Step by step
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Wu Jianwei remained motionless: "What do you need your hands for?"
Meng Yanxiu moved closer, and with a flick of his hand, he took her hand and gently held her burning fingertips: "Banquet etiquette."
Wu Jianwei didn't believe it, but she didn't retract her hand: "Why didn't the others hold hands?"
"The etiquette I just set."
Meng Yanxiu increased his strength, covered her entire hand, and led her into the banquet hall: "If my behavior makes you uncomfortable, just shake off my hand."
Wu Jianwei's ears were as red as her palms, but she did nothing. She continued to walk forward with his pace, her heart trembling.
Inside the hall, the air was filled with the alluring aroma of butter, rosemary and steak.
Warm golden light fell on the long table covered with a white tablecloth, and waiters in black and white uniforms walked around carrying champagne and dishes until the long table was filled.
The guests were seated, whispering to each other, without loud laughter, chattering, or noise.
Kirimi observed for a moment and found that the guests were also wearing black and white dresses, like black and white chess pieces.
This scene definitely doesn't look like a business reception, but rather like a grand event.
She looked down at her outfit, a cardamom green silk vest dress with a halterneck. In the interweaving of black and white, her low-saturation green suddenly stood out, like a green apple that had strayed onto a chessboard, attracting many people's attention.
She looked at Meng Yanxiu from the side again. He was wearing a well-tailored pure black suit. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the lapels of his jacket were made of satin and he was wearing a black bow tie, not a necktie. So he was not wearing an ordinary suit, but a black tuxedo for attending a banquet.
So, she was the only one in the whole audience whose outfit did not conform to the regulations.
Seeing that she was hesitant to speak, Meng Yanxiu asked in a deep voice, "You've been looking at me for a long time. What do you want to say?"
Wu Jianwei just smiled faintly: "I think you dress very tastefully."
"Hmm? Thank you." Meng Yanxiu reacted in two seconds and led her straight through the crowd towards the main house.
Wu Jianwei kept an eye on the guests around her. Several ladies wearing emerald and jade jewelry were exchanging stock quotes. She stared at the earrings for several seconds.
"Be careful with the steps." Meng Yanxiu reminded her softly.
Kirijianwei withdrew his thoughts and said, "Okay."
They walked on the soft carpet and climbed the stairs leading to the main house. There were candlesticks on both sides of each step, which were kept burning day and night.
The banquet in the main house was more private and divided into two areas. The main seat at the left main table was occupied by Meng Zhu, the head of the Meng family, while the main seat at the right main table was occupied by Meng Yanxiu, representing the younger generation.
After Meng Yanxiu led Wu Jianwei to sit down, he sat down in the main seat next to her and raised his finger slightly to ask the waiter to replace her wine with coconut water.
Kirimi opened her lips slightly and swallowed the words back. She said casually that she couldn't drink. She just didn't want to drink at work, but he took note of it.
"What's wrong?" Meng Yanxiu noticed a flicker of hesitation in her eyes. "If you don't like coconut water, then try something else. What do you want to drink?"
"No, I like coconut water." Kirimimi nodded at him.
Meng Yanxiu leaned forward, supporting the back of her chair with his hand, and whispered in her ear, "If you don't like something in the future, just tell me directly. You can be honest with me."
Wu Jianwei heard the slow breathing between his words and unconsciously curled her fingers. She couldn't remember when it started, but whenever Meng Yanxiu got close to her, she would feel inexplicably uneasy, but her body didn't object to his approach.
She realized it later, or perhaps from the very beginning.
Meng Yanxiu was still looking at her. She turned away calmly and said, "I'm telling the truth."
She is not polite and she does not put herself in a difficult position.
"Okay." Meng Yanxiu suddenly said, "The skirt suits you very well. You don't need to dress the same as everyone else. Just wear what you like. It's beautiful enough."
Wu Jianwei was surprised for a moment, and stared into his dark and deep eyes. The two were close to each other and their eyes met. The heart-throbbing feeling just now came over her again. Her emotions were blocked in her heart, and she didn't know what to say for a moment.
Seeing her ears blush, Meng Yanxiu smiled and stood up, resting his hands on the tablecloth in front of her. He lowered his head slightly and said softly, "Today is my grandfather's birthday."
"Hmm?" Wu Jian looked up blankly. Meng Yanxiu had very fair skin and cold eyes. There was rarely a smile in his eyes, but when the corners of his lips were raised, he looked very calm.
"Hmm?" Meng Yanxiu nodded to her.
She looked to the side and saw that the guests were standing up one after another. She came to her senses and stood up immediately. Meng Yanxiu pulled out a chair for her.
Somehow, she felt like she was deaf. She could hear Meng Yanxiu talking, but just now, she couldn't hear any other sounds.
"It's okay." Meng Yanxiu raised his wine glass and signaled her with his eyes to raise her coconut water.
