Before Chen Yuncheng went out, he took out the new clothes that Ning Junyan had given him and put them on. After changing his clothes, he stood in front of the mirror for a long time and looked at them carefully. When he felt that nothing looked out of place on his body, he went out with Ning Junyan.
Originally, Chen Yuncheng wanted to go to a nearby shopping mall to buy a New Yearâs gift for Ning Junyanâs parents, but Ning Junyan said it was not necessary, and that he had gifts for others in his car, so Chen Yuncheng could just carry them over when the time comes.
âIsnât it inappropriate?â Chen Yuncheng said.
âItâs nothing inappropriate,â Ning Junyan didnât even discuss it with him, nor did he plan to drive to the mall.
Chen Yuncheng had no choice but to accept it.
They were not out early enough, and it was almost eleven noon when they drove to Ning Junyanâs parentsâ house.
Ning Junyanâs parents lived on the outskirts of the city, which was also a villa area. As it was still relatively new, it had a wide view of the surrounding area and a good environment.
Chen Yuncheng was a little apprehensive all the way to the villa. After he got off the car, he saw a lawn in front of the villa. Perhaps it was because of the good weather today and the abundant sunlight, a small square table was placed on the lawn, and a few people sat beside the small square table, drinking tea and chatting.
One of them was Ning Junyanâs mother, Shu Rong, and it seemed that their guests had already arrived.
Chen Yuncheng was holding the New Yearâs gift box given to him by Ning Junyan, he didnât know how much the box was worth, but it was beautifully packaged.
Ning Junyan walked beside him and walked with him along the stone path on the lawn.
One of the guests saw Ning Junyan and the others first and said to Shu Rong, âYour son is back.â
Shu Rong turned her head with a smile on her face, and the moment her eyes touched Chen Yuncheng, her smile very visibly stiffened for a moment, then she stood up and walked towards Ning Junyan and the others with a natural expression.
âYouâve returned?â Shu Rong asked.
Ning Junyan nodded.
Chen Yuncheng smiled and said to Shu Rong, âAuntie, Happy New Year.â He handed the gift box in his hand to Shu Rong.
Shu Rong looked down at the gift box but didnât immediately reach out.
Ning Junyan first took the gift box from Chen Yunchengâs hand, and handed it to Shu Rong, âYuncheng is here to give you New Yearâs greetings.â
Only then did Shu Rong raise her hand and said with a smile, âYouâre too kind.â
She didnât say much and led Ning Junyan and the others to greet several guests.
âUncle Zhang and Aunt Xia, you both know each other,â Shu Rong introduced to Ning Junyan.
Ning Junyan, Zhang Chong and Xia Wenjuan knew each other. They had been doing business with Shu Rong, and Shu Rongâs plastic surgery hospital was jointly opened with them.
Then Shu Rong continued to introduce, âThis is Boss Yu. This should be the first time you meet him, and thatâs Boss Yuâs daughter, called Yu Mingli, she just came back from studying abroad.â
Ning Junyan just nodded.
Shu Rong took Ning Junyanâs arm and said, âThis is my son Junyan, who works in the hospital.â After she finished speaking, she saw other peopleâs eyes falling on Chen Yuncheng, and said, âThis is my son Junyanâs friend.â
Chen Yuncheng didnât say anything. Ever since he saw the guests from Ningâs family, his eyes had been on Boss Yu.
Boss Yu sat on a white chair, looked up and saw Chen Yuncheng. He then smiled at him politely.
Chen Yuncheng could not smile, he had met this Boss Yu, and although not for many times, he left a deep impression. This person was the same Boss Yu who said he would take Guan Anlin to do business together, but later caused Guan Anlin to do two years in jail. Chen Yuncheng remembered his name was Yu Jie.
Zhang Chong got up and greeted Ning Junyan as they sat down.
