The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the new hotel was undoubtedly the happiest time for the Jiang family.
In the magnificent hotel, the marble pillars are as high as reaching the sky, and the rows of crystal lamps exude dazzling brilliance. The front hall is covered with an endless red carpet, and both sides of the red carpet are filled with flower baskets sent by business partners.
Going further inside, you arrive at the spacious and magnificent reception hall.
You can smell the faint pleasant smell in the air, and many, many dishes that He Yu can't name are displayed high on the table after being beautifully arranged. The neatly dressed waiters stood at the buffet counter with trained smiles on their faces.
Everything here is so exquisite and trendy.
The beautiful hostess put on an evening gown and dazzling jewelry, and the hostess also wore a suit and leather shoes, with his hair brushed back to shine. Each of them took their little daughter by the hand and walked down the spiral staircase on the second floor.
Jiang Mingzhen is a real princess.
She is wearing a puffy princess dress with off-the-shoulder, two-layered princess dress, short in the front and long in the back. The outer layer of the skirt is smooth spun gauze, dotted with small white flowers, and the hem of the skirt is embroidered. The inner layer is a low-key pearl white, shining brightly under the illumination of the floor lamp.
Unlike when she was in school as usual, Jiang Mingzhen tied her hair up, with a small crown hairpin pinned to her head, and the strands of hair scattered around her cheeks as embellishments were carefully curled.
She even put on makeup, and the unremarkable appearance finally showed a little bit of cuteness under the exquisite touch of the makeup artist.
As soon as the hosts went downstairs, they were surrounded by guests who came to congratulate them.
Knowing that the Jiang family loves this daughter the most, Jiang Mingzhen is the focus of everyone's greetings.
"Hello, little princess of the Jiang family, do you still remember Uncle Zhao?" The middle-aged man with a loud voice bent down and shook hands with Jiang Mingzhen.
The female companion beside him came up to greet him together: "I haven't seen you for a year, Miss Zhen has grown up and become more beautiful."
"Isn't she older?" Xu Meiyin said with a smile, "She's in preschool this year."
Jiang Mingzhen greeted her uncles and aunts obediently.
He Yu was at the corner of the crowd, led by his mother. Aunt Fan rarely saw such an occasion, and it was the first time in He Yu's life.
The three members of the Jiang family who get along day and night are obviously people he is very familiar with, but there are still some things that he can't say that are different from the usual ones.
The wife of the Jiang family, who would be made to cry by Jiang Mingzhen, had a generous and decent smile on her face; the head of the Jiang family, who was busy and unshaven, held a glass of wine energetically and thoughtfully welcomed the guests. Even Jiang Mingzhen, who loves to play tricks and is ignorant, is not timid when she sees adults.
He Yu lowered his head to look at his clothes and shoes.
Only he was the same as usual.
"Ayu, let's go."
Aunt Fan took her son's hand.
"It has nothing to do with us. The lady asked us to eat delicious food, let's go inside, and I will show you the buffet."
He Yu withdrew his gaze and nodded to his mother.
After getting rid of those glamorous crowds, Aunt Fan felt a little more at ease.
"I don't know how much it will cost to eat at this restaurant in the future. The decoration is so good, it's better than the ones in TV dramas. We'll eat more later, the food here is all good."
They chose a remote location to sit down, they didn't want to attract attention.
It's a pity that it's impossible to eat more, and the phone in Aunt Fan's pocket rang before she had eaten two bites of the food.
After she picked it up, she frowned without listening to a few words. He Yu mouthed her and asked, "Is it a construction site?" Auntie Fan nodded at him, then gestured for him to stay where she was, and she went out to talk on the phone by herself.
Aunt Fan did not come back until the ribbon-cutting ceremony began.
The atmosphere in the banquet hall was warm, and the master of ceremonies who presided over it was very eloquent, which made everyone applaud continuously.
He Yu, who was sitting there, was absent-minded, chewing on the untasteful delicacy in his mouth, and his eyes never left the door. He couldn't get into the laughter and laughter around him, he only cared about his mother's phone call and whether it would be some bad news.
