"Cheng You? What are you doing here?" Feng Xianxu finally noticed her presence.
Cheng You remembered the piece of paper in her hand and handed it to him.
"You dropped this just now."
Feng Xianxu saw the words on the paper and his expression turned a little embarrassed.
He pretended to be calm and put the item away.
"Thank you."
Cheng You followed him inside, "Brother Xu, are you going to watch the movie tonight?"
Feng Xianxu paused, "No."
He knew Qiu Tingting's intentions, but he felt it wasn't appropriate.
Qiu Tingting was a lively girl, spoiled by her family.
Due to the nature of his work, he didn't have the time or energy to pamper a delicate girl.
If he were to find a partner, he would only consider marrying a suitable woman through a matchmaking arrangement.
Cheng You shrugged, it seemed Qiu Tingting would be heartbroken.
She walked in and everyone had already taken their seats.
A seat was reserved for her next to Qi Chengyan, and she quickly went over, eager to tell him the gossip she had heard.
Pity her man had been a stand-in for so long.
Qi Chengyan wasn't surprised, and Cheng You asked, "You knew all along?"
He hummed in agreement.
"The border, Brother Xu applied to go there himself."
Serving the country was one reason, avoiding Feng Xue was another.
Although Feng Xue was not related to him by blood, living under the same roof and being on the same household registration was enough to cause gossip.
Whether for the Feng family or for himself and Feng Xue, he should leave.
Cheng You propped her chin on her hand and looked at him with a smile, "You've really been wronged, Chengyan."
Qi Chengyan's tongue slid over his teeth, and he let out a laugh, his eyes deepening slightly.
"I've been wronged, is there any compensation?"
The man's large hand seemed to casually brush over Cheng You's slender waist, causing her eyes to involuntarily flash with anger.
"Don't mess around!"
Afterwards, dishes were successively brought to the table.
When the newlyweds were toasting, Cheng Tao deliberately walked up to Cheng You and said with an arrogant and triumphant look, "Cheng You, Qi Chengyan must be quite unhappy today, right?"
Cheng You's gaze shifted, "What makes you say that?"
Cheng Tao gave Feng Xue a meaningful glance, "After all, someone is getting married."
Cheng You suddenly realized, so Cheng Tao still thought Qi Chengyan and Feng Xue had a past relationship.
She covered her mouth and chuckled, "You're married, and you haven't even told Zhao Yunlin the good news? He must be quite unhappy too."
Cheng Tao: "..."
She quickly glanced at Qiu Desheng, her eyes timid, a little worried he would be angry.
Cheng You was truly detestable!
Qiu Desheng laughed heartily, "We'll go tell him the good news together when there's an opportunity."
He raised his hand, holding his wine glass, and said to Qi Chengyan, "Regimental Commander Qi, enjoy the feast."
Qi Chengyan nodded slightly.
Qiu Desheng then took Cheng Tao to the next table.
"Your relationship with Cheng You doesn't seem very good."
Cheng Tao pouted, "My stepsister I mentioned to you before is her."
Qiu Desheng frowned, "You'd better get along with her. Her man is a regimental commander, and her father-in-law is a military region commander. Her future is limitless. If I had such a sister, I'd cherish her every day."
Cheng Tao didn't take his words to heart and linked her arm with his, saying, "When are you going to give me the money?"
Qiu Desheng's dissatisfaction deepened in his eyes, "Of course, not now. So many people are watching. We'll do it when we get home."
She hadn't even been won over yet, and she was already asking for money.
The thousand yuan he had mentioned was to marry a virgin.
Cheng Tao was a used item. If it weren't for the Feng family, he wouldn't want to marry her.
After the meal, Cheng You started to feel a bit bored.
These kinds of banquets were all the same, people chatting and laughing, bragging, and time would pass.
Cheng You didn't like these occasions, so she thought about leaving early.
Qi Chengyan had no objections, "Didn't you say you wanted to buy clothes last time? I'll take you shopping."
Cheng You nodded, and the two of them bid farewell to the Feng elders.
After the reform, Yancheng became even more lively.
In the past, the streets were uniformly dark. Most people wore gray and black clothes.
Now, more fashion elements had been introduced, with more styles and brighter colors.
Passing by a photo studio, Cheng You saw the photos hanging at the entrance and quickly called out to stop.
"I wanted to mention this last time, let's go take a wedding photo!"
Qi Chengyan had no reason to refuse her request, so he directly opened the door and got out of the car.
"Let's go."
Cheng You's eyes lit up, "Don't you need to consider it?"
Qi Chengyan rested one hand on the car door, leaned down slightly to look at her, his eyes clear.
"I also want to wait until we have children and grandchildren, so we can show them the photos and tell them how much we loved each other when we were young."
Cheng You's mind conjured up the scene. She was already gray-haired, with children and grandchildren around her, flipping through photo albums, asking her to tell them about her youth.
"Then let's take a few more sets!"
Since Cheng You had come to take photos last time, the boss had taken a liking to her.
Such a beautiful young woman was rarely seen.
Now that a matching young man had appeared, she beamed from ear to ear, shouting that she wanted to use their photos for publicity.
Given that she was satisfied with the photos taken both times, Cheng You naturally agreed.
After leaving the photo studio, the two then went to the mall to buy clothes.
Cheng You, who hadn't bought clothes in a long time, was like a kitten let out of its cage, wanting to take home all the beautiful clothes in the mall.
They shopped until evening, and Qi Chengyan didn't show any impatience. He took her to a restaurant for a hearty meal.
When they returned to the compound, the sun had already set, and the sky was gradually darkening.
As the car was about to enter the main gate, Cheng You saw people fighting at the bus stop.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the newly married Cheng Tao and Feng Xue.
They were tearing at each other's hair, neither willing to back down.
Cheng You's inner gossip-monger started to stir, "Let's go take a look!"
Qi Chengyan said helplessly, "Youyou, it's getting late."
Cheng You grabbed his hem and swayed it, "Just drive over there, it'll only take a moment, please!"
She wondered what could have caused these two to fight on their first day of marriage.
Qi Chengyan couldn't resist this little gossip queen and had to turn the car around and drive over.
He didn't stop, but slowed the car down as much as possible so Cheng You could hear their conversation.
Cheng You rolled down the window a little and pressed her ear to it.
She heard Feng Xue let out a furious roar, "If it wasn't for me, would you have gotten this house? Cheng Tao, you dare to cross the river and tear down the bridge! Tomorrow I'll expose you as a fraud!"
Cheng Tao gritted her teeth and pushed her away, "Go ahead! If you dare, then go! Whoever doesn't go is a bastard! This was never what I wanted to do; it was you and your mother who forced me to pretend. At worst, I won't want this house, and let's see if those two old folks will cut ties with you!"
Feng Xue sneered coldly, her hair disheveled from being pulled, her scalp throbbing with pain.
"Fine, don't regret it! Do you think Qiu Desheng will still want you without the Feng family? Just you wait, and get out of Yancheng!"