Chapter 41: How will you reward me?

Chen Mo took Xiaoyu to all the fun spots in Huacheng. After sending Xiaoyu back to her hotel, Chen Mo finally gathered his courage and went home.

As soon as he stepped through the door, he saw his mother’s unfriendly glare. Chen Mo could only pretend he didn’t notice.

“Where did you go today? Why was your phone turned off?” Shao Xuemei’s tone was harsh right from the start.

She had wanted the two young people to meet, but the girl didn’t show up, and Chen Mo also slipped away. When she called, his phone was turned off, which made her very anxious.

“I met a friend while buying medicine, so we went out to have fun. My phone ran out of battery and turned off,” Chen Mo said with a laugh.

“It’s not that I’m criticizing you, but you just arrived at your aunt’s house and then ran off. How rude is that?” Mother Chen seized the opportunity to scold him. Father Chen watched quietly from the side, but the smile on his face was impossible to hide.

…

Xiaoyu returned to the hotel and turned on her phone with trepidation. She was supposed to go to Uncle Zhang’s place, but she didn’t go. She had no idea if Uncle Zhang was worried.

After thinking for a moment, Xiaoyu dialed Uncle Zhang’s number.

As soon as the call connected, Zhang Yang’s worried voice came through. “Xiaoyu, your phone was turned off. If you hadn’t called back, I would have contacted your dad.”

“Uncle, I’m sorry. I went out with a friend, and my phone ran out of battery,” Xiaoyu said apologetically.

“Where are you? I’ll come pick you up and you can stay here. Your dad asked me to look after you, but I haven’t seen you at all since you arrived,” Zhang Yang said, relieved to hear that Xiaoyu was okay.

“No need, Uncle. I can just stay at the hotel.”

“It’s not good for a girl to stay in a hotel alone. Give me your address, and I’ll come get you. Your dad specifically said you should stay with me, so don’t be formal with me.”

“Okay, I’ll come over to your place now,” Xiaoyu said, unable to find an excuse to refuse. She could only brace herself and agree.

After hanging up, Xiaoyu lay down on the bed, feeling like crying but unable to shed tears. It was over; it seemed she couldn’t avoid this situation. At worst, she could just refuse.

Xiaoyu got up from the bed and started packing her things to check out.

“Xiaoyu is coming over in a bit,” Zhang Yang said as soon as he put down his phone, speaking to Shao Zhen beside him.

“Then I’ll notify Xuemei,” Shao Zhen immediately took out her phone.

“We can’t force this. The two kids are still too young. Didn’t you see how they ran off today? Xiaoyu almost refused to come. I think she knows about our arrangement,” Zhang Yang said.

“I’ve met Xiaoyu twice. She’s pretty and well-behaved. She’s a good match for Chen Mo, and they’re at the same university, so they must have common topics. It might work out; otherwise, I wouldn’t have suggested it. We’re not forcing them into anything. Free love is popular now. If they meet and don’t like each other, they can just get to know each other and be friends. It’s fine.”

…

The next day, after finishing breakfast, Chen Mo hurriedly slipped out of the house. He was really afraid that his mother would catch him and drag him to his aunt’s house again.

He arrived at the meeting spot and quietly waited for Xiaoyu to appear.

Today was the wedding of Xiaoyu’s friend. Since Xiaoyu had asked him to come along, Chen Mo naturally didn’t refuse.

Not long after he arrived, Xiaoyu appeared in front of him.

Xiaoyu was wearing a fitted coat with a tight sweater inside, which kept her warm and also perfectly outlined her figure. With light makeup and her unique aura, Chen Mo was stunned.

“Silly, have you looked enough?” Xiaoyu waved her hand in front of Chen Mo’s eyes, a shy smile on her face.

“You look so beautiful.”

“Of course. It’s a wedding today. It wouldn’t be good to go too casually,” Xiaoyu said, linking her arm with Chen Mo’s.

“Shall we go?” Chen Mo asked.

After saying that, Chen Mo hailed a taxi, and they headed to the hotel where the wedding was being held.

Blue Spring Hotel.

Outside the hotel, wedding cars were lined up. The entrance was decorated festively, and there were many people coming and going, all with smiles on their faces.

After giving the gift money and signing in, Chen Mo and Xiaoyu entered the wedding venue.

