Chapter 48: Ms. He Yuehua

Lin Jian was a little nervous, but also somewhat excited. This was his first time attending such a banquet, and upon entering the hotel lobby, he had already spotted several celebrities he had only ever seen on TV. Ye Ziqiu was also nervous; this was her first time linking arms with a man. Both were tall and elegantly dressed, naturally drawing the attention of those around them as they stepped into the lobby.

Soon, a young man in a white suit and bowtie approached them. "Ziqiu, you made it!"

Although the man with the bowtie was also meticulously dressed, compared to Lin Jian, he looked rather slick and foppish. Furthermore, this guy was probably not even 1.7 meters tall, and his beady eyes were quite small. However, the young man had a strong aura, looking at people with his nose turned up in the air! When he greeted Ye Ziqiu, he kept his eyes on Lin Jian, looking him up and down.

Lin Jian suddenly felt Ye Ziqiu’s grip on his arm tighten; she had tensed up in an instant.

"Hello, Young Master Yang," Ye Ziqiu quickly introduced, maintaining a straight face and taking the initiative to extend her hand despite her nervousness.

Young Master Yang smiled, shook her hand, and then looked at Lin Jian. "And who might this be?"

"This is my boyfriend, Lin Jian."

"Oh, so it’s Mr. Lin. A pleasure to meet you!" Young Master Yang offered his hand.

Lin Jian smiled as well, casually extending his hand to give Young Master Yang’s a brief shake. He didn’t say "a pleasure," nor did he even say hello!

"Lin Jian, this is Ms. He Yuehua’s son, Mr. Yang Xueguang. He is currently the executive assistant to the chairman of Zhongshi Investment Group."

"Where do you work, Mr. Lin?" Yang Xueguang asked suddenly.

"Young Master Yang, I’m sorry, but how about we head inside first?" Ye Ziqiu interrupted him. After all, they were still in the hotel lobby and hadn’t even entered the banquet hall!

"Alright. You go on ahead, Ziqiu. I’ll come find you later," Yang Xueguang said with a smile before going off to greet others.

"One look and you can tell that guy is no good!" Lin Jian whispered after they walked away. "His eyes are so shifty. Anyone with eyes like that is rotten to the core!"

"Don’t talk nonsense. Do you know how to read faces or something?" Ye Ziqiu quietly pinched him.

"Hey, you hit the nail on the head. Not only can I read faces, but I can also tell fortunes," Lin Jian said smugly.

"Stop being so glib." Ye Ziqiu led Lin Jian to the entrance of the banquet hall and handed their invitation to the security personnel. The guards then respectfully invited them inside.

Inside the banquet hall, long tables lined the perimeter, laden with fruits, pastries, pasta, steak, barbecue, and the like. The vast majority of the guests were holding glasses of red wine, engaged in private conversations. There was a stage in the hall, suggesting there would be performances later tonight, as staff members were busy setting up the equipment.

"President Ye, you’re here too!"

"Hello, President Li."

"Hello, Chairman Wang..."

Ye Ziqiu bumped into a few acquaintances one after another and stood there chatting with them.

Lin Jian leaned close to her ear and said, "I’m hungry, so I’m going to grab a bite first. Is that okay?"

"Don’t drink any alcohol. We have to rush back to Jiang City tonight."

"Don’t worry, I won’t." Having received his orders, Lin Jian quickly hurried over to the long tables and started eating. Everything was delicious and exquisitely prepared. Although the portions on the plates were small, the taste was absolutely top-notch.

Meanwhile, Su Zhiwei and Su Zhida also entered. Su Zhiwei was whispering something to Young Master Yang, his eyes constantly scanning the crowd. Yang Xueguang’s expression was grim. It wasn’t clear what he had just heard.

"Are you saying Ziqiu’s date is just a lowly security guard from their company? You’re not lying to me?" Yang Xueguang’s face had flushed the color of pig’s liver.

