cast a peach

It was New Year's Eve in a blink of an eye, and the company's affairs were extremely complicated years ago. Tan Mingli was so busy that he was still exhausted when he got in the car home, so he leaned on the passenger seat and closed his eyes to rest his mind.

Tan Mingqing saw that her complexion was not good, so she reached out to turn off the music in the car, turned up the heating a little bit, and handed over a bottle of water:

"Drink some? Maybe it will make you feel better."

Tan Mingli opened her eyes in response, with a rare bewildered look on her face. It seemed that she had just fallen asleep suddenly before waking up.

"No thanks."

she said softly.

Tan Mingqing didn't force herself, took back the water, glanced at her in the rearview mirror, and said:

"Your complexion looks very bad. Are you feeling unwell? Remember to put on some makeup when you go home later."

"okay."

Tan Mingli was so tired that she couldn't speak, she didn't even have the strength to smile as usual, so she could only respond softly.

She will go back to Tan's house to attend the New Year's banquet later. Seeing that she was really tired, Tan Mingqing worried that she would not be able to drive in her current state, so she drove her home.

Mingqing sent her to the gate of the community and left.

The two of them are still enemies on the surface, they can't get in and out of the same car, they seem too close, even in Tan Mingli's community, far away from Emperor Tan's Tiangao, they are very careful not to let others see.

When Tan Mingli returned home and returned to a familiar place, he relaxed all over, and slowly sat down on the sofa with his eyebrows pressed.

The temples hurt badly.

Maybe it's... overuse of the brain?Or is it the sequelae of staying up for several nights in a row to clarify the accounts a few days ago?

Tan Mingli thought wildly, sighed slightly, and smiled wryly.

Still getting old.

she thinks.

Mingming studied all night when he was young, and he woke up the next morning still full of energy. Now, after a few days of suffering, he is so tired that he can hardly lift his hands. The feeling of heart palpitations made her dare not endure any longer.

She fell asleep on the sofa drowsily for a while, and woke up inexplicably a few minutes later.

A thin layer of sweat broke out on the neck.

Tan Mingli's heart was pounding, her throat was dry, she frowned and stood up to pour herself a glass of water. After drinking, she managed to feel less uncomfortable.

It seemed like I had a bad dream just now.

She braced her forehead and took a moment to recover from the confusion brought about by the nightmare before going to turn on the hot water to take a bath.

After washing it, she felt much better, and she put on makeup for herself in this short-lived spirit.

The face of the woman in the mirror was extremely pale, her lips were so pale that the color was almost invisible, there was a light blue under her eyes, and she was standing in front of the sink with a tired and bored expression.

Tan Mingli spun around for several days, and suddenly looked in the mirror, almost startled by the reflection of her own face.

She was stunned for a long time before holding her breath and gently stroking her face.

The way she looks now... doesn't seem very good-looking.

Will Xiao Shui still like her when he sees her like this?

Tan Mingli lowered her eyes and smiled self-deprecatingly.

Probably won't like it anymore.

Maybe, you won't even look at it.

She must have fallen in love with that senior Xia, right?

Xiao Shui hasn't sent a word to her for a long time.Xiao Shui is soft-tempered, but not gloomy and introverted. She is a lively and lovely child. She shares many things with her every day. Now that Xiao Shui is gone, who will she tell her everything?

Tan Mingli's eyes were sour, and a tear fell quietly.

Anyway, don't tell her.

Put on your makeup, and it's almost time to go.After Tan Mingli got dressed, she looked back at the empty room for the last time, lowered her head, and gently patted Stitch sitting on the porch.

"Xiao Shui, goodbye."

she said softly.

The annual banquet is the Tan family's family banquet, and many side branches from other places rushed to participate, most of them dragged their families along, hoping that Tan Jingshan would give some money, and even saved some in case their children were taken by the old man. , Xu thought that the position of the next successor is also unknown.

Therefore, it is said to be a family banquet, but it is actually similar to the ostentation of a folk wedding. There are many and mixed people from all over the world.

However, the offshoot of the Tan family is prosperous, but the direct descendants are sparsely populated. There are only three children in this generation, Tan Mingli, Tan Mingqing, and Tan Mingzhao.

Among them, the most eye-catching one is undoubtedly Tan Mingli.

Back then, there were not many people who tried their best to force Tan Mingli out of the Tan family. If we really want to talk about it, I am afraid that most of the people who came to the annual banquet could not feel their conscience and say that they are completely innocent and have nothing to do with the past. Add fuel to it.

