Volume 5: Twenty Undoubted Chapter 320 From InterContinental Hotel to Four Seasons Hotel
After arriving at the InterContinental Hotel and parking the car, Yuan Xudong took Jiang Xiaoguo and her mother into the restaurant, chose a seat by the window in the back row, and ordered a few dishes and desserts. While waiting for the food, Yuan Xudong handed the gift he had prepared long ago to Jiang Xiaoguo's mother and said with a smile:
"Mom, this is the first time I've met you today, and I don't know what you like, so I just bought some small things. I hope you like them!"
"Look at you kid, you're so polite. Just meet, why are you preparing all this?"
As the saying goes, the more gifts you give, the less blame you give. Although Jiang Xiaoguo and her mother didn't care much whether Yuan Xudong prepared a gift or whether the gift he prepared was a valuable item, since he had prepared a gift, the more thoughtful it was, the more it would appear that the gift giver had put a lot of thought into it. That's why when Jiang's mother took the gift with a smile and opened the rather exquisite packaging box in front of Yuan Xudong and Jiang Xiaoguo, and saw the two emerald green jade bracelets inside, her expression was three parts blame but seven parts love. She said:
"Look at you kid, I can't accept such an expensive gift!"
Seeing her mother refuse like this, Jiang Xiaoguo, who was sitting next to her, rolled her eyes and said with a smile:
"Yes, my mother can't accept such an expensive gift!"
After that, she took the jewelry box containing the jade bracelet from the table and held it in front of her, saying with a smile:
"Mom, I'll help you collect it. Such a beautiful bracelet will look better on me!"
Seeing her daughter protecting the jewelry box containing the jade bracelet with both hands like an old hen protecting her chicks, Mother Jiang glared at her with some dissatisfaction and blamed her:
"You heartless girl, Mom is old now, it won't look good if she wears it, right?"
"Where is that?"
After returning the jade bracelet to her mother, Jiang Xiaoguo moved the chair to her side, hugged her arm and shook her, saying coquettishly:
"Mom, I was just kidding you, can you please forgive me?"
"Get out of the way!"
Pushing away her daughter who was speaking in a coquettish voice, Mother Jiang couldn't help but rolled her eyes at her and said lovingly:
"Speak carefully, I'm about to get goosebumps!"
"No!"
As she spoke, Jiang Xiaoguo leaned against her mother again, hugged her arm and rocked her, acting like a little girl who had not yet grown up and said coquettishly:
"Mom, I miss you so much!"
"You kid!"
There was no way to deal with Jiang Xiaoguo. Mother Jiang held her and stroked her hair, her eyes full of doting. She looked at Yuan Xudong and said seriously:
"Xiao Yuan, I appreciate your kindness, but you can take the gift back. It's not appropriate for me to wear such an expensive item!"
"Mom, look at what you said, what's inappropriate?"
Seeing that Mother Jiang was speaking seriously, Yuan Xudong also smiled and said seriously:
"You only have Xiaoguo as your precious daughter. Since Xiaoguo and I are together, we are a family. Why do we need to be so clear about the differences?"
After that, without waiting for Mother Jiang to agree or refute, Yuan Xudong changed the subject and said:
"Of course, I also have selfish motives. Xiaoguo still doesn't agree to marry me, right? Then I must please you first. Otherwise, if Xiaoguo runs away one day, I will cry to death. Don't you think this is the truth?"
"Yuan Xudong, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Seeing Yuan Xudong talking nonsense to his mother again, Jiang Xiaoguo immediately glared at him and said angrily:
"Who ran away?"
“You ran away!”
Blinking blatantly at Jiang Xiaoguo, Yuan Xudong looked at Jiang's mother and said aggrievedly:
"Mom, look at Xiaoguo, she's scaring me again!"
Seeing that Yuan Xudong dared to frame her in front of her mother and scare her, Jiang Xiaoguo suddenly became bolder with her mother by her side to support her. She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at Yuan Xudong and threatened:
"Yuan Xudong, do you want to die?"
"Okay, you two, stop messing around!"
Seeing Yuan Xudong flirting with her daughter and seeing that they seemed to be on good terms, Mother Jiang felt relieved and did not continue to refuse Yuan Xudong's gift. She stood up from her chair and said:
"You two continue chatting, I'm going to the bathroom!"
Seeing that his mother was going to the bathroom, Jiang Xiaoguo also stood up from the chair and said:
"Mom, I'll go with you!"
"No need, just chat with Xiao Yuan!"
"Okay, the restroom is over there, just go over and ask the waiter!"
"Okay, you guys chat first, I'll be back soon!"
“Hmm~~”
After watching Jiang's mother leave the restaurant and wait until she disappeared into the alley, Yuan Xudong suddenly stood up from his seat, walked over to Jiang Xiaoguo and sat down, laughing:
"Jiang Xiaoguo, you've become a lot braver!"
