Today's birthday banquet was very lively.
When the giant peach-shaped birthday cake was wheeled in, everyone in the hall sang the birthday song for Grandpa Xu.
Xu Jiacheng and Lu Nannan, the two little darlings, as the elderly man's great-grandchildren, accompanied him in blowing out the birthday candles. They even wished their great-grandpa a happy birthday together in their sweet, milky voices. Not only did they make the birthday boy grin from ear to ear, but the entire crowd was also melting from the two babies' cuteness.
The host, Xu Yanxia, along with her husband Lu Jingming, raised a toast to the whole room, thanking everyone for coming.
As the banquet came to an end, Xiao Xu finally gathered his courage and spoke up.
"Um, how about we all add each other on WeChat? We can hang out together next time."
Even though he didn't say this exclusively to Yuan Xiaoyue, considering he already had WeChat contacts for more than half the people at the table, his target was pretty obvious.
Everyone nodded in agreement and began taking out their phones.
But right at that moment, Lu Jingyao suddenly interjected, "That's too much trouble. Let's just create a group chat! It'll be much easier for everyone to talk."
"That's a great idea!"
The friends chimed in, "Let's just make a local food and entertainment group!"
"Recommend any good places to eat and have fun!"
"No problem!"
Seeing everyone join the group and then bid their farewells, only Xiao Xu and Lu Jingyao were left at the table.
Xiao Xu took a deep breath and directly asked Lu Jingyao, "What's the meaning of this, Third Brother Lu? I was just about to add Xiaoyue on WeChat privately, and you just had to make a group chat?"
He then added, "Don't tell me you like her too?"
"What the heck?"
Lu Jingyao immediately denied it, "I'm doing this for your own good. She's not like you. She's quite innocent, and she's my sister-in-law's younger sister. With how picky your mom and sister are, what if they look down on her and ruin things for you? In the end, wouldn't both you and she end up heartbroken? Why bother?"
No way.
Xiao Xu wanted to argue, but Lu Jingyao beat him to it, "Don't try to deny it. Can you swear that your last girlfriend wasn't chased away by your mom and sister?"
Xiao Xu paused, "...They can't ruin it every time! Besides, Xiaoyue is different. She's a graduate student at Nanjing University, highly educated."
After all, his previous girlfriend was an internet celebrity.
Lu Jingyao just wanted to scoff and say, if you want to find fault with someone, you can always find a reason!
Who knew what kind of flaws his mother and sister would pick out of Yuan Xiaoyue when the time came?
He knew very well that the little girl was very independent. She got into the top program at Nanjing University entirely through her own hard work.
...But for the sake of his brotherly pride, he couldn't say this out loud.
He could only sigh, "Anyway, I've said my piece. You guys are in the same group now. You can still send a friend request if you want to add her, but whether she agrees or not is her business. Just don't pester her relentlessly. She is my sister-in-law's sister, after all."
After he finished speaking, Xiao Xu grunted in acknowledgment and walked straight out.
Lu Jingyao paused for a moment before also walking out of the restaurant lobby.
His parents had already gone home in Uncle Zhao's car, and his brother and sister-in-law had taken his little niece Lu Nannan back to their own place. Lu Jingyao was just planning to head home himself when, after taking only a couple of steps, Yuan Xiaoyue suddenly appeared behind him and called out to him.
Startled, Lu Jingyao almost tumbled down the stairs. He quickly turned around and asked her, "What are you doing? Are you trying to scare me to death?"
To his surprise, the girl with the wavy perm raised an eyebrow and said, "I should be asking you what you're doing! Why did you keep looking over at our side during dinner? What exactly are you plotting?"
"..."
Lu Jingyao could only make up an excuse, "I did not. Isn't it normal for me to look straight ahead? It's just that you happened to be sitting right across from me."
"Really?"
Yuan Xiaoyue still seemed a bit skeptical. "You really weren't looking at the beauty sitting next to me?"
"Pfft..."
Lu Jingyao was almost amused by her. "What beauty next to you?"
Throughout the entire meal, she was the one with the roundest eyes, the smallest face, and the fairest skin at the table. None of the other girls looked as good as she did.
"Really, no?"
Yuan Xiaoyue raised an eyebrow at him. "I was thinking that if you were interested, I could introduce you two. She's actually quite interested in you."
"Thanks,"
Lu Jingyao flatly declined. "I'm currently focused on my competitions. I don't have time to think about anything else."
