"I'm here," Xue Jingrui said as he pushed open the door to the private room.
The eyes of the four people inside were drawn toward him. Xue Jingrui held the door open but didn't enter. Instead, he turned and spoke to someone outside, "You come in first."
A young woman entered the room. She had fair skin, a cute and adorable doll-like face, and a petite figure of about 160 cm tall. Her sweet and lovely appearance made her look like a quintessential "sweet girl."
"Hello everyone, I'm Qi Ji," she introduced herself.
As Chang Zhiyuan heard her voice, he realized that Xue Jingrui was right—this young lady did indeed have a doll-like, sweet voice.
Xue Jingrui walked over and stood next to Qi Ji, announcing, "Qi Ji, my wife."
Shen Yin and Shu Yi exchanged glances, with Shu Yi looking particularly shocked. In her eyes, Xue Jingrui had already hit rock bottom, yet he was married. Why did he act so attentive toward that waitress they had encountered twice before? What a dog of a man. Indeed, there was no good man to be found, and she started feeling disdain even toward Chang Zhiyuan, who was standing nearby.
This introduction stunned not only Shen Yin and Shu Yi but also Chang Zhiyuan, who asked in disbelief, "Wife?"
Xue Jingrui rubbed his nose and said, "Yes, we just got our marriage certificate this morning, on Monday."
Chang Zhiyuan thought to himself, "Good heavens." He had forgotten that Xue Jingrui had mentioned getting married on Monday, so the gathering Xue Jingrui had organized today was to introduce his new wife to them. The two brothers next to him were both married men.
"Come and sit down," Xu Xiuhe said, arranging the chairs around the table.
"Beautiful sister, may I sit here?" Qi Ji stood next to Shu Yi and politely asked, her eyes blinking sweetly.
At first, Shu Yi didn't want her to, as she had intended for Shen Yin to sit next to her. However, she couldn't resist Qi Ji's soft, sweet voice that sounded like a natural, unaffected plea. More importantly, Qi Ji had called her "beautiful sister." In contrast, the waitress Qi Yan seemed even more uncouth.
Shu Yi pulled a chair over for Qi Ji. "Sure, sure," she said, noticing Qi Ji looking at her. She immediately averted her gaze, thinking to herself that she had been rude to stare at someone like that.
The six of them sat down, with little Zhengzheng also seated in a baby chair.
"Qi Ji, let me introduce you," Xue Jingrui said, pointing to Chang Zhiyuan and Xu Xiuhe. "These are my two brothers. We've been friends since childhood—Chang Zhiyuan and Xu Xiuhe."
He then looked toward Shen Yin and Zhengzheng. "This is Xiuhe's lover and their child."
"Hello, beautiful sister. Hi there, little one," Qi Ji greeted them with a smile.
Shen Yin smiled slightly and replied, "Hello."
Next to her, little Zhengzheng shyly said, "Hello, big sister."
"Big sister"—what a unique way to address her! Qi Ji blushed. Although people had commented on her youthful appearance before, even likening her to a minor, this was the first time a child had called her "big sister."
Xue Jingrui continued with the introductions, but when he looked at Shu Yi, he hesitated, unsure how to introduce her role. "This is the famous superstar Shu Yi, she is..." He suddenly realized he didn't know how to describe Shu Yi's relationship.
Seeing Xue Jingrui stumbling over his words, Chang Zhiyuan turned to Shu Yi with a deep, affectionate gaze and said, "She's my future girlfriend."
Shu Yi didn't dare look at Chang Zhiyuan. What was with that deep, affectionate gaze of his? When had she agreed to be his girlfriend?
Qi Ji glanced between Shu Yi and Chang Zhiyuan, her expression suggesting she had encountered something puzzling.
"Let me introduce myself," Qi Ji said. "I was born extremely small, so small that when I cried as a newborn, my father found it miraculous and named me 'Qi Ji,' which means 'miracle.' I'm 22 years old now, already an adult. I just graduated from university this year, and I'm currently an illustrator. Normally, I'm quite reclusive and rarely go out. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."
Qi Ji spoke at length. As a child, she was physically frail, so she received homeschooling through elementary and middle school, with private tutors hired by her parents. It wasn't until high school that she entered a regular school, and she had difficulty adjusting at first, suffering from social anxiety. In university, she lived alone off-campus, making very few friends, and she eventually learned to converse with herself.
Shortly after graduating, Qi Ji's family arranged for her to marry, which she initially didn't want. However, her parents said that Jingrui was a good man and that a marriage between their powerful families would be beneficial for both companies' development. She relented, as her parents had treated her well over the years, and she felt she should do something for them.
When she met Xue Jingrui, Qi Ji found him to be a decent person, just as her parents had said. He was tall, fair-skinned, with a sunny disposition and pleasant appearance. He was also very gentlemanly and didn't make her feel uncomfortable. She felt satisfied. One shouldn't be greedy, she had thought. If she couldn't find a suitable partner, she would remain single for life. As for marriage, as long as the two people could get along without discomfort, that would be enough. Her expectations weren't high, but now her mindset seemed to be changing, as if the heart that had been sealed for over 20 years was stirring again.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Shu Yi said first.
"Let's eat first and chat while we're at it," Chang Zhiyuan suggested.
A waitress knocked on the door of the private room and entered, carrying a large bottle of chilled watermelon juice. She poured it into glasses and passed them around the table.
"Thank you," everyone said.
Shu Yi picked up her glass, about to drink, when Shen Yin coughed loudly, "Ahem, ahem, ahem."
Shu Yi put down the glass with an embarrassed smile.
The others didn't understand the reason. "What's wrong? Doesn't it taste good?" Chang Zhiyuan asked.
Shu Yi shook her head. She couldn't very well say that she couldn't drink anything cold because she was about to get her period.
Shu Yi gave Shen Yin a knowing look, and only then did Shen Yin feel reassured.
"Have some meat. Look, you're too thin," Chang Zhiyuan said, using the shared chopsticks to place a slice of beef on Shu Yi's plate.
Shu Yi thought to herself, "..." She needed to control her figure for her on-screen appearances.
"What's wrong? You're not eating what I served you?" Chang Zhiyuan asked.
Shu Yi shook her head again. "I need to watch my figure."
"Health is most important. Even if you gain weight, it's no big deal. I'll take care of you."
"You..." Shu Yi didn't want to continue the conversation.
"Zhiyuan, I saw Sister Ning Jing downstairs earlier," Xu Xiuhe said.
"Yeah, she probably has some business to attend to here," Chang Zhiyuan replied.
"Haven't you been home in a while?" Xu Xiuhe asked.
"No, if I go home, my mom will nag me about getting married. My sister is older than me, yet she's pressuring me first." As he spoke, he looked directly at Shu Yi, making his intentions clear to everyone present.
Shu Yi turned her head away, pretending not to have heard him. She couldn't afford to take that gamble, nor did she dare.
"You really can't bear to let Sister Ning Jing handle such a large company all by herself?" Xue Jingrui asked again.
"What else can I do?" Chang Zhiyuan replied. He didn't want his sister to work so hard, but secretly, he had been helping Ning Jing a lot behind the scenes.
