Chapter 31 Who is the host and who is the guest?
On the day of the banquet.
Lu Ning, dressed in a little black dress, came downstairs but didn't see Qiao Wu. She wandered around the house for a while and couldn't help but ask the maid, "Where's Qiao Wu?"
"Butler Xiao Qiao has gone to the banquet hall."
Lu Ning: "Oh."
He paused, then added, "Thank you."
The maid who answered the question was flattered; it was the first time the young lady had ever thanked them!
Previously, they not only didn't speak much, but they also rarely showed a pleasant expression. However, since Xiao Qiao took over as housekeeper, everyone in the family has become exceptionally cheerful.
Lu Ning waited downstairs for a while, but no one else came down, so she had no choice but to walk out the door by herself.
She was actually a little nervous because it was her first time attending a banquet.
The Lu family doesn't have the concept of a family, nor do they care about holidays or anniversaries. Even on New Year's Eve, they are scattered in various places at home and abroad. She is usually not invited to any business banquets.
So she wanted to find someone to go with her, but Qiao Wu was so busy today, so she decided against it.
You can go by yourself; I used to go by myself when school started.
They eat and drink, then leave when it's time to go.
The guests' cars were parked in the guest parking lot, and then they walked to the banquet hall. There were people along the way, but she didn't recognize any of them, so she walked alone on the side of the road.
"Lu Ning?"
Hearing the voice, Lu Ning turned around and found that it was the person who had accompanied her to do her homework in the library last time.
She stopped.
Guo Liyan quickly stepped forward to catch up with her: "Why are you alone? Where are your family?"
"have no idea."
Guo Liyan thought for a moment: "Are you going to the banquet hall? Shall we go together?"
Lu Ning had overheard Qiao Wu reasoning with Lu Yingchi at the dinner table before, so she objectively didn't dislike him too much and nodded.
Guo Liyan breathed a sigh of relief and handed her what he was holding: "I couldn't give it to you last time because of an accident, so I bought a new one. This is a gift specially for you."
Lu Ning spoke quickly: "You came to see the monkeys and even brought me a gift?"
Guo Liyan: "Huh?"
"……fine."
I've been brainwashed by Lu Yingchi.
Fortunately, Lu Jinzhi was not there.
However, this time Lu Ning did not refuse, but accepted the gift from the other party.
Seeing this, Guo Liyan finally felt relieved.
Actually, his attendance at the banquet at the Lu family's house today was an accident; he didn't really intend to do anything.
He had only been in the Guo family for a short time with his mother, and Guo Yangzhou would never delegate the company's power to an illegitimate son like him. His only value was to appease Lu Yingchi or to curry favor with people who could bring benefits to the Guo family.
If he had actually secured the opportunity last time, it wouldn't have been him coming here to meet with these top figures, but Guo Yangzhou.
He knew his own limitations; his knowledge and experience were insufficient to enter the top circles. So, the more he said, the more mistakes he would make. If a suitable opportunity came along, he would let it go. If not, he would stay put and not cause any more trouble in such a setting.
So he simply did what he could. This time, he really wanted to make up for his mistake and give Lu Ning a pure gift.
The two entered the banquet hall, and Guo Liyan was stunned by the scene before him.
The Lu family owns hotels and hosts numerous cocktail parties of varying sizes, but reporters are not allowed to enter the Lu family's private dinners, which are usually held only at the Lu residence.
This place is even better than a hotel. It has four floors, with the lobby on the first floor and the tea room on the second floor serving as activity areas. It also connects to a garden and a swimming pool. The space is very large, so no matter how many guests there are, it will not feel crowded.
The third and fourth floors are lounges prepared in advance for each guest, and every painting on the wall is a masterpiece by a famous artist.
None of the decorations are overly luxurious, yet they exude a restrained and sophisticated atmosphere in the details.
No wonder so many people are desperate to get involved with the Lu family.
Guo Liyan was wearing a bespoke suit, but even now, standing in the crowd, he still felt a sense of inferiority, as if he were wearing ill-fitting clothes and trying too hard to look presentable.
The banquet had not yet officially started, and Lu Jinzhi had not shown up.
