337: Chapter 337 Mr. Lu Xun said

The dinner was scheduled for twelve o'clock; they arrived a few minutes late, and the private room was already mostly full.

Jiang Ye took a quick scan. There were about a dozen people sitting around the round table, with a very typical age distribution: a middle-aged group in their forties and fifties, and a youth group in their early twenties.

The middle-aged group was exchanging pleasantries in small clusters, their faces wearing the slightly exaggerated smiles unique to the New Year, as they asked each other about classic topics like work status, children's grades, and health.

Meanwhile, the younger generation sat on the other side, each with a phone in hand, heads down, fingers sliding rapidly, as if they were in another world, completely out of place with the surrounding noise.

Seeing the three of them enter, several middle-aged people who were chatting stopped mid-sentence, and their gazes all shifted over in unison.

A middle-aged woman with permed hair and a slightly mean-looking face was the first to call out:

“Oh! Boguang is here! And look, isn't this Xiao Juan! My goodness, it's been two years since I last saw you, hasn't it? Did the sun rise from the west this year? You actually agreed to come for dinner?”

While these words sounded like a greeting, everyone present could hear the sarcasm and the subtext.

“Third Sister, Third Brother-in-law, Happy New Year. Boyuan, Younger brother's wife... Everyone is here, Happy New Year.”

A flash of embarrassment crossed Old Tian's face, but he still responded with a smile: “Xiao Juan was immature before, but she's grown up now.”

As he spoke, he gestured for Jiang Ye and Tian Lijuan behind him to find a seat.

Tian Lijuan glanced at the three cousins who were still buried in their phones, too lazy to even lift their heads. She gave a disdainful snort and leaned into Jiang Ye's ear, preparing to introduce the “distribution of power” and “key targets for caution” at the table:

“Little Uncle, let me tell you, these old folks...”

“No need for introductions, just relax.”

Jiang Ye waved his hand with a smile, also lowering his voice: “I told you, I'm very professional at these kinds of scenes. Just watch me.”

He pulled Tian Lijuan to an empty seat and sat down. Then, he began to observe everyone in the room with keen precision while appearing casual, analyzing the situation before him.

Every Spring Festival in the past, Jiang Ye had to accompany Xu Man to various relative gatherings.

Even though they were a mother and son alone, Xu Man was a cleaner, and he was just a student at an ordinary second-tier university, so they weren't taken seriously among the relatives. Most of the time, he played the role of the one who smiled politely and listened to lectures, but Xu Man still insisted he attend.

Her reason was simple and realistic: show your face more, move around more, and just in case a relative becomes successful in the future or something happens where they can lend a hand, maybe it could make Jiang Ye's life a bit easier.

It was these experiences that had trained Jiang Ye in the skill of “dealing with relatives.”

Of course, things were different now. He no longer needed to smile cautiously and submissively like he did in the past.

Jiang Ye quickly sorted out the situation at the table. Besides Old Tian's family, there were three others:

● The “Third Sister” who just spoke and the balding man next to her should be “Third Aunt” and “Third Uncle.” The girl next to them who kept her head down was their daughter, Li Ting.

● Another couple dressed flashily were “Second Uncle” and “Second Aunt.” Their son, Tian Haoran, was a tall, thin boy who was currently chatting on WeChat.

● There was also a couple who were “Second Aunt” and “Second Uncle-in-law.” Their son, Xu Xuan, seemed to have quite a personality, preferring to look at people out of the corner of his eye.

And Old Tian, Tian Boguang, was the eldest in the Tian family, he was...

Wait? What the hell?

Hold on!

Jiang Ye was analyzing the “battlefield situation” when he suddenly realized a key point. He nudged Tian Lijuan next to him:

“Little Tian, what is your dad's full name?”

Tian Lijuan was secretly sneaking a chocolate from under the table into her mouth. Hearing this, she blinked and said indistinctly:

“Tian Boguang. 'Tian' as in field, 'Bo' as in learned, and 'Guang' as in bringing honor to the ancestors. Why, Little Uncle?”

“...”

The corner of Jiang Ye's mouth twitched violently. Looking at Little Tian's confused face, for a moment he didn't know how to explain to the man's own daughter the subtle associations that name brought up.

“Uh...”

He tried to organize his words and asked tactfully: “Well... Little Tian, have you ever read wuxia novels?”

“Wuxia... does Douluo Continent count?”

“...Never mind.”

