Li Shishi asked with a smile, "What is your surname, sir?"
Qin Hui said, "Qin... An." It seems he knew that his name didn't sound good.
Baozi looked at his hair and beard and said, "You're a photographer, aren't you?"
Just then, the waiter came in with the menu, seeing that everyone was present. No one at the table had the time or inclination for it, but Qin Hui grabbed it, flipped through it, and nodded, saying, "Hmm, the handwriting is a bit ugly, but it's rare to see such consistent size." He looked at it for a while, not quite recognizing it, then casually closed it and said to the waiter, "I'm not used to spicy food, so please bring one of everything else."
Everyone looked at Zhang Bing, who smiled awkwardly and said, "This... is fine too."
I snatched the menu, glared at Qin Hui, and then Baozi and I ordered a few dishes.
Across from us, Qin Hui, that kid, must have gotten really tough from not having anyone to talk to these past couple of days. He's got his hands on Ni Siyu and Zhang Shuai and's been chatting away non-stop. Black Widow listened for a while, then asked in confusion, "Are you a civil servant?"
These past few days, the TV has been talking about applying for civil service positions, so Qin Hui is no stranger to the term. He tapped the table with his chopsticks and said, "More than that, let me tell you, my doorman is on the same level as your mayor."
Black Widow smiled and said, "Then I'll come to you if I need anything in the future."
Qin Hui thought for a moment before saying quite solemnly, "Alright, since we're so destined to meet, I won't take your bribe."
Everyone at the table watched the old man, his hair disheveled, stroking his beard as he spoke eloquently, with smiles on their faces, listening to his boasting. Little did they know that if this had happened during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Song, the Black Widow, with those words, would have been destined for immense wealth.
Chapter Forty-Seven: The Night Banquet (Part Two)
Qin Hui's arrival played a crucial role in turning the tide of events. After watching Qin Hui boast for a while, people went their separate ways. Liu Bang asked Zhang Bing, "You really don't remember me?"
Zhang Bing stared at him for a long time, then gently tapped her forehead and said, "Now that you mention it, I do remember something."
Xiang Yu, Li Shishi, and I immediately looked at Zhang Bing nervously. If she really remembered her past life, then everything would be simple.
Liu Bang's legs went weak, and he slowly moved his buttocks toward the door, ready to escape at any moment.
Zhang Bing glanced at Liu Bang a few more times and smiled slightly, "You must have been involved in some shady dealings before I met A-Yu. He's really lucky to have friends like you." As she spoke, Zhang Bing glanced at me and Li Shishi intentionally or unintentionally.
I'm not bad at being thick-skinned, but Li Shishi suddenly stood up and said, "Xiao Bing, I admit that I approached you to help Brother Xiang pursue you. I don't deserve to be your friend, and I formally apologize to you now. But please believe that no one had any malicious intent in doing all this. We are definitely not the kind of people without principles. Even if it was to help a friend, we really had reasons for doing this, but I can't say the specifics. If you don't believe me, you can think about it: in all this time, has Brother Xiang ever bullied you, harmed you, or wanted anything from you?"
Seeing Li Shishi so excited, Zhang Bing quickly said, "Sister Yuannan, I didn't mean to blame you. In fact, I really like Ayu, and I'm so grateful to you all."
As soon as she said this, everyone secretly glanced at Ni Siyu and Zhang Shuai. As for Ni Siyu, she was a newcomer, and women are strange; they think that if someone confesses their love to their sweetheart, it proves they have good taste. So Ni Siyu only secretly glanced at Xiang Yu, and made no further move.
Zhang Shuai was in a terrible predicament. For a man, nothing is more humiliating than having his beloved confess their feelings to someone else in front of him. The poor basketball center hadn't yet learned restraint or composure. He slammed his hand on the table, his face pale, his lips trembling, yet he didn't know what to say. His slam sent the cups and saucers on the table flying. I seriously wondered if he was Lu Zhishen reincarnated.
Finally, the food arrived. Baozi and Black Widow, one on each side, spun the table, urging everyone, "Come on, let's eat!" But no one touched their chopsticks except Qin Hui. Xiang Yu ordered the waiter to bring a few bottles of baijiu (Chinese liquor). He glanced at everyone, including Zhang Shuai, and said, "I've said it before, if you like someone, you should pursue them." Liu Bang interjected, "You can also cheat or steal." Seeing Xiang Yu glaring at him, he hurriedly picked up some food. Xiang Yu continued, "I'll say it again today. If you have the guts, then come at me. I haven't tied anyone down." This seemed like encouragement to Zhang Shuai. Of everyone present, only I vaguely understood his thoughts; everyone else was completely bewildered. Zhang Shuai's mood calmed down slightly, and Ni Siyu also showed a hint of joy, picking up a chicken head from the cold platter and slowly peeling it.
Zhang Bing glanced at Xiang Yu, a half-smile playing on her lips. For some reason, I suddenly felt a chill. Speaking of Yu Ji, I always think of the frail little girl Xiang Yu described, carrying an iron spear on her tender shoulders amidst the carnage, gazing tenderly at Xiang Yu with unwavering affection. She was bold in love and hate, small yet fierce. I've always imagined Yu Ji as the kind of woman who would draw her sword at the slightest provocation, which makes her image increasingly different from Zhang Bing's. This might also be why Xiang Yu grew increasingly cold towards her; at least I don't like women who engage in scheming.
After the wine was served, Xiang Yu placed a bottle in front of everyone. Since no one was in the mood for socializing, no one rushed to pour their own wine. Qin Hui had already tasted a few bites of each dish, and it seemed the flavors weren't to his liking; cravings and hunger are two different things. He put down his chopsticks and waited a while, but seeing no one paying him any attention, he picked up the wine bottle and sighed, "Alas, I have to pour my own wine." Zhang Bing, the host, smiled apologetically at him, "Brother Qin, please forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality."
