Chapter Fifteen: Could This Be What They Call Enemies Meeting by Chance?

The Lin family, upon seeing the red archway bearing the words “Lin Residence Si Hui,” couldn’t help but smile one after another.

“The Lin name is truly the best. I told you back then, it was right for our eldest sister to listen to that fortune teller and change Si Hui’s surname! If she had kept the Huo name, how could she have gotten into a university in the capital? And now she’s married to a man from the capital as well!”

“Exactly! I believe Si Hui getting into university is all thanks to the literary aura of the Lin family. The Huo name from my brother-in-law’s side just sounds unlucky, like a curse that follows you for eight generations. Who wants to have ‘disaster’ stamped on their forehead every day?”

“That whole Huo family line are just hardworking farmers. If it weren’t for our eldest sister always favoring them all these years…”

“Shh! Don’t say anymore. Haven’t you seen they already came early to reserve seats? Like they’ve never attended a banquet before…”

…

On the Lin side, the eldest brother Lin Songsheng led the way into the Four Treasures Restaurant.

The Lin family was quite a large clan. Besides their slightly senile matriarch, the second generation consisted of three sons and two daughters: the three sons being Lin Songsheng, Lin Songwang, and Lin Songliang; the two daughters were Lin Qinghua and Lin Qingxia, who were the elder aunt and younger sister of Huo Qitai, respectively.

Due to stricter family planning policies for urban families like theirs, the third generation had fewer children—usually only one child allowed unless the firstborn was a girl.

The Lin Yan and Lin Qi who were speaking earlier at the traffic light were from Lin Songsheng’s family.

Lin Songwang’s family had a son named Lin Jun, who was still in middle school. Lin Songliang had only one daughter, Lin Sihui, who was a little younger than Lin Jun.

The youngest sister Lin Qingxia had given birth to twin daughters. Her husband was Zhong Yuehua, and their twin daughters were Zhong Ling and Zhong Qiao, both still in elementary school.

At the restaurant, Huo Qitai had already arrived with his mother. Together with several uncles and relatives, they were helping with the decorations.

The Huo family was slightly smaller than the Lin family. Their grandparents had passed away early. In the current generation, there were three brothers and one sister: eldest uncle Huo Fusheng, father Huo Changsheng, uncle Huo Gaosheng, and aunt Huo Guizhu.

Except for aunt Huo Guizhu, who had two daughters, the others each had only one child.

Uncle Huo Gaosheng, who worked as a second-hand landlord in Quancheng, was busy and could not return for the engagement banquet.

When Huo Qitai and his mother arrived, aunt Huo Guizhu’s family was already helping with the preparations.

The eldest aunt warmly greeted them and immediately praised Huo Qitai’s excellent performance on the recent college entrance exams.

“Fusheng, I think we should ask the owner to take down the banner that says ‘Lin Residence.’ It might make people uncomfortable.”

Before the Lin family arrived, the eldest aunt had already suggested this to the eldest uncle.

After all, the uncle bore the surname “Huo,” while his daughter had the surname “Lin,” and the engagement banquet’s banner displayed “Lin Residence.” Outsiders might mistakenly think the uncle was an in-law who had married into the Lin family.

But the straightforward eldest uncle waved it off and said, “No need to bother. Besides, Si Hui really is a Lin. The owner probably doesn’t know our situation, so it’s understandable. There are only two tables anyway, all family.”

“Exactly, sister-in-law, we don’t mind. No need to trouble yourself,” aunt Huo Guizhu also said, dismissing the matter.

“It’s just a signboard; no one will really pay attention.”

---

Huo Qitai’s father, Huo Changsheng, agreed.

As for the backstory, Huo Qitai had heard a bit from his mother.

The eldest uncle enlisted in the army at 18 and, after three years of service, was transferred to the city to seek employment.

Though city jobs were hard to come by, the eldest uncle’s act of bravery on a bus—helping his future wife, who was a ticket seller then, catch a troublemaker—earned him recognition.

