Tang Hao had people keeping an eye on Tang Yue and the Qin family, and sure enough, there was movement.
When Tang Jiaojiao came home from work, they happened to receive word that Tang Yue had written an anonymous denunciation letter.
Father and daughter exchanged a glance, then went upstairs to change before coming back down.
The whole family took tonight’s dinner very seriously.
They had arranged to meet at seven.
They arrived at the state-run restaurant at 6:40, and Lu Ye was already waiting for them.
When he saw them, he walked over to Tang Jiaojiao and greeted them politely.
“Uncle, Auntie, my parents are already inside. They asked me to come out and get you.”
Lu Ye came from a working-class family.
His father, Lu Zhenxing, was the director and a technical backbone at a steel mill, while his mother, Liao Zhiling, was a workshop supervisor at a cotton textile factory.
He also had a younger sister who was eighteen this year. She had apparently just graduated from high school, and the family was currently arranging a job for her.
Tang Hao was fairly satisfied with them.
After all, workers had what was essentially a golden rice bowl in those days.
The fact that they hadn’t put on airs and had arrived early was already a good sign.
Besides, the Tang family was the one asking them for help.
Tang Youyou, however, wasn’t particularly pleased that Lu Ye’s parents hadn’t come out to greet them personally.
She didn’t say anything.
She simply followed Lu Ye upstairs.
The Lu family had reserved a medium-sized private room.
The moment they entered, they saw a stern-looking middle-aged couple sitting directly opposite the door.
The man was around fifty, with a few strands of white hair at his temples.
The woman looked slightly younger.
Her thick, jet-black hair was combed impeccably and pinned into a neat bun. She wore a black work uniform and looked extremely formal.
Almost too formal.
She looked more like a leader conducting an inspection than someone meeting her future in-laws.
Beside her sat a fashionably dressed young girl.
She wore the most fashionable white floral dress of the time, with a khaki spotted ribbon tied around her neck, making her look youthful and lively.
When Lu Ye opened the door and walked in, the couple quickly stood up.
The woman—Lu Ye’s mother, Liao Zhiling—pulled at Lu Xinxin beside her.
Only then did Lu Xinxin reluctantly stand.
Lu Zhenxing smiled and stepped forward.
“You must be Brother Tang. Welcome, welcome.”
Tang Hao smiled and shook his hand.
Under Lu Zhenxing’s guidance, he sat in the empty seat beside him.
“Brother Lu, sorry to keep you waiting. We arrived a little late.”
“Not late, not late. There’s still plenty of time.”
Tang Youyou followed Zhou Ping and sat between her mother and Tang Jiaojiao.
Judging by Lu Zhenxing’s attitude, she was fairly satisfied.
It was just…
She quietly swept her gaze over Liao Zhiling.
Looks like Jiaojiao’s future mother-in-law isn’t going to be easy to get along with.
And then there was Lu Ye’s younger sister…
Tang Youyou hadn’t missed the flash of jealousy that had crossed her face.
Tang Hao and Zhou Ping were both good-looking, and there was no need to mention the original owner’s beauty.
She looked nine-tenths like Tang Youyou had in her previous life.
Perhaps because the original owner had been constantly subjected to Cai Jinhe’s psychological manipulation since childhood, her already misty almond-shaped eyes had an especially clear and innocent quality that made people instinctively feel sorry for her.
No wonder that even though the original owner had constantly caused trouble, Tang Hao, Zhou Ping, and Tang Jiaojiao had always viewed her as a delicate vine that needed protection.
Not wanting to steal her sister’s spotlight, Tang Youyou had abandoned her beloved qipao today.
Instead, she wore a knee-length white dress with black polka dots, tying her thick black hair back with a matching ribbon.
Such a simple outfit would have been difficult for most people to pull off.
On Tang Youyou, however, it made her skin look even fairer and her beauty even more striking.
As for Tang Jiaojiao…
She only resembled Zhou Ping by about thirty percent.
She probably looked more like the father who had died in battle before she was even born.
She had a classic oval face, healthy light-yellow skin, unusually shaped eyebrows that rose slightly in the middle before curving naturally outward, delicate phoenix eyes, a straight nose, and slightly thin lips.
Combined with her 168-centimeter height, straight back, and elegant posture, her entire presence radiated confidence, composure, and a spirited strength from within.