And after Tan Mingli got married and ruined his future, there was no one who had never ridiculed this former arrogance in private, let alone anyone.

After all, Tan Mingli was too prosperous back then, overwhelming the rest of the Tan family's children. No matter how good a person is, when compared with the brilliance of Tan Mingli, who is like the bright moon, he will become a shining star.

Even today's President Xiao Tan looks so beautiful, isn't it only after Tan Mingli got married that he had the chance to hold a high position?

The wood is beautiful in the forest, even if the wind does not urge it, everyone will attack it together.It is not without reason that the so-called famous sayings and ancient sayings have been passed down for thousands of years.

So since Tan Mingli suddenly parachuted into high-level executives last winter, Tan Jingshan even distributed invitations widely and specially organized a small snow banquet to create enough momentum and face for his granddaughter's return appearance, and everyone in the Tan family suddenly panicked :

Tan Mingli, the daughter of the Tan family they bullied in the past, has gone through a thousand sails and is back again.

Her spirit and spine have not been broken by wear and tear, but like jade, it has been honed by time to make it more radiant, which makes people feel heartbroken when they see it.

But others are heartbroken, and everyone in the Tan family is afraid.

They were afraid of Tan Mingli's revenge and attack.

How she mocked her in the past is still vivid in my mind. I thought she could only live in poverty in this life. From then on, like the most ordinary woman in the world, she became a mediocre person in the day and night toil, and she could never turn over again. Now she's back, she's back.

——Who can think of things in the world?

She had been in fear for several months, but after Tan Mingli returned to the Tan family, there was no movement.

Neither did the new officials get three fires when they took office as everyone imagined, pulling down a group of old people to stand up for themselves, nor did they find out the people who were hiding behind the dirty things one by one, and settle accounts with them.

She was indifferent to Tan Mingqing's provocation, and she didn't do anything when Second Uncle Tan tripped her up in private, but stood still calmly.

In a word, the three-person struggle for power that people imagined did not happen at all. It has been more than three months since Tan Mingli joined the job, but the Tan family is still calm.

She seemed to be very honest and weak, and she didn't plan to do anything. Except for some necessary entertainments, she could refuse everything from parties and dinners. She had no ambitions and no aggressive intentions.

Only then did everyone hesitate and feel a little relieved.

It seems that although Tan Mingli is back, he is not as capable as before, so it doesn't seem to be a cause for concern.

Tan Mingli made a toast to her grandfather, smiled and said a few auspicious words, and then leaned over and sat down.

She is still beautiful, even the way she drinks is good-looking. When she lifts her neck up, she will show a little beautiful tendon, like a bird drinking nectar.

Tan Jingshan nodded with a smile, finished the toasted wine in one gulp, and said with a smile: "This wine is really good."

The people at the same table curled their lips secretly in their hearts.

The wine was brought by Tan Mingli.Tan Jingshan loves to drink tea, but not alcohol. Others just smile when toasting, and wave their hands saying that he is too old to drink.Why can't someone drink the wine toasted by others, but she can drink the wine toasted by Tan Mingli?

The old man's heart is still as biased as before.

Tan Mingqing propped her chin, glanced lazily at the unwilling person, and snorted coldly.

Grandpa smiled and greeted a few more words, then went into the inner room, took Tan Mingli away as usual before leaving, saying that he had a few words to say.

Seeing her grandfather gone, Tan Mingqing regained her spirits.

She got up like a noble and arrogant cat, holding a glass of wine, walked in front of the man just now on her high heels, and smiled at him: "Happy Chinese New Year?"

In fact, Tan Mingqing was also very beautiful, but she was overshadowed by her cousin. In addition, she has acted too cruelly in recent years, which made people afraid to look directly at her. When others mentioned Xiao Tan, they subconsciously thought, "That is crazy She is a woman", and if I think about it further, she is at most a "wolf cub raised by the Tan family", and she is not treated as a woman at all, which conceals her famous name.

Now she is smiling so delicately with her eyes bent like this, it's really hard to move your eyes away.

The man was dazed, and when he came back to his senses, he nodded and smiled, "Ah, it's cousin Mingqing, and you have a happy Chinese New Year too..."

Before he finished speaking, Doutou poured down a glass of red wine.

Tan Mingqing's wrist was still hanging firmly above his head, looking at him and smiling, her expression was still delicate:

"How wonderful. Isn't it Chinese New Year? Red, festive. Cousin, do you like it?"