By now, the pleasantries were mostly over, and Old Tian sat down next to Tian Lijuan.

He took a deep breath, pointed at Jiang Ye beside him, squeezed out a smile, and raised his voice slightly:

“Well... let me introduce everyone. This is Xiao Juan's Boyfriend, Jiang Shu. 'Jiang' as in river, 'Shu' as in comfortable.”

Jiang Ye immediately stood up cooperatively, a humble smile on his face, and bowed slightly to the elders present:

“Happy New Year, Uncles and Aunts. Happy New Year, younger brothers and sisters. My name is Jiang Shu. You can call me Xiao Jiang, Xiao Shu, or Jiang Shu—any of them is fine. I'm an easygoing person, so whatever is easiest to say. I wish you all good health and prosperity in the New Year!”

After he finished speaking, the table suddenly went quiet for a moment.

The elders from the various families looked at each other, as if an invisible question mark had floated over their heads simultaneously.

Xiao Jiang, Xiao Shu, Jiang Shu?

It seemed like he gave three options, but in reality, there was only one that could be chosen, right?

Was this kid trying to take advantage of them? Playing word games right from the start?

“Hehe, Boguang, not bad!”

Third Aunt was the first to react. She sized Jiang Ye up with a fake smile: “Xiao Juan actually managed to find a Boyfriend? He looks quite handsome, I suppose.”

She changed the subject, going straight to the point: “Young man, where are you working currently?”

While slowly unwrapping his tableware, Jiang Ye looked up at Old Tian with a confused tone:

“Uncle Tian, is this lady a friend of yours? But I heard Xiao Juan say she's Third Aunt. How should I address her?”

Old Tian was stunned by the question, but then realized Jiang Ye was pointing out that she hadn't called him “Second Brother” just now, but had used his name directly, which was a bit disrespectful.

A bitter smile appeared on his face as he nodded helplessly: “Yes, she is your Third Aunt.”

“Hello, Third Aunt.”

Only then did Jiang Ye look at Third Aunt, his smile unchanged and his tone calm: “I haven't graduated yet. I'm a senior now, in the internship stage.”

Third Aunt was choked up by this move that seemed polite but was actually a rebuttal. Her expression immediately turned a bit sour.

The Third Uncle next to her glanced at his wife and cheerfully took over the conversation:

“Oh, an internship. So, which university is Xiao Jiang graduating from? Our Tingting took the college entrance exam with Xiao Juan last year and got into Northeastern University. It's a proper first-tier university!”

As he spoke, he nudged his daughter, Li Ting, with his elbow.

Li Ting finally looked up reluctantly, gave a perfunctory “Mm,” let her gaze linger on Jiang Ye's face for less than a second, and then quickly lowered her head again.

“Third Uncle, look at that, you forgot right after I said it.”

Jiang Ye naturally heard the implication in the other man's words. There wasn't a ripple of emotion on his face as he gave a light chuckle:

“Mr. Lu Xun once said: The University of Society is a furnace of self-forging, which can ignite the flame of self-growth. I am currently receiving training from the country and the people at the University of Society.”

“...”

Third Uncle was suddenly rendered speechless, his face turning a mix of blue and white.

However, Li Ting, who had been playing on her phone, had her eyelids twitch upon hearing this. She looked up at Jiang Ye with some surprise, seemingly finding this person a bit interesting.

Jiang Ye caught her gaze, nodded politely, and praised her with a sincere tone:

“Sister Tingting, you look very cute. I like you very much.”

Li Ting: “...”

These words sounded fine, but combined with the previous conversation, no matter how one analyzed it, it felt a bit off—it gave off a sense of being teased.

Third Aunt and Third Uncle's expressions grew even more unsightly.

“Ahem... well...”

Seeing that the scene seemed to be heading in an uncontrollable direction, Old Tian quickly coughed twice, picked up the menu, and called the waiter:

“Oh right! Everyone's here. Quick, waiter, bring out the food! Everyone must be hungry, right?”

The other relatives exchanged glances, all realizing that Old Tian's family—who were usually honest and only served as targets for criticism at gatherings—seemed to have brought in an outside helper this year who was well-versed in the “Way of Sarcasm.”

This kid didn't look old and was dressed decently, but his words were indeed sarcastic and quite sophisticated; he wouldn't be easy to deal with.

The “concerns” and “comparisons” they had prepared were temporarily swallowed back down. They planned to observe first and wait until the wine had been flowing for a while before slowly testing him again.