Today, she wore a red striped casual shirt with a matching red-and-black A-line knee-length skirt, paired with red mid-heeled shoes.
She looked like the wealthy daughter of a prominent family who had just returned from studying abroad.
Lu Xinxin was only eighteen herself and had always considered herself the school beauty.
Naturally, she wasn’t going to be happy after being completely overshadowed by the two sisters.
On top of that, she seemed to have never particularly liked Tang Jiaojiao as a future sister-in-law.
She felt that Jiaojiao had stolen her brother’s affection.
Jiaojiao had told Tang Youyou all about it on the way here.
Of course, Jiaojiao’s exact words had been:
“Lu Ye’s sister is kind of silly. She thinks I stole Lu Ye’s affection, so she’s always giving me dirty looks.
“But that girl is way too inexperienced. Every time she sees me, she tries to make things difficult for me, and every time Lu Ye catches her doing it, he scolds her. Then she starts crying and sobbing and tells me to leave.
“Ugh!”
That final “Ugh!” had been particularly expressive.
Tang Youyou felt that her little sister seemed to regard this young girl, Lu Xinxin, as a bit of a naive sweetheart.
Getting her on her side probably wouldn’t be much of a challenge.
Unlike Lu Ye’s mother, Liao Zhiling.
Her dislike was carefully hidden deep inside.
At least before the Tang family was liquidated, Liao Zhiling had always treated Tang Jiaojiao warmly.
Sometimes, when Lu Xinxin got into an argument with her for no reason, Liao Zhiling would even take Jiaojiao’s side and scold her own daughter.
She would even apologize to Tang Jiaojiao afterward.
But who was Tang Jiaojiao?
She was a member of the Tang family.
Tang Hao’s daughter.
How could she possibly fail to see what was really going on?
In the past, Liao Zhiling had treated her well because of the Tang family’s wealth.
After tonight, that might not necessarily remain the case.
Lu Ye poured tea for everyone one by one.
After introducing everyone, he finally sat down beside Tang Jiaojiao.
Soon, the waiter came in and began serving the dishes.
Tang Youyou glanced over the food.
It was decent enough.
But nowhere near as good as the food at home.
Now she understood why Jiaojiao had always been reluctant to accept Lu Ye’s marriage proposal.
Perhaps in Liao Zhiling’s eyes, even though the Tang family was wealthy, they carried the label of “capitalists,” and she looked down on them deep inside.
Lu Zhenxing, however, hit it off with Tang Hao immediately.
The two men went from talking about their children to the steel mill, then from the steel mill to manufacturing, and finally back to the children again.
The private room remained lively and harmonious entirely because Tang Hao was the kind of person who could strike up a conversation with almost anyone.
There was never an awkward silence.
As for Liao Zhiling, she had only smiled and greeted everyone when Lu Ye introduced them.
Once the food was served, she merely invited everyone to eat and barely spoke for the rest of the meal.
Zhou Ping had wanted to chat with her.
But Liao Zhiling never seemed particularly interested.
Tang Youyou certainly wasn’t going to let her mother lower herself in front of someone else.
She kept putting food into Zhou Ping’s bowl, leaving her mother with hardly any opportunity to speak.
Lu Ye, meanwhile, kept the atmosphere lively.
From time to time, he joined the two fathers in their conversation.
At other times, he reminded Zhou Ping and Tang Youyou to eat and asked whether the food suited their tastes.
“If there’s anything you don’t like, we can order something else.”
“If it’s not enough, just order more.”
Most of the time, he was serving Tang Jiaojiao food and reminding her to eat more.
Unfortunately for him, Tang Jiaojiao barely looked at him.
She spent the entire meal talking to Tang Youyou instead.
As for Lu Xinxin…
Seeing how hopelessly devoted her brother was acting, she nearly wanted to cry herself unconscious in the bathroom.
Everyone had their own thoughts during the meal.
By the time everyone had eaten their fill, it was already almost eight o’clock.
Lu Zhenxing was still deep in conversation when Liao Zhiling tugged at his sleeve.
Only then did he remember that there was still business to discuss tonight.
He turned toward Tang Hao.
“Brother Tang, regarding the marriage between my Lu Ye and Jiaojiao, if you have any concerns or requests, please feel free to bring them up.”