How Will You Reward Me?

After taking Xiao Yu around all the fun attractions in Flower City and seeing her back to the hotel, Chen Mo finally braced himself and went home.

The moment he stepped through the door, he saw his mother's unfriendly stare. Chen Mo could only pretend not to notice.

"Where did you go today? Why was your phone switched off?" Shao Xuemei's tone was unpleasant from the moment she spoke.

She had wanted the two young people to meet, but the girl had not come, and Chen Mo had slipped away too. His phone had even been switched off, which had made her terribly worried.

"I ran into a friend while buying medicine, so we went out for a bit. My phone ran out of battery and shut down," Chen Mo said with a smile.

"I'm not criticizing you for nothing. You'd barely arrived at your aunt's house before running off. Isn't that rude?" Chen's Mother seized the chance to lecture him, while Chen's Father quietly watched from the side, unable to hide the amusement on his face.

When Xiao Yu returned to the hotel, she nervously switched on her phone. She had said she was going to Uncle Zhang's place, but she had not gone. She had no idea whether Uncle Zhang had been worried.

After thinking it over, Xiao Yu called Uncle Zhang.

The moment the call connected, Zhang Yang's worried voice came through. "Xiao Yu, your phone was off every time I called. If you hadn't called back soon, I was going to contact your father."

"Uncle, I'm sorry. I went out with a friend, and my phone ran out of battery," Xiao Yu said apologetically.

"Where are you? I'll pick you up and bring you over to stay. Your father asked me to look after you, yet you've been here for a whole day without showing up." Hearing that Xiao Yu was fine, Zhang Yang finally relaxed.

"No need, Uncle. I can stay at the hotel."

"You're a girl. It's not good for you to stay at a hotel alone. Give me the address and I'll come get you. Your father told you to stay at my place, so don't be formal with me."

"No need to trouble yourself. I'll come over to your place now," Xiao Yu said, unable to find an excuse to refuse.

After hanging up, Xiao Yu flopped straight onto the bed, on the verge of tears. She was doomed. It looked like she could not avoid this after all. At worst, she would just refuse.

Xiao Yu climbed out of bed and began packing her things to check out.

"Xiao Yu will be coming over in a while." Zhang Yang had just put down his phone when he spoke to Shao Zhen beside him.

"Then I'll notify Xuemei." Shao Zhen immediately took out her phone.

"You can't force this kind of thing. The two kids are still too young. Didn't you see how they both ran off today? Xiao Yu nearly refused to come over. She probably knows what we have planned," Zhang Yang said.

"I've met Xiao Yu twice. She's pretty, gentle, and well-behaved. She's a good match for Xiao Mo, and they go to the same university, so they'll definitely have things in common. It might work out. Otherwise, I wouldn't have suggested it. We're not forcing them into anything. Free love is popular nowadays. They can meet, and if they don't like each other, they can at least become acquainted. There's nothing wrong with being friends."

The next day, after finishing breakfast, Chen Mo hurriedly slipped out of his room. He was genuinely afraid that his mother would catch him and drag him to his aunt's house again.

When he arrived at the agreed meeting place, Chen Mo quietly waited for Xiao Yu to appear.

Today was Xiao Yu's friend's wedding. Since Xiao Yu had asked him to accompany her, Chen Mo naturally would not refuse.

Not long after he arrived, Xiao Yu appeared before him.

Xiao Yu wore a fitted trench coat over a tight sweater, keeping her warm while perfectly outlining her figure. Her light makeup, combined with her distinctive bearing, left Chen Mo staring blankly.

"Dummy, have you stared enough?" Xiao Yu waved her hand before Chen Mo's eyes, her face carrying a shy smile.

"You're beautiful."

"Of course. I'm attending a wedding today. It wouldn't be appropriate to dress too casually." Xiao Yu linked her arm through Chen Mo's.

"Let's go," Chen Mo said.

With that, Chen Mo hailed a taxi and headed toward the hotel hosting the wedding.

Blue Spring Hotel.

Outside the hotel, wedding cars were lined up in rows. The entrance had been decorated festively, and many people came and went, each with a smile on their face.

After giving their gift money and signing in, Chen Mo and Xiao Yu entered the wedding venue.

