Gu Junxing's friends had set the dinner for Friday evening. Worried that Nian Suian might feel awkward as the only woman, Qin Wei said he'd bring his wife along. Old Chen and Liu Jian, both still single, wished they could bring partners but had no one to invite.
Nian Suian had been enjoying a leisurely life at home lately. After reading a few cheesy romance novels, she suddenly felt the urge to have some fun. This dinner party seemed like the perfect opportunity for her to stir things up a bit.
The previous two times she had dressed up, she had aimed for a mature and elegant look. This time, Nian Suian wanted to try something different and give them a little shock.
On Friday afternoon, she deliberately chose a dress with puffy sleeves and tied her hair in a bun. She even applied natural-looking makeup, aiming for a youthful and vibrant appearance.
When Gu Junxing came home to pick up Nian Suian, his brow furrowed at the sight of her outfit.
"Can't you change into something else?" he asked.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem with my dress? I think it looks quite nice," Nian Suian said, patting her dress and looking at Gu Junxing with wide eyes, pretending to be oblivious.
"I'm afraid people might mistake me for a creep luring a young girl and call the police," Gu Junxing said, making a rare attempt at humor. He genuinely felt it was inappropriate for them to go out like this.
Gu Junxing was tall and broad-shouldered, with long legs, and always dressed in a suit. Years of furrowing his brow at work had left faint lines between his eyebrows. His sharp features made him look mature rather than youthful, even a bit older than his actual age.
Nian Suian ignored his comment and got into the passenger seat. Gu Junxing, unable to persuade her, could only furrow his brow again as he got behind the wheel. Since it was a gathering with friends, he had decided to drive himself instead of calling a chauffeur.
Nian Suian finally spoke up, "Don't worry. As long as we don't act intimately, people will at most think we're father and daughter. They won't think you're a pervert. Relax."
Nian Suian thought Gu Junxing was making a fuss over nothing. They were both old hands at playing the roles of a powerful CEO and his young wife - nothing the public hadn't seen before.
While the reaction of passersby remained unknown, Gu Junxing's friends were truly shocked.
His three friends and Qin Wei's wife, Xu Jiasong, had arrived early at the private dining room, eager to meet Gu Junxing's wife. They were incredibly curious about her, especially Chen Shu and Liu Jian. The three men had sworn to remain bachelors together, but Gu Junxing had secretly gotten married, leaving the other two feeling betrayed and determined to interrogate him thoroughly today.
Just before entering the room, Nian Suian deliberately took Gu Junxing's arm and leaned closer to him.
So when the four people in the room looked up, they saw an adorable young girl with a bun hairstyle, nestled against Gu Junxing like a little bird.
Gu Junxing was also taken aback for a moment before leading Nian Suian inside. After they sat down, he made the introductions.
"This is my wife, Nian Suian," he said, then turned to Nian Suian and pointed to the others. "These are my college classmates and good friends. Liu Jian, Chen Shu, Qin Wei, and this is Qin Wei's wife, Miss Xu Jiasong."
Nian Suian smiled inwardly, adjusting herself to the perfect acting state. She stood up to greet everyone, "Hello, everyone. I'm Junxing's wife, Nian Suian. I've heard so much about you from him, and I'm finally meeting you today." She then cast a "loving and shy" glance at Gu Junxing before sitting down again.
The four were stunned for nearly a minute before Chen Shu finally spoke up, "Hello, hello. We're very pleased to meet you too." Beside him, Liu Jian was frantically sending messages to Gu Junxing in their group chat.
[Gu Junxing, you beast!]
[So this is why you never dated before! You like young girls, huh? You're nearly forty, have you no shame?]
[We couldn't tell from those viral photos the other day, but now we know why you were hiding her. Afraid we'd curse you out, weren't you?]
[How old is this girl?! Tell me, how many years older is she than Zhijing? You dirty old man!]
Gu Junxing's phone was on vibrate in his pocket, nearly numbing his leg. He didn't need to look to know who was sending the messages and that they weren't anything pleasant.
"Ahem! Let's order," Gu Junxing said suddenly, not knowing what else to say. He picked up the menu and started flipping through it. Being a gentleman, he looked for a while before handing the menu to Nian Suian. "See what you'd like to eat?"
Nian Suian sensed another opportunity to act. Instead of looking at the menu, she said in a voice that was both soft yet audible to others, "Honey, you know I have decision paralysis. You know what I like to eat, so you can decide." Nian Suian felt like praising herself - her acting skills were superb, with just the right tone and voice.
The people across the table felt too awkward to speak, but under the table, their phone screens were nearly shattered from furious typing. Gu Junxing was also shocked by the "honey," forgetting to respond. He hastily picked a few dishes and rang for the waiter to take the menu away.
"Suian, how did you and Mr. Gu meet?" Xu Jiasong asked Nian Suian. The group had silently discussed and decided to let Xu Jiasong ask, thinking that girl-to-girl might be easier to talk to, while they just listened.
Nian Suian thought to herself: How am I supposed to know how we met? I just appeared as his wife out of nowhere!
However, her face remained calm, even showing a hint of a shy smile as she answered, "It's actually quite a cliché story. I was shopping at the supermarket, and when I came out, it started raining. I was carrying a lot of groceries and trying to hold an umbrella, looking quite disheveled. The bag from the supermarket broke, and everything scattered on the ground. Many cars passed by, but he was the only one who stopped to help me pick up my things. Afterward, I got his WeChat and asked him out for a meal."
"So you were the one who pursued him?" Xu Jiasong asked.
"Yes, I thought he was tall, handsome, mature, steady, and kind, so I took the initiative! I was worried he might think I was too young and immature to like me, but to my surprise, I actually managed to win him over." At this point, Nian Suian flashed a blissful smile that would make anyone say:
She's head over heels in love!
After all, the story was so well-crafted that even Nian Suian almost believed it herself. The same went for Gu Junxing; if he hadn't been the person involved, he would have believed it too.
"Then let me ask one more question, if you don't mind, old Gu!" Liu Jian interjected.
Gu Junxing raised an eyebrow slightly, indicating he didn't mind. He was also curious to see how this story could develop further.
"Old Gu has a child at his age, and you're so young. Doesn't that bother you?" Liu Jian asked.