The Game of Life

Chapter 498: Chapter 496: Wu Family’s Big Cousin

The Wu Family was certainly a large clan.

They were thriving with offspring and teeming with descendants, numerous apprentices included.

Jiang Feng originally thought the engagement banquet wouldn’t have many guests, at most gathering the relatives from both the groom’s and bride’s sides around three or four tables. What he hadn’t expected was that he had missed the mark by ten.

Wu Minqi’s cousin’s engagement banquet took place at the Wu Family Restaurant, which had set up a whopping thirteen tables, and among these guests, Jiang Feng was the least related.

A few more tables and people might have been convinced it was a wedding feast.

In order to present himself in the most handsome way possible to the many uncles and cousins of Wu Minqi, Jiang Feng got up early and primped himself with the same vigor he had shown in the Good Taste culinary competition. Since his hairstyle was the kind you’d see on any corporate worker on the street, Jiang Feng focused his grooming efforts on his face, which was handsomely inconspicuous and sometimes even covert.

He even borrowed one of Wu Minqi’s hydrating face masks and secretly used it in his room before coming out.

Then, before he knew it, Jiang Feng was reduced to nothing by Wu Minqi’s cousin.

Because there were so many people, the elders were all busy greeting each other, while the younger generations, regardless of age or marital status, were left to fend for themselves in various corners, either on their phones or lost in thought.

Wu Minqi spent a few minutes explaining why her cousin’s engagement banquet was attended by so many relatives, then she dragged Jiang Feng around to greet various cousins.

Wu Minqi’s cousin was among the few in the younger generation of the Wu Family who had decent culinary talent; like Wu Minqi, he had been cooking since a young age and never gave it up, currently working as a sous-chef at the Wu Family Restaurant.

Had the original plot proceeded, Wu Minqi was definitely the heir to the Wu Family Restaurant. Now, however, Jiang Feng had unexpectedly appeared, whisking Wu Minqi away to Taifeng Building in Beiping. In terms of heritage, Taifeng Building couldn’t compare with Wu Family Restaurant, but in terms of value, the land alone put Taifeng Building streets ahead of Wu Family Restaurant, leading to inevitable speculation from everyone, even though Old Sir Wu and Wu Hanxue hadn’t said anything.

If Wu Minqi wasn’t going to be the future head chef of the Wu Family Restaurant, then the best candidate was Wu Minqi’s cousin. This, too, was why many relatives had turned up for the event, which was ostensibly just an engagement banquet; even the apprentices of Old Sir Wu and Wu Hanxue brought their disciples along.

After listening to Wu Minqi’s explanation, Jiang Feng suddenly felt as if he were on the set of “Golden Branch Desire” or “Story of Zhenhuan”, with the script fluctuating between the leading lady and an extra.

Wait a minute, why the leading lady?

As Jiang Feng pondered whether he was the disruptive leading lady or a minor palace maid destined to disrupt the chess game, Wu Minqi had already brought him before Cousin Wu.

Unprepared, Jiang Feng’s ordinary face paled in comparison to Cousin Wu’s attractive features.

Unlike Zhang Guanghang’s conventional good looks, Wu Minqi’s cousin’s appeal was more niche, embodying a roguish charm. On his own, he didn’t stand out much, but paired with a slightly extreme hairstyle and a fearless punk aesthetic that suited his bad-boy image, his charm went from an eight to a full ten.

Jiang Feng even worried that in the next second he might start flirting with respectable young ladies.

An absolute persona non grata to any parent with a daughter.

“Fengfeng, this is my Cousin Wu Jialiang, Jialiang bro, this is my boyfriend Jiang Feng.” It was clear that Wu Minqi had a good relationship with her cousin.

“Nice to meet you, Cousin!” Standing in front of Wu Jialiang, Jiang Feng was the epitome of honesty.

“Nice to meet you, future brother-in-law,” Wu Jialiang said with a smile, “I’ve heard about you. Yesterday, when Minqi refused to bring you to my restaurant, I wasn’t happy. Tonight, you two must come and try the specialties at my place.”

Jiang Feng was a bit stunned.

“Jialiang bro, Jiang Feng takes the high-speed rail tomorrow at ten in the morning,” Wu Minqi said.

“Then drink less tonight,” Wu Jialiang said with a wounded expression. “Qiqi, when you and Hanxue were kids, I took a lot of beatings for you. Today Hanxue gets engaged, and you don’t come to my restaurant; you’re free and don’t help in the kitchen, nor do you come to visit. You really break your cousin’s heart!”

