"This person is..."
Amidst Zhu Youcai's anxious anticipation, Chu Ge finished introducing Zhang Qing next to him and turned his gaze to Zhu Youcai's face.
Just one look from Chu Ge, and Zhu Youcai felt like his heart was going to jump out of his throat. Under such imnse pressure, as soon as Chu Ge said three words, Zhu Youcai shot up from his chair.
Zhu Youcai stood up so abruptly that his knee hit the tabletop with a "bang."
His legs were already a bit wobbly, and after hitting the table, they buckled again before straightening out. To make matters worse, he ended up sitting on the edge of the chair, which rocked slightly. Losing his balance, his limp legs just gave in, and he fell to his knees with a thud, facing Chu Ge.
This unexpected scene caused a montary silence in the initially lively private room, with all eyes on Zhu Youcai.
Zhu Youcai was also stunned, his mind nearly blank, kneeling there and looking up at Chu Ge with wide eyes and an open mouth, unable to utter a word.
"Pfft!"
Cao Xu was drinking with Yu Jingsong when he saw this and spewed out a mouthful of liquor, coughing a few tis before laughing, "Youcai, no matter what, we've grown up together. Even if Chu Ge is the groom tomorrow, you don't have to bow down like this!"
"Ah, haha..."
Zhu Youcai snapped back sowhat, feeling both embarrassed and awkward, let out a dry chuckle. He wanted to stand up, but his legs were still as limp as noodles, refusing to obey.
Chu Ge also chuckled and reached out to help Zhu Youcai up. However, sothing went amiss, and just as Zhu Youcai was halfway up, he plopped back to his knees with another thud.
This ti, not only Cao Xu but many others couldn't hold back their laughter. The room filled with laughter and coughing, as those who wanted to laugh but were too embarrassed to do so turned red in the face and shrugged their shoulders, using coughs to suppress their laughter as much as possible.
At this mont, everyone who had attended the previous gathering couldn't help but recall Zhu Youcai's earlier superior attitude towards Chu Ge, even saying things like he would support Chu Ge if he opened a fruit stand or bun shop.
Indeed, how tis have changed, and Zhu Youcai's current reaction was truly humiliating.
"This is Zhu Youcai, another of our childhood friends."
Seeing that Zhu Youcai had no intention of getting up on his own, Chu Ge reached out once more, pulled him up from the floor, and let him sit back down, then introduced him to Qin Ruojing.
Qin Ruojing gave Zhu Youcai a friendly smile, acknowledging him, but thought to herself, "This guy... really lives up to his na, he's quite sothing."
After quickly introducing everyone at the table, Chu Ge and Qin Ruojing toasted the whole table and then moved on to the next one.
Besides the people from the orphanage, most of the others weren't strangers to Qin Ruojing. As she and Chu Ge made their rounds among the tables, chatting and laughing with everyone, the atmosphere grew increasingly lively, and people started cracking jokes with each other.
With several rounds of drinks and dishes, most had drunk quite a bit, and many faces were flushed.
"Miss Qin, may I ask a question that I probably shouldn't?" The question ca from Mu Lingshan, who was smiling brightly, yet her smile carried a hint of playfulness.
Upon hearing Mu Lingshan's words, Chu Ge imdiately had a bad feeling. Glancing sideways, he saw this Tiger Girl had clearly drunk a lot, her face tipsy with a teasing smile, which made his foreboding even stronger.
Chu Ge secretly gave Mu Lingshan a look, trying to brush it off with a laugh, "Haha, Lingshan, if you really think you shouldn't ask, maybe... just don't ask?"
Mu Lingshan chuckled heartily, indifferent to Chu Ge's hint, and looked straight into Qin Ruojing's eyes, playing with a beer-filled glass.
The tiny bubbles inside the glass burst one by one, much like certain unrealistic fantasies she had long been aware of.
Mu Lingshan gazed at Qin Ruojing, who also looked at her and suddenly smiled slightly, "If Miss Mu has sothing to say, just say it. If I've co this far only to refuse, wouldn't that be petty?"
"Miss Qin, you're truly straightforward. I'll speak my mind then, it's just a joke really. If you think I've gone too far, I'll punish myself with three drinks later."
Mu Lingshan paused for a few seconds and said, "Did Miss Qin co here to offer toasts today, or are you worried about Chu Ge, so you ca to keep an eye on your husband?"
