98 | Spring Festival Dinner
We’re here. Who else is already here?

The one who told Gu Guoxiang the news (about Gu Mingxi) was obviously not Fang Hui, but rather an employee at the metals company, one of his subordinates, if you will. He originally lived in the Golden Compound, and now he lived at the New Gold Park. Over New Year’s, he was having dinner at a restaurant in the New Century Square, when he happened to see Gu Mingxi and Pang Qian walking together.
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He’d watched Gu Mingxi and Pang Qian grow up, so he naturally didn’t forget their faces. Even after so many years, now that the kids had grown up into a young man and woman, he still recognized them immediately.

When he returned home that night, he considered it for awhile, and then he gave Gu Guoxiang a call.

Gu Mingxi was very surprised at how many relatives Pang Qian had. From the first to the fifth of the new year, they had a get together every day. He obediently followed Pang Qian to each of her relatives’ homes, obediently greeted everyone with her and ate, and then obediently received red envelopes.

Gu Mingxi couldn’t really understand the rules of Pang Qian’s family. Whether it was Jin Aihua’s side or Pang Shuisheng’s side, a lot of older people all gave him a red envelope, saying it was a first meeting present. When they returned home, Pang Qian pulled the packets out of his pocket and quickly counted the money. Then she recorded this down in a notebook.

“Goodness, my uncle actually gave you 3,000! What’s going on here?” Pang Qian shook her head and sighed. “When my cousin brings her boyfriend home, then it’ll be our turn to bleed [out money?].”

After this Spring Festical, Gu Mingxi received 50 thousand dollars from the red envelopes. He asked her curiously, “We both work, so why do we get red envelopes?”

Pang Qian smiled, “Because you’re my boyfriend, and it’s the first time I’m bringing you back for New Year’s. Our family has a custom of giving a first meeting present for the kids’ partners. Everyone gives some, though how much depends on their financial situation. In any case, this is something that comes and goes. We’ll have to repay it later.”

Gu Mingxi said, “But I didn’t see you give any red envelopes to the kids.”

Pang Qian looked at him with wide eyes. “I’m not married yet. It’s enough that my parents give it. After we get married and we have our own family, you won’t be able to hide even if you wanted.”

“So it’s like that. You don’t have to give money if you’re not married yet?” Gu Mingxi suddenly realized. “I give Dou Dou New Year’s money every year.”

Pang Qian laughed. “That’s different. You’re basically acting as his dad.”

On the subject of Dou Dou, Gu Mingxi recalled the call Dou Dou had given him for New Year’s. The kid told him Happy New Year, and Gu Mingxi asked if he was happy staying with his mom. Dou Dou dropped his voice.

“Mom and Uncle have a son and daughter, though they like their son more.” Dou Dou asked Gu Mingxi, “Teacher Gu, when are you returning to Sanya? Can you pick me up on the way?”

Gu Mingxi said, “I’ll head back before the end of winter break. Your mom will send you back then.”

“Will I still be able to live with you?”

“Of course.” Gu Mingxi really couldn’t find it in him to say that he would only be staying in Sanya for another half a year. He said, “Dou Dou, be good. I’ll bring you a present, okay?”

After he hung up the phone, Gu Mingxi felt a bit sour inside. After two years of knowing each other, he and Dou Dou had already formed a deep emotional ties. He knew that Dou Dou relied on him, but he also knew that it would be difficult for him to keep raising Dou Dou.

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“Gu Mingxi, what are you thinking about?” Pang Qian’s voice called him back to the present. She looked at him and smiled. “Tomorrow is the sixth (of the New Year), and we have one final dinner party to go. When it’s over, we’ll be free!”

Gu Mingxi forced a laugh. “There’s still one more? When it’s over, your vacation ends too.”

“Is there something you’re unhappy about? Didn’t I spend every day with you?” She snuggled up to him. “We’re having dinner tomorrow at Donghua Hotel. Do you want to walk around there during the day, or do you want to stay at home?”

Gu Mingxi thought for a moment, then said, “Stay at home. Actually, I like staying with you in this room, just chatting and listening to music. That’s enough.”

“It’s so nice to raise you.” Pang Qian laid down on the bed and wrapped her arms around him. She really liked hugging him, as if the steady flow of warmth from his body could cure the hunger and thirst of her skin.

She nestled her cheek to his shoulder. Gu Mingxi turned his head and kissed her, and then asked, “Which relative are we eating with tomorrow night?”

“Not a relative, but a few friends.” Pang Qian giggled. “They wanted to see you, so I agreed.”

Gu Mingxi was a bit surprised. “Your friends?”

“Mm.”

“Do they know about my condition?”

“They know.”

He didn’t say another word.

