Because of Wei Chen, Song Xuanhe was left on the second floor to talk with a few old men. In fact, every time he wanted to say goodbye, he would be interrupted by Wei Chen or Song Guochao would cut in.
Although the two had different purposes, the results were the same - when Song Xuanhe went downstairs, he saw Xiao Yuanmu's cold face again, which he hadn't seen for a long time.
Although Xiao Yuanmu usually looked indifferent, he was also calm. In addition, during the time they had spent together, although they could not be said to be very close, they would at least say hello when they met again. Sometimes, Xiao Yuanmu would even hold his hand on a whim.
However, when Song Xuanhe sat next to Xiao Yuanmu at noon, he just glanced at him lightly. When he looked away, his eyes were very cold and his face seemed to be covered with a thin layer of ice. Song Xuanhe did not need to use his previous experience to easily feel that the boss was angry.
"Song Guochao seemed to want to take advantage of Mr. Wei to turn the tables. Once he got in, he stayed in the room and refused to leave. He also wouldn't let my mother and I leave. Mr. Wei couldn't chase him away, so we could only wait there."
Song Xuan found out the reason why Xiao Yuanmu was unhappy as soon as they met, and then found a way to clear himself of all charges in the first place. Sure enough, after he finished speaking, although Xiao Yuanmu's expression did not change, his eyes were on him anyway.
"He has a good idea." Song Xuanhe did not feel guilty about talking bad about others behind their backs, and that other person was the father of this body. He continued, "Sure enough, he made a high-profile appearance with the help of the Wei family. You just saw that people looked at him differently. I guess in a few days, his friends who ignored him to avoid suspicion will ask him to play basketball again."
Although Song Xuanhe's words were impolite, they were true.
Just now when they followed several highly respected old men downstairs, the guests they met greeted them with smiles on their faces, but turned around and started to speculate. Not long after Song Guochao sat down at his seat, Song Xuanhe saw several people at the same table talking to him.
"Isn't it because of Wei Chen?" When Xiao Yuanmu said this, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his peach blossom eyes slightly raised with his drooping eyelashes, with a slight arc at the end of his eyes. When he was sitting, he was only slightly taller than Song Xuanhe. Song Xuanhe couldn't see his expression clearly, but he noticed the key to his unhappiness.
"Of course not." Song Xuanhe answered firmly: "I have only met him a few times, why would he keep me around?"
No matter why Xiao Yuanmu asked this question, Song Xuanhe would never admit that he had a good relationship with the boss's future suitor, not to mention that he and Wei Chen were just strangers who had met a few times.
Perhaps it was because Song Xuanhe answered without hesitation and too firmly that the coldness on Xiao Yuanmu's face suddenly disappeared, and he even chuckled for some unknown reason.
Song Xuanhe intuitively felt that there must be something he didn't know, so he asked the system in his mind: [What happened to Xiao Yuanmu downstairs when I was away just now? 】
The system said: [I don’t know either, brother. After the key plot is over, you will be an insignificant character to the boss and the entire book, so my ability to view the boss’s whereabouts throughout the entire process has been reduced. If you are not within the fixed range, I will not be able to see what happened to him. 】
[You are so useful.] 】Song Xuanhe had already gotten used to Er Gou’s useless attribute, so he just complained and didn’t ask any more questions.
In front of the main table of the birthday banquet, there was a platform about two steps above the ground. At this moment, someone from the Wei family was giving a speech on it. Judging from his appearance, it should be Wei Chen's father who had not appeared before.
Probably because of his profession, Mr. Wei, who joined the army at a young age, gave his speech very fluently. With just a few words, he thanked the guests who came to celebrate his birthday, and then announced the start of the birthday banquet.
One of the most indispensable parts of a large Chinese banquet is toasting. Not long after the dishes were served, the banquet hall was filled with the clinking of glasses. People at each table stood up and walked around, talking to and toasting acquaintances or people they wanted to get to know. All of a sudden, except for the main table where Mr. Wei and a few other elderly people were sitting, the last table where Song Xuan and their group of young people were sitting was the only relatively quiet table.
