Chapter 97 Gathering
Six o'clock in the afternoon.
Chen Su, who ended the meeting early, was looking through his clothes in the lounge attached to his office.
His secretary stood by, offering him advice.
How's this outfit?
Chen Su came out dressed in a neat suit and asked his female secretary for her opinion.
Female secretary: ...
Aside from the color, what's the difference between this outfit and the previous one?
The female secretary said with difficulty, "Mr. Chen, if this is a private banquet, I think this outfit is a bit too formal."
Wearing this to dinner with friends you're not close to is a bit too intimidating, bro.
Chen Su thought for a moment, then picked up his wallet: "Come with me to the mall."
To achieve perfection, I'll just buy a new set of clothes.
The female secretary smiled and nodded: "Yes, Mr. Chen."
I have to work overtime again, help!
————
A five-star hotel in S city.
Pei Ning opened the door with a stern expression and looked at Xue Mingyue outside: "What?"
Xue Mingyue smiled and said, "Are you a bride-to-be? Aren't you all dressed up yet?"
Seeing that Pei Ning didn't speak, he tried to be friendly but was met with indifference, saying, "Are you still angry? That's enough. I only have one idea that I haven't even acted on yet. Are you really going to ignore me?"
"I really like An'an. If you're really my brother, don't try to take him from me."
After saying this, Pei Ning stepped aside to let Xue Mingyue into the house.
"Fine, I won't fight you for it. I'll wait until you get rejected before I make my move."
Xue Mingyue swaggered into the well-air-conditioned room, squinted her eyes, and scanned Pei Ning up and down like a scanner.
"You're really going to wear this outfit?"
Pei Ning: "Is that not allowed? I learned it from a fashion blogger, and it looks pretty cool."
Xue Mingyue rolled her eyes and said, "Big brother, are you going to pick up girls? Anyone who didn't know better would think you were a high-street king dressed like that."
Pei Ning glanced down at her clothes: "Are they really that bad?"
Xue Mingyue: "Believe it or not."
Pei Ning: "Tsk, then you tell me what to wear."
————
7 PM.
After putting on makeup and getting ready, An Jin called Yan Qing, who lived on the same floor but in a different room, to remind her to get ready to go out.
She created a small group chat for the restaurant owners who were confirmed to dine in person, and posted the restaurant's location in the group well in advance.
They had agreed to meet at eight o'clock. When An Jin brought Yan Qing to the place, there were already two or three people waiting in the private room.
An Jin pushed open the door and saw that there were already people in the private room. Her first reaction was that she had gone to the wrong place.
Just as she was about to ask the waiter what was going on, she saw the woman sitting in the private room stand up and familiarly beckon her over.
"An'an, come quickly, we've been waiting for you for a while."
The voice sounded familiar, and the person immediately recognized An Jin's name.
An Jin lifted her skirt and walked over to hug the girl who was excitedly opening her arms.
"Hello, hello, are you Qiaoqiao?"
Zhao Bingqiao smiled demurely, her face slightly flushed: "Mm."
"You're so beautiful, Qiaoqiao." Upon receiving a positive answer, An Jin immediately praised, "How come you're so young? I thought you were much older than me, but I didn't expect you to be so young. You're about my age, right? My goodness, how can you be so rich and so young and beautiful? I'm really jealous of you."
Zhao Bingqiao was easily swayed by An Jin's flattery, her lips curving into a wide smile as An Jin praised her.
After exchanging friendly compliments, An Jin, arm in arm with Zhao Bingqiao, walked to another man in the private room.
Hello, who are you?
The handsome man stood up and said with a smile, "An'an, I am 7612."
An Jin opened her eyes wide: "Brother 76, you actually look like this."
She reached out and shook hands with 76, saying as she did so, "You're so handsome, 76! I haven't seen you in the live stream for so long. Have you been very busy in real life lately?"
76: "Yes, it's been a while since I watched your live stream. How's your live stream going?"
An Jin winked playfully: "Of course it's thriving! I'm a top streamer now."
76 smiled and pulled out a gift bag from behind him: "Congratulations, this is a gift for you."
An Jin looked at the huge logo on the gift bag, and her smile became much more genuine.
"Thank you, brother."
An Jin respectfully accepted the gift bag with both hands, then turned around and handed it to Yan Qing to keep.
It wasn't just 76 who gave gifts. An Jin had just handed the bag in her hand to Yan Qing when Zhao Bingqiao turned around and handed her another bag.
"An'an, this is a gift I bought for you!"
Zhao Bingqiao is also a wealthy woman, very generous, and the gift bags have a big logo on them, but she's not from the same company as 76.
An Jin accepted all the gifts, took the seat of honor, and began chatting with the two of them.
