222 He Repented
Nan Yu Hotel was holding an engagement banquet.
The invited guests arrived at the banquet hall one after another in the evening. They found their seating signs at the door.
“Yilan.” Lin Jiao glanced at the seating sign and reminded Pei Yilan, who was sending a WeChat message, “Qu Wenhao is at the same table as us.”
“Who?”
“Qu Wenhao.”
Pei Yilan tried to search her memory, but time had erased most of it. “I don’t remember what he looked like.”
“He suits your taste anyway.”
“Is he as handsome as Jiang Ye?”
“I don’t remember.” Lin Jiao could remember the name because she had helped him write a letter.
“The arrangement of the seats is really interesting.” Pei Yilan stopped dwelling on the past. “Gu Quan and the others are also at table nine.”
Lin Jiao replied calmly, “I expected that.” She walked into the hall with Pei Yilan and found table nine.
The waiters pushing the food carts served the dishes one after another. At seven o’clock sharp, delicious food was placed on the round table.
Gu Quan and Song Zhen, who came together, exchanged a few pleasantries with some of their old classmates and sat in the two empty seats to Lin Jiao’s right.
He Qi, who came a step slower than them, looked at the familiar faces and sat on the other end decisively without saying a word to them.
Qu Wenhao, who was next to him, broke the silence and chatted with Pei Yilan. “Yilan, where do you work now?”
He was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, looking handsome and mature.
Pei Yilan looked at him. “Sheng Heng.”
“Is the income decent?”
“Just barely enough to live on.” She pushed aside the rose petals encircling the porcelain plate. “How are you?”
“Not bad.” Qu Wenhao smiled humbly.
He stared at that face that was even more beautiful than he remembered. He was about to ask her if she was in love when he was interrupted by a voice on the stage.
Zhu Xing and Qian Yongjun went on stage hand in hand.
They talked about how they met and fell in love before kissing in public with red eyes. The sweet atmosphere spread to every corner.
A round of applause stopped, and a melodious and romantic tune accompanied the guests as they began to eat.
The old friends who had not seen each other for a long time chatted non-stop. The liveliness continued to the resting area. Groups of two to three men and women gathered and drank.
Lin Jiao and Pei Yilan found the surroundings too noisy and moved to the open-air garden to admire the stars and moon.
The light and shadow landed on the black sofa like a thin veil, wrapping them in soft and blurry shadows.
“Sister Jiao, Yilan.” A figure walked behind the sofa, temporarily covering the bright moonlight.
Song Zhen took out the invitations he had prepared and handed them to them one by one. He smiled faintly. “I’m getting engaged next month.”
“With whom?”
“The daughter of the Yuan family.”
Pei Yilan had heard about the daughter of the Yuan family. Her expression was indescribable.
She opened the simple invitation and looked at the date. “What day is the 20th?”
“Saturday.” Song Zhen drank half a glass of wine and sat opposite Qu Wenhao and Gu Quan. “Come, let’s play a round of dice.”
The dice cup on the table then clinked.
After the three rounds of games ended, a few old classmates who had gone to the garden to take a breather joined them, making the two sofas even more crowded.
Gu Quan retracted his hand. “Jiaojiao.” He raised his chin at the table and chairs on the right. “Shall we talk?”
“Okay.” Lin Jiao picked up the champagne glass.
She leaned against the back of the chair with balloons hanging on it, listening to them being blown by the wind, and waited for him to speak.
Gu Quan took out his cigarette box. “I bumped into He Qi and Su Tian outside some time ago. Do you know what they were doing?”
“What?”
“He Qi has his arm around her waist.” He lit the cigarette between his lips. “Feeding her steak.”
Lin Jiao did not expect things to turn out like this.
She rubbed the cup with her fingers, removing the fog that had gathered on it. “They admitted it?”
“Sort of?” Gu Quan blew out a mouthful of smoke. “He Qi told me that he likes Su Tian and asked me to give her to him.”
“What did you say?”
“I broke up with her.”
Lin Jiao looked at him with mixed feelings. “I remember that you’ve known He Qi for more than ten years?”
“Thirteen years to be precise.” He met her gaze through the diffuse smoke. “I never thought he’d do this.”
Compared to Su Tian’s betrayal, He Qi, who had been with him for many years and gone through thick and thin together, had dealt him a greater blow.
A long silence spread between them.
Lin Jiao took two sips of champagne and suddenly sighed.
That sigh was not filled with pity or mockery, nor did it escape Gu Quan’s ears.
“Jiaojiao, I’m sorry.” He looked up, his voice hoarse from the wind. “I’ve told you I’m sorry many times in the past, but those apologies were not sincere enough.”
Now, he repented, and he received his retribution.