Chapter 7 The Grandest Hotel in Hexiang

The seventh-floor lobby of the biggest business hotel in Hexiang.

They had originally intended to book only a medium-sized banquet hall, but as the number of invitees grew, and almost everyone they invited actually came, they gradually increased the size to accommodate thirty-five tables.

In reality, they didn't know that many people, but Chen Yuan's connections accounted for quite a few tables.

Two tables for classmates, one for the academic elite group, one for teachers, and one for leaders like He Hongtao, as well as social figures like Li Tong and Shen Xiaoran.

The same applied to Xia Xinyu's side.

Chen Jianye's personality was such that he wanted to make a big deal out of this, so he simply gathered everyone he knew from his workplace.

Even the big leaders and bureau chiefs, with whom he previously had little contact, showed up.

It was quite a lively affair.

Chen Yuan was also dressed in a suit and leather shoes, looking quite refined. Perhaps because of his tall stature and the good quality of the suit, he didn't look like a young insurance salesman at all.

Xia Xinyu was also dressed appropriately, in an elegant gown that made her look so dignified and ladylike, even more beautiful than He Xuan had been that day.

"These are my colleagues and leaders from work," Chen Jianye said, leading the two of them with a wine glass in his hand, introducing them to Chen Yuan and Xia Xinyu.

"Uncles and aunties, Xinyu and I would like to offer you a toast," Chen Yuan said politely, raising his glass filled with iced red tea.

Then, everyone stood up.

According to their status and position, the director of the Water Affairs Bureau spoke on behalf of everyone, "This is a match made in heaven. Lao Chen, now you have Qinghua, a house, and such a good daughter-in-law, you've completed more than half of your life goals."

Now, some might ask—why more than half?

What about the remaining, smaller half?

Chen Yuan didn't want to pursue that line of questioning and responded with a smile and a nod.

"Thanks to them, I didn't do anything, I'm really ashamed," Chen Jianye said, feigning embarrassment.

"Lao Chen, you're just pretending, just laugh it out, don't hold it in."

"Yeah, after the results came out, the smile never left your face, we never saw you ashamed!"

What they said was true.

Lao Chen was a classic example of a middle-aged man who loved to show off.

Others talked about how much they had sacrificed for their sons, how they had educated them, and that was why they were where they were today.

He, on the other hand, took pride in saying, "I didn't use any educational methods, I didn't manage anything, my son is just so excellent, what can I do?"

Although it was true that he had participated very little…

No buts.

Yang Junlian still deserved a high proportion of the credit for this Number One Scholar, maybe a 70/30 split with Chao Zi.

As for Lao Chen…

Seeing his face almost crease into a bun, Chen Yuan felt quite pleased.

His dad liked to show off, and he had helped him successfully show off, which was quite an accomplishment.

Chen Jianye continued to lead the two of them to toast.

Then, they arrived at Xinyu's table with her aunt and eldest uncle.

Seeing Xinyu, her aunt smiled with satisfaction and nodded, "Our Xinyu looks so beautiful today."

"..." Hearing these words and seeing so many relatives from Shaoxiang, Xia Xinyu suddenly felt like she was home, and her eyes quickly moistened.

Walking up to her aunt, her aunt understandingly reached out and hugged her slender waist, gently patting her back, looking at Chen Yuan, and said with a smile, "Our Xinyu cries easily, you can't bully her."

"If she cries, for whatever reason, it's my responsibility." Chen Yuan poured out the iced red tea, held out his wine glass, and then looked at Chen Jianye, saying, "Eyes on the prize, Dad."

Chen Yuan's teasing made the relatives laugh.

Chen Jianye also poured Wuliangye into Chen Yuan's glass, "I'll keep pouring until you say stop."

"Pour," Chen Yuan said pretentiously.

But before it was even halfway full, Xia Xinyu reached out, holding the Wuliangye, and whispered, "Drink less."

"Hey, you're starting to protect him already!" the eldest uncle said loudly.

The eldest uncle's wife also covered her mouth and smiled, "Hey, Xinyu, who are you siding with? Why don't you tell your uncle to drink less?"

Xia Xinyu blushed and didn't dare to meet the eyes of these relatives, only whispering, "Drink less, everyone..."

"I'll punish myself with a cup."

Chen Yuan raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Then, the family members applauded and cheered.

