Chapter 214: Shen Family Banquet
Xu Qingsui was happy for him. “That’s wonderful. You’ve been working so hard these past few days, so you can finally get a good rest.”
Lu Jingyu had originally intended to use this opportunity to invite Xu Qingsui out for a stroll and find a chance to confess his feelings. Her words suddenly left him at a loss for how to bring it up.
While Lu Jingyu was caught in his awkward hesitation, Shen Yan seized the perfect opportunity to chime in. “Xu… Qing Sui…”
For the longest time, Shen Yan had been accustomed to calling her Guide Xu. But just as the words reached his lips, the memory of Lu Jingyu’s intimate form of address flashed in his mind, and he forced himself to change it.
Xu Qingsui looked at him in confusion. Feeling a bit embarrassed himself, Shen Yan quickly got straight to the point.
“The Shen family is hosting a banquet tomorrow evening. I’d like to invite you to attend with me.”
She realized that if the Shen family was hosting a banquet, Zhang Yuqing would definitely be present. After her recent unpleasant run-in with the woman, Xu Qingsui really didn’t want to see her again.
A fleeting expression crossed her face, and her answer was already written all over it.
Although Shen Yan didn’t know why she was reacting this way, he wasn’t about to give her the chance to reject him outright if he wanted to achieve his goal.
“Qing Sui, the Shen family holds a banquet every year to provide guests with a venue for friendly networking,” Shen Yan explained. “We also arrange some spectacular entertainment each year, which has always been highly praised. Just humor me and come hang out for a while! If you find it truly boring, you can leave straight away.”
Shen Yan had humbled himself to persuade her. If she still refused to do him this favor, it would be making things unnecessarily awkward. Seeing the utter sincerity on his face, Xu Qingsui sighed helplessly and finally nodded.
She figured she would just go for the spectacle. All she had to do was pretend Zhang Yuqing was invisible. If Zhang Yuqing still held a grudge and tried to stir up trouble over what happened that night, Xu Qingsui would simply leave immediately out of respect for Shen Yan.
Seeing her nod in agreement, Shen Yan instantly broke into his signature smile.
But the moment Lu Jingyu’s voice rang out, his smile froze on his face.
“A Shen family banquet? I assume Boss Shen wouldn’t mind an extra guest, right? I could use this opportunity to familiarize myself with the major families of the 27th District. It would certainly make my future work much easier.”
Banquet or not, all Lu Jingyu heard was Shen Yan asking Xu Qingsui out and creating opportunities for himself. Naturally, Lu Jingyu couldn’t let him get his way. Since he couldn’t force Xu Qingsui to change her mind, the best solution was to shadow them and ensure Shen Yan didn’t get a single chance alone with her.
Shen Yan looked at Lu Jingyu with a stiff expression, sparks of annoyance already igniting in his eyes. He obviously didn’t want the man showing up at his home and ruining his alone time with Xu Qingsui.
But Lu Jingyu’s reasoning was perfectly sound, leaving him no angle to refuse. Moreover, upon hearing that Lu Jingyu wanted to go as well, Xu Qingsui looked at Shen Yan with evident anticipation, feeling reassured that she would have company.
Afraid that rejecting Lu Jingyu might cause Xu Qingsui to change her mind, Shen Yan could only grit his teeth and agree.
“Of course I don’t mind. Normally, attendees must receive an invitation in advance and be registered on the guest list, but considering you just arrived, Captain Lu, and have been through so much since you appeared, it’s only natural you haven’t received one.
“However, given your status, and the fact that the Survival Team has taken over the safe zone, you rightly belong on the guest list. Therefore, I will formally extend an invitation to you on behalf of the Shen family today.”
Shen Yan said a lot, but Lu Jingyu didn’t take a single word to heart. Now that it was confirmed he could go, he smiled and said, “Great. Qing Sui and I will be there on time tomorrow.”
Shen Yan’s eyebrow twitched fiercely. It seemed he would have to make some rearrangements tomorrow, lest he end up doing all the hard work just for someone else to reap the benefits.
“Boss Shen, you’ve been exhausted all day. Aside from the lab issues, you probably still have banquet arrangements to finalize for tomorrow! Since you’re working so hard, you really should hurry back to your room and rest.”
Lu Jingyu’s ulterior motives were practically written all over his face.
With a completely fake smile, Shen Yan immediately fired back. “The same goes for you, Captain Lu. You’ve been busy for so many days. Even though the handover is complete, you’ve only just taken charge of the Survival Team. After everything that happened earlier, you still have a lot of follow-up matters to handle, so you should head back early to rest as well.”
Lu Jingyu thought, “Trying to chase me away? Then we’ll just drag each other down!”
As the two men exchanged verbal blows, their gazes clashed in the air, sending sparks flying. Yet, Xu Qingsui remained entirely oblivious to the crackling electricity and fierce standoff between them. She genuinely thought they both made good points and that they should all go back to rest.
Without further ado, she took the lead and returned to her room, leaving the two men glaring at each other outside her door. Seeing that neither of them had any chance left, they exchanged one last vicious glare before finally going their separate ways.
Just as they had said, although things were mostly settled, there were still many tedious matters waiting to be organized.
After another busy day, Lu Jingyu hurried back to the dormitories at dusk, picked up Xu Qingsui, and headed to the Shen family estate. Shen Yan was a step too late. Seeing that Xu Qingsui was no longer in her dorm, he knew Lu Jingyu had beaten him to the punch. He stomped his foot in frustration before rushing back to the old Shen family manor.
Upon arriving at the Shen family’s home, Xu Qingsui and Lu Jingyu smoothly entered the banquet hall, which was already bustling with the prominent and wealthy elites of the 27th District.
Both of them were accustomed to such occasions. As the adopted daughter of the Xu Family, before her true identity had been uncovered, Xu Qingsui had once walked among the crowds of high society with a certain halo of prestige. But after her real status was revealed, the barrage of strange, judging looks made her lose any fondness for these kinds of events.
As for Lu Jingyu, he had always despised such gatherings, considering them nothing more than an excuse for a bunch of people to get together, compare themselves to one another, and seize the chance to cling to those with more power.
Therefore, once they arrived, the two merely found a quiet corner to kill time.
However, the very moment they appeared, a pair of eyes had already locked onto them.
“That’s her. Do exactly as I said. As long as you get it done, you will receive every single thing I promised you.”
A shifty-eyed man listened to the instructions, his gaze landing on Xu Qingsui. A lecherous gleam flashed in his eyes as he rubbed his hands together. “Don’t you worry. Leave this to me; I definitely won’t let you down. Just sit back and watch the show!”
With that, the sleazy man wove through the crowd, slowly making his way toward Xu Qingsui.
After he left, a pair of eyes filled with pure hatred lingered on Xu Qingsui. The owner of those eyes thought, “This is what you get for doing things the hard way. You brought this entirely upon yourself.”
As soon as Shen Yan entered the banquet, a large crowd swarmed him. He was bombarded with all sorts of flattering compliments, as if the riot at the laboratory had never even happened.
Shen Yan wore his signature smile, but his heart was filled with disgust. With everything that had just occurred at the lab, these praises sounded completely grating to his ears.