Sure enough, after the two had gone downstairs to the living room, they heard the sound of the door opening not long after.
Then, they caught sight of a black and white figure rus.h.i.+ng inside ahead of everyone.
Aunt Zhuang was yelling from the back, "Heyyy, Chu Xi, stop running. Don"t run."
Yan Ningbai and Mo Jinxi quickly rushed in and tried to restrain Chu Xi.
The two brats had to work together to hold Chu Xi down as Chu Xi still thought that they were playing around with it. It then lied down on the ground and started rolling about.
Lin Chu immediately discovered that Chu Xi"s whole body was wet. Its fur had been soaked and was stuck to its skin, which made it appeared thinner than usual.
Chu Xi suddenly got up again and used all of its strength to shake its body, causing the water to splash everywhere.
The two fellows that were holding onto it now looked as if they had just finished taking a shower.
"What happened? How did it get so wet?" Lin Chu asked in shock.
Aunt Zhuang could not bear to watch further. "I took Chu Xi out just now, and Ningbai and JInxi just happened to wake up at the same time, so we went along together. When we reached the lake, there were two ducks in the water. Chu Xi then began chasing after the ducks, and since the lotus leaves had covered up the lakesh.o.r.e... I guess Chu Xi thought it was a pathway and tried to run over it. Consequently—"
The corner of Aunt Zhuang"s mouth twitched. Yan Ningbai continued, "Consequently, Chu Xi splashed into the water! Even the ducks swam away, probably surprised that it was stupid enough to jump in. Finally, it swam back with its tongue sticking out."
"It was a genuine dog paddling." Mo Jinxi said at the side.
Chu Xi"s innocent expression made everyone laugh even harder.
"You can"t imagine how silly it looked just now, everyone around us was laughing non-stop. Fortunately, the weather"s warm now. If it was cold, it would have caught a cold." Aunt Zhuang said, "I"ll wash it up first, since the water in the lake is too dirty."
Aunt Zhuang brought Chu Xi for a shower as Lin Chu turned to the two fellows to ask them about their plans today.
"Jinxi, where do you want to go?" Yan Ningbai took the initiative to ask.
Normally his parents would bring him out and travel, and he had already explored a good amount of city B. He had also travelled to other parts of the country and even gone overseas before.
Hence, he let Mo Jinxi chose today"s destination. He figured that Mo Jinxi normally would not have many opportunities to go and play, so naturally Mo Jinxi should be the one to decide where to go today.
Mo Jinxi did not try to be modest either, and his eyes sparkled at the thought. He obviously already had a place he always wanted to go to.
"I… I want to go to the Underwater World, to look at penguins, and polar bears and watch dolphins perform!" Mo Jinxi said as he blushed. Once he finished saying this, he became worried that his request was too much, so he carefully asked, "Can I?"
"Of course you can." Lin Chu laughed, and suddenly clapped her hands together. "Since we woke up quite late, it"s almost noon. Why don"t we just get lunch outside, okay?"
As she spoke, Lin Chu turned around and looked at Yan Beicheng to ask for his opinion.
As he met Lin Chu"s gaze, Yan Beicheng got the feeling that he was like the head of a family. He could not help but straighten his back and look proper.
As he looked at the three person"s eyes that were filled with expectation, he nodded and said, "Sure."
The two fellows exclaimed, "Yay!" ecstatically and clapped in excitement.
Lin Chu quickly told Aunt Zhuang their plans while the latter was still busy blowing Chu Xi"s fur dry.
As they were going out, Chu Xi saw that the two fellows had finished changing their clothes and were ready to go out. It immediately became anxious and started barking as it ran toward the door. It then used its whole body to block the entrance.
"Woof!" I wanted to go as well!
Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng had also changed their clothes. Lin Chu tried to drag Chu Xi away, but Chu Xi was totally unwilling to budge.
It just laid on the ground motionlessly, and Lin Chu was unable to push it"s heavy body off.
