After saying that, she held the bag high up and shook her head while making clicking noises with her tongue, “Tsk, tsk… A bag like that costs more than a hundred thousand, such a scam isn’t it? Only that daughter-in-law of mine would be willing to pay for this. It could be that she’s the daughter of a millionaire. A hundred thousand meant nothing to her.”
Yu Qianying smiled reluctantly. Not to mention that she felt uncomfortable, not jealous, when Zhou Mingyan flaunted intentionally. She thought about what kind of statement was she trying to make—was it ill-intentioned?
Moreover, Zhou Mingyan was aware of what happened between Jian Yi and Song Yu. She even mentioned how nice it would be if the two children could be together. Now that she had a rich daughter-in-law, she forgot everything that she had said before.
Yu Qianying only heard from Song Yu that Jian Yi already has a girlfriend. She did not give much thought about it, partly because Song Yu did not tell her the details. That was also why Yu Qianying was not too uncomfortable with it.
However, Zhou Mingyan came to her doorstep to boast about how rich the woman that Jian Yi was going to marry was. It sounded as if they were abandoning Song Yu for her money. Yu Qianying was not okay with this.
Zhou Mingyan took out an invitation card and passed it to her, “Jian Yi is getting married on the 19th of next month. Please grant us with your presence. Don’t have to prepare any monetary gift, your presence is good enough. Our daughter-in-law’s family doesn’t care about the amount.”
The words of Zhou Mingyan was so repulsive that Yu Qianying could not even maintain the stiffened smile on her face.
With that being said, she was implying that they were like beggars in comparison to them. Their monetary gift would be such a small amount that it was negligible.
This was just another way of saying that they were poor!
If it was not that they found a rich daughter-in-law, the Jian family was worse off than theirs!
Even before the Song family went bankrupt, they had never once looked down upon the Jian family. What was Zhou Mingyan implying at this moment!
Just because they gained some wealth from someone else, they came here to flaunt it in their faces! Are they nuts?!
Yu Qianying received the invitation with a strained face, “Sure, if that’s the case we won’t follow the tradition. Nowadays, it’s such a pain to worry about the monetary gift for the wedding. It should be a celebratory event, but to cause misery upon others would bring no good, others will not give their sincere wishes as well, am I right?”
Yu Qianying opened the invitation while she spoke. Her expression darkened when she saw the bride’s name.
She obviously knew the relationship between the Song and Qi families. What was she trying to achieve by sending her the invitation!
Jian Yi got together with Qi Chengyue secretly and still misled them that Song Yu was the person that he liked. Furthermore, he kept coming to their doorstep even though he was about to be the son-in-law of the Qi family. How could he be so thick-skinned!
Zhou Mingyan’s expression changed and said awkwardly, “Aiya, this… I was too preoccupied with my son’s marriage and forgotten about you guys and the Qi family… haha, it’s okay if you guys can’t be there. I’ll send over the wedding candies.”
“Actually, it would be best if you can let it go. So many years had passed. Or else, the one that suffers the most is yourself,” Zhou Mingyan continued, “About this… you’re not upset about Jian Yi marrying Chengyue right?”
“Of course not, Jian Yi is not related to us. What rights do we have to interfere with his choice? We’re not so demanding,” Yu Qianying said coldly.
“Haha!” Zhou Mingyan laughed dryly, “In fact, we never thought that we would get involved with the Qi family. Even though Chengyue was a lady from a noble family, she had no temper or any air of superiority. She treats us extremely well and cares deeply for Jian Yi. In the beginning, I was worried that Jian Yi has to lower himself in front of Chengyue, that he’ll be taken advantage of. However, I find that Chengyue really loves Jian Yi after spending some time with her. She always put him first and that’s really hard to come by.
Also, the Qi family is rather sincere. They didn’t look down upon us. The engagement dinner was not too elaborated, only a few close family members gathered together for a meal. We thought that there’s no need to be too extravagant. A grand wedding would suffice. Even so, it’ll be held at Dynasty. Haha…” Zhou Mingyan touched her bag and said, “This is my first time going to such a classy place to eat. I heard that without the card given by Dynasty, you wouldn’t be able to have a private room. Haha…”
Zhou Mingyan quiet down gradually and looked at Song Yu awkwardly before saying, “We all thought that Jian Yi will be with Song Yu. They look compatible, but who knew… aish, who can predict fate, am I right? Donglin, Qianying, I’m sorry about that!”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. You also said that we can’t force them if it was not meant to be. Furthermore, we were guessing ourselves without asking for our children’s opinions. Song Yu only sees Jian Yi as her friend, nothing more,” Yu Qianying laughed to contend her. She drank a mouthful of tea and could not appease her anger.