"Gege is so handsome! Awesome!"

"Chen Yuan Ge is amazing, my dad can't drink that much..."

Zheng Minghao didn't finish before his uncle slapped him on the head, telling him not to reveal his shortcomings.

But they were still grinning.

"Okay, I see your sincerity." The aunt smiled and raised her glass.

"Then, this cup is to everyone."

This time, Chen Yuan still used real liquor, focusing on toasting Xinyu's family members.

Everyone was also very respectful, responding with liquor as much as possible. Even some of the women.

After toasting everyone, Chen Yuan took Xia Xinyu's hand and walked to Grandpa.

This time, even Xia Xinyu, who wasn't good at drinking, raised her glass to Grandpa.

"Good... good." Grandpa just smiled, nodding constantly, looking at the two of them.

And before Xinyu left, he cupped her face with his rough, bark-like hands, gently rubbing it.

Although he didn't say anything, everything was conveyed.

"There's another round later, you guys go and toast the others first." The aunt smiled and reminded her, seeing that Xinyu was about to cry again, "Don't ruin your makeup."

And so, facing her relatives, these remnants of her parents' love in the world, Xia Xinyu thought of many things. Every page was a touching scene.

How much she wished they could see this moment too.

Raising her head, after the tears gradually stopped, Xia Xinyu continued to accept blessings with Chen Yuan, with a smile.

But this smile didn't last long.

Zhang Jianjun…

"The two pomelos are here," He Hongtao reminded Zhang Jianjun with a smile.

Zhang Jianjun said, "Thanks to this pomelo from your school, our total number of pomelos is exactly the same as First High."

If there wasn't this pomelo from Eleventh High?

Then Zhang Jianjun wouldn't need to compete with First High in pomelo quantity at all!

"Why do I feel like Xinyu is a little afraid of you?" He Hongtao said jokingly, seeing Xia Xinyu suddenly become serious.

Zhang Jianjun tensed up, then looked at Xia Xinyu, trying to smile and said, "Is that so?"

It was okay if he didn't smile.

But this smile of his directly made Xia Xinyu look a little panicked.

"Don't be afraid, we've graduated, no need to be afraid!" Chen Yuan quickly encouraged Xia Xinyu.

But with his and He Hongtao's antics, Zhang Jianjun's face immediately darkened…

Too, too embarrassing.

These two were doing it on purpose!

"Thank you." At this time, Xia Xinyu also took the initiative to raise her glass with both hands to toast Zhang Jianjun, to save face for him.

With this, the rumors about the disunity of Fourth High were dispelled.

Zhang Jianjun also smiled and raised his glass…

"You should thank me, it was me who didn't let him catch you dating early," He Hongtao directly chimed in.

"Tsk." Then, Zhang Jianjun rolled his eyes at He Hongtao.

Only you have a mouth, only you have a mouth!

Typical Eleventh High personality!

"Haha." He Hongtao laughed and also raised his glass, "Although you applied to Qinghua, and can't be my alumni, it's a bit of a pity. But congratulations to you, continue to be excellent in college."

"Chen Yuan." Zhang Jianjun looked at Chen Yuan and said, "Even in Qinghua, you have to be in the top 0.5%."

"Understood."

Chen Yuan nodded, benefiting a lot, and was willing to accept this suggestion.

Although Zhang Jianjun was Xia Xinyu's school teacher, he undoubtedly had more complex feelings for Chen Yuan.

As someone who was at the top in any field, he found resonance in Chen Yuan.

"Thank you, two leaders, and teachers, please forgive us for any shortcomings in our hospitality."

Even in this kind of occasion, Chen Jianye didn't show any timidity. As the father of the Number One Scholar, he also behaved very appropriately.

The leaders and teachers also respected such a father very much, without any neglect.

There was a probability problem in high school mathematics, which was impossible events and inevitable events.

Chen Yuan's success, and a remarkable success at that, was a 100% inevitable event.

After watching him leave, the leaders and teachers at the table were also discussing these two beloved disciples, and nodded in agreement.

Any praise was worth it for them.

"Let us offer a toast to everyone."

After Chen Yuan finished speaking, everyone at the table got up. But, there was also a little girl, slowly getting up.

Before meeting Chen Yuan, Shen Xiaoran would have been very sensitive and inferior at this time.