"Chu Xi, just be good and watch the house!" Lin Chu tried to plead.
Chu Xi then placed its paws on the side of the door and whimpered. No matter what she said, it refused to move.
Then, Yan Beicheng squinted and stepped forward with the intention to lift it out of the way. Chu Xi saw this and quivered before immediately standing up and running to hide behind Lin Chu.
Lin Chu thought it had given up and opened the door for the two little fellows to get out, but the black beast seized the opportunity to dash out. Seconds later, Chu Xi was standing outside the door wagging its tail at them. It then made like a wolf and howled loudly before stomping its legs to urge them to come out faster.
Aunt Zhuang wanted to restrain Chu Xi as well, but Chu Xi was agile as it dodged left and right. It even leaped up and down, making it impossible to catch.
"Forget it, just bring it along." Yan Beicheng resigned as there seemed to be no other way anyway.
Yan Ningbai immediately went in and took the leash out. Once Chu Xi saw this, it knew that it had won and that they were bringing it out as well. It immediately became well-behaved and no longer caused a ruckus. It even obediently held its paw out so Lin Chu could fasten up its leash.
Having such a smart Husky in the family was such a pain that Lin Chu let out a loud sigh.
After they went down to the garage, Lin Chu sat in the pa.s.senger seat, allowing the two little fellows sit behind alongside Chu Xi. The two little fellows wanted to look at the scenery outside, so they sat separately next to the doors and gave the middle seat to Chu Xi.
Chu Xi was not a dog that would sit still. After a while, it stepped over Yan Ningbai"s legs and placed its paws on the window to look outside, then stepped on Yan Ningbai"s legs to return to its seat. It even almost stepped on Yan Ningbai"s poor little chili pepper.
Mo Jinxi looked out the window silently, and when Chu Xi turned its head to look at the scenery via his window, he swiftly used both of his hands to protect his little chili pepper.
Chu Xi hung onto the window with high spirits, wagging its long tail as it hit the back of Yan Ningbai"s head from time to time.
It soon saw a car next to them with a small toy poodle that was peeking its little head out the window. Chu Xi arrogantly barked "Woof" at it once. The wind blew against it such that its fur looked especially elegant. The expression on its face was arrogant, resembling that of a military officer.
After looking out for a while, it finally pulled its head back and retreated to inside the car.
As they were almost reaching Underwater World, Yan Ningbai and Mo Jinxi were busy discussing something in the back seat that Lin Chu was not able to hear clearly from the front.
A few moments pa.s.sed, and as Yan Beicheng stopped the car and Yan Ningbai had just unbuckled his seatbelt. He poked his head from the backseat to the front and called, "Big nephew!"
Yan Beicheng faintly turned around to look at him, with his thick eyebrows slightly raised.
Yan Ningbai showed him an apologetic smile, "Un… Uncle just discussed with Jinxi a while ago, we feel like eating pizza and chicken wings."
Mo Jinxi then gradually moved his head forward as well whilst feeling a little nervous. His whole face had turned red, yet he nodded hastily.
"I... I don"t get to eat pizza often, so I"d like to eat it now." Mo Jinxi said as he used his soft fingers to poke the back of the car seat.
Usually, when the children in the orphanage had their birthdays, they would eat a huge meal. Occasionally, Lin Chu would order some pizzas and fried chicken wings for them to eat to their heart"s content, but for them to get such meals was still rare.
These types of meals were not expensive, it was just that they lacked nutrition.
Yan Beicheng looked at them and nodded reluctantly. "You guys can only eat them this once, you can"t eat them again during the week you live with me."
Just being able to eat them this one time put the two little fellows in a very cheerful mood.
Little Yan Ningbai was running his own little scheme as well. When mom and dad brought him out, they would eat exquisite meals, but Yan Huaian and Yu Zi precisely refused to let him eat fast food.
