Chapter 279 - 179: Giving a Jade Pendant

Chapter 279: Chapter 179: Giving a Jade Pendant

The meeting between both sets of parents went smoothly. Gu Nan had already met Yi Chen’s parents, and his own parents were aware of her situation, so they had more or less already given their tacit approval.

So, the two sets of parents took the opportunity to discuss the couple’s engagement over dinner that evening.

Yi Linfei had three daughters and none of the worries that came with needing to buy a house for a son’s marriage, so he announced on the spot that he didn’t want a betrothal gift. His daughter’s happiness was all that mattered.

Gu Dacheng insisted on giving one anyway—188,000. He felt it was well worth the price for his son to be marrying such a wonderful wife.

When Qiao Xiuxian heard the amount, the corner of her mouth twitched. In Yangjiang Port, the custom was for the bride’s family to provide a dowry equal in value to the betrothal gift.

This was why weddings for children from ordinary families were usually very simple; they would cut costs on the betrothal gift and dowry whenever possible, holding a banquet at the very most.

Many couples even skipped these formalities altogether, using the money from their parents to go on a trip instead.

It was a different story for the wealthy, of course. They would naturally throw a lavish and lively celebration.

That’s why most people here found the online stories about "sky-high betrothal gifts" to be so unbelievable.

This was mainly because the older generation in the area didn’t have as strong a preference for sons over daughters; otherwise, Yi Chen would never have been raised by her grandparents.

Of course, it wasn’t that families who demanded large betrothal gifts didn’t exist; they were just relatively rare.

Qiao Xiuxian herself had two daughters and no son, so of course she wasn’t coveting Gu Nan’s money for her own children’s benefit.

Besides, she was well aware that it would be useless even if she did have any ulterior motives. Yi Chen would only sit there behaving herself as long as everyone was amicable. Other than Zhao Chunlan, no one at the parental level could rein her in.

The first dish from the hotel was a real showstopper: a thirteen-pound Emperor Crab.

When the dish was served, Yi Miaomiao gasped, "Wow! Sis, what kind of crab is this? Its pincer is bigger than my head!"

"It’s called an Emperor Crab. Your brother-in-law, Gu Nan, sells them at his shop. He brought this one over specially for the hotel to prepare. I’ll get you a pincer in a bit, but just have a taste for now. There’s still lots of other delicious food to come."

Yi Chen whispered the explanation to her younger sister. The elders hadn’t picked up their chopsticks yet, so it wouldn’t be proper for her to start, even if it was to serve her sisters.

Gu Nan, however, overheard his girlfriend’s whisper and took the lead, addressing the table. "Grandma, Uncle, Auntie, this is an Emperor Crab. Its main feature is that it’s huge and very meaty. I personally think it’s tastier than blue crab. Please, try some."

"Yes, yes, everyone, please help yourselves," Gu Dacheng and Zhao Suying chimed in.

Once he saw them start eating, Gu Nan took a piece of meat from the middle of the large pincer and gave it to Zhao Chunlan. "Grandma, the meat from this part is a bit more tender. Please, have a taste."

"Yes, yes, of course." Zhao Chunlan accepted the piece with a happy chuckle. The old woman’s teeth were still quite good despite her age, so she didn’t refuse his kind gesture.

Gu Nan occasionally had Yi Chen bring seafood back for her, so she had long since started to think of him as her grandson-in-law.

Seeing that his grandmother had started eating, Gu Nan then served pieces from the pincer to Yi Miaomiao and Yi Dongxue.

They were both young girls, so they could just share. Otherwise, a single large pincer would be enough to fill them up.

There were still many more dishes to come; if they got full now, all they could do was watch everyone else eat.

Yi Linfei and Qiao Xiuxian watched this scene with wide, pleased smiles. They were happy to see their future son-in-law treating his two young sisters-in-law so well.

’The affairs of adults shouldn’t affect the children.’

Then, at Gu Dacheng’s urging, they also began to eat the Emperor Crab they had long wanted to try. They had only ever heard of it and knew it was very expensive—something they would never normally splurge on.

The second dish arrived quickly: M5 Wagyu oxtail, stewed until it was perfectly tender.

Aside from the seafood he’d brought himself, all the meat and vegetable dishes Gu Nan ordered today were chosen with Zhao Chunlan in mind. They were all styles of cooking that were easy for an older person to chew or relatively easy to digest.

Since he intended to marry Yi Chen, it was only natural for him to treat her grandmother well; after all, she was the one who had raised his future wife.

As for his future father-in-law and mother-in-law, they didn’t actually hold such a high place in his heart.

Gu Nan’s attitude toward Yi Chen’s relatives was mainly determined by her, but he still maintained all the necessary surface-level courtesy and respect.

After several hot dishes were served, it was time for the sashimi.

The sashimi was primarily tuna, with scampi, geoduck, oysters, and more. Paired with caviar, the flavor was exceptionally fresh.

Zhao Chunlan wasn’t very interested in this course. In fact, after having a little of each of the previous dishes, she was already getting full. At her age, she couldn’t eat much.

Gu Nan didn’t bother showing off that he had caught the tuna himself. In any case, after taking a portion for their meal, he had sold the rest of the fish to the hotel. As a result, not only did he not have to pay extra for tonight’s dinner and his parents’ rooms, but the hotel had actually paid him nearly ten thousand yuan.

After all, since he had brought many of the ingredients himself, the hotel had only charged him a preparation fee plus the cost of a few dishes and drinks, which all added up to nearly ten thousand.

This calculation alone was enough to show how expensive the Junhao Hotel was.

Based on the dishes Gu Nan had ordered tonight, a normal bill for such a table would have been at least thirty thousand, and that’s not even counting the alcohol.