"Yuan Xudong, what do you want to do?"
Seeing Yuan Xudong approaching him, Jiang Xiaoguo protected his chest with both hands, leaned back, and said with a look of fear on his face:
"If you dare to bully me, I will tell my mother!"
"Then tell me!"
Seeing Jiang Xiaoguo cooperating with him so well, Yuan Xudong became more interested. He sat next to Jiang Xiaoguo, held her in his arms and said with a smile:
"Don't go back tonight, just stay in the hotel!"
"don't want!"
Seeing Yuan Xudong's words so bluntly, Jiang Xiaoguo's face became hot, and she blushed and whispered shyly:
"I promised Shitou that I would bring her some roasted sweet potatoes when I get back!"
“Baked sweet potatoes?”
Looking at the blushing and shy Jiang Xiaoguo, Yuan Xudong smiled and said:
"Xiao Guo, you are my baked sweet potato tonight. You are not allowed to go anywhere. After dinner, book a room for mom first, and then book another room for the two of us, okay?"
"don't want!"
Looking at Yuan Xudong who was planning to do something bad to her again, Jiang Xiaoguo shook her head slightly and said with a blushing face:
"I'm going back to school to live. I need to go to bed early tonight. I have to get up early tomorrow to meet an important client with Sister Xiaorong!"
"Is it a very important client?"
“Hmm~~”
"Have you agreed where to meet?"
“Well, at the Four Seasons Hotel!”
Seeing that Yuan Xudong suddenly showed concern for his work at Pulin Capital, Jiang Xiaoguo couldn't help but look up at him and said:
"What do you want to do?"
"What do you think?"
After kissing Jiang Xiaoguo on the cheek, Yuan Xudong looked at her clear, bright, shy eyes and smiled:
"Let's stay at the Four Seasons Hotel tonight. You don't have to get up so early tomorrow morning. You can go downstairs and meet clients with your sister Xiaorong. Okay?"
"don't want!"
Seeing Jiang Xiaoguo's shy face, saying no but with her lips slightly raised , and her face full of seduction, Yuan Xudong naturally understood what she meant, and made the final decision for Jiang Xiaoguo who wanted to be reserved:
"Okay, it's settled. You have to agree to it even if you don't agree!"
"Hate!"
Jiang Xiaoguo rolled her eyes at Yuan Xudong shyly, and seeing her like this, Yuan Xudong secretly mourned for Luo Yan. Poor Shi Tou, it seems that she will not be able to eat the baked sweet potato tonight. After all, the person who buys her the baked sweet potato will become someone else's baked sweet potato. Whether to eat it raw or peel it depends on that person's wishes.
After the two of them stayed together for a while, the waiter brought the food and drinks. As they had to drive back, Yuan Xudong did not order any wine, but only a few glasses of fruit juice. After Jiang Xiaoguo's mother came back from the bathroom, the three of them began to raise their glasses and drink and eat. During the meal, Jiang's mother and Yuan Xudong chatted about some family matters, and Yuan Xudong also briefly talked about some of the situations in his family. It turned out that Yuan Xudong and Jiang Xiaoguo were both children from single-parent families. They both lost their fathers when they were young and were raised by their mothers, including elementary school, junior high school, high school, college, and now they have just started to enter the society. The difficulties they have encountered during this period are really hard to describe.
The difference is that Yuan Xudong's father died in an accident, but Jiang Xiaoguo's father had another woman outside, and then he started a new family with her, leaving her and her mother behind. During this period, he did not fulfill his responsibilities as a husband or a father. Yuan Xudong looked down on such a man. Not only was he a scumbag, he also did not provide any financial help. He abandoned his original wife and children, and did not care about them. He did not even give a penny for alimony, leaving the mother and daughter to live a hard life. Of course, they were not distant relatives, after all, he was Jiang Xiaoguo's biological father, and Yuan Xudong would not say much. He was only responsible for listening.
And judging from what Jiang Xiaoguo said, she has not forgotten her father. Although she seems to hate him very much on the surface, it is hard to say in her heart. She is similar to Yuan Xudong. He grew up in a single-parent family. He never mentions his father, does not look at his old photos, and does not touch his old things. He was still in elementary school when his father died. So many years have passed, and people around him thought that a child had long forgotten who his father was and what he looked like. But only Yuan Xudong himself knew that some things are not forgotten just because they are not said. He still remembers the last time he saw his father, the unpleasant conversation between them, his father's appearance, and his father's mobile phone number that he had used for a long time.