The man's face was dripping with dark red wine, he was dumbfounded, his face was blue, he had to grit his teeth, and answered in a low voice, "I like it, I like it..."

"As long as my cousin likes it! Come next year, I'll splash it on you."

Tan Mingqing's tone was cheerful, and she nodded with a smile on the tip of his nose, she really looked like an innocent little girl.

Then he turned around, and the face of the person who was smiling at Yanyan just a second later suddenly turned cold.

She took out her handkerchief and repeatedly wiped the fingers of the man she just touched in disgust.

Anything deserves to be called her cousin.

Seeing this farce that took a turn for the worse, everyone present was silent.

Although everyone has their own thoughts, and there are many people who don't like each other, but at most it's just a few words of ridicule, hoping to find some unhappiness for the other party's New Year's Eve, but the real knife is put on the table for others No one would dare to splash wine.

Only Tan Mingqing, who is like a lunatic, dares to do it directly without any scruples.

Standing on the second floor, Second Uncle Tan took in all the different expressions on everyone's faces, and snorted coldly.

"Dad, my sister still does things so happily."

Tan Mingzhao said excitedly.

"happy?"

Uncle Tan looked at his son in disbelief, "What a joy, she is going crazy! It really embarrasses the Tan family."

Tan Mingzhao was taken aback by what he said, then lowered his head, not daring to speak any more.

He looked at his son who had been hollowed out by wine and meat, and remembered Tan Mingli's calm and dignified demeanor at the New Year's banquet just now. Compared with the two, his son became more and more useless, and he couldn't do anything. Angry, he patted his shoulder resentfully:

"Okay, don't imitate. I'm going crazy like your sister all day long. You still think it's awe-inspiring, don't you? Why don't you imitate Tan Mingli?"

"Didn't you say that she has nothing but good looks?"

Tan Mingzhao was not convinced, and stuck his neck at him.

"you!"

Second Uncle Tan was so angry with his son, but it was indeed him who said it, so it was hard to refute. He looked around to see if there were any outsiders, and could only stare at him, "Don't dare to say this in front of others!"

Tan Mingzhao dragged his tone and said "Got it".

"That's what I said..."

Second Uncle Tan looked downstairs again, frowned, and muttered to himself, "I don't know why, but I always feel a little uneasy."

Is it true that Tan Mingli is useless after her second marriage?He had a faint feeling that something was wrong, but everything fit perfectly. The person sent to monitor Tan Mingli also said that she was mediocre in her work, and there was really nothing wrong with her.

He suppressed the inexplicable panic, turned to his son, and said in a low voice: "When you watch the new year tonight, watch Tan Mingli for Dad, huh?"

Tan Mingzhao responded lazily.

The Tan family pays attention to old etiquette and attaches great importance to keeping the year old.According to the rules, the side branch guards outside, and the descendants of the direct line follow Tan Jingshan in the ancestral hall.

Although the deep winter in Jiangcheng is not as good as freezing drunk people to death like in the north, it is not pleasant either.Everyone was very smart. They wrapped themselves tightly in advance, and prepared neck pillows and other things. They woke up one after another when the old man was about to come out the next morning, and put refreshing medicine in their eyes. All of them had red eyes and yawned continuously, as if they had been obediently holding on to guard all night.

Does the old man know?Not necessarily do not know.But even if he knew it, he just pretended not to know, turned a blind eye, and smiled.

The children of the direct line are also uncomfortable. After dawn, they have to follow Tan Jingshan to light incense and worship their ancestors. They kowtow to each other one by one. After the whole ceremony is over, it will take more than an hour. The young man couldn't bear it either, he shook his legs and pressed his knees, and couldn't stand up for a long time.

Tan Jingshan knelt quietly on the futon in front, while the three of them knelt behind.

"Sister," Tan Mingzhao saw that grandpa was still, quietly bumped into Tan Mingqing's arm, and handed her a knee pad: "You put on your leggings, kneeling will be more comfortable."

Tan Mingqing gave him a cold look, then turned her head away, "No, just tie yours."

Tan Mingzhao touched his nose and was a little embarrassed. After thinking about it, he passed the knee pad to Tan Mingli again: "Sister Mingli, do you want it?"

Tan Mingli glanced at him, smiled, and nodded to him: "Thank you Mingzhao, but I don't need it."