“Is it?” Zhou Mingyan was obviously doubting her words. She put on a fake smile and said, “If it’s true, I’m relieved. My whole body felt uneasy once I thought that Jian Yi might have hurt Song Yu’s feelings. I scolded him that day. By the way, Song Yu’s still single at this age? Song Yu, what type of guy do you like? I’ll help you look around. There are many colleagues of mine that have decent children.”
Song Yu was about to brush it off when Qi Chengzhi called her. “Excuse me,” Song Yu said before returning to her room and answering the phone call.
Yu Qianying said smilingly, “Song Yu’s too busy with work, that’s why she doesn’t have the time for it. Based on our daughter’s qualities, she can still choose and pick. There’s no need to compromise with any Tom, Dick, and Harry. Nowadays, youngsters her age won’t be able to achieve her level of success without relying on their family background.”
Song Yu could hear Yu Qianying even though she closed the door.
“I booked a room at Dynasty tonight. Since it’s your father’s birthday, bring them to Dynasty for a meal. I’ve ordered and paid for the dishes. You guys can just go and enjoy,” Qi Chengzhi’s mellow voice sounded from the phone.
The new phone had great sound quality without any sound leakage. It felt as if he was speaking into her ear. Song Yu’s heart calmed down when she heard his voice.
Song Yu did not reject Qi Chengzhi’s kind gesture and replied with a supple “okay”.
After ending the call with Qi Chengzhi, Song Yu exited her bedroom and went back to the living room. She saw Jian Shifu and Zhou Mingyan stood up and bid farewell to her parents.
Yu Qianying did not even say the conventional greeting to keep them when they left. The moment both of them left, Yu Qianying pointed at the door and shook in anger, “This Zhou Mingyan, what did she mean by saying all that! Who was the one who pestered her all the time and told me that Jian Yi liked our daughter? Look at her gloating in front of us today, acting all new money on us. She doesn’t even know how to boast properly!
She insisted on coming even though she knew about what happened between the Qi family and us. Is she provoking me on purpose? When did we mistreat them when we were in our good days? We did not look down upon them even if they were from the working-class, neither did we ban Song Yu from befriending Jian Yi. We would always let Jian Yi bring home a portion if we have something good. She came today as if I bullied her in the past and she’s having her revenge! She looks like someone who’s intoxicated by success! What even is this!”
…
…
On the other side, Jian Shifu and Zhou Mingyan were walking out of the community. Jian Shifu could not help but let out a sigh before complaining, “Why did you say all those things out of the blue? Of all girls, why did Jian Yi choose to be with the lady from Qi family, he even hid it from Song Yu. Jian Yi’s at fault in the first place, why must you come and rub it in their face!”
Zhou Mingyan could not even pronounce the name of the bag. Before she left the house today, she tried on all of her clothes in her cabinet. After trying out for half a day, she chose this outfit to match this hundred thousand bag, but it still looked like she was carrying a fake.
“What about me? When the Song family was rich, they looked down on us. On the surface, they gave us many things but it was all their leftovers. We’re not beggars, why should we be their charity case? Even when they went bankrupt, Yu Qianying was still arrogant. Who is she showing off to?” Zhou Mingyan smirked snarkily. She felt her whole body was relieved, “Now that the tides have turned, we can assist them in the future.”
“You…” Jian Shifu did not know what to say to her. He let out a sigh helplessly and said, “Let’s go.”
“Where are you going?” Zhou Mingyan stood at the community entrance and yanked him back when she saw Jian Shifu turning to a corner and continue to walk.
“To the station. Aren’t you going home?” Jian Shifu asked in confusion.
“The public bus? We’re going to be relatives by marriage with the Qi family starting from the next month. The Qi family from the Eight Great Families, are you aware of that? Those reporters will be scrutinizing our every moment. If they took a picture of us taking the bus, how pathetic will we look? We’ll also shame the Qi family, what if they blame it on Jian Yi then?” Zhou Mingyan stood by the roadside and looked around for an empty taxi, “We’ll take the cab from now onwards. Let’s ask Jian Yi to buy us a car. If not, just tell our daughter-in-law directly. It’s just a car, no need to be too luxurious. A couple hundred thousand will do, it’ll not be a problem for the Qi family right?”
Zhou Mingyan waved her hand while she spoke, a taxi parked near her.