"Alright then."
Yuan Xiaoyue raised her hand to wave goodbye and started walking down the steps.
"Hey," Lu Jingyao called out, quickly asking her, "Where are you going?"
Yuan Xiaoyue replied, "Back to school. I have to rush back and work on my thesis!"
Lu Jingyao jingled his car keys and said, "I'm leaving too, so I'll give you a ride."
"That's great! It saves me money on a cab."
Yuan Xiaoyue smiled easily and followed him out.
...
That day, the two of them chatted the entire way.
Afterwards, they would casually greet each other and chat on WeChat from time to time.
Of course, they also frequently bumped into each other at family and friend gatherings.
Lu Jingyao had given Yuan Xiaoyue tickets to his ice hockey games; Yuan Xiaoyue had also invited him to watch performances at her school.
Naturally, they were always with friends; there were no instances of them being entirely alone together.
As time gradually passed, their topics of conversation shifted from their shared alma mater, Nanjing University, and their mutual little darling, Lu Nannan, as well as where to find good food and fun, to their future plans.
Until one day, Lu Jingyao finally won the championship in the ice hockey league and also earned the honor of Best Forward.
Meanwhile, Yuan Xiaoyue was accepted into the doctoral program of the top major at Nanjing University.
They both shared the good news with each other at the very first opportunity.
After exchanging congratulations, Lu Jingyao asked Yuan Xiaoyue, [Why do you work so hard? Isn't doing a PhD exhausting?]
Yuan Xiaoyue replied, [It is tiring, but whose career isn't? Aren't you tired from training every day? Good thing you haven't ruined your face all these years, otherwise you wouldn't be able to be a handsome guy anymore.]
Lu Jingyao's eyes landed on her last few words, and he couldn't help but smile.
He actually understood why she pushed herself so hard.
As a girl who had been looked down upon by her family because of her gender, she naturally wanted to work hard and fight her way up.
In truth, he was much the same.
Living under the massive halos of his older brother and sister, he had always wanted to prove himself through his own hard work.
After smiling, Lu Jingyao started typing to her again: [Actually, while you're fighting hard for your goals, you can also do something else on the side.]
On the other end, Yuan Xiaoyue quickly replied, [Like what?]
Lu Jingyao sent a voice message over: "Like falling in love."
Soon, he saw Yuan Xiaoyue reply with a voice message of her own: "Dating isn't something I can do just because I want to. First, I have to meet the right person."
Lu Jingyao paused. "Um... do you think I'm the right person?"
The person on the other end seemed a bit stunned, taking a long time before replying: [Are you serious?]
Lu Jingyao smiled and typed out a few words: [Heaven and earth as my witness.]
Then he smilingly added a voice message, "If I'm not serious, then let me never win a championship again."
On the other end, Yuan Xiaoyue looked at his text and listened to his voice message again, silently taking a deep breath.
Then she saw Lu Jingyao send another message asking her: [Is that serious enough?]
Yuan Xiaoyue smiled and replied to him with a brief message: "Not bad."
She knew just how much he loved ice hockey. Despite coming from a wealthy and prominent family, he had always trained honestly and diligently over the years, relying entirely on his own hard work.
Immediately after, Lu Jingyao sent another message: "Then, would you consider me?"
"You know me inside out, anyway."
Yuan Xiaoyue smiled again.
It was true. Counting from the time her sister and brother-in-law got engaged, she and Lu Jingyao had known each other for five or six years now.
She supposed she really did know him inside out.
This guy loved food, loved sports, and was quite fond of children. He completely doted on his little niece, who happened to be her little niece as well.
He was a bit immature and dramatic in the beginning, but he had definitely improved a lot over the past few years.
He was acting more like a mature man now.
Yuan Xiaoyue took a deep breath and then sent her reply: "We can give it a try."
The very next second, Lu Jingyao called her.
"Xiaoyue, let's meet up right now!" he said with a laugh on the other end of the line.
"Sure." Yuan Xiaoyue smiled too. "I'm at school. Where are you? I'll come find you."
But Lu Jingyao replied, "Let me come to you instead. I'm right at the school gates."
Just as he said that, Yuan Xiaoyue, who was holding her phone and wearing her backpack, walked out of the main gate. At a single glance, she spotted the tall, broad figure of Lu Jingyao standing under the flamboyant tree by the street.
Under the brilliant sunlight, their eyes met, and they both broke into bright smiles.
