Shuishui did some calculations. With one hand, she could count the number of times she attended a friend's birthday party. It was such a happy thing for a group of people to celebrate for one person. Shushui's nature was cold because she was not very young at heart, considering that she had already lived a past life. However, that did not mean that she no longer enjoyed such events and affairs. She had seen her friends come and go. Many times, she had wondered why the people she loved the most would always leave her. They would simply go away and live a new life. Did that mean she would she have to lose her loved ones in this life too?
Looking at their happy faces, she cherished the present even more. Even though many things had happened to her, life still had to go on. She was always confident in herself. She was confident that her father would wake up.
He Xiaoying saw that Shuishui did not go and try the pizza, so she offered to get one for her. "Shuishui, I got you a durian pizza. Don't tell me you don't eat durian," He Xiaoying said as she handed the pizza to Shuishui.
"Thank you." Shuishui took the pizza and ate it slowly. She was okay with the food and did not say whether she liked or disliked it.
Everyone continued to talk and mingle. They were all in good spirits.
Ling Weiwei changed into a pink dress, looking a little princess-like. Although Shuishui felt that Ling Weiwei's figure was not suitable for such a dress, they simple praised her because it was her day. It was a special day for her.
"Weiwei, why are you wearing such a cute dress today?" Ling Junwei asked with a smile.
She found a very good excuse. "No, I changed because I got ketchup on my dress."
Shuishui smiled faintly. "It's natural for cute girls to wear cute clothes."
She walked over and stroked Ling Weiwei's hair. She then took out a hairpin and handed it to Ling Weiwei. "I'm giving this to you."
Ling Weiwei felt something on her head. She looked at it and said, "It's so beautiful."
Shuishui smiled and said, "It suits your outfit today." It was just a hairpin, which she gave as an added gift.
"Shuishui, thank you." She was really happy. She looked at herself in the mirror. She felt that she looked even more beautiful. The hairpin was encrusted with pink crystal, which complemented her pink princess dress.
The others also felt that Ling Weiwei looked much better with the hairpin. She looked neater and more ladylike.
Shuishui also wanted to help Ling Weiwei look better overall. Her face was round, but if she let her hair down and covered her face, she would look messy. Shuishui felt that she would look better with neatly styled hair.
Shuishui felt that she might look a lot cuter with one side of her hair put up. That was why she gave the hairpin. She looked at Ling Weiwei and felt that she looked a whole lot better.
Ling Weiwei was full of smiles. Such was the price of being well-fed and contented.
When everyone was full, she suggested going to a KTV bar. "I'll book a big room. We can go there directly. But it's still quite early, so we can wait until nighttime."
Everyone chatted and laughed as they left on their way to the KTV bar. Father Ling and Ling Junwei drove their cars and brought Ling Weiwei's guests to the bar.
Ling Weiwei was in a very happy mood because everyone was in good spirits during her birthday.
At the KTV bar, they agreed to roll dice. Whoever lost would have to sing a song that the group chose. The happier they played, the faster time passed. Soon, it was already nighttime. Ling Weiwei also invited her other group of friends to the bar. Fortunately, the private room they booked was very large and could accommodate five or six more people.
Ling Weiwei's five friends looked arrogant when they arrived. Ling Weiwei ingratiated herself and went forward. "You guys are here. Take a seat. These are my classmates. You guys have met my brother."
They have been teasing Ling Weiwei because she had chosen to study science. After all, people who studied science were often not good-looking. "Hey, Weiwei, this is a gift for you." They handed their gifts to Ling Weiwei and casually sat down.
Shuishui noticed that it was getting late. She took out her phone and noticed that Qian Anzhi had called her. She went outside and called Qian Anzhi back. "Hello, Anzhi, what's wrong?"
"Sis, Mom and Eldest Sister are planning to buy a small apartment in the suburbs and aren't planning to leave the capital. What should we do?" Anzhi sounded very anxious. "Also, Mom said that she wants to see Dad. What do you think we should do?"
"It's their business where they want to live, but we can't say anything about Dad's situation and where he is. They've divorced, so why does she need to see him?" She was disgusted by Li Xue because she had chosen to divorce her father. She was just a troublesome woman. "Where are you now?" she asked Anzhi.
"I was thinking of going out to eat, but they are still signing the contract for their purchase of the house. I'm waiting outside, but Mom said that she wants to go to our place to see our situation." Qian Anzhi couldn't refuse. He didn't know what excuse to make. He was aware that he and Shuishui lived in a really good house. If his mother saw it, she would definitely want to move in. He really didn't want to live with them, not to mention that the house was his and Shuishui's space. It would be a bit uncomfortable to share with them. The house belonged to his second sister, so he didn't have the right to decide.
