Chapter 269: Chapter 248: Stealing the Show

The Bai family was among the guests at the welcome banquet.

Mr. Bai was still in a wheelchair, but he was in good health. His voice was booming, and you could tell at a glance that he had once commanded troops—he still carried the air of a commander. He attended the banquet with his second son, Bai Lihua, and his second grandson, Bai Junjie, and politely presented a gift to Mr. and Mrs. Mo Youmu, who had traveled from afar. Grandpa and Grandma were rather embarrassed, but Mr. Bai grasped Grandpa’s hand and laughed heartily.

"The Tang and Bai families have a friendship that goes back generations. Our relationship is anything but ordinary. Manman is the Tang family’s granddaughter, but we see her as one of our own. I cannot thank you two enough for raising her with such care..."

Mr. Gu’s face darkened as he stood beside them. But as the host, he bit his tongue and, while he was at it, pulled Old Mrs. Gu aside to keep her from saying something reckless.

Once the guests were seated, Old Mrs. Gu couldn’t hold back any longer. She pulled Mr. Gu into a corner and whined, "Weren’t you the one who said this was all for show? That boy from the Bai family has ill intentions. He’s taking advantage of your eldest grandson not being around to go after Manman, trying to worm his way in and steal our future granddaughter-in-law! Today, that Old Bai is clearly trying to steal our thunder again. Are you just going to let him get away with it?"

Mr. Gu let out a huff. "How could I possibly let him? Why do you think I went to all this trouble to invite so many people? For a free meal? Just you watch. After tonight, none of the sons from the capital’s elite families will dare to have any ideas about Manman. Your eldest granddaughter-in-law isn’t going anywhere!"

"Hmph! I’m not convinced. The two of you men, you and Shaojun, one of you is careless and the other is completely unconcerned. Your future daughter-in-law is about to be snatched away, and neither of you is worried! And don’t even get me started on that dear older brother of yours. Those life-saving pills Manman gave you all to carry for emergencies are priceless, and he just casually gave one away! Just look at Old Bai, acting all high and mighty. It’s enough to make a person explode!"

Mr. Gu replied, "What are you so mad about? You think my brother wanted to? It was just a coincidence. The Bai boy was delivering some ginseng to my brother right when his own grandfather was on his deathbed. Faced with that, who wouldn’t step in to save a life? Besides... years ago, I was in a dangerous situation, completely surrounded by the enemy. My brother probably couldn’t have saved me on his own, so he went and begged the Bai family to move their troops to the flank to create a diversion. They didn’t fire a single shot or shell for us, but that was exactly the effect we needed. I broke out of the siege! We owed them a favor. Consider this us repaying that debt. The others in the Bai family might not understand, but Old Bai’s mind is as clear as a mirror on this!"

Old Mrs. Gu paused for a moment, then muttered, "But that eldest grandson of the Bai family... Shaozheng says he’s unusually handsome, on par with our Shaojun. He’s taken a liking to Manman, too, and he’s even gone to her school to find her. What are we going to do about that?"

"I’ve already told you not to worry yourself sick. It’s common knowledge that our two families have a betrothal agreement. And if you want to talk about new social trends like freedom in love and marriage, our Shaojun is still ahead of that Bai family kid. He got Manman to agree to date first and get married once she’s older! Isn’t that more than half the battle won? Besides, we have a third insurance policy!"

"What is it?"

Mr. Gu chuckled. "My eldest grandson hasn’t gone abroad yet; he’s coming back in the next couple of days! He’ll be able to stay home for a few extra days this time. We’ll have him spend some quality time with Manman and nurture their relationship!"

"What? So he didn’t qualify to go abroad?" Old Mrs. Gu was both surprised and worried.

"My grandson, not qualified? Impossible. He’s doing it for military affairs, for one, and for Little Manman, for two! Mmm, I guess you could say it’s that Bai kid’s fault. He couldn’t set his mind at ease without meeting Manman in person, so he delayed his departure to join the second group going abroad. He’ll probably leave in March now."

