Chapter 245: Chapter 245: Birthday Banquet Face-Slapping (3) Chapter 245: Chapter 245: Birthday Banquet Face-Slapping (3) “It’s alright. Welcome,” said Jiang Zhe.

Song Xingyu hooked his arm around Jiang Zhe’s neck and said, “See, I told you everything would be fine, and you were worried all the way here. Is Jiang Zhe that kind of person? Oh, by the way, Jiang Zhe, my parents and older brother will be up soon. They went to park the car and ran into a few old friends; they have some things to discuss.”

Jiang Zhe had not expected his whole family to come, which was quite a surprise to him.

The status of Song Ye was actually far above Jiang Xiliang, and even slightly higher than Jiang Cheng. His coming with the whole family showed his dedication.

“You won’t mind, will you?” Song Xingyu asked tentatively.

Jiang Zhe took off his mask, “There’s enough room.”

The pink cheeks of the girl revealed by the mask caused a few boys to gaze intently for a moment.

Realizing their reaction, they all hurriedly looked away.

Xia Enci clicked her tongue twice, “Aren’t you afraid your brother-in-law will find out and pluck your eyes out?”

Song Xingyu immediately retorted, “It’s a natural desire to appreciate beauty. It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose. Just like when you see Xu Jin—do you choose whether to look or not, or do your eyes make that decision independently? Right, Si Qing?”

Si Qing nodded shyly, and Four-Eyes agreed fervently.

Seeing them having a good chat, Jiang Xiruo smiled and said, “Enci, why not let our classmates go in and sit down for some tea?”

“Sure, Song Xingyu, you help me entertain them. I won’t accompany you inside,” Xia Enci naturally handed over the task to Song Xingyu.

“No problem, leave it to me,” Song Xingyu was happy to undertake this task.

As they were about to enter, Jiang Cheng’s family of three appeared.

Ding Yuehua and Ding Xuexue planned to visit the Fen Family after, so they intended to complete the formalities early and arrived a bit sooner.

The family of three was dressed very formally, slightly beyond the expectations for tonight’s birthday banquet.

Especially the mother and daughter, Ding Yuehua and Ding Xuexue, who wore evening gowns and expensive jewelry, they shone with every movement.

Jiang Xiruo was unaware of their plans and assumed they dressed so formally out of respect for Jiang Zhe. She smiled and said, “Second Brother, Sister-in-law, there’s no need for you to come so early to help; there’s nothing to do. Everything’s ready. Since you’ve arrived early, why not go inside and have some tea?”

Ding Yuehua was not embarrassed and glanced over the people present.

Several young men and women appeared to be Jiang Zhe’s classmates.

They were dressed in very ordinary clothes, nothing obviously expensive, and all of them were unfamiliar faces. Judging by the playful way they spoke to Xia Enci earlier, they seemed to have come from Jincheng.

Besides these few, there were no other guests.

All insignificant people, Ding Yuehua did not even bother to greet them and quickly withdrew her gaze to look at the private room.

The private room was quite large, but currently, it was empty.

Just these few students, could they really fill such a large room?

Ding Yuehua smiled and said, “Xi Ruo, Xiaozhe, I’m really sorry, but we have something to tell you. We’ve received a last-minute invitation to a banquet that we really can’t turn down, so we’ll have to leave for a bit. We won’t be able to stay long here. You know, some invitations from important people are hard to refuse…”

Jiang Xiruo’s smile faded slightly upon hearing this.

Wasn’t it Ding Yuehua who initially proposed they take charge of Jiang Zhe’s birthday banquet? And now they were the ones who were just going to show up and leave?

Even Xia Enci, who was so carefree, had a frown on her face and was not happy.

Looking at Ding Yuehua and Ding Xuexue, they had nice words to say initially, but did nothing at all.

Fortunately, Mother came over with her today to greet and help out; otherwise, if they really relied on them, would Jiang Zhe have to take care of everything himself now?

Xia Enci immediately spoke up, “Uncle and Aunt, wasn’t it you who said you would take care of it? Even three-year-old children know the importance of honesty and manners. What is this supposed to be?”

Jiang Cheng’s face immediately turned awkward.

Ding Yuehua let out a light cough, “Enci, adults often have many involuntaries. Please try to understand.”

“We didn’t really expect you to help, but you could have said nothing from the start if you couldn’t do it,” Xia Enci bluntly exposed their hypocrisy, “And really, it’s quite amusing, isn’t it? Which grand invitation to an important person’s banquet would be arranged at the last minute?”

Song Xingyu and others, standing nearby, understood and shrugged their shoulders, showing no good expression towards them.

Ding Yuehua didn’t care at all what these youngsters thought. She accepted Xia Enci’s sarcasm in full and asked, “Xi Ruo, where’s Dad? Let us personally apologize to him, so he doesn’t misunderstand or worry.”

Jiang Yaowang had gone to help Jiang Zhe prepare a birthday gift, but Jiang Xiruo didn’t say so.

Having harbored a sliver of hope for Jiang Cheng and Ding Yuehua, now Xi Ruo had none left; instead, she became even more polite.

She very courteously said, “It’s fine, no need to wait for Dad; I’ll pass along the message. Your own important matters come first; please go ahead with them.”

“I really am so sorry. Look, everything has crowded together. We initially wanted to give Xiaozhe a proper birthday celebration. The friends we invited, due to today’s special circumstances, might not be able to come either. I really feel so bad…” Ding Yuehua shook her head, seeming very sincere and apologetic.

Jiang Cheng also felt extremely apologetic, “Xiaozhe, I’m sorry.”

Jiang Zhe glanced at them, her eyes seeming to smile but not really smiling, indicating she didn’t mind.

Jiang Xiruo understood all too well that these apologies were for Jiang Yaowang’s sake, not for Jiang Zhe.

Ding Xuexue spoke softly, “Xiaozhe, we’ll try to come back early to cut the cake with you. Dad asked his friend to order a three-tier large cake for you; it will be sent over later.”

Both she and Ding Yuehua adjusted their attitudes, managing to speak gently and softly.

They knew they were in the wrong and didn’t want to make things difficult for Jiang Cheng.

“Okay,” Jiang Zhe replied perfunctorily, and after she dropped her gaze, she didn’t look at them again.

She seemed very indifferent, which made Ding Yuehua and Ding Xuexue’s sense of guilt fade away.

Only Jiang Cheng always felt a bit guilty towards her, very uncomfortable, but when he saw his wife and daughter leaving, he had no choice but to quickly follow at their heels.

Meanwhile, he still called Jiang Yaowang to briefly explain the situation.

Jiang Yaowang’s tone was as usual; nothing else could be discerned from it.

While Jiang Cheng was making the call, Ding Yuehua saw a familiar figure also with a family of three.

She remembered that man seemed to be Song Ye?

Song Ye used to have a good career in Beijing. Later, he was transferred to Jincheng. It was said that the next time he would be transferred back, he would be up for promotion. This trip to Jincheng was to accumulate capital, build experience.

“Husband, look over there, that person…” Ding Yuehua hurriedly nudged Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng was expressing his apologies to Jiang Yaowang over the phone, and by the time he put his phone away, he only saw the family of three’s backs.