Chapter 57: Delighting in Each Other's Company

  Dan Yong's heart was bursting with joy, he blew the suona in one breath, ignoring the team leader's shouting and the director's instructions. He strode towards Xi Huiying, his footsteps clattering, as if his heart was about to burst with excitement, his feet stumbling. When he reached Xi Huiying's side, he felt like he was seeing stars, as if he couldn't believe it.

  Zuo Xiying was also overjoyed, sizing up Shanyong who looked a bit different after dressing up. Their eyes met with excitement, seemingly neither of them had expected to reunite in this situation. Shanyong was so happy that he couldn't express his excitement at the moment, and as soon as he stood still, he stretched out his hand to give Zuo Xiying a romantic hug. However, Zuo Xiying seemed to have been prepared for this and dodged him, causing Shanyong to almost fall over. Zuo Xiying burst out laughing at the sight of Shanyong stumbling, and the surrounding crowd also erupted in laughter. Amidst the joyful atmosphere, Zuo Xiying pulled Shanyong's hand and rushed out of the crowd.

  They ran a long way, stopped and turned around. When they looked back, Li Xiyin was smiling, with a hint of reproach and unexpected joy in her smile. Shan Yong was also smiling, grinning foolishly, the two holding hands, looking at each other, after a long separation, there's an indescribable joy that can't be put into words, but they didn't know how to start talking. After a while, they looked at each other and almost simultaneously said:

  "Why don't you give me a call?"

  Then, at the same time, they were all stunned and said in unison:

  "I'm full."

  "Hmph! You two are laughing, but Xie Ying's eyes seemed a bit angry as she stared at Shan Yong and said, 'You lied to me, I haven't received your call in almost two months.'"

  "No way? I called you on the second day after leaving school, but your phone was turned off... Later, I even went to the Kerry Hotel to look for you, only to find out that you had already left." said Shan Yong, feeling quite regretful.

  Asking about the time of the phone call, Zuo Xiying also got angry, pointing at Shan Yong like a teacher scolding a student: "You're so stupid, can't you choose a better time to call? You specifically chose when I was on a plane with my phone off, why didn't you call later?"

  Dan Yong smiled wryly and said with difficulty: "I... thought you didn't want to see me."

  He looked a bit embarrassed, like a big boy, and Xi Ying burst out laughing. "I really didn't want to see you," she scolded with a smile. "I called twice, once at home and once when I came to Lu Zhou the other day. Why did you turn off your phone?"

  "What? You... when did you call?"

  This time I was blinded by the order, asking about the time, closing my eyes and patting my forehead in regret, explaining that it was when Lei Dapeng was hospitalized after a drinking game, and his phone was smashed by those students who owed him money. Later...in the poor village of Zhuoma, after topping up my phone card and getting signal again, I'm afraid even my teacher sister would have given up on me.

  What a coincidence! It's really unfortunate that this misunderstanding occurred just like that.

  What's even more coincidental is that the friend who was thought to have already left, unexpectedly appeared at the folk wedding celebration. On that day, when Father brought back this video recording, Zuo Xiying was amused by these three brothers for an entire evening.

  Standing there facing each other, gazing at each other like that, as if it wasn't enough to just look, yet also as if a thousand words were spoken. Except for the greetings, nothing else needed to be said. The elder sister's eyebrows were shaped like a new moon, her eyes contained a smile, and her pale face was illuminated by the temple fair lights, making it bright and dark at times, still so captivating, and no more differences could be found compared to the remembered image. The separation seemed like just an instant, as if they had just walked hand in hand out of the small food market in the City God Temple, or just returned from a stroll in the Luoyang Institute. After a long while, Shuang Yong finally whispered: "Elder sister, I miss you... I thought we wouldn't see each other again."

  Pu Xiying covered her nose and giggled, looking at the slightly awkward Shan Yong, teasing him: "Guess what I'm thinking?"

  "Think of everything," said Dan Yong with a smile.

  "You won't want me to accompany you to the Security Department again, will you?" Zuo Xiying said.

  "That won't happen, they can't take a single blow," Dan Yong said with a sneer.

  "It wasn't necessary to do it that way, you deliberately concealed my identity and also dragged Professor Song into it, making him jump into the pit." Zuo Xiying asked with a smile, Dan Yong observed, seemingly not minding, before saying: "If not for that, you wouldn't have seen the truth about Lu Yin either..."

