Zhan Bei Jue looked up as he heard the voice. Ke Teng and Shen Min Er had, at some point, taken seats diagonally opposite him.
They clearly knew he was here and had come intentionally.
Otherwise, with so many seats in the restaurant, why would they coincidentally appear directly opposite him?
Recalling the car crash and his subsequent promise to Jiang Nan Fang that he would never meet Shen Min Er privately, Zhan Bei Jue immediately signaled a waiter.
"Change our private room."
"Certainly, sir."
The waiter promptly went to arrange it.
Diagonally opposite, Shen Min Er's face flushed.
She had said they shouldn't come, but Ke Teng insisted.
He even fantasized about doing something extreme in front of Zhan Bei Jue to provoke him.
But it turned out Zhan Bei Jue simply wasn't interested.
Both of them watched as Zhan Bei Jue and Lu Ming Zhe stood up, not sparing them a single extra glance.
Ke Teng decisively grabbed Min Er's hand.
"What happened to your hand? Why is it bandaged? Are you injured?"
He thought Zhan Bei Jue would at least look over.
However, Zhan Bei Jue was as hard as stone.
He paid no attention, kept his eyes straight ahead, and walked past.
He exuded an attitude of "whatever you do, it's none of my business."
Ke Teng was furious. After they left, when the waiter came to clear their plates, he childishly bumped into the waiter.
With a clatter, the waiter dropped the plates he was holding.
"How do you do your job? Don't you have eyes?"
"I'm sorry, sir! I'm sorry, I didn't do it on purpose!"
Ke Teng kicked the food on the floor in dissatisfaction.
"Bad luck!"
Opposite him, Shen Min Er was utterly speechless, yet had nothing to say.
---
As soon as Lu Ming Zhe arrived home, he received a call from his father, who asked where he had been and what was going on with Chen Jiao Jiao, as he hadn't seen her all day.
Lu Ming Zhe pretended nothing was wrong. "We're in Nan Cheng."
"I upset her a couple of days ago, so I brought her back to appease her. It's fine, you should discuss your matters, we'll follow your arrangements."
It was good that nothing was wrong. His parents were being respectfully accompanied by Mr. Chen, who was very pleased with this marriage.
"According to our wishes, since your relationship has reached this point, we naturally hope you'll get married soon. After all, you're at that age."
"Do you have any requirements? Should the date be moved up or back? It must be within this year."
Lu Ming Zhe said, "Moved up."
"Jiao Jiao doesn't want to be separated from me for even a day. We want to get married as soon as possible."
"But... there aren't any good dates next month. The month after next..."
"Can't it be this month?"
"This month?"
Lu's father hadn't expected him to be so eager.
"There's only one good date this month, the day after tomorrow. You haven't prepared anything..."
Lu Ming Zhe interrupted him.
"There's nothing to prepare. Young people nowadays don't like traditional weddings. We weren't planning to have a wedding at all."
"But for your sake, we'll still have a wedding."
"As long as you can invite friends within two days, the rest is my responsibility."
"A Zhe..."
Although marrying a daughter-in-law into the family was a great joy, and Lu's father couldn't wait for her to join the family, he still had some reservations.
"Isn't it too rushed? The proper ceremonies haven't been performed. Chen's family only has this one daughter, won't she be wronged?"
"We'll give the betrothal gift as much as we should, and we won't lack any etiquette towards them. As long as neither party complains, who would feel wronged?"
Lu Ming Zhe spoke with a noble air.
"Dad, it will be hard work for you these two days, but this is what you should do as an elder, and I can't help you."
Seeing that his mind was made up, Lu's father said no more.
"Don't mention it. It's rare for you to have the intention to settle down. Your mother and I are also pleased with Jiao Jiao, so a little hard work is nothing."
"Moreover, this amount of hard work is considered lazy compared to other families."
"Alright. As long as you two have no objections and live well after marriage, I'll proceed according to etiquette."
"Today, we'll convey the Chen family's sentiments, and tomorrow we'll go invite guests. The venue and other arrangements are up to you."
"Okay. Thank you, Dad."
After hanging up the phone, Lu Ming Zhe immediately called a friend to ask for the contact information of the wedding company he had used for his own wedding.
He also received a wave of blessings and invited a group of friends.
In Jincheng, Lu's father and mother, carrying 880,000 in betrothal gifts and various presents, formally went to propose.
Since yesterday, Mr. Chen had been unable to contact Chen Jiao Jiao, and upon hearing that Chen Jiao Jiao had taken the household registration book, he was very anxious.
His daughter's issue was not yet resolved, and the groom's parents had arrived with great sincerity.
They apologized for the rushed wedding, stating that the Lu family felt indebted to Jiao Jiao in this matter.
They also promised to treat her like their own daughter after marriage and to compensate her in every way possible.
He was suddenly in a dilemma.
If he agreed, he didn't know where his daughter was. What if she acted rebelliously?
If he refused, after two days of good food and hospitality and all the pleasantries, he would then reject them. The Lu family would surely be furious.
It was his younger wife who reminded him.
"Oh my, young Master Lu, as the groom, says it's fine and doesn't care what she does. What are you afraid of?"
"She definitely wouldn't dare to mess around, otherwise would young Master Lu still marry her?"
"Relax, we can't guess what young people are thinking. Perhaps, as young Master Lu said, she's just sulking."
He was still waiting for a reply in the living room, and it wasn't good to keep hiding in the kitchen. Mr. Chen gritted his teeth.
"Alright, then I'll agree."
"Anyway, I'll send her the news. If she dares to act up then and wants to see her dad die, let her do it!"
And so, in Chen Jiao Jiao's absence, everyone decided on her marriage.
At this moment, Chen Jiao Jiao had just returned to the hotel with Hu Jia Sheng.
She was in a bad mood, and Hu Jia Sheng took advantage of the situation to accompany her out for the day.
Chen Jiao Jiao's phone had been off all day. Upon arriving at the hotel, she showered, changed, and turned on her phone. A flurry of missed call notifications and WeChat messages poured in.
She casually scrolled through them, and her expression changed drastically.
"Lu Ming Zhe is truly a pervert!"
Hu Jia Sheng, having just come out of the bathroom, saw her like this and sat beside her.
"What's wrong?"
Chen Jiao Jiao handed him her phone, telling him to look for himself, and closed her eyes in frustration.
"In any case, I won't let him succeed. The more he pressures me, the less I'll cooperate. I'll die before I marry him!"
"Through this incident, I've finally seen my father clearly. 'Precious daughter,' everything he's done his whole life for me, it's all lies!"
"To gain benefits, he's marrying me off without my consent? Is he even my real father?"
Hu Jia Sheng looked through the messages from his stepmother and the pictures of the betrothal gifts and presents sent by the Lu family several times.
He silently handed the phone back to Chen Jiao Jiao.
He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the sofa, and the atmosphere became tense.
Chen Jiao Jiao took her phone back and looked at him.
Seeing no expression on his handsome face, unable to discern his emotions, her heart ached.
She leaned into his embrace, her finger gently poking his beautiful Adam's apple back and forth.
"A Sheng."
Hu Jia Sheng wrapped his arms around her and replied softly, "Mm."
"What are you going to do?"