Chapter 34: Chapter 34 - 34 "Why does it feel like picking cabbages?

Lin Xu wove through the crowd at the birthday banquet for a long time but couldn’t find that person, as if the glimpse she caught was just her imagination.

Her beautiful face was tinged with a trace of anxiety, and her upturned hair became somewhat disheveled; she stood there helplessly, her disorientation breeding a sense of desolation.

The people nearby couldn’t help but cast sympathetic glances, and some even took steps forward, considering offering her a few words of comfort.

The next second, Ji Tingyang rushed over and led her away.

“Tingyang, did you find your dad?” Lin Xu asked impatiently as soon as Ji Tingyang had brought her to the lounge.

“No,” he shook his head.

After speaking to her father, Lin Xu rushed out, desperately searching through the banquet hall.

Ji Tingyang also tried to look for him, but he had almost upturned the entire venue without finding anyone.

Worried about Lin Xu, he returned.

Thankfully he did.

“Maybe we missed something; should we check the surveillance?” Lin Xu’s eyes lit up, “Right, let’s go check the surveillance now!”

She abruptly stood up, her vision suddenly going blurry, and her body swayed.

“I’ll take care of it, you just rest here a bit,” Ji Tingyang quickly pressed her back onto the sofa.

He was somewhat concerned about her mental state.

“Okay, then you go quickly. I’ll be fine here by myself,” Lin Xu urged.

Ji Tingyang hesitated.

He originally wanted to tell her she might have been mistaken; if that person really were his father, why hadn’t he come to find them?

Even if he didn’t know how to contact them, Ji’s was so prominent, and the Ji Mansion’s address hadn’t changed—if he had been reborn, he would have come looking long ago.

Moreover, with the world being so vast, it wasn’t strange for people to resemble one another, so there was a strong chance that Lin Xu had mistaken someone else for her father this time.

But, seeing Lin Xu’s expectant eyes, he didn’t dare voice his guess, only telling her to call him if anything happened before going to check the surveillance as she wished.

Two or three hours passed.

Lin Xu was burning with impatience, one moment sending Ji Tingyang a message asking if there was any progress, the next pacing back and forth anxiously in the lounge.

Upon seeing Ji Tingyang, she immediately rushed over to inquire, “How did it go? Did you find him?”

“No,” Ji Tingyang shook his head.

“Then, is it possible that he was in a blind spot of the cameras, so we missed him?” Lin Xu clutched his arm desperately, saying, “Never mind, let’s not just focus on the banquet hall, let’s look outside too!”

“Okay, okay, we’ll look slowly, don’t worry,” Ji Tingyang soothed her.

Just as the banquet came to an end, he escorted Lin Xu back to the Ji Family.

In the second-floor drawing room.

An elderly man sat in the seat of honor, clearly the center of the birthday festivities, his solemn aura permeating the room without a trace of a smile on his face.

“Changyan, with so many women here tonight, did you fancy any?” he said, turning his gaze to another man in the drawing room, his voice stern.

Xie Changyan lowered his eyes, toying with the teacup in his hands, a slight smile on his lips, “Grandpa, you make it sound as if you’re picking cabbages, don’t you?”

“Don’t you be smart with me, you’re not getting any younger. Do you plan to be a bachelor all your life?” Xie Mingwang reprimanded sharply, “Your task right now is to get married and have children before I die!”

His grandson was already thirty years old and still on his own. If he continued to be a bachelor for the rest of his life, what face would he have to meet his deceased son and daughter-in-law in the afterlife?

For this occasion, he even threw a grand birthday feast and specially invited many industry insiders to attend, with each male guest instructed to bring a female companion.

It was done so that he could pick someone he liked, but who would have known that this defiant grandson wouldn’t take a fancy to anyone.

Continuing to be this picky, by the time he died, he wouldn’t have picked out a single one.

“Your standards shouldn’t be so high,” Xie Mingwang wanted to persuade him further, only to hear his laughter.

“Just being a woman is okay?”

“Uh…” Xie Mingwang was about to agree, but then he thought what if he brought back someone of ill repute, so he quickly added, “At least she must be of good character.”

Laughter spilled from Xie Changyan’s throat as he put down his glass and stood up, “Alright, Grandpa, I have my own judgment. The party has been over for so long, let’s go home.”

After Xie Mingwang got into the car, Xie Changyan walked around to the driver’s seat. Just as he was about to get in, the manager in charge of the banquet venue rushed over.

“President Xie.”

“What’s the matter?”

“The president of Ji Group would like to copy a portion of the surveillance footage from tonight’s banquet. I wonder if it’s convenient for you?”

“Ji’s? Ji Tingyang?” Xie Changyan’s eyebrows lifted slightly, having some recollection of the president of this rival company.

A somewhat capable man, but not much more.

“Yes,” the manager explained, “President Ji said he wanted to use the footage to find someone.”

“Then give it to him.” It was just surveillance footage; there was nothing shameful about it.

Xie Changyan didn’t dwell on it, spoke his piece, and drove off.

——

Lin Xu couldn’t let go of the matter and had Ji Tingyang bring back the surveillance tape for her to review, second by second, in meticulous detail.

She watched the surveillance video for two days before finally admitting to herself that she had simply seen things wrong that day.

Throughout those two days, Lin Xu felt downcast. Knowing she was in low spirits, Ji Tingyang accompanied her on a shopping spree, swiping his cards, and even brought home barbecue for her to enjoy, focusing on doing what he could.

He was wondering what else he could do to cheer her up.

But by the third day, Lin Xu had already bounced back, brimming with energy as she made her appearance in the living room.

“You… you’re okay now?” Ji Tingyang asked, worry evident in his eyes.

“I’m fine, I’ve come to understand that we can’t keep looking back, we have to focus on the present.” Lin Xu quickly finished her breakfast and stood up, urging Ji Tingyang, “Hurry up and eat, then I’ll take you to the company.”

“I had already made arrangements to pick you up and drop you off from work, and I haven’t been able to follow through these past few days; you must be disappointed.”

“Zeqiu used to nag me about this all the time.”

She clearly remembered the time she had promised Xiao Zeqiu she would pick him up from kindergarten, but that day she got tied up with things and forgot, eventually resulting in the nanny bringing him home instead.

The result was that Xiao Zeqiu, who was usually very clingy, became sullen and didn’t want her to accompany him to sleep for several nights.

Though going to school and work were not the same, a promise made should be kept; that’s how to set a proper example for a child.

Ji Tingyang also remembered this incident; although he was young at the time, memories of happy moments were deeply ingrained.

He never missed an opportunity to tease Ji Zeqiu, “I’m definitely not the kind of whiny and noisy brat like Ji Zeqiu.”

“Right, right, our Tingyang is the best behaved~” Lin Xu said with a laugh as she vigorously ruffled his hair.

Ji Tingyang grunted softly and quietly blushed.