Peng Zong took the initiative to say he wanted to treat his son Peng Guo Qing’s friends in Rong City to a “casual meal”.
Hearing it suddenly, it scared Peng Guo Qing badly.
The sky was not raining red, and his dad did not look like he had suddenly gone mad after eating two meals of Rong City hotpot. Why did he want to invite his friends to dinner?
From childhood to now, Peng Guo Qing had never made friends that his own father would approve of.
Xie Qian did not count. Xie Qian had been more like a friend Peng Guo Qing appointed himself. Anyway, Peng Guo Qing had no ability to bring Xie Qian home to play.
As for the rest, like Tai Wu and those people, no matter which one was pulled out, they all seemed useless in Peng Zong’s eyes.
Eh, thinking about it this way, Peng Guo Qing felt there was nothing to fear.
His new friends, Wen Ying, Li Meng Jiao and the group, any one taken alone would perform very well in front of elders. If these few could be gathered together, to show his dad a powerful circle of friends, heh heh, his dad would not dare to look down on him easily in the future.
Peng Guo Qing’s expression was subtle because after his dad went to see Teacher Liang, he did not know what wind had blown.
First, he dug out Peng Guo Qing’s old exam papers to look at, now he proposed to meet Peng Guo Qing’s friends. These signs all indicated that his dad was releasing concern.
Good grief, the fatherly love he had not felt much in the first more than ten years suddenly sprouted?
It was very likely a trap.
Peng Guo Qing was tangled, but Li Meng Jiao and Qin Jiao could not get his subtle mood. Only Wen Ying thought of her own plastic father-daughter relationship with Old He and comforted Peng Lu Mao. “Some dads are just this unreliable. The child has grown up, and they seem to finally remember their responsibility as a ‘dad’. You feel awkward and do not want to accept it, but you cannot. They always have their own ways to assert their presence.”
Peng Guo Qing suddenly realised. “Yes, yes, yes. I just felt it was strange, but I could not sum up what was strange. You are amazing. As expected of someone who writes novels.”
It was just very awkward.
Clearly, both sides were used to the previous way of getting along. When one side suddenly changed, the other felt very unaccustomed.
Li Meng Jiao and Qin Jiao exchanged a glance.
Their dads were not like that.
There was no sudden closeness. From childhood, they had a close relationship with their dads, sharing any secrets without hesitation. But at this moment, it was obviously not suitable to say it out, otherwise it would prick Wen Ying and Peng Guo Qing’s hearts too much.
Peng Guo Qing asked Wen Ying for advice on how to get along with his dad. Wen Ying smiled. “Let him be strong, like the breeze brushing the hill. Let him be arrogant, like the bright moon shining on the river.”
“It sounds familiar, like I have heard it somewhere.”
“The incantation from the Nine Yang Manual in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre. Even if you have not read the original, you should have seen the TV series, so of course it is familiar. That is not important. What matters is that you learn this mentality of ‘no matter the wind or rain, I stand firm unmoved’.”
Fortunately, Peng Guo Qing’s Chinese had reached passing level. If it was still like before, when he could only score 43 out of 150 on a Chinese exam, he would not even understand what Wen Ying said.
Now Peng Guo Qing could understand. “So you mean just let him be?”
“Pretty much. First see if it is just a whim from your dad.”
Wen Ying did not think at all that she was leading the young one astray.
Parents were also human, and humans had flaws. Some parents were out of state for years, occasionally snapping back to give the child a bit of care. The child, starved of love for years, sticks on eagerly. The parents exhaust their momentary enthusiasm and go offline again.
Rather than disappointment, it was better not to hold too much hope from the start.
That was how Wen Ying viewed Old He’s budding fatherly love. She passed on her experience to Peng Guo Qing without reservation.
At this moment, Peng Guo Qing almost wanted to take her as a confidante. In excitement, he nearly gave Wen Ying a bear hug, but at the critical moment, Qin Jiao’s light cough stopped Peng Guo Qing from losing composure.
He could not hug.
Wen Ying was not just any casual girl.
If he dared to hug now, in a few days he might have Xie Qian dig out his dog gall by hand. Who would he reason with then.
“So for the dinner thing, you all agreed, right?”
Peng Guo Qing did not forget the final confirmation.
Qin Jiao actually did not want to go much. When Peng Guo Qing transferred to Rong City, Qin Jiao had already gone to the capital for university. She and Peng Guo Qing were indeed not familiar, but Peng Guo Qing insisted on inviting Qin Jiao along.
No other reason. Qin Jiao was a student at Peking University Guanghua Management School. Anyone with such a friend would have face.
There was a bit of pleading in Peng Guo Qing’s eyes. “Sister Qin Jiao, you do not know. We children not favoured by our own dads are really miserable.”
Qin Jiao glanced at Wen Ying and nodded reluctantly. “Alright then, I will go eat this meal. Should I call my brother too?”
Peng Guo Qing was overjoyed. “Call, call, call them all.”
Wen Ying kindly reminded. “Do not overdo it. You and Brother Qin Yi really have no connection.”
Peng Guo Qing had unusually thick skin.
“I have long heard of Brother Qin Yi’s great name and have been acquainted with him in spirit for ages. How is that no connection?”
Wen Ying: …!
The earlier comfort was wasted. With Peng Lu Mao’s thick skin, he did not look like he had any psychological trauma.
In the end, the people eating with Peng Zong included Wen Ying, Li Meng Jiao, Wang Shuang, and the Qin siblings. This “guest list” was confirmed the day before. Qin Jiao and her brother immediately received additional “gifts” from Mrs Peng.
Qin Yi had never dealt with a social terror like Mrs Peng. He could not accept the things she sent calmly and asked his sister what this meant.
Qin Jiao hesitated. “Probably this is maternal love?”
It was a mother’s love, both pure and great, yet vulgar and practical, wishing to pave the road for her son with money.
Actually, such mothers were not absent around the Qin siblings. Mrs Wang complained about Wang Shuang all day. Wang Shuang was like a miserable little grass swaying in the wind in front of Mrs Wang. But while Mrs Wang complained about Wang Shuang, she also gave up the comfort of being a full-time housewife, working hard at everything to fight for Wang Shuang.
Qin Yi reluctantly accepted his sister’s explanation.
“Alright. Taking people’s money to eliminate disasters for them. I will definitely play the role of Peng Guo Qing’s good friend well.”
Peng Guo Qing’s real friends and fake friends were all in position.
Before the banquet started, Secretary Bai reviewed his work as inadequate with Peng Zong. “The Qin siblings are hardly in Rong City. Young Master Peng probably keeps in touch with them via mobile.”
Secretary Bai had long collected information on Wen Ying, Li Meng Jiao, and Wang Shuang.
The information on Qin Yi and Qin Jiao tired Secretary Bai out.
But as long as he found the “Shrimp King” thread and pulled it lightly, everyone in this small group would be brought out.
Peng Zong’s attention was drawn to “Shrimp King”.
“Shrimp King” was a catering company established not long ago. Its scale was not large, but its shareholders were actually a group of students.
This was a group of students… even high school students starting a business?
Including Xie Qian, who still held 5% of “Shrimp King” shares.
Peng Zong’s finger slid over the information Secretary Bai had obtained. “Help me clean up the tail. Bury this information. If anyone checks this company again, make sure they do not trace it back to Xie Qian.”