Song Xuanhe was very satisfied. He had been very interested at first when he heard that Grandpa Wei's birthday banquet had invited a chef whose ancestor was a chef in the imperial kitchen and whose family had three generations been chefs frequently invited to state banquets. Now that he had tasted it, he found that it really lived up to its reputation.
Most of the people sitting at this table were friends of the younger generation of Wei, some of whom were second-generation people who were on good terms with Wei Chen from his circle. They had never seen Song Xuanhe before, but they knew that although this was the last table, the people sitting here were actually those who did not want to sit next to their elders and had a very close relationship with Wei Chen.
Everyone at the table was familiar, but suddenly there were two unfamiliar faces, so naturally some people were curious.
Song Xuanhe had no intention of talking to them since he sat down. He just ate quietly after the dishes were served, without even glancing at other people. So someone couldn't help but said, "Mr. Song, I heard that you have a good relationship with Chen'er, but we haven't seen you very often. How about we get together for a meal some other day?"
Song Xuanhe had just come here with Wei Chen, so he naturally discovered that this table, which was not even full, was filled with Wei Chen's friends. That was why he didn't say much, lest Xiao Yuanmu think that he and Wei Chen were so close that they could even mix their circles of friends.
Hearing someone talking to him, Song Xuanhe squinted his eyes and completely cleared his relationship with Wei Chen with one sentence: "We are not very familiar with each other, nor can we say that we are very close. It's just that I suddenly attended the banquet and sat here because no one else was sitting at the other table."
The person who spoke obviously didn't expect Song Xuanhe to answer like that. The others were also a little surprised. It wasn't that they were arrogant, but basically, people who saw them would at least not show an unwillingness to have anything to do with them, even if they didn't try to please them.
Although Song Xuanhe had a smile on his face and his words were not harsh, it was very clear between the lines that he was unwilling to have close friendship with Wei Chen and the others. These people were all arrogant and proud. It was rare for them to lower themselves to talk to others, but they were directly told that they did not want to be involved. Even if they wanted to say something, they were too lazy to speak.
Song Xuanhe was happy and quiet. Apart from him and Xiao Yuanmu, few people were eating at the table. One of them chewed slowly, the other one was leisurely. The two of them ate the dishes on the table as if no one was around. They ate every dish, and there was no fault in their table manners. Seeing this, the others suddenly felt a little greedy and picked up their chopsticks unconsciously.
But before they had picked up their chopsticks for long, the army of people toasting them finally arrived.
Most of the people who came here to toast were young people of second-generation status. Although Song Xuanhe had a good family background, since ancient times, people could not make as much money as those with power. So at this table, no one really looked for him specifically. Even if someone didn't want to be too obvious, after everyone toasted him, Song Xuanhe would refuse by saying that he had just taken cold medicine. As a result, even fewer people looked for him and Xiao Yuanmu.
People came one after another to toast, but Song Xuanhe was not bothered at all until a young man who came to toast complained, "Just now my father and I went to the main table to toast. We wanted to interact with the people from the Xiao family, but we didn't expect that there were so many people around him that we couldn't even squeeze in."
After saying this, the man continued to mutter, "The old man at the main table didn't dare to stay there for long. Now they are all trying to curry favor with the Xiao family. I just saw Young Master Guan sitting at that table. The guy from the Xiao family was very arrogant. Apart from saying a few words to Young Master Guan, he ignored everyone else. I feel lucky that I didn't squeeze in. Otherwise, I would have to watch my dad smiling at him. Tsk, I would have felt really uncomfortable."
Song Xuanhe, who was eating, had his eyes flickering and looked inadvertently towards the main table. He remembered where Guan Zhi was sitting, because Guan Zhi had just come down with them. He now thought of the complex emotions that instantly burst out in Song Guochao's eyes when he saw that he and Guan Zhi knew each other, and the way he changed his attitude towards him in the blink of an eye, and he found it funny.
