Chapter 132 The Banquet - 4 Tang Bufan walked on the land...
Tang Bufan walked beside Lu Yi, responding to the gazes of those people in a friendly and polite manner. He had been in Taicheng for almost half a year and knew half of the people at the banquet, or at least they looked quite familiar to him.
"You've arrived." Pei Zhishu walked up to them and greeted them.
This was Tang Bufan's first time attending such an extravagant banquet. Just like in Hollywood movies, a group of well-dressed people were exchanging pleasantries while holding wine glasses. Despite being in the apocalypse, it subtly gave Tang Bufan a sense of antiquity.
A year ago, he and Lu Yi could only drink sewage from dirty cups. Tang Bufan looked at the red wine in his hand under the glittering crystal chandelier, which refracted the light like a gemstone.
It was like a dream. Tang Bufan subtly tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Lu Yi's identity was special, so many people came over to exchange pleasantries with him. Tang Bufan stood beside him and followed along. When he turned around, he was surprised to find that Anderson had already run away.
Bren and his companions scattered throughout the banquet, some eating, others chatting with others.
"Isn't it boring?" After getting away from the Eastern Commander who brought his wife to make friends, Lu Yi lowered his voice and looked at Tang Bufan embarrassedly: "Teacher, you don't need to remember those people. Most of them are not important."
Lu Yi didn't actually want Tang Bufan to get involved in high society; it was too complicated, and everyone was speaking while wearing a mask.
This includes Lu Yi himself.
"No, it's quite new," Tang Bufan said, reassuring Lu Yi not to worry about him.
He did find it tiring to fake smiles and be polite with a group of people, so he said to Lu Yi, "Let's go say hello to Mr. Guo Wen."
Lu nodded.
Guo Wen's health has greatly improved, and he can walk on his own now. However, his complexion is still not as good as before. Today's retirement speech also required him to stand for a long time, so he is now sitting on a spacious sofa in a corner of the banquet with a group of people.
The old man from the Yu family was also there, talking to Guo Wen. Tang Bufan also saw Yu Shi, who was with Pei Zhishu's two children, a kind smile on his face as he played with the two little ones.
Tang Bufan raised an eyebrow slightly. If he hadn't confronted Yu Shi before, he probably would have thought this person was a sweet older brother.
Noticing Tang Bufan's gaze, Yu Shi looked over, and the two exchanged a gentle and polite smile.
That was a great performance! No wonder there's a saying that politicians are all born actors.
The two of them looked away again, each going back to their own business.
The arrival of Lu Yi and Tang Bufan stopped Guo Wen and Old Yu from talking, and the four of them politely greeted each other.
"Mr. Guo Wen, it's been a while. I'm so glad you're gradually recovering your health." Tang Bufan looked at Guo Wen sincerely.
"Whether you're healthy or not, you're all like this now." Guo Wen's voice was tinged with regret, his dark eyes, etched with the marks of time, looked tenderly at Tang Bufan. After scrutinizing him for a moment, he lowered his gaze and turned to look at Lu Yi, who was much younger and stronger than him: "I heard you two are getting married tomorrow?"
“Yes, May 20th.” Lu Yi’s golden-green beast eyes met Guo Wen’s gaze, his calm demeanor containing a subtle provocation: “It’s very close to your retirement date, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not, May 20th is a very auspicious day.” Guo Wenping replied, then reached into his Zhongshan suit pocket and took out a small box, handing it to Tang Bufan in front of Lu Yi: “This is for you, a wedding gift.”
Tang Bufan was surprised. He could feel the gazes of those secretly watching them. The box was small and exquisite, like a jewelry box... They probably wouldn't be giving him jewelry, would they?
Tang Bufan thought of the wooden hairpin he used to really like, which Guo Wen made by hand. He had worn it for a long time without knowing it, and he hadn't dared to tell Lu Yi about it.
Lu Yi was clearly also interested in the small box. He moved closer to Tang Bufan, who opened it with mixed feelings. His eyes lit up when he saw what was inside.
What was lying in the box was not jewelry, but a delicate and compact music player, commonly known as an MP3 player.
