The Game of Life TGOL

Chapter 499: Chapter 497: At 30, I Let Myself Go

The conversation had commenced with the beginning of the feast.

The dishes were plentiful, featuring flying fowl, walking beasts, seasonal vegetables, and specialty cakes—everything one could wish for. Although the cooking was not done by Wu Hanxue and Old Sir Wu, it was still excellent. The other chefs in the kitchen had also put forth their full effort to prepare the dishes for the engagement banquet.

At Jiang Feng’s table, besides Wu Minqi and her husband Wu Jialiang, he didn’t recognize anyone else. A few faces looked somewhat familiar, but he had no clear memory of them. He couldn’t recall if they were Wu Minqi’s cousins or perhaps elder classmates or juniors from her school.

Being led around to greet others is something one easily forgets in a crowd. To date, Jiang could only properly match the identities of Wu Minqi’s eldest cousin Wu Jialiang and the third cousin Wu Jiaxue, one of the stars of this engagement party, and even then, he had to identify Wu Jiaxue’s fiancee by her clothing rather than her face.

Dining with a bunch of strangers or people he barely knew, Jiang was drawn into conversations about who got married, who broke up, or who seemed likely to tie the knot soon after visiting their girlfriend’s parents during the New Year—topics that inevitably came up around the dinner table during the holiday season. Jiang managed fairly well, as everyone had to endure this kind of awkwardness during the New Year, and it was much the same when he visited his grandmother’s house every year.

Though he had adapted, the awkwardness persisted, and Jiang found the meal particularly draining.

So much so that without looking at the dishes on the table, Jiang wouldn’t even know what he had just eaten, wasting the painstaking efforts and sincere hospitality of the chefs at the Wu Family Restaurant.

The length of time spent eating at a banquet is often much longer than a regular meal, not because eating is the focus, but because the true essence of a banquet lies in subtly probing and gathering information through conversation and facial expressions.

As Jiang’s table was mostly composed of the younger members of the Wu family, their discussions revolved around day-to-day matters and gossip, occasionally expressing their one-sided and narrow opinions about Wu Jiaxue’s fiancee.

Compared to the calm and soft-drink laden atmosphere at the younger generation’s table, the elders’ table, with its red and white wines and cheerful banter, resembled a spy thriller. While Jiang’s table had finished eating and laid down their chopsticks, the neighboring elders’ table continued toasting and chatting, eager to uncover as much as they could about each other’s family affairs.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

In the mingling of cups and laughter, danger lurked beneath the surface.

Wu Minqi and her sister-in-law were chatting happily, leaving Jiang and Wu Jialiang, the two men who could neither join the conversation nor enjoy the food, to sit silently on the side and play with their phones.

“By the way, Qiqi, have you decided where to take your boyfriend this afternoon?” the sister-in-law suddenly asked.

This question perked up the previously distracted Jiang and Wu Jialiang, who began to conspicuously eavesdrop on the conversation.

“This afternoon? I haven’t thought about it yet,” Wu Minqi replied.

“Why don’t you take him for a tour around your school? The last time I went to see Teacher Xiao, I still saw your record for winning the provincial chess championship in the school’s honor display.”

“What? Qiqi winning the provincial championship was years ago. Doesn’t the honor display update every three years? Why is it still there?” Wu Jialiang said, visibly shocked.

“That was an official competition’s provincial championship, not like your third place in some privately organized violin contest,” the sister-in-law said with disdain.

“I got third place in the national league later on, okay!” Wu Jialiang insisted on clarifying.

“That was during your university years. I won first place in a national debate competition in college, and you’re bragging about a mere third…”

“Violin?” Jiang zoned out from Wu Jialiang and the sister-in-law’s argument, looking curious.

He had assumed that Wu Jialiang was into music like rock, which would fit his persona, but it turned out to be the violin.

“Yeah, my eldest cousin has been playing the violin for twenty years,” Wu Minqi confirmed, “He used to run a music classroom teaching kids to play the violin, and his style was quite normal back then. It’s only in the past two years after he changed his look and image that he gradually began losing students, and eventually closed down the music classroom. He just opened the bar last year.”

Jiang: …

Future Uncle-in-Law seems a bit legendary, huh?

Is this a man nearing thirty suddenly deciding to have an awakening and let himself be free?

Let’s not discuss why Wu Jialiang changed his style from a respectable and handsome violin teacher to a rock youth with a hint of unconventional transformation. Minqi’s inspiration came from Big Sister-in-Law’s suggestion.

Wu Minqi had originally planned to take Jiang Feng around the city after the engagement party, to visit internet-famous spots and take photos, as she had searched online the night before. Although she felt deep down that it wasn’t that interesting, she had to admit.

The photos online did look pretty nice.

“Fengfeng, do you want to go see my high school this afternoon?” Wu Minqi asked.

“Of course.”

And so, the afternoon’s itinerary was pleasantly decided.

By the time Wu Jiaxue’s engagement party ended, it was already three o’clock. Even though Jiang Feng had nominally come to Shu to attend Wu Jiaxue’s engagement party, in reality, he hardly had a chance to exchange a few words with him. The groom’s relatives and friends were numerous, and so were the bride’s; Wu Jiaxue was kept busy being toasted by various elders, and by the end, he was barely able to stand.

Jiang Feng intended to say goodbye and exchange some pleasantries, but seeing that Wu Jiaxue was slurring his words, he swallowed what he had to say and went out to meet up with Wu Minqi and Mrs. Wu.

Wu Hanxue and Old Sir Wu were typical workaholics, who stayed in the restaurant even after drinking some wine at noon. They seemed content just to watch over things without getting hands-on; one could say they were quite dedicated.

Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi had just left Wu Family Restaurant when they bumped into Wu Jialiang again.

“Qiqi, future brother-in-law, remember, don’t be late for eight o’clock tonight!” Wu Jialiang said with a smile, waving at them as he saw a car approaching, “Don’t forget.”

“That’s enough, if you talk less you’ll forget Qiqi is yours in a blink of an eye,” Big Sister-in-Law, sitting in the driver’s seat, rolled down the window and said with a smile to Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi, “Qiqi, Jiang, we’re heading off.”

Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi also smiled and waved back at them.

After waiting a few more minutes, Mrs. Wu hurried out of the restaurant and upon seeing Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi already waiting outside, she said apologetically, “I’m so sorry, I forgot my bag and got held up a bit. Have you two been waiting long? It’s so cold outside, you should have waited inside.”

“I’ll get the car,” Mrs. Wu said as she headed for the parking lot.

“Mom, just drop Jiang and me off at the bus station. I’ll take Jiang to see my school this afternoon,” Wu Minqi said.

Mrs. Wu usually did not oppose Wu Minqi’s wishes and didn’t ask why. She just nodded her agreement and went on to the parking lot.

Wu Family Restaurant was only a short kilometer away from the nearest bus stop that could take them to Wu Minqi’s high school. When they got off, Mrs. Wu didn’t forget to ask Wu Minqi if they would come back for dinner that evening.

“Mom, Jiang and I won’t come back for dinner tonight. Jialiang Brother invited us to his place for the evening,” Wu Minqi explained.

“Jialiang, hmm, I heard from your aunt that his bar is doing well, made quite a profit last year. Just remember to come back early since Jiang has to catch a train tomorrow morning,” Mrs. Wu was unperturbed about Wu Minqi’s plans to go to a bar.

“I got it, Mom. You should head back and rest early,” Wu Minqi said with a smile, leading Jiang Feng to the bus stop to wait for the bus.