Mu Lingshan said it with a laugh, in a completely joking tone, but as soon as she said it, the air underwent a subtle change.
Chu Ge felt a headache coming on. What kind of question was that?
Qin Ruojing, seemingly unsurprised by Mu Lingshan's question, showed no change in her expression and continued to smile, "What does Miss Mu think?"
Mu Lingshan threw this question to Qin Ruojing, and Qin Ruojing returned it to Mu Lingshan.
Mu Lingshan was slightly taken aback, then smiled and looked at Chu Ge, "Tomorrow's groom, what do you think?"
Chu Ge rolled his eyes, "Of course my wife trusts . Coming here is obviously to chat with everyone and have so drinks, do I even need to say that?"
After speaking, Chu Ge turned his head and grinned at Qin Ruojing, "Right, wifey?"
"You certainly have a good opinion of yourself." Qin Ruojing slightly raised her lips, "Actually, Miss Mu does have a point. I'm really not too comfortable leaving you in the midst of a bunch of beauties."
As Qin Ruojing's words fell, everyone at the table laughed, but Chu Ge was drenched in sweat, genuinely feeling conflicted inside. The joke between Mu Lingshan and Qin Ruojing was not funny to him at all.
Fortunately, the topic ended there. Everyone chatted and laughed for a while more, finished their al, and then took a car back to the hotel to rest in their rooms.
Tonight, Chu Ge stayed at a hotel with dozens of people, while Qin Ruojing stayed at another hotel. Tomorrow morning, Chu Ge would head to the hotel to collect the bride and then take Qin Ruojing back to her family's ho.
Although this procedure was sowhat strange, since both Chu Ge and Qin Ruojing's houses were in Lidu, it couldn't be helped. After all, Chu Ge didn't have parents, and in so sense was considered a live-in son-in-law of the Qin Family.
Back at the hotel, Chu Ge took a shower and carefully went through the list of things for tomorrow's wedding.
The wedding arrangents and the pickup car were handled by Qin Yan's parents. The ribbon tying on the car was left to Lin Fang and a few girls, the red paper for covering manhole covers was handled by Shi Tong and Zhang Qing, along with a few of his childhood friends. Cao Xu would hand out cigarettes, Liang Jinjiang would hand out candies...
Chu Ge thought for a long ti and realized there was nothing he really needed to do; he just had to be present.
Checking the ti, it was now half past nine. Despite a day full of hustle, and feeling tired before returning to the hotel, once he lay on the bed, he wasn't sleepy at all.
This feeling was strange, not nervousness, not excitent, not anticipation, but rather a bit of anxiety and bewildernt.
In this inexplicable state, Chu Ge didn't know how long he lay there, feeling not at all sleepy, before rubbing his forehead and sitting up from the bed.
At that mont, his phone chid with a WeChat ssage notification.
When he picked up the phone, it was a ssage from He Qing, containing just three words, "Sleepless night?"
Chu Ge chuckled and casually replied with a single character, "Mm."
About to send it, he reconsidered and added a few more words, "Teacher He, with your foresight, can you tell why I can't sleep?"
A little over two minutes later, He Qing's reply ca through.
"You don't even know why you're sleepless, do you?" followed by a laughing emoji covering its mouth.
"You really hit the nail on the head. Aren't you sleepy?" Chu Ge sent a sweating emoji, typed a few words, and sent it to He Qing.
After sending the ssage, Chu Ge waited for a long ti with no reply from He Qing, just as he thought she might not respond, his phone chid again, and the screen lit up.
"You're getting married tomorrow; of course, I'm not sleepy."
Upon seeing this ssage, Chu Ge froze for a mont, reread those words several tis to ensure there was no mistake, and found himself repeatedly typing and deleting responses, until he finally pinched his brow and sent a "question mark" emoji to He Qing.
In another room, He Qing looked at the question emoji from Chu Ge, pinched her brow too, and a faint bitter smile appeared on her face.
This guy is a fool, isn't he? No, compared to him, I'm the bigger fool.
He Qing exhaled, her fingers hovered over the screen, quickly typing a line of text.
"I just think...if you turned into a henpecked husband, it would be really funny. The more I think about it, the more amusing it seems, and it feels increasingly likely. So, I can't sleep."
After sending it, He Qing bit her lip and swiftly typed another line, "Otherwise...what did you think made sleepless?"
Just as she was about to send this line, Chu Ge's ssage arrived.
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