It was clearly an antique from a thousand years ago. Lu Yi didn't even recognize it and looked a little confused. Tang Bufan, on the other hand, was suddenly pulled back to his elementary school days, when the rich kids in his class would bring this to school to play.
A look of nostalgia crossed Tang Bufan's eyes as he looked up at Guo Wen.
"This was found in ruins. The memory card inside was preserved for a thousand years without damage. It contains more than three hundred Chinese pop songs from a thousand years ago." Guo Wen looked at Tang Bufan with gentle eyes: "I think you will like it."
Tang Bufan's fondness for classical culture was already well-known. He knew classical Chinese and wrote beautiful ancient characters, which earned him the respect of everyone in the garden.
"I...of course I like it." Tang Bufan couldn't describe his current feelings. He missed the past too much, but a thousand years had long since destroyed everything he knew. These three hundred-plus pieces of music were a kind of redemption for him.
They prove that he did indeed live 1200 years ago.
"Thank you," Tang Bufan said gratefully to Guo Wen, wishing he could put on his headphones right now and listen to what songs were playing.
Guo Wen smiled faintly, noticing Lu Yi's silent gaze, and calmly looked back at him.
If I were twenty years younger, you might not be able to beat me.
Lu Yi's expression was rather unpleasant.
Tang Bufan had been paying attention to Lu Yi's emotions, and thus noticed the discord between him and Guo Wen. Since he had already greeted them, he immediately pulled Lu Yi to sit on a sofa in another corner.
He still clutched the MP3 player with obvious affection, turned it on as he remembered it, and saw low-resolution text appear on the small horizontal screen, with Jay Chou's "Seven Mile Fragrance" scrolling by.
Wow, it's the pop music from his childhood! Tang Bufan couldn't help but grab Lu Yi's hand excitedly. If it weren't for the many people around, he really wanted to share it with Lu Yi right now.
Seeing Tang Bufan's joy and emotion, Lu Yi felt a little jealous, so she leaned against him.
“I’ll give this to the teacher too in the future.” Lu Yi looked at Tang Bufan with a wronged expression: “When we go wandering in the future, to the ruins, I’ll dig it up for you by hand.”
Tang Bufan found it somewhat amusing, thinking to himself that ancient artifacts of this level of preservation, undamaged and thousands of years old, were not something that could be easily unearthed. However, he still gently and obediently agreed, "Okay, let's dig together."
He was certain that when he was old, he would still be picking up trash around the world with Lu Yi.
But by then their children should have been quite grown up and had taken over the Western Federation... It's strange, why did they suddenly think of their children?
Tang Bufan felt something was off, so he carefully put the MP3 player in his hand into his pocket.
As the two sat there, more people came over to talk to them. Tang Bufan responded politely, gradually feeling the boredom and hardship of upper-class socializing.
After the Eastern Federation commander and his wife left, Sirius, holding a wine glass, suddenly appeared from behind their sofa.
"Young Master Louis, Fick was called away by that man named Yu Shi." Sirius reported to the two with great enthusiasm. Although he was nearly thirty years old and a professional researcher, he still had the temperament of a child.
Tang Bufan looked around the banquet in surprise, but couldn't see the two people.
Anderson, too, has disappeared without a trace.
"Fix is being targeted?" Lu Yi asked calmly, with a hint of sarcasm.
Fick is the son of the Lord of Naples and one of the heirs of the six major cities of the Western Federation, so it's no wonder that Yu Shi would take a liking to him.
Tang Bufan, holding his wine glass, found it somewhat amusing; he could tell that Yu Shi was extremely anxious.
"How old is Fick this year?" Tang Bufan asked curiously.
"Like me, 29. He was my classmate." Sirius leaned back on the sofa and said to Tang Bufan, looking down, "I already have two kids, and he's still not married!"
"You have two children?" Tang Bufan was taken aback.
“I’m perfectly normal.” Sirius blushed slightly for some reason. “Fick is the one who’s not normal.”
Tang Bufan wanted to say that he was also 28 years old and didn't even have a child yet.
"Has he still not found someone he likes?" Tang Bufan asked curiously.
Sirius's voice lowered slightly: "Who knows what he's thinking..."
