Chapter 578

Xu Rongbin and Liu Xianmei were the first to arrive at the garage.

When she saw her own mother stepping out of the car, Xu Yinghuan exclaimed in delight: "Mom? Aren't you back in the countryside with Grandpa and Grandma?"

"It's not that far," Liu Xianmei, well-preserved and gentle-looking, smiled at her daughter. "I just asked your dad to pick me up."

"With guests from your house here, I definitely had to come back."

Saying this, Liu Xianmei walked over to Xu Yinghuan's side, smiled at the other children, and said, "Hello, welcome to our home."

Li Luo and the others immediately bowed politely in greeting.

As they greeted, Li Luo glanced at Zhao Rongjun and saw the boy was utterly tense, his face rigid—as if he were about to go to war.

At that moment, Xu Rongbin, dressed in a suit, arrived at the door, loosened his tie, greeted the children, then turned to Liu Xianmei: "You handle the other parents; I'll go upstairs and change clothes, I'll be right down."

After speaking, Xu Rongbin bid farewell to Li Luo and the others, went upstairs to change into casual home attire, looked far more relaxed, then returned to the basement level.

Upon hearing from Xu Yinghuan that Zhao Rongjun's parents had arrived via the main entrance on the first floor, Xu Rongbin looked at Zhao Rongjun among the group and nodded: "Then Xianmei, wait here for them. You all come upstairs with me to the living room to rest—I'll go to the gate to meet Zhao Rongjun's parents."

Not long after, Li Guohong drove in, carrying Lin Xiuhong and Xu Rongsheng and his wife, following the underground garage signs all the way to the back.

Meanwhile, Qiao Xinyan's parents arrived right behind them and were greeted by Liu Xianmei.

After exchanging pleasantries at the entrance, Liu Xianmei led the six of them upstairs.

Xu Rongbin, having received a security alert, rose and walked out the main gate to the courtyard entrance, opened the iron gate, and waited outside—soon spotting Zhao Rongjun's parents arriving on an electric scooter.

"You must be Zhao Rongjun's parents?" Xu Rongbin noticed the man on the scooter looking hesitant and greeted him warmly.

Zhao Zhong immediately stopped the scooter, got off with his wife sitting behind, and stepped forward with a simple, earnest smile: "Hello hello, I'm Zhao Rongjun's dad, this is his mom."

"Hello," Xu Rongbin stepped forward and shook their hands, then said, "Park the scooter in our courtyard."

"Alright alright."

Zhao Zhong carefully pushed the scooter into the courtyard, his wife Cao Sufen trailing nervously behind him.

Although Xu Rongbin had changed into casual clothes, the fabric and cut alone looked expensive.

Looking up at the small villa before them, the couple had never been to such a luxurious place in their lives—they were even afraid to breathe too deeply, lest they dirty the fresh air.

Just then, Zhao Zhong, pushing the scooter, accidentally brushed against the entrance step.

Before Xu Rongbin could react, Zhao Zhong immediately apologized: "Sorry sorry, I accidentally scraped it."

"It's fine," Xu Rongbin said, unconcerned, stepping forward to help steady the scooter's handlebar and glancing down, "Did it get scratched?"

"No no, the scooter's fine."

Seeing Xu Rongbin had none of the arrogance they imagined wealthy people had, the couple finally relaxed a little.

After parking the scooter, they followed Xu Rongbin to the main entrance and slipped on slippers.

Just then, Liu Xianmei emerged from the staircase with Li Guohong and the others, laughing and chatting—the two groups met and began exchanging pleasantries in the living room.

The Xu family's living room was large, but the sofas couldn't seat nearly twenty people.

So the younger generation quietly moved to the tea room near the kitchen, sitting there and occasionally glancing through the latticed screen at the adults in the living room.

At first, Zhao Rongjun's parents were still tense.

But fortunately, Li Guohong and Lin Xiuhong were present.

Li Luo and Zhao Rongjun had been close friends since elementary school; their parents naturally knew each other.

After exchanging a few greetings, the presence of familiar faces eased the initial stiffness.

After introducing themselves around, they began chatting about the children, and the atmosphere grew natural.

Li Luo watched this scene with interest; the others nearby also peered curiously.

Yan Zhusheng, like a curious child, pointed one by one and asked about each person's identity.

"The two sitting next to my dad are Zhao Rongjun's parents," Li Luo told Yan Zhusheng. "The ones next to my mom—you already know them."

"You saw Xu Yinghuan's parents earlier; the remaining two are Qiao Xinyan's parents."