  "Sly." Zuo Xiying rebuked, with a hint of annoyance and fondness, teasingly saying: "However, I've never seen someone who can use weakness to overcome strength before... It's been two months since we last met, and you seem to have become even more handsome, this look suits you better than before."

  Zuo Xiying occasionally looked at Shan Yong with a playful gaze, and after a few glances, Shan Yong felt something was off. Upon looking at his own attire, he realized he was still wearing the yellow jacket and had rouge on his cheeks. He smiled awkwardly, wanting to wipe it off, but Zuo Xiying stretched out her hand to stop him: "Don't wipe it off, you look pretty good... come here, let me take a photo of you."

  As he spoke, Ka Xiao snapped a photo of Dan Yong with his face covered, making Li Xiangying laugh so hard that her flowers were shaking. As they spoke, the drum and music started, and the Iron Flower Troupe came on stage, performing a comprehensive show of stilts, lion dance, and car stunts. The two looked at each other in the direction of the commotion, and when they turned back, they were smiling at each other with mutual understanding. Dan Yong nodded his head, his face filled with joy, inviting her to "go have fun! The Eight Corners Tower swing is even more thrilling than bungee jumping!"

  "Ah!" Xie Ying's eyes lit up, nodding heavily, excitement overflowing from her words.

  Then Shan Yong pulled her, rushing towards the nearest rice flower dance venue, pulling Zuo Xiying, and the two of them entered the rice flower dance team like a fluttering butterfly. Shan Yong twisted his familiar rice flower dance steps, pulling Zuo Xiying to take a few steps in the team, Zuo Xiying followed the simple rice flower dance steps in just a few steps, twisting and laughing and having fun, passing through the performance venue, and rushing towards the bustling octagonal building.

  This eight-cornered swing is also a local specialty of Lanzhou. The wooden frame has one tower and eight swings, which are arranged in a circle and swung open. The faster the speed, the higher it swings. Local people call it "che lian qiu". Squeezing into the crowd, squeezing all the way to the place where people are scrambling to sit on the eight-cornered swing, Shuang Yu picks up Zuo Xiying and hastily puts her on the swing, pushing from behind and running, the higher and higher swing scares Zuo Xiying who has never sat on it before, shouting loudly, causing a burst of laughter around.

  She spun around twice, got dizzy and shouted "Shan Yong, Shan Yong", I was scared... Shan Yong laughed loudly from behind, after a while of spinning around, the fear was gone. She spun around again, really scared this time, stomping her feet and shouting for Shan Yong, when Shan Yong rushed to the front of the swing, Zuo Xiying hastily jumped down, but was caught by Shan Yong, what a warm and fragrant hug, from far away you could see Shan Yong's smiling face like autumn flowers blooming.

  ……………………

  ……………………

  The two were having a great time, completely carefree. Si Mu Xian and Lei Da Peng had seen them from afar, staring at the two as they reunited, then hand in hand, they disappeared into the crowd. When they finally caught up, they saw Danyong hugging Zuo Xiying and spinning around. The two were face to face, their mouths agape, unable to close.

  After a while, Lei Dapeng said with envy: "Damn it, we ran dozens of kilometers, and it turns out that the two of us are just here to be light bulbs."

  "Second brother, aren't you already broken-hearted and determined to pursue a career in the foundation industry?" Si Mu Xian teased, watching as Shan Yong pulled Zuo Xi Ying along excitedly, feeling both envy and resentment. He was afraid that Eldest would have a change of heart, whatever had happened in Shou Ma Township was long forgotten.

  Lei Dapeng was displeased upon hearing this, and with a flicker of his white eyes at Simu Xian, he blazed with anger: "If you really want to be gay, can't you just find someone else?... Alas, the gap between people is so great! You've only met a few times and already hugged each other. When I was pursuing Tang Huahua back then, I didn't even dare hold her hand, but she held mine once..."

  Lei Dapeng gazed into the distance, at the octagonal pavilion below, where several swings made of circular fabric were hung. Li Xiyin was once again persuaded by Shan Yong, and the two sat on a swing each, swaying gently in mid-air, amidst laughter and chatter. Lei's heart grew increasingly annoyed, while Si Muxian also caught wind of his brother's thoughts, approaching with a smile to say: "Second Brother, spare some effort, I think you're more suited to being gay."

  "Go ahead and provoke me again, believe it or not, I'll take care of you first."

  Lei Dapeng burst out, turned around and grabbed Simu Xian who couldn't run away in time, hugged him from behind, made a hip-swiveling move, and shouted: "Damn it, can't even handle the chick, can't handle you? Punk, are you satisfied... punk, are you satisfied?"

