Part Three Chapter 22 Song Mother's Invitation

er courage has vanished.After Gu Ruan Dong finished his cigarette and returned to the rest room, he saw Xiao Song Bao again trying to slink away with her head down. This time, he didn't grab her like...As she got into his car, she took out two band-aids and offered him one. Seeing the blood trickling from the corner of his lip, he didn't take her band-aid. He just casually wiped away the blood with his thumb, then continued to drive in silence, quickly lost in his own thoughts, as if forgetting that she was sitting beside him.

She watched him drive past the fork in the road to her company, all the way to his. When he stopped, it seemed as if he only then realized there was someone beside him. He looked annoyed and tried to start the car again, wanting to take her to her company.

She hurried to open the door and get out of the car, standing at the door and saying to him, "You're busy, I'm not far from my office, I can ride there."

Seeing that he looked tired and downcast, she didn't want to trouble him any further. After closing the car door, she ran all the way out of his workplace.

After running for a while, she regretted it. The area near their unit was like being protected by an invisible protective shell, with an aura of warning that kept outsiders away. At a glance, there was no shared bicycle within at least one kilometer radius. Gritting her teeth and enduring the pain in her foot, she walked almost two kilometers before finding a bike to ride back to her unit. The area where the skin had peeled off on her heel was even bigger now, and blood seeped from the bandage, piercingly painful.

And after arriving at the office, she couldn't rest for a moment, and immediately had to organize and file all the materials from today's activities.

Tao Kaiyan attended another event today and came back around the same time. She probably had a good mood because she might have completed her tasks well.

Both belong to the translation department and seemingly do similar work, but their goals are not aligned, so they compete with each other a little less.

Due to the nature of their work, most people in their company need to go to different

The work is rotated between countries, and as a newcomer, many are initially sent to some less developed countries for two years, and then gradually transferred to more developed countries.

So Tao Kaiyan's direction of effort is to be able to go directly to some good countries when she goes abroad in the future; while Chen Ling is the opposite, her direction of effort is to strive to not go abroad in the future and remain in China permanently.

They want to avoid being sent abroad, and one way to do that is to become an exclusive translator for someone important. Therefore, it's a very difficult path.

Xu Haichen works in the news department, and her current work doesn't intersect with his much, but after training every day, they often make time to eat together.

By the time she finished organizing her materials, it was completely dark. Xu Haichen sent a message: "Dinner is on me today to celebrate your first event's successful completion."

She gave an OK gesture, then double-checked the materials one last time, saved them, closed her computer and walked out.

Xu Haichen's car was parked outside. He sat in the driver's seat, rolled down the window, and looked at his phone with a focused and serious expression. Despite being thin and fair-skinned, he still had the air of a graceful young man.

Chen Ning stood by his car for a while before he realized she had arrived. He put away his phone and placed it on the front holder, "Get in the car."

Chen Ning returned to the car, got in, and didn't bother inquiring who he had been texting just now. People have secrets that they can't share with outsiders, after all.

Just buckled her seatbelt when her phone rang, a strange number.

"Hello," she answered.

"Is that Xiaoning" a familiar voice echoed.

“I am Mama Song.”

She was startled, her tongue feeling a little curled. "Auntie, hello."

His body involuntarily straightened.

Xu Haichen next to me had already slowly

I drove, but seeing her like that, I pulled over to the side of the road and waited for her to finish her phone call.

"Xiaoning, are you free Auntie would like to treat you to a meal."

"There's space." She answered, a little stiffly, her nervousness betraying her.

"Where are you, I'll have the driver pick you up."

"I'm still at the office, no need to trouble yourself, I can just take a taxi there."

"Alright, I'll send you the address."

After hanging up, her hands were sweaty. The address had been sent: the Song family's.

After seeing the address, I remembered that I had actually made an appointment with Xu Haochen. I could only smile apologetically at him, today it was her turn to stand me up.

"It's even now." Xu Haichen was quite the gentleman, referring to when his sister had unexpectedly visited at school before and made him abandon their planned meal together.

"Give me the address, and I'll take you there."

"No need, I can just take a cab there. It's very convenient, thanks anyway." She finished speaking and unbuckled her seatbelt to get out of the car.

She didn't want to let Xu Haichen send it, first because he was a boy and she didn't want to cause any misunderstandings for the Song family; secondly, considering the Song family's status and position, she really didn't want her friends to know. Of course, she trusted Xu Haichen, but she thought it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

As everyone knows, she was once saved by a soldier. However, because she rarely interacted with Song Jingye, everyone assumed the soldier was Zheng Ke. Technically speaking, it wasn't wrong, so she never clarified the situation.

The taxi ride went smoothly, and it took less than half an hour to reach the alley where Song's family lived. The driver stopped the car outside and pointed to the guard standing at the entrance of the alley: "Miss, you can't go in."

"Okay."

This hutong is a tranquil oasis amidst the bustle. Every household here hides dragons and tigers, and in recent years, security has been tightened considerably. She usually goes out at night...

The runner would occasionally pass by, also keeping a safe distance.

I never expected to have a chance to get in this time.

She told the guard her name and was let in.

The hutongs are very long, seemingly endless. Each household has only a single door number, and you can't tell which house belongs to whom. They are all very understated.

Chen Ling's band-aid didn't work, and after walking a while down the alleyway, she saw that it was bleeding again. But she couldn't feel the pain, which made her nervous. At the same time that she wondered what Song Mama wanted from her, there was also a sense of happiness. This was where he had grown up. Every stone beneath her feet was one he had walked over countless times. Walking down this alleyway felt like seeing him in the past.

The Song family's home was deep in the hutong, and it took her over ten minutes to finally arrive.

When Song's mother saw her, a gentle smile spread across her face: "Xiaoning, come here quickly, dinner will be ready soon."

Because of her smile, Chen Ning's nervousness lessened a little.

But no more than two minutes had passed when, as Mr. Song emerged from his study, she immediately became tense again, her address and tone becoming stiff and formal once more. “Good evening.”

Mr. Song nodded in response.

Song's mother said from the side: "Xiaoning, just order whatever you want at home. Call me Uncle or Aunt."

Chen Ning nodded.

But, Uncle

She now knows how awkward it is to call him Uncle Song Jingye. She didn't call him uncle because of his age, but because of his status. Later, it became a habit, and there was also a little bit of attachment and flutter in her heart.

In the restaurant, the nanny had already set out the meal and cutlery. Song's mother led her over.

"They're just some home-cooked meals, don't be shy."

"Let's eat first. Kyonano won't be back until very late today, so we shouldn't wait for him."

Okay,

"Thank you, Uncle and Aunt." She changed her address, starting to feel uneasy in her heart about the purpose of inviting her to dinner.

But over the course of the meal, they only chatted briefly about her work. Not a word about anything else was mentioned, which made her even more uneasy.recording. None of them seemed to care about what shares were being discussed.Seeing his sister-in-law so resolutely declare that they should save him first, the burly boatman almost shed tears from e...