"Oh, that’s wonderful, that’s just wonderful!" Old Mrs. Gu beamed. "My eldest grandson is coming home! I have to go back tonight and prepare!"

After mingling with a few groups of people in the main hall alongside her grandparents, Xiao Man was whisked away by Hao Hao and Gu Shaoqin, who had come back to find her. They led her to a table and sat down. She looked up and saw that the table was filled entirely with boys and girls in their teens. The oldest looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, while the youngest were Gu Shaoqin and Tang Haocheng themselves.

Gu Shaoling was also at the table, though she seemed quite busy, discussing something with an elegant-looking girl beside her. She didn’t notice Xiao Man sit down.

Tang Haocheng and Gu Shaoqin sat down snugly on either side of Xiao Man. A young girl to Gu Shaoqin’s right leaned over, looked at Xiao Man, and said with a grin, "I remember you. You’re Tang Manman. You came to my house on New Year’s Day last year, and my mom gave you a red envelope!"

Xiao Man was speechless.

She nodded at the girl and smiled. "Hello."

Tang Haocheng tilted his chin at the girl. "My sister and I will both be home this year. You should come to our house!"

’It’s just a red envelope, what’s all the fuss? We can just give you one back.’

The girl readily agreed. "Sure, sure! I’ll definitely get up bright and early on New Year’s Day this year and make your house my first stop! Oh, right, Tang Manman, you don’t remember me, do you? My name is Pang Xiaoji!"

A couple of soft chuckles came from nearby, and Xiao Man herself almost choked. ’Pang Xiaoji? Not the "ji" for "chicken," surely? What parents would be so thoughtless when naming their child?’

The girl beside Pang Xiaoji kindly clarified, introducing herself at the same time. "It’s not the *ji* from ’chicken.’ It’s the one with the ’woman’ radical, and then the character for ’traitorous official’... that *Ji*. Um, Tang Manman, my name is Cheng Yaji."

Although Cheng Yaji’s explanation wasn’t entirely accurate, it was enough for people to get the general idea, so no one corrected her, not even Pang Xiaoji herself.

Xiao Man smiled at Cheng Yaji as well. "Hello, Cheng Yaji."

Gu Shaoling turned to look at Xiao Man. "Oh, you’re here? I thought you were going to sit with the adults."

The elegant girl who had been speaking with Shaoling, but had been watching Xiao Man with a smile the whole time, looked to be about seventeen or eighteen. She now said, "The adults have to drink and make endless formal conversation. It’s so boring sitting with them. It’s much more fun here with us."

The girl was beautiful, and her voice was gentle and sweet, without a trace of any cloying affectation, making it very pleasant to listen to.

Xiao Man gave her a polite smile in response.

Gu Shaoling made the introduction: "Tang Manman, this is Sister Jun Ran. Sister Jun Ran is a top student at Kyoto University. She hasn’t even graduated yet and she’s already hosting a program on television, you know!"

Xiao Man nodded in understanding. ’So she’s a TV host. No wonder Gu Shaoling is so enthusiastic. She’s probably her idol.’

Gu Shaoling pointed to everyone at the table and continued the introductions. "This is Jun Rui, Zhao Teng, Cheng Yaji, and Pang Xiaoji. And these are Meng Junheng and Bai Junjie, we just met them tonight. This is Tian Sisi, my cousin."

With the formal introductions complete, everyone smiled at Xiao Man. She stood up, clasped her hands in front of her waist, and gave a slight bow. "Hello, everyone. My name is Tang Manman. It’s a pleasure to meet you all."

Everyone was speechless.

Pang Xiaoji giggled. "There aren’t any adults here, it’s just us. Manman, you don’t have to be so formal."

Two gazes instantly flew to Xiao Man, then were just as quickly withdrawn.

One belonged to Bai Junjie, who was sitting quietly with his gaze lowered. The other came from Jun Rui, who was beside Jun Ran—they were probably brother and sister.

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