Chapter 24 - Wei Chu’s Mother

Chapter 24: Wei Chu’s Mother

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When the wedding reception started, Su Le originally wanted to sit together with Two Two and Xiao Shuang but by the time she found the two of them, their table was already full. Her eyes wandered around the room. She wasn’t sure which table she should sit at instead.

“QiQi, you came in too late,” Zhou Shuang opened up a celebratory sweet and beamed, “You know the saying, people are full just by looking at a beauty. I’m sure you’ll be fine even if you don’t eat the celebratory feast today.”

“You two really like to make people angry,” Su Le glared at them hatefully and bitterly. She then planned to find a random table to sit down and didn’t see Zhou Shuang and Li Yu Xiao’s eyes suddenly perked up with interest.

“Su Le, why are you still standing around?” Wei Chu went to Su Le’s side. Seeing that there were no empty seats near Zhou Shuang and Li Yu Xiao, he spoke again, “You can sit together with me. You don’t know anybody else here so it may be a little awkward for you to eat with others.”

There was a possibility that Wei Chu was sitting at the main table so Su Le bluntly refused his offer, “There’s no need for the trouble, I can just find somewhere to sit down.” Seeing through her thoughts, Wei Chu explained, “I’m not sitting at the main table. My seat’s at a different table, just follow me.”

Seeing the other party being so keen to help her, Su Le felt that she should not refuse him any further. She followed Wei Chu from behind. As for which table she sat at, she wasn’t sure about that either.

“His sight is set on Su Le,” Two Two said as she cracked open a peanut, “It’s a pity that QiQi has no reaction at all, she is no doubt a natural in being foolish, ah!”

“If she is foolish, then others are stupid,” Xiao Shuang said quietly while popping open a melon seed, “Pigs may seem foolish, but they can take down a tiger if needed, so even if she is truly foolish, it all depends on that handsome guy’s ability. Even when he doesn’t succeed, he can only work harder.”

“Watching a play is not virtuous,” Two Two rolled her eyes.

“A thousand years ago, women without talents are said to be virtuous. I already lacked virtue ages ago so it doesn’t matter if I lose anymore of it,” Xiao Shuang smiled while eating the melon seeds. Her smile was appropriate and very good-looking.

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On the other side, Su Le followed Wei Chu to another table. As she sat down, she felt like she was being sized up by a few others from the table. Su Le felt uneasy. She also retracted her hand that was about to get some celebratory sweets.

“Xiao Chu, who may this lady be?” A woman in her early forties smiled as she looked at Su Le. She looked up and down at Su Le a couple of times as if she was a rare type of flower. Then, her eyes revealed her emotion that could only mean satisfaction.

Wei Chu coughed dryly before introducing Su Le, “Mother, this is my junior from university.”

Su Le’s lips lifted and she greeted, “Auntie.” Wei Chu’s mother looked really young as Su Le twitched uncomfortably. Although this was not the main table, it was improper for her as an outsider to sit at the table together with the bride’s relatives.

“There’s no need to be courteous, you are Wei Chu’s friend and also our younger generation. No need to feel reserved,” Wei Chu’s mother said in a friendly tone to console Su Le when she noticed her uneasiness. She then enthusiastically introduced the rest of the people seated at the table, from aunts, brothers and cousins. They were all part of the family.

Su Le greeted all of them awkwardly. In her mind, she wished she could jump up and escape since the pressure of sitting at this table was too much for her to bear.

“Xiao Chu, ah. Since Su Le travelled so far to attend Xiao Yao’s wedding, you should look after her carefully as you are her Senior,” Wei Chu’s mother stood up and put some celebratory sweets into Su Le’s hands, “Enjoy more of the happy atmosphere, young lady.”

Su Le forced a smile, “Thank you, auntie.” She had always thought parents that were able to nurture elites like Wei Chu would be very strict and it never occurred to her that Wei Chu’s mother would be so affable. Su Le was somewhat overwhelmed.

“Third aunt, those sweets of yours are too sweet. Sister Su, how about trying these chocolate flavoured ones instead?” An eleven-year-old girl took out a chocolate sweet from a bag and placed it in front of Su Le.

When facing with such enthusiasm, Su Le gradually understood what was happening. It appears that everyone on this table had thought that she was Wei Chu’s girlfriend. However, since the man remained silent, she could not explain otherwise either. This type of choking feeling felt much worse than when she had no inspiration.

Wei Chu smiled as he watched the smile on Su Le’s face gradually becoming stiffer, to a point where it almost became similar to a statue. But unfortunately, he did not have any intentions of helping her out. Su Le turned and quickly glared at Wei Chu. If your future girlfriend were to know about, she would surely be furious.

