Page 46 of He Is My Bride

“Ah. There come the Wus,” he noted with scarce enthusiasm.

After finishing his talk with the receptionist, Wang Guosheng turned to them as well.

Li Ying took a look at his wife, who was smiling meekly.

There was nothing too memorable about her, although she was a conventionally beautiful middle-aged lady.

Li Ying thought he could learn much of Wang Guosheng’s character by observing his wife, and he thought he could already tell she was a woman entirely subjected to her husband’s will.

Wang Guosheng addressed the oldest person in their group, “Happy New Year. It has been some time since we met, Madam Wu. I hope your health has been good?”

“Happy New Year, Wang Guosheng. Yes, I have been well, thank you,” Madam Wu answered, offering her hand in a shake, which Wang Guosheng took. Their height difference was astonishing, with Madam Wu looking particularly small and frail before the imposing man. The exchange was muted, polite .

Wang Guosheng then greeted everyone else.

He was suave in his mannerisms, and if he shared his sons’ dislike for the Wus, he didn’t let it show but acted perfectly civil.

To Li Ying, this made him even more threatening.

He was also wearing a tuxedo, the jacket in dark burgundy velvet with a black shawl collar.

Guosheng’s family followed suit, everyone having a round of handshakes and ‘happy New Years’ with everyone else.

“Miss Li, happy New Year. It’s good to have you back,” Wang Guosheng said in that same business-like tone he addressed everyone else with, smiling too pleasantly and looking at Li Ying too keenly while he took his reluctantly given hand; Li Ying really didn’t want to let him touch himself, recalling the odd feeling he got when he first met him, as if the man was seeing through him somehow.

Li Ying managed to return the smile though, and gave a handshake as good as he got, and perhaps his apprehension was only visible in his eyes.

“Congratulations on your betrothal,” Wang Guosheng added.

“Thank you, Mister Wang.”

Li Ying was relieved to change his hand into Madam Wang’s warm and plump hand, and she shook it so briskly her many jewels rattled around her wrist. She smiled brightly at Li Ying.

“Happy New Year, Li Ying! Have you been well?”

“Happy New Year, auntie! How have you bee—”

“Oh, it must be quite a year coming for you!”

Li Ying blinked.

“Year of the Dog, darling!” Madam Wang laughed.

“Oh, ah-ha-ha…” Li Ying felt awkward being reminded of his encounter with Madam Wang’s poorly trained runts. “I think I will manage.” If you keep your dogs in check. Li Ying couldn’t help but glance at Wang Guosheng and his sons just then.

Li Ying really didn’t want to grab the limp, clammy noodle that was Wang Hao’s hand. Wang Hao seemed just as reluctant, but they shook hands anyway. Li Ying smiled particularly widely just to screw with him .

I hope you remember how you got your ass handed to you and behave this time. “Luck and profits, Wang Hao!”

“Happy New Year…” Wang Hao survived his encounter with Li Ying, though he outright refused to acknowledge Hanjun. This seemed to suit Hanjun just fine.

Everyone ignored the cousins’ cold-shouldering if they noticed it.

Wang Jian at least shook Hanjun’s hand, but Li Ying couldn’t help noticing neither bothered with as much as polite smiles.

Their greetings were curt and joyless, whereas between Wang Guosheng and Hanjun there had at least been decorum.

It seemed Hanjun only bothered to be polite if he was shown the same courtesy.

Li Ying had to respect Hanjun’s honesty and his resting bitch face, how he made it obvious he wasn’t here to play games. He got that from his uncle, Li Ying realized.

“They are with our group.” Wang Guosheng turned to say to the receptionist, and gave her all their names so that she could check them off the ledger.

Xinyu smiled timidly at Hanjun as he held out his hand to him once his grandfather wasn’t looking. Hanjun took it, his frost melting as he smiled warmly. As soon as they finished wishing each other happy New Year, Wang Jian put his hand on his son’s shoulder.

“Let’s go.” Wang Jian forcefully led Xinyu away after the rest of the Wangs, who were now following the waitress into their private cabinet.

The cabinet had a breathtaking view over the city and was level with the upper part of the Oriental Pearl Tower, which was right there. The iconic landmark glowed with many colorful lights in the night.

Already seated around the other of the two round banquet tables were Wu Yiheng and his mother. Wu Yiheng was in the host’s seat with his grandmother at the guest-of-honor’s seat, for she was the oldest person in the room .