Of course, all these have become a part of his memory. Occasionally he will feel nostalgic and sad, but not sad. After all, so many years have passed and the past has long been engraved in his memories. No matter how strong the emotions were at the beginning, with the passage of time, a few years, a dozen years, decades, until a lifetime is about to end, that's it. Everything will eventually be annihilated in the long river of time, creating ripples until it finally calms down and leaves behind a piece of loess. During festivals, future generations will look at the loess in front of them and say a few words.
After dinner, Yuan Xudong suggested booking a room at the InterContinental Hotel for Jiang Xiaoguo's mother to stay for a few days. However, Jiang's mother really disagreed, so Yuan Xudong drove her back to the guesthouse near the school. When they got back to the guesthouse, Yuan Xudong and Jiang Xiaoguo chatted with her about family matters for a while, and then drove to the Four Seasons Hotel and asked for a luxury suite. With Yuan Xudong's help, Jiang Xiaoguo took a bath reluctantly and changed into a pure white bathrobe with a belt in the middle, the kind that could be pulled off with a simple pull.
Seeing Jiang Xiaoguo who was not in a very good mood, Yuan Xudong took her wrist and walked to the bedside and sat down. He stroked her face with his right hand, looked into her eyes and smiled gently:
"What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"
"No!"
Shaking her head slightly and glancing at Yuan Xudong, Jiang Xiaoguo reached out and pressed down his right hand that was stroking her face, forcing a smile:
"When I think of my childhood, I feel a little weird. Time flies so fast. At that time, I was looking forward to growing up quickly. Now when I think back, it feels like it was just yesterday. I have grown up in the blink of an eye!"
"Isn't it good to grow up?"
Looking at Jiang Xiaoguo who suddenly felt a little emotional, Yuan Xudong touched her face and hair, and said with a sly smile:
"When you grow up, you can earn money to live, eat the food you like, play the games you like, and most importantly, do the things you like with the people you like. Don't you like that?"
"rogue!"
Jiang Xiaoguo rolled her eyes at Yuan Xudong and pouted her lips and whispered:
"I don't like it. I'm not in the mood right now!"
"What don't you like?"
Looking at Jiang Xiaoguo's blushing face, Yuan Xudong said with a smile:
"Jiang Xiaoguo, I find that you have a problem with your thinking. I told you that you can still do what you like with the person you like, but what did you think? Are you thinking about something lewd?"
"you……"
Seeing Yuan Xudong deliberately making fun of him, Jiang Xiaoguo couldn't help but glare at him, his face flushed as he said:
"So what is it that you said you like to do?"
"Dance!"
"What?"
"Dance!"
"Dance?"
"Yes, dancing!"
Looking at Jiang Xiaoguo, whose eyes widened slightly and whose face was filled with surprise, Yuan Xudong deliberately said seriously:
"Didn't you say you would dance for me tonight? Go ahead, I'm watching!"
"ah?"
When Jiang Xiaoguo heard Yuan Xudong say that he wanted to dance for him, he was just joking and didn't know how to dance at all, so he got angry and said:
"I'm going to jump, you big head ghost, I don't want to pay attention to you, I'm going to sleep, good night!"
“Don’t!”
Seeing Jiang Xiaoguo trying to get under the quilt, Yuan Xudong grabbed her and said suspiciously:
"Xiao Guo, you're not bragging, are you? In fact, you can't dance at all, right?"
"Yes, you big-headed ghost!"
Seeing Yuan Xudong expose him, Jiang Xiaoguo immediately raised his neck and said stubbornly:
"I just can't dance, so what? Is that okay?"
"Of course I can, but what about the fact that you lied to me?"
Seeing Yuan Xudong's increasingly dangerous look, Jiang Xiaoguo looked away slightly and protested in a low voice with a lack of confidence:
"So what do you want me to do?"
"What do you think?"
Seeing Jiang Xiaoguo suddenly become very well-behaved, Yuan Xudong kissed her lips while hugging her soft body and fell on the bed. He casually pulled off the belt that tied her bathrobe, and a petite and delicate body came into view...
The next day, the sun shone in through the gaps in the curtains and spread on the bed. In the bedroom full of spring light, a pleasant cell phone ringtone rang out. Her eyelashes trembled slightly a few times, and Jiang Xiaoguo woke up from a deep sleep. She stretched out her right hand from under the quilt and touched her cell phone to take a look. It was exactly eight o'clock in the morning. She turned off the cell phone alarm that she had set last night. She sat up from the bed, got dressed and got out of bed. She walked around the hotel suite and saw Yuan Xudong brushing his teeth in front of the sink. She walked over, hugged his chest from behind, put her head on his back, and said with a happy and sweet face:
"Good morning, Xiaodongzi!"
"What's wrong?"
After washing up and throwing away the disposable toiletries, Yuan Xudong grabbed Jiang Xiaoguo's hands, looked at the mirror on the wall in front of the sink and smiled gently:
"Why are you suddenly so clingy?"