Yan Huaian was pretty direct with him, saying he was already fat. If he continued eating junk food, he would possibly balloon to be as big as the sky!
Yu Zi was only thinking of his health and nutrition. Since she from a judicial aristocratic family, Yu Zi experienced a wealthy but strict upbringing such that she was never allowed to eat such foods. Even at the end of the school day when her schoolmates would go and eat street foods such as fried skewers, fried intestines and so on, Yu Zi would never be able to join them.
Afterward, when she started dating Yan Huaian, Yu Zi was like a runaway horse in that she would always bring Yan Huaian along to eat snacks from the streets. The pitiful Yan Huaian had never eaten them as well since he was little, so when he was with Yu Zi it was as if he was experiencing a whole new side to life too.
However, both of them, with their delicate stomachs that had been pampered since birth soon ended up being in the hospital due to food poisoning after stuffing themselves one too many times with the said food.
It was the kind of pain that Yu Zi would remember forever. She then realized that her family was doing it for her own good.
Therefore, she disallowed Yan Ningbai from eating such things. Yan Huaian, who had always been unbothered by such trifling things, also suffered the same consequences, so he was adamant in standing firm behind Yu Zi"s decision.
Yan Ningbai had eaten in many high-end restaurants by the time he had lived to the age of seven. However, it was fast foods and roadside stalls that were the one treasure that he had always dreamt of but never gotten!
The restaurant did not allow dogs to enter, so Yan Beicheng had no other option but to leave Chu Xi in the car. Even though eating lunch would not take long, Yan Beicheng still left behind several toys alongside Chu Xi"s snacks in the car so that it would be entertained.
Yan Beicheng was scared that the inside of the car would get too warm, so he lowered the car window about two inches to allow the air outside to circulate inside the car.
The four of them casually entered the restaurant as these types of fast-food restaurants naturally did not need to be booked or reserved beforehand.
It was currently noontime as well, which was the peak period to get lunch. The inside of the restaurant was filled with chatter and was really noisy. So much so that at first glance, it seemed that there was no more s.p.a.ce to sit.
Yan Beicheng had never gone into these places before, so it was a rare occasion for Lin Chu to take the lead. Thus, she brought along this big man and two small children inside to look around for empty seats.
As they were walking, she suddenly heard someone call out, "Big Sister!"
When Lin Chu heard the voice, she thought it was familiar, but pretended not to hear it and continued to move forward. She was moving away from the direction the sound came from when her hand was unexpectedly pulled by someone.
Lin Chu turned around and saw Xu Jiaojiao hurriedly standing up as she pulled her hand and disallowing her from taking another step forward.
"Big Sister, you"re here for lunch as well?" Xu Jiaojiao seemed to ask in a meticulous tone.
Lin Chu struggled to free her hand and replied in disaffection. "Ms. Xu."
"Big Sister, why are you still being treating me like an outsider?" Xu Jiaojiao said anxiously, "Are you still doubting us? If you are, we can clarify everything."
Lin Chu did not want to get involved with her at the moment, so she looked at the table beside theirs and replied, "I"ll not bother you guys, have a nice meal."
"Big Sister, you guys are here to eat as well right? There are no more seat left, why don"t you just sit here with us." Xu Jiaojiao said as she pointed at the friend next to her. "This is my university roommate, Huang Yuemeng. Yuemeng, they"re the ones I"ve mentioned before, this is my big sister and my brother-in-law."
Xu Jiaojiao lowered her head and saw the two little fellows standing next to Yan Beicheng. She hurriedly used a coyish tone, "These two little guys are so adorable, are they your relatives" children?"
Lin Chu did not want to say too much to her as she was afraid that Yan Ningbai would get too involved in the matter and cause Yan Huaian to be unhappy.
Yan Ningbai blinked his eyes and ignored her. He quietly discussed something with Mo Jinxi, then looked up and tugged at Yan Beicheng"s pants. "Big nephew, we don"t want to eat pizza anymore. Let"s eat teppanyaki next door."
