"That's not true, how could that be?"
“Exactly. There’s no such thing as a grudge that lasts overnight between brothers. Besides, your family has enough money to support 100 people for several lifetimes. What’s the point of arguing? Why don’t you give him a call? We can also have a chat with him.”
...
When this request was made, everyone was stunned. Now, an even more amusing situation has arisen: finally, there is someone who doesn't know that Jin Shaoyan is Jin Shaoyan.
Jin Shaoyan stood there dumbfounded for a long time without making a sound. Baozi asked curiously, "You don't even know his number? Or maybe your phone can't make international calls?"
Clearly, neither of these reasons makes sense.
The situation is clear now: this call has to be made. Baozi dislikes "Jin Shaomiao" not because he's reserved, but mainly because of a casual lie I made up about a brother for Jin Shaoyan. In Baozi's memory, Jin Shaoyan is kind and approachable, but this "brother" has been eyeing him with murderous intent. Not making this call would be tantamount to confirming it... Given Baozi's strong sense of right and wrong, it's not impossible that he might turn on me on the spot.
Jin Shaoyan reluctantly pulled out his phone, glanced at us pleadingly, and seeing no response, dialed a number. Then he held the phone to his ear and listened. I thought he'd better actually call a friend abroad right now, say a few words in a foreign language to get the situation right, maybe that would be enough to fool Baozi.
Jin Shaoyan said, "Hello?"
Aside from the steamed buns, everyone at the table ate the food and got it in their noses: Hey? Who are we talking to?
Jin Shaoyan said in a serious tone, "Brother, it's me. Guess who I'm with?... Hehe, no, I'm having dinner with your old friends—"
We all secretly gave him a thumbs up: No wonder he's the president of a film company, he really does look like him!
Then I saw a sly glint in Jin Shaoyan's eyes: "Oh, you're going to talk to them?"
We're all stunned: This kid, his trick of shifting blame to Jiangdong is too ruthless!
Jin Shaoyan handed the phone to Li Shishi: "He said he wants to talk to you first."
Baozi chuckled and said, "Jin Shaoyan is such a womanizer who values women over friends."
Li Shishi could only answer the phone with a blank expression. She had to keep up the act because Jin Shaoyan was doing this to cooperate with her.
Li Shishi picked up the phone and said softly, "Hello, how are you? Take care of yourself out there..." Although it was only a few words, it was filled with endless melancholy. Even Jin Shaoyan was moved, as if someone really wanted to take Li Shishi away from him.
Li Shishi stopped speaking and listened quietly for a long time, as if someone on the other end was truly confiding in her. After a while, she handed the phone to me: "Cousin..."
I thought to myself, "Finally, it's my turn!" I composed myself, and as soon as I answered the phone, I laughed loudly, "Hahaha, did you manage to pick up a foreign girl?" A young man on the other end said frantically, "This is Gome Appliances customer service, customer number 250 is at your service. Please explain your situation..."
I deliberately raised my voice and said, "You're still thinking about my cousin, aren't you?"
Young man: "...Who is your cousin?"
I laughed and said, "It's already dawn where you are? It's not even dark here yet!"
The young man no longer spoke in that mechanical tone. He probably handed the phone to the person next to him and said with curiosity, "Hey, listen, isn't this idiot messed up?"
Damn it, I've got your service number saved. I'm going to file a complaint against you in a minute!
Baozi said, "Stop rambling and get serious. I have something to say too!"
I said loudly, "Who do you want to talk to next? Oh, Brother Ying, I'm here, I'm here, just wait."
Li Shishi immediately tensed up—
I handed the phone to Qin Shihuang, and the fat man pretended to swallow the food in his mouth before taking it. After listening for a moment, he tossed the phone to Jin Shaoyan: "Hehe, I'm hanging up."
I have to say, Fatty is too tall! I could clearly hear people talking inside. However, my performance with Li Shishi had dispelled Baozi's doubts, and Fatty Ying's last move put Li Shishi at ease as well.
The atmosphere immediately eased, and we chatted and laughed, frequently raising our glasses. Li Shishi kept stealing glances at Jin Shaoyan; she probably couldn't understand why he had done that.
Just then, there was a sound on the stairs, and Liu Bang rushed in. Seeing our whole family, he said as he moved chairs, "You're all here today! Oh! Little Jin is here too?"
We all quickly gave him meaningful glances, and even Ersha winked at him ambiguously a couple of times.
But how could Liu Bang, no matter how clever, understand the intricacies of the matter? He paused for a moment, then realized it was not the right time to say anything, so he began to arrange chairs while observing people's expressions.
Jin Shaoyan stood up and introduced himself, saying, "I am Jin Shaoyan's twin brother, my name is Jin Shao..." He paused here because he saw another person coming up the stairs at that moment, Liu Bang's mistress, Black Widow Fengfeng.
As soon as Fengfeng went upstairs, she saw that Jin Shaoyan was the only one standing at the table. She naturally glanced at him and exclaimed in an instant, "Mr. Jin, you're here too?"
Jin Shaoyan was completely bewildered: "Do...I know you?"
Fengfeng laughed and said, "Of course you don't know me, but I know you. I also attended that social gathering of celebrities a few days ago."
Liu Bang turned around and said disdainfully, "How did you, a seller of counterfeit brand-name goods, get in here?"
Fengfeng said nonchalantly, "That's easy, isn't it? I just made a fake invitation and went in."
Liu Bang said, "The Imperial Guards are the best at guarding the gates."
Jin Shaoyan was already quite uncomfortable. Fengfeng said, "By the way, Mr. Jin, what did you just say? You're not called Jin Shaoyan anymore?"
Baozi chuckled and introduced, "Look, you've all gotten it wrong, haven't you? This is Jin Shaoyan's younger brother."
Fengfeng exclaimed, "That can't be! The magazine has been writing about him as 'the only son of Jinmen' for over 20 years. Where would Jin Shaoyan get a younger brother?"
Baozi said to Jin Shaoyan, "Are you an unregistered child born out of wedlock? My colleague has a younger brother who has always lived with his maternal grandparents in the countryside. He only returned to the city last year, and the young man is already 23. This is the first time we've met him..."
Although Liu Bang hadn't quite grasped the situation, he immediately caught the mistake in Baozi's words: "No, no, didn't you hear people say they were twins? The country doesn't care about twins."
...This Han emperor is quite familiar with the current national policy of family planning.
Fengfeng glanced at Jin Shaoyan and said with dissatisfaction, "Mr. Jin, did you only say this because I'm here? Don't worry, although I'm in the counterfeit business, I haven't expanded into the pirated DVD industry yet, have I? You don't need to worry about me asking you for favors. When I want to do it, there are plenty of people going to the cinemas to secretly film people..."
Liu Bang cursed, "You idiot! I told you long ago that making pirated books is the way to go!"
Fengfeng retorted, "What do you know about the King's Way!"