"Where is that?"
Hugging Yuan Xudong's chest from behind and smelling the familiar scent coming from him, Jiang Xiaoguo closed her eyes slightly and said seriously:
"Xudong, let's get married!"
"What?"
“Ouch!”
"Xudong, are you okay?"
"fine!"
Seeing Jiang Xiaoguo suddenly change her mind and want to get married, Yuan Xudong was startled. In a moment of excitement, he twisted his foot and almost fell on the sink. He helped Jiang Xiaoguo stand up, looked into her eyes and pretended to be confused:
"Xiao Guo, what did you just say?"
"fine!"
Jiang Xiaoguo glared at Yuan Xudong fiercely and blushed to cover up:
"Today is Friday, and there are two days on Sunday. I want you to take me and my mom out to play around. Do you have time?"
"Yes, of course!"
Seeing that Jiang Xiaoguo did not talk about getting married again, Yuan Xudong breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile:
"How about going to Wutong Mountain and Shenzhen Bay Park?"
"Sure, just take her around!"
After looking at Yuan Xudong, Jiang Xiaoguo hesitated for a moment and said:
"Xudong, I want to bring my mother to Shenzhen to live with me in the future. Do you mind?"
"Why should I mind?"
After looking at Jiang Xiaoguo, Yuan Xudong said as a matter of course:
"You are the only precious daughter of your mother. If you don't take care of her, who will?"
"That's great, thank you Xudong!"
Seeing that her boyfriend understood her so well, Jiang Xiaoguo, who was originally a little worried that he would be reluctant, was overjoyed. She hugged Yuan Xudong and jumped for a while. In order to return the favor, she looked at Yuan Xudong and suggested:
"Xiao Dongzi, why don't you bring your mother to Shenzhen to live with us in the future, okay?"
"No need. She is not used to living in a big city. She doesn't know anyone around her. The small county town where she lives is good and more suitable for her retirement. I will go back to see her more often when I have time!"
"ah?"
Hearing Yuan Xudong say this, Jiang Xiaoguo said with a little worry:
"Will she be lonely at home?"
"Won't!"
Looking at Jiang Xiaoguo who seemed to have some misunderstanding, Yuan Xudong smiled and said:
"My mother has six brothers and sisters, and even more cousins. My grandparents are in good health. I have a younger brother. They all live in the county town, and it's only a matter of walking a few steps to visit each other. You might as well worry about whether I will be lonely in Shenzhen instead of worrying about her being lonely at home."
"ah?"
I didn't expect that Yuan Xudong's family would have so many relatives. Jiang Xiaoguo had always thought that he was lonely like her family. Thinking of this, she looked at Yuan Xudong and pouted:
"Then why didn't you tell me before that you have so many relatives? I thought you were the same as me!"
"You didn't ask, either!"
Yuan Xudong smiled and said:
"It was mainly because my mom had many relatives and friends, and my dad had some relatives as well. But later, my dad died unexpectedly and received a compensation. Some people were too arrogant and wanted to help keep the money when they saw my mom was taking care of my brother and me. Later, the two families had a falling out, so naturally we didn't interact much. At that time, my brother and I were still young and needed to go to school. My mom didn't have the ability to make money. She couldn't even write her own name, and she had to take care of me and my brother. Naturally, she could only rely on the compensation to support my brother and me through elementary school, junior high school, high school, and now college. Of course, that money was definitely not enough.
My uncle knew a lot of people, so he lent the money to others and collected interest, which is why he was able to hold on until now. So, although my father died early and I was very afraid of him when I was a child and didn’t like being with him, he has always been very responsible. Even after his death, he took care of the family for more than ten years until my brother and I grew up. My mother is also very great, and the relatives on her side are also very nice. As for my father’s side, except for my grandmother who doesn’t have much say, I won’t talk about other people. When my grandmother was alive, we would see each other during the Chinese New Year. Since she passed away, the two sides have directly cut off contact, and we will just treat each other as strangers in the future!”
After saying that, Yuan Xudong looked at the dazed Jiang Xiaoguo and said with a smile:
"How about it, isn't this experience better than yours? Finally, I have one more thing to say, never lend money to others, people nowadays are really getting worse and worse. At the beginning, my uncle helped my family to lend money to others, and others paid it back on time. Later, the social atmosphere gradually changed. Why should you pay back the money you borrowed with your own ability? You live in a house in the city, drive a car, but you can't pay it back. In the end, if my uncle and others hadn't been asking for money all the time, you might not get a penny back. No matter how nice they say when you lend the money, they will tear their faces apart when it comes to paying it back. It's better not to lend money in the first place. Of course, it also depends on the specific person. If it's really a close friend who is in trouble, you should help if you have the ability. The close friends I mentioned are emotional, not blood ties!"