  Zi Mu Xian was struggling and shouting, Lei Ge hugged him tightly and wouldn't let go. The scene was already chaotic, no one noticed the two simulating a fierce battle, until someone patted Lei Da Peng's shoulder, Lei Ge, who was having fun, turned around and scolded: "What are you doing? Do you want to join in too?"

  "Hey, stranger! The sudden surprise made Lei Dapeng release his younger brother. When they looked closely, it was a young man in a suit and leather shoes, dressed quite stylishly, even more handsome than Egg Brother. He was smiling at the two of them. Lei Dapeng rolled his eyes and cursed: "What are you laughing at? You're laughing so lewdly."

  "Hey, Second Brother, don't talk nonsense... You've got the wrong person, haven't you?" Si Mu Xian hastily mediated.

  "Right, you're Lei Dapeng and you're Si Moxian, aren't you?" the handsome guy asked, startling the two of them. Then he invited them: "I am Professor Zuo Nanxia's personal secretary. Tonight, Old Zuo invites you to dinner at the Kerry Hotel. Please do us the honor... After the show, follow me."

  Si Muxian and Lei Dapeng were surprised and delighted, the two brothers looked at each other, and upon hearing that it was the Kayla Hotel, the two greedy men nodded enthusiastically and followed the handsome man. The three of them waited for a while before finally seeing Dan Yong and Zuo Xiying, who had been playing and were out of breath, come over to greet Lei Dapeng and Si Muxian. Even she seemed to have just realized that this was not a coincidence, but rather her father had intentionally invited the three of them. She couldn't help but look up at the hotel's rooftop in surprise, and although she was a bit puzzled, it was overshadowed by the excitement of reuniting with the two brothers.

  However, it's good that the five of them are walking together. Li Xiyin and Shan Yong are walking side by side, very close to each other. Not far from there, Lei Dapeng didn't forget to turn back and look for Director Qin with a big beard, knocking on the car window with his hand stretched out, looking like Huang Shiren visiting someone's home. He said:

  "Give me money."

  ………………

  ………………

  One, two, N... Lei Dapeng counted again, moistened his lips with saliva, and then turned over to count again. He occasionally glanced at Si Muxian sitting next to him and Dan Yong sitting in the front seat. The driver was unknown, but Zuo Xiying was riding with her family members in the same car. The three brothers were in one car, saying they were invited as guests, but they hadn't seen the host's face yet. They only saw from a distance that Zuo Nanxia and Professor Song had gotten into a car. And Zuo Xiying was on the same car as her sister, in a convoy of cars, but the three brothers were sitting in the last one.

  He counted again, and when he finished, Lei Dapeng found Simu Xian staring at him in surprise. So this guy made a gesture with his eyes, pulling out his thumb, making a "2+1=5" hand shape. Simu Xian shook his head and gave him a "3+1-1=3" hand shape instead. Lei Dapeng nodded slightly, indicating that he was busy hitting on girls and couldn't care about this, so they could just split it... Simu Xian shook his head again, disagreeing with Lei Dapeng's way of splitting. Fine, Lei Dapeng rolled his eyes and put everything in his own pocket. No need to be polite anymore.

  "Cough, cough... Boss, how are we going to split the pay?" Simu Xian suddenly asked, a sentence that made Lei Dapeng pounce on him and press him down, wanting to beat him up to vent his anger. Shan Yong smiled and turned back, stretching out his hand: "Hand it over."

  Lei Dapeng reluctantly handed over the payment, and Dan Yong took it in his hand, smiling as he looked at the two brothers. He divided it into two portions and put one portion each into Lei Dapeng's and Si Muxian's hands, saying with satisfaction: "You two can split it now, I've always considered money to be worthless."

  "What the heck, are you going to make me look at a pile of dung again?" Lei Dapeng glared with disdain, but quickly put the money in his pocket. Simu Xian held it, feeling embarrassed to take it, and humbly yielded: "Boss, keep some for yourself? Can't have three people working without you getting anything."

  "Do you think I'm empty-handed? I'm more fulfilled than ever." Dan Yong smiled and leaned back, humming, while Lei Dapeng helped Si Mu Xian pack up and advised, "Why be polite to him? You've been spoiled by your daughter and have forgotten what money is!"