As they were talking, Fick and Yu Shi appeared at the entrance of the banquet. The tall orc still looked indifferent, while the short Yu Shi next to him had slightly red eyes and pursed lips.
Seeing his expression, everyone understood, and Fick also rejected Yu Shi.
Yu Shi looked at his great-grandfather, who was leaning on a cane. The old man frowned and looked at his great-grandson with a very sour expression.
Although Tang Bufan didn't particularly like Yu Shi, he felt sorry for him seeing his appearance and immediately lost his interest in watching the drama unfold.
Perhaps sensing Tang Bufan's gaze, Yu Shi turned his head and looked over. Tang Bufan saw him bite his lip, as if making some kind of decision, and then stride towards them.
"Mr. Louis, Mr. Tang, can we go outside and talk?" Yu Shi asked the two men directly after he came over, his eyes and tone revealing a certain determination.
Tang Bufan and Lu Yi exchanged a glance and nodded slightly. Lu Yi was kind-hearted and always treated humans well, while Tang Bufan felt sorry for the young man who was being forced into marriage and was in such a sorry state.
He was only eighteen years old after all.
The two then got up from the sofa. Yu Shi's eyes reddened again, probably because he didn't expect them to agree so readily.
"Thank you," he said softly to the two of them.
Sigh. Tang Bufan listened to his low voice and glanced in the direction of Old Man Yu. Sure enough, the stern old man with the cane was also staring at them.
The three of them left the banquet hall. Although it was an extremely safe inner temple in the mountains, there were still many armed guards. Yu Shi then pointed to the lush garden not far away: "Let's go there."
Tang Bufan and Lu Yi had no objections, so the three of them walked along the clean and tidy tiled path into the depths of the garden.
"I'm very sorry for offending Mr. Tang that day." Yu Shi lowered his head and apologized to Tang Bufan in a low voice.
"It's all in the past," Tang Bufan said calmly, though he was still a little bothered by how Tang Bufan addressed him, still calling him "Mr. Tang."
Although Tang Bufan didn't tell Lu Yi about the incident where he slapped Yu Shi that day, Lu Yi heard the report from his subordinates... Besides Anderson, he had actually secretly sent other orcs to protect Tang Bufan, though Tang Bufan was unaware of this.
The matter didn't escalate. Firstly, Yu Shi started it, and secondly, Tang Bufan's status is too high now. Besides Lu Yi supporting him, Guo Wen also flatters Tang Bufan, so the Yu family doesn't dare to offend him.
Yu Shi could only silently resent this in his heart, wishing he could swap Tang Bufan's face with his own.
Aside from looks, he really didn't think he was inferior to Tang Bufan in any way. In terms of age and family background, he was far superior to Tang Bufan.
“I really envy Mr. Tang, being so well-liked,” Yu Shi couldn’t help but say, leading the two deeper into the garden: “He doesn’t have to suffer like I did…”
“If that’s what you’re saying, then there’s no point in us talking.” Tang Bufan smiled and interrupted him with his good temper: “I’m willing to come out with you because you’re young. I have a bad habit of meddling in other people’s business, but I’ve been a teacher and I know that some kids are born bad and some kids are just forced into it. I want to help the latter one.”
Tang Bufan stared at him intently: "Who are you?"
Tang Bufan's words left Yu Shi speechless, his face flushing red and then pale. After a long pause, he finally replied in a low voice, "The one after that..."
He can't very well admit that he was born a bad person, can he? Besides, he was indeed driven to a dead end by his great-grandfather.
“The prisoner handover for this year is over. My father and great-grandfather are about to return to the underground city with supplies, but they won’t take me with them…” Yu Shi bit his lip, his brows furrowed. “I don’t want to be left behind, but my great-grandfather insists that I stay on the surface. Our peacekeeping faction needs to build its own power on the surface, otherwise we will be completely suppressed by the New Business Alliance in a few years.”
"I've heard that several eligible high-ranking beastmen are interested in you." Tang Bufan had heard a lot about this from He Xing and He Yun.
“I don’t like any of them…” Yu Shi muttered. Those from wealthy families weren’t handsome enough, and those who were handsome had average backgrounds. None of them were as perfect as Lu Yi.
