With this suspicion in mind, Xu Ruantang felt increasingly uneasy as she looked at Chen Ji.
He clearly looked angry; his face was tense, and his lips were pressed into a straight line.
He's usually very perceptive; if she stares at him for a while, he'll definitely turn around and whisper in her ear. But today he's sitting up straight.
She almost crushed my hands.
Xu Ruantang really wanted to dump the basin on Chen Ji's head, but she took several deep breaths to suppress the urge.
She thought that no matter how big the problem was, she had to eat first!
Let's talk about it after we finish eating; we can't let people make a fool of us.
Li Shuyang and Li Shuhe were ordering food. The two of them ordered seven or eight dishes. Xu Ruantang's lips twitched. "Shuhe, see if there are any light dishes. Your brother has wounds."
Li Shuhe then realized, "Right, boss, do you have any congee? Bring him a bowl."
The smile that had just appeared on Li Shuyang's lips because of his third sister-in-law's heartwarming gesture instantly vanished.
"Sister, I've been eating bland food for so many days in the hospital, my mouth is so bland... it's tasteless. It'll be fine to eat something good."
He almost swore, but luckily his tongue twisted around in his mouth.
Li Shuhe frowned, "Mom gives you chicken soup, fish soup, and pork rib soup every day, how can it be bland?"
"Let's order a steamed fish," Xu Ruantang suggested. "Fish should be edible."
Li Shuyang looked aggrieved, but still compromised: "Okay, then let's have a steamed fish with some chili."
Xu Ruantang was amused by him, but before she could laugh out loud, Chen Ji pinched her hand hard.
"hiss..."
Xu Ruantang looked across the table and saw Lu Lei wiping Cheng Dan's cup, looking very careful and attentive.
She pouted. "Is Chen Ji crazy? He pinches her hand just because he's unhappy?"
Xu Ruantang was no pushover either. Originally, Chen Ji had her hand wrapped in his palm, but after a struggle, their fingers were intertwined.
She used all her strength to grip Chen Ji's hand tightly.
Xu Ruantang clearly saw Chen Ji's expression change in that instant.
Even Chen Ji was afraid of her ox-like strength.
Taking advantage of his pain, Xu Ruantang quickly shook off his hand, picked up the cup on the table, and pretended to drink water as if nothing had happened.
The people who were forced to sit at the same table ended up having an extremely awkward meal.
Xu Ruantang was chatting with Li Shuhe and Li Shuyang across Chen Ji. The three were about the same age and had a lot in common.
Li Shuyang would occasionally tell stories about interesting things that happened at university, such as which department's great poet was reciting a poem under the girls' dormitory, or which department's student was claiming to be single and attracting all sorts of girls, only to have his wife and child from his hometown show up at his door.
The more Xu Ruantang listened, the more she felt that, regardless of the era, the atmosphere in universities was always the same—not very healthy.
She was curious if any students were confessing their love by lighting candles downstairs. She craned her neck to ask, but it was inconvenient to speak through Chen Ji.
Xu Ruantang wanted to switch seats with Chen Ji so that the three of them could sit together and chat, and Chen Ji could also drink with Lu Lei without any problems.
"Chen Ji, shall we switch seats?" Xu Ruantang knew he was in a bad mood, so she tried to soften her tone.
To everyone's surprise, Chen Ji directly refused: "No change."
He and Lu Lei clinked glasses one after another, and in no time, half a bottle of baijiu was gone.
When Lu Lei drinks, his face turns red, almost square enough to be a Tetris block or a match-3 puzzle game, and he becomes more talkative.
"Commander Chen, I heard your wife is from the countryside?"
He disliked Xu Ruantang and had long wanted to teach this arrogant woman a lesson.
Xu Ruantang nodded. "Yes, Comrade Lu, what are your thoughts?"
As she spoke, Xu Ruantang pressed down on Chen Ji's raised arm. If he continued to drink, he would probably end up saying something so reckless that he would get beaten up.
Lu Lei frowned and looked over, when Cheng Dan tugged at the hem of his clothes under the table.
He had drunk too much and his thoughts were a bit muddled. He didn't understand Cheng Dan's meaning at all and thought she was scared.
"Dr. Cheng, don't be afraid. I'm here. How could they possibly bully you?"
Li Shuhe was speechless. "What do you mean we bullied her? Which eye of yours saw us bullying her?"
That's really crazy!
Lu Lei chuckled and casually grabbed Cheng Dan's hand, which was still on the table.
Everyone at the table was stunned.
Cheng Dan never publicly acknowledged her relationship with Lu Lei, only saying it was a revolutionary friendship, not even a romantic one.
Lu Lei was completely unaware of his rudeness and comforted Cheng Dan: "Dr. Cheng, with me here, you can speak freely. Tell me about how they bullied you before, and we'll make them apologize to you today."
"Apologize to your mother." Xu Ruantang's expression was indifferent, but her words were anything but.
The people at the table had different expressions. Li Shuhe was holding back her laughter, while Li Shuyang didn't react for a moment.
Chen Ji hadn't looked at her once since he sat down at the table, but now he turned to look at her.
Xu Ruantang wasn't afraid and slowly glared back at him.
Lu Lei's already red face instantly turned a deep purplish-red, and he looked at Xu Ruantang in disbelief, "You... what did you say?"
"I'm telling you, there's something wrong with your head."
Xu Ruantang said bluntly, "Did you hear us cursing her with your own ears?"
Lu Lei was taken aback for a moment, then retorted, "That time it was also at this restaurant. Dr. Cheng kindly advised you to drink less, but you not only didn't listen, you also cursed at Dr. Cheng. She ran out crying without even eating! I saw it with my own eyes, how could it be false?"
"You saw us cursing her with your own eyes? Then your eyes must be different from ordinary people's. If you have such a special ability, you should report it to the country immediately. You are a treasure of our country!"
Xu Ruantang originally didn't want to argue. She was already annoyed by sitting at the same table with them for dinner. Lu Lei being played around by Cheng Dan had nothing to do with her, but now that he was being played around in front of her, was she going to stick her face out and let him hit her?
Li Shuhe chuckled, "That's right, if Comrade Lu had this ability, he really should be handed over to the state and studied as a research subject."
Cheng Dan, who had been silent until now, could no longer hold back.
She didn't even let Lu Lei stand up for her, what nonsense was he spouting?! She just wanted to have a meal with Chen Ji, and he managed to ruin it all.
Feeling depressed, Cheng Dan stood up and said, "I'm full, you can continue eating."
She had only taken two steps when Lu Lei was about to chase after her, but Xu Ruantang stopped him: "Comrade Lu, you have to pay for your meal. Are you trying to skip out on the bill?"
Lu Lei really couldn't understand how someone as wise and capable as Commander Chen could have fallen for such a talkative rural woman.
He glared at Xu Ruantang and said, "With the income of people in our Air Force compound, we shouldn't be unable to afford a meal. Comrade Xu is really petty."
Xu Ruantang said calmly, "Yes, I'm from the countryside and haven't seen much of the world. I'm just glad Comrade Lu isn't trying to escape."
She turned around and waved to the boss not far away, "Boss, please do the accounting and make a list for me."
Lu Lei interrupted her with a simple "No need, it's on me," then reached into his pocket and his expression changed instantly.
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