Guan Zhi's table was very easy to find, because their table was next to the main table and formed a sharp contrast with the quiet main table. The person who just said that they couldn't squeeze in was a bit exaggerated, but there was an endless stream of people going to that table, and there was never a lack of people. It seemed that the whole table was surrounded by people.
However, now that he has found the location of the Xiao family, what excuse should he make to go there?
As soon as this question popped up in Song Xuanhe's mind, his cell phone rang.
Song Xuanhe opened it and saw a text message from Guan Zhi: Come here quickly and find an excuse to get me out! I'm getting annoyed by the people next to me! ! !
As the saying goes, if you fall asleep, someone will bring you a pillow. The three exclamation marks vividly reflect Master Guan’s impatience at the moment, but they cannot affect Song Xuanhe’s good mood at all.
He put away his phone, turned to Xiao Yuanmu and said with a smile: "Guan Zhi asked us to go over and find an excuse to pull him out."
Xiao Yuanmu also heard the voices of Song Xuan and the text message, but he showed no interest: "Go by yourself."
"No." Song Xuanhe said seriously, "How can I squeeze in by myself? You just heard it, there are so many people over there, you have to help push me."
Xiao Yuanmu glanced at the table over there, which was crowded but definitely not crowded, and said coldly without moving his eyebrows, "No."
"You must come with me."
When Xiao Yuanmu looked over, Song Xuanhe realized that his words were a bit too overbearing, but he didn't blink and said, "We will definitely not come back after we get out of this situation. We just ran away. Do you want to stay here alone?"
"Walk."
Xiao Yuanmu stood up and followed Song Xuanhe to Guan Zhi's table.
When you look here from a distance, it seems there are a lot of people, but when you get closer you will find that there are actually not too many people here. After all, everyone here wants to save face, and even if you want to curry favor with others, there is no need to squeeze in like the aunties grabbing vegetables in the supermarket. But then again, if such a scene really happened, it would be hard to say whether it is currying favor with people or offending them.
Therefore, Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu walked to the opposite side of Guan Zhi's seat very easily - because there were five or six people around Guan Zhi, they had to rub shoulders with them to get past them.
Guan Zhi's eyes lit up when he saw Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu. His originally impatient expression changed and he said, "My friend is here. We still have some things to discuss. I'll leave first."
The young man who was talking to Guan Zhi frowned and looked up at Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu opposite him. The time his gaze stayed on the two people was almost the same. He just glanced at them lightly and then looked away. It was obvious that he did not recognize Xiao Yuanmu.
In fact, Xiao Yuanmu didn't recognize which member of the Xiao family this was. The Xiao family was huge, with countless family members. In addition to the intertwined direct and collateral branches, there were also various in-laws' families. Xiao Yuanmu had stayed in the Xiao family for more than ten years in his previous life, and he had never met all the people in the Xiao family.
The two members of the Xiao family behaved very calmly. They looked at each other as if they did not know each other. Song Xuanhe's originally expectant mood became disappointed. Strangely, there was a hint of relief mixed in with the disappointment.
"Since your friend is looking for you, you should go first." The young man surnamed Xiao said, "My uncle will come to China to inspect the business in a few days. He will hold a banquet at that time. If you are still in China, you must come."
Guan Zhi answered a few perfunctorily with "hmm" and "ah", then got up impatiently and ran towards Song Xuanhe.
"You're finally here." After walking for a while, Guan Zhi complained, "I always say I hate this kind of occasion. Those people are chattering non-stop. And that Xiao Cuo, I don't know why he caught me talking. I guess he was annoyed by those people and came to bother me. I don't want to sit there for even a second longer."
After listening to his complaints, Song Xuanhe casually asked, "That person just said you were going back? When?"
Guan Zhi paused, raised his eyebrows and revealed a hint of pride: "Why? You can't bear to leave me?"
"What do you think?" Song Xuanhe also raised his eyebrows, the answer was obvious.
