As Madam Yu watched the two figures leave, she felt a little unhappy. This guy was too arrogant. She had already extended the invitation again, and he still refused? He really didn't give her any face.
Zhao Hao found Zhao Tiancheng surrounded by a group of people. "Dad, let's go back early. Hongmei is tired, and I'm worried about Mom being home alone."
"Is Hongmei alright?"
"No, I'm just tired. Of course a girl like me is tired after a long day of school! Dad, are you coming or not? You have things to do this morning, so why don't the three of us go back first, and I'll come back to pick you up later?"
"I'm sorry everyone, I really have to go now. I'll treat you all to tea another time!"
"Hehe, Lao Zhao, you can just say you're worried about your wife, right? It's okay, you can go now, I'll come find you later."
Zhao Tiancheng smiled and withdrew from the crowd.
"Dad, let's go straight out. I reckon Hongmei should be waiting by the car."
The four got into the car, and Zhao Haozheng was driving again this time.
"Hongmei, what do you think?" Zhao Tiancheng asked the little girl sitting next to him with a smile.
"It's not great, but I don't object to gatherings like this. You might even discover business opportunities, right?"
"Yes, but few people tell the truth, and very few actually cooperate. They're afraid that their own people are better than them."
"So narrow-minded?"
"Pretty much. There are a few good ones, but they're all almost assimilated."
Hongmei, almost everyone has been asking me about you, and I just told them you're still a student and don't know anything, and that's how I got away with it.
"That's how it should be. I don't want to deal with them."
"Hehe, they even laughed at me for not getting any benefit from it. They're really getting worse and worse."
"Haha, Uncle Zhao, do you want to get some freebies?"
"I don't want it here. I'll wait to benefit from it when I go back to China."
"Haha, Uncle Zhao, you are very farsighted."
The two people in front of them also laughed. Given Zhang Hongmei's character, how could she not take care of them?
When the three arrived home, they saw that the living room light was still on. When they went inside, they found that Wang Xinyi was still awake, and the two girls were sitting with her on the sofa, probably worried about leaving her alone.
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