Ye Ziqiu was pushing things too far! She knew full well that his mother was trying to matchmake them, yet she had brought a security guard here. Wasn’t this a blatant insult to him? This was looking down on him too much! So, just because she didn’t like him, she was going to use a security guard as a shield? Comparing a security guard to him, Yang Xueguang? It was simply outrageous.

"Young Master Yang, why don’t we just kick him out?" Su Zhiwei suggested.

"Hmph, I’ll definitely kick him out, but not right now. Let’s wait a bit. Once all the guests have arrived, not only will I kick him out, but I’ll also make him pay dearly!"

"Exactly. A watchdog dares to sneak in here? It’s simply absurd..."

Su Zhiwei was blooming with joy inside. Just as he expected, Young Master Yang, who was also pursuing Ye Ziqiu, was now gunning for the lowly security guard. Well, he could just watch the show for now. His own play wouldn’t start until the latter half of the night, so there was no rush.

Meanwhile, guests continued to file into the banquet hall. A moment later, a middle-aged man nearing fifty walked in. The moment he entered, a large crowd immediately swarmed up to greet him. Even Ye Ziqiu walked over, as did Yang Xueguang, Su Zhiwei, and the others!

"Good to see you all. Ziqiu, you’re here too!" After exchanging pleasantries with the surrounding crowd, the middle-aged man smiled and greeted Ye Ziqiu.

"Uncle Jiang, why didn’t Xue’Er come?" Ye Ziqiu asked.

"Don’t mention her, don’t mention her. Just bringing her up makes me angry. Ah, if only you were my daughter. Xue’Er has no drive at all, none at all..."

"Uncle Jiang, there you go again..." Ye Ziqiu blushed.

Mr. Jiangnan, Chairman of the Board of Sanjiang Group, had offered to take Ye Ziqiu as his goddaughter on several occasions. He had even tried to poach her multiple times, wanting to recruit her as a top executive at Sanjiang Group. However, the Ye family also heavily relied on her; after all, she was a top graduate from an internationally renowned university and had an impressive track record from her time overseas. Therefore, it was completely impossible for the Ye family to let her go.

"Hello, Uncle Jiang. I’m Yang Xueguang." Young Master Yang took the initiative to introduce himself, as he was not closely acquainted with Jiangnan. However, Jiangnan was a top-tier tycoon with an incredibly deep background.

"Hello, Xueguang. You..."

Jiangnan was just about to reply when he suddenly stopped mid-sentence and quickly walked over to greet a young woman. The young woman had just entered. She was dressed quite ordinarily, not particularly glamorous, and held a clutch bag in her hand. Moreover, no one had noticed her. But as Jiangnan hurried toward her, everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to her!

Who was this woman? Did she have some impressive background? Why did someone like Jiangnan of Sanjiang rush over to greet her?

The young woman’s expression was completely natural. Despite being stared at, she showed no signs of panic. Instead, she kept her gaze straight ahead, her demeanor slightly cold. It wasn’t until she saw Jiangnan approaching that she offered a faint smile and extended her hand. "Hello, Uncle Jiang!"

"Hello, Wan. I didn’t expect you to be here," Jiangnan quickly shook her hand.

"Yes, I came to show my support for Ms. He."

This woman named Wan actually said she was here to "show support." It should be known that saying one was "showing support" implied doing the host a favor by gracing them with their presence. Reading between the lines, this woman’s status was at least equal to, if not higher than, He Yuehua’s.

At that moment, Lin Jian, who was busy eating, also noticed the young woman with the clutch bag. He felt like he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn’t quite remember exactly when or where.

Just then, someone suddenly shouted, "Chairman He is coming out!"

A middle-aged, elegant lady walked out, surrounded by an entourage. Ms. He Yuehua, Chairman of the Board of Zhongshi Investment Group. The moment He Yuehua made her appearance, the banquet hall instantly fell silent.