Guan Zhi snorted coldly and said, "I wanted to treat you to some Canadian delicacies, forget it."
Seeing that Song Xuanhe didn't respond, he returned to the topic he had just asked: "I haven't decided when to go back, but Xiao Cuo just said that his uncle is coming. If there is a welcome banquet and I am still in China, I will have to go, so I will leave before his uncle comes."
Song Xuanhe sighed with some regret when he heard this and said, "I have already made a reservation for the palace restaurant you said you wanted to try. It will be in half a month. I guess you will have left by then. Let's talk about it next time you come to China."
Guan Zhi's eyes lit up and he said, "Really? Didn't you say that the store can only be booked half a year in advance?"
"Yes." Song Xuanhe said, "That's the seat of a friend of mine. He transferred it to me because he had something to do that day."
"Then I'll go back in half a month." Guan Zhi answered quickly: "It just so happens that I still have half a month before school starts. It won't be too late to go back after dinner."
At this time, Song Xuanhe suddenly remembered that Guan Zhicai had just become an adult, which was very rare. This made him feel guilty for deceiving a child.
Therefore, Song Xuanhe, who had a change of heart, spoke to Guan Zhi in a much better tone: "You said you wanted to eat the fried dumplings in Changwei Alley. I'll take you there when the time comes."
Guan Zhi blinked, his voice full of excitement: "Really? Is it the century-old store you mentioned that is particularly hard to find?"
"Yes." Song Xuanhe said: "The owner of that store..."
"Watch the road."
Halfway through his words, Song Xuanhe was staggered by Xiao Yuanmula and almost fell into his arms.
"What's wrong?" Song Xuanhe turned his head and looked at the flat road with a confused expression.
"A carpet has been turned upside down." Xiao Yuanmu said calmly, "You stepped on it instead of going over there."
Song Xuanhe thought about it, but couldn't remember if he had stepped on anything soft just now. However, he didn't think Xiao Yuanmu would lie, so he curved his eyes and said, "Thank you."
Xiao Yuanmu looked very cold: "No need."
Guan Zhi also looked back at the smooth carpet, somewhat puzzled. Although he had just been talking to Song Xuanhe, he did not fail to pay attention to his feet. He remembered that the carpets here were laid flat and were not turned upside down anywhere.
But when he came back to his senses, Song Xuanhe thanked him, so he didn't say much. After all, it was just a small matter, and maybe Xiao Yuanmu had seen it wrong.
The conversation was interrupted by Xiao Yuanmu, and Song Xuanhe's momentary conscience disappeared. They had already walked to the end of the corridor of the banquet hall and could go out by pushing open the door.
So Song Xuanhe said, "We still have things to do. You go back by yourself. We'll leave first."
Guan Zhi nodded and was about to push the door open when he suddenly thought of something and turned around and asked, "Do you know that Liu Xu?"
Song Xuanhe paused, then nodded.
"I attended a party before." Guan Zhi frowned and said, "There were many women serving drinks there, and that Liu Xu was among them. That party was special... Anyway, it wasn't a serious party. Don't be fooled by her."
Song Xuanhe didn't expect that the next news about Liu Xu after she was hidden would be from Guan Zhi's mouth. However, Song Xuanhe was a little surprised to hear him say that, because although Liu Xu was snobbish, she was also arrogant. Even if she was hidden for these years, she should still have some savings. Even if she really wanted to find a backer again, she would not have fallen to the point of going to those playful parties to entertain others.
Guan Zhi misunderstood Song Xuanhe's surprised expression. He thought Song Xuanhe didn't believe him, so he frowned and said, "I'm telling the truth. I got to know her from seeing your news. Later, when I saw her at the party, I was a little surprised. I asked someone to confirm that it was indeed her before I told you."
"I know." Song Xuanhe smiled. Hearing his awkward concern, she explained a few more words: "I'm not familiar with her, don't worry."
Guan Zhi's ears turned red and his eyebrows furrowed even tighter: "Who cares about you! I'm just repaying you for pulling me out just now and inviting me to dinner in half a month. People in our Guan family never owe anyone anything."