"Just go and eat first. You don't have to worry about anything. Just say that it's not convenient for you, and she won't insist on coming. Moreover, since they plan to settle here, they will continue to pester us about where we live. You just have to be careful not to expose our place." Shuishui was also a little worried. She felt that Li Xue's arrival was ominous. She hoped that Li Xue would stop being so thick-skinned and save herself from further embarrassing herself. Otherwise, Shuishui couldn't be blamed for being rude towards her.
If Li Xue and her father were still together, she wouldn't say anything because she was still legally her mother. Since they had divorced, she no longer considered Li Xue a family member. She was not obligated to support her. If Li Xue pestered her, she would go to court. It was just unreasonable.
Qian Anzhi returned to the room and looked at his mother and eldest sister. "Are you done?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm done. I bought that villa in the suburbs. It has three rooms and two living rooms. Anzhi, you can come and accompany us occasionally." Li Xue looked at her youngest son. He was clearly living a good life. "Where's Shuishui? Ask her to have dinner with us tonight."
"She attended her classmate's birthday party. I don't know if she's free tonight." Anzhi wasn't sure either. He remembered that his sister had gone out that morning.
"It seems that Uncle Jiang treats you well." Qian Momo was a little jealous. She was also her father's daughter. Previously, because of what had happened, she didn't go and visit her father. She also didn't get to meet Uncle Jiang. She felt that if she had met him, he might have taken good care of her also. She was annoyed because their apartment in the suburbs was too far away from the city center. According to Qian Anzhi, the place where they lived was quite nice and close to the city center.
"Well, Uncle Jiang's son and I go to the same school, along with Second Sister. Uncle Jiang occasionally sends us to school or fetches us." Qian Anzhi felt that Uncle Jiang was a nice person. He would even take them out to eat delicious food. Uncle Jiang would also give him pocket money. His sister told him to never accept money from Uncle Jiang, but Uncle Jiang insisted and secretly gave it to him. Uncle Jiang even told him not to tell his sister.
"Can you help me ask your Uncle Jiang out for a meal sometime?" Li Xue felt that she should meet Jiang Yuan. Jiang Yuan was clearly a rich person. If she needed help in the future, she could look for him. After all, she was not familiar with the capital, and he was her husband's friend. Even though she and Qian An had already divorced, she felt that Jiang Yuan would still do some favors for her.
She would just watch her son leave and go live a comfortable life. She felt a little uncomfortable. However, he was still her child. "What do you want to eat tonight?" she asked.
"Eat whatever you want, but we'll have roast duck for lunch. Let's have something light tonight. I know a good restaurant. If you don't want something light, you can have roast meat or hot pot. Mom, what do you want to eat?" Qian Anzhi asked Li Xue. However, Qian Momo said, "Let's go eat roast meat."
She wanted to eat roast meat that evening. Fortunately, it was neither hot nor cold.
"I know a restaurant. Qian Ye roast meat. Let's eat there." Qian Anzhi liked the restaurant that his sister and Uncle Jiang opened. Moreover, he had a membership card, so it was cheap.
"Then let's go. It's already six o'clock. I'm hungry," Qian Momo said as she touched her stomach.
Qian Anzhi brought them there, but they bumped into Jiang Li, who was also there to eat. He hadn't been to Shuishui's house in a few days, so he was hungry. He took a taxi to eat at Shuishui's restaurant. He approached Qian Anzhi and asked, "Are you here to eat today?"
"Yes. Are you alone?" Qian Anzhi asked Jiang Li. He looked behind Jiang Li and saw that he wasn't with anyone else.
Jiang Li sighed. "Yes. I got bored at home. They all went out today, and I didn't want to invite my classmates. I had invited Brother Zilin to come, but he had a guest at home, so there's nothing else I could do but go out and eat by myself."
Qian Anzhi smiled. "Then join me. But I have people with me. My mom and my big sister are here." He turned to his mother and said, "Mom, this is my friend and Uncle Jiang's son, Jiang Li."
Jiang Li noticed that Shuishui wasn't with them. "Where's Sister Qian?"
"Second Sister attended a friend's birthday party." They found a seat and asked for the menu.
Jiang Li looked at the menu. "Auntie, what do you want to eat? Go ahead and order. This particular barbecue is very delicious."
"Thank you. Your name is Jiang Li, right? Why are you eating alone?" Li Xue found it a little strange that a young boy would go out to eat alone.
