CHAPTER 69: CHAPTER 68: WATCHING A MOVIE (PART 1)

In Wuxun during winter, the sunlight is warm and gentle, streaming through the open windows and casting dappled shadows on the kitchen sink.

Kang Xuan leaned against the countertop, staring resentfully at Xiang Qichen across from her, tapping her slender white index finger on the surface, as if she were interrogating him.

Xiang Qichen didn’t even dare to eat, sitting upright in his chair, speechless.

Carelessly, he upset this little ancestor again...

"If I hadn’t come to your house for a check-up, would you not have told me you were back, Zhou Huaiyi?"

After a long moment, Kang Xuan spoke in a detached tone.

Xiang Qichen pondered for a while: "No, I just haven’t had the chance to tell you yet."

Kang Xuan glanced at him disdainfully, rendered speechless.

"I came back suddenly too; my cousin is getting married today." Xiang Qichen explained.

Kang Xuan was momentarily stunned, suddenly feeling that perhaps she was making a fuss over nothing, so she relaxed and said "Oh": "Is that so... In that case, I won’t hold it against you."

Xiang Qichen: "..."

Kang Xuan pulled a chair over next to him, leaning her head on her hand with a cheerful smile: "Since you’re back, how about we catch a movie tonight? ’Gentle Spring Breeze’, your idol’s in it."

Xiang Qichen picked up his chopsticks and resumed eating without hesitation: "Sure, I’ll treat you."

"No problem!" Kang stood up quickly and headed towards the stairs, "Call me when the wedding’s over, I’ll come pick you up."

Xiang Qichen naturally replied: "Okay."

Seeing Miss Kang off, Xiang Qichen also sent a WeChat message to Zhou Huaiyi: [Are you there yet? Kang Xuan just came to your house.]

*

Zhou Huaiyi didn’t get a chance to check her phone until the event was over. She glanced at the time, realizing more than six hours had passed since Xiang Qichen’s message; he must have headed to the wedding venue by now.

With that thought, Zhou Huaiyi couldn’t be bothered to send a text back and just called directly.

The noise on the other end was loud and chaotic. Zhou Huaiyi said "Hello" but it was a while before Xiang Qichen responded.

He seemed to have found a quieter spot, as the noise in the earpiece diminished considerably.

Xiang Qichen: "Is the event over?"

Zhou Huaiyi let out a long breath, relieved: "It’s over, and I can finally take a couple of days off."

After speaking, she couldn’t help but cough a few more times.

Hearing this, Xiang Qichen frowned slightly, his tone concerned: "Is your cold getting any better?"

"Cough, cough... It’s okay..." she said nonchalantly, pretending to be relaxed, "Are you at the wedding venue?"

"Yeah, I’m here."

"Do you remember my relatives?"

Xiang Qichen recalled the relatives recognition chart that Zhou Huaiyi had sent him a few days ago and couldn’t help but laugh: "Yeah, I pretty much recognize them all."

"That’s good, that’s good." She smiled contentedly, "Did Kang Xuan say anything else?"

Xiang Qichen answered truthfully: "Not much, just planning to watch a movie later."

"Ah—" Zhou Huaiyi sighed, "I wish I could watch with you too..."

At this, both of them were taken aback.

The air suddenly stood still for a few seconds.

Zhou Huaiyi pressed her lips together, momentarily unsure of what to say.

After a while, a light laugh came through the phone, brief and gentle.

It inexplicably made Zhou Huaiyi blush: "I... I still have a flight to catch... Goodbye!"

"Beep beep beep beep..."

The busy signal echoed in his ears, and Xiang Qichen’s subtly curled lips turned into a wider smile.

——

The wedding banquet was bustling with guests and the sound of clinking glasses, truly lively. Xiang Qichen sat quietly eating between Old Zhou and Mrs. Zhou.

He was initially there just to make an appearance on behalf of Zhou Huaiyi. Now, seeing that he had eaten enough, he called Kang Xuan to prepare for an early departure.

The movie started at 9:20. Not long after calling her, Kang Xuan arrived on an electric scooter, wrapped in a coat and woolen gloves, bundled up from head to toe.

Kang, pulling down her scarf, glanced at the brightly lit hotel lobby: "This hotel’s reception isn’t cheap; your cousin’s marrying well!"

Xiang Qichen straddled the seat, responding with a bland "Hmm."

"Hey, when you get married, will you hold it here?"

Kang twisted the accelerator and suddenly asked.

Xiang Qichen was caught off guard and hadn’t responded yet when she "tsk’d" again: "Almost forgot, you’re a man who’ll marry into the Xiang family."

Xiang Qichen: "..."