But even with so many people watching her, she worked hard to get up, stood up, picked up her drink, and smiled.

Just like that, everyone drank together.

After drinking, as the two were about to go to the next table, Shen Xiaoran raised her head, looked at Xia Xinyu, and said softly, "You look... very pretty today."

"..." Xia Xinyu smiled faintly, then put her hand on her head, gently rubbed it, and said, "You look pretty too, Xiaoran."

Xiaoran's mother smiled at this scene.

This child still has a lot of emotional intelligence.

Liking Chen Yuan is good, but she understands that something even more advanced than liking is—love.

To love someone is to protect him subconsciously, even if it's painful.

"I watched your Douyin video, you spoke very well!" Li Tong, dressed in jeans and a shirt, but still exuding righteousness, said with a smile, "Both of you have to work hard, and contribute more to society."

"Yeah, we'll contribute," Chen Yuan gave an okay gesture.

Next, he and Xia Xinyu went to the teachers' group from Class 18.

Lao Mo brought his wife and Xiao Mo, and the other subject teachers came alone. These teachers who spent every day with Chen Yuan, and taught him by word and example, spent the longest time with the two of them.

But this time, there wasn't any preaching.

All of it was beautiful wishes.

And, as your teacher, I am truly very honored.

"You bastards, your die..."

Zhu Zihao said halfway, then noticed that Chen Yuan's real dad was following behind, and quickly stopped. He stood up and smiled at the classmates, "Hello, Uncle."

"Hello to you too."

Chen Yuan raised his hand and responded like an inspection.

Then, he directly made these classmates red with anger.

You brat, you're taking advantage of us.

If it weren't for your dad being here...

"You stay with your classmates, I'm going elsewhere, okay?"

Just as Chen Yuan was pretending to be a tiger, Chen Jianye took the initiative to leave.

This time, he was stunned.

Then, he was held back by several tall guys, "You're calling us uncles? How are you talking to your uncles?"

"You're only coming to toast the uncles and aunties near the end, what do you mean?"

"Hurry up, punish yourself with thirty or fifty cups!"

Chen Yuan was pretending, showing off his moves, when he was suddenly sold out by Chen Jianye. Then, he was besieged like that.

Watching them fill the small glasses one by one, he quickly begged for mercy, "I've really had a little too much to drink, brothers, don't do this, don't do this..."

"Then three cups as a token, and then take turns toasting the uncles and aunties," Tang Jian said.

"..."

After all, it was just a small glass, so Chen Yuan could only accept it. And after three cups, he asked Xia Xinyu, "What's the order for toasting?"

"Huh?" Xia Xinyu was stunned for a moment, and then said, "Then toast from the lowest to the highest status..."

As soon as Xia Xinyu said this, everyone's competitive spirit rose.

Being toasted first and being toasted last were both very subtle.

"Then let me propose a toast first..." Tang Jian stood up.

"Go away, you're saying you have the highest status?" Liu Yan pushed him away, and then held out his glass to Chen Yuan, "I'm the highest."

"The class monitor, theoretically speaking, has the highest status," Zhang Chao said leisurely at this time.

"Ladies first, boys don't grab," Li Youyou said with a smile.

So, Xia Xinyu's trick directly made these people fight over who would be toasted first.

For a time, it was very noisy.

"Forget it, forget it, then let's do it together, okay?" Tang Jian finally suggested.

After he said this, everyone looked at each other. Then, they stood up together to toast.

This was Class 18, very silly, but also quite gentle.

Although they were harsh in words, telling Chen Yuan to toast them one by one, in the end they were still quite foolish, seemingly unaware of being tricked, letting Chen Yuan escape so many glasses of wine.

This was the emotional intelligence of the newly established science experimental class.

"Brothers, eat and drink well, definitely have fun, okay."

After clasping his hands at these people, Chen Yuan pulled Xinyu and went to the last table.

Yaxi, Wuyi, Fuwen, Jiaoyu, a total of four couples.

Wait, something seems a little strange…

The two empty seats were for Chen Yuan and Xia Xinyu.

"You've drunk so much on an empty stomach, eat some dishes," Liu Chengxi said to Chen Yuan.

Then, Zhou Fu and Wu Wenxin started making 'yoyoyo' noises.

Tang Siwen was stunned for a moment, and then: "Yoyoyo."