Ning Junyan noticed that something was not quite right with Chen Yuncheng. He lightly touched the back of Chen Yunchengâs hand, and asked in a low voice, âWhatâs wrong?â
Chen Yuncheng shook his head, turned his eyes away from Yu Jie, and said, âItâs nothing.â
After he sat down, Ning Junyan asked Shu Rong, âWhereâs dad?â
Shu Rong said, âHeâs still dawdling upstairs, the guests are all here and he hasnât come down yet, why donât you go and call him?â
Ning Junyan refused, âHe will come later by himself.â
Xia Wenjuan looked at Chen Yuncheng, and asked Ning Junyan, âJunyan, whatâs your friendâs name, you havenât introduced him to us yet.â
Ning Jun replied, âHis name is Chen Yuncheng.â
Chen Yuncheng greeted Xia Wenjuan politely.
Seeing that Xia Wenjuan was still looking at Chen Yuncheng, Shu Rong asked Yu Mingli who was sitting opposite her abruptly, âItâs no fun for you youngsters to listen to us chat, is it? Would xiao Li like to go for a stroll?â
Yu Mingli glanced at Ning Junyan, then at Shu Rong, and said, âOkay.â
Shu Rong said to Ning Junyan, âYou can go take a walk with Xiaoli.â
Ning Junyan didnât agree, he just asked Chen Yuncheng, âWant to go for a walk?â
Chen Yuncheng shook his head, and he couldnât help looking at Yu Jie again. However, Yu Jie didnât look at him and only looked at Ning Junyan with a smile on his face.
Ning Junyan said to Shu Rong, âIâm not going, Iâll take Yuncheng to see Dad.â After he said that, he stood up, held Chen Yunchengâs hand at the same time, pulled him up, and led him towards the villaâs front door.
The rest of the group seemed a little embarrassed, and after a brief moment of silence, Shu Rong smiled and said to Yu Mingli, âThen letâs have dinner before we go take a stroll, Junyan will take his friend to see the old Ning first.â
Yu Mingli nodded her head and forced a smile.
When they entered the house, the busy voice of the nanny came from the direction of the kitchen. There were several New Year gifts, fruit plates and flower arrangements on the coffee table in the living room.
Ning Junyan did not take Chen Yuncheng upstairs immediately, but stopped at the stairs and asked him, âWhatâs wrong?â
Chen Yuncheng seemed to have been lost in thought, but when he heard Ning Junyanâs question, he looked up at him, âWhat? Weâre not going to give New Yearâs greetings to your father?â
Ning Junyan frowned, âDo you know that Boss Yu?â
Chen Yuncheng didnât know if he should say it at this time, he hesitated for a moment and said, âI donât know him, letâs go upstairs first.â
Ning Junyan raised his hand to pinch Chen Yunchengâs jaw, and looked at him seriously, âWhat do you keep looking at him for if you donât know him?â
Chen Yuncheng pushed Ning Junyanâs hand away, âWhat are you thinking?â
Ning Junyan said, âOr else we will go back.â
Chen Yuncheng was stunned for a moment, âWhy? You came here especially to spend the New Year with your parents today.â
Ning Junyan said, âYou donât look happy.â
Chen Yuncheng looked at him and smiled, âIâm not unhappy.â
Ning Junyan said coldly, âYou keep looking at other people.â
âLooking at who?â Chen Yuncheng was baffled by what he said, and after a while, he realised, âYou mean Boss Yu?â
Ning Junyan had a stoic expression on his face and did not speak.
Chen Yuncheng smiled and raised his hand to pinch his face, âDo you think Iâm crazy?â
Ning Junyan stared at him for a moment, then took his hand again and continued walking upstairs.
They met Ning Zhanghong in the study room on the second floor. Ning Zhanghong was reading a book and obviously didnât want to go down to chat with Shu Rongâs guests.
When Ning Zhanghong saw Chen Yuncheng, his usually calm face also showed some surprise, âAre you Chen Yuncheng?â
Chen Yuncheng said, âUncle, happy new year.â
Ning Zhanghong nodded, âHappy New Year.â He stood up from the desk, stretched out his hand to flatten the book in front of him, went to the window and looked downstairs. When he turned around, he asked Ning Junyan, â Have you met your mother?â
Ning Junyan said, âIâve met her.â
Ning Zhanghongâs tone was slightly nervous, âShe didnât say anything?â
Ning Junyan said, âThere are still guests at home, and she is busy keeping Uncle Zhang and the others company.â
Ning Zhanghong nodded to show that he understood. With his hands behind his back, he stared at the people downstairs for a while, and said to Ning Junyan, âThen you can accompany your friend to have fun.â
Ning Junyan opened the door and wanted to take Chen Yuncheng out when Ning Zhanghong suddenly called out to him again, âYou know your mother has a bad temper.â
âI know,â Ning Junyan said, and left the study with Chen Yuncheng one after the other.