Song Xuanhe raised his eyebrows: "I see, you don't care about me, Master Guan, can you open the door?"
Guan Zhi pursed his lips, as if he wanted to say something, but finally he snorted coldly and opened the door.
The three of them left the banquet floor and just as they arrived at the hotel lobby, they heard someone calling out, "Mr. Song!"
Song Xuanhe paused and turned to look at the person who came.
Lu Chao walked over quickly, and when he saw Song Xuan and Xiao Yuanmu beside him, he paused, then walked over even faster and said, "Mr. Song, I've been calling you but can't get through."
Song Xuanhe raised his eyebrows but said nothing.
Lu Chao was a little embarrassed, but he continued, "I've always wanted to have dinner with you and apologize for what happened last time. I want to apologize not only to you, but also to Mr. Xiao... But I couldn't get through to you and I couldn't find you, so I didn't have a chance. I finally met you this time. How about you do me the honor of treating me to a meal?"
Song Xuanhe raised the corner of his mouth and looked at him with a smile, but still had no intention of speaking.
Lu Chao's expression was slightly stiff, and he didn't know whether he was angry or embarrassed, his face was a little red. After a long while, he turned his head stiffly and looked at Xiao Yuanmu and said, "Mr. Xiao, I was wrong last time. I hope you can forgive me and let me treat you and Mr. Song to a meal to clear up this matter."
Song Xuanhe didn't expect that Lu Chao would disregard his face and try to save the country in a roundabout way, but he was obviously wrong. Xiao Yuanmu was not someone who could be easily talked to.
Sure enough, Xiao Yuanmu's expression didn't even change. He just treated the person in front of him as air and didn't even glance at Lu Chao.
After a few seconds without any response, Lu Chao's expression became even more embarrassed. However, for the sake of his parents and the family business, he could only endure the humiliation and embarrassment, took a step back and bowed to Xiao Yuanmu until his waist was bent at 90 degrees. He said in a suppressed voice: "Mr. Xiao, I'm sorry, I was ignorant, please forgive me."
Xiao Yuanmu and Song Xuanhe didn't say anything. Guan Zhi, who was standing next to them, also found it funny and didn't leave. He just stood aside with his arms crossed and watched the show.
In the empty hotel lobby, one person bent down and bowed, while three people standing opposite him seemed to be watching a show. This soon attracted the attention of many passers-by, and the originally quiet lobby was filled with small, suppressed discussions.
Although he couldn't see the expressions of the passers-by, Lu Chao knew without looking that they must be pointing and talking. He gritted his teeth, clenched his hands into fists at his sides, and his face was filled with humiliation and hatred that was difficult to conceal.
"Mr. Xiao, Mr. Song?"
A young man in a long white cashmere coat came over and was a little surprised to see this scene. He opened his eyes wide and said cautiously: "What... happened?"
Unexpectedly, I met Bai Mo here by such a coincidence. Song Xuanhe raised his eyebrows and subconsciously turned to look at Xiao Yuanmu.
Just like when he faced Lu Chao just now, Xiao Yuanmu's expression did not change at all. He seemed not to know Bai Mo and did not care why he appeared here.
Bai Mo didn't seem to notice his cold expression, and smiled, "I didn't expect to run into you guys here. Dad had a batch of good wine coming over, and I was going to send it to Young Master Song, but then I remembered that I didn't have your contact information, so I didn't do it."
Song Xuanhe didn't seem to understand the implication of Bai Mo's words, and smiled faintly: "Mr. Bai is thoughtful, but forget about the wine."
Having been bent over, Lu Chao's blood circulation in his head gradually became blocked, and his ears became red. However, Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu did not react at all, and even chatted with others. He could not help but straightened up and said, "Mr. Song, I came to you to ask for a favor."
This time, Song Xuanhe finally spoke. He looked at Lu Chao, whose face was flushed, and asked nonchalantly, "What is your relationship with me? Why should I help you?"
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