The New Favorite

After dinner, Xu Ke brought out the property information she had collected over the past few days, and the two of them looked at the layouts and calculated the prices in the bedroom. Lin Yao, silent for a while, suddenly said, “Brother, if you really want to buy a house, shouldn’t you let Mom have a look too?” Xu Ke glanced at Lin Yao, whose dissatisfaction was evident. It seemed as if the house shouldn’t be decided by Xu Ke. Lin Ge thought for a moment, then said, “If Mom comes, there won’t be enough space here.” “I can live with Mom; there’s plenty of space. Anyway, Mom has nothing to do during the May Day holiday.” Lin Ge glanced at Xu Ke. Xu Ke whispered, “Let’s settle on a house first, then we can invite mom over. If we can’t settle on one, wouldn’t it be a wasted trip for her?” “Okay.” That night, Xu Ke couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. Lin Yao, sleeping on the other side, also seemed restless. The next day was the last working day before May Day. The office was unusually busy. Around four or five in the afternoon, Xu Ke suddenly received a call from Lin Ge. “Xiao Ke, my mom’s here.” He sounded a bit surprised too. Xu Ke was taken aback; her first thought was that Lin Yao must have called her. “Oh, that’s great. How about we take mom out for dinner at the Universe Restaurant tonight?” Lin Ge laughed, “Mom has never been to such a fancy restaurant.” “Alright, I’ll book a private room now.” “Good, don’t bother coming back and forth. Just wait at the office; we’ll pick you up by taxi at six-thirty.” Just as Xu Ke had booked a private room at the Universe Restaurant, He Peng walked in. “Xiao Xu, Xiao Zhao, I need you two to accompany me for an engagement tonight.” Zhao Ling immediately agreed enthusiastically. He Peng’s engagements usually involved wealthy or influential people, and since she was single, she was eager to catch a wealthy husband, making her very proactive at these events. Xu Ke quickly said, “Mr. He, my mother-in-law is here, I can’t go tonight. How about Sister Li goes instead?” “Li Jie is allergic to alcohol; she always drinks plain water at dinners, which is really dull,” He Peng said with a pout, then left, closing the door behind him. Sister Li also pouted and muttered, “Mr. He, if you don’t like me going, that’s fine, I don’t want to go either.” The colleagues couldn’t help but chuckle quietly. After work, Xu Ke was the only one left in the office. Standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the traffic jam below, she felt a bit congested inside too. When she first met Lin Ge, she didn’t know his family. When she got to know them, she was indeed surprised, but she tried her best to be tolerant and accommodating, hoping to consider them as her own family. However, relationships can’t be one-sided; they evidently didn’t see her as one of their own. The words Lin Yao said today left marks in her heart like knife cuts. On one side was Lin Ge’s kindness, on the other was the displeasure from his sister; she could only try to console herself to think more positively, reminding herself that Lin Yao would eventually marry and leave, and it was Lin Ge who would be by her side for life. Suddenly, her phone rang. She thought it was Lin Ge, but when she took it out, it was Shen Mu. Seeing his name, she hung up. The phone rang again, and Xu Ke hung up once more, then turned off her phone. She sat silently in the office, memories slowly flowing through her mind, time had passed so long, she could no longer tell what the taste was. After an unknown amount of time, she turned her phone back on, and a message beeped. “I’m waiting for you at the entrance.” Xu Ke’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately walked to the office entrance. If he was telling the truth, Lin Ge and his family would soon arrive by taxi and encounter him. Indeed, his car was parked at the entrance. Xu Ke hurried over without any hesitation. Shen Mu sat in the car, silently watching her approach, his deep gaze fixed on her. Xu Ke stood in front of his car, looking at him calmly, “Lin Ge and I are about to get married.” She paused, then slowly said, “I wish you find your happiness soon.” Shen Mu opened the car door and stood in front of her. At this moment, the sky was dim, his white shirt contrasting with the black car, a backdrop of deepening dusk, with neon lights reflecting in his eyes, deep as the sea in the night. “You won’t marry anyone but me,” he