Stephen Chow rolled his eyes and nodded indifferently, "Yes, I like it."
Zeng Min: "Tsk tsk tsk, too bad they don't like you."
Stephen Chow: "Why do you love catching mice like a dog?"
Zeng Min took pictures here and there with her phone. After a while, she shrugged and said, "I was just lamenting. You know, we're all women, so why is there such a big difference? How come some women have so many men willing to be their backup options, while I don't?"
Stephen Chow said, "You're so unlikable, shouldn't you reflect on yourself?"
Stephen Chow's inner thoughts: You green tea bitch, die!
Zeng Min put down her phone: "What do you mean?"
Stephen Chow shrugged, mimicking her gesture: "It means exactly what you think."
Zeng Min: "You..."
Chen Haoyu quickly stepped in to mediate: "Wuqiu is having her baby's one-month celebration, what are you two doing here?"
Out of respect for him, Stephen Chow didn't say anything more and turned to answer questions for the others.
Zeng Min didn't say anything, and simply picked up her phone and left.
Then Chen Haoyu's phone, which was on the table, started ringing incessantly. He thought it was some new message, but when he opened it, he found it was a chat message from the class group:
After winding through countless mountain roads, we finally arrived at this remote mountain valley.
[You wouldn't believe it, would you? The goddess you all remember lives here.]
[Oh my god, what kind of life-altering event has Wuqiu encountered? Why is she so depressed?]
Is this how banquets are always held in remote mountain villages? Is it clean to eat outdoors like this?
If I had known my goddess was going through such a difficult time, I should have given her more money as a wedding gift...
Chapter 103
The screen was filled with seemingly lively jokes, but even a straight man like Chen Haoyu could detect a strong sense of mockery in them.
He swiped the screen up, and the first post was from Zeng Min, followed by more than a dozen other posts, all of which were snapshots taken by Zeng Min.
If it weren't for the fact that these candid photos were taken at such an unpleasant angle, Chen Haoyu would have thought that these comments in the group had nothing to do with Zeng Min. After all, Zeng Min hadn't sent a single one of those dozens of unpleasant text messages in the group.
However, Zeng Min is a live streamer, and her greatest skill is finding the right camera angle and retouching the footage. If she hadn't been so malicious, these candid shots wouldn't have turned out so bad.
Chen Haoyu was inexplicably angry. He looked up and glanced at Zeng Min, who was still snapping photos with her phone. His grip on the phone tightened.
Zhou Xingxing, who was sitting next to him, clearly sensed his change in mood and turned to ask him, "Class monitor, what's wrong?"
"It's alright, you guys continue chatting." Chen Haoyu forced a smile. "I need to talk to Zeng Min about something."
Zhou Xingxing pouted, "When did the class monitor get so close to her?"
An Yue, another female classmate standing nearby, immediately joked, "Isn't the class monitor always on good terms with everyone in the class? Besides, Zeng Min is now a female anchor with hundreds of thousands of fans."
Zhou Xingxing snorted coldly, ignoring Li Qian, a female classmate who was close to Zeng Min, who was present. "Zombie fans, right?"
Chen Haoyu just smiled and didn't say anything. He got up and walked straight towards Zeng Min.
As soon as he left, Fang Miao, the other girl who hadn't spoken earlier, winked at Li Qian knowingly and whispered, "I heard someone in the class say that Zeng Min has ambiguous relationships with several boys in our class. Could the class monitor be one of them?"
Surprisingly, Li Qian, Zeng Min's friend, did not rush to defend Zeng Min, nor did she directly refute her. She just frowned and said, "How would I know? Her relationship is her private matter."
On the contrary, Zhou Xingxing didn't like to hear such gossip. "Don't talk nonsense. I don't think the class monitor is that kind of person. Besides, what kind of person is Zeng Min? Does she think she can be interested in just anyone? In the four years of college, none of the girls in the class had as many relationships as she did. And she was just pretending to say that Qiuqiu had a lot of backup options."
Just then, they came over to serve the dishes.
