Chapter 151 - If Possible, Look Into Qi Chengzhi’s Status That Year (1/2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
From the rucksack, Qi Youxuan pulled out a packet of sunflower seeds, a bag of broad beans, and a bag of popcorn. “Grandpa, Grandma, have some of these.”
“Good boy! Youxuan is five this year right?” Yu Qianying was very pleased—her eyes crinkled as she smiled.
“That’s correct. He’ll be attending elementary school next year,” Guan Liya replied.
Yu Qianying looked around and only saw the few of them. She asked, “Chengyue is not coming?”
“She…” Guan Liya smiled awkwardly and told the truth, “No matter what, Song Yu and Jian Yi had a past together. I was worried that having them today would make things uncomfortable.”
Yu Qianying was uncertain if the words were sincere or Guan Liya was hinting at something else. “There’s nothing to be awkward about. When we were bankrupt, Jian Yi helped us a lot. It’s fate that we’re becoming relatives now.”
“Haha!” Guan Liya laughed dryly and did not comment any further.
Yu Qianying turned her attention back to Qi Youxuan.
After a while, Grandfather Qi and Grandmother Qi arrived. Trailing behind them was Qi Zhongliang and Xia Wenna.
Song Donglin and Yu Qianying were very respectful toward the two Qi family elders.
As everyone took their seats, Xia Wenna ended up beside Yu Qianying.
Hesitation crossed Xia Wenna’s face but she whispered, “Qianying, if we became family, you can rest assured. Our family, along with Chengzhi, will never do anything that might harm your family again.”
Yu Qianying did not catch the operative word, ‘again’.
They were childhood friends who drifted apart after the Song family bankruptcy incident. To say that there were no friendly sentiments between them was a lie.
Hence, because of their close relationship, the fallout hit Yu Qianying twice as hard.
The words from Xia Wenna’s mouth were apologetic. It was not easy for someone of her stature to say such things. It had been many years since the incident. Yu Qianying thought of their shared past and friendship, and now with this joining of their families, it was hard for her to be angry.
She made the first move after a moment of hesitation. She took Xia Wenna’s hand.
Xia Wenna’s eyes teared up and held onto Yu Qiangying’s hand. “Qianying… Does this mean you forgive me?”
Yu Qianying let out a sigh. “We’re soon to become family. There’s nothing to forgive. It’s not like we can avoid each other in the future.”
Grandmother Qi spotted Xia Wenna’s expression and nodded wisely. “Alright, alright. Today is a day of happiness, not a place for tears. Have we ordered the dishes?”
“Dynasty has a meal package for engagements. We’ve already ordered it,” Qi Chengzhi answered.
Grandmother Qi had a satisfied look on her face. She smiled heartily. “Fate ties us together again after many twists and turns. We’re meant to be in-laws! Because of that undeserving grandchild of mine, we overlooked Song Yu. I already gave him a good scolding. Song Yu was such a good granddaughter-in-law and we lost our chance. I thought, which lucky house will get to have Song Yu as their in-law?”
“Who knew, it was my eldest grandson who lived up to my expectations and brought Song Yu back into the family!” Grandmother Qi exclaimed ecstatically.
Yu Qianying was at a loss as to how she should respond to Grandmother Qi’s enthusiasm when the door opened.
“Grandpa, Grandma, sorry we’re late,” Qi Chengyue greeted in a lively tone.
Guan Liya did not expect Qi Chengyue to show up. Grandmother Qi had advised her to convince Qi Chengyue to stay home, worrying that Qi Chengyue’s lack of manners would disrupt the banquet and Jian Yi’s presence would make it awkward for the Song family.
Guan Liya had little control over her daughter. She knew that confrontation would only backfire when it came to Qi Chengyue so she hid the event from her and secretly came with her husband. Alas, Qi Chengyue found out.
Grandmother Qi smiled and said, “You’re always late. You have all of the elders here waiting for you. When will you pick up some etiquette and manners?”
“Grandma, it was due to the traffic jam. We left quite early and would have arrived early if it weren’t for the traffic.” The waiter brought in two chairs and Qi Chengyue pulled in Jian Yi to sit. “How could we miss such an important day?”
“Jian Yi is happy for Song Yu’s marriage to our big brother. They were childhood friends, so he has a soft spot for her.” Qi Chengyue tugged at Jian Yi’s arm and said, “Don’t you?”
Jian Yi gave a tight smile. He was attending the event against his will. Qi Chengyue was persistent about coming today. She wanted him to witness with his own eyes, Song Yu’s engagement and marriage to Qi Chengzhi. Qi Chengyue wanted him to watch Song Yu love another man and to give up on Song Yu.
Give up on Song Yu?
Jian Yi’s heart was at a crossroads.
He knew that his dream to be reunited with Song Yu was a lost cause but he could not stand to watch Song Yu fall into Qi Chengzhi’s arms.
Even though he could not have Song Yu, he wanted to break them apart.
Identity, social status, power, money, these were elements that Qi Chengzhi was born equipped with. Meanwhile, Jian Yi sacrificed his love and still had none of the above.
