Cheng Qiaobei was woken up by the alarm clock. He pulled an all-nighter writing a proposal last night and only went to sleep just before dawn, aning he had barely slept for two hours.
Seeing a ssage from his father on WeChat, he replied and then went to take a shower.
The progress on the new house’s renovation had reached the stage where the bricklayer was about to start. Almost every couple of days, he would receive photos from Chen Ningxi, accompanied by so playful and cute ssages.
Chen Ningxi: Manager Cheng, the current project progress has reached the stage where sand and cent are coming in. Any further instructions?
Chen Ningxi: Mr. Cheng, missing you today.
Chen Ningxi: Manager Cheng, the project has completed the trenching and piping.
Chen Ningxi: Mr. Cheng, missing you today.
Chen Ningxi: Manager Cheng, it’s Mother’s Day today, don’t forget to send a ssage to your mom.
Chen Ningxi: Today is Grain Filling.
Chen Ningxi: Manager Cheng, the project has entered the backfilling stage.
Chen Ningxi: Mr. Cheng, missing you a lot today...
He noticed that whenever the ssages involved renovations and other such topics, she would call him Manager Cheng, but when it ca to matters of emotion, she called him Mr. Cheng. This switching was quite charming.
Until one day, he received a ssage saying, "High school reunion this Saturday evening, dinner at Jinhong Gate. Many classmates from out of town are also coming back together. Don’t worry, I won’t drink."
...
The organizer of the reunion was the sports committee mber, Lu Xiaodong, who was now involved in propaganda work at the Party School. Thanks to his efforts, quite a few out-of-town classmates had been summoned back by him.
Chen Ningxi received Lu Xiaodong’s call just as she was returning from a eting in the city. After taking over the manager position, she was caught up with the governnt’s initiative to co-create a business environnt, which demanded a public docunt every three days and a policy every five days. She frequently traveled between Northeast Power and the branch office, keeping her overwhelmingly busy.
She not only had to deal with work but also had to manage the new house renovation.
Even in the afternoon, the photo studio called her, asking her to co over to check the edited photos. She couldn’t find ti during the day and could only go after finishing work in the evening. After inquiring about the studio’s closing ti, Chen Ningxi made an appointnt with the store manager to et at six-thirty.
In short, she almost divided her twenty-four hours into pieces every day, busy enough to wish she had three heads and six arms.
To attend the reunion, Chen Ningxi chose a more formal suit, ivory in color, without extra embellishnts. Her jewelry choices were also simple and elegant in style.
Scheduled to arrive at Jinhong Gate by five in the evening, Chen Ningxi drove and arrived ten minutes early.
From afar, she saw Lu Xiaodong standing at the door welcoming people. The parking spots in front of the gate were nearly full, so she had to drive a distance ahead to find a spot in a corner to park.
As she got out of the car, she heard a bell ringing behind her, and she turned to see a familiar face.
Both recognized each other at the sa ti, and Chen Ningxi called out, "Song Chenggang."
Song Chenggang smiled, "Chen Ningxi."
He quickly parked the shared bike to the side, "Wait a minute, let just lock the bike."
Song Chenggang glanced towards a nearby neighborhood, "I can see the restaurant from my house. I saw the entrance filled with cars, so I rode a shared bike over."
"That’s right," Chen Ningxi recalled, "You live nearby."
"Just there," Song Chenggang pointed behind him to a neighborhood, "Eight-minute ride here, if I drove, I’d spend eight minutes just finding a parking spot."
Chen Ningxi said, "It’s really nice living close."
As they walked and chatted, Song Chenggang said, "I heard from Cao ngjia that your maternity leave brought good news, you’ve been promoted."
Chen Ningxi smiled calmly, "There’s been a minor change at work, nothing worth ntioning."
"Don’t worry, I’m not asking you for a favor—no need to be scared," Song Chenggang teased, then asked, "Is the wedding date set?"
When Song Chenggang got married, Chen Ningxi gave a gift, and now it was reciprocation.
She replied, "Next month, June 28th, at 9:08, at Zhoushan’s Jade Jiali Hotel."
Song Chenggang took out his phone to note it down, "I’ll quickly jot it down, my mory’s not so great now, better set an alarm to remind ."
As they spoke, Lu Xiaodong noticed the two approaching and waved at them.
"Chen Ningxi, Da Gangzi."
Chen Ningxi walked over and glanced at Lu Xiaodong, saying, "Sports Committee, your figure isn’t like it used to be in school, you’ve got a beer belly now."
Lu Xiaodong patted his growing belly and said, "Can’t help it. Always going out for drinks in the evening. You know what it looks like if you refuse soone when they ask you out—it’s like not giving them face."
Naturally, Chen Ningxi knew how many social obligations they had. "Rember to take care of yourself, even when drinking, don’t overdo it."
Song Chenggang pulled out a cigarette for Lu Xiaodong, "How many people are here now?"
Lu Xiaodong took out a lighter, lit one for Song Chenggang first, took a puff and then said, "Over thirty people are here now, you two should get in quickly."
Chen Ningxi was sowhat surprised, "So many people ca."
Song Chenggang raised an eyebrow, "Let’s hurry in."
Altogether, there were forty-seven people in their high school class, and this gathering had the most attendees.
As soon as they entered the restaurant’s lobby, they saw He Yunyi standing at the bar, ordering dishes with a few other classmates. Soone noticed them entering and called out to Chen Ningxi, to which He Yunyi instinctively wanted to turn around but pretended not to hear and continued ordering.
He Yunyi: "I think we should add a dry pot duck head, ho-style crucian carp, more dishes for the girls, snow sponge with red bean paste, peeled shrimp, and also get so pot-wrapped at and at sections."
Deng Jiajia pulled Chen Ningxi over, standing right beside He Yunyi. Deng Jiajia looked up and down at Chen Ningxi, "Oh wow, Ning Xi, your figure’s still so great, not gaining any weight. Look at , even drinking cold water makes gain two pounds. People really can’t be compared."
Chen Ningxi chuckled, "You’re not fat either, just right."
"No way," Deng Jiajia pouted, seemingly dissatisfied with her own figure, "I’ve been a year postpartum and haven’t bounced back yet. Look at this waist and hips, all at, like I’ve strapped on two life rings. Oh, I envy your slim waist."
With that, she even squeezed Chen Ningxi’s waist.
Feeling that He Yunyi was deliberately avoiding her, Chen Ningxi said, "You all go ahead and order, I’ll go in first. By the way, which private room is it?"
Deng Jiajia said, "The biggest one, just keep walking in. Lao He, order so lamb."
Called upon, He Yunyi helplessly glanced over, and when he t Chen Ningxi’s eyes, he nodded awkwardly, "Coming."
Chen Ningxi: "Hmm, how long have you been here?"
Turning to face her, He Yunyi continued, "I know the owner here, Dadong asked to co early to help with ordering."
"Oh," Chen Ningxi smiled subtly, "Go on with it. I’ll head in first."
He Yunyi said, "I’ll co in after ordering."
Walking side by side, Chen Ningxi could sense that their interaction was quite awkward, perhaps due to having dated in the past.
After a pause, He Yunyi was the first to offer congratulations, "Congratulations on your upcoming wedding."
Chen Ningxi said, "Thank you."
"Is the date set?" He Yunyi asked.
Chen Ningxi said, "June 28th, at 9:08, at Zhoushan’s Jade Jiali for the ceremony. Join us if you have ti."
With his hand clenched in his pants pocket, He Yunyi said, "To witness your mont of happiness, I’ll definitely be there."
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