Gu Jiazhi walked gracefully to Yu Tingchuan's side in her high heels.
The streetlights by the guardrail lit up in warm amber.
Yu Tingchuan retracted his gaze and looked at Gu Jiazhi. "Have you greeted Grandpa?"
"Uh, huh." Gu Jiazhi's lips curled into a smile. She leaned against the vine-covered guardrail and looked at the colorful roses beneath. After some thought, she spoke about her plans. "I talked to my brother last night. I don't plan to leave again… now that I'm back. I'll focus on developing my career in the country from now on."
With that, she turned to look at Yu Tingchuan beside her, hoping for some sort of response.
Yu Tingchuan put his expensive watch back into his pocket and said, "Let's go downstairs. Everyone should be here by now."
Gu Jiazhi was disappointed. She looked at the mature and handsome man in front of her. In his shirt and trousers, his figure was tall and posture upright. The years' worth of feelings she had suppressed in her heart were like a bottle of aged wine. Over time, it had become thicker and more intoxicating. However, the education she had received since she was young did not allow her to act inappropriately. She could only respond with a dignified smile. "Okay."
In the dining room on the first floor, a few servants were busy working around the long dining table.
Gu Jiazhi held onto Yu Tingchuan's arm as they walked down the stairs. Her sharp eyes caught Yu Jing in the corner of the living room. She glanced at Song Qingcheng who was beside Yu Jing. Seeing that the two of them were wearing the same school uniform, she guessed, "Is that Jingjing's classmate?"
Yu Tingchuan also looked towards the living room and happened to catch a moment when Song Qingcheng was looking down and smiling.
"She seems to be a very quiet girl," Gu Jiazhi added.
…
"She's looking in our direction. I don't know what she's saying." Yu Jing popped a grape into her mouth as she followed Gu Jiazhi's movements.
Gu Jiazhi reached the bottom of the stairs and walked to the living room alone.
Yu Jing immediately looked away and leaned towards Song Qingcheng again.
Song Qingcheng looked towards the stairs.
However, she did not see Yu Tingchuan.
In the blink of an eye, he had disappeared.
Earlier, she had left the rose garden as soon as Gu Jiazhi showed up.
Not long after, Yu Linjiang—the head of the Yu family—had also come home.
Yu Linjiang, who was over sixty years old, was wearing a well-pressed suit. Other than his graying hair, it was impossible to tell that he was in his sixties. He had light wrinkles across his forehead, and he looked somewhat reticent.
Song Qingcheng looked around casually and saw Yu Jing's three aunts, but there was no sign of an uncle.
"My youngest uncle is studying abroad." Yu Jing paused and whispered into Qingcheng's ear, "He's only three years older than me."
Song Qingcheng had no intention of finding out more about the Yu family. She took a sip of water from the porcelain cup and changed the topic. "Your mother's not coming home?"
Yu Jing, who was happily munching on her grapes, replied, "She must be accompanying my dad at the hospital."
…
It was just as Yu Jing said: dinner started at 7 pm.
As everyone was taking their places at the dining table, Song Qingcheng was also pulled along to the end of the table by Yu Jing to take their seats.
Yu Tingchuan, who had disappeared earlier on, had made a reappearance. He pulled out a chair for Gu Jiazhi and then took the seat to the left of Yu Linjiang. Song Qingcheng sat at the right tail end of the dining table. Looking up, she could only see the man's side profile. In a flash, she looked away again.
Because there were children, the atmosphere at the dining table was livelier.
From time to time, Yu Jing would whisper a few words to Song Qingcheng. Occasionally, she would comment on the dishes, and at other times, she would complain about her cousin being too arrogant.
As the family dinner was coming to an end, Yu Tingchuan got up and went outside to take a call.
"Second Brother is always busier than the rest of us," Yu Jing's fourth uncle said with a smile.
Yu Minghui replied casually, "Second Brother is in charge of a big company. Of course, a small factory like yours can't compare."
Yu Jing's fourth uncle looked embarrassed at once.
Yu Jing's fourth aunt lowered her head to feed the child as if she didn't hear Yu Minghui ridiculing her husband.
"Third Sister, have you been to Hengdian again recently?" Yu Jing's fifth aunt, Yu Mingrong, asked.
Yu Minghui didn't answer. Instead, she turned to Yu Linjiang and said, "Dad, recently, a director came to me and said that I'm quite suitable for the role of the second female lead. I've already seen the script. It's not bad. Do you think… Hengyuan can invest some money, too?"
"Third Aunt, our teacher said that the character you played the last time was not bad. She even wanted to slap you to death when you rolled your eyes."
Yu Mingrong's five-year-old son opened his toothless mouth, his voice crisp and clear.
"Go away!" Yu Minghui was very upset.
At this point, Song Qingcheng put down her chopsticks and whispered to Yu Jing, "I'm going to the washroom."
Yu Jing asked, "Do you want me to go with you?"
Song Qingcheng smiled. "No, it's okay."
…
After exiting the washroom, Song Qingcheng did not return to the dining room immediately. Instead, she strolled out of the bungalow.
It was dark outside. She slowly walked down the steps.
Sure enough, under the tree next to the bungalow, there was a flickering light.
Yu Tingchuan was on the phone. He held a lit cigarette in his hand, and his deep voice could be heard occasionally. Before Song Qingcheng approached, the man had turned around. She could clearly feel that Yu Tingchuan stopped talking when he saw her… even though he quickly returned to normal.