Ning Bingyu glanced at Cha Meiling indifferently, his tone cold: "Relatives? Yes, Annie should know better than me that being stabbed in the back by one's own relatives and loved ones is much more painful than being stabbed in the back by an enemy."
Cha Meiling's expression stiffened for a moment, but she quickly returned to normal.
She sighed and said in a gentle yet slightly helpless tone—
"Brother, you're joking. I've been away for so long, and I just miss my godmother. After all, she treated me like her own daughter back then. I wonder how she's doing?"
Hearing this, Chu Hongyu couldn't help but chuckle: "Miss Annie is truly blessed, with so many godfathers and godmothers, can you still recognize them all?"
Chen Jingsong's face darkened completely, and he looked at Ning Bingyu with displeasure—
"Nephew, you've failed to discipline your subordinates. How can anyone interrupt? What right does a mere assistant have to speak up?"
Ning Bingyu said calmly, "Chairman Chen, Assistant Chu's doubts are also my doubts. Miss Annie, why don't you answer them?"
His tone was calm, but it was clear that he was protecting Chu Hongyu.
Cha Meiling's face turned completely cold. She said softly to Chen Jingsong, "Master, I'm a little hungry. Let's go get something to eat first."
Chen Jingsong nodded, and Cha Meiling then turned and left.
Chu Hongyu also wanted to take the opportunity to slip away and inform Ning Yuan, so she said to Ning Bingyu, "Young Master, you chat with Chairman Chen for a while, I'm going to the restroom."
After saying that, he turned and left without waiting for Ning Bingyu's reply.
Ning Bingyu watched Chu Hongyu's departing figure, his brows furrowing slightly in resignation.
This woman is getting more and more arrogant.
Looking in the direction Chu Hongyu had left, Chen Jingsong couldn't help but frown and say, "Nephew, it's fine to play around with a woman like that, but if you really want to, I'm afraid even your uncle wouldn't agree."
Ning Bingyu withdrew his gaze and looked at Chen Jingsong, ignoring his previous words, and asked directly, "Uncle Chen, how did you meet Annie? Why are you so close?"
Chen Jingsong smiled, his tone tinged with emotion: "Annie is an excellent lawyer. Last year, she worked at a law firm in Singapore and gave me a lot of great legal advice."
"It was also thanks to Anne as the M&A lawyer that I was able to successfully complete several M&A cases, which has brought the Jialing Group to where it is today."
Ning Bingyu pondered: "Last year?"
So that means Cha Meiling was released last year?
He paused, then asked with a smile, "Mr. Chen and Miss Annie met in Singapore?"
Chen Jingsong nodded naturally: "Yes, we met at a business cocktail party and hit it off immediately. Although Annie comes from a wealthy family, she doesn't have the temperament of a rich girl. She's very independent and capable, no less than Miss Ning. I've also heard that you two were engaged. It's such a pity."
Ning Bingyu didn't say much, only raised an eyebrow slightly and raised his wine glass—
"Parting means we're no longer meant to be, and we'll each go our own way. There's no need to regret it. But Annie seems lucky to have met you. So let's raise a glass to Uncle Chen and wish Jianing Group all the best."
Chen Jingsong also raised his glass and clinked it with Ning Bingyu's.
The two exchanged a smile, each with their own hidden thoughts in their eyes.
Meanwhile, Chu Hongyu went to the hotel office to call the old house, only to learn that Ning Yuan was not at the old house.
She had no choice but to call Ning Yuan's office again, only to learn that Ning Yuan had gone to the factory that evening.
It turns out that Ning Yuan had finally managed to secure an electronics manufacturing order from an American client through various connections, even at a loss. Today, the first batch of goods was about to be shipped, which was of great significance to her.
She was worried, so she went to the production line herself to oversee the shipment.
Chu Hongyu rubbed her temples and could only leave a message, telling Ning Yuan to come to the venue as soon as she received the message.
After finishing the call, Chu Hongyu turned to return to the banquet hall. Just as she stepped out of her office, she saw Cha Meiling leaning against the wall in the corridor, smoking.
Her fitted evening gown accentuated her graceful figure, and a slender cigarette was held between her fingers, its crimson tip flickering in the dim light.
Cha Meiling looked at Chu Hongyu and elegantly exhaled a puff of smoke: "I didn't expect that you would still end up in Ning Bingyu's bed. Why did you have to pretend to never have anything to do with your boss in the first place?"
Cha Meiling paused, looking down from Chu Hongyu's shoulder-length curly short hair to her shoes, and chuckled, "Your hairstyle is quite similar to mine back then."
Her voice carried a hint of mockery, a hint of disdain, and a hint of... indescribable complex emotions.
Chu Hongyu paused. She hadn't wanted to pay attention to Cha Meiling, but Cha Meiling's words felt like a thorn piercing her heart.
So, this is the side effect of being someone's shield!
Even with a short, shoulder-length perm, people still suspect she's a body double!
Chu Hongyu suppressed her anger and turned to look at Cha Meiling: "Miss Annie is too narcissistic. Just because this hairstyle has been popular in Japan, does that mean everyone should copy you? I think it's you who can't let go of the young master!"
When faced with verbal attacks, the best defense is offense—fight fire with fire.
Cha Meiling's face turned cold.
Chu Hongyu continued with a cold smile: "Besides, life is unpredictable, and there are many things that people can't imagine. You've been with the young master since you were eighteen. After all these years, didn't you ever think that one day you would be separated from him?"
Cha Meiling's face stiffened; Chu Hongyu's words had struck a nerve.
She chuckled and looked at Chu Hongyu: "Those who abandon me cannot be kept. I had no intention of competing with you for Brother Yu. I just thought it was a bit absurd. I thought you would be as proud as Ning Yuan."
"Hehe!" Chu Hongyu was too lazy to waste any more words with Cha Meiling, so she turned and left.
Cha Meiling is the least qualified person to explain her relationship with Ning Bingyu.
Cha Meiling stared at Chu Hongyu's retreating figure for a long while, a cold smile curving her lips.
She stubbed out her cigarette and turned to leave in another direction.
At this moment, Li Kaili, the eldest daughter of the Li family, came out of the restroom.
She looked in the direction where Cha Meiling and Chu Hongyu had left, and sneered disdainfully: "A mistress who can't be brought to the table, and a washed-up fiancée from a fallen family, they're nothing. They're both acting like they can become the matriarch of the Ning family just because they want to. How ridiculous!"
The days when she followed behind Cha Mei-ling, Hong Kong's former top socialite, are long gone.
The social queen position always changes hands.
The man Cha Mei-ling couldn't win over, she's going to win him over!
Li Kaili walked to a stairwell and whispered something to a man who looked like a manager.
The other party nodded slightly: "Don't worry, everything is already prepared."
Li Kaili glanced at the banquet hall and scoffed. She had accepted her invitation, yet she was being disrespected by bringing her mistress and her ex-fiancée.
She was determined to make Ning Bingyu understand that Li Kaili's invitation wasn't something to be accepted so easily.
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