Wu Minqi, who rarely showed such expressions, displayed one of disdain. “Oh.”

“Don’t miss out tonight at eight, I’ve reserved two seats for you there, come on, I’ll take you guys!”

“Aren’t the seats arranged in advance?”

“I changed them for you, your sister-in-law doesn’t want to sit with Lady Leopard.”

On the side, an utterly confused Jiang Feng: ???

After greeting Wu Jialiang, Wu Minqi took Jiang Feng to meet a few other cousins and elders she was close with, acknowledged them properly, and then returned to the seats that Wu Jialiang had switched around.

Wu Jialiang wasn’t at his seat, giving Jiang Feng the chance to ask, “Minqi, what kind of store does your cousin run?”

“He runs a bar,” Wu Minqi said. “Normally, his half-shaved hairstyle would be considered pretty normal, but I have no idea why it turned out this way when he came back this time. I heard from my mom a couple of days ago that his hair was originally dyed gray, but this current color was enforced by his mom.”

Jiang Feng: …

A grown man with a teenage heart.

“Even though my cousin can be a bit odd in what he says and does, he’s really a good person. He has always taken extra care of me and my third cousin and has taken many punishments for us. His bar seems to be doing pretty well too. Fengfeng, if you don’t want to go later, I can find an excuse to decline for us,” Wu Minqi said.

“What time do bars typically open?” Jiang Feng was somewhat eager to try; he had never been to a bar in his life, not even knowing which way the entrance faced.

Wu Minqi: …

She suddenly became worried that Wu Jialiang might lead Jiang Feng astray.

“Eight… around eight I guess,” Wu Minqi wasn’t too sure herself.

Jiang Feng was just about to ask for more detailed questions about the bar when they were interrupted by Wu Minqi’s cousin’s wife.

“Minqi, you look even more beautiful than before,” she said.

Hearing the voice, Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi turned their heads together, looking at Wu Minqi’s cousin’s wife.

Wu Minqi’s cousin’s wife had short hair, light makeup, was wearing a cashmere coat, and stood quite tall in her heels—almost as tall as Jiang Feng. She had a smile on her face that made her appear very capable.

“Sister-in-law,” Wu Minqi said with a smile, “this is my boyfriend, Jiang Feng.”

“This is my cousin’s wife; she’s a lawyer.”

“Nice to meet you, sister-in-law,” Jiang Feng temporarily reverted to his polite greeter mode.

“Hello, when I came in just now, Jialiang told me that Minqi found an especially handsome boyfriend, and it seems Minqi has good taste,” the cousin’s wife said with a laugh. She sat down next to Wu Minqi, took off her coat, and began to chat with her.

“Sister-in-law, how’s Jialiang’s business doing lately?” Wu Minqi took the initiative to ask.

“Not bad. He made a bit of money and even renovated the place again during the second half of the year. It’s strange; no one thought highly of him wanting to open a bar. We figured we’d let him mess around and give up once he hit a wall, but surprisingly, he really got it up and running,” the cousin’s wife said helplessly.

“That’s a good thing, though.”

“It’s good, but it doesn’t suit him. I would have preferred him to stick with his music. These days, I already come home late enough from working overtime at the law firm. He comes home even later than I do, and it’s not the best time to talk to him when he’s so excited about it. Once his enthusiasm fades, I will have to sit down with him and have a proper talk. For now, if he’s happy, let him be happy,” she said.

“Happy? Speaking of the devil, and he shall appear.” Wu Jialiang, who had been out of sight, suddenly popped up from somewhere.

“Talking about how you’re never home before two or three in the morning,” the cousin’s wife said with a pointed look.

With one hand on the back of a chair, Wu Jialiang looked even more like a rogue about to tease a respectable woman.

“Minqi, listen to this. Your cousin’s wife used to come home at one or two in the morning, and I never said a word. Now it’s my turn, and she complains to you. Oh, life’s tough for a married man,” he said.

Wu Minqi ignored the playful bickering between her cousin and his wife.

“Jialiang, Jiang Feng and I really can’t stay at your bar for too long tonight. Tickets are hard to come by these days, and if we miss the timing, he won’t be able to get back,” Wu Minqi said.

“Can’t get back? That’s perfect. He can stay with us for the New Year and…” Wu Jialiang’s words were cut short under the deadly smile of his wife.

“Don’t worry, Minqi. I will join you guys tonight and make sure you get back on time,” the cousin’s wife said with a smile.