Chapter 123

Chapter 123

Sun Miao quickly kissed Han Cheng on the cheek, and his face instantly brightened with delight.

Lately, he had been spoiling Sun Miao with all kinds of gifts, naturally winning her heart in the process. They’d been thick as thieves, sweet like syrup, and Sun Miao had reciprocated by becoming exceptionally tender toward him.

"Did you talk to your uncle about the engagement? What did he say?" Sun Miao raised an eyebrow.

Not long ago, Han Cheng had managed to get her concert tickets, which had given her major clout among her classmates. There was a girl in her dormitory from a well-off family who usually one-upped her, but even she couldn’t get her hands on those tickets. Han Cheng had came through, making Sun Miao feel she had made the right choice in him.

Though she still felt a twinge of regret over not being able to marry Han Jiming, her parents’ reassurances had helped her come to terms with it.

Han Cheng was easy on the eyes, and most importantly, his uncle treated him well. His aunt was also fond of him. This time, Han Cheng had come to tell her that Yang Zhenhua could help arrange a job for her at a foreign company.

These days, foreign companies still offered very attractive salaries.

Though it wasn’t exactly what she had envisioned, Sun Miao felt there was still room for opportunity—provided she maintained a good relationship with Han Cheng.

Han Cheng said cheerfully, "Uncle agreed to throw our engagement party at the Han family residence in Shijia Hutong. Do you have any relatives or friends on your side? Make a list for me later."

When he brought it up, his second sister-in-law had readily agreed.

He had also mentioned it to his uncle, who didn’t object, only instructing that the bride’s side provide their guest list while the groom’s side would handle theirs. Han Cheng could also invite a few close friends.

The house in Shijia Hutong was spacious enough to accommodate the event. As long as Sun Miao didn’t make excessive demands, the Han family would ensure the engagement banquet was a classy event.

Sun Miao’s face lit up: "Who will your family invite? I heard Director Cao Tao and Instructor Sun were your uncle’s students. Will they be coming?"

In his early years, the elder Han had won several prestigious international awards and translated works by foreign literary giants into Chinese. He had also rubbed elbows with big names in the global literary scene, and his own works had been translated into five or six languages. Even now, his books could still be found in some overseas bookstores.

Several influential TV dramas produced domestically in recent years were adaptations of his post-liberation works. Many high-profile directors in the Beijing film circle were his students, though his descendants had stayed away from the cultural industry—even Han Cheng had distanced himself from that world.

The elder Han was old-fashioned, considering himself a man of letters, distinct from those in the acting profession. While outsiders might admire the glamour of celebrities, he couldn’t be bothered with them. Cao Tao, a highly influential director in China, had once studied under the elder Han to hone his literary skills.

Han Cheng cleared his throat. "They’ll send congratulatory gifts."

Meaning they wouldn’t attend.

Sun Miao’s face fell in an instant, and she let go of Han Cheng’s hand.

The whole point of this engagement banquet was to network with people she otherwise couldn’t reach. If even they weren’t coming, what’s the use? Weren’t they supposed to treat Han Cheng like their golden boy?

She still remembered when Han Jiming got into university—Cao Tao, Sun Xiaochen, and others had came running to congratulate him. Back then, the circumstances were different, but now, the elder Han was not only still alive but even more influential. In recent years, more people than ever had come knocking for the rights to his works.

Sun Miao felt they simply looked down on Han Cheng.

Once that thought took root, it just rubbed salt in the wound.

Seeing Sun Miao’s mood shift again, Han Cheng drew her close. "Don’t be upset. My eldest brother and aunt will be there. Aunt even brought you a gift. She’s always treated me like her flesh and blood, and she has taken a real shine to you too. Chin up. Cao Tao and the others are outsiders—whether they come or not doesn’t matter. Let’s go to the concert. Didn’t you always want to go? I even brought a camera to take lots of pictures for you."

Sun Miao nodded, thinking of the tickets Han Cheng had worked so hard to get. This was her chance to enjoy herself, and her mood lifted slightly.

Han Cheng sighed in relief. For some reason, he was head over heels with Sun Miao. No other girl, no matter how beautiful, could catch his eye. Perhaps it was the charm of a childhood sweetheart. As long as he could make Miaomiao happy, no cost was too high.