In a moment, all the guests raised their glasses at the same time to congratulate Meng Zhu on his 80th birthday.
After the banquet officially started, people came to toast Meng Yanxiu from time to time and exchange greetings. Meng Yanxiu didn't even stand up, just sat there and responded, rarely saying anything, as if he was deliberately ending the conversation.
He didn't feel embarrassed at all. Instead, Kirimi anxiously scratched the tablecloth with his fingers.
"Mr. Meng, is this your family dinner?"
Kiri realized something was wrong and continued, "Is it inappropriate for me to be here?"
"If it's not here, do you want to take the main seat?"
Meng Yanxiu raised his eyebrows. Seeing that she didn't relax because of his joke, he asked again, "Are you uncomfortable?"
"..." Wu Jianwei didn't expect that the meal she was going to have was this kind of meal. "I'm here to work. There's nothing uncomfortable about it. It's just that I don't know what I need to do."
Meng Yanxiu waved, and Lin Jue came quickly from behind. He was also dressed very formally. Meng Yanxiu instructed him, "Lin Jue, explain your background and relationship to her."
Lin Jue: "Okay, Mr. Meng, what can you tell Secretary Wu and what can't you tell her?"
"You're asking me so directly, right in front of me." Kirimi smiled slightly, "Do you need me to step aside first?"
Meng Yanxiu told her that it was unnecessary and said to Lin Jue, "You can tell her anything that can be told, but you can't tell her anything that can't be told."
Lin Jue: "Understood."
"Do you understand?" Wu Jianwei felt a little sympathetic towards him and asked Meng Yanxiu, "Then what? What else do I need to do before the meeting?"
"Eat first. When you're full, come to the third floor. Go up the stairs from the backyard and find the room on the left."
Meng Yanxiu only drank a glass of wine, threw down these words, put the napkin on the table, and got up and left.
Wu Jianwei was confused. How could she eat? It was not like she had never eaten before.
But the food did look delicious, especially the white wine mussels and geoduck sashimi. The waiter was very perceptive and saw that she liked it. He gave her some supplements after she ate a little, and she couldn't stop eating.
"Why don't you sit down?" Wu Jianwei asked Lin Jue. She was not used to talking to people like this.
Lin Jue lowered his head and explained, "I wasn't invited."
"Ah?" Wu Jianwei asked again, "I was invited?"
"Of course." Lin Jue smiled awkwardly and began to introduce, "The person sitting in the main seat opposite is Meng Zhu, Mr. Meng's grandfather. He will be the one to decide the next generation of heirs to the Meng family."
"Oh, he looks very imposing. He is still so energetic at the age of eighty."
Wu Jianwei glanced in that direction and saw Meng Zhu sitting upright. Unlike Meng Yanxiu, he was chatting and laughing with the guests, and the overall atmosphere on the opposite side was more relaxed.
"Of course. Keep looking. The person to Meng Zhu's left is Fang Youlan, Meng Zhu's only daughter, 50 years old this year, and also Mr. Meng's mother. To Fang Youlan's left is Meng Huaiyu, her husband, 45 years old."
"Wait a minute." Kirimi put down her knife and fork. She couldn't sort out such a complicated relationship in her mind while eating. She even wanted to turn on the computer and draw a mind map.
Lin Jue: "Didn't you understand?"
Wu Jianwei: "Mr. Meng's grandfather's surname is Meng, so why is his mother's surname Fang? And why is his father's surname Meng?"
Lin Jue: "Fang Youlan took his mother's surname, and then..."
"Oh, I see." Kirimi lowered his voice slightly, "Is Mr. Meng's father a son-in-law?"
Lin Jue: “No.”
"Hmm?" Wu Jianwei asked him to stop talking. She wanted to think for herself. "That's not right. Meng Huai is 45 years old. How did he give birth to a 26-year-old son like Meng Yanxiu? Having a child at 19?"
Lin Jue: "Meng Huaiyu is not Mr. Meng's father."
Kirimi smelled gossip: "He is my stepfather?"
Lin Jue panicked: "Don't say that, especially not in front of President Meng."
"Oh." It seems that Meng Yanxiu and Meng Huai don't have a good relationship. Wu Jianwei then asked, "Then who is Mr. Meng's father over there?"
"No one." Lin Jue lowered his voice even more. "This is something that cannot be discussed."
Wu Jianwei: "Oh, okay, then tell me what you can tell."
Lin Jue: "Keep looking to the left. Meng Huai and the young man on his left are Meng Yuetong, whom you know. He is the son of Meng Huai and Fang Youlan, 23 years old."
"Then wouldn't he be more welcomed in this family than Mr. Meng?" Wu Jianwei didn't know why she was worried about the situation of Meng Yanxiu, a rich man.
