ryethenovel Chapter 52: I Only Feel Heartache for My Brother
Chapter 52: I Only Feel Heartache for My Brother
Lin Bei stubbed out his cigarette on the trash can by the door and followed the invitation to go inside.
Several classmates were already sitting at the table by the window.
He glanced at the seating arrangement and chose a seat in a corner.
Old Gao followed closely behind, placed the hand cream gift box on the gift table by the door, and sat down next to Lin Bei.
Song Qingning was originally at another table, talking to her relatives. After seeing Lin Bei sit down, she told her aunt and then stood up.
She walked around the two tables, went to Lin Bei's side, picked up the bag from the chair next to Lao Gao, and sat down herself.
Old Gao saw that there was a different person on his left, and he was about to start yelling at him.
When they saw it was Song Qingning, they wisely moved to the side.
Su Qianqian sat at the same table, in a seat by the window.
After she sat down, she took her phone out of her bag, glanced at it, and, finding no messages, put it back.
Su Qianqian's gaze inadvertently swept over the direction of Lin Bei and Song Qingning.
Then I saw Song Qingning, who was talking to Lin Bei from the side.
"What exactly happened between you and that girl with the twin ponytails in the hallway?"
"What happened? It's just that I ran into my friend's daughter."
"Friends? When did you start having those kinds of friends?"
"We met through business."
"What kind of business are you doing, running a student who just finished the college entrance exam?"
Lin Bei picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip: "I'll tell you another day."
"It's always 'another day.' You said 'another day' at the hospital last time too, and you still haven't explained it to me clearly today." Song Qingning snorted.
He picked up a peanut with his chopsticks, popped it into his mouth, and chewed it with a crunching sound.
The old man held his teacup, pretending to drink tea, his gaze fixed on the chandelier on the ceiling, silently thinking:
What's going on?
Are these two dating?
Why haven't I heard them mention this before?
Once everyone had arrived, the banquet officially began.
Mr. Song stood up, held a glass of baijiu (Chinese liquor), and said a few words.
The gist of it was to thank all the relatives and friends for attending the celebration for their daughter's graduation. They said that Qingning had always been a diligent student and that her good grades this time were the result of her hard work, and so on.
Song Qingning sat at the main table, head down, using her chopsticks to pick at the peanuts in the plate, her ears so red they looked like they could bleed.
When Mr. Song finished speaking, he raised his glass, and everyone clinked glasses, creating a lively atmosphere.
After several rounds of drinks and five courses of food,
The elders started chatting amongst themselves, while the younger people formed their own circles.
Lin Bei ate half a bowl of rice with braised pork, and then served himself a bowl of hot and sour soup.
As he was drinking his soup, his phone, which was on the table, started to vibrate.
Lin Bei picked it up and saw it was a text message from Wu Xiaoxun:
[Brother Lin Bei, Grandpa and I are eating in the private room next door.]
Is that lime-sister your girlfriend?
She was so rude just now, she even hit me, and the way she looked at me was so fierce.
Unlike me, I only feel sorry for my brother.
Lin Bei: "..."
It smells like green tea.
He casually typed two words, "No," and sent it directly.
Then, another point was added:
You're just a young girl, don't worry about adult matters.
After sending the message, Lin Bei turned off his phone and placed it face down on the table.
Wu Xiaoxun quickly replied with a message, but he didn't read it.
Lin Bei continued drinking his soup when Lao Gao nudged him with his elbow: "Who is it?"
"Nobody."
"I just saw the name, Xiao Xun..."
"Is that the girl in the JK uniform in the hallway just now?"
Old Gao leaned closer and whispered, "Brother, you're doomed. Qing Ning is to your left, Xiao Xun is in your phone, and School Beauty Su is right across from you..."
"Now let's see where you run to."
Lin Bei finished the last sip of soup and placed the bowl on the table.
"Can I run to the toilet?"
He stood up and went to the restroom.
When Lin Bei came out of the restroom, he ran into Su Qianqian in the corridor.
Su Qianqian had just come out of the women's restroom and was fixing her hair in front of the mirror on the wall.
She saw Lin Bei in the mirror, turned around and nodded slightly as a greeting.
"That little girl, was she the one you saved earlier?"
Su Qianqian couldn't help but ask.
"Yes." Lin Bei nodded: "Her grandfather had a relapse on the way, and I happened to be passing by so I bought him water and gave him his medicine."
"I later found out that the owner of the garment factory I was working with was the old man's son."
Su Qianqian: "She seems to like you quite a bit."
Lin Bei chuckled lightly: "It's just kids playing around."
Su Qianqian glanced at Lin Bei, her lips curling slightly, but she didn't say anything more.
She turned and walked towards the private room, but after taking a couple of steps, she turned back again, her voice low and her tone casual:
"Qing Ning just drank three glasses of orange juice."
"She drinks orange juice when she's angry, you should know that better than I do."
Lin Bei nodded and followed her back.
As he approached the private room, he saw Song Qingning standing at the door, holding a fresh glass of orange juice. Her gaze swept across half the corridor and landed on the two people walking back side by side.
She tilted her head back and drank the orange juice in one gulp, then turned and went back to the private room.
Lin Bei was speechless for a moment.
Song Qingning isn't his girlfriend, so why is he jealous?
As the banquet was drawing to a close.
Song's mother asked Song Qingning to serve a drink at each table as a way of thanking everyone for coming.
Song Qingning carried a glass of orange juice and walked around before finally arriving at Lin Bei's table.
She poured a cup of tea for Lao Gao, a glass of juice for Su Qianqian, and a cup for the other classmates.
When she walked up to Lin Bei, she filled her glass, raised it, and clinked it against his.
"Thank you for coming to my college admission celebration."
"Congratulations, you did well on the exam," Lin Bei said with a smile, raising his cup.
The two clinked glasses and each finished their drink.
Just as Song Qingning was about to turn around and go to the next table, Lin Bei gently touched the heel of her shoe with the tip of his foot under the table.
She turned around abruptly, but Lin Bei didn't say anything. He just raised his chin towards the plate of sweet and sour pork ribs on the table that hadn't been touched much.
That's Song Qingning's favorite dish. She'd been talking to her relatives the whole time and hadn't really picked it up.
Song Qingning was stunned for a moment.
Then, she rolled her eyes, turned around, and left.
Her lips curled up slightly, but she quickly suppressed it.
After the party ended, Lin Bei and Lao Gao waited for their car at the hotel entrance.
Old Gao handed the box of hand cream to Song Qingning.
"Lime, congratulations on getting over 600 points on your test. Here's some hand sanitizer for you."
Song Qingning accepted the gift box: "Thank you, Brother Gao."
Old Gao scratched his head and chuckled twice.
Su Qianqian's driver arrived, and she greeted Song Qingning before getting into the car.
Before leaving, he looked at everyone through the car window and said, "See you another day."
Everyone raised their hands and waved: "See you another day."
Lin Bei turned to look at Lao Gao beside him and asked, "What are your plans for this afternoon?"
"Go back to sleep," Old Gao shrugged. "What about you?"
Lin Bei: "Going to driving school to practice, I have my driving test (Part 2) tomorrow!"