Fortunately, Sun Miao’s temper was short-lived, and she cooled off quickly. The two made plans to attend the concert together.

Meanwhile, Han Jiming had gone to Changchun Alley to pick up Xu Meng.

He rode his bike there, parking it some distance away before walking into the alley. Xu Meng had just managed to shake off Huang Xiaoying. Their eyes met, but they pretended not to know each other, keeping up the charade as they walked. Only when they were well out of sight of Changchun Alley did Xu Meng finally bounce over to him, giddy.

"You have no idea, my cousin has been following me around like a shadow," Xu Meng said, just as a helmet was placed on her head.

"Not being followed, right?"

"No, I rented her a set of DVDs. She’s watching TV now."

Huang Xiaoying’s weakness was her love for TV, as if trying to make up for all the years she hadn’t watched enough. She could plant herself in front of the TV all day without leaving, though she didn’t have that much free time now. The hotpot restaurant had increased her workload, assigned her two apprentices, and put her in charge of product quality. Xu Meng had bumped her pay from 300 to 500 yuan in one go.

This girl, though earning more now, had become even tighter with money than ever.

She used to pay for DVD rentals herself, but now she split the cost with the three brothers. She also watched less TV lately, preferring to rent novels instead. A novel cost only a dime a day, while DVDs cost several yuan. Comparatively, novels were a much better deal.

Having heard Xu Meng mention this cousin often recently, Han Jiming said, "She likes watching TV? A friend of mine has a lot of TV series DVDs at home, all popular ones from Hong Kong and Taiwan. I’ll bring a few over for you later. You can keep them at home and watch them slowly—no hurry returning them."

Xu Meng was delighted. "Are you sure it’s not too much trouble?"

Han Jiming sighed. "He’s my best bud. I’ll take you to his place tomorrow to pick some out."

Taking her to his friend’s house meant introducing her to his best friend—making things official.

Xu Meng’s heart swelled with sweetness as she wrapped her arms around Han Jiming’s waist from behind. "You’re the best, Uncle."

He could feel the softness and slenderness of the young girl, and that "Uncle" made him weak in the knees. He gently patted the back of her hand. "Behave while I’m driving."

By the time they arrived at the stadium, the place was already packed.

After parking his motorcycle, Han Jiming grabbed Xu Meng’s hand and made a beeline for the stadium.

Outside, vendors were selling snacks like melon seeds, peanuts, and bottled water, as well as balloons and other merch. Since it was still early, the two wandered around the stadium area. Every little thing Xu Meng glanced at, Han Jiming was tempted to buy for her. Soon, her arms were full of snacks, and she didn’t dare look around anymore.

Meanwhile, some people lingered outside, asking if anyone was scalping tickets.

No choice—tickets were just too hard to get.

Even though concert tickets were expensive, there were few stars holding concerts at the time. For city dwellers whose material lives had just begun to improve, the sudden surge in cultural appetite meant that any celebrity concert became an instant sellout.

Xu Meng, with her knockout looks, and Han Jiming, with his tall drink of water, were hard to miss as they walked together. Soon, they ran into some acquaintances.

"Hey, isn’t that Han Jiming?"

"Who’s the girl next to him? She’s really pretty—his girlfriend?"

"Whoa, they’re holding hands. Must be his girl. Let’s go ask."

After exchanging glances, the group decided to approach Han Jiming to say hello.

Han Jiming, who had been feeding his girlfriend popcorn, shot them a look when five or six people suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Jiming, didn’t expect you to be into this kind of thing. I thought you weren’t a fan of celebrities."

"Obviously, he’s here on a date, genius."

"Jiming, introduce us. Is this girl your classmate?"

Their intimate moment interrupted, Han Jiming glared at the group, noticing his girlfriend’s looking ready to bolt. He pulled her closer, squeezing her hand, and declared, "My girlfriend, Xu Meng."

The way he acted as if she were under his protection had everyone rolling their eyes.

The message was clear: Han Jiming was really gone on her.

The expressions directed at Xu Meng were now filled with admiration.