  The driver also burst out laughing at this point, but he couldn't have imagined that the three distinguished guests arranged by the municipal party committee secretary's office would be of such caliber. Not to mention the driver, even Simu Xian couldn't help but laugh, and Shanyong was probably truly bewildered and lost, then suddenly excited to the point of madness - this psychological fluctuation was indeed a bit too great, so much so that Shanyong leaned against the back seat of the car, happily humming Delibes' little tune.

  "Hmm, after a while, he suddenly turned his head back nervously, startling the two in the back seat. Then, Dan Yong asked uncertainly: "You two, tell me, what's fun to do in Lu Zhou? Our teacher will be staying here for half a month, and I was thinking of taking her out to play, but no matter how hard I think, I just can't come up with a suitable place."

  "The Grand Canyon." Lei Da Peng said.

  "It's almost there, but it's a bit early at this time. It'll be more interesting when the rainwater rises after the next shower."

  "Tianjiu Mountain." Sima Xian said.

  "I thought about it, but it's not quite suitable, and the place is a bit desolate when it's not peak season."

  "Chenghuang Temple, let's go eat."

  "I've already eaten."

  "Let's go to the Yellow River mouth."

  "That's nothing special, who hasn't seen the Yellow River... think again."

  "What a hassle! Can't you just find a place? Take it home and be done with it... Don't bother others..."

  Lei Ge was annoyed and couldn't bear it anymore, so he scolded him. This provoked Dan Yong to punch him twice, and the two of them started fighting back and forth.

  They chattered and laughed all the way back to Lanzhou, arriving at the Kerry Hotel. The same life secretary came to greet them. The Left family sent off the city officials who had accompanied them, and the three were led by the life secretary directly to the seventh-floor Chinese restaurant of the Kerry Hotel. The waitresses in their cheongsam dresses, bright red Chinese colors looking particularly festive, the welcoming sisters were even taller than Dan Yong, leaving the two brothers dazzled. As they entered, the luxurious decorations of the private room left them momentarily stunned, looking around here and there, just like three Liu Jiayis entering the Grand View Garden.

  "Hey, Da Peng, what's wrong with you? Mu Xian and I have never been here before, it's true. You won't be surprised by this too, will you?" Dan Yong washed his face and came out to ask, pulling a chair to sit down. The chair was very heavy, made of solid wood. The waiter put down silver chopsticks with golden holders, the chopstick holder was in the shape of a tiger's head. Only when the waiter turned around did Lei Da Peng lower his voice and say: "You two don't know, do you? I came here to eat with my dad before, and he told me that the three big VIP rooms here are not open to outsiders. They're only used for entertaining provincial-level leaders or above... Our Fenghua Garden room is one of them."

  Wow, Shan Yong and Si Mu Xian finally understood, after taking a look, they somewhat believed it. The 50-60 square meter room had a bathroom, balcony, and rest area. On the balcony, there were seven or eight rows of wine bottles in a transparent ice cabinet, like hand grenades. When you looked up, there was a three-layer crystal chandelier, and the colorful lights made the room look beautiful and luxurious. Si Mu Xian exclaimed that he really knew how to enjoy himself, and Shan Yong also felt a little envious.

  The connotation of modern cuisine is getting wider and wider, in fact, shape and meaning have extended to the elements of the environment, and it cannot be denied that such an environment will make you feel comfortable and relaxed even if you don't eat.

  The conversation was going on, the door opened, and three people stood up at the same time. Zuo Nanxia led the way in, shaking hands and saying apologetically that he had just sent off a guest and kept them waiting for too long. The three of them had already experienced Zuo's warmth before, so they smiled and replied, but what was slightly surprising was that behind Zuo Nanxia followed two women, one of whom was Zuo Xiying, and the other was a woman whose age was not easy to discern. Upon introduction, it turned out to be the legendary chairman of Tianji Chemicals in Luzhou: Zuo Xirong.

  When they sat down, the eldest daughter and father were together, with Zuo Xiying's sister on one side. On the other side was Shan Yong. As for Lei Dapeng, he never treated others as outsiders. He got up to pour tea for everyone, but before he could do so, a waiter politely took it away. Zuo Nanxia started by saying to Lei Dapeng: "Dapeng, I promised to invite you three, this meal is two months late, don't mind."

  "No big deal, what are you talking about? Who's who here?" Lei Dapeng said with a tone of brotherly confrontation.

