Volume 1: Cloud City Winds and Clouds Chapter 165: Unlucky Year

  "Since it's a family dinner, I won't go then. I'll invite Uncle Zhao and you separately tonight." Wang Xu hurriedly excused himself.

  "How can this be? You're treating Xiaokai so well, you're like one of us now. Whether or not Tingting's matter succeeds is another story, but you might as well take care of it too." Zhao Taiyue hastily said.

  "That's right, Master, Tingting is my sister, isn't she also your sister?" Zhao Kai also advised.

  Zhao Ke said that, and Zhao Taiyue suddenly stood up, his surprised eyes wide open, staring at Zhao Ke and asking: "Little Ke, what did you call Dr. Wang?"

  "Master, Master has officially accepted me as his apprentice and is teaching me medical skills." Zhao Kai said with a pleased expression.

  After listening to Zhao Ke's explanation, Zhao Taiyue couldn't sit still anymore and hastily walked forward, grasping Wang Xu's hand and saying: "Doctor Wang, thank you so much! You actually took this stinky little brat as an apprentice. In my opinion, you should beat him up."

  "Uncle Zhao, don't say that, it's impolite," Wang Xu hastily said with a smile.

  "Dr. Wang, you are now Xiaokai's master, so I shouldn't be called Uncle Zhao anymore, it's confusing the generations. Although I'm not a doctor, I understand some things too - once a teacher, always a father." Zhao Taiyue hastily said.

  "Zhao Ke is Zhao Ke, we are us, and we don't interfere with each other. Each has their own business." Wang Xu smiled: "You and my dad are about the same age, so it's okay to call you uncle. I'll introduce you two another day."

  "Alright, we'll each go our separate ways for now, but you must attend the luncheon later, there aren't many of us and Little Kai's mom is busy and can't make it. You're Little Kai's teacher, so it's only natural that you should go." Zhao Taiyue said with a smile.

  "Alright, since that's the case, I'll go take a look, but I'm only eating, not talking!" Wang Xu joked.

  After sitting in the clinic for a while, at 11:30, Wang Xu closed the clinic door and called Bai Nongxin to tell him not to send lunch today. He then drove with Zhao Kai's family to the agreed-upon restaurant.

  Zhao Ke's home was in Yun City, a small county town in the suburbs of Yun City. Zhao Taiyue also had some connections and was quite well-known among locals, and he knew several doctors at the affiliated hospital. It was only through his connections that he managed to get Zhao Ke admitted to the affiliated hospital, but compared to this future relative's family, they were still somewhat inferior.

  This marriage was introduced by others, the boy Zhao Taiyue had met once, and he looked okay, gentle and elegant, with a good family background, his parents were high-income earners in Yun City, and his daughter would not have to worry about her livelihood after marrying him.

  They booked a mid-to-high-end restaurant, which was nicely decorated and had a grand entrance. As soon as they arrived at the door, the doorman rushed to greet them.

  A few people came over, sitting in Wang Xu's BMW, the doorman was very polite, Wang Xu handed the car key to the parking attendant, and together with Zhao Taiyue and others, they entered the restaurant, said the private room number, and were led upstairs by the waiter.

  They had entered the private room, and the other party was already there. Inside were five people: a middle-aged couple, a man and a woman of similar age to Zhao Taiyue, and a young man who looked refined and cultured, likely Zhao Tingting's fiancé. The other two were a husband-and-wife duo in their thirties; the man wore glasses and looked elegant, while the woman was dressed impeccably, exuding an air of innate superiority.

  Seeing Zhao Taiyue and Zhao Tingting come in, the young man hastily stood up to greet them: "Uncle Zhao, Tingting you've arrived." As he spoke, he quickly walked out and introduced the people sitting there to Zhao Taiyue.

  That middle-aged couple were the young man's parents. The man was called Wang Hui and the woman was called Shu Min. When the boy stood up, they also hastily stood up.

  The young couple was the boy's aunt and uncle. When introducing his aunt and uncle, the boy specifically mentioned their identities. His uncle Qin Yiyang is a professor at Zhongjiang University of Science and Technology, and his aunt Wang Rui is the deputy director of the Zhongjiang Industrial and Commercial Bureau.

  Qin Yi Yang's expression was very cold, and he nodded slightly at Zhao Tai Yue and the others before getting up slightly and sitting back down. Wang Dui stood up, but there wasn't much courtesy on his face either.

  When the boy saw his uncle and aunt's attitude, he looked a bit unnatural. His parents were very enthusiastic and explained with a smile: "His little wife is just that kind of person, she is engaged in academic research and is a bit stubborn, don't mind."

  "How come?" Zhao Taiyue smiled politely and introduced Wang Xu and Zhao Kai: "This is Dr. Wang Xu, who has opened a clinic in Zhongjiang, and this is my son Zhao Kai, who is studying medicine under Dr. Wang."

  "Come on, everyone sit down, don't stand around." Wang Hui smiled and nodded, hastily inviting Wang Xu and the others to take their seats. But it was Wang Dui who whispered: "What a country bumpkin, inviting outsiders over in this kind of setting, must be anxious about not having anywhere to eat."

  Wang Rui's muttering was very soft, and several people were chatting and laughing, so no one heard it clearly, except for Wang Xu with good hearing and Zhao Kai who was closest to the edge.

  Zhao Kai frowned in disgust, glanced at the other person, and didn't say a word. He sat down on the chair, but his face was clearly not looking good.

  "It's alright, don't be too particular about this occasion. As long as the boy and his parents are good people, that's all that matters." Wang Xu sat down beside Zhao Ke, patted him on the shoulder, and said softly.

