Making Their Relationship Official

Twenty days after the restaurant's trial opening, the day of its official grand opening arrived.

For one thing, no major problems had cropped up during the trial opening. For another, they wanted to open before the Christmas and New Year holidays, so they wouldn't miss out on making a fortune over those few days.

The day of the opening was sunny and breezy, and many friends came to join the festivities and bring flower baskets.

Of course, they were all friends of Jiang Lean and Sun Haoyu.

The only people Chu Tianqing knew were the girls who worked at the bar. Quite a few of them came, and Sister Bai came on behalf of the boss, bringing a flower basket too.

They hadn't seen one another in a while, and once they met, they had endless things to talk about.

One of the older girls took Chu Tianqing's hand and earnestly advised her, "Sweetie, it's good that you're with An'an. Just do some simple work and earn enough to keep yourself fed. Remember one thing: you absolutely mustn't go looking for a partner at random. The moment you have a baby, you're done for."

Another girl didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"It's not nonsense. There was a girl in my village who had something wrong with her head too. She was fine while her family kept her at home, but once she got married, things got terrible. She had one baby after another and died in less than eight years," the older girl said, her face full of sorrow.

The more Chu Tianqing listened, the more wrong it sounded. "Wait, wait. Who has something wrong with their head? Me?"

The two women exchanged a profoundly meaningful look.

The older girl who had called her sweetie put on a fake smile, held Chu Tianqing's hand, and said sincerely, "We weren't talking about you. You're the smartest of all."

Wait, did they really think she was an idiot?

Annoyed, Chu Tianqing couldn't make herself understood to them, so she turned and went to find Jiang Lean, who was talking to Sister Bai in a corner.

Chu Tianqing cut in and asked her if she knew what was going on.

Jiang Lean froze for a few seconds, then couldn't help covering her mouth to stifle a laugh. "Oh, that? I know what happened."

She tried hard to hold back her laughter and bravely admitted, "I was the one who started the rumor. They asked me before why someone as pretty as you was cleaning toilets, and I said there was something wrong with your head. Then, as the story spread, it turned into you having cerebral palsy."

Chu Tianqing stared in disbelief, started to speak, then stopped. She closed her eyes and tilted her head up at a forty-five-degree angle, processing her grief and indignation. Finally, she regained her composure and ordered coldly, "Jiang Lean, hurry up and set the record straight. If you don't clear this up, I won't let you off."

Chu Tianqing marched Jiang Lean out of the corner and immediately spotted someone else in the restaurant. Xiao Junyi was talking to the girls, and it was clear he was having a hard time holding back his laughter.

There was no need to guess. Xiao Junyi definitely knew about her having cerebral palsy.

Let it all be destroyed. This world is so annoying!

This time, Jiang Lean really did feel a little guilty. She hurried over and joined the conversation, sending Xiao Junyi to find Chu Tianqing while she explained things to the girls.

As Xiao Junyi approached, Chu Tianqing shot him a sideways glare and asked irritably, "What were you all talking about? You looked so happy laughing over there."

"Nothing much." Xiao Junyi leaned against the wall and lowered his voice to tease her. "I didn't expect you to have such a rich employment history, or to be friends with a bunch of drinking hostesses. As soon as they heard I was your boyfriend, they all started lecturing me at once. Don't be with you just for your face, don't treat you as a source of amusement, don't do anything immoral, and if I dared get you pregnant, they wouldn't let me off."

Chu Tianqing's face flushed red, and she furiously cut him off. "Shut up, shut up! You know perfectly well it's not like that, so why are you still talking about it? I think you're treating me as a source of amusement!"

"All right, all right, don't be angry. I was wrong, okay?" Xiao Junyi hurried to soothe her. "But speaking of which, you're pretty popular. There's nothing much going on between us yet, and already quite a few people have warned me not to bully you, or I'll be in for more than I can handle."

"Where did all these people come from?" Chu Tianqing asked, puzzled. "Who else was there?"

"Your brother." Xiao Junyi spoke with exaggeration. "I ran into him at the Deercall Club the other day, and he gave me a dressing-down like I was his grandson."

Chu Tianqing immediately thought of Shen Heng. Her heart ached and swelled, and she felt a little urge to cry.

Her wonderful big brother was so good to her that she felt a little guilty toward him.

Seeing that she wasn't speaking and looked a little sad, Xiao Junyi hurriedly asked, "What's wrong? Are you sad for me? I'm so touched. Don't worry, I'm fine. He's my future brother-in-law, so it's only right that he lectures me a little."

"Get out of here. Who's your future brother-in-law?" Chu Tianqing came back to herself. After a moment's thought, she said seriously, "Xiao Junyi, before anything starts, I want to make one thing clear. I'm not the Shen family's eldest daughter, just an ordinary person. I won't be of any help to your career. If that bothers you, we should say goodbye on good terms."

Xiao Junyi was taken aback. He had indeed still thought of Shen Xixi as the Shen family's eldest daughter.

After all, she could still come and go at the Deercall Club, and Shen Heng still valued her.

He had thought she was only cosplaying as a waitress. The contrast had deeply attracted him, like a kind of kink.

But from this second on, he began to see this girl for who she was. He admired her for not giving up on herself after such drastic ups and downs, and for being clear-sighted and resilient, like a tree that would shine forever.

"I don't mind." Xiao Junyi put away his playful expression and asked solemnly, "Shen Xixi, will you be my girlfriend?"

A sweetness filled Chu Tianqing's heart, and she lowered her eyes shyly. "Let's just... keep talking like this for now. Boyfriend and girlfriend? There's no need to make it so official. It's so mushy."

"That's nothing," Xiao Junyi teased her. "I can do even mushier things. Just you wait and see."

Standing in a corner of the restaurant, with the guests' cheers and toasts around them, the two officially became boyfriend and girlfriend.

Chu Tianqing remembered looking at the almanac earlier. Jiang Lean had said the day was auspicious for everything, and now it seemed she was right.

A little later, Zhang Ze suddenly came by with three flower baskets, bringing wishes from Shen Heng, Ye Mingchen, and Qiao Ruhai for a successful opening and rolling riches.

Chu Tianqing had mixed feelings. Once they had finished exchanging pleasantries, she pulled Zhang Ze aside for a private conversation. "Assistant Zhang, is Brother Chen doing all right?"

"There's nothing wrong, as far as I know." Zhang Ze was tactful in his dealings, leaving no openings. "Don't worry, Miss Shen. Director Ye has President Shen with him. They're busy working all day and have no time to think about anything else."

That was all right, then. Her guilt eased just a tiny bit.

Even so, after turning it over in her mind, she still didn't dare tell her wonderful big brother that she and Xiao Junyi had made their relationship official.

Right after the restaurant opened came Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which, for young people, were practically Valentine's Day.

Xiao Junyi asked her in advance what her plans were for those days.

Chu Tianqing replied: Work my tail off, turn over tables, and make a fortune.

Xiao Junyi sent her a sweating emoji. Not long afterward, he asked: Yan Ruyu's throwing a party. Want to go have some fun together?

Chu Tianqing replied instantly: Not interested.

She couldn't be bothered to get involved with that crowd.

Xiao Junyi pressed: Really? I heard your big brother is going too.

Chu Tianqing's fingers froze. She stared at those words in surprise.

Her wonderful big brother was actually going to Yan Ruyu's party. She couldn't imagine what that would look like at all.

Her finger circled a few times before she slowly replied: Now that you mention it, I am interested.