The guests behind them were finally acting normal, no longer as abstract as the Car-selling Father, the roommate, and Xu Nian from the Underworld who had come earlier.
The gifts piling up behind the two were being taken away in batches by the servants. They said they were being sent to their homes.
“Finally, it’s over.”
Zhu Niao, who had been keeping a forced smile for who knew how long, finally let out a sigh of relief, slumping her face and leaning against Gou Yu’s shoulder beside her.
“Take a break. No one else should be coming from behind, but now we have to go rest somewhere else.”
Gou Yu didn’t want to tell the obviously tired Zhu Niao that it wasn’t over yet—it was just beginning.
But since that was the truth, he could only move his arm slightly and gently squeeze Zhu Niao’s shoulder.
“Ow ow ow, your grip is too strong, ease up.” Zhu Niao punched Gou Yu in the kidney. It was a light punch.
“Little Sister Zhu, you must be tired, right?” The girl with reddish-brown long hair looked concerned, holding a glass of drink as she handed it to Zhu Niao.
After being mentally exhausted, taking a sip of ice water is so refreshing.
Zhu Niao didn’t get to experience how refreshing it was, because as soon as Gou Yu touched the glass and found it was cold, he snatched the whole thing away.
“Did the last stomachache not teach you a lesson? You drank cold stuff last time and got a stomachache, and now you want to drink cold again?” Gou Yu’s tone carried a hint of no room for negotiation.
Zhu Niao pouted: “Bullshit. Last time it was clearly because I ate something spicy. It’s different this time.”
“Is there a difference?” Gou Yu retorted.
The reddish-brown haired Store Manager Lady beside them covered her mouth slightly, with a hint of surprised laughter.
She hadn’t expected that this was something where she fell short compared to her good brother—she hadn’t been able to remember that point, but Gou Yu had.
“I have some room-temperature ones here. Do you want some?” As Gou Yu spoke, he reached his hand toward his lower body.
Seeing this, Zhu Niao immediately slapped him, landing squarely on Gou Yu’s face.
“We’re outside here, and your sister is standing right next to us. Can’t you die without making dirty jokes like that?” Zhu Niao asked Gou Yu in a lowered voice.
Gou Yu, looking wronged, covered the half of his face that had been slapped and pulled a can of AD Calcium Milk from his pants pocket.
“You told me to bring this and keep it warm when we left, and now you hit me.” Gou Yu acted like a concubine who had been wronged in the harem. “And besides, ever since you became like this, how long has it been since I’ve said any dirty jokes to you?”
Zhu Niao was momentarily speechless.
What Gou Yu said was true—he really hadn’t said any dirty jokes to her that they might have exchanged as brothers in the past.
Even after she turned into a girl, the few dirty jokes that came up were all from her own mouth.
In other words, from the moment she became like this, Gou Yu had already seen her as a woman.
And she was the one who still hadn’t figured it out, not fully treating Gou Yu as a man even now.
Maybe she had accepted it, but she just hadn’t fully admitted it in her heart.
“I…” Zhu Niao realized that, no matter how she looked at it, she wasn’t in the right. She wasn’t the type to be unreasonable and throw a tantrum.
“I’m sorry…” she said quietly.
“What’s the use of apologizing? My face hurts a lot right now. Come blow on it for me.” Gou Yu leaned his slapped cheek toward her.
Zhu Niao glanced at the Store Manager Lady beside them.
At that moment, the Store Manager Lady also conveniently looked away, pretending to be busy and staring at the ceiling.
Little Bird bit her lower lip, grabbed the edge of the table in front of her, and leaned in.
“Hoo…”
It was her gentle breath, carrying the faint minty freshness of toothpaste she had used when she left the house this morning.
Gou Yu wore a very pleased expression and then leaned the other half of his face toward her.
“And this side, this side too.” Although Gou Yu had his eyes closed in enjoyment, a smug grin still hung on his lips.
“My arm isn’t that long, is it? Could one slap really reach both sides of your face?” Zhu Niao tilted her head.
“You might be the Slender Man, and you happened to slap me both times.” As he said this, Gou Yu leaned the other cheek closer.
Zhu Niao laughed: “Alright.”
Then she bit down.
Just as she was about to bite, Gou Yu, as if he had Spider Sense, quickly dodged and avoided the attack.
“Holy shit, Resident Evil.”
Two crisp sounds came from the Store Manager Lady’s knuckles tapping on the red table.
“Alright, alright, Little Sister Zhu, and big brother, the two of you should get ready a bit. The Engagement Banquet is about to start.”
The Store Manager Lady watched them play around and showed a somewhat helpless smile.
“When the Engagement Banquet starts, what do the two of us need to do?”
Zhu Niao looked up to ask the Store Manager Lady.
“You almost don’t need to do anything.” The Store Manager Lady gently shook her head.
“Then what’s the rush? Keep playing music, keep dancing.” Gou Yu directly reached out and tugged at Zhu Niao’s soft, good-to-touch cheek.
“But you two will have to stand up there for a long time, like standing at attention in Military Stance.” The reddish-brown haired girl said so.
“Huh?”
After hearing that, Zhu Niao lowered her hand.
“Oh.” The Store Manager Lady checked her watch. “You two can take your positions now. The speeches will begin soon.”
Then the Store Manager Lady left first.
“You know what? This thing instantly reminds me of my school days, giving Speeches Under the National Flag. I was always listening from below.”
Zhu Niao pressed on her own legs through the long skirt: “Can’t move at all, and you might randomly become misaligned in the formation because of someone in front moving, then get caught by the teacher and chewed out.”
“Hey, hey.” Gou Yu promptly interrupted Zhu Niao. “Let me clarify first. Back when we had the Speech Under the National Flag, you were the one messing around in front during formation, causing me—who was right behind you—to be out of alignment, and the teacher dragged me out and gave me a good scolding.”
“That’s different.” Zhu Niao wagged her finger. “I’m talking about force majeure, but what happened to you was me doing it on purpose.”
“I’ll kill you.”
Zhu Niao stood up from her seat and started to flee, with Gou Yu chasing after her.
Meanwhile, the two stopped.
“Now we’re at the venue, but where are we supposed to go to stand in Military Stance?”
“You ask me, who am I supposed to ask? Isn’t this your family’s Engagement Banquet?”
Suddenly, Gou Yu seemed to spot something and waved his hand into the distance. “Hey, Mai Che Xiaozi, come here, come here.”
The blue-eyed Mai Che Xiaozi walked over: “I knew you two wouldn’t know anything.”
He pointed at the stage:
“When the time comes, you two will walk to the center from opposite sides of the stage. Then someone will bring the Engagement Certificate to you. The two of you sign it, and that completes the first stage. The second stage is for rest, with speeches from family and friends… Are you two really listening?”
“Uh, I have a question.” Under Zhu Niao’s signal, Gou Yu raised his hand. “What is an Engagement Certificate?”
Well, what is it.