  After a few people sat down, Wang Hui smiled and said: "Mr. Zhao, the children now have no objections from both sides. After we meet this time, if there are no other opinions, we will be relatives in the future. Today's dinner can also be regarded as a family banquet, so don't be polite."

  "This is natural, actually as long as the child doesn't object, I won't oppose it either. Xiao Hao is a good person, very sensible." Zhao Taiyue smiled and said.

  "Our Xiao Hao is naturally quite good, he's a top student at Zhongjiang University of Technology. I heard Tingting only graduated from a vocational college, I don't know if there will be any communication problems in the future." Wang Wei said with a sarcastic tone.

  "Xiao Wei, say less, rather demolish a temple than destroy a marriage." Upon hearing this, Zhao Taiyue's face changed instantly, and Wang Hui hastily rebuked in a low voice.

  After scolding Wang Rui, Wang Hui hurriedly smiled and said to Zhao Taiyue: "Mr. Zhao, don't mind too much, Xiao Hao has a good relationship with his aunt since childhood, and Xiao Rui is also worried about her."

  "Uncle Wang, in a situation like this, as a junior I shouldn't be speaking out of turn, but as Tingting's brother, I also want to say something fair. Although our Tingting only graduated from a vocational school, there are already many people lining up to propose to her. We may be from a small place in Yun City, not comparable to the big city of Zhongjiang, but we're not inferior either." At this point, Zhao Kai spoke up.

  He has been unhappy since he sat down, if it were a few months ago, he would not have said such things, but after following Wang Xu for so long, and having met the secretary of the provincial party committee and the mayor of Zhongjiang City, meeting Wang Hui's family is no big deal.

  "Mr. Wang, although Zhao Ke's words were unpleasant to hear, they are also the truth. Today we came here on one hand to meet each other and get acquainted, and on the other hand, if everything is fine, then things will be settled. However, we didn't come here to be bullied around. My daughter, Zhao Ke, won't have any trouble finding a husband." Zhao Taiyue also got angry and took over from where his son left off.

  "Mr. Zhao, my little sister didn't mean anything else, just discussing the matter at hand. What's with your big temper? Your family's daughter isn't worried about getting married, is our Xiao Hao worried about finding a wife?" At this time, Qin Yi Yang, who had not spoken much, spoke up in a calm and collected tone.

  "In that case, there's nothing more to say. Let's go." Zhao Taiyue also lost his temper and stood up, pulling Zhao Tingting beside him.

  "Dad." The boy suddenly became anxious and hastily shouted at Wang Hui, it was clear that he really liked Zhao Tingting.

  "Mr. Zhao, don't be angry." Wang Hui hastily stood up and intercepted him, with a smile on his face: "We also sincerely want the two children to get together, really no other meaning, her younger sister's words you shouldn't take to heart."

  "Dad." Zhao Tingting also pulled on Zhao Taiyue's sleeve, pleading, since they could meet from so far away, Zhao Tingting naturally had a crush on the boy.

  "Uncle and auntie, I've already called you uncle and auntie for a long time. It's just a small matter, why must you be so particular about it?" Shu Min also stood up with a smiling face.

  The other's parents detained, Zhao Tingting also pulled him to beg, Zhao Taiyue sat back with a huff, but the atmosphere at the dinner table was somewhat awkward.

  Wang Rui didn't think she had done anything wrong either, turned her head around and completely ignored Zhao Taiyue and the others. Wang Hui and his wife, on the other hand, kept saying nice things.

  The one who just spoke was the boy's aunt, and the parents' attitude wasn't bad. Zhao Taiyue's anger dissipated a lot, and he said kindly: "We're not unreasonable people either. Although this matter mainly depends on the opinions of the two children, if the child suffers after marrying into our family, I absolutely won't agree."

  "Look what you're saying, I and Xiaohao's mom also like Tingting very much, how can we let her suffer? You must rest assured on this point." Wang Hui added.

  Just as they were talking, the door of the private room was suddenly kicked open. A man stumbled in, clearly drunk, and grabbed onto the door to steady himself. Without looking at the people inside, he pointed a finger and shouted loudly: "You're all blind, do you know who I am? How dare you speak to me like that!"

  "Same to you, sorry about that, we've both had too much to drink, don't mind it, don't mind it." A young man in his thirties hurried over to hold him up, with a smiling face.

  As soon as he heard the voice, Wang Xu was overjoyed and rushed to the outside shouting: "Tong Ke, you really have a big temper! You bumped into my private room door and didn't even say sorry? It seems like your plate hasn't been washed enough!"

  His head was still a bit dizzy from the leftover wine, but when he heard this faint voice, he suddenly felt a jolt, and his intoxication instantly dissipated by half. He turned around to take a look inside, and at a glance, he saw Wang Xu's back, and sweat suddenly broke out on his forehead.

  "King... Dr. Wang..." Without thinking, he took three steps and did two steps, hastily arriving in front of Wang Xu, taking a clear look at his appearance, stuttering as he opened his mouth to speak.

  The last time he didn't know Wang Xu's name, he had only seen the scene of Fusheng Hall opening, and was scared enough. After Jiangzhou News two days ago, he naturally knew Wang Xu's name and cursed his bad luck in his heart.

  After washing dishes at Xiangxiang Pavilion, Tong Yuliang never wanted to stay in Jiangyi District again. With great difficulty, he managed to get a transfer to the Municipal Bureau of Industry and Commerce through connections. On his first day out for dinner with colleagues, he ran into Wang Xu again. This was simply an unlucky year.