The conversation consisted mainly of checking household registrations and discussing local tourist attractions in S City. After the three of them had finished their chat, more and more people began to enter the private room.
Pei Ning and Xue Mingyue arrived very early, almost as soon as An Jin arrived, they pushed open the door to the private room.
When they entered the house, An Jin was leaning against Zhao Bingqiao, and 76 was taking pictures of the two of them with his phone.
Pei Ning's face darkened as soon as he entered the room.
Yan Qing was all alone in the small private room. It would be strange if he was in a good mood as soon as he opened the door and saw Yan Qing.
Xue Mingyue's face didn't change much, and she acted very naturally after entering the room.
He greeted 76 and Zhao Bingqiao with a smile, and only looked at An Jin at the end.
An Jin was dressed very formally today. The dress she wore was a gown that Yan Qing took her to buy at the mall, and it was worth five figures.
It suited An Jin perfectly, making her face look like a peach blossom in February, stunningly beautiful.
Now, this beautiful peach blossom is smiling brightly as she walks over and extends her hand to Pei Ning, whose face is dark with sincerity and cheerfulness.
"Kaixin, you're here so early too?"
This form of address felt off. Following An Jin's words, Zhao Bingqiao and 76 turned their gazes toward Pei Ning with a different kind of meaning.
Pei Ning's expression shifted rapidly, but in the end, he was captivated by An Jin's smile.
"Um."
Pei Ning reached out and grasped An Jin's hand.
The memory of their last contact seemed to linger in his palms; their hands clasped together, like two magnets stuck to each other.
Xue Mingyue stood sideways behind Pei Ning, her gaze lingering on An Jin and their clasped hands.
Yan Qing, standing in the distance, had a deep, somber gaze. Whenever such moments came, he became the perpetually sleepy husband in the film.
After shaking hands with Pei Ning, An Jin naturally looked at Xue Mingyue.
"You look familiar."
An Jin looked at Xue Mingyue and asked, "Have we met somewhere before? I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."
Xue Mingyue smiled faintly and said, "Old Pei and I are friends. We met last time you went hiking."
An Jin felt a pang of anxiety upon hearing Xue Mingyue's words.
Ever since that mountain climb, Pei Ning has been relentlessly pursuing An Jin.
Pei Ning alone was already enough to leave her helpless, and now with Xue Mingyue added to the mix, things have become even more uncontrollable and troublesome for An Jin.
"Oh, I see." An Jin said with perfect composure, "I was wondering why you looked so familiar. Did you come here with Lao Pei?"
Xue Mingyue said playfully, "I wouldn't say that."
An Jin asked in confusion, "Huh?"
Xue Mingyue: "An'an, I'm your fan too, I'm Ultraman."
An Jin exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, yes, I remember you."
She then extended her hand and said, "Hello, Salted Egg Bro."
For a moment, Xue Mingyue's smile faltered: "My name is Xue Mingyue, you can call me Brother Mingyue."
Salted Egg Bro doesn't need to do that.
An Jin pretended not to understand: "Okay, Salty Egg Bro."
Xue Mingyue gritted her teeth, about to say something, but her eyes met Pei Ning's, who was being ignored by An Jin.
He raised an eyebrow and shrugged, saying, "Fine, call me whatever you want."
When Xue Mingyue took her seat, she chose a very strange spot.
Zhao Bingqiao looked at Xue Mingyue's seat and asked in confusion, "Um, Salty Egg, are you really going to sit that far away?"
Sitting next to Yan Qing, Xue Mingyue laughed and said, "That's right, sitting here is to serve everyone. I'll pay tonight, An'an, don't try to take it from me."
An Jin could tell from a glance that Xue Mingyue had ill intentions, but she trusted Yan Qing, so she didn't stop Xue Mingyue's actions. She just asked the waiter to bring the menu and joked, "Okay, then I'll order the 1982 Lafite. I'll make sure Mingyue pays for all the food she eats tonight."
As soon as An Jin finished speaking, Xue Mingyue sensed something was wrong. He looked up and, sure enough, met Pei Ning's death stare.
An Jin, who had noticed everything, smiled wickedly and thought to herself: You little punk, trying to mess with me? I'll make sure you get what's coming to you.
Unaware of anything, Zhao Bingqiao asked worriedly, "An'an, what are you laughing at?"
Nobody's talking to you, so why are you suddenly laughing?
Pei Ning withdrew her gaze and looked at An Jin with a puzzled expression.
Xue Mingyue, realizing An Jin's intentions, couldn't help but laugh and started laughing out loud.
Sensing something was amiss, 76 continued to observe.
As for Yan Qing, there was no place for him in this kind of situation; he was already practically dead.