After getting into the car, Jian Shifu shook his head, “You’ll need to learn how to drive if you want to buy a car! Isn’t this too much for a fifty-year-old?”
“If you don’t know how to drive, learn it then!” Zhou Mingyan said it without giving a thought, “It’s only a matter of months, isn’t it?”
Jian Shifu stared at her and shook his head again. ‘Just continue to pretend!’ he thought to himself.
…
…
That night, Song Yu did not mention where they were heading to eat. She just told Song Donglin and Yu Qianying to follow her. Only when they reached Dynasty, both of the elders changed their expressions and stared at each other for a few instances.
They used to be regular customers of Dynasty. They knew about how Dynasty operate.
After fulfilling all their requirements, they would need to buy a VIP card in order to have their own private VIP room. The grand hall had no such rules, but the price range of its dishes were so expensive that it could not be afforded by the commoners.
They had never been here since they declared bankruptcy. When they looked at it again today, the ancient architectural style seemed to be even more magnificent and unattainable.
“Song Yu, it’s just a birthday. We can go to some other hotel. Why here?” Song Donglin pulled Song Yu over and lowered his voice, afraid that the bellboy would overhear them.
“Dad, don’t worry. I borrowed the VIP card from Wei Ran. I want to treat you a nice meal on your birthday,” Song Yu said smilingly. She had no choice but to use Wei Ran’s name.
At that time, Qi Chengji fell head over heels for Wei Ran and ignored his engagement. Yu Qianying did have opinions about Wei Ran, but she went on and married Wei Ziqi, and so she slowly put those judgments away.
Song Yu gently squeezed Yu Qianying’s hand and said in a lowered voice, “You guys haven’t been here since the bankruptcy right? Mum, you don’t have to bother about what Jian Yi’s mum said. We too can afford Dynasty. Although we may not be able to dine there so frequently, I can still afford to come once in a while.”
Only then Yu Qianying stopped refusing.
The manager could recognize Song Yu since she came here with Qi Chengzhi before. Qi Chengzhi also specifically reminded him not to blow the cover.
The service at Dynasty had always been very good. Therefore, even though the manager was especially respectful towards Song Yu, Song Donglin and Yu Qianying did not find it suspicious.
Yu Qianying was aware of the prices when the dishes were served. After the server left, she started to feel regret. Song Yu had to promise her several times that she could afford it. She saved up the year-end bonus for this, only then did Yu Qianying stopped commenting any further.
Although Yu Qianying said that she was worried, both Song Donglin and Yu Qianying enjoyed the meal very much.
Both of them had not experienced such enjoyment in years. Dynasty used to be only a casual meal to them, but they had to worry about the price of the food now. This made Song Yu’s heart feel sour.
The faces of Song Donglin and Yu Qianying were filled with reminiscence and melancholy when they experienced the familiar taste and sensations.
Song Yu could not help but think of Qi Chengzhi. She was sincerely grateful for his thoughtful gesture.
She took her phone, gave an excuse, and exited the room. Just when she turned around, she collided head-on into someone.
Song Yu was knocked back a few steps, where she lost her balance and smashed onto the wall.
She frowned in pain. Before she could even react, she heard someone scolding arrogantly from the opposite side, “Watch out your steps! Why are you staring at your cell phone instead of where you’re going? Your eyes are useless if you don’t use it!”
Qi Chengyue was stunned when she realized that the person that collided into her was Song Yu. Unexpectedly, she chuckled lightly, “Song Yu, I didn’t know it was you!”
Song Yu frowned and pursed her lips. She did not want to waste her breath on her. She would not apologize as Qi Chengyue was the one who barged towards her.
When Song Yu turned around to go back into the room without calling Qi Chengzhi, Qi Chengyue voiced out from her back enigmatically, “Eh? What a coincidence to see you here. You can’t be with my big brother, right? He’s here for a meal too. Did you follow him intentionally after knowing that he’s having a blind date here?”
Song Yu’s paused her footsteps stiffly and restrained herself from turning around. However, Qi Chengyue was not going to let her go like this. Her voice became sharper after increasing the pitch, “Oh, so you didn’t know that he’s here for a blind date? Didn’t he tell you?”
Qi Chengyue chuckled lightly and pull the strands of hair behind her ears. Then, she strutted in her stilettos and walked right up to Song Yu, where she leaned against the wall and snickered sarcastically, “Seems like my big brother is not so serious about you after all! He’s attending blind dates when he’s with you. You’re just a plaything to him! Did he sleep with you and got bored?”
