The tallest of the group had the classic cold beauty aura, exuding an air of aloofness that kept others at a distance. This softened only slightly when she interacted with her friends, creating a melting ice-mountain effect that was particularly captivating.
The one next to her was at least half a head shorter. It was hard to judge accurately, as women often wore high heels of varying heights. Unless the height difference was substantial, it was difficult to discern their true heights at a glance.
This girl was even shorter, with a more petite and delicate build, appearing very demure and embodying the charming, gentle beauty of a young lady from a good family.
As for the third, she carried herself with a dignified and restrained demeanor. Although Ye Tiancheng hadn't paid particularly close attention to avoid inadvertently offending his wife's friends, he had still observed them.
In Ye Tiancheng's opinion, this third person seemed to be of a similar type to Wan Yulin, at least on the surface.
As for how they truly were, that would only become apparent after spending some time together.
Hou Mingzhu introduced Ye Tiancheng's identity to her friends. Hou Mingzhu's friends reacted with a calm, neither overly enthusiastic nor cold, but maintaining a polite distance. They simply nodded courteously at Ye Tiancheng.
Their demeanor made Ye Tiancheng feel quite comfortable.
When Ye Tiancheng married Hou Mingzhu, he had encountered some ladies from prominent families and some of Hou Mingzhu's friends. He could only say that the experience was terrible. Those people clearly looked down on Ye Tiancheng, finding him acceptable only for his looks.
After all, Hou Mingzhu couldn't stand Ye Tiancheng's own clumsy attempts at dressing, which made him appear unrefined. It would have been embarrassing to take him out for social events like that.
Therefore, every time there was such an occasion, Ye Tiancheng would be meticulously groomed by Hou Mingzhu.
However, Ye Tiancheng's current situation with Hou Mingzhu was different from the past. They had truly married out of love, living together daily. Hou Mingzhu took care of Ye Tiancheng's appearance and chose his clothes for him every day.
Now, when Ye Tiancheng walked outside, he truly looked like a young master from a wealthy family. Standing next to Hou Mingzhu, they were a perfect match, a handsome man and a beautiful woman. After all, although Ye Tiancheng's appearance wasn't as ethereally captivating as Xiao Huli's, he was still very handsome. When dressed up, calling him a pretty boy wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Ye Tiancheng thought that if Hou Mingzhu's friends had been like these ones, he wouldn't have felt so disheartened in the past.
But now, Hou Mingzhu clearly considered his feelings, which was a change from before. Therefore, Ye Tiancheng didn't resent Hou Mingzhu for remembering past events.
Hou Mingzhu also introduced Ye Tiancheng's two brothers, Pangzi and Xiao Huli, to her friends. Their attitude towards Pangzi and Xiao Huli was similar to their attitude towards Ye Tiancheng.
Hou Mingzhu also introduced her three friends to Ye Tiancheng and his companions. Although they were strangers, since they were going to be together, it would be awkward not to know each other's names.
Through Hou Mingzhu's introduction, Ye Tiancheng learned that among Hou Mingzhu's three friends, the tall, cold beauty had the surname Helian, and her full name was Helian Yue. The petite, charming, and lovely girl was surnamed Tang and named Tang Susu. As for the third, the dignified beauty, her surname was Wen, and her name was Wen Yao.
Since there were seven of them in total, and the place they were going to would be very crowded, they would need a convenient vehicle for travel. One car wouldn't be enough for seven people.
It wasn't that they couldn't fit, but with a mix of men and women, it wouldn't be suitable to squeeze together. It would be better to travel in separate cars.
Hou Mingzhu wanted to sit with her friends but also wanted to bring Ye Tiancheng. The final arrangement was that Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli would ride with Hou Mingzhu, along with Tang Susu, making it four people in one car. Helian Yue and Wen Yao would ride with Pangzi in another car.
Since Tang Susu was quite cheerful and lively, and good at conversation, Ye Tiancheng's car wasn't silent. Tang Susu could chat not only with Hou Mingzhu but also with Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli.
However, when Ye Tiancheng thought about Pangzi being in the same car as Helian Yue and Wen Yao, he couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for Pangzi.
Wen Yao's demeanor was truly cold. Ye Tiancheng didn't know if Helian Yue and Wen Yao would feel awkward, but based on his understanding of Pangzi, he was sure Pangzi would be very uncomfortable.
Yancheng was a large city, and for Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu to live in such a nice villa, they wouldn't be able to reside in the most central location. This was a temporary arrangement, and there were rarely such villa districts in the city center, where land was extremely expensive.
Therefore, the area where Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu had been living was quite remote, in the suburbs, certainly outside the Third Ring Road.
The event they intended to attend required them to go to the city center to join in the general excitement. Moreover, on such a special day, the roads were extremely congested.
If they had driven directly on clear roads, it would have taken about an hour to reach the city center. However, on this particular day, they were stuck in traffic for over five hours before reaching their destination.
