89: Chapter 89 You can dodge the first day of the month, but you can't dodge the fifteenth.

At the main entrance, Zhu Jianhua was diligently polishing his BMW X3.

The more he looked at it, the more satisfied he felt.

He had finally joined the ranks of BBA owners. Thanks to the recent downturn in the car market, he happened to catch a massive price drop and bought it outright in cash.

The old Zhu family had some savings, after all. Besides, the bride price of 188,000 yuan wasn't much of a burden for them.

However, Zhu Jianhua had specifically instructed his mother: "That distant cousin of mine, if you don't have to invite him, then don't. Just have my cousin-aunt and cousin-uncle come."

His mother told him to set his heart at ease: "Don't worry. Even if we invited him, he might not have the nerve to come. Everyone in our circle knows about this matter; if he really came, Tang Luochuan himself would be the one feeling awkward."

However, there was one thing: he found Meng Fanyi's spending habits to be truly exaggerated.

He had been working hard in Shanghai for a year or two, and he hadn't even been to many of the expensive restaurants, let alone heard of them. Yet this girl knew them all like the back of her hand.

His family could only be considered comfortably well-off; in the consumption environment of Shanghai, such lavish spending would be unsustainable.

"After we get married, I'll have to have a word with Meng Fanyi; she needs to learn to be thrifty! But she's still a student... haha... her personality probably isn't settled yet, I'll take it slow."

A smile gradually spread across Zhu Jianhua's lips. Thinking of her status as a student, only one word came to his mind: 'Pure'!

It was just that last night... it wasn't very satisfying. It felt like a sewing needle falling into the Great Rift Valley, but the pressure wasn't high.

As he was polishing, a Mercedes-Benz E300 drove over from a distance. It even took a detour and parked next to some ruins that had just been demolished nearby.

Inside the car, Zhu Xiumei kept complaining: "Why did you drive the new car? Meng Fanyi was originally introduced to us by Aunt Li! Now that she's marrying into this family, what does it mean for you to drive a new car here? A provocation? Showing off?"

Tang Hai was very impatient: "Didn't I park far away? No one will notice. Just help out for a bit later, and once the work is done, we'll leave right away."

"Show-off!" Zhu Xiumei rolled her eyes at him and pushed the car door open to step out.

She still cared quite a bit about family unity, and her relationship with her second uncle's family was decent.

She didn't want to make things too awkward; after all, Meng Fanyi hadn't been dating Tang Luochuan before cheating on him.

It was just a blind date... one that happened a bit too quickly.

Just as she got out, with Zhu Xiumei still chattering away, she looked up and saw Cousin Jianhua standing to the side, holding a polishing cloth and looking dazed.

"Oh my... Cousin Jianhua, why are you out here?" Zhu Xiumei was still holding an apron.

There was a custom for weddings in their hometown: for the two days prior, they would host neighbors and relatives, decorate the old house, put up couplets, and hang colorful flags. Only for the formal wedding would they go to a hotel.

"Your uncle... this... he said he got a luxury car to come and help you save face; he borrowed it from his colleague," Zhu Xiumei said evasively.

Tang Hai got out of the car and remained silent. He himself felt it was a bit provocative now.

In the morning it was a beat-up Volkswagen, and in the afternoon it was a big Mercedes-Benz.

If it weren't for the Meng Fanyi situation, he would have definitely shared the joy of buying a new car with his family. Unfortunately, he could only play dumb now.

Zhu Xiumei's thoughts went deeper. Good family relations were one thing, but one couldn't just talk about having money, like the 15 million in her account. If that got out, a bunch of relatives would definitely come over to borrow money!!

"Oh, oh~" Cousin Jianhua was suspicious. Borrowing a car? A new car? Surely not?

But in his impression, his cousin-aunt's family wasn't the type who could afford a Mercedes-Benz.

"Aunt, Uncle! Please, come in. My grand-uncle and the uncles are all here!" Cousin Jianhua didn't ask further and guided the two of them inside.