“Xiaoyu, you’re finally here,” the bride, who was greeting guests, smiled as soon as she saw Xiaoyu.

“Qianqian,” Xiaoyu gently hugged the bride.

“Is this your boyfriend?” Qianqian looked Chen Mo over.

“Yes,” Xiaoyu pulled Chen Mo over. “His name is Chen Mo. This bride is my high school deskmate, and the groom is also our high school classmate, Sun Yi.”

“Happy marriage.”

Chen Mo smiled and greeted the bride and groom.

“Xiaoyu, I’m sorry I can’t entertain you properly right now since I’m busy. I’ve arranged for you to sit at table six. Our former classmates are all there,” Sun Yi said, shaking Chen Mo’s hand with a smile.

“Okay, you go ahead and attend to your duties.”

After saying goodbye, Xiaoyu led Chen Mo away.

As soon as they sat down at table six, they felt the atmosphere turn awkward. The lively chatter suddenly stopped, and everyone’s eyes were on Xiaoyu.

“He Xiaoyu?” a man in formal attire asked in surprise.

“Classmate Liu Qiwen, long time no see,” Xiaoyu nodded with a smile.

“It really is Xiaoyu. I didn’t expect you to become so beautiful after not seeing you for years,” Liu Qiwen looked at Xiaoyu, his face lighting up with delight. He became more animated. “Xiaoyu, you’re graduating this year, right? Are you interested in working at my company?”

“I’ve already found a job. Thank you,” Xiaoyu still wore a smile.

“You’re probably interning now, and the pay must not be high. I heard you studied management. Come work for me. My family is opening a fifth supermarket, and we need a manager. The monthly salary starts at ten thousand, plus bonuses,” a burly-looking man sitting nearby said.

“Thank you, classmate Hua Qiang, but I can’t manage a supermarket,” Xiaoyu still maintained a gracious smile.

Her aura captivated all the men at the table. Xiaoyu had been pretty in the past, and many had pursued her, but she didn’t have the unique charm she had now.

“Xiaoyu, who did you bring? Aren’t you going to introduce him to us?” a girl, unable to stand it any longer, spoke up and interrupted them.

“His name is Chen Mo. He’s my boyfriend,” Xiaoyu said.

“Hello, everyone.”

Chen Mo smiled and greeted them, then turned his attention to his phone. He was only there to accompany Xiaoyu; this wasn’t his scene, so he chose not to interject.

“You secretly got a boyfriend and didn’t tell us? That’s not very nice. I remember many guys pursued you back then, but you ignored them all,” the girl who had spoken earlier said.

“Mr. Chen, may I ask what you do for a living?” Liu Qiwen asked.

“Me? I sell phones. I’m a billionaire now,” Chen Mo grinned. “In Zimbabwean dollars.”

This made Xiaoyu chuckle, and she playfully hit Chen Mo’s shoulder. “He likes to joke around. Don’t mind him. He’s like me, about to graduate. We’re at the same university, and he’s studying software development.”

“An IT guy?”

Everyone understood immediately.

“Xiaoyu, congratulations. Today is Qianqian’s wedding, but I believe it won’t be long before it’s yours,” another girl said.

The atmosphere lightened. There was no showing off or subtle sarcasm. Everyone just chatted about their high school days and what they had been through since then. The camaraderie of former classmates remained simple and pure.

Suddenly, the lively scene quieted down. Amid the host’s blessings, the newlyweds made their grand entrance under everyone’s gaze.

After a series of ceremonial processes, it was time for the bouquet toss.

“I hope all the unmarried sisters here today will come forward to receive my blessing,” the bride said into the microphone, her face radiant with joy.

“Xiaoyu, let’s go too,” a girl beside her pulled Xiaoyu along to stand behind the bride.

Xiaoyu’s cheeks were slightly flushed as she stood at the very back of the crowd. Suddenly, there were exclamations as people in front began frantically stepping back. Before Xiaoyu could react, the bouquet landed in her arms.

Just as she came to her senses, she was bumped by the crowd still moving backward.

“Ah…”

After the exclamation, Xiaoyu fell backward. Instead of the pain she expected, she felt herself caught in a warm embrace with a familiar scent.

Seeing Chen Mo’s familiar smiling face, Xiaoyu also smiled.

“I saved you again. How will you reward me?”