Hou Mingzhu had arranged for a hotel and booked rooms there, as they would need a place to stay after arriving, even though they were there for leisure.
Despite just being in the car, the five-hour journey was tiring. Upon finally arriving, everyone's energy levels had clearly dropped. Therefore, they planned to rest at the hotel and have lunch before going out.
Because Hou Mingzhu had invited her girlfriends to go out, and Ye Tiancheng had brought his friends, and they had booked suites, coupled with the busy nature of Yancheng on this occasion, hotel rooms were very scarce. They had only managed to book two suites in total. Thus, the arrangement was made for the women to stay in one suite and the men in the other, separating them by gender.
This arrangement not only solved the problem of insufficient suites but also allowed Hou Mingzhu to chat with her girlfriends privately.
It would also be awkward for the three men, like Ye Tiancheng, to mingle with the four women. It was good that they were separated. Even though Ye Tiancheng was Hou Mingzhu's husband, he would have felt awkward accompanying Hou Mingzhu and her friends.
Hou Mingzhu, understanding this, also agreed with this arrangement.
After separating into rooms, Hou Mingzhu and her three girlfriends went into one suite.
Hou Mingzhu's three girlfriends had not actually interacted with Ye Tiancheng before, only hearing some rumors. However, they were not narrow-minded, sharp-tongued, or snobbish people. They had better character and believed more in seeing for themselves, not taking rumors at face value.
Therefore, this was the first time they were meeting Ye Tiancheng.
Hou Mingzhu became friends with these three because they were all daughters of different prominent families, had frequent interactions, and their families had social connections. Coupled with their good rapport, they truly became friends.
These three had been curious about what kind of boyfriend Hou Mingzhu would find. Upon meeting him, they had a rather good impression of Ye Tiancheng. However, this didn't prevent them from asking Hou Mingzhu for more specific details, leading to a "grilling" session among the girlfriends.
Now that the girlfriends finally had some private time, and with Hou Mingzhu present, she was immediately surrounded by her friends.
Tang Susu was the first to speak.
She wrapped her arms around Hou Mingzhu's neck, with a slight mischievous smile, and curiously asked Hou Mingzhu, "Sister Hou, you're the one who got married young among us. Tell us, what made you fall for Brother Ye and marry him?"
Hou Mingzhu raised an eyebrow and pulled off Tang Susu, who was hanging on her neck like a koala.
"I won't tell you. You guess."
Upon hearing Hou Mingzhu's words, the others pondered for a moment. Wen Yao suddenly said, "I heard that Brother Ye comes from a humble background, but after seeing him today, I feel that Brother Ye is not like an ordinary man. Even compared to some of the young men from our prominent families, he doesn't fall short."
"Brother Ye's appearance goes without saying; Sister Hou's taste must be excellent. Brother Ye also has a great demeanor, and he doesn't seem out of place standing next to Sister Hou."
"He doesn't lower himself because of his background, and when interacting with us, his eyes never wander. Most of the time, they are focused on Sister Hou. Even when looking at us, his gaze is very polite and perfectly appropriate."
After a period of analysis, Wen Yao concluded, "So, I don't think it's that strange that Sister Hou is willing to marry Brother Ye. Brother Ye seems to be a man with charm who can attract others."
Tang Susu thought about it and felt that what Wen Yao said made a lot of sense. However, upon hearing Wen Yao's last sentence, she couldn't help but say, "It seems so. But I feel that there should be many people who like someone like Brother Ye, right? Sister Hou, won't you feel a sense of urgency, like someone might come and compete with you?"
Wen Yao immediately felt that this was not good. Although she knew Tang Susu had no ill intentions, her question was inappropriate. She quickly coughed lightly to remind Tang Susu.
However, Tang Susu's words had already been spoken. Although she immediately realized her mistake after Wen Yao's reminder, what was said couldn't be taken back. Tang Susu quickly tried to cover it up.
"No, I just had a sudden thought, but I didn't mean any harm. Sister Hou, please don't misunderstand."
If it were in the past, with the way Hou Mingzhu and Ye Tiancheng used to interact, Hou Mingzhu would have undoubtedly been bothered by such words. However, now that they had decided to let go of past issues, and both had made changes, Hou Mingzhu had become much more indifferent. She no longer cared so much about such things, as she no longer needed to harbor negative emotions because of them.
Therefore, Hou Mingzhu suddenly chuckled and said, "Of course, I know you have no ill intentions, Susu. Don't worry, I don't mind. It's true that many people like Tiancheng and pursue him, but I'm not worried."
Seeing that Hou Mingzhu didn't mind, Tang Susu felt much relieved. At the same time, she couldn't help but ask, "Not worried? Why?"
"Oh, I know. It's because Brother Ye only has eyes for Sister Hou. Even though Brother Ye saw several beautiful women like us today, he was completely unmoved."