Chapter 243: You're the One Here Singing and Dancing

Zhong Qing glanced at the time—only three minutes left until the end of class.

She always planned her lessons carefully; unless absolutely necessary, she was unwilling to hold the class past the bell.

Figuring three minutes wouldn't be enough to finish one problem, she simply stopped.

"Today's class assignment, flip to page 186 of the big review book."

"Long live Qingbao!" Jiang Nian wore an expression of pure delight.

Time to eat—oh, wait, forgot. At noon we're heading straight to Chuyun Grand Hotel for a county-town wedding banquet, no need to fight over food with those gloomy creatures from the senior year.

Of course, he was also one of those gloomy creatures.

"What Qingbao? What are you yelling about?" Li Hua was a little jealous, turned his head and pointed at him, "bro, you're crossing the line."

Jiang Nian glanced at Li Hua, a contemptuous smile curling at the corner of his mouth, gradually turning into a 'Dragon King' act.

"What's it to me if I call her Qingbao? You're the one here singing and dancing."

"Eat shit!"

The end-of-class bell rang.

Qingbao said "class dismissed," and left with her books.

The class filed out in a stream; Yang Qiming and Huang Cailang nearly sprinted out the door. Wu Jungu leaned back against his seat waiting for Ceng You—he still had a short passage he hadn't finished reading.

Chen Yunyun dawdled for five or six minutes, waiting until most of the class had left, then headed out of the classroom together with Wang Yuhe.

In the corridor, Jiang Nian was playing with his phone.

He turned his head and saw the two girls come out, then smoothly slipped his phone into his pocket.

"Shall we go?"

"Mm." Chen Yunyun nodded.

She was a little nervous, but couldn't show it—because doing so would put pressure on Jiang Nian. After all, she was going on behalf of her parents, and Jiang Nian was someone she had invited herself.

Although the host's invitees were no ordinary friends—they were all business friends with a certain relationship. The gift money wasn't thin either, so bringing one extra person was no trouble at all.

Besides, there was also Wang Yuhe—her family had given a gift too.

Two carrying one.

Spreading it out like that, no one could pick fault; in fact, nobody would even ask. But some of the nervousness came from it being the first time, and—well, it just felt a bit odd.

She was already half-regretting her impulsive decision—would it seem too down-to-earth?

Fortunately, Wang Yuhe looked quite happy about it.

"Jiang Nian, guess how many bowls of rice I'll eat later?"

Jiang Nian glanced at Wang Yuhe and put on a look of deep thought.

"No idea."

"You guess first." Wang Yuhe urged.

"Ten bowls, since you're a super big rice bucket." Jiang Nian said offhandedly, "Standing up and hugging the rice cooker to eat—no one can beat you."

"You're the big rice bucket!" Wang Yuhe walked along the road out of school, her 167-centimeter height arguing like it was 150, "The answer is zero bowls, because I don't eat rice."

"You don't even know that—adults at banquets don't eat rice."

"Really?" Jiang Nian glanced at her and asked casually, "Then if you don't eat rice, what do you eat?"

"Drink and eat dishes."

"Can you drink?"

Wang Yuhe wanted to say she could, but feared this petty little baby Jiang Nian would report her to the head teacher.

"I'll drink soda and eat rice."

Jiang Nian said, "Wedding banquets are all liquor—the only drinks are beer."

"Liar."

Watching the two of them bicker, Chen Yunyun's nervousness eased a little.

"There are drinks—usually canned cola."

Hearing that, Wang Yuhe craned her neck and asked curiously.

"Why canned? At the restaurants in our town it's always those big bottles of cola, and Sprite too."

"Because it's easier to hand out, and a case of canned cola isn't much more expensive." Jiang Nian had just stepped out of the school gate, and squinted against the sunlight on the street.

It was now exactly 12:15; the county restaurant would start serving at about 12:30.

About a ten-minute walk—perfect timing for the meal.

"Some places also serve tea—the kind portioned out in glass bottles." Chen Yunyun explained carefully, "But south of town it's all big-bowl tea, so there's only soda."

"Generally there are towels, but that rundown Chuyun hotel doesn't provide them." Jiang Nian said, "If you need one, you can just ask the front desk."

Wang Yuhe blinked, suddenly realizing something.

Jiang Nian was a local from the county town.

She couldn't help blushing at her own oversight, "You've been to that hotel?"

"Big deal—it's only a kilometer from my house." Jiang Nian raised an eyebrow, "Any wedding nearby basically holds the banquet there, or over at north town."

Wang Yuhe suffered a crushing defeat, her mouth puckering.

"Oh."

Hearing Jiang Nian say that, most of Chen Yunyun's nervousness also dissipated.

No wonder he'd agreed so readily.

Bringing someone along to a wedding banquet in town was perfectly normal—it depended on your family's relationship with the host's. If they were a collateral relative or an important friend, generally more gift money meant more people.