Yan Beicheng nodded, and coldly said to Xu Jiaojiao, "We"re going elsewhere to eat now."
Xu Jiaojiao, who had been so enthusiastic but had been showed the cold shoulder felt her expression turn stiff. She felt that she had lost face in front of her friend.
Lin Chu did not particularly dislike Xu Jiaojiao. She knew that she only wanted to advantage of her she had no further intentions, unlike Lu Weining.
In fact, as long as the matter did not involve coming after Yan Beicheng, then Lin Chu was too lazy to care.
There was also the matter of the identification report that Yan Beicheng had brought back earlier. Although Lin Chu did not want to acknowledge them, she would not intentionally make life difficult for them either.
She waved at one of the waitresses and asked for the bill, then paid for Xu Jiaojiao"s table. "Enjoy your meals slowly."
The face that she thought she had lost earlier was instantly returned, making Xu Jiaojiao happy again. She did not want to bother Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng further, which was fine by her as she was unable to anyway. Not to mention she was quite afraid of Yan Beicheng.
Lin Chu was able to see that she was a simple person as well, she could easily be handled if you just offered her some benefits and dignity.
As they were walking out, Lin Chu heard Huang Yuemeng call out, "That"s right, I heard that you were hired by Lin Mao, congratulations! In our dormitory, you"re the second one to find a job. Additionally, unlike Big Four, who got in because her family"s rich, you got in all by yourself."
Although Lin Mao"s scale was not top-notch, it was by no means a small company. To be able to say that you were working for her was something to be proud of.
Lin Chu paused and saw that Yan Beicheng had turned around to look at her.
Due to the noise from the crowd in the restaurant, Yan Beicheng merely stood there quietly and turned to look at her with a calm gaze.
Lin Chu began to smile and decided to simply ignore whatever Xu Jiaojiao and her friend were talking about. Thus, she walked toward Yan Beicheng and slipped her hand into his before following him out of the restaurant.
After they left, Xu Jiaojiao poked the lemon in her black tea with a small spoon as she smiled. "That"s nothing, Lin Mao is not such a big company anyway. Did you see my sister just now? My brother-in-law is actually the president of Yan Hui. If I can get into Yan Hui, that would be awesome."
Huang Yuemeng opened her eyes widely in astonishment, her face flushed, either due to the excitement or something else. "Is your brother-in-law that powerful? I heard that he was, but I didn"t expect him to be the president of Yan Hui!"
She did not get a proper look at Yan Beicheng earlier.
Xu Jiaojiao"s face turned smug. "Usually I don"t like to talk too much, unlike Big Four that"s constantly talking about her family. My sister and brother-in-law are low-key people, so I don"t like to show off."
Huang Yuemeng sneered inwardly. Are you sure you did not like to show off?
If she did not like showing off, then how did the whole department find out about her discovering her big sister. Was it due to some supernatural event?
"Then, why did you not just go straight into Yan Hui?" Huang Yuemeng asked curiously as she cut a slice of pizza before shoving it into her mouth.
Xu Jiaojiao"s expression changed slightly. "That… That"s because Yan Hui"s requirement is so high. It would take just one word from my brother-in-law for me to get, but it"ll be too obvious that I would be using my relations. Yan Hui"s not the type of company that would like this. If I want to get in, I"d need to use my qualifications, otherwise, it"d put me in a bad light. My sister does love me, but I don"t want to trouble her. So for now, I"m just focusing on finding a job and getting some work experiences so that I can enter Yan Hui in the future."
Huang Yuemeng smiled and said nothing else. Who knew what to believe these days anyway?
It was strange that Lin Chu had decided to give her face today and had even paid for her lunch. Although pizzas were not expensive, the two of them had a total bill amounting to 200 Yuan. Lin Chu"s actions made her look good in front of Huang Yuemeng.