Damn, girl, you’re something else, managing to win over this big shot.

"Hey, Xu Beauty."

Xu Meng immediately turned beet red.

The one who called her "Xu Beauty" got a smack on the head: "What 'Xu Beauty'? Call her wifey."

Soon, everyone was calling her wifey. Several even eagerly tried to fish for gossip, but seeing Han Jiming's unamused look, they were quickly pulled aside by the tactful ones.

"Are you stupid? Can't you see they're dating? Why butt in?"

"His girlfriend is so pretty. How come I've never seen such a beautiful girl? Do you think the campus hottie from our faculty would die of jealousy if she found out?"

"She already knew she had no chance, okay? Han Jiming isn’t someone easy to chase." The speaker smacked the other's head. "Good thing you had some sense earlier. I saw you practically drooling—clearly up to no good. No matter how much you fawn over the campus hottie, it’s useless. She likes Han Jiming—rich, handsome, and from a good family..."

Everyone knew that ordinary people simply couldn’t compare to Han Jiming.

But despite his exceptional qualities, he had never dated anyone in school. Many girls had liked him before, but he hadn’t taken a liking to any of them. There were even absurd rumors that he preferred men. Now it was clear—he wasn’t uninterested, just had high standards. That girl earlier seemed truly perfect for him, glowing like moonlight.

After seeing off the rowdy bunch, Han Jiming sighed helplessly. "Those were my college classmates."

He had even helped them get tickets, but he hadn’t arranged for them to sit together.

Xu Meng was still shell-shocked. Just like that, she had been introduced to Han Jiming’s classmates?

He had really said so naturally, "This is my girlfriend."

She was still a bit disoriented but quickly snapped out of it. At Han Jiming’s age, dating wasn’t something to hide like she had to. She pinched his waist hard...

As the two were messing around, they ran straight into Han Cheng, who was walking with Sun Miao.

Xu Meng: "..."

Talk about bad timing.

Sun Miao didn’t want to see her here either.

Sun Miao and Han Cheng hadn’t come alone—they were with a group of mutual friends. Some of them seemed to know Han Jiming too, with a few greeting him directly. Running into each other here, it was only natural they’d ask who Han Jiming had brought along.

The way the two had been playfully roughhousing earlier was clear for all to see—though it was hard to believe. The usually aloof and refined young master was actually letting a girl pinch him in the middle of the stadium square, laughing happily. Some in the group had been close to Sun Miao before and found it odd when she started dating Han Cheng. Now, seeing this, they understood—Sun Miao must have been provoked.

Sun Miao’s face was like she sucked a lemon. If only Xu Meng were a little less striking, dressed a little worse, she could have consoled herself mentally.

But Xu Meng wasn’t.

The girl before her cut a striking figure.

The weather was slightly cool for the season, and she wore a soft yellow cashmere sweater that accentuated her curvaceous, charming figure. If one had to nitpick, it would be her background—the blue-collar families living near the big locust tree were just scraping by. When housing was allocated to workers back then, that area was for the lowest-ranking laborers.

Because of this, Sun Miao had always turned up her nose at people from the big locust tree, considering them not in Han Jiming's league. Though her own parents—one an early secretary to Old Master Han, the other a chef—were no aristocrats themselves, the circles they moved in were still different. While Xu Meng played in the mud with wild kids in the alley, Sun Miao had already ridden in cars.

And back then, Xu Meng’s clothes had been frumpy. Even with a pretty face, dressed in ill-fitting, worn-out outfits, she couldn’t shine through.

Most people here knew Sun Miao had feelings for Han Jiming.

When she first started dating Han Cheng, she had salvaged her pride by implying she had lost interest in Han Jiming and that Han Cheng had pursued her doggedly. But now, it was clear—it wasn’t that Han Jiming hadn’t won her over, but that he had already found someone he liked.

Sun Miao was too concerned with saving face, everyone thought to themselves.

Han Jiming took Xu Meng’s hand, lacing their fingers together. "This is my girlfriend. She’s young and shy, so go easy on the teasing. If you upset her and she ignores me, you’ll answer to me."

With those words, everyone understood just how far gone he was for her.