Qin Hui picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and sighed, "I understand what's going on here. Aren't you all just looking for a suitable partner?" He looked around and said to Zhang Shuai and Ni Siyu, "This has nothing to do with you two, but you had to get involved. Look how difficult it is for that couple. Why don't you two just get together?"
Actually, everyone present had this thought, but we all thought it was absurd. Now, this guy, who didn't know who he was, said it out loud. Seeing Zhang Shuai glaring at him and Ni Siyu pretending not to hear what he was saying, he muttered to himself, "Looks like that won't work. Well then—" He pointed at Xiang Yu and said, "A real man has three wives and four concubines. Since both girls like you, brother, don't be shy, take them both." As he spoke, he arrogantly instructed Zhang Bing, "As the older sister, you must be magnanimous and not bully your younger sister."
I know Qin Hui wasn't joking when he said those words. His treating Ni Siyu like a prostitute the moment he entered shows he didn't understand the issue of gender equality in that era. In the Song Dynasty, respectable girls, especially unmarried ones, would absolutely never accompany a group of men out drinking…
Qin Hui, with a single sentence, pinned a charge of bigamy on Xiang Yu, and thinking the problem was perfectly resolved, raised his glass first and said to everyone, "Let's settle it like this. Come on, cheers."
Who cares about him?
Seeing that everyone was watching him like a clown, Qin Hui could only sullenly take a sip of his drink. Li Shishi smiled and took out a small notebook and pen, writing: "Brother Qin, what dynasty are you from? Is your real name Qin An?" After writing, she handed it over to Zhang Shuai.
Qin Hui glanced at it, then held the oil-based pen as if holding a calligraphy brush and wrote on it: "My humble name is not worth mentioning; I am but a minor official in this chaotic world."
Both of them were writing in small regular script. Li Shishi glanced at it and praised, "Brother Qin really has beautiful handwriting."
While ladling soup for himself, Qin Hui said apologetically to Zhang Shuai, "My idea is good, but it's tough on you, young man. How about this, your life's most important matter will be..." Qin Hui pointed at me, "...to Xiao Qiang." Zhang Shuai was too lazy to pay him any attention at this point. He then looked at Ni Siyu with the soup bowl and said slowly, "How about it, satisfied?"
"Say less, and I'll give you something good to eat—" Ni Siyu blushed as she placed the tiny, human-shaped chicken brain, which she had peeled from the chicken's head, onto Qin Hui's plate.
Qin Hui stared blankly at the small figure on the plate, which looked like it was kneeling with its hands tied behind its back, and asked, "What is this...?"
“This is Qin Hui, eat up,” Ni Siyu said with a grin.
"Ouch—" Qin Hui tumbled headfirst into the soup bowl. A loud splash followed, and he fell off the table. Baozi asked me, puzzled, "What's wrong with your friend?" I replied, seemingly unrelated, "Mad cow disease is caused by cannibalism."
After a long while, Qin Hui finally stretched out a trembling hand from under the table and weakly said, "Take it away, take it away..."
Ni Siyu put the chicken brain in her mouth and helped Qin Hui up. Qin Hui looked at the table in horror, wiping away his cold sweat, and asked, "Where...where did that thing go?"
Ni Siyu playfully stuck out her bright red little tongue, and the little man was still kneeling on her tongue perfectly fine, while Qin Hui fell backward to the sky again.
I scolded Ni Siyu: "Don't scare him."
Ni Siyu swallowed what was in her mouth and then tried to pull Qin Hui away. Qin Hui dodged her like she was avoiding a ghost. Ni Siyu opened her mouth to show him and said, "It's gone, I ate it all, look."
Qin Hui, with his butt sticking out, crawled from under the table to me and Baozi, drank all our wine in one gulp, and refused to sit over there anymore.
Seeing that the commotion had ended, Zhang Bing suddenly stood up, holding his wine glass, and said, "I invited my friends here today to announce something."
We fell silent immediately. Everyone knew that, whether it was a conspiracy or a war, the prelude was about to begin...
Unexpectedly, Zhang Bing changed the subject and started talking about when she and Xiang Yu first met. She began by recounting how Li Shishi introduced them and their subsequent interactions. Throughout the narration, Zhang Shuai and Ni Siyu kept their faces serious and drank glass after glass of wine.
At a turning point in her story, Zhang Bing suddenly laughed and said, "A few days ago, I called my parents abroad and mentioned Ayu. They were both very happy that I have a boyfriend. Especially after they learned that Ayu often helps me take care of my grandfather, they said that such a good man is hard to find these days. They asked me to convey their wishes to Ayu: if it's not inconvenient, let's use this holiday to get married." As she spoke, Zhang Bing snuggled against Xiang Yu like a kitten, and said coquettishly, "Ayu, are you sure you're okay with that?"
We all felt a chill run down our spines. None of us expected that Zhang Bing's invitation to us was not only a conspiracy but also a decisive battle. We've seen men propose to women, but never a young, unmarried woman pestering someone for favors—this is what you call a comeback!
Xiang Yu stood motionless, his face expressionless, like a seated Buddha, but anyone could see he was not at ease and was clearly struggling. Zhang Bing stood up, picked up his wine glass again, and said, "Everyone, let's consider today our engagement banquet. Cheers!"
Baozi said in a low voice, "Unless the girl's parents have lost their minds, they wouldn't be so comfortable handing their daughter over to someone they've never even met."