"Do you know what you're 'yo'ing for? You're just following the trend, aren't you?" Chen Yuan looked at Tang Siwen and mocked.

But Tang Siwen said calmly, "Engage in male homosexuality."

"..." Chen Yuan and Liu Chengxi were simultaneously stunned.

Don't hang out with Zhou Fu anymore, your appearance is going to change!

"So, how are you considering your colleges?" Xia Xinyu asked curiously.

"Well... at least a first-tier university in Beijing," Wu Wenxin said.

"I'm also going to Beijing, there's a 211 university I can get into," Zhou Fu said.

Finally, they looked at Tang Siwen.

Tang Siwen thought for a moment, then said, "I called the admissions office of Tongji University, I should be applying for clinical medicine."

"Tongji's medical field doesn't seem to be a top-tier major, does it?" Liu Chengxi said.

"Yeah," Tang Siwen said, "It's just a slightly better major, but I have some yearning for this school."

"Yeah, just the name of the school makes you feel respectful," Zhou Fu also said.

"Then you'll have to dissect corpses, aren't you afraid?" Chen Yuan asked.

"..." Tang Siwen was obviously stumped, and panicked all of a sudden. After a long while, she said, "I'm not afraid, I'm not afraid."

"It feels like you're comforting yourself," Zhou Fu said.

"You guys are so mean," Xia Xinyu said.

"But after passing that hurdle, it'll be a little better later... Of course, I don't know," Shi Yi said.

Shi Yi originally wanted to apply for medicine too, for Wenxin.

But when she was discussing majors with him, she said she wanted him to do what he liked more, and didn't really recommend him to become a doctor for her sake.

Of course, the reason she gave was: Doctors are too busy, how will you accompany me in the future?

Obviously, this reason was very persuasive.

"So, the base is basically still in Qinghua," Shen Yating said.

"I'll find time to visit you," Tang Siwen promised seriously.

"Have you forgotten about our non-elite group..." At this time, He Sijiao said leisurely.

"The world has too much malice towards the academically challenged," Zhou Yu also sighed.

"As long as I mingle with the academic elites, everyone will unconsciously forget that I am academically challenged," Wu Wenxin self-deprecatingly joked in a very cute way.

"We non-elite groups aren't pushovers either," He Sijiao said with a clenched fist, quite courageously, "Watch, I'll definitely be amazing in the future."

"I want to be the secretary of the Xiahai Municipal Party Committee," Zhou Yu also said.

"Generally, officials of that level can't be from the local area," Liu Chengxi reminded.

"Your serious rebuttal is going to make our Brother Yu look like a fool," Chen Yuan said.

"Just you talking there!" Zhou Yu said, his face flushed, "With a dream, everyone is amazing."

"But compared to becoming famous and making a lot of money, I still think it's more important to have fun..." Speaking of this, Zhou Fu looked at everyone and said with a smile, "In the future, don't change, okay?"

Everyone quite agreed with this suggestion.

People are going to change.

Therefore, there is such a simple wish—

Can we not change?

Maybe we can really be different from others, and not change.

"There's another meal in the afternoon, an engagement banquet," Xia Xinyu said softly at this time, "Everyone, don't leave today, okay?"

Hearing this, everyone understood that this was a special invitation for people with good relationships.

Xia Xinyu was using her actions to tell Zhou Fu: I don't want to change.

As a friend, I will always treat you specially.

"Okay." Everyone nodded with a smile.

"Then, let's have one, we haven't clinked glasses yet," Zhou Yu said.

Soon, everyone followed his call.

Everyone poured drinks into their cups.

Including the protagonists of today, Chen Yuan and Xia Xinyu, no one picked on them for filling their cups with iced red tea, and felt it was so natural.

Speaking from Chen Yuan's personal point of view, without yelling, without being worldly, the people who use drinks when everyone clinks glasses may be the most worthy friends to cherish...

After drinking, everyone put down their glasses and started eating.

At this time, Zhou Yu asked curiously, "Is this a local custom? Why is there Boston lobster on every table at the banquet?"

Basically, none of the others had encountered this before, so they all looked at the two of them with great curiosity.

Why?

Then, Xinyu and Chen Yuan looked at each other, and smiled synchronously, a smile that only they knew.

Because, this is the beginning of this story.