"By the way, where's your mom?"

Yan Zhusheng blinked, pulled out her phone to check: "Her flight lands at five p. m. —she should be here soon."

As she spoke, a message came through on Yan Zhusheng's phone.

Yuan Wanqing sent a message saying she had arrived at the community gate.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Li Guohong had clearly received a message from Ying Zhicheng and told Xu Rongbin: "Two more have arrived."

"I'll go down to meet them," Liu Xianmei smiled and rose, heading toward the garage entrance downstairs.

"Your mom seems so gentle," Qiao Xinyan whispered to Xu Yinghuan, watching Liu Xianmei's retreating back.

"Your mom is beautiful too," Xu Yinghuan said, glancing at Yu Zhenqin's figure in the living room.

"My mom's got a terrible temper," Qiao Xinyan muttered under her breath.

Yu Zhenqin was an elementary school teacher who disciplined Qiao Xinyan strictly at home, so Qiao Xinyan was always afraid of her mother.

"What about Zhao Rongjun's parents?" Xu Youyu, enjoying the drama, asked the two.

"Uncle and Auntie seem really nice," Xu Yinghuan blinked.

"Zhao Rongjun's mom runs a clothing store—she once gave me clothes," Qiao Xinyan whispered.

"What?!" Xu Yinghuan's eyes widened. She looked from Qiao Xinyan to Zhao Rongjun. "When? How come I never heard about this?"

Qiao Xinyan suddenly realized she'd spoken too much, hastily covered her mouth, blushing as she glanced at Zhao Rongjun.

Zhao Rongjun, caught off guard by Xu Yinghuan's questioning, became flustered and quickly explained: "It was once before—Xinyan forgot her keys at home."

"Her mom was working late at school, her dad was working overtime, so I told her to wait at my mom's store until they got home."

"Then my mom picked out a few clothes for her to wear."

"That's not how it happened," Qiao Xinyan corrected quickly. "Your mom said she wasn't sure about the sizes and asked me to try them on…"

Li Luo watched the three of them with amusement; Xu Youyu chuckled quietly, finding it hilarious.

In their usual seven-member study group, after finishing daily assignments, Xu Yinghuan was always picked up by her family's car.

So Zhao Rongjun and Qiao Xinyan often went home together.

Naturally, many stories happened during this time, but Li Luo, as Zhao Rongjun's close friend, couldn't get him to talk about such things.

It seems Xu Yinghuan's hopes are a bit slim.

Li Luo looked at Xu Yinghuan, then at Qiao Xinyan, and finally his gaze settled on Zhao Rongjun.

Looking at the three girls beside him, Li Luo felt Xu Yinghuan's attitude was quite like Ying Chanxi's usual jealous behavior.

"Why are you staring at me?" Ying Chanxi noticed Li Luo watching her and immediately looked puzzled.

"Can't I look at you because you're beautiful?"

"Get lost," Ying Chanxi pushed Li Luo lightly, though with little force.

Zhao Rongjun was still explaining to Xu Yinghuan, while Li Luo turned his gaze toward the living room.

The adults' conversation was loud, but Li Luo, using his Memory Palace ability, could chat with Zhao Rongjun and the others while still listening to what was being said over there.

Zhao Rongjun's mother ran a clothing store, and his father worked on a construction site as a team leader—he earned a decent salary, but the job wasn't prestigious.

Qiao Xinyan's mother was an elementary school teacher, specifically a math teacher, and her father, Qiao Qidong, was a white-collar worker at an appliance company.

Their family background was decent enough, but when facing Xu Yinghuan's parents, they still felt a bit insecure.

If it had been two and a half years ago, Li Guohong and Lin Xiuhong probably wouldn't have been much better off.

But after over two years of financial enrichment, though they weren't exactly refined, the couple had gained real confidence—even when visiting this luxurious villa, they showed no sign of intimidation.

Besides them, only Xu Rongsheng maintained a calm, composed demeanor, matching Xu Rongbin's personal presence on equal footing.

Thus, during the living room conversation, Xu Rongbin mostly did the talking, while Xu Rongsheng and Li Guohong played supporting roles, and Qiao Qidong occasionally chimed in.

As for Zhao Zhong, he rarely knew how to speak, merely drinking tea constantly; only when Li Guohong occasionally brought up Zhao Rongjun did Zhao Zhong get a chance to say a few words.

Not long after, Liu Xianmei brought Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing upstairs.

Almost the moment she appeared, Yuan Wanqing's aura overshadowed all the other mothers present.