All he wanted to do was find a place to curl up, so he asked Lu Ning, "Where are you going?"
Lu Ning had no interest in these social engagements, and no one knew her anyway, so she hung the gift bag on her elbow, picked up two cakes, and walked towards the garden swing, taking a bite with one hand as she went: "I'm not going."
Guo Liyan had nowhere else to go, so he followed behind her. When she sat down on the swing, he sat down on the chair behind her and asked softly, "I'll hold this for you first, you eat first."
Since she had already accepted the gift, there was no reason to return it. Lu Ning shook her head: "No need."
As they were talking, several people emerged from the depths of the garden. One of them stopped when he saw Guo Liyan, raising his eyebrows high: "Guo Liyan?"
Guo Liyan looked up, and upon seeing the person who had arrived, a smile appeared on his usually indifferent expression. He stood up and greeted him, "Young Master Qin."
Someone nearby asked, "Who is this?"
Qin Tianrui laughed and said, "It's fun."
Guo Liyan's expression changed slightly.
"Given your family's circumstances, you shouldn't be here," Qin Tianrui said, walking up to him and looking down at him. "Did you come here by yourself?"
"Um."
"I heard that you and Wang Ziming and his group came to the Lu residence a while ago. Those guys were blacklisted by Lu Yingchi and sent to the police station. Recently, they've been locked up and educated by their families. But you..." Qin Tianrui scoffed, "You're quite capable of getting out of there. It seems you coaxed Lu Yingchi quite well that day, which is why you're here today."
Guo Liyan maintained his smile and remained silent.
He couldn't refute it, after all, he was just a dog released by the Guo family to fawn over others.
Anyone who wants to curry favor with him has the right to step on him, and he can't argue back, which is why he's reluctant to stay in the lobby.
Qin Tianrui comes from a good family. His father had a private relationship with Lu Jiang in his early years, and now his elder brother, who has inherited the family business, has always maintained ties with the Lu family.
It can be said that during the two years that Lu Jinzhi gave up everything in China to develop his career abroad, only Qin Tianrui's older brother, Qin Lian, stood at the top of the pyramid among his peers in China.
Seeing that Guo Liyan remained silent, Qin Tianrui, who had been feeling frustrated for most of the day, finally felt relieved.
Those who attended the Lu family banquet were all formidable individuals; apart from a few brainless idiots like Wang Ziming, no one dared to cause trouble at the Lu residence.
However, Qin Tianrui disliked the Lu family at all; in fact, he could even say he hated them.
He felt that the Qin family's status was not low, and he himself had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth since childhood. How was he any worse than those two good-for-nothings, Lu Yingchi and Lu Xuan?
And then there's that Lu Jinzhi. He's been abroad for two years, but he acts like he's some big shot. Whenever someone mentions his brother, he always brings up Lu Jinzhi again.
Every time he clashed with this family, he always had to back down.
Therefore, he wanted to have everything the Lu brothers had; and he tried every means to get what the Lu brothers didn't have, which had almost become a thorn in his side.
Guo Liyan is a well-known "waiter" in the industry. He is always there wherever there are people, but whenever Lu Yingchi is present, Guo Liyan will only revolve around Lu Yingchi.
Today, Qin Tianrui was forced to come to the Lu residence by his older brother. Knowing he couldn't cause any trouble here, he had been holding back his anger. In just a short while, he had already found a place to smoke a lot.
Now things are different. He can't provoke others, but some people will come to make him their fun.
"How did you manage to curry favor with Lu Yingchi?" Qin Tianrui asked. "Try to curry favor with me too. Next time my family hosts a banquet, I'll give you an invitation."
The young men and women with Qin Tianrui were people who often hung out together and knew about Qin Tianrui's dissatisfaction with the Lu brothers. Judging from Qin Tianrui's attitude, they knew what kind of status the person in front of them was.
Everyone burst out laughing and egged them on, saying, "Come on, my family often hosts dinner parties too."
Guo Liyan gently clenched his fist, then released it.
He had no right to refuse or offend anyone; everyone present could easily break him down and make the Guo family abandon him.