"Come on, let our little princess from the hotel tell you, what do you want to do when you grow up?"
The master of ceremonies handed the microphone to the little girl's hand.
Jiang Mingzhen's voice came out from the stereo, and He Yu looked up to the stage.
She was hugged by her father, with a happy smile on her face and a crisp voice.
"When I grow up, I want to be a great chef. I fry all the dishes in Dad's restaurant, and everyone praises how delicious they are after eating."
All the adults present couldn't help laughing after hearing her words.
Jiang Yuan kissed his daughter's cheek: "Then I'm counting on my Xiaozhen."
It is unimaginable for Jiang Mingzhen, who needs a nanny to feed her meals every day, to be able to serve as a chef in a big restaurant one day.
However, what she said was really serious.
The little girl's eyes are full of the future, full of sparkling dreams, every word is so bright and firm.
He Yu applauded with everyone, feeling happy for her.
…
Their parting was on the second day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The two children did not completely reconcile.
Knowing that He Yu was leaving, Jiang Mingzhen couldn't hold back and went to find him on her own initiative.
Aunt Fan and He Yu were packing things in the room, Jiang Mingzhen knocked on the door and called He Yu out.
"Huoyu, although you won't be back for long, but... I have something to tell you!"
"Say what?" he asked.
Glancing at Aunt Fan in the room, she winked at him mysteriously.
"You come to the backyard."
He Yu followed behind her, and Jiang Mingzhen walked all the way to the darkest part of the yard.
There was no sound around, and there was a thick shade of trees overhead. She took a few deep breaths and turned to face him.
"When you go back to the country, you can't like other girls besides me."
He Yu was confused: "What do you mean?"
Jiang Mingzhen rolled her eyes. She was angry that he was still pretending to be stupid, so she simply spoke more clearly.
"I mean, if you grow up well and become a great person, I will consider marrying you in the future."
"I don't understand," He Yu scratched the back of his neck, looking at her as if looking at an alien creature: "Why do you consider... marrying me?"
Crossing her hands, Jiang Mingzhen put on a condescending expression and snorted coldly.
"I already know that you like me."
Her voice fell to the ground for thirty seconds, but no one answered.
With a light cough, Jiang Mingzhen was about to list where she found it, but He Yu stopped her in good time.
"I don't like you," he said.
"You are ugly and have a bad temper. I will never marry you."
Jiang Mingzhen couldn't believe what she heard.
This moment suddenly evokes a sense of déjà vu. In this backyard, in the mouth of this bun-faced boy, the first time they met, he lifted her hijab and shouted: "Mom has a ghost."
New enmity plus old grievances.
Double offense, double anger.
"Live taro!"
She roared angrily, startling the birds.
"Slap."
Passing through the tangled branches and leaves, a lump of white bird feces landed smoothly and hit Jiang Mingzhen's head.
He Yu looked at her steadily.
Jiang Mingzhen touched his head, then looked at his hands, and shouted "Wow."
History is always strikingly similar.
Jiang Mingzhen became embarrassed when he met He Yu.
The embarrassing Jiang Mingzhen said those cruel words from embarrassment.
"Live taro! Just wait, you will regret it!"
…
When He Yu returned to the room, Aunt Fan had almost packed her luggage.
"Books, pens and paper from your school, do you want to bring those?"
He shook his head at his mother.
Among those things, He Yu only took out two pieces of paper and stuffed them into his schoolbag.
The first piece of paper is his certificate of "future little painter".
The second sheet of paper looks crumpled, even though it has been artificially flattened, the creases are still clearly visible.
"Your painting?" Auntie Fan looked surprised, and asked a little more: "How did you press it like that, and it's still orange and yellow, making it so dirty?"
"When you paint, the color is like that."
Although he didn't paint it, it was his painting.
Putting the paper away neatly, He Yu carried the schoolbag on his back.
"Come on mom, let's go back to the countryside."