"It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered some fun things."
An Jin made up a random excuse, and to prevent Zhao Bingqiao from asking any more questions, she changed the subject, saying, "There are already so many people here, waiter, please bring the menu over so we can order first. It will be almost eight o'clock by the time the food arrives."
As one of only two girls in the private room, Zhao Bingqiao was quickly handed a menu.
An Jin looked at her eldest sister sincerely: "Qiao Qiao, you order the food. There are more and more people in the private room. I need to go and greet the boss who just arrived. I'm leaving the important task of ordering the food to you!"
Zhao Bingqiao felt a great sense of responsibility. She worriedly asked, "Am I going to order alone? What if I order dishes that others don't like?"
"It's okay, just order a few more dishes. If there's anything you don't like, you can eat something else. Don't worry about ordering."
As An Jin spoke, seeing that Zhao Bingqiao still looked worried, she directly pulled 76, who was sitting next to her drinking tea, into the conversation.
“It just so happens that 76 is free. Qiaoqiao, if you’re unsure about anything, ask 76. You two can discuss it together.”
76 looked up upon hearing this, but before he could utter a word of protest, An Jin, who had walked over, slapped him on the back.
"It's up to you now, 76."
76 pouted: "Can I say no?"
An Jin smiled: "Are you looking for a beating?"
Seeing that Zhao Bingqiao and 76 both had things to do, Pei Ning, who had nothing to do, eagerly found something to do for herself: "An'an, what about me?"
An Jin: "You come with me to greet the guests."
Upon hearing this, Xue Mingyue immediately started stirring things up: "An'an, you've arranged everything for the people in the private room, what about me?"
An Jin: "You're the boss who's paying, so you just wait to eat."
An Jin's words silenced Xue Mingyue's mischievous intentions.
He sat obediently in his chair, playing on his phone and drinking tea, while eavesdropping on An Jin's conversations with everyone who entered the private room.
The more Xue Mingyue listened, the more she understood why An Jin had so many bosses.
She truly provides ample emotional value; basically, she can identify every boss within three sentences of them walking in.
It's just that maybe I'm not old enough, and my greetings with the boss are a bit formulaic.
Female bosses are usually greeted with screams, hugs, and compliments, while male bosses are usually met with compliments, handshakes, and invitations to take a seat.
An Jin's emotional intelligence is actually average. She is very good at reading people's expressions. Once she notices that the boss in the private room is bored or annoyed, she will immediately go up to chat with him and start finding things for the bored boss to do.
Gradually, more and more people entered the private room, and Pei Ning alone was no longer enough for An Jin to manage, so she called Crab Boss to her side again.
Pei Ning acted as a selfie stick, Mr. Crab greeted the guests, and with An Jin by their side, the three of them made perfect arrangements for the owners in the private room.
8:20 PM.
The waiters began serving the dishes one after another.
An Jin opened her phone and, in response to Mr. Crab's question, said softly, "There's still one boss in the group who hasn't come yet. Brother, you eat with them first. I'll go out and call him to ask if he's coming."
"Okay, do you want me to come with you?"
An Jin smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, brother, but no need. I'll just call it at the entrance of the private room and be back in three minutes. You go ahead and eat."
Chen Su, who was stuck in traffic, soon received a call from An Jin.
"Hey, bro, did you run into some trouble on the way?"
Chen Su looked out the car window at the rushing scenery: "Yeah, there's a bit of traffic during rush hour."
"Oh, it's okay, brother. Take your time. Let me know when you're almost there and I'll come pick you up. Most of the other bosses have already arrived, so we won't wait for you."
Chen Su hummed in agreement: "It's alright, you don't need to wait for me."
An Jin, who hadn't planned to wait for him in the first place, said gently, "I'll wait for your brother. Be sure to let me know when you arrive, I want to come pick you up."
I've already spent so much money on her, so even if she can't wait for me to eat, I still have to accept her invitation, otherwise I'll offend her too much.
Chen Su felt a warmth in his heart: "Okay, I'll call you when I arrive."
An Jin cheerfully replied, "Okay! Be careful on the road, bro. I'll hang up now."
After finishing her call, An Jin went back to her private room to eat.
With her there, the already lively atmosphere in the private room became even more lively.
More than a meal, what the business owners who come offline are simply looking to meet their favorite streamers.
An Jin really enjoyed being the center of attention at the party; the more she was being looked at, the more enthusiastic she became.
She stood up and observed everyone's expressions from above, always able to take care of everyone's feelings in the first instance.
Even Xue Mingyue, who deliberately tried to minimize her presence, was mentioned by her many times.
Everyone stared at An Jin with shining eyes.
At this moment, in this private room, An Jin is undoubtedly the star.
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