After all, she had been actively appearing on television screens for two years, and recently often faced audiences of ten thousand at concerts.

A simple parent gathering was naturally easy for Yuan Wanqing to handle.

After returning to the living room, Liu Xianmei saw there were too many people and invited the mothers to stand up and follow her to the mahjong room for a chat.

Ying Zhicheng stayed behind and joined the men's tea gathering.

Having held high positions for years, Ying Zhicheng naturally held his own in presence, and after smoothly joining the conversation, he began chatting with Xu Rongbin.

Xu Yinghuan's mother, Liu Xianmei, was a homemaker; in her youth, she had worked as a suit designer, but after marriage, she quit her job and devoted herself fully to home management.

Xu Rongbin came from investment banking and now owned his own investment company, enjoying considerable fame in Yuhang City.

After deeper conversation, Ying Zhicheng discovered they had once crossed paths—Xu Rongbin had invested in a film and television company that had previously collaborated with Huayue Film and Television.

But once the topic shifted from the children to their respective careers, Zhao Zhong had even less to say.

Even Qiao Qidong and Li Guohong found it hard to interject.

So Xu Rongbin and Ying Zhicheng quickly steered the conversation back, turning it toward the children's studies.

Thus, as they talked, the discussion naturally turned to this year's college entrance exam and university applications.

Li Luo felt like yawning listening to it, but he was curious about what the aunts were chatting about upstairs.

Unfortunately, not long after, the cook came to announce that dinner was ready.

A dinner for nearly twenty people obviously couldn't be handled by the cook alone.

Xu Rongbin had contacted his usual restaurant, having their chefs prepare the dishes and deliver them directly.

The parents gathered and sat down in the first-floor dining room, while Li Luo and the others were taken upstairs by Xu Yinghuan.

Zhao Rongjun clearly looked worried, frequently glancing toward the staircase, lost in thought.

Fortunately, the meal ended pleasantly enough.

The parents drank a lot, dining from just after six in the evening until nearly nine.

The men drank and ate while Liu Xianmei led the mothers who had finished eating back upstairs to the mahjong room.

Xu Yinghuan also pulled Qiao Xinyan and the others upstairs to play.

Zhao Rongjun had wanted to follow, but Li Luo pulled him down to the first-floor dining table.

"Li Luo, you're here?" Ying Zhicheng looked at Li Luo and waved him over to sit.

After Li Luo and Zhao Rongjun sat down, Li Luo asked the cook to bring two clean sets of bowls, chopsticks, and wine cups, then poured two glasses of beer.

Xu Rongbin smiled as he watched Li Luo pick up his cup, raise it with Zhao Rongjun to toast the elders, then take a sip and say, "Yinghuan told me you're interested in the houses around here?"

"I think the area at the foot of Ningshan has a nice environment," Li Luo said with a smile. "I heard Uncle has connections?"

"I know the developer here," Xu Rongbin nodded. "I'll give you his contact later—you should get a good discount."

"Then thank you, Uncle."

"No need to thank me," Xu Rongbin chuckled. "Your study group has done my Yinghuan a huge favor."

"We originally thought it would be great if she could just get into Fuyi High School."

"Now she actually has a chance to aim for Qianjiang University—it's an unexpected blessing."

"That's not my achievement," Li Luo grinned, patting Zhao Rongjun on the shoulder. "He's the one doing all the tutoring—I mainly help Zhusheng."

"You both deserve credit," Xu Rongbin raised his cup again, gesturing to both of them, and drank half of it with a smile.

Zhao Rongjun quickly raised both hands to hold his cup and drank it down with Li Luo.

To be honest, he had hardly ever drunk alcohol before; this one gulp made him dizzy, and his face flushed noticeably.

Li Luo stayed at the table a little longer, occasionally guiding Zhao Rongjun's responses, then, sensing the right moment, politely excused himself and pulled Zhao Rongjun away to go upstairs and play.

"Why is your face red?"

Xu Yinghuan happened to come out to use the restroom and saw Zhao Rongjun following Li Luo upstairs—she looked utterly confused.

"Your dad forced him to drink—he had several bottles," Li Luo lied beside him.

"What?!" Xu Yinghuan heard this and immediately flew into a rage, turning to storm downstairs and confront Xu Rongbin, "What is Father doing?!"

"Hey, stop!" Zhao Rongjun grabbed Xu Yinghuan and glared at Li Luo with annoyance, "Li Luo is lying to you!"

(End of Chapter)