She didn't know how things worked in the county town, but from the looks of it, it seemed no different.

Jiang Nian and the two girls had just arrived at their destination when the entrance was already preparing to set off firecrackers. Wang Yuhe went pale and hurriedly pulled Chen Yunyun inside.

"Let's go, light the firecrackers."

At present, the urban management officers were still a novelty in Zhennan. In any case, setting off firecrackers by the street wasn't strictly enforced—after all, even urban management officers had banquets to attend.

In panic, Chen Yunyun turned to look at Jiang Nian's position, bit her lip, and reached out to pull him along.

There were greeters at the entrance, but they didn't check invitations.

Chen Yunyun and Wang Yuhe each gave their names; the greeter glanced at Jiang Nian, then at Chen Yunyun's hand gripping the boy's, and turned away.

High school sweethearts.

But what did it mean, the three of them strung together like a candied hawthorn skewer?

The Chuyun Grand Hotel could host two families' banquets simultaneously, and coincidentally, two families were holding wedding feasts right now.

The three stood before the landscape screen at the entrance, bewildered by the two greeter booths. Why were there exactly two weddings happening at once? Which entrance should they choose?

"Do you remember the hosts' names?" Jiang Nian asked.

"My parents didn't say. They only told me to come here for the wedding and give my father's name," Chen Yunyun was equally confused, turning to Wang Yuhe. "Do you know?"

Wang Yuhe shook her head. "They mentioned it, but I didn't catch it."

Usually, someone would be stationed here to guide guests. Probably because the dishes were about to be served and few people had arrived, the waiters had gone off to attend to other tasks.

The firecrackers at the entrance went off—that meant the dishes were about to be served.

Jiang Nian covered one ear and raised his voice.

"I'll ask the greeter at the entrance."

"No, no, don't bother," Chen Yunyun blushed. She doubted she had the courage to hold his hand again, and explaining it to Jiang Nian would be troublesome.

"I'll call my parents."

"Alright." Jiang Nian went along with whatever she said.

Soon after learning the name, they walked into the right corridor.

At the table.

Yang Qiming and Huang Cailang sat side by side; everyone else at the table was unfamiliar.

The others didn't seem to know each other either; only two elderly men and a few middle-aged men engaged in awkward small talk.

The two pretended to play with their phones, but were actually chatting.

Huang: "Bro, I'm starving—why aren't the dishes out yet?"

Yang: "The firecrackers just went off—they'll be here any minute."

Huang: "Why did we pick this table, bro? I wanted to sit at the table with more girls—they don't eat meat."

Yang: "You're clueless. We're here to eat seriously. These old men can't eat much, the middle-aged guys just drink and brag—won't all the dishes end up on our table?"

Huang Cailang marveled inwardly—his brother Yang really had experience.

"Bro, if you hadn't reminded me, I'd have sat at the kids' table."

Yang Qiming grinned and typed a scolding reply.

"You're wrong. The kids' table is harder to handle at first. You have to cozy up, ask about their grades, praise how talented they are, and pour drinks into each of them."

"Once they're full, their stamina drops in the middle, and by the end, you can just eat freely."

"That requires precise mastery of social graces—nothing like our table. Stay silent, play on your phone, and strike hard while they're drinking."

Yang Qiming was hungry too—so hungry his stomach felt like it was pressed against his spine.

Typing so many words to reply to Huang Cailang was just to distract himself.

The thought that he, a man of his stature, had sunk so low as to scheme over banquet food—even strategizing to eat more—

Was truly the lament of a hero past his prime.

Cold dishes had already arrived.

Both of them moved swiftly, grabbing the cold-sliced pig's ears.

With something in their stomachs, Huang Cailang finally had time to reply to Yang Qiming and asked his final question.

"Bro, which table is the absolute worst to sit at?"

Yang Qiming saw the pork hock about to arrive and replied instantly.

"The table with too many aunts."

On the other side.

Jiang Nian and Chen Yunyun sat at a relatively isolated table; besides them, only two or three others were there, plus a little girl of a few years old.

The whole table felt strange—the others, like the groom's ex-girlfriends, stared at their phones, indifferent to the dishes arriving, picking at their food half-heartedly.

The dishes had arrived, but Wang Yuhe couldn't reach the radish balls and grew impatient.

"Yunyun, help me get those."

Chen Yunyun found it amusing but didn't think much of it—she stood up and helped her.

"Here."

Wang Yuhe said, "Thank you, Yunyun."

She had just sat down when the little girl beside her tugged at Chen Yunyun's sleeve and said in a tiny, childish voice.

"Yunyun, help me get the duck."

Friendly book recommendation: "I, Lu Mingfei, Spiritual Mentor to Xiao Zhi Mingren"

Naruto and Dragon Raja crossover.

(End of Chapter)