Once they finished their meals, Xu Jiaojiao bid farewell to Huang Yuemeng. After giving it a thought, she went inside the teppanyaki restaurant next door.
She wanted to strike while the iron was hot and worm her way into Lin Chu"s life.
When she went inside, she did not see Lin Chu anywhere and when she asked the staff inside, she learned that Lin Chu and Yan Beicheng had never even entered the restaurant.
Even though there were many occupants inside as well as a small queue by the door, she did not think that the workers would forget the group of them.
This was because Yan Beicheng was such an extravagant person that he would be unforgettable to most ordinary citizens.
Coupled with Lin Chu and those two good-looking boys, and anybody who saw them would be impressed.
If the worker said he had not seen them, it meant that they had never even went in.
Xu Jiaojiao never thought that Yan Beicheng would play such a trick. He probably did not want to eat teppanyaki and was just dreading the possibility of Xu Jiaojiao coming to bother them again. Hence, he lied and said that he was coming here.
After this, she left and turned around before going into another steakhouse. Xu Jiaojiao could not find them there either, so she eventually unwilling left the place.
Yan Beicheng and the others were not thinking about whether she would come and bother them, but once they had finished their meals, they immediately went to the Underwater World. Yan Beicheng even bought five tickets, so that Chu Xi could enter as well.
The four of them along with the dog walked happily through the pa.s.sageway. Besides the pa.s.sageway, both sides of the wall and the ceiling were covered with fish swimming around gracefully. Chu Xi curiously stuck its nose on the gla.s.s, it could not help but follow the fish, as if this was too much for its eyes to take in.
When they reached a different area, they saw three sharks swim by. One of the sharks advanced toward the gla.s.s with its face looking dead ahead and its mouth wide open, exposing its sharp teeth. It was a frightening sight to behold.
Chu Xi let out an "Awooo" sound with its perfectly round eyes staring at it. It then wedged its tail between its leg and ran behind Yan Beicheng to hide. It stealthily poked its head out from in between Yan Beicheng"s knees and proceeded to howl at the shark.
"..." Yan Beicheng looked down at the dog"s head that was sticking out from his knees and frowned.
Yan Ningbai and Mo Jinxi played for half of the day as it was a first for both of them. It was Yan Ningbai"s first time ever coming out to play with his companion, and it was Mo Jinxi"s first time ever coming to Underwater World.
The two had been extremely excited the whole time, screaming all the way. In the evening they ate outside again, so when they got home they did not even want to wash up, they were itching to just lie down and sleep.
It was Lin Chu that insisted that the two needed to take a shower and had blown their hair dry. They then quickly went to sleep afterward.
It was rare for them to sleep so early and not create trouble, which gave Yan Beicheng his own quiet time.
Bringing the two little fellows out to play got Yan Beicheng a little tired as well. Lin Chu lied down on the bed and immediately fell asleep, and since Yan Beicheng saw that she was so tired, he did not disturb her.
Even though he was tired, the excitement made him unable to fall asleep.
Tomorrow he would be getting his marriage license with Lin Chu. It was a huge life event, which made him unusually nervous and excited.
As he stayed up thinking about it, he became afraid that the excitement of tomorrow would cause him to be forgetful. Thus, he got up to look for his and Lin Chu"s household registration booklet before putting both their ident.i.ty cards inside.
He was afraid that the noise would wake Lin Chu up, so he then used the limited light from his mobile phone screen and paced back and forth whilst barefooted.
After this, he exited the bedroom and quietly dialed the number of the Family Mansion.
The phone rang for a while before somebody picked it up.
The sound of Old Lady Yan"s yawning voice was heard, "h.e.l.lo?"
She probably did not even look at the caller"s ID.
"Granny, it"s me." Yan Beicheng whispered, "I want to ask you something. When getting a marriage license, what else do I have to bring besides the household registration booklet and ident.i.ty cards?"
"You called me in the middle of the night for this?" Old Lady Yan said as she gnashed her teeth.