BXBX NOVEL Chapter 257: 257: Considerate_1
However, things did not progress as smoothly as I imagined.
In the afternoon, after Song Zexi and I parted ways, he headed back to the Song Family home.
Meanwhile, I headed to the hotel restaurant.
It wasn’t until after Ding Yinuo had called me three times that I hurriedly arrived at the location.
Upon entering the private room, I realized that I was in an awkward situation.
I thought it would only be Ding Yinuo’s mother, but to my surprise, many relatives from the Ding Family were present.
“Ahem, such a big gathering, why didn’t you say so earlier?”
Ding Yinuo was supporting my shoulder,
“There’s nothing I could do about it; everyone just loves you and wanted to see you!”
Ding Yinuo was beaming as he was willing to introduce me to his relatives.
I could tell that they genuinely liked me.
Behind those warm smiles was their sincere enthusiasm.
My seat was next to Ding Yinuo.
After I sat down, Ding Yinuo helped me hang my coat on the back of the chair and pointed to the spread of dishes on the table, asking me, “What do you want to eat, if you can’t reach it, just let me know.”
Mother Ding introduced me to the relatives with a bright smile as well.
“Xiaosong is a very outstanding girl. She’s also our Ding Family’s lucky charm. Thanks to her, our Tianjiao Company is doing well now, otherwise, Anuo would be worried…”
Perhaps, In Mother Ding’s eyes, I am an outstanding woman.
She praised me without hesitation.
During all this, Ding Yinuo just stared at me tenderly, adding dishes to my plate from time to time, and whispering to me, “Eat up!”
The relatives lavished praises on me as well.
“This girl has a good face, she looks like she has good fortune!”
“Yeah, yeah, she’s brought good luck even before marrying into the family. If she really marries in, who knows how much better it will be!”
“Look, they look so much like a couple.”
Hearing these praises, Ding Yinuo happily squeezed my hand tighter.
He seemed to wish he could enshrine me in his heart.
“Ayun, see! Everyone is blessing us! Don’t you think I have scored a treasure?”
He whispered softly in my ear.
I did not answer him and just smiled.
Mother Ding put a chop of ribs into my bowl, “Xiaosong, you’re always busy with work, you must take good care of your health, here, eat more!”
The family gathered around me, spoiling and caring for me. This felt very heartwarming.
Actually, I’m not a fan of relative visits and ceremonies, but being with them, I didn’t feel resistant, I felt, if anything, like I was home.
When dinner was nearly finished.
My phone suddenly rang, I looked down and saw someone added me on WeChat.
It was Song Zexi. He added me as a friend on WeChat using my phone number. Soon thereafter, he sent me some messages.
“Gu Yuanzhou is worse than a beast!”
I was startled for a moment, observing his furious demeanor, he should have heard about the Golden Bay arson case from Wu Lijuan after he returned home.
I tried to probe him.
“What happened?”
“Nothing! I’ve gathered some evidence about Gu Yuanzhou. Do you have time now? I’d like to show you, so we can discuss our next move.”
The Ding Family was here, and I had just settled in. It would be rude to leave suddenly.
So, I gave him a time, “I’m a bit busy now, having dinner with family, how about this: I’ll contact you later?”
I thought, once this meal was over, I would meet with Song Zexi.
I was indeed curious to know what kind of dirt Song Zexi had on Gu Yuanzhou.
If it’s truly valuable, it would save me a lot of effort in the future.
After I sent the message, he quickly replied to me,
“Okay, you go ahead first, we’ll catch up later.”
“What’s the matter?”
It seemed like Ding Yinuo noticed something off about my face.
He’s always very sensitive, able to quickly catch my distractive thoughts.
I gave him a slight smile,
“Nothing, nothing; come on, let’s eat!”
“Xiaosong! You should come back here more often with Yinuo! Our home has fewer people now, and it feels so lonely without you two.”
Mrs. Ding held my hand tight with worry and sadness.
Indeed, after Mr. Ding passed away, Ding Xiao’s marital issues led him to avoid coming home.
If Ding Yinuo also stopped visiting, that home would indeed be rather lonely.
I immediately agreed to her proposition with gusto, “Sure!”
A smile instantly crossed Mrs. Ding’s face,
“You really are such a thoughtful child. Remember, just tell me what you want to eat and call me ahead of time, I’ll cook it for you.”
Ding Yinuo also added,
“At this moment, in my mother’s eyes, you’re more favored than I am. Even if you wanted a star from the sky, she would try to bring it down for you.”
I laughed with a shocked face,
“A star from the sky… I want you to get it for me, can you?”
“Yes, absolutely yes! As long as you want it, I will get it for you.”
“Great! Then the next time I go to your house, I want a star from the sky. You better not trick me!”
Ding Yinuo then pushed his luck further,
“Well, if I really manage to do that, would you grant me a wish?”
“Go ahead! No problem!”
“Hmm, let’s wait until that time comes. Come on, drink this bowl of chicken soup!”
At the dinner table, we all laughed and chatted amicably, sharing many hopes and dreams for the future.
Our relatives even began urging Yinuo and I to get married and have a child sooner. I just smiled at the suggestion, neither arguing against it nor refusing.
After dinner, Ding Yinuo drove some relatives home.
Meanwhile, I stayed behind to chat with Mrs. Ding.
In Ding Yinuo’s absence, Mrs. Ding babbled on to me about many things…
“Xiaosong! Yinuo really loves you! He’s just like his father, a rather stubborn man. He doesn’t easily fall for someone, but when he does, it lasts a lifetime. The other day, I drew a divination lot in the temple for you both. I drew a very inauspicious lot… Sigh, I’m getting old and incompetent, I can’t even draw a good lot. But remember to take care of your health. Just consider this whole lottery drawing as a superstition, you youngsters don’t believe in it.”
“Auntie, what kind of misfortune is it? In which aspect?”
I wanted to ask for more details, but Mrs. Ding refused to divulge more and instead waved her hand dismissively,
“It’s just my bad luck! Don’t believe in it, just live your lives well.”
Regardless of how I pressed, Mrs. Ding firmly kept mum about it.
“Xiaosong, if you believe in this, come to our home this weekend, and I’ll tell you then.”
“Sure!”
I chatted with Mrs. Ding for less than half an hour.
And then, my phone rang again.
This time, it was from Wu Lijuan.
“Auntie Wu, hello!”
“Xiaosong, have you seen Zexi?”
Wu Lijuan’s voice was filled with anxiety, even a trace of weeping,
“Hmm, I saw him this morning! What happened?”
“At around two in the afternoon, he said he was going to see you… But now, I can’t get a hold of him on his cell phone! I wanted to ask, is he with you right now?”
At that moment, I was still in the VIP room of the restaurant and upon hearing Wu Lijuan’s words, I instinctively looked around but did not see Song Zexi.
But soon I realized, I hadn’t told Song Zexi that I was in the restaurant, moreover, we didn’t have a set time to meet,
“I don’t see him right now.”
“Then where did he go? As soon as he came back, he rummaged through his father’s study, saying he found information on Gu Yuanzhou!”