Through this, he met his future wife and was favored by Lin’s father, who was then deputy director of the city’s investment promotion bureau. He arranged for the eldest uncle to work there, and now he was roughly a minor department leader.

Cousin Si Hui was originally registered under the Huo surname, but at age three, she suffered from a persistent high fever, repeatedly falling critically ill.

Desperate, the eldest aunt sought advice from a famous local “half-immortal” seer, who said Si Hui’s destiny did not suit the Huo surname. If she kept it, even if she survived this illness, misfortune would follow year after year.

With no other choice, the eldest aunt changed her daughter’s surname to Lin.

However, at any occasion, the eldest aunt tirelessly explained to others to avoid misunderstandings that the eldest uncle was a son-in-law living with the Lin family.

Like this time, she only realized the banner’s wording after arriving at the restaurant.

Because the Huo family was understanding and didn’t mind, the eldest aunt Lin Qinghua didn’t ask the owner to replace the banner.

But unexpectedly, while the Huo family paid it no mind, the Lin family, upon arriving, deliberately made sarcastic remarks, proudly so.

This greatly displeased the eldest aunt Lin Qinghua.

Her face immediately darkened. She stopped warmly greeting her in-laws and instead called to Huo Qitai, “Ah Tai, young man, give me a hand and bring the ladder from the kitchen.”

“Yes, eldest aunt,” Huo Qitai replied.

He knew the eldest aunt was angry and about to assert her authority as the eldest sister.

He quickly fetched the ladder from the kitchen and securely propped it at the entrance.

Then…

The eldest aunt briskly tore down the two characters “Lin Residence” from the banner and, for symmetry, also tore off the two characters “Xie Residence” from the other side.

The entire welcome banner now read: “Miss Si Hui and Mr. Hangyu’s Engagement Banquet.”

At the same time, the eldest aunt forcefully stepped on the character “Lin” she had just torn down.

Unbothered by the fact that she herself was a Lin, she deliberately said to her brothers and sisters from her natal family, “There’s nothing special about the Lin name. There are so many Lins in all of China, and yet not every one of them is rich or goes to university!”

“Sister! What are you doing? We… we were just joking around,” Lin Songsheng, the younger brother, quickly stepped forward to apologize and cautiously picked up the “Lin” character she had stomped on.

---

The other Lin family members, though visibly displeased, dared not show it.

Instead, they vented their frustration toward the Huo family. Especially Huo Qitai, who had just helped Lin Qinghua with the ladder, felt the hostile gazes from every Lin family member.

“Why are you all staring at me? Even eldest aunt can’t stand you lot from my mother’s side anymore. Maybe you should think about your own problems,” Huo Qitai retorted fearlessly, glaring right back before sitting coolly beside his mother.

…

Elsewhere, Liu Ruyu circled around for a while before finally finding a parking spot in her Porsche Panamera.

After all, this was the old city district; urban renewal had yet to begin, and parking was scarce.

“Wow! Mengmeng, you parked perfectly. This place is bustling with cars and people, shoulder to shoulder…” Vivian immediately showed off some idioms she had recently studied.

“Not bad, Vivian. You used those idioms perfectly!” Liu Ruyu praised as she led the way.

“Thanks! Our Chinese idioms are amazing—a huge linguistic compression package. Just four characters can carry so much meaning. I’m working hard to learn them, reading ten idiom stories every day!”

Giggling and tossing her golden hair, Vivian quickly became a striking sight on the street.

“Just ahead—the Four Treasures Restaurant! It’s very famous for local specialties. Look, right there…”

Leading Vivian briskly to the restaurant’s entrance, Liu Ruyu hadn’t yet introduced the significance of the ‘Four Treasures’ when she spotted Huo Qitai seated inside the main hall.

“Ah! Why is he here? Vivian, let’s go somewhere else to eat,” Liu Ruyu exclaimed, instinctively wanting to turn around.

But Vivian, sharp-eyed, had already memorized Huo Qitai’s face from earlier at her home and recognized him immediately.

She burst out laughing and held Liu Ruyu’s arm, “Mengmeng, isn’t this what they call… a narrow road for enemies?”

…