Unlike hotels, rural banquets don't have waiters to serve the food. In the countryside, the guests bring the food themselves, and the place where the food is served is where Li Qian is sitting.
Seeing that Li Qian hadn't moved, Zhou Xingxing cursed her inwardly for being oblivious. He had no choice but to get up, walk over to her, and nudge her, saying, "Go sit in my seat. Here, you have to serve yourself at the banquet."
Li Qian wasn't ugly, but she was rather dull and didn't talk much. When Zhou Xingxing spoke to her, she didn't talk back, but simply got up and sat down in the spot where Zhou Xingxing had been sitting.
Seeing her dazed look, Zhou Xingxing felt a little sorry for her and softened his tone, "I don't know why you like hanging out with her. I remember when we were in college, she used to order you around quite a bit."
Li Qian lowered her head and hesitated for a long time before saying, "When I was in college, she was the only one in the whole dorm who was willing to talk to me."
"If they're not willing to take the initiative, then you should take the initiative." Zhou Xingxing was both angry and helpless, and also felt a little sorry for her. The girls' dormitory in college was like a harem. Li Qian, who was so ordinary and introverted, was indeed not very noticeable and was easily overlooked. No wonder she was so devoted to Zeng Min.
Li Qian remained silent.
Zhou Xingxing was too lazy to say anything more and went back to talking to An Yue and the others.
Meanwhile, Chen Haoyu found Zeng Min, pulled her out of the courtyard, and got straight to the point: "What's the meaning behind those photos you sent to the group?"
Zeng Min feigned ignorance: "What do you mean? I'm just showing our college classmates who couldn't make it to the party to see the grand celebration of our former goddess's baby's one-month celebration."
Chen Haoyu looked at her coldly: "So you didn't really come to Wuqiu's baby's one-month celebration? You just came to see the joke."
Zeng Min pretended to be angry: "How can you say that? I gave 6,000 yuan as a wedding gift, which is the most in our class."
"Ha!" Chen Haoyu laughed angrily. "I should have known. No wonder you were so eager for me to bring you to Wuqiu's child's full moon celebration. So you were just using me as a pawn?"
Zeng Min: "Uh? Squad leader, you can't say that. I just saw that you and An Yue are both in the provincial capital, so it's more convenient for you to come over, isn't it?"
Chen Haoyu now deeply regrets bringing her along.
He came to attend Shen Wuqiu's child's one-month celebration with genuine sincerity. In his first year after graduating from university, his father was in a motorcycle accident and was seriously injured. The medical expenses were nearly 250,000 yuan. At that time, his family did not have the money and needed it urgently. He had no choice but to ask everyone in the university group for a loan.
At the time, apart from a few close friends in his dormitory who lent him some money one after another, among all the other classmates, only Shen Wuqiu transferred 20,000 yuan to him without even asking, with the note: "A small token of my appreciation. I hope you recover soon, Uncle. You don't need to pay it back."
He will never forget this timely kindness.
That's why he asked for the address after seeing what Stephen Chow posted in the group chat, and then came to attend the baby's one-month celebration.
Thinking it would be awkward to come alone, I privately asked everyone if anyone wanted to come along, and in the end, only a few of them showed up.
When Zeng Min was coming, he was slightly surprised. In his memory, Zeng Min and Shen Wuqiu's relationship wasn't good, and he had often heard Zeng Min gossip about people behind their backs. But Zeng Min seemed very enthusiastic, and he thought that after graduation, everyone had gone their separate ways, and they had come to appreciate the preciousness of their classmates' friendship.
But little did he know, he was overthinking it.
Chen Haoyu took a deep breath, "Don't tell me you didn't do those photos in the group chat on purpose?"
Zeng Min shrugged: "What do you mean by intentionally? I just took this casually to show everyone the local customs and culture in this remote mountain village."
Unable to argue with her, Chen Haoyu could only grit his teeth in anger and ask her, "Don't you think about how Wu Qiu would feel seeing these messages in the group?"
"What's wrong with that? The goddess herself is willing to choose this kind of life, so why would she be afraid of what others say?"
"you……"
Zeng Min didn't take it seriously at all, patting his shoulder, "Why are you so upset? Don't tell me you have a crush on her too?"