said with a voice full of confidence, as if he controlled everything in the world. Xu Ke seemed not to hear him, her gaze slightly focused, looking up at the clock on the Chang Huan Building, which pointed to exactly seven. In a person’s life, there are moments that, once seen, are unforgettable, regardless of how time changes or circumstances evolve, they remain in memory, unfading. Many years later, she often recalled this moment, at the foot of Chang Huan Building, at exactly seven, the words he said. She smiled faintly, not looking at him, as if smiling to herself or to the past. A taxi approached, and she hailed it. Shen Mu was taken aback. She got into the taxi, and as she closed the door, she thought this must be fate. At this time, at this junction, it was often hard to get a taxi, especially on the eve of May Day when traffic was at its worst, yet here was a taxi, taking her away from him. In the taxi, she called Lin Ge, “Lin Ge, are you on your way?” “Xiao Ke, mom and I are almost at your office, but the traffic is really bad today.” “I’ve already got in a taxi. You and mom can go straight to the Universe Restaurant; no need to pick me up.” “Alright.” Xu Ke hung up, took out her mirror, and tidied her hair. Today, she had her hair up with a vintage hairpin. She took it off and replaced it with a black hair tie, combing her hair into a simple ponytail. Li Pingyu was a very serious person, disliking girls who were sloppy or overly dressed up. Every time she met her, Xu Ke tried to keep herself neat and simple, elegant yet unpretentious. She had to look put-together without seeming too made-up, a balance she had learned to strike after several tries to meet Li Pingyu’s expectations. When Xu Ke first met Li Pingyu, she was filled with respect and admiration. Thinking of how she had raised two children alone after becoming a widow at a young age, Xu Ke found her very strong and admirable, and she wanted to be filial to her, especially remembering her own mother’s hardships. However, after several encounters, Xu Ke realized that Li Pingyu was entirely different from her own mother. She wasn’t a bad person, just a good person who was hard to get along with. Upon arriving at the Universe Restaurant, Lin Ge had not yet arrived. Xu Ke went up to the private room on the second floor. After about half an hour, Lin Ge, Lin Yao, and Li Pingyu walked in. Xu Ke quickly stood up, greeted them with a smile, and led Li Pingyu to the head seat. Li Pingyu looked Xu Ke over with a smile and said, “We’re all family here, no need for such formality. Isn’t this place expensive?” “Auntie, it’s not expensive,” Lin Yao said nonchalantly. “Mom, she’s rich, her stocks have been hitting the daily limit, what’s this meal compared to that?” Xu Ke didn’t respond but sighed inwardly. She had kindly recommended stocks to Lin Yao, only for her to use it to mock her; it was really speechless. Xu Ke handed the menu to Li Pingyu, “Auntie, order whatever you like to eat.” Li Pingyu passed the menu to her son, “Lin Ge, your turn to order.” Lin Ge ordered his dishes and handed the menu back to the waiter. Li Pingyu took it back and inquired about the price of each dish, then crossed out the three most expensive ones. Xu Ke was about to say something, but Lin Ge tugged at her clothes under the table, signaling her not to object. Xu Ke had no choice but to remain silent. The dishes she had picked were the restaurant’s signature dishes, known for their exquisite flavor. She thought Li Pingyu, who always lived in the county town, must have never tried them and really wanted her to taste them. However, her good intentions were met with Li Pingyu’s earnest advice. “Little Ke, we must be frugal in our daily life. I didn’t even want to come here, but Lin Ge insisted, and I didn’t want to go against your wishes. Think about it, if we ate at home, it would be so much cheaper. What a waste of money this is. Lin Ge is the man of the house, he should handle external affairs, and you, as the housewife, need to be meticulous with our expenses.” Xu Ke nodded with a smile, “Yes, I’ll remember that and be more careful in the future.” Li Pingyu looked at her daughter with satisfaction, “Lin Yao does this particularly well, whoever marries her will be blessed.” Xu Ke glanced at Lin Yao, who was pretty and slender but had no boyfriend, the reason being quite obvious. Xu Ke often felt secretly relieved that Lin Ge wasn’t raised by Li Pingyu to be like Lin Yao.