But blood is blood after all. As the saying goes, a nephew takes after his uncle. In terms of looks, her brother closely resembled their two uncles, especially the eldest uncle, particularly around the eyes and brows.
"The past is in the past. Now that we can meet, Grandpa and Grandma should be at ease," Xu Yanxia said lightly.
"That's very true," their youngest uncle chimed in. "We don't mean anything else. Seeing how successful you two are makes us happy too. We are family, after all. Let's keep in touch and visit each other more often in the future."
Hearing this, Xu Zhanpeng gave a bitter smile and said, "When I got engaged a while ago, Grandpa and Grandma called the village to share the news. Didn't they tell you?"
"Don't mention it," the eldest uncle said. "The old house at the edge of the village collapsed a few years ago. We only go back once a year during the Qingming Festival to sweep your grandparents' graves. We don't go back any other time. They didn't call us either."
Alright then.
Xu Zhanpeng nodded and didn't say anything more.
Instead, the eldest aunt looked at Xu Yanxia and said with a smile, "Yaomei'er also found a very capable boyfriend! I swiped past it on my phone the other day. He looks very handsome and talented. Just like your mother, you are a natural beauty."
"Whenever you hold the wedding banquet, you must let us know!"
Xu Yanxia smiled and nodded, adding, "If you have any news about my mother, please let us know too."
...
After talking for a long time, when noon arrived, the siblings symbolically treated them to a meal at the hotel restaurant.
After finishing the meal and seeing their uncles and aunt off, the siblings returned to their seats.
Xu Zhanpeng sighed and asked his sister, "Do you think they really don't have any news about Mom?"
Xu Yanxia replied, "Judging by their clothes and manners, they seem to be living a rather ordinary life. If they really had news about Mom, considering they came looking for us now, they would have definitely gone to look for her long ago."
That made sense.
Xu Zhanpeng nodded and said, "I'll contact them if anything comes up in the future. You don't need to get involved."
He understood what the eldest aunt meant when she deliberately mentioned his sister's boyfriend earlier. Even though their upbringing prevented them from pretending not to know their relatives.
But to save his sister from unnecessary trouble in the future, when the other party asked to add them on WeChat just now, he was the one who added them.
"I understand,"
Xu Yanxia nodded. Looking at her brother's somewhat heavy expression, she asked, "Brother, are you still unable to let go of the matter with Mom?"
Xu Zhanpeng sighed and simply said, "I don't know if she's still alive."
This made Xu Yanxia pause as well.
She knew that compared to her, who had lived two lifetimes, her brother's obsession with their mother was much deeper.
After all, when their mother left back then, he was almost three years old.
A child suddenly abandoned at the age when they are most attached to their mother—even if it was highly unlikely he retained any memory of her face, the psychological harm was definitely unavoidable.
Growing up, compared to people of the same age, her brother was indeed much more silent and sensible.
She could only comfort her brother by saying, "There are some things we just can't help. At the end of the day, we've already made it through the hardest times."
"That's right,"
her brother smiled and nodded. "The hardest times are over, so it's no big deal. I'm about to start a family, and you will soon too. Grandpa, Grandma, Auntie, and Xiaoyue are all doing well."
"Exactly,"
Xu Yanxia forced a smile and took the initiative to change the subject. "It's rare for us to visit Jincheng. Do you want to bring some local specialties back for my sister-in-law?"
"Definitely,"
Xu Zhanpeng also tried to mask the heaviness in his heart with a smile. "Jiajia told me last night that she wanted me to bring her back some spicy rabbit heads."
"That's perfect,"
Xu Yanxia told him with a smile. "There's a shop right next door. We ate there last night and it was pretty good. I'll take you there."
"Okay."
The siblings stood up and walked out together.
Who would have thought that before they even walked out the restaurant door, they would run into an acquaintance.
It was none other than Dr. Feng, the new judge Lu Jingming had just chatted with Xu Yanxia about last night.
Xu Yanxia was a bit surprised.
It was already noon, and tomorrow morning they were supposed to film new content in Xijing.
At this moment, apart from Ye Shu who was waiting for her in the room, even Xiaozhen had set off for Xijing along with her other teammates.
The production crew had all left a long time ago.
Why was this person still here?
...
Now, as the three of them stood face to face, the other party was the first to greet her, "Hello, Director Xu."
Xu Yanxia stopped in her tracks and greeted him back, "Hello, Dr. Feng."
She then took the opportunity to introduce him to her brother. "This is Dr. Feng, the new judge for our show."
"This is my brother, Xu Zhanpeng."
"Hello,"
Dr. Feng politely reached out his hand to her brother and said, "Nice to meet you. I heard your restaurant in Rong City is extremely popular."
"Hello,"
Xu Zhanpeng reached out to shake his hand. "You flatter me."
"I heard you're getting married soon. Congratulations."
Dr. Feng said with a smile.
This took Xu Zhanpeng by surprise, and he subconsciously glanced at his sister.
He knew his sister's personality; she wouldn't casually share such private matters with others.
Fortunately, the other party took the initiative to explain, "I saw the news online."
So that was it.
A while ago, when Xu Yanxia trended on social media because of Lin Hengnan's case, their family situation had been made public. Furthermore, that incident had occurred right at her brother's engagement banquet. It was only normal for the public to know about Xu Zhanpeng's upcoming wedding.
Xu Zhanpeng smiled again and thanked him.
Then Dr. Feng asked them, "It's rare for us to run into each other. Would you like to sit down and chat?"
Xu Zhanpeng, thinking they were going to discuss the show, said truthfully, "I have to catch a flight back later, and I need to go buy a few things now. Why don't you two go ahead and talk?"
"That works too."
Dr. Feng nodded and said, "We should have the chance to meet again in the future. Have a safe trip."
"Thank you."
Xu Zhanpeng nodded, said goodbye to his sister, and left first.
Xu Yanxia watched her brother leave the restaurant, then looked at Dr. Feng in front of her and said, "Don't tell me you stayed behind specifically to wait for me?"
"That's right,"
he said with a smile. "It wasn't convenient to talk during the filming over the past two days, so I specifically waited until now."
Saying that, he politely extended his hand in an inviting gesture and asked, "Shall we sit down and talk?"
"Alright."
Xu Yanxia took a seat at the nearest table.
He sat down across from her, handed her a business card, and said, "We can reintroduce ourselves."
Xu Yanxia took it and looked down. The business card was bilingual in Chinese and English.
First was his English name, Felix Adrian Feng.
Followed closely by his Chinese name, Feng Yiheng.
After that were his titles, which listed him as a Ph.D. in Food Science, Director of Quality Control for the Global Premium Food Supply Chain, among others.
When Xu Yanxia finally made out the last line stating his company's name, she could not help but freeze in surprise.
"Meyer Consortium," she read.
She looked up at him, her face filled with astonishment. "So you are with the German Meyer Group?"
He gave her a smile and replied, "That's right."
