The House Party

The news that Li Zhenqiang had already registered his marriage and was about to hold his wedding banquet spread rapidly among Shen Qi and his undergraduate classmates.

Shen Qi's class had about thirty boys and one girl.

The class beauty got the class monitor's attention, and they've been dating for seven or eight years but still haven't gotten married.

Studies show that girls between the ages of 25 and 30 think about getting married every day, but their desire to get married is not as strong after the age of 30.

Ou Ye is a few months younger than Shen Qi, a Virgo, and will soon turn 26.

Upon learning that Li Zhenqiang had obtained his marriage certificate, Ou Ye followed up on the topic, saying, "Chasing girls without the intention of marriage is just playing around."

As Shen Qi flipped through a physics magazine, he said, "We're getting married this year."

Ou Ye was unhappy again. "Do as you please, get married whenever you want?"

Shen Qi closed the magazine. "Then it's settled."

Ou Ye: "Fine, if we don't want to get married, then so be it."

This woman is impossible to please. Shen Qi changed his clothes and prepared to go out.

Ou Ye took out a medicine bottle and stared intently at Shen Qi.

"Can't you come up with something new? You always do this when we have a fight." Shen Qi had become somewhat immune to Ou Ye's tactics. He grabbed his car keys and said he was going out to a party.

Ou Ye took two pills, then laughed, put on her prettiest clothes and shoes, wore earrings and a necklace, and carried a super cool bag.

Shen Qi asked casually, "Ou Ye, what are you doing? Why are you dressed so provocatively?"

"I also have plans to go to a party," Ou Ye said.

Shen Qi asked, "Aren't you being serious?"

Ou Ye snatched the car keys from Shen Qi's hand. "This is my dad's car. You'll have to take a taxi to the party."

"Ou Ye, this isn't funny. Do you think I, Shen Qi, can't afford a car?" Shen Qi and Ou Ye would occasionally bicker, but this time Shen Qi realized that Ou Ye seemed to be serious.

"I'll buy it, bye-bye." Ou Ye went out and took the elevator downstairs.

Shen Qi ran up the stairs faster than the elevator could take him down. He sprinted to the underground parking garage and hid behind an MPV, observing from the shadows.

Ou Ye appeared, got into the car (her father's car, with a Beijing license plate), started the engine, left the underground parking garage, and disappeared from Shen Qi's sight.

"Ou Ye, you've really gotten to it, throwing a party without warning." Shen Qi's party was improvised, but Ou Ye's party seemed to have been planned all along.

Shen Qi bought a few cans of beer at the convenience store in the neighborhood, sat downstairs drinking, and didn't want to go home; it was so boring being home alone.

After waiting and waiting, Shen Qi went to buy a few more beers to make a dozen. When he got home, he found that Ou Ye was still not back.

Oh no, my girlfriend's angry! She really went out and had fun.

Shen Qi called Ou Ye, but she didn't answer.

I called again, but she still didn't answer.

He dialed again, and the call connected, "Hey, Shen Qi, are you coming over today?"

"Aunt Ye?" Shen Qi was surprised; it was the voice of Ou Ye's Mom.

Aunt Ye: "Tomorrow is my birthday, Ou Ye is coming home to celebrate with me."

Shen Qi heard upbeat music on his phone; Ou Ye had gone to a house party at her parents' house.

"Aunt Ye, I just finished a project and I'll be right there. I have to be there for your birthday; it wouldn't be sincere if I didn't go after midnight tonight." Shen Qi spoke sincerely. Aunt Ye had been very good to him, so he had to go and celebrate her birthday.

It's not far to drive from the capital to Ou Ye's house, but Shen Qi doesn't have a car; the only car in the house was taken by Ou Ye.

This didn't stump Shen Qi. He called Lu Guozhen: "Dean Lu, can I borrow your Buick LaCrosse... Never mind, it's alright, I've had too much to drink, I can't drive."

Driving under the influence of alcohol is a criminal offense, and Shen Qi cannot do anything illegal.

It's not befitting someone of Shen Qi's stature to take a taxi, a high-speed train, or a long-distance bus to Ou Ye's house.

Taking a helicopter would be the most suitable option—it's both prestigious and fast. Shen Qi actually has the resources for this, but he doesn't want to involve the state in his personal affairs.

Shen Qi called Yu Lei: "You're Associate Professor at Tsinghua University, you should have a car, right?"

Yu Lei: "Are you referring to official vehicles or private cars?"

Shen Qi: "Private car, help me with some personal business."

Yu Lei: "I just bought an Audi A5 on installment, and it's still in the break-in period."

Shen Qi: "The A5 will do. You can drive to my house to pick me up and then take me to Ou Ye's house."

Yu Lei asked, "Now?"

Shen Qi: "Yes, right now."

While waiting for Yu Lei, Shen Qi went to a jewelry store near the neighborhood and bought a diamond ring and a platinum diamond necklace.