“As a lady from the Qi family speaking such profanity in a place like Dynasty, aren’t you afraid that someone may overhear you?” Song Yu gave her a cold stare, her hands that were hidden between the hem of her skirt had been balled up into trembling fists.
She was falling deep and fast for Qi Chengzhi. Based on her understanding of him, she believed that he would not condone such a despicable act. However, the persistence in Qi Chengyue’s words still made her uncomfortable inside as if something was biting her heart and it was hurting a lot.
“Haha, I personalize my words. In front of a bitch, I’m worried that you can’t understand me if I spoke decently!” Qi Chengyue crossed her arms and hugged her chest. She sized up Song Yu by scanning her gaze up and down in disdain.
“Oh, you reminded me of something! Big brother’s blind date today is a lady from the Yu family. I think it’s someone related to your mum’s side! Yu Keyao, is she your cousin sister?”
Since the Song family declared bankruptcy, Yu Qianying’s relatives were afraid that Song Donglin would come running to them for help. They had cut ties with Yu Qianying right away and refused to recognize her.
Yu Qianying’s parents had passed away even before they went bankrupt, leaving behind a few sisters and brothers but they were not very close.
“With that being said, your cousin sister really does resemble your features. She’s younger than you and I think my big brother has quite a good impression of her. Men right, they won’t cherish you after they got what they wanted. Besides, your cousin sister is from a noble family. In terms of status and elegance, she’s much better than you. You were not bad yourself back in the days, but too bad, you were dulled by those difficult times,” Qi Chengyue shook her head gently while clicking her tongue.
“It’s only normal for my big brother to like her. You’re just something new to him, nothing more than that,” Qi Chengyue sized her up incessantly and snickered. “You can’t just climb your way into the Qi family. Just be contented and find a normal guy. With your looks, it shouldn’t be difficult for you to find someone. However, there’s only so much you can give and the other aspects are just fit for a commoner.”
Suddenly, Qi Chengyue’s sweet-looking face turned into a vicious, cunning expression, “Don’t think that you can get your revenge on me by being with big brother, marrying into the Qi family and step on me. Jian Yi doesn’t want you and you’re just a nobody in my brother’s eyes!”
No matter how much turmoil was going on inside Song Yu’s heart, her face remained expressionless as if she did not hear a word from Qi Chengyue. She said coldly with those rose pink lips, “Which room?”
“What?” Qi Chengyue was stunned. She asked with astonishment, “Why are you asking this? Are you doubting what I’ve just said? Do you want to go and verify yourself?”
“So what if I do?” Song Yu glanced at her impatiently, “Which room?”
“They’re at Donglaige. Go and see it yourself if you dare. Prove that I’m not lying.” Song Yu already turned around and left before Qi Chengyue finished talking.
Qi Chengyue was shocked. She could not believe that Song Yu had the courage to go over. She followed behind to see whether she was just bluffing.
Song Yu did not stop throughout the walk there and came to a halt in front of the door of Donglaige. Qi Chengyue looked at her in surprise as she did not expect her to really come over.
At that moment, she thought that Song Yu was finally going to give in. Instead, she saw Song Yu placed her hand on the doorknob and rotated it without hesitation and opened the door.
Song Yu remained at the doorstep. The people inside were also startled and turned towards her with astonishment.
She was more or less familiar with the people inside, including Qi Zhongliang, Xia Wenna and Qi Chengzhi who was sitting beside them with a cigarette between his pale, slender fingers. He looked as refined as always. Yu Zidong, who was sitting diagonally from Qi Chengzhi was slightly unamazed, but he ignored his displeasure and continued to exhale the cigarette smoke.
Sitting opposite of them was Yu Zidong and Liang Lihua. They were Song Yu’s maternal uncle and aunt. Her cousin sister was sitting beside them, Yu Keyao, where she also sat directly opposite of Qi Chengzhi. The one that received the worst treatment from his second-hand smoke was also Yu Keyao.
In actual fact, Qi Chengzhi had just arrived moments ago. He predicted that this meal was not merely a simple gathering. He came late on purpose and let the crowd wait for him. When he saw Yu Zidong and his family when he arrived here, he understood instantly and arched his eyebrow.
He sat down without saying a word, not even a single apology. His coat was suffused with the chilly weather, but he did not take it off before lighting up a cigarette. If it was somebody else, the three people opposite of him would already make a scene. However, Yu Zidong could only suppress his anger even though he was furious that the person sitting opposite him was Qi Chengzhi.
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