"Chief of Staff Liu, hello!" Chen Yang replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"Hello, hello! Come in, have a seat!" Liu Guoqiang's attitude towards Chen Yang was worlds apart from his attitude towards Yuan Fang. However, Chen Yang was Liu Xinyao's savior, so it was understandable that Liu Guoqiang would be more polite to him.
Liu Guoqiang took the lead and walked into the house, sitting in the center of the sofa in the living room. He glanced indifferently at the large box Yuan Fang was carrying, and chuckled, "Kid, at least you have some conscience! Hurry up and open it! What good stuff did you bring?"
Yuan Fang immediately beamed and placed the box on the coffee table, quickly opened it, and then laboriously pulled out its contents, saying with a smile, "Old Company Commander, I went to Australia a while ago to train Xinfei, and I brought you a keg of the most famous local dark beer, Jules. I know you like it, hehe..."
Liu Guoqiang nodded and said, "Put it there! We'll open it at lunchtime and try it out to see how this imported beer tastes different!"
Seeing this, Chen Yang also laid out his own bottle of beer, smiling and saying, "Chief of Staff Liu, I also brought you a bottle of beer."
Liu Guoqiang nodded with a smile, his gaze casually falling on the beer Chen Yang had brought. He assumed Chen Yang had just bought a bottle from the supermarket as a souvenir, after all, he was just a college student. However, when Liu Guoqiang's gaze fell on the wine bottle, he suddenly froze, his mouth agape in surprise. He looked up at Chen Yang and asked,
"This...this is the commemorative wine for Chiang Kai-shek's inauguration?"
Chen Yang smiled and nodded, saying,
"Yes, it was a gift from an elder a while ago. I don't usually drink, but I heard from my classmate Xinyao that Chief of Staff Liu enjoys wine, so I brought it over to present to him. A fine sword is given to a distinguished scholar, and good wine should be given to someone who understands and appreciates it to truly appreciate its value!"
Liu Guoqiang's reputation for enjoying wine was indeed well-deserved; the usually composed man actually rubbed... He rubbed his hands together, a look of utter surprise on his face, and said happily,
"Xiao Fang, this gift is truly too precious! Xiao Jiang's inaugural commemorative wine is extremely rare; most are now collected by collectors. You can't buy it even if you have the money! Xiao Fang, I invited you here to thank you, but I didn't expect you to give me such an expensive gift. I'm so embarrassed…"
Although he said this, Liu Guoqiang showed no intention of refusing, causing Liu Xinyao, standing to the side, to roll her eyes repeatedly. She felt her father was being incredibly disrespectful, abandoning his dignity for a bottle of wine.
At this moment, a middle-aged woman, dressed in a well-fitting floral cheongsam and possessing a quiet and elegant demeanor, descended the stairs.
"Sister-in-law!"
"Hello, Auntie!"
Yuan Fang and Chen Yang stood up simultaneously and greeted her respectfully. This was Liu Guoqiang's wife, Xu Qingya's aunt, Xu Ruoqing, whom Chen Yang had known quite well in his previous life. "Little Yuan's here? It's been so many years!" Xu Ruoqing smiled elegantly and nodded slightly to Yuan Fang.
"Hehe, sister-in-law, you're still as young and beautiful as ever!" Yuan Fang casually offered a flattering compliment.
"Nonsense! Wouldn't you be an ancient witch by now?" Although it was a flattery, Xu Ruoqing clearly enjoyed it, and her smile widened.
After speaking, Xu Ruoqing turned to Chen Yang and said with a smile,
"This must be Xiao Fang! I've been wanting to invite you to my home for a long time! We really owe you a lot last time! Otherwise, Yao Yao would have been in danger. Old Liu has been saying he wanted to thank you in person, but he's been so busy with work that it's been delayed until now. It's really a bit impolite of him!"
Chen Yang quickly replied modestly,
"Auntie, you're too kind! Xin Yao and I are classmates. We went to the event together, so of course we had to take care of each other. Besides, I'm a boy, so it's my duty to step forward when a girl is in danger!"
"That's easy to say, but how many people can truly put their own lives at risk? So, Xiao Fang, don't be so modest!" Xu Ruoqing smiled warmly and then asked, "Xiao Fang, I heard you're Mr. Bai Yan's last disciple?"
"Yes, Auntie. It was a fortunate coincidence that I participated in a calligraphy and painting competition last time, and I was accepted as his student by my teacher," Chen Yang answered cautiously. "That's truly remarkable!" Xu Ruoqing praised, then continued, "What do your parents do for a living? Xiao Fang, your calligraphy and painting skills are so high, it must be due to a family tradition, right?"
"Mom... are you checking my background?" Liu Xinyao, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but speak up.
"You silly girl! How can you talk like that? I was just chatting with Xiao Fang. Xiao Fang, you don't mind, do you?" Xu Ruoqing glared at Liu Xinyao, then turned to Chen Yang with a gentle smile.
Chen Yang smiled slightly and said casually,
"Oh, it's alright, Auntie. My father has passed away, and my mother... has been making a living growing vegetables in our hometown, Nanpu County. I'm self-taught in calligraphy and painting; my skill level is actually quite limited. It was only because my teacher was kind enough to let me become his student."