Qin Tianrui: "The party hasn't started yet, and we're just killing time anyway, how about we hang out?"
Guo Liyan lowered his eyes: "Okay."
He turned to look at Lu Ning, but she was still engrossed in eating her cake, seemingly oblivious to the conversation.
That's for the best. She's just a little kid and probably wouldn't understand anyway. It wouldn't be good if she got involved.
So he didn't say anything to Lu Ning, but instead followed Qin Tianrui and the others.
After he left, Lu Ning finished the cake in a few bites and followed behind with the gift bag.
There were many guests today, and quite a few brought their children. No one had seen Lu Ning before, so no one paid her any attention.
The first floor was a public space with a lot of people, so Qin Tianrui and his group went up to the second floor, where there were fewer people drinking tea. They planned to find a spot where no one was around.
I walked to the very edge and suddenly saw someone sitting there, separated by a screen.
Only half of the person's face could be seen through the screen; she was a young woman with very fair skin, and even just the half of her face that was visible was stunning.
Her figure was partially visible behind the screen; all that could be seen was that she sat upright, and the way she drank tea exuded a casual nobility.
Humans are visual creatures, so they couldn't help but take a few more glances.
Only Guo Liyan's body suddenly became stiff.
How could he not recognize who that person was, someone he wouldn't even dare to look at?
But now...
Qin Tianrui had already withdrawn his gaze and sat down in a tea room, one seat away from the other person.
"Does anyone know him?" he asked.
Those traveling with him shook their heads: "He looks unfamiliar; it seems like he came alone."
"They look about the same age." Qin Tianrui was still reeling from that first impression of her. "Are there really people like this in the industry?"
"If you're interested, find an opportunity to get to know him," someone next to him laughed. "Everyone gives you, Young Master Qin, some face."
Qin Tianrui raised an eyebrow. That was indeed the case.
Guo Liyan, who was listening nearby, stumbled and hit his knee on the table, turning pale with pain.
"If you can't sit, then stand." Qin Tianrui raised his hand to block him, mocking, "Don't you even know where you should stand?"
Each tea room had a servant to brew tea for the guests, but Qin Tianrui told the servant who came over to leave: "We don't need you here anymore."
Just then, Lu Ning, carrying gifts, passed by their tea room. She was about to sit down at the empty tea table when she saw the person in the far corner.
"!!!"
So that's where she was! No wonder I couldn't find her!
She ran forward a few steps, sat down in front of Qiao Wu with a thud, and placed her gift on the table.
Qiao Wu, who was looking at the documents, was surprised when the pink gift box appeared. She looked up and asked, "How did we get here?"
Tonight's banquet is Lu Jinzhi's show, so she doesn't need to attend. Therefore, she found a corner seat to sit in, so she can be there immediately if anything needs to be resolved. The fixed seat also makes it convenient for the servants to come and find her.
“Unwrap the gift.” Lu Ning pointed to the box.
Qiao Wu asked, "Who sent it?"
"Guo Liyan".
Qiao Wu vaguely remembered this person. She nodded, not too surprised by the matter, but thought that this person was alright in handling things. He had already achieved his goal. His main target at the banquet today was Lu Jinzhi, but he still hadn't forgotten Lu Ning, even though he had been rejected by Lu Ning that day.
Whatever his intentions, it was still quite thoughtful of him to do so.
“He’s behind me,” Lu Ning said again.
Only then did Qiao Wu notice that several people were sitting in a tea room next to her.
But Lu Ning was uttering each word carefully, so something must have happened.
So she put aside what she was doing and asked, "What's wrong?"
“I think they’re very strange.” Lu Ning couldn’t quite understand it. “They know each other, and those people made Guo Liyan fawn over them like he fawned over Lu Yingchi.”
Lu Ning didn't quite understand the intricacies of adult relationships; she was just putting herself in their shoes.
Guo Liyan's way of trying to please Lu Yingchi was to come to her house, play with her, and give her gifts.
These things were within Lu Ning's acceptable range, because Qiao Wu said that these were the means Guo Liyan used to obtain something.
So when Guo Liyan agreed to let these people leave, she did not stop him.