In fact, she didn't have any reverence for the etiquette of keeping the year old in her heart, and she didn't even care about worshiping ancestors.Before she returned to China, she had never knelt down to anyone. From the bottom of her heart, she felt that this was like military training, a kind of obedience test, to make people find a sense of mission and collective honor in suffering.

But she is proud after all, and she doesn't want to do such small things in front of grandpa, even though she knows that grandpa shouldn't care about these small things.

But today is different.

Tan Mingli pursed her lips, quietly took out her phone, and glanced at the time.

It's already 10:30.

She still remembers to call Xiao Shui for New Year's greetings.

According to her selfishness, she wanted to say Happy New Year to Xiao Shui at twelve o'clock.

But she thought, Xiao Shui probably wouldn't stay up all night, and should have gone to bed by then. After thinking about it for a while, she finally decided to make a call at eleven o'clock, so that even if Xiao Shui didn't connect, she would see her when she woke up the next morning. , and will definitely give her back.

The deep winter night was freezing cold, Tan Mingli thought of Xiaoshui in his heart, and felt support and hope. Although his legs were kneeling completely unconscious, he still persevered and endured.

When the time finally came, she stood up slowly holding her knees, informed her grandfather, walked outside the ancestral hall, took out her mobile phone and called Xiao Shui.

Tonight, the moon is as cool as water, with few stars, and the evening wind blows through her collar.

If Tan Mingli didn't notice anything, she just pursed her lips, endured the dizziness when she got up after kneeling for a long time, and swiped down the screen to find Xiaoshui's contact information.

found it.

Her heart skipped a beat, she hesitated for a moment, cleared her throat, and recited a few poems in a low voice to see if her voice sounded good or not.

He rehearsed in his heart the tone that would speak in a daze, and did not dare to dial it until he was completely proficient.

One, two, three.

Tan Mingli stared at the screen, pinched her fingers unconsciously, and counted silently with her heart hanging.

The phone was finally picked up.

Tan Mingli was overjoyed, took another deep breath, calmed himself down, and spoke as gently and calmly as possible:

"Hello, Xiao Shui."

This is the opening statement that she finally decided after deliberating over and over again.

It should... neither sound unfamiliar nor too intimate.

There was no response or movement on the phone for a long time.

Tan Mingli walked a few steps uneasy, lowered her neck, and twisted her cold fingers one after another.

Is Xiao Shui still unwilling to talk to her?

She suddenly became frightened.

After slowing down her heartbeat, Tan Mingli managed to suppress her uneasiness and anxiety, and called again in a warm voice: "Xiao Shui?"

Don't ignore me, okay?Xiaoshui?

"Hello, Xiao Shui is sleeping now, please call back later."

There was finally an answer on the phone, but it wasn't the person she was thinking of. It was a strange mature female voice, cold and indifferent, with no ups and downs in tone.

It seems that the volume is still being suppressed, almost breathless, for fear of waking up someone next to him.

Tan Mingli was stunned.

After a long time, she heard her own voice in a daze:

"Sorry, are you...?"

Hard and difficult, almost exasperated from the depths of his throat.

The woman on the other end of the phone seemed to chuckle softly, as if her question was funny.She lowered her voice and asked back, "What do you think?"

Her tone was ambiguous and frivolous: "Of course they are people close to Xiao Shui."

...the people around you.

people around.

These three words echoed in Tan Mingli's ears, making her dizzy.

She was at a loss, almost as if she had been punched in the face, and stood there holding up the phone in a daze, repeating these words in her heart.

Which body is it?Which side is it?Who is the person?Is it the person next to you?The one she imagined?

how could be.

Why did Xiao Shui suddenly have people around him?Didn't she just miss her life for more than a month?

Didn't Xiao Shui tell her that he likes her? Why did he suddenly change his mind?Did she fall in love with someone else now?That's what young girls are all about, isn't it?He obviously just confessed his love to her last Christmas, but in the blink of an eye he fell in love with someone else.

Why can't she just wait a little longer?Obviously she has been working very hard to deal with Tan's affairs, and wants to make a deal as soon as possible...

Xiao Shui is in love, but she is not the one she is in love with.

How could it be so fast, she was unprepared, she was suddenly happy and then sad, and was thrown into the abyss with a single sentence.

This woman wasn't even the rival Xia Er she had imagined.

Tan Mingli bent down and gently covered her chest.She had tinnitus, and her heart suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

In the early hours of New Year's Eve, a few minutes before the New Year's bell was about to ring, a panicked cry suddenly sounded from the Tan family:

"Come on, sister Mingli has fainted!