  At this, Zuo Nanxia and the younger daughter were still okay, but the older daughter, Zuo Xirong, was stunned for a moment, her face filled with shock and even some anger. Zuo Xiying whispered something in her sister's ear, and Zuo Xirong looked at Lei Dapeng, whose appearance clearly showed a tendency towards weakness, and suddenly couldn't help but laugh.

  Unconsciously observing this pair of sisters, in Dan Yong's eyes there is still a big difference. One is pure and beautiful, the other is elegant and noble, with a slightly rich temperament. Zuo Xiurong not only has elegance but also smiles frequently, carrying a certain superior attitude, seemingly not easy to get close to, at most just whispering something to her father.

  But Shan Yong didn't mind these things, the one who did was by his side. When he couldn't help but steal glances, their eyes finally met once, and Zuo Xiying furrowed her brow, quietly pointing a slender finger, seemingly disliking his sneaky gaze. However, unexpectedly, Shan Yong stopped sneaking peeks and instead gazed openly at Zuo Xiying's face under the lamp light, which was as beautiful as an orchid, with a tender and delicate complexion. His eyes were filled with admiration, causing Zuo Xiying to pucker up her mouth and make a silly face, trying to look ugly, but unexpectedly, she became even more lovely and charming, revealing another side of her beauty.

  When the door opened again, the flag sister who was walking in front of her adjusted the cup, poured wine, and spread the tablecloth. The formal dinner was about to begin. Taking advantage of this pause, Zuo Nan cleared his throat and said with a hint of playfulness: "Today, it is our great honor to invite three gourmets from Lushan College. First, on behalf of my whole family, I would like to wish the three students success in their studies and good health... Come on, Da Peng, Mu Xian, and Shan Yong, let's have a drink together! We can have feelings, but we cannot spill a drop of wine from our cups. That's the drinking rule in Lushan - if you spill one drop, you'll be penalized with an extra bowl."

  It's not very pleasant to say, Zuo Nanxia is almost as old as his brothers, and they can also bear it. They all smiled and congratulated the old man with a sentence. However, Zuo Xirong frowned slightly, knowing that her father often invited students home when he was teaching, who would have thought that they came to their hometown? This habit hasn't changed yet, and three young people who seem strange and weird were invited, but still had to respond to the occasion, clinking glasses with everyone and taking a sip.

  When they sat down, a variety of cold dishes were placed on the table, followed by a large colorful plate that required two people to carefully lift and place on the table. It turned out to be a miniature golden pagoda-shaped food sculpture, surrounded by a ring of fresh flowers in different colors. Before the waiter could explain, Lao Nan stopped him and turned to his eldest daughter, saying: "Xi Rong, don't underestimate these young men, their culinary skills are even better than Old Song's. Comparing both sides, I'd rather have dinner with them... Ha ha... Who told me what dish this is?"

  As soon as the dishes were mentioned, Zuo Xiying's eyes lit up, and she was amazed at the variety of dishes on the table. Listening to her father's words, she looked at Shan Yong and his two brothers. Lei Dapeng, who had picked up his chopsticks early, withdrew his hand this time without grabbing anything.

  At a glance, six cold dishes surrounded the centerpiece of a pagoda-shaped sculpture, with seven plates on the table, each one showcasing a different color - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black and white. The five colors were arranged around the intricately carved central pagoda, making it look more like a work of art than a dish, so much so that it was almost too beautiful to eat. Actually, Le Ge was quite annoyed, hating this kind of fussiness. Although the sculpture looked impressive, it was made from a large pumpkin, which couldn't be eaten. When Lao Zu asked him, Lei Da Peng casually replied:

  "Old man, this won't scare people, it's just the Thirteenth Princess of Taohua, isn't it?"

  "Hmm! This time, Zuo Li Xiang can finally look down on this foolish young man. Even if you're from Lu Zhou, it's unlikely that you've seen or tasted the legendary Empress Dowager's Thirteen Flowers. It's extremely labor-intensive to make, and few restaurants even serve it to guests anymore. Who would have thought that this seemingly foolish young man could mention it? The other two, Si Mu Xian and Shan Yong, are also admiring him, their chopsticks still."

  "Huh? Looks like it's a bit unusual!?" Xī Huì Róng stared at her father in surprise, blurting out her astonishment.

  It seems that in the subconscious, it should be taken for granted to see these people being favored and surprised, but unexpectedly, each of them is calm and composed, as if they had just seen some plain tea and rice. Looking at his smiling father with a glance, he suddenly realized that his father, who has the reputation of a gourmet and food critic, seems to have found like-minded small eaters in his hometown...