Qi Chengzhi already had many good things in his life. Why was he deserving of Song Yu’s love? Why was he granted a perfect life?
Qi Chengzhi had so many things, and now he was taking the one thing that Jian Yi once could have had.
Song Yu was the only part of Jian Yi’s life that Qi Chengzhi did not have.
Yet, now, Qi Chengzhi got hold of even that!
Grandmother Qi’s voice broke his train of thought.
“Xiao Yu, since we’re meeting today, why don’t we take this time to discuss the wedding?” Grandmother Qi continued, “We were thinking of a grand wedding here at Dynasty. What’s your opinion on this? Come, share your thoughts. We can discuss.”
“I have no particular requests, just that our Song Yu can proudly marry into your family with friends and family as witnesses. Not a quiet wedding that no one knows about,” Yu Qianying spoke assertively.
“Of course!” Grandmother Qi nodded in agreement and pulled out the Chinese calendar.
Yu Qianying suspected the old woman carried the calendar everywhere she went.
“Xiao Yu, I’ve picked out some dates from within. Have a look.” Grandmother Qi passed the calendar to Xia Wenna, who gave it to Yu Qianying.
As Yu Qianying flipped through the pages, Grandmother Qi spoke, “Once we have a date, Chengzhi can speak to Xiao Yunqing to block out Dynasty. We’ll have the whole restaurant to ourselves for the day.”
“The whole Dynasty? You’re really going all-out with the expenses!” Grandfather Qi glared at her with his nostrils flaring.
“And what? My eldest grandson is getting married and deserves a grand, opulent wedding! We’ll get a helicopter for some aerial photos,” Grandmother Qi shouted back. She was not afraid of her husband.
“I’ve been thinking, now, weigh in if you have reservations, we can have the day session in Dynasty. Chengzhi knows Xiao Yan so we can have the reciprocal banquet at Red Roof Club. We’ll book the whole club. I think the booking fee won’t be a concern and Xiao Yan may just cover it on our behalf.”
“We’ll get Xiao Han to take care of the wedding ceremony. We won’t need to use the ones provided by the wedding company. Xiao Han’s company has several famous hosts and hostesses, we’ll let him pick one for us. The music and audio effects can also be delegated to Xiao Han.”
Grandmother Qi counted on her fingers. “Let’s not invite those celebrities. They may take this as a chance to frolic among the young and talented. It paints a bad image for the wedding.”
“Hm? Talking about this, let’s get Xiao Han to bring in Director Wu from his company, along with that famous photographer. What’s his name again? He always works with Director Wu. They can be in charge of the wedding’s videography. Their company can also provide top-notch editing services. The wedding video will be as good as a movie.”
As Grandmother Qi got more and more excited, her ideas fell into unreasonable territories. Grandfather Qi commented, “Are you done? People have work to do, you can’t just order them to come. It’s just a wedding, there’s no need to make such a big hoo-ha!”
“I will get Xiao Han to give me a list of available staff. His company has a bunch of famous directors, there will be someone available for sure. I think we won’t consider using the ones from the wedding company, we just need to provide them with a masterplan. We can get a makeup artist from Xiao Han too. One that will make Song Yu the prettiest of them all!”
All this while, no one had the chance to speak out. Grandmother Qi mulled over something and said, “Maybe I can find time to pay a personal visit to Xiao Han’s company, to let him know about this.”
This meal was making Yu Qianying sweat. She felt that Grandmother Qi was taking it a bit too far with the wedding plans.
Jian Yi watched all of this with a disinterested look. His phone rang in his pocket and he excused himself from the table to take the call outside.
“You have something?” Jian Yi asked straight after answering the phone.
He frowned after hearing the reply.
“And the company’s legal person?” he asked in a low voice.
“…”
“I know, quickly look into it.” A thought struck Jian Yi and he said, “If possible, look into Qi Chengzhi’s status that year.”
…
…
Guan Xiaolin was at a Jixia High School alumni gathering. They were using Li Zhuoan’s room as he was the only one here that had a VIP room in Dynasty. The room lacked standards compared to the one frequented by Qi Chengzhi and his friends.
As the group came out of the room and turned a corner, they saw Jian Yi in the corridor. He had just ended his call.
Jian Yi did not go back into the room immediately. He leaned back against the wall and lit a cigarette. He took a long, deep breath.
Guan Xiaolin said softly to the others, “I’m gonna go say hi.”
She walked toward Jian Yi. He seemed to not have realized her presence—his sullen gaze was fixed upon the door across the corridor.
Guan Xiaolin’s brows furrowed, ‘When did Jian Yi start smoking?’
He did not look like his usual self. There was a sense of gloom as he smoked.
The door facing Jian Yi opened suddenly as she was opening her mouth to greet him. Guan Liya and Qi Zhongxun walked out of the room, followed shortly by Qi Chengyue.
Guan Xiaolin figured it was their family gathering and greeted, “Auntie, Uncle.”
“Xiaolin?” Guan Liya saw her and smiled, “Why are you here?”