After dinner, the two of them stayed silent while working overtime.

A message notification beeped on their phones at the same time: it was a message from the Qin family group.

Old Madam Qin had sent the address for this Saturday’s birthday party of the Ye family’s elder.

She also sent a private message to Jian Hang: [Xiao Hang, are you free that day?]

Jian Hang: [Grandma, I’m free.]

These matters—you had to go even if you weren’t free.

… …

Saturday arrived in a blink of an eye.

Like every other Saturday morning when she wasn’t traveling for business, her parents were waiting for her in front of her office building.

Her parents had nothing to do on Saturdays and were used to getting up early to exercise. They walked all the way from home just to see her and say a few words.

When her mother saw her car, she kept waving to her.

Jian Hang pulled over and parked the car somewhere out of the way.

The weather in early spring was still a bit cold, and she wasn’t wearing much, so she couldn’t help but shiver after getting out of the car.

Jian Zhongjun noticed that his daughter was cold, so he moved a few steps to the side and stood upwind to shield mother and daughter from the wind.

Chen Yu asked her daughter, “Do you have plans for lunch? Your dad won’t be at home, so we can go out to eat.”

“I have something to do at noon.” Jian Hang told her parents that Qin Moling wanted her to attend the birthday banquet of an elder his family was friends with.

She asked smoothly, “Dad, have you made an appointment with a friend?”

Jian Zhongjun nodded, “Just a casual meal with Tan Feng. He went to see me at school some time ago. But I had a meeting that afternoon and we didn’t even get to say a few words. Now that he is free, I will treat him to a drink.”

Speaking of Tan Feng, she had been too busy to sit and have a meal with him.

Jian Hang asked, “Does he have a project here?”

Jian Zhongjun was surprised that his daughter didn’t know yet, “He didn’t tell you?”

Jian Hang was stunned for a moment. “No. What happened to him?”

“Tan Feng resigned from his old employer. The senior management tried their best to persuade him to stay. They gave him a month’s leave so that he could have a good rest and think clearly about whether to stay or not.”

Jian Hang understood Tan Feng—since he had already submitted his resignation, he would not stay any longer.

No wonder he said in the ward that day that he would talk to her in detail about his affairs when they next had time.

She had been so busy these days that she didn’t bother to contact him.

For a talent like him, if the industry finds out that he has resigned from his old employer, the leading venture capital institutions will fall all over themselves to recruit him. Even on ordinary days there would be institutions trying to poach him with a high salary.

But they never succeeded.

She didn’t know why he left his old job.

He said that he liked to take risks, and venture capital was the industry that suited him best.

Jian Zhongjun was afraid of delaying his daughter’s work and feared that she would get cold after standing for a long time, so he told his wife, “Let the child go up. If you have anything to say, you can tell her on the phone.”

“Dad, I’m not in a hurry. My meeting is at nine o’clock. It’s early.”

“Your clothes are too thin. Go on up and don’t catch a cold.”

“Wait, I have a jacket in the car.”

Her parents had been waiting here for her for at least twenty minutes, and they barely even said three words—Jian Hang didn’t want them to leave yet. She opened the back door of the car: Qin Moling’s suit jacket was still there. She took it out and put it over her shoulders for the meantime.

Chen Yu saw that it was a men’s suit and asked, “Are things okay with you and Qin Moling?”

“Well, not bad.” Jian Hang felt a little guilty saying this.

The mother and daughter chatted for a while.

“Don’t delay the child’s meeting,” Jian Zhongjun finally pulled his wife away.

… …

These days, Jian Hang has been waiting for Zhong Yanfei’s call. Qin Moling said that Zhong Yanfei would definitely come to her within ten days, but she didn’t know exactly when that would be.

At noon, Jian Hang finished the work at hand and rushed to the hotel for the banquet.

The Ye family was a big family.  With many brothers and sisters in the older generation, and many grandchildren who have also started their own families, they totaled nearly a hundred people.

Usually when the Ye family gathered for dinner, the family couldn’t all fit even in the main house, so they could only book a banquet hall in the hotel.

Today, they hosted the elder’s birthday banquet and invited many relatives and friends. The banquet hall could accommodate 60 tables, but even then, that may not be enough to seat everyone.

Jian Hang married Qin Moling across class lines.

She basically didn’t know any of these people who came today. Walking inside the banquet hall, she saw only two people she knew. She had met them while working on a project—they were both big bosses of her clients.

They had a good relationship with Qin Moling and took the initiative to say ‘hello’ to her when they saw her.

“Mom.” When Jian Hang saw her mother-in-law, even her back looked noble and elegant.

Shen Jingyun seemed to have heard a familiar voice amid the noise. She turned her head, and saw Jian Hang walking over quickly from behind. Shen Jingyun asked with a smile, “Are you still working overtime today?”

Jian Hang said, “I worked for a while in the morning.”

“Pay more attention to your health. Your grandparents are at that table in the front.” Shen Jingyun led her over.

Truth be told, Jian Hang felt more comfortable staying with her mother-in-law than with Qin Moling. Her mother-in-law didn’t talk much, and she was naturally a little cold and arrogant in her gentleness, but when talking to Jian Hang, she found that her mother-in-law was always very gentle. 

Even the cold arrogance would be gone.

After greeting her grandparents, her mother-in-law introduced other elders to her.

After a round of introduction, ten minutes passed. Sensing her restraint, her mother-in-law patted her shoulder and smiled slightly, “Moling doesn’t seem to be here yet. You go find Qin Xing first. You young people always have something to talk about.”

Jian Hang fled as if she was granted amnesty. She looked for more than ten tables before she saw Qin Xing.

Qin Xing’s table was already packed with young people. Some were grabbing desserts, making noises and laughing as they ate.

Jian Hang was not familiar with them. If she walked over suddenly, she would only ruin the atmosphere, so she sat down at the table at the far end of the banquet.

Their table was almost full, and there was only one seat left beside her.

She looked sideways and several women kept glancing at her from time to time, then they’d lean together to whisper. Who knew what they were saying, but one could guess from their gossipy eyes that they were talking about her.

They were probably talking about how long her marriage with Qin Moling could last.

“You even reserved a seat for me.” A familiar voice came from above.

Jian Hang tilted her head: Feng Mai, wine glass in hand, sat down with a smile.

Feng Mai came to the banquet with her father. Her father’s table was filled with elders. She was feeling bored when she saw Jian Hang from a distance sitting by herself. Qin Moling was not here today, so she wanted to take the opportunity to talk to Jian Hang about changing jobs. She wanted to poach Jian Hang for her family’s bank.

She touched Jian Hang’s water glass with her own wine glass and asked, “How are you?”

Jian Hang didn’t like to talk in circles, “Just say what you want to say.”

Feng Mai put down her wine glass, moved closer to Jian Hang, and went straight to the point, “You should get out of Yinlin and take a look at what’s around.”

“I haven’t considered it yet,” Jian Hang replied calmly.

Feng Mai smiled and said, “I’m not in a hurry, there’s plenty of time.”

She didn’t believe that Jian Hang has never thought about changing jobs.

Marriage First, Love Later translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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Chapter 23.3 — Wait with Her for the Elevator