"Xiao Yu, you finally made it." The bride greeting guests immediately smiled when she saw Xiao Yu.

"Qian Qian." Xiao Yu gave the bride a light hug.

"Is this your boyfriend?" Qian Qian looked Chen Mo over.

"Mm." Xiao Yu pulled Chen Mo closer. "His name is Chen Mo. The bride was my deskmate in high school, and the groom was also our classmate back then, Sun Yi."

"Happy wedding."

Chen Mo smiled as he greeted the bride and groom.

"Xiao Yu, we're busy right now and can't properly attend to you. I'm sorry. I've already arranged everything. You're at table six, where all our old classmates are seated," Sun Yi said with a smile as he shook Chen Mo's hand.

"Alright, go ahead and get busy."

After saying goodbye, Xiao Yu led Chen Mo away.

The moment they sat down at table six, they sensed that something was off. The lively conversation abruptly stopped, and everyone's gaze fell on Xiao Yu.

"He Xiaoyu?" A man in formal attire asked in surprise.

"Liu Qiwen, long time no see." Xiao Yu smiled and nodded.

"It really is Xiao Yu. I didn't expect you to become so beautiful after all these years." Liu Qiwen looked delighted upon seeing her and became much more animated. "Xiao Yu, you're graduating this year, right? Would you be interested in working at my company?"

"I've already found a job. Thank you." Xiao Yu continued smiling.

"You should be doing an internship now, and the salary and benefits definitely won't be much. I heard you studied management. Come work for me. My family is preparing to open our fifth supermarket, and we need a manager. The monthly salary starts at ten thousand, plus profit-sharing." A muscular-looking man seated nearby spoke up.

"Thank you, Hua Qiang, but I can't manage a supermarket." Xiao Yu still wore a gracious smile.

Her bearing drew the full attention of several men at the table. Xiao Yu had been pretty before, and plenty of people had pursued her, but back then, she had not possessed the distinctive aura she had now.

"Xiao Yu, who did you bring with you? Aren't you going to introduce him?" A girl finally could not stand it and directly interrupted them.

"His name is Chen Mo. He's my boyfriend," Xiao Yu said.

"Hello, everyone."

Chen Mo smiled in greeting and turned his attention to his phone. He was only here to accompany Xiao Yu. This was not his scene, so he chose not to join the conversation.

"You secretly got a boyfriend and didn't tell us? That's not very nice. I remember a lot of people pursued you back then, but you ignored them all," the girl who had spoken earlier said.

"Mr. Chen, may I ask what you do?" Liu Qiwen asked.

"Me? I sell phones. I'm a billionaire now." Chen Mo chuckled. "In Zimbabwean dollars."

Xiao Yu burst out laughing and lightly punched Chen Mo's shoulder. "He likes to joke around. Don't mind him. He's about to graduate too, just like me. We go to the same university, and he studies software development."

"An IT guy?"

Everyone suddenly understood.

"Xiao Yu, congratulations. Today is Qian Qian's day. I'm sure yours will come soon too," another girl said.

The atmosphere relaxed. There was no showing off or veiled mockery. Everyone simply chatted about their high school days and the experiences they had had over the years. The friendship of former classmates was still simple and pure.

Suddenly, the lively venue fell quiet. Amid the host's blessings, the newlyweds made their grand entrance under everyone's watchful eyes.

After a series of ceremonial proceedings, it was time to toss the bouquet.

"I hope all the unmarried sisters here today will come out and receive my blessing." The bride held the microphone, unable to conceal the joy on her face.

"Xiao Yu, let's go too." A girl beside her grabbed Xiao Yu and headed behind the bride.

Xiao Yu's cheeks reddened slightly as she stood at the very back of the crowd. Suddenly, cries of surprise rang out. The people in front frantically backed away, and before Xiao Yu could react, a bouquet landed in her arms.

Before she could fully come to her senses, the retreating crowd bumped into her.

"Ah..."

After the cry of surprise, Xiao Yu fell backward. Yet there was none of the pain she had expected. Instead, she only felt herself fall into a warm embrace carrying a familiar scent.

When she saw Chen Mo's familiar smiling face, Xiao Yu smiled too.

"I saved you again. How will you reward me?"