Observing the family, Li Ying noted how different the two sides were: although the Wu seniors were formal to the point of stiffness, first cousin Wu’s wife smiled easily and Li Ying could see Yiyi’s and Hanrong’s kind and spirited personalities being nurtured by their parents.

Unlike Wang Xinyu, who was a much quieter version of himself in the presence of his family, appearing just as oppressed as his grandmother.

His mother, too, Wang Jian’s wife: she was a beautiful and willowy lady whose face was literally sculpted in the image of the ‘perfect’ woman.

She had been made to look years younger than she must have been, considering Xinyu was already eighteen, and she bore the eerie appearance of a doll.

She was either not very bright or just making herself small, just like Wang Guosheng’s wife, only smiling and nodding politely at everything that the others said.

However, she gave Xinyu gentle glances and tenderly fixed his bowtie for him, showing care for her son.

Xinyu smiled at his mother, and Li Ying could tell that at least the two of them had a close and loving relationship.

Yet Wang Jian would glare at his wife and son, as if he disapproved of such soft gestures. “Stop tying it for him, and maybe he will learn to do it properly himself.”

Li Ying’s heart felt for poor A-Yu, whose dejected expression said it all.

I know how you feel, kid. Had Uncle Qian not fixed his bowtie for him in a similar manner before prom night, only to have Mrs. Qian tell her husband off. That Li Ying should learn to make himself presentable, because Qian Hong ‘can’t always be there to fix the simplest things for him.’

Li Ying also noticed Xinyu was not wearing the sleek Vacheron-Constantin Hanjun had given him for Christmas, but a golden Rolex that seemed too large for his slender wrist. Hanjun had noticed it too, and how Wang Jian had led Xinyu away from him.

The seating arrangement was mixed, with the youngest members of the Wus and the Wangs—that was Xinyu and Yiyi—their parents as well as Wang Hao, Hanjun and Li Ying seated in one table, and the elders of the families and Hanrong in the other.

Li Ying sat next to Hanjun. The family juniors sat next to each other and started talking as soon as Yiyi sat by Xinyu.

Wang Jian looked at their interaction with disapproval from two seats away. He sent his brother, who was sitting next to Xinyu, a look that seemed to say ‘do something about that.’ Wang Hao didn’t get the memo, or he didn’t think that babysitting his nephew was his job, because he didn’t react.

Li Ying observed all this quietly while sipping his champagne. The waiter had poured a round for everyone for aperitifs. Li Ying’s observations were interrupted by some more polite talk as the two wives took an interest in him:

“So, you are a career woman?” asked Yiyi’s mother when Li Ying said that he was studying to become a doctor.

“Yes, I would like to pursue a career in medicine.”

“What about when you get children?”

“I would take leave to stay home until the child is old enough to start preschool. We would very much like to have children, of course!” Li Ying enthused and rubbed Hanjun’s arm, and his man agreed with a nod, looking fondly at his betrothed.

“More than one, then?”

Li Ying grinned. “Definitely more than one!”

Hanjun’s face may have taken on a light shade of red. From the other table, Wu Yiheng was listening to them. Hanjun subtly glanced his way, and their eyes met. They looked away, uncle and nephew both as unreadable.

Now with everyone present and seated and drinks having been poured, the food was served next: four waiters carried in multiple plates of dumplings, fresh oysters, fried whole fish, four whole roast ducks and two suckling pigs, noodles, fried rice, and more.

Li Ying was in food heaven, except that he still had to fit into his qipao at the end of the banquet .

Oh well. Sorry not sorry, Anne, I might as well get used to looking pregnant. Li Ying loaded his plate with whatever and as much as he wanted, because screw it.

The Wus conversed politely and the atmosphere was altogether too somber to Li Ying’s liking, making him think of a funeral.

He found himself once again hoping he had been home at the Qians instead, but there was hope yet for Li Ying’s inner party animal: he recalled the New Year’s party invitation on Hanjun’s console.

There was definitely some tension detectable between the Wangs and the Wus, but the atmosphere was familial and courteous enough.

The Wus drank in moderation, but Madam Wang drank plenty of baijiu and got even louder than usual.

Soon she was telling everyone about how Li Ying had been jumped by her dogs on their first meeting, and how ‘the poor girl’ had had to be saved by Grandmother Linming’s maid.

Madam Wang’s exaggerated version made it sound like Li Ying had been some damsel in distress, and that garnered him sympathetic laughter from the others.

Except from Wang Hao, who had drunk a lot himself and laughed too loud and for too long.

“You got scared of those runts?” Wang Hao mocked. “Weren’t you supposed to be the tough American girl?”