Tang Bufan seemed to have guessed his thoughts, and looked at him with a half-smile: "So what do you want to do?"
“I…” Yu Shi stared at Lu Yi: “I want to talk to Mr. Louis.”
"..." Lu Yi remained silent. He really wanted to help Yu Shi. He didn't want any human to betray and marry a beastman, but that didn't mean he would agree to any request.
“I think you should know me by now,” Lu Yi said tactfully to Yu Shi. “I don’t get married.”
Tang Bufan watched him from the side. Lu Yi suddenly paused and immediately changed his words: "I only married my wife."
“I know.” Yu Shi said aggrievedly, “I hope the Western Federation can temporarily protect me. Taicheng is now Pei Zhishu’s territory, and I can’t fight against him at all. But my great-grandfather won’t take me back, so… even if it’s just for a year, let me stay with you for a year.”
Should we take them in temporarily? Lu Yi turned to Tang Bufan, asking for his opinion. The Western Federation welcomes all humans to join. If Yu Shi really marries into the Western Federation in the future, it will increase the population of the Western Federation. However, if Tang Bufan feels uncomfortable, Lu Yi will refuse.
Tang Bufan couldn't say he felt uncomfortable, but he stared at Yu Shi for a long time, unable to judge whether the child was kind or evil.
"You decide." Tang Bufan finally handed the decision over to Lu Yi, though he could tell that Lu Yi wanted to help Yu Shi.
After all, his mother's tragedy left a lasting impression, which instilled in Lu Yi a kind of obsession with saving humanity.
“Alright then.” Lu Yi agreed and gave Yu Shi a kind smile: “Since this is your wish, I will tell your great-grandfather and father, and then send someone to take you to the Western Federation.”
The aircraft is now equipped with dozens of small aircraft, allowing an orc named Zaiyu Shi to travel to the Western Federation in just half a day.
Yu Shi was stunned: "Shouldn't I stay by your side?"
“We need to find the Rebooters’ base next.” Lu Yiwen declined, “It’s not convenient for you to come with us.”
Yu Shi unconsciously raised his hand and bit his thumb, clearly thinking about something. Suddenly, he realized that Tang Bufan was looking at him, so he was startled and lowered his head.
He clutched the hem of his tuxedo again, and said shyly, "Alright then... but I still want to talk to Mr. Louis alone."
Lu Yi frowned slightly, about to politely refuse again, when he heard Tang Bufan calmly say, "Lu Yi, you talk to him, I'll wait here."
Lu Yi was somewhat surprised, but since Tang Bufan had agreed, he didn't mind and agreed as well, so as to avoid Yu Shi from pestering him.
The three of them happened to walk to a rest area. There was a bench next to the lawn. Tang Bufan didn't know if it was because he had drunk alcohol at the banquet, but he felt a little nauseous after walking for a while, so he went over and sat down.
"You two go ahead, I'll sit here for a while," Tang Bufan said.
Lu Yi felt that Tang Bufan was too straightforward and he couldn't figure out his intentions, but Yu Shi was still watching him closely from the side. He could only sigh helplessly and decide to go and come back as soon as possible.
"Then wait for me here, teacher." Lu Yi gently instructed Tang Bufan, and after receiving his nod in response, he and Yu Shi continued walking along the curved garden path.
Tang Bufan's senses were now heightened. Only after he could no longer hear the two people's footsteps did he raise his wrist, lift the sleeve of his tuxedo, and reveal the AI bracelet that Lu Yi had given him.
"Brother Kai, help me contact Anderson."
"Okay, Tang. Initiating a voice communication with Anderson... Communication established."
"Hey, what do you want?" Anderson's lazy and impatient voice came from the other end of the bracelet.
"Where have you been loitering? Come over here and get to work." Tang Bufan said without waiting for a reply, "I'll have Kai send you my location."
Anderson clicked his tongue: "You're ordering me around again?"
Tang Bufan sat on the bench and smiled, his eyes crinkling: "Yes, good brother."
His chuckling voice made Anderson on the other end lose his temper. After a while, he said in an annoyed tone, "Who wants to be your brother? All you do is boss people around all day... Wait there, I'm coming."
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