"There's a seat for one here. Also, I can consider this restaurant as mine as well, so I often come here to eat when I'm alone." Jiang Li was already used to it. He often went there to eat with Qian Anzhi, and the two of them would order quite a lot.
Qian Momo wasn't familiar with Jiang Li, so she didn't talk to him much.
Li Xue, however, was paying attention. "Your family owns it?" she asked.
Jiang Li casually answered, "No, this is my father and Qian—ah?" Qian Anzhi suddenly put food into Jiang Li's mouth. Jiang Li was confused.
Qian Anzhi blinked and then sent Jiang Li a text message. "Don't tell them that Sister Qian is also involved."
Although Jiang Li didn't understand why, he stopped himself. "My dad and his friends opened it and gave us VIP discount cards, so I come here occasionally to eat."
"I see." Li Xue nodded.
They ordered a barbecue set meal, which was good for five people, and ordered some snacks.
Qian Momo looked around. "The environment here is quite good, and the lights are bright."
"Yes. Everything here is great, not only the food, but also the overall ambiance. It has so many regular customers. You will see later. Seven o'clock is the peak hour. That's the time when so many customers come."
While they waited for their order, Li Xue asked Jiang Li about his father.
Jiang Li only told her what he knew. Li Xue felt that she had to meet Jiang Yuan. "I'll treat you to a meal one day," she said.
Jiang Li scratched his head. "You don't have to be so polite." He also became more attentive because Qian Anzhi would sometimes wink at him. Jiang Li knew about Shuishui's family situation. It seemed that this aunt and Anzhi's father had divorced. Jiang Li thought that Anzhi's father was very pitiful. It was a little immoral for Jiang Li's mother to file a divorce immediately after something bad had happened to him.
Jiang Li thought that Anzhi's mother didn't dress up badly. She actually dressed well. However, as she asked more and more questions, he became a little annoyed. "Auntie, actually, I'm not very clear about Dad's business and his other concerns," he said bluntly.
"All right." Li Xue was already planning to invite Jiang Yuan for dinner.
Qian Anzhi saw that the meat was served. "You can start roasting now. I'm so hungry. Come, put the beef on the grill first."
Meanwhile, at the KTV bar, Shuishui wanted to leave because it was getting late. Mu Ziyu came to fetch Shuishui. She said goodbye to Ling Weiwei. Ling Weiwei didn't force Shuishui to stay because she was already at their house party earlier.
"What are we eating tonight?" Mu Ziyu turned to look at Shuishui.
"I've been here for so long, but I haven't eaten at my barbecue shop. Anzhi and Jiang Li often go there. You haven't been there either, right?" She looked at Mu Ziyu. If he had already been there, they could go and eat at another restaurant.
"No. Zilin has been there, but I wanted to go there with you." Ziyu didn't want to go there without Shuishui.
"Then let's go tonight. I'll treat you to dinner," she said. The barbecue restaurant had a small private room that could accommodate four to five people at most. "I'll call the manager and ask him to prepare food for us. We can directly roast the meat when we arrive." Shuishui had never tried the food in her restaurant before, but she was sure that the food there tasted great.
While Mu Ziyu, Shuishui called the manager. "Manager Huang, are you in the restaurant right now?"
"Yes, Boss Qian. What are your orders?" The manager was a little surprised to receive a call from their little boss.
"Please open the private room for me. Please serve a beef set meal and some side dishes. We'll be there in a while. Sorry to trouble you." Shuishui found it convenient to have someone she could contact there.
"Okay. I'll get them to prepare the meal now. How many people are coming?" the manager asked.
"Just two people, but please prepare food good for three, and prepare a pot of sour plum soup." She and Ziyu had quite a large appetite.
"Okay, Boss Qian. When you arrive, you can go directly to the private room. I'll let the servers prepare your food inside." Manager Huang took down Shuishui's order and asked the waiter to prepare it.
"It's done. We just need to go there." Shuishui felt contented. It was convenient that they no longer had to wait in line.
"The area around your restaurant is still being developed. I didn't expect it to gain so many loyal customers this fast." Mu Ziyu was very surprised with how successful Shuishui's venture was. Zilin would occasionally tell him that there would be so many people there whenever they go there to eat. Fortunately, Shuishui and Uncle Jiang had directly bought the property, so they were not pressured to pay any rental fees.
Shuishui nodded. "Uncle Jiang told me that the monthly net profit is around three hundred thousand. Anyway, it's still summer now. Customer inflow is expected to increase with the coming of winter."