0004 004 Young Master Hualin
Qi Yu rarely spoke to her in such an aggressive manner, but she had seen him at work and during social engagements, with a forced smile that was very similar to his current demeanor.
She was overwhelmed with a sense of grievance that she couldn't describe and that no one else could understand. Qi Yu could only watch as she slowly slid down the door frame, clutching her tightly bound skirt, her breathing becoming heavier.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
The man squatted down, his hands resting on either side of his body, wanting to embrace her, but he didn't know where to start. It had been a long time, not just these past two days. Her subconscious avoidance of him felt like needles piercing his heart, tearing his hard-won heart back into pieces.
"I'm not feeling unwell, you can go out now, Dad."
The Ministry of Commerce's reception started at 3 p.m. Qi Yu, as the vice minister, was the initiator and organizer of the reception. Yangcheng was quite a distance from Jingyang, so he left the dressing room, went back to change his clothes, and then prepared to leave.
As he straightened his tie, the maid came in to collect the dirty laundry. Qi Yu saw in the mirror that the white shirt stained with lipstick had been lifted up.
"Just leave it there for now, I'll clean it up myself when I get back."
"Yes, sir." The maid put down the clothes, took the rest, and went out.
Having trained with Qi Yu for so many years, Qi Shuyao had long since learned to control her emotions. Just a second ago she was trembling uncontrollably, but now she simply wiped the sweat from her neck and calmly got into the car. It would take more than an hour to get from here to the banquet venue in Jingyang, which would be enough time for her to adjust her emotions.
Qi Yu was busier than she had imagined. As soon as he got in the car, he set up his laptop to work, and the phone kept ringing.
They sat side by side in the back seat, with a person's distance between them. The girl was quiet as if she didn't exist. She turned her head to look out the window. Beyond the highway was a natural, barren mountain range with peaks and deep valleys, all covered with vegetation. Even if a huge thing fell in, it would be instantly submerged and never found again.
She had always been very interested in this kind of natural landscape. The more mysterious and thrilling it looked, the more she wanted to go inside and see it for herself. The lush green vegetation absorbed her bad mood, so she turned around with a smile whenever she heard Qi Yu's voice.
“I went to the back mountain at noon and saw that a fountain could be carved out at the western mountain pass. You could take some photos and have some tea there, which would be very comfortable.”
"Huh? Ah?"
She didn't react in time, and Qi Yu, looking at her smiling face, was also momentarily stunned.
"What, my little princess has finally decided to smile?"
He mimicked her tone, adding a slight inflection at the end, which made the driver in the front seat grin. Qi Shuyao widened her smile and relaxed her posture.
"What... I mean, why are you explaining this to me?"
Don't you want to know?
"……In no mood."
She was being stubborn as always, pouting her lips, but she was secretly overjoyed. Seeing her familiar face, Qi Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although he still couldn't figure out what was wrong with her lately, the atmosphere in the car had clearly become more harmonious, and all three people in the car relaxed.
Upon arriving at the banquet venue, they found that the old hotel had no underground parking. The car was parked at the entrance, and the two got out under the blazing sun. The car door opened, and a large black umbrella was placed over Qi Yu's head. He led the doorman around to the other side of the car, opened the door himself, and took out the young girl inside, placing her arm in the crook of his arm.
That stiff feeling returned, and Qi Shuyao followed along with stiff steps, nodding slightly and returning the greetings to the layers of greeters as she walked towards the main hall.
Zhou Cheng had already arranged everything here. All he needed to do was come over and check it. She also looked around the venue and could tell at a glance how boring it would be tonight.
The time came, and people came in one after another. These people were called entrepreneurs, financial tycoons, bosses, big shots. They were once the targets of everyone's hatred, but later a large number of people rushed up to call them father. Now, more people curse them as capitalists. Qi Shuyao has always had only one evaluation of them: disgusting middle-aged men. Each of them exudes boredom and is no different from ordinary people, or even more annoying.
But she still put on her standard rich girl smile, stood next to Qi Yu, and nodded to everyone who came over to compliment her on her beauty. In their eyes, that was her only redeeming quality.
As the meeting hall grew larger, the polite and perfunctory pleasantries became tiresome. These capitalists had pocketed all the money, yet they still pretended to be putting on a show of vanity projects, each one acting as if they were particularly responsive to national policies. They stood ramrod straight during the meeting, but once that facade was torn away, they probably wouldn't even recognize each other face to face.
The banquet was described as a relaxing gathering, and indeed, all the official procedures were canceled. There were no speeches from leaders or polite applause and cheers. Everyone gathered in small groups and chatted amongst themselves.
"There's food and drinks over there, and Miss Song is here too. Let's go have some fun."
Qi Yu bowed his head and gave her some instructions, then joined in.
Song Yusheng waved to her from across half the venue, and she waved back. Seeing that Qi Yu was no longer paying attention to this place, she secretly took a glass of wine and floated over.
Crossing half the venue, she took the opportunity to observe the female companions around her who had been abandoned by their men. As expected of an informal occasion, the number of women who brought their wives along could be counted on one hand.
"Oh my, my young lady looks absolutely stunning today."
Song Yusheng came up to her and put his arm around her shoulder. The two of them were about the same height and looked very harmonious standing together.
"Don't even mention it. This was a sample I got on the spot. It was a runway piece. It was especially big around the waist. My mom had to stitch it up inside, and it's now too tight. I have to hold my breath to walk and talk."
When girlfriends get together, they naturally have endless whispers to share—topics that even the best boyfriends can't discuss. They linked arms and chattered away at the edge of the venue, like two little birds with their wings pressed together.
"Don't talk about me. Why did you come alone today? Where's Su Shaojin? Where's his father? Didn't they come?"
"He's already gone into politics, why is he still coming to this kind of event? But given his father's ambition, maybe he's eyeing your son Qi's position."
"That's it? I thought he would at least go to the central government to buy himself an official position."
"You really think highly of him."
As they talked, they walked to the dining area. Qi Shuyao tilted her head back and downed her drink, then looked down slightly to select small cakes. Song Yusheng, who was on a diet, would never touch such things.
She was standing to Qi Shuyao's right, looking at her phone, but a shadow fell over her left side and lingered for a long time. The girl turned around in confusion and met the smiling eyes of the beautiful lady above.
"This one is delicious, you should try it."
She pushed over a plate of small cakes she had just chosen, smiling beautifully. Qi Shuyao didn't recognize this face and couldn't identify her, so she could only smile politely and accept the cakes, saying thank you.
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