She just felt uncomfortable with what these people were saying, so she followed them.
“But they are different from Lu Yingchi,” she said.
At least Lu Yingchi wouldn't speak to people in that tone.
Qiao Wu knew what had happened as soon as he heard it; those people were clearly there to cause trouble for Guo Liyan, but of course, it was different.
In reality, she has a lot to deal with every day. It's not like she's some kind of Guanyin Bodhisattva saving all sentient beings. She doesn't know Guo Liyan at all, and she won't spare any energy to care about things that don't involve her. As long as it doesn't cross her bottom line, she won't actively meddle in other people's fates.
Just like with Liao Liao back then, if the other party hadn't mustered up the courage to get to know her, Qiao Wu wouldn't have bothered to remind her.
If Zhong Hejing hadn't asked, Qiao Wu wouldn't have bothered with Zhong Min's trivial matters.
It's better to change your own destiny.
She had already spoken up for Guo Liyan once before because he had protected Lu Ning, so they were even.
"You want to get involved?" Qiao Wu asked.
"So I wasn't wrong, right?" Lu Ning looked at the gift on the table.
“My gift,” she said. “Since he gave me what I wanted, shouldn’t I give him something in return?”
It seems that not only Lu Yingchi listened to what was said at the dinner table that day, but Lu Ning did too.
Qiao Wu smiled and stood up: "Then let's go open the gifts."
Lu Ning was puzzled.
But she still followed behind Qiao Wu with her things in her arms, and this time she sat down with Guo Liyan and the others only separated by a screen.
Qiao Wu said, "If you like, take it apart and play with it."
Lu Ning lowered her head and opened her gift box. Inside, besides the doll, there were many cute plush toys, which she really liked.
The maid in charge of the tea room came forward and saw that the young lady and Butler Qiao had switched places, so she asked, "Would you like some tea?"
Lu Ning looked up at Qiao Wu, who simply nodded slightly at her.
Although she didn't quite understand the motive, she knew that Qiao Wu was indicating to her to just stay normal.
"I'd like some juice," Lu Ning said. "And please bring some more pretty little cakes, thank you."
"OK."
The maid went downstairs.
Qin Tianrui heard the child's voice behind him, glanced back, and saw only a little girl playing with a doll through the gap in the screen, but didn't pay much attention.
But when he shifted his gaze again, he saw the woman from before.
The woman sat facing them, this time even closer, so close that she could clearly see the expressions on their faces.
She had a faint smile on her face, and as if sensing his gaze, she gently raised her eyes to look at him.
Qin Tianrui was momentarily stunned by those beautiful eyes.
Why did you sit here?
He instinctively wanted to speak, but realized that there was a screen between them, and the other person had already looked away from him.
At that moment, Qin Tianrui felt a strange sense of relief and impatiently urged Guo Liyan, "What, you can't even make tea?"
For a fleeting moment, Guo Liyan recognized Lu Ning and Qiao Wu's voices. He couldn't help but want to glance at them a few more times, but he ultimately restrained himself.
Oh well, they've already seen how pathetic I was before.
Guo Liyan: "I'm sorry."
He knew his place, so he stood in the position he had previously held as a servant, having practiced each step of the tea-making process a thousand times over, until it was etched into his memory.
The person who deliberately made him make tea certainly didn't just want to drink tea; they wanted to see him make a fool of himself.
Seeing him pick up the boiling water, Qin Tianrui deliberately kicked the table, and after seeing the water spill, he said unhappily, "Are you trying to please others like this? You can't even make a decent cup of tea."
Guo Liyan apologized and continued working, ignoring his reddened hand.
But after he brewed the tea, these people refused to drink it.
Qin Tianrui said, "I suddenly feel like having a drink. Go downstairs and get some wine."
The others also requested, "Could you also get some fruit and some ice?"
"I want a pretty cake too."
What are you dawdling for?
They were talking in short sentences, which Qiao Wu couldn't hear very clearly, since no one would make a big fuss here.
Having only witnessed the other person being scalded by the water, and confirming that something unpleasant had indeed happened, she tapped Lu Ning's arm: "Go and invite your guest here for tea."
