A minute later.
Jiang Xiaoqing's smile froze on her face. She was stunned when she saw the man standing behind Gu Nian.
Gu Nian was already planning the seating when Qin Yuanyuan was the first to recollection herself and asked carefully, "Gu Nian, are you planning on having Mr. Luo sit with us?"
"Yeah, why?" Gu Nian turned and looked at the two of them. "Will that be a problem?"
"No, no. But I think the seating in the dining hall had already been pre-arranged."
Gu Nian, "Oh?"
"The leads, the directors, and the investors sit in the two middle tables. As such, Mr. Luo's spot will be……" Qin Yuanyuan turned uncomfortably and pointed at the two tables in the middle of the dining hall. "Over there."
Gu Nian finally found the spot after searching across half of the dining hall.
Gu Nian, "… …"
How would she be able to drink for him if she was sitting so far away from her precious son?
Luo Xiu looked back over. He didn't seem surprised at the arrangement at all.
He turned his body a little and his voice was tender as usual. With his usual light smile on him, he said, "It looks like I won't be able to sit next to you here."
Gu Nian nodded in distress.
"How about you sit over there with me?"
"?"
Gu Nian looked up and looked at Luo Xiu, baffled.
Jiang Xiaoqing, next to her, blurted out, "It wouldn't matter if Gu Nian goes over there with you. For sure there won't be a spot for her either.
Gu Nian nodded. "I'll just sneak over there after the food had been brought out and it was time for toasting. Just don't touch any alcoholic beverages before I go over there."
"No need to wait," said Luo Xiu. "Zhu Hanyu only found out that he had to take off early this afternoon. We did not inform anyone from our end so his spot should still be available."
Gu Nian got it now. "So I can just go and take his spot."
"Mmhmm."
Luo Xiu lowered his eyes, the smile in his brown eyes behind the lens of the spectacles was gentle and harmless.
Bewitched by her precious son's angel-like smile, Gu Nian was about to take off.
Jiang Xiaoqing reached out and grabbed her the very last minute. "Wait!"
Gu Nian turned around and looked at her. "?"
"……"
The smile under Luo Xiu's eyes turned cold when the girl that he was just about to lure away was stopped half way through.
This was the first time he had looked at anyone directly since his arrival. His look was cold.
Jiang Xiaoqing gave him an alarmed look and asked Gu Nian, "Are you just going to go like this?"
Gu Nian turned back around and asked expressionless, "Are you saying that you miss me too much and wish for me to stay and have dinner with you?"
Jiang Xiaoqing was speechless for one second. "No……"
Obviously conscious of Luo Xiu being right next to them, Jiang Xiaoqing stammered but never got her point across.
Luo Xiu knew what she was doing. He smiled tenderly at Gu Nian and said, "You two talk. I'll wait for you over there."
Gu Nian felt a bit awkward. But she also didn't want to be entirely "son over friends" so she nodded and did not forget to add, "Don't have anything stimulating before I get over there, especially alcoholic beverages."
"Okay." His brown eyes looked like molten amber, tender and doting. "Whatever you say."
"……"
Gu Nian: Wuwuwu, how is my son so well-behaved?
The old mother was so touched that tears were about to stream down of her face.
After Luo Xiu had turned and left and his slender body disappeared into the crowd, Gu Nian recollected herself slowly and her eyes drooped.
Gu Nian turned and looked at Jiang Xiaoqing, baffled, "What is it that you have to say that you can't say in front of Luo Xiu?"
Jiang Xiaoqing recollected herself, "My Guru Gu Nian, do you feel that you have been spending a lot of time with Luo Xiu lately?"
Gu Nian, "And?"
Jiang Xiaoqing, "Just think. It has only been a month when the two of you who didn't know each other before, um, I mean, he didn't know about you met and look at how close you are now!"
Gu Nian nodded expressionlessly, "It's not too bad."
"What do you mean by 'not too bad'?"
Gu Nian gave it some thought and replied seriously. "He only sees me as a friend right now. We still have a long ways to go and a lot of difficulties to overcome before he will see me as his mother – hence, not too bad."
Jiang Xiaoqing, "……?"