His eyes, however, couldn't help but glance at the Mercedes-Benz a few times—it was truly damn beautiful, and it was even two-toned.

Just as they reached the entrance, a crowd of people came bustling out.

"Xiumei! Where is Tang Luochuan? He didn't come back?" A white-haired old man, looking spirited and energetic, asked in a loud voice.

Cousin Jianhua saw the old man and called out: "Grand-uncle!"

This old man was none other than Tang Luochuan's maternal grandfather, Zhu Chen.

"Oh, Luochuan is busy." Zhu Xiumei rolled her eyes at her father. Why would she let her son come for something like this?

Zhu Chen didn't know about the matter between his grandson and Meng Fanyi, but since so many of their family members had come, it was a matter of giving face, so face was very important.

"You child, Tang Hai! Call... call... Tang Luochuan. He's back and he doesn't even come to see his grandfather! Hurry up, what is he so busy with on the big National Day?"

"Dad... Tang Luochuan... uh... he... he..." Tang Hai was also a bit stunned.

At this moment, Meng Fanyi walked out with a few of her girlfriends.

Seeing Zhu Xiumei and Tang Hai at the entrance, she was stunned for two seconds, her face flushing slightly, looking a bit awkward.

"What 'he', what 'he'? This brat! How could he not come for such an important occasion?" Zhu Chen had no intention of letting his grandson off the hook.

He had doted on him since he was a child; if the old Zhu family had a happy event, his attendance would be giving him face and supporting his family's reputation.

"He has a girlfriend!" Tang Hai hurriedly found an excuse: "The two of them had plans to go out and play, and the girl is a bit shy. Wait... wait for a couple of days, and I'll have him bring his girlfriend to see you."

"He has a girlfriend??" Hearing this, Zhu Chen's voice went even higher, his face full of excitement: "Heh heh, where is she from? If he won't come, you take me over there, then drop me back later! I'll go over and take a look! Where is your car?"

"Dad, let's go inside first! Cousin Jianhua is busy here; why don't you come to our house for dinner tonight. Let's go, let's go..." As she spoke, Zhu Xiumei pushed the old man inside.

However, some of the uncles who didn't know about the situation started 'jeering': "Tang Luochuan has a girlfriend? Bring her over to join in the fun. Look, it's a double blessing, how wonderful!"

"Exactly, it's just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks! Why are you going back home to eat tonight? There are over ten tables set up here."

"Call Tang Luochuan over, the high-achiever of our old Zhu family. Xiumei! Is the child unwilling to come? Or did you not let him come?"

"Damn it!" Zhu Xiumei cursed internally. She glanced at Meng Fanyi, who was standing to the side. The other party seemed as if nothing was wrong at all.

And Cousin Jianhua didn't dare say a word; this child had always been honest.

"Auntie, just let Luochuan come; I haven't seen him in a long time either," suddenly Meng Fanyi said with a 'magnanimous' smile.

She hadn't expected the Zhu family to be so close to the Tang Family. She had thought they were just distant relatives, but she had forgotten that Zhu Chen's generation was still around. And they were all in the same village.

Zhu Jianhua's grandfather, Zhu Qiang, and Zhu Chen were biological brothers; unless that generation 'passed on', the relationship wouldn't fade.

Since that was the case, she would have to meet him sooner or later; better to rip the bandage off quickly.

If they met, even if he had resentment, the matter was already settled, so he wouldn't say anything.

She would use her actions to tell him that her choice was correct, and let him reflect on himself.

Looking at the girl's 'hypocritical' smile, Zhu Xiumei, being a woman herself, could see right through her thoughts; she had eaten more salt than she had eaten rice.

"Little brat! Showing off!" Zhu Xiumei muttered to herself. Her anger flared up; why couldn't her son come?

She immediately took out her phone and started calling Tang Luochuan.

Beside her, Cousin Jianhua was anxious; he didn't want Tang Luochuan to come. Their families were close through the grandparents and parents' generations, but he and Tang Luochuan hardly ever kept in touch.

If they met again, how awkward would that be? But the call had already gone through.