Lu Ning understood immediately, and she shouted loudly to the people behind her, "Guo Liyan, do you want to eat cake with me?"
Guo Liyan, who had just stood up, suddenly stopped and looked at the tea room next door in astonishment.
But that person remained seated, sipping tea, as if Lu Ning's words had nothing to do with her.
When Qin Tianrui and the others heard a noise coming from next door, which they had been watching closely, they stopped talking and turned to look.
Lu Ning peeked out from behind the screen: "I had the maid bring a lot of cakes. I can't finish them all, so come and eat with me."
"I……"
Before Guo Liyan could speak, Qin Tianrui interrupted him: "He is my guest now."
Although Qin Tianrui didn't know who the other person was, the fact that the other person suddenly changed positions and another child appeared at this time made it all too obvious that their intention was to help Guo Liyan out of a predicament.
Qin Tianrui felt uncomfortable because it meant that the other side had seen everything he had just done.
“There’s always an order to things,” Qin Tianrui said. “If you want to invite him for tea, why don’t you come with us?”
Lu Ning didn't know how to respond to this, so she turned to look at Qiao Wu.
At this moment, Qiao Wu finally raised her head, stood up, and reached out her hand to Lu Ning.
Lu Ning took her hand and stood up.
Qiao Wu chuckled: "Didn't I tell you to be polite when inviting guests? How can you sit and talk to people like that?"
Qin Tianrui, who had been sitting the whole time while Guo Liyan stood, turned ashen-faced.
He stared at the slender figure next door until the other person walked around the screen and came out.
Everyone present froze for a moment.
Compared to a fleeting glimpse through a screen, facing someone's face directly has a greater visual impact.
The woman was exceptionally tall and wore a beige handmade three-piece suit. The suit jacket was not very regular and had a slightly loose fit. Underneath, she was not wearing a shirt, but only a vest.
The earrings and necklace are from the same collection of diamond jewelry. The necklace hangs down over the blank space above the V-neck vest, making her slender neck and collarbone appear even more ascetic and mysterious.
Her smiling eyes were slightly lowered, her light pupils possessing a captivating charm.
The girl's voice beside him was closer and clearer than before, gentle yet with a hint of nonchalance.
What were you trying to say?
Lu Ning immediately said, "I'd like to invite Guo Liyan to have some cake."
Qin Tianrui asked, "Who are you?"
He was asking Lu Ning a question, but his gaze was fixed on Qiao Wu.
Qiao Wu met his gaze and said calmly, "She is the only granddaughter of Mr. Lu and the only niece of the Lu family's young masters."
Qin Tianrui stared at the little girl in shock.
The Lu family does have a granddaughter, but she has never been very well-known. After all, the Lu brothers often make public appearances, but no one has ever seen this granddaughter.
Qin Tianrui cursed under his breath.
He really did clash with the Lu family!
This made him even more reluctant to give up the person, so he stood up.
For some reason, he felt that the little girl lacked any real authority in her speech, and instead kept looking at the woman's gestures when she spoke, so he asked again, "And who are you?"
As far as he knew, the Lu family did not have a single daughter.
Qiao Wu: "The Lu family's butler."
Butler?!
Everyone stood there, stunned.
Qin Tianrui was so angry at the absurdity that he laughed.
What's even more absurd is that he was actually fooled by the other party's aura, despite being such a young butler.
But since this was the Lu family home, no matter how dissatisfied he was, he had to consider his family's reputation, so he said, "In that case, let's have some tea together."
"I wouldn't dare." Qiao Wu pressed his fingertips against Guo Liyan's elbow, lifting Guo Liyan's scalded hand upwards, and said calmly, "Mr. Qin's way of treating guests is rather special."
How could Qin Tianrui not understand the dig at in those words?
"I think you're quite bold." His face fell. "Your Lu family's butler is so rude, trying to steal other people's guests?"
Qiao Wu chuckled.
“Mr. Qin, every guest present today was invited by me personally, from a list I compiled.” She asked gently, “So now, after offending the Lu family’s guests, are you planning to sit in the Lu family’s tea room and distinguish between the Lu family members as host and guest?”
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