The banquet began a little after six and ended at nine in the evening.

Gu Dacheng and Yi Linfei were both drunk. Gu Nan, having only had a few drinks with them, was fine.

He personally helped his drunken future father-in-law into the car and even called a designated driver for him.

"Grandma, the car is a little small, so we can’t all squeeze in. I’ll take Chenchen home in a bit."

Zhao Chunlan nodded with a beaming smile. "Alright, alright. I’ll leave Chenchen in your hands, then."

Gu Nan then said goodbye to Qiao Xiuxian and his two young sisters-in-law and watched the car drive away.

He and Yi Chen then returned to the private room and helped the equally drunk Gu Dacheng to his room.

"Alright, you two go on and do your thing. I’ll take care of things here!" Zhao Suying waved them off, eager to give the young couple some time alone.

"Mom, I’m taking the new car keys. I’ll leave the keys to the pickup truck for you. You and Dad should find a place to rent in the next few days, then you can use the pickup to move. Call me if you need help."

Besides escorting his father back to the suite, Gu Nan’s most important objective was to get the car keys.

He had been busy that afternoon, secretly preparing a surprise in the car.

’The fate of his future bliss all depended on tonight!’

Zhao Suying, of course, had no idea what he had done that afternoon or what his plans were for the evening. All she knew was that her son had also been drinking, so she said sternly, "You drank tonight, too. Don’t you dare drive!"

Gu Nan nodded. "Don’t worry, Mom, I wouldn’t do anything illegal. I’ll call a designated driver when we’re ready to go home. For now, I’m just going to go for a walk with Yi Chen."

Hearing him say that, Zhao Suying let out a hum of acknowledgement, her worries eased.

As the couple prepared to leave, Yi Chen also bid her a polite farewell. Zhao Suying’s face, which had been stern just a moment before, immediately softened into a kind and friendly expression.

"Ah Nan, where are we going now?" Yi Chen asked, holding Gu Nan’s hand.

"To the underground garage. I want you to see the new car I just bought."

"Alright, let’s see the new car!"

When they arrived in the underground garage, Gu Nan led her to a relatively remote corner where he had intentionally parked that afternoon so as not to attract attention.

Because of this, they had to wind their way through the garage after getting out of the elevator before they finally reached it.

"Wow, this car is gorgeous!" Yi Chen exclaimed in surprise when she saw the sedan. She hadn’t seen this car with Gu Nan before and hadn’t expected him to buy something different from the ones they had looked at.

"Want to get in and have a look?"

"Of course!"

Yi Chen went to the passenger’s side, opened the door, and suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth in astonishment.

On the passenger seat sat a huge bouquet of roses, with a small gift box nestled on top.

Gu Nan wrapped his arms around her from behind, smiling. "Do you like it? I started preparing this as soon as we started dating. The gift was just finished a couple of days ago. Go ahead, open it and see."

Yi Chen couldn’t quite describe her own feelings at that moment, but they were certainly a mixture of surprise and profound emotion.

Although she knew Gu Nan had always taken great care of her, it was only now that she truly felt how much he valued her and understood the place she held in his heart.

"Ah Nan..."

Instead of looking at the gift, Yi Chen spun around, wrapped her arms around his neck, stood on her tiptoes, and gave him a sweet kiss.

It was the first time she had ever been so proactive, and her kiss was especially passionate.

They might have been able to take things a step further tonight, but Gu Nan didn’t push it.

’They’re in a public place, after all. Who knows where the security cameras are? It would be so embarrassing for me if we were seen.’

After a long moment, Yi Chen finally let him go, leaning against his chest and gasping for breath.

"Your breath control isn’t very good. You’ll have to practice more, or you’ll never be able to go diving," Gu Nan teased, holding his girlfriend, who had gone a little limp in his arms.

"You’re awful~" Yi Chen playfully tapped his chest in a coquettish gesture.

She was simply too happy today. Both sets of parents had met and approved of their relationship. Although she could have made the decision on her own, it was naturally much better to have her parents’ blessing.

And now, on top of that, she had received this huge surprise. She was finally beginning to understand the happiness her father had spoken of.

"Aren’t you going to look at the gift I got you?" Gu Nan said with a smile, gently letting her go after holding her for a long moment.

Of course, Yi Chen was curious about what he had given her. She turned back, picked up the gift, and opened it. She was surprised yet again when she saw it was a white jade pendant.

She had thought it might be a necklace or something similar, but she never expected a pendant in the style of a concentric lock—and made of white jade, no less.

"Do you like it?" Gu Nan asked.

"I love it!" Yi Chen nodded again and again.

"Here, let me put it on for you." Gu Nan took the pendant and put it on for her himself.

The white jade rested right at the top of her cleavage, making one unable to resist the urge to explore the view beyond.

Yi Chen held the pendant, looking at it with delight. She understood the moment she saw the gift how much thought Gu Nan had put into it. It wasn’t just the gift she loved, but the heartfelt sentiment behind it even more.

"It’s not just a single pendant. I had a matching set custom-made. Here, you can put this one on for me." Seeing how much she loved it made Gu Nan happy too, and he cheerfully pulled another box out of his pocket.

"A matching set?!" Yi Chen was even more thrilled. She quickly took the box and lifted out the jade piece.

She noticed the difference in the jade at a glance; this piece had a slightly greenish hue.

"Ah Nan, the color of this one seems a little different?"

"The color is a bit different, but they’re from the same piece of stone. My piece is a little darker—isn’t that more suitable for a guy to wear?"

"Mhm, I’ll put it on for you! Oh, bend down a little, I can’t reach."

"Then why don’t we get in the car!"

Yi Chen rolled her eyes. She knew that a certain someone was getting ideas, but she was happy today, so she was definitely going to give him a little treat.