Before they left the next day, Pang Qian helped Gu Mingxi pick out his clothes. He usually didn’t much care about how he dressed, but that day, he wanted some opinions about it.

A beige, wool vest with black trousers and a black belt. Black shoes and a short, light grey wool coat. His handsome appearance made Pang Qian’s heartbeat quicken.

He’d actually never dressed so formally before, because those types of clothes made it inconvenient for him to do things. Usually, Gu Mingxi dressed very leisurely, but because he was meeting Pang Qian’s friends, he hoped that he would appear well next to her.

“Gu Mingxi, you’re simply too handsome!” Pang Qian helped him with his belt and then neatened his collar. Her eyes were full of love, and then she saw how unusual Gu Mingxi looked. She smiled and asked, “Are you very nervous?”

He shook his head, but he didn’t seem very sure of that. Pang Qian smiled and said, “Is it because you’re meeting my friends? You don’t have to be nervous. They’re all very good people.”

Gu Mingxi quietly sighed. He said, “Pang Pang, I don’t have any arms, after all.”

“You asked me before if I felt you were embarra.s.sing.” Pang Qian pulled at Gu Mingxi’s s.h.i.+rt and lifted her head to look at him. “Gu Mingxi, you said it yourself then, that you didn’t think there was anything embarra.s.sing (or disgraceful) about yourself.”

“I was young back then. I didn’t understand (the world),” he said a bit helplessly. “I’m okay, but I’m meeting your friends today. I don’t want them to talk behind your back later after seeing me.”

“They won’t!” Pang Qian held his face in her hands. “Later on, I’m going to take you to Yang Lu and Sheng Feng’s wedding, and you’ll meet lots of my college cla.s.smates. And I have to take you to our company parties and outings. Our company has a lot of activities! I’m even going to take you to weddings and receptions for my clients. Because you’re my boyfriend, and later you’ll be my husband, I hope that you can join my social circle and meet my friends. I’m sure that they’ll really like you.”

Seeing his crinkled brows, she stroked his forehead and said, “Gu Mingxi, you weren’t like this before. In the past, you were a lot more confident.”

Gu Mingxi’s gaze was fixed on her eyes, and gradually, they curved. His lips curved up as well. He said, “Pang Pang, for myself, I’m okay with anything. But now that I’m together with you, I really want to do better. I don’t care if people gossip behind my back, I never cared about that. I’m afraid that other people will talk behind your back because of me though. These people are your friends after all. Don’t you think that, being together with me, you’ll eventually come across this kind of situation? There will definitely be someone who comes to you and says ‘Pang Qian, with such good qualifications, how did you find such a boyfriend?’ They may not have any ill intentions, but once you hear it, you’ll definitely feel bad inside. To be honest, I couldn’t think of any way to resolve this. I can’t just hide at home and never meet your friends, so… What I wanted to say was that being with me, you’ll have to face a lot of these questions and situations in the future. Have you ever thought about it before?”

Pang Qian burst out with a laugh. “Gu Mingxi, be careful or else I might sell your house. What’s the point of talking about these trivial things right now? Hurry up, we’re going to be late.”

As they rode the elevator down, Gu Mingxi looked at himself in the mirror. Pang Qian tiptoed and helped him tidy his hair. Then she kissed him on the cheek. “Stop looking, you’re already handsome enough! If you were to go onto ‘If You’re the One’ (Note: A dating game show), none of the ladies would turn off their lights for you.”

Gu Mingxi laughed. “Would I be that welcome? Then does that mean I lost out ending up with you? Maybe I should go onto ‘If You’re the One’ to try it out for real.”

“It’s a loss, a big loss. Hurry and go sign up!” Pang Qian laughed. “If you register for it, then I can sell your house and make more than a million dollars!”

Pang Qian brought Gu Mingxi to the Donghua Hotel Restaurant. When they walked up to the private room, they could hear lots of chattering. Gu Mingxi called Pang Qian and asked, “Pang Pang, do I look okay?”

Pang Qian looked him up and down and then gave him a thumbs up. Then she gave him an encouraging look and then pushed open the door to the private room. She popped her head in and said, “We’re here. Who else is already here?”

Gu Mingxi stood behind her and only heard the cheers that came. Then the door was pulled open and a lot of people ran at him. He looked at them, stunned. Before he could respond, a short haired woman had already come to hug him.

“Gu Mingxi! Ah– It’s really you!” Gu Mingxi lowered his head and saw Jiang Zhiya’s charming face. It was the first time he’d seen her with short hair, so he nearly didn’t recognize her.

Zhou Nanzhong was beside her and pat her on the shoulder. “Hey, hey, Anchor Jiang, don’t you care about Crab? What do you mean by hugging someone else’s boyfriend? Bullying him because he can’t push you away, huh?”