Ning Zhanghong didnât care who Ning Junyan associates with, he only cared that Shu Rong would lose her temper because of this, and make him no longer have a day of peace.
When he came out of the study, Chen Yuncheng said, âUncle seems strange.â
Ning Junyan asked him, âIn what way?â
Chen Yuncheng said, âI canât tell, but he seems a bit nervous.â
Ning Junyan hummed and said, âHeâs always like this, donât worry about him.â
It was only at lunchtime that Ning Zhanghong came down from upstairs and sat down at the round table to accompany the guests.
Shu Rong opened a bottle of red wine, but Ning Zhanghong didnât drink, so she drank with the guests by herself.
Chen Yuncheng felt that Yu Jie acted as if he didnât know him anymore. He didnât pay attention to him from the beginning to the end, and he didnât deliberately avoid his gaze, as if he was facing a complete stranger.
As he listened to their conversation while eating, he learnt that Yu Jie met Shu Rong through Zhang Chong. He had a sum of money in hand and wanted to work with them to set up a branch of a plastic surgery hospital in the east of the city.
Shu Rong didnât seem to know Yu Jie very well, but she was clearly more interested in his daughter and had been taking the initiative to chat with Yu Mingli.
When he first arrived at Ningâs house, Chen Yunchengâs attention was all on Yu Jie, and now he suddenly realised that the main purpose of Shu Rongâs banquet today was to introduce Ning Junyan and Yu Mingli to each other.
When he realised this, Chen Yuncheng couldnât help but look at Ning Junyan.
He didnât know if Ning Junyan noticed it, but then he couldnât tell anything from Ning Junyanâs face anyway. After he noticed Chen Yunchengâs gaze, he gave Chen Yuncheng a chopstick of fish and said, âConcentrate on eating.â
Shu Rong tried her best to find something in common between Ning Junyan and Yu Mingli, asking them about their experiences studying abroad.
Yu Mingli said that she worked very hard and that there was a time when she had to prepare a report every week and couldnât even sleep well at night.
Shu Rong looked at Ning Junyan.
Ning Junyan said with an expressionless face, âItâs nothing, I think everything is very simple and easy.â
Yu Jie laughed and said, âThatâs because Junyan is smart, and xiao Li is not so smart, so she has to work harder.â
Shu Rongâs face darkened slightly, and she looked at Ning Junyan with disapproval.
Chen Yuncheng looked at Yu Mingli and saw that although Yu Mingli was smiling, she looked a little embarrassed.
Yu Jie seemed to be trying to help his daughter out as he asked Ning Jun Yan, âFrom what your mother said, you havenât been in a relationship for so many years?â
Ning Junyan replied politely, âThatâs right.â
Yu Jie asked him, âIs it because you havenât met the right one or are you asking too much?â He asked with a smile, and his tone sounded very kind.
Ning Junyan put down his chopsticks and looked at Yu Jie.
Chen Yunchengâs heart suddenly jumped heavily. He had a premonition that Ning Junyan might talk nonsense, he was very nervous and stretched out his hand to pull Ning Junyanâs arm from under the table.
Ning Junyanâs attention shifted to Chen Yuncheng. He saw that the fish that he has just given to him hadnât been touched, so he asked, âThe food is not delicious?â
Chen Yuncheng replied in a low voice, âNo, itâs delicious.â
Ning Junyanlifted his hand and pressed it against the back of Chen Yunchengâs neck, âThen eat well.â Then he turned to Yu Jie and asked, âWhen is Boss Yu referring to? Before or now?â
Yu Jie smiled and asked, âIs there any difference?â
Ning Junyan said, âBefore I never come across anyone yet, but now I have someone I like.â
The author has something to say:
You are all looking forward to it, which puts me under a lot of pressure. I must slowly lower your expectationsâŚ