"That's... hard to say." Lin Jue continued, "The girl with her hair in a bun sitting across from Fang Youlan is called Song Yan. The Song and Meng families are old friends, and Fang Youlan treats her like a half-daughter."
Wu Jianwei tilted his head slightly and took in Song Yan's appearance. "It's normal for elders to like such a graceful and beautiful girl."
"Not entirely. There's someone who doesn't like her."
Lin Jue lowered his voice even more: "Look at the person sitting to Meng Zhu's right. That's his sister Meng Ruoting, also Mr. Meng's great-aunt. She's 50 years old and unmarried. No matter how Song Yan tries to please her, she won't respond in kind."
Wu Jianwei looked carefully and saw that the aunt was the most elegant person at the table. The silk scarf around her neck was tied in a unique way. She was drinking wine with big gulps and eating meat elegantly, and the furry biscuit was sleeping quietly on her legs.
"The cookies are so cute!" Kirimi couldn't help but exclaim.
"Ah?" Lin Jue frowned, "Let's get back to business first."
"Hmm..." Wu Jianwei looked away and asked in confusion, "Why does Song Yan want to please the Meng family?"
"Uh." Lin Jue was silent.
"Is this something you can't talk about?" Wu Jianwei was too lazy to ask about other people's private affairs. She had another question, "There's a 30-year age difference between my aunt and Mr. Meng's grandfather? In other words, Mr. Meng's mother and my aunt were born in the same year?"
"That's right." This time Lin Jue answered quickly and asked again, "Have you almost mastered it?"
"Then what?" Wu Jianwei still didn't understand what she should do after learning all this.
Lin Jue: "Are you full?"
"Yeah." Wu Jianwei said while wiping her mouth. If she ate any more, her skirt would no longer be slimming.
"Then go find Mr. Meng, he will tell you." Lin Jue led her to the stairs in the backyard.
"Okay, thank you. It's not easy for you either." Wu Jianwei understood very well the bitterness of his fellow worker.
"Uh... you're welcome." In fact, Lin Jue felt that it was worth it as he received the double salary, so he went back to work without stopping.
Kirimi Wei walked up the stairs alone, but was suddenly stopped by someone who appeared.
"Hey, Jianwei? Is it really you?"
Meng Yuetong stood in front of her with a glass of red wine in his hand. If Meng Huaiyu hadn't asked, "Who is that in the green dress?", he wouldn't have noticed that his former secretary was there too.
Wu Jianwei looked at him, frozen in place, hesitated for a moment, and still maintained the same address: "Hello, Mr. Meng."
"Jianwei, why are you here? Where are you going?" Meng Yuetong still had blond hair and his face was red from drinking, like a cooked pig's head.
Wu Jianwei thought he had misunderstood her and was intruding without permission, so she explained, "Boss Meng has some work to assign to me."
"Is that so?" Meng Yuetong handed her the red wine glass in his hand. "Then it's fate that we met. Have a sip."
"Sorry, I don't drink." Wu Jianwei said she didn't want to drink, but still politely took the wine and held it in her hand, "I'll go first."
Meng Yuetong opened and closed his mouth, shook his head, returned to his seat, and replied to Meng Huai.
"Dad, that's the secretary from my brother's company."
"Why did your brother bring her here?"
Meng Huaiyu asked while wiping the oil stains off Fang Youlan's fingers. Song Yan listened quietly opposite, paying attention to Fang Youlan's needs from time to time.
"There must be some kind of job." Meng Yuetong answered nonchalantly while chatting with the uncles sitting next to him. However, the Meng family's old friends had no interest in this green-butt boy.
Wu Jianwei was also wondering what kind of work it was that required him to memorize all the relationships in his family first? Moreover, why wasn't Meng Yuetong's wife present?
As she was thinking, she reached the third floor. She held the red wine glass in one hand and knocked on the door with the other, but it sounded like there was no one inside.
She put her hand on the door handle and turned it gently, and the door opened. She considered that if she needed to make any preparations before the meeting, such as adjusting the projector, pouring tea, etc., she could do it first.
As she walked in, there was a long entrance corridor. She sighed and said, "This conference room is really big." She wanted to let Meng Yanxiu know that she was here, so she didn't close the door.
She walked through the entrance with the wine in her hand, and when she looked at the scene in front of her, she was shocked again and again.
This is not a conference room at all. How can there be a 2-meter-wide bed in it?
This is clearly a bedroom.
Her first reaction was that not only had she mistakenly entered someone else's bedroom, but she hadn't changed her shoes.
Just as she was about to flee in panic, she turned around and bumped into a body. The only thing she could blame was the carpet that made no sound when she walked on it.
"What are you doing here?" Meng Yanxiu had just finished speaking when his eyes swept behind her.
The moment Wu Jianwei bumped into him, she was so scared that her hand slipped and the red wine glass flew onto the bed.
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