“Yeah, I’m bullying him! So what?” Not only did Jiang Zhiya not loosen her hold, she hugged Gu Mingxi even more tightly. Then she loosened her arms and said, “Gu Mingxi, why are you so tan now? You’re nearly darker than Zhou Nanzhong, who’s living in Columbia now.”

Gu Mingxi glanced over at Zhou Nanzhong, and he’d indeed gotten tanner and a bit chubbier. Looks like the sun in Columbia was really strong, and the food wasn’t bad either.

Zhou Nanzhong walked up and gave Gu Mingxi a guys’ hug. He knocked onto his back with his fist and said, “Long time no see, bro. Where did you run off to all these years?”

w.a.n.g Song followed suit and gave Gu Mingxi a strong hug. Then he pullled Li Xiaoyan over and told Gu Mingxi, “Bro, Li Xiaoyan and I are getting married in May. When we send out invitations to you and Xiao Qing, you’d better show up to the reception dinner!”

w.a.n.g Song and Li Xiaoyan’s appearances hadn’t changed much. They just looked a bit more mature. Gu Mingxi looked at them and finally was able to say, “Congratulations. I’ll definitely be there.”

Wu Min walked up to Gu Mingxi and pat him on the shoulder. “Still remember me, your old rival?”

Wu Min and Gu Mingxi had continually fought for 2nd place in their first year of high school. Back then, Pang Qian stopped caring about Xiao Yujing’s test results, because she was someone you just couldn’t catch up to. Instead, she always went to find out Wu Min’s scores, and then she’d find it regrettable that Gu Mingxi had only lost out by two or three points.

Gu Mingxi had pretty much calmed down. He smiled and nodded. “Of course I remember.”

The last to appear in front of Gu Mingxi were Teacher Dai and Xie Yi. Teacher Dai had already started crying. She walked up to him and gave him a warm hug. She said, “How are you now, Gu Mingxi?”

“I’m well, Teacher Dai. Really.” Of course, in front of all these people, he really didn’t want to cry. But he couldn’t stop his eyes from getting red. Gu Mingxi did all he could to stop the tears. Xie Yi walked up to him, still as dazzling as ever. His elegant features were flawless, and with a tailored, slim fitting suit, he was really unspeakably handsome.

Xie Yi looked at Gu Mingxi meaningfully, and then he also hugged him. After the hug, his expression suddenly changed. With a pow, he punched Gu Mingxi in the stomach, and it wasn’t without some power. The pain made Gu Mingxi bend over. Everyone around them was startled, and Pang Qian cried out in panick, “Xie Yi, what are you doing?!”

“I’m punching him for you!” Xie Yi’s eyebrows jumped up. He said to Pang Qian, “You obviously wouldn’t be able to bear hitting him, right? This kid went missing for so many years. One light punch isn’t really all that much. While he was tanning in Sanya and watching the girls in bikinis, did he ever think of you?!”

“Xie Yi!” Pang Qian called out. She held onto Gu Mingxi’s back as she asked, “Gu Mingxi, are you okay?”

Gu Mingxi gasped and finally stood up straight. He shook his head. “I’m fine. Xie Yi was just playing around. Don’t worry.”

Thanks to Xie Yi, he was able to hold his tears back.

As everyone sat down around the dinner table, Pang Qian helped Gu Mingxi take off his coat. Xie Yi handed the menu over to Teacher Dai, and everyone else was chatting among themselves. Gu Mingxi listened on quietly, learning a bit about these old friends’ current situations.

After graduate school at Wuhan University, Zhou Nanzhong started working at an engineering firm and was sent to Columbia to build a power plant. This was his first time back spending New Year’s back home since then.

w.a.n.g Song worked for the city’s labor bureau as a civil servant, and Li Xiaoyan worked at an office. The two of them had already renovated their new home and were preparing to get married.

Jiang Zhiya was transferred and was currently working on news, no longer the weather girl.

Wu Min got into Tsinghua’s post graduate program and was currently studying there. After that, he would have to go abroad for two years. He said that later on, he would be doing scientific research work.

There wasn’t anything that needed to be said about Xie Yi. After finis.h.i.+ng his graduate studies in America, he returned to start a business, and his production company was thriving.

Even Teacher Dai wasn’t working at First High anymore. She’d been transferred to Fifth High and been promoted to vice princ.i.p.al. Teacher Dai picked a few dishes to order and handed the menu over to Jiang Zhiya to let everyone else pick some things. And then she smiled as she asked Xie Yi, “Aren’t we still waiting on someone?”

Xie Yi’s expression was a bit unnatural, a bit absent minded. Just then, the door to their room opened. Pang Qian and Gu Mingxi turned around and saw a delicate and pretty woman with long hair standing there. She was taking off her coat and scarf as she apologized, “I’m sorry I’m late.”