Xu Ruoqing showed a slight surprise, followed by a fleeting hint of disappointment, which quickly vanished as she smiled broadly, though somewhat awkwardly. She said,
"Self-taught...that's even more impressive! Hehe, Xiao Fang, Xiao Yuan, you two chat with Lao Liu! I'll go to the kitchen to see how lunch is being prepared!"
Liu Guoqiang also called out loudly,
"Come, come! Everyone, come and sit down! Xiao Song! Bring out my best Tieguanyin tea!"
A soldier immediately responded and ran off to find the tea. Chen Yang and Yuan Fang sat down on the sofa in the living room. Xu Ruoqing gave Liu Xinyao a wink and gracefully left the living room. Liu Xinyao looked slightly puzzled. Xu Ruoqing turned back to look at her again, and Liu Xinyao reluctantly followed.
"Mom, what are you doing? So secretive!" Liu Xinyao asked, somewhat annoyed.
Xu Ruoqing took Liu Xinyao's hand and asked seriously:
"Yaoyao, tell Mom the truth, do you like this Xiao Fang?"
Liu Xinyao was stunned. She felt that Xu Ruoqing's absurd question was utterly ridiculous. How could she possibly like Chen Yang! He was so "philanthropic"... She immediately said, half-laughing and half-crying:
"Mom... you called me out in such a hurry just to ask this?"
"No joking around, answer Mom's question directly!" Xu Ruoqing said sternly.
"Okay! We're just ordinary classmates, barely friends!" Liu Xinyao answered seriously.
"Really no other feelings?" Xu Ruoqing pressed.
"Of course not!" Liu Xinyao felt somewhat bewildered. "Mom, what's wrong with you today? You're being so suspicious!"
"That's for the best..." Xu Ruoqing said seriously, "Yaoyao, I know Xiao Fang saved your life, and your father and I are extremely grateful to him and will definitely repay him in the future. But this is a different matter from personal feelings. Although Xiao Fang saved you, and he is quite outstanding, the gap between you is too large; there's absolutely no possibility. Yaoyao, you are a child of the Liu family, and you are destined to marry into a family of equal standing, understand?"
Xu Ruoqing acted entirely on a woman's intuition. Although Liu Xinyao's attitude towards Chen Yang was no different from her attitude towards other boys, Xu Ruoqing still keenly sensed something was amiss, and therefore promptly called Liu Xinyao over to give her a serious reminder.
"Ugh! Mom... I don't want to get married at all! Besides, I'm still so young. Don't bring up things like 'matching social status' or 'marriage is a big deal' with me!" Liu Xinyao muttered impatiently, "It's like some feudal arranged marriage..."
Xu Ruoqing was a member of the Xu family, and her marriage to Liu Guoqiang had an element of political alliance. She was quite happy with it now. Therefore, in her view, it was perfectly natural for her daughter to marry into the family; there was nothing unreasonable about it. Seeing Liu Xinyao's negative attitude, Xu Ruoqing couldn't help but want to lecture her again.
Liu Xinyao quickly raised her hands in surrender and said,
"Alright, Mom! I know! You don't need to give me any more political lectures, okay? I promise you, Chen Yang and I have absolutely nothing going on, not before, not now, and definitely not in the future! Are you satisfied now? I'm going to the living room..."
After saying that, Liu Xinyao turned and went back to the living room. Seeing Chen Yang chatting happily with her father and Yuan Fang, a hint of confusion appeared in Liu Xinyao's eyes. She shook her head, forcibly banishing some distracting thoughts, and sat down on the sofa in the living room, quietly listening to their conversation. "Xiao Fang, don't let his current good looks fool you. Back in the day, I gave him a real beating in the company!" Liu Guoqiang pointed at Yuan Fang and laughed as he said to Chen Yang, "When he first arrived in recruit training, he was chubby and failed almost every physical fitness test. So I gave him extra training every day. By the end of recruit training, he was already one of the company's top trainees! I saw his fierce, competitive spirit in him, which is why I took him to my company and made him my communications officer."
Speaking of... Recalling the past, Yuan Fang's expression turned nostalgic, and he sighed, "Yes! If it weren't for the old company commander back then, how would I have had the chance to go to military academy, get promoted, let alone become a pilot!"
Chen Yang smiled and said, "Uncle Yuan, this is also the result of your own efforts. While talent scouts are rare, truly exceptional individuals are even rarer! If you hadn't been capable of anything, even with Chief of Staff Liu's support, you wouldn't have achieved what you have today!"
"Haha, I love hearing that!" Yuan Fang said with a smile. At this moment, Liu Guoqiang suddenly looked at Chen Yang and said:
"Xiao Fang, you just called my wife 'Auntie,' and now you call Little Fatty Yuan 'Uncle,' but why do you only call me 'Chief of Staff Liu'? Am I that unlikable to you?"
Yuan Fang couldn't help but laugh out loud, and Liu Xinyao also couldn't help but chuckle. Chen Yang scratched his head awkwardly and said:
"Don't be so picky! Can't I just call you Uncle Liu?"
"Good! Good!" Liu Guoqiang laughed happily, "That's more friendly!"
Just then, a sharp screech of brakes came from outside the courtyard wall, and a moment later Chen Yang heard the sound of the courtyard gate being pushed open. Chen Yang looked out and saw through the living room window a young man with the rank of major on his shoulders, who looked somewhat like Liu Guoqiang, striding in.