Thinking up to this point, Su Le relaxed. In any case, she wasn’t suffering any losses and the chances of her seeing any of these people again in the future was low. Also, when Wei Chu has a girlfriend in the future, they would realize their misunderstanding. After thinking things through, Su Le beamed as she gave her thanks while receiving many of the different flavoured sweets. The brand of those sweets was extremely expensive so it would be a waste not to get her hands on some. Moreover, since the members at the table were being so friendly to her, it would be rude if she refused.

Seeing Su Le’s quick recovery, Wei Chu felt somewhat regretful. It seems being mentally strong was not always a good thing.

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Once the wedding ceremony ended, it was time for the feast to begin. The cold appetizers came first but when Su Le saw no one moving their chopsticks, she also remained still in her seat.

“We are all one family. There are no need for etiquette. Let’s eat,” said an older man who moved his chopsticks first.

Su Le copied everyone else and started to eat. The taste of the food was good, it seems a chef was specially hired for this feast. She felt slightly rueful. It was no wonder that some would prefer to depend on someone rich, since the rich were much more superior when compared to the ordinary people on certain matters.

During the feast, there were occasions when the people on the table laughed at a joke or praised someone’s child. As for Su Le, she could only carry on her battle with the delicious food since the conversation did not involve her nor did it relate to her.

“Su Le, where are you from?” Wei Chu’s mother suddenly turned towards Su Le, “When you first sat down with my Xiao Chu, it made this old lady, startled.”

“Auntie looks so young, how can you be an old lady,” Su Le blushed as she heard the praise, “My hometown is in Sichuan.”

“En, there are many tasty food from Sichuan,” the smile on Wei Chu’s mother became clearer, “I’m also from Sichuan, but after I married Wei Chu’s father, I rarely went back. Now, hearing that name again, it makes me want to eat Sichuan’s hot pot.”

Su Le ended up chatting with Wei Chu’s mother about the recent changes in Sichuan. Wei Chu’s mother was very good at continuing a conversation and would not put on airs that would let others know she was rich. Su Le sincerely started to like this woman and thought that it was expected for such a woman to be able to raise up a child like Wei Chu.

When the two started to chat enthusiastically, Wei Chu suddenly spoke to Su Le, “This sturgeon fish soup taste quite alright. Would you like to try some?”

Su Le didn’t like fish soup very much but she still nodded when she heard Wei Chu speak. Before she could react, Wei Chu took the bowl in front her and scooped two ladle-full of fish soup into her bowl.

All the elders at the table were shocked as they watched Wei Chu’s action. They didn’t know that this youngster, who never fawned over women and had a prideful personality, would actually help someone scoop some soup. They all stared at him, feeling shocked yet laughable.

Even an arrogant man, would lower their pride when faced with the person they love. If they still act all high and mighty in front of the person they love, can that even be considered love?

The elders all exchanged looks with each other as they smiled while watching the play. Watching the youngsters act so sweetly can be considered a hobby for the older generation.

Wei Chu’s mother watched how Su Le reacted. If Su Le weren’t present, she would have dragged Wei Chu away to ask about Su Le’s family background as well as her date of birth.

“Talking about fish soup, Xiao Chu used to learn how to make Sichuan food about two years ago, but I don’t know if he can make fish soup,” She thought it was a pity that her son didn’t like cooking, but what was point of him learning it in the first place?

Su Le drank a mouthful of the fish soup and it tasted expectedly good. After she heard what Wei Chu’s mother had said, she answered smoothly, “Senior Wei’s cooking skills is good, his fish in chilli oil dish taste pretty good.”

“Oh?” Mother Wei Chu’s eyes brightened which was immediately followed up with a sigh, “But I’m normally busy with work so I haven’t had the chance to eat Xiao Chu’s cooking.”

When Wei Chu heard this, he helplessly replied, “Mother, when you have some free time, I will definitely make some for you to try.”

Wei Chu’s mother responded to him with a word before carrying on chatting with Su Le. It was clear that she did not put her son’s word to heart. At certain times, how the son was treated compared to the future daughter-in-law was like the difference between a glass pearl and a diamond.

When Su Le heard about the interesting stories about Mother Wei’s past, she couldn’t help but laugh.

While Mother Wei talked about her interests, she asked, “Are your parents both from Sichuan?”

The smile on Su Le’s face faded a little and she lowered her head slightly, “Yes, there are.”

“Mother, you like this dish don’t you, have a little more.” Wei Chu put some greens into his mother’s bowl.

Wei Chu’s mother gazed at the lettuce in her bowl. She could not remember when she had ever liked that dish. But having lived for many years, she knew there was something off. It could possibly be that she had accidentally poked on the girl’s sore spot so she quickly changed the topic of discussion.