"I hope you'll take care of yourself." Chen Haoyu pushed her hand away, then strode into the courtyard.
Zeng Min pursed her lips and took out her phone to continue taking pictures, but a tall, slender figure appeared in the frame.
The man in the shot was dressed in an expensive bespoke suit, with handsome features, his elegance completely out of place amidst the lively banquet behind him.
Zeng Min was stunned. After several seconds, she put down her phone and looked up at the person.
As if he knew she was looking at him, the man raised an eyebrow and gave her a slight smile.
Zeng Min stared blankly at the person, feeling that he looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place him.
While she was still in a daze, the man was already gone. Zeng Min looked around and searched for a long time but couldn't find him. She felt a little disappointed and lost interest in taking pictures. After thinking for a moment, she opened the WeChat group again.
Seeing so many people criticizing Chen Wuqiu in the group, she felt a surge of pride. She tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then went back into her own live stream.
After toasting, Shen Wuqiu specially came to greet Chen Haoyu and the others. Seeing that they had almost finished eating, she led them into the house.
Since we're here to attend a baby's one-month celebration, there's bound to be a segment involving looking after the baby.
Shen Wuqiu brought out all four children. Although Chen Haoyu couldn't quite understand why the two girls wanted to bring out so many babies, as a father himself, he adored them all, hugging one after another, and sincerely praising, "You two are truly amazing! My two, when they were a month old, they looked like monkeys, their faces all wrinkled..."
One's own child obtained their status through cheating, so naturally they are extraordinary and cannot be compared to others.
Shen Wuqiu felt guilty, so he just smiled and didn't say anything more.
The children were hugged and cuddled by the parents, and they gradually woke up. They opened their eyes and looked around. They weren't shy at all and were very endearing. Even Li Qian couldn't bear to let go of Sanmao.
"How can he be so cute?"
"Is this some kind of scam to make someone have a daughter?"
"Oh my god, I can't believe it, she just smiled at me..."
"I feel my belief in remaining single and childless is starting to waver."
...
After giving the child a red envelope, Chen Haoyu handed the child over to others. While everyone was playing with the child, he walked up to Shen Wuqiu and whispered to her, "Wuqiu, I came to your child's one-month celebration with the sincere intention of sending my blessings."
Shen Wuqiu was puzzled: "Of course I know! Why would the class monitor say that?"
Chen Haoyu didn't know how to start the conversation, but he was really afraid that Shen Wuqiu would misunderstand him. "You know, some people in our class are always a bit harsh in their words, so if you see anything that makes you uncomfortable, don't take it to heart."
Shen Wuqiu understood immediately and smiled: "Does the class monitor think I'm the kind of person who holds grudges? Okay, it's alright, don't be too nervous."
Chen Haoyu nodded, thought for a moment, and then said, "It's not easy for two girls to be together. If... you encounter any difficulties, just tell me."
Shen Wuqiu knew he was sincere, so she didn't stand on ceremony and said, "Okay..."
Before he could finish speaking, Gu Lingyu walked over and said, "We appreciate the squad leader's kindness. However, we should be saying this to you: if you encounter any difficulties in the future, just let me know."
A note from the author:
I've been having some personal relationship problems these past few days, so I've been feeling down. I was so angry last night that I felt dizzy, and I completely forgot to tell everyone.
I'm sorry, I will try my best to adjust my state and strive to update more stably.
Chapter 104
In a sense, Chen Haoyu didn't quite understand Shen Wuqiu's choice. In his view, a woman like Shen Wuqiu could have had better choices, at least in the eyes of the world, in both relationships and marriage.
Although society now has a more open and inclusive outlook, minority groups are still subject to some societal prejudices. The lives and work of two girls, especially those trapped in such a remote mountain village, must be quite difficult.
Therefore, it was a promise he made to his colleagues after careful consideration.
Shen Wuqiu may not consider him a true friend, but the 20,000 yuan she gave him in his time of need is something he will remember for the rest of his life. And given his current situation, he genuinely feels that he can offer some help.