Yu Lei picked up Shen Qi shortly afterward and drove away from the capital.

Everyone needs friends and brothers. A good brother is one who doesn't waste words and will drive you to another city when it matters most.

Following the navigation instructions, Yu Lei drove to the entrance of Ou Ye's villa.

"Sister Ou lives in such a big house?" Yu Lei finally understood that the low-key Sister Ou was a rich girl.

"Get out of the car and come inside with me." Shen Qi straightened his clothes and hair in front of the makeup mirror.

Yu Lei said, "Little Brother Qi, I'm just a driver, an outsider, so there's no need for me to go in, right?"

Shen Qi urged, "What driver? You're Ou Ye's junior from Princeton, are you an outsider? Your current identity is Associate Professor at Tsinghua University. Do you think I'd let Associate Professor from Tsinghua University squat at the door ordering takeout? Most importantly, there will be a fierce battle once you go in. You're responsible for dealing with Ou Ye's father at the dinner table."

Yu Lei turned off the engine and asked, "I was so focused on driving the whole way that I didn't dare ask. We're about to have a tough battle, Little Brother Qi, can you tell me the truth? Did you and Xiao Ou have a fight?"

"It's normal to have disagreements, just coax them a bit and they'll be fine." Shen Qi and Yu Lei got out of the car and walked towards the Ou family villa.

This community has strict management; security guards will confirm the identity of the homeowner before visitors enter.

Once the security guard asked that question, the entire Ou family knew that Shen Qi had arrived.

The gates of the Ou family's house were wide open, and Old Ou was there to greet them.

"Hello Uncle Ou." Shen Qi greeted Old Ou and introduced Yu Lei: "This is Professor Yu Lei Shuimu University, my former teammate, and Ou Ye's junior."

"Hello Uncle Ou!" Yu Lei was quite quick-witted.

"Hello, Professor Yu." Old Ou was very polite to Yu Lei when he saw that Yu Lei was so young to be a professor, and a professor at Shuimu University at that.

"Are you busy with work?" Old Ou asked Shen Qi.

"I'm done with work, so I came over to congratulate Aunt Ye."

"Come in." Old Ou led Shen Qi and Yu Lei into the room.

The living room on the first floor was brightly decorated with lanterns, cakes, champagne, fruit, balloons, and ribbons, Yangyang.

There were many people in the living room—elderly, middle-aged, men, women, and children—but Ou Ye was nowhere to be seen.

The party was quite lively. Shen Qi quickly observed the surroundings and was somewhat surprised to see so many people gathered there.

Aunt Ye walked up to Shen Qi and said warmly, "Welcome, Shen Qi. I'm so glad you could come. And who is this?"

After settling into his new environment, Yu Lei introduced himself, "Hello, Auntie, my name is Yu Lei. I'm an associate Associate Professor in the Mathematics Department at Shuimu University. I'm Xiao Ou's junior, and I'm Professor Shen's student."

"The presence of renowned scholars from Yenching University and Tsinghua University is an honor to our home. Welcome, Professor Yu." Aunt Ye was a hospitable hostess, with graceful and appropriate manners.

Aunt Ye invited Shen Qi and Yu Lei to sit down and introduced the family guests, "These two are my parents, this is my eldest brother, and here are my second brother, third sister, fifth brother, and younger sister. These are my nephew, niece, and grandnephew."

"Hello, hello, hello everyone." Shen Qi remembered all of Aunt Ye's relatives one by one. The Ye family was a large family, and Aunt Ye, who was the fourth oldest, was obviously a core member of the family. The whole family came to party for her birthday.

"This is the famous scientist Shen Qi," Aunt Ye Shen Qi to her large family of relatives.

"Shen Qi, you've got some skills." Aunt Ye's father had a full head of silver hair, but he was still very energetic and exuded a certain authority.

This old man was clearly a former leader, and of a high rank. The self-cultivation of senior officials is reflected in their daily demeanor, which is subtly different from that of junior leaders.

Shen Qi sat up straight and replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Old Ye, my skills are nothing special. Loyalty to the Party and service to the country and the people are the mission of us scientific researchers."

The old man was quite satisfied. He took a sip of tea, said nothing more, and occasionally glanced at Shen Qi.

Then Aunt Ye's mother spoke with Shen Qi. She was a kind old woman. "Child, you are truly remarkable. You have won so many scientific awards, solved important scientific problems, brought glory to the country, made the nation proud, and contributed to the progress of world science and civilization. Well done!"

The old men and women who can raise someone like Aunt Ye are no ordinary old men and women; ordinary old women don't have that level of speaking ability.

Bystander Yu Lei could see that Xiao Ou's family was rich, powerful, and had connections; they were not to be trifled with. So, Little Brother Qi had angered Xiao Ou and sent her home; the situation was very serious...