It was a banquet, after all. For unimportant guests, it was nothing more than a gathering for everyone to eat a good meal and gossip.
After Zhang Jingan finished his short speech, the delicately cooked dishes were served one after another. The hall entered a lively atmosphere.
As the host, Zhang Jingan led his wife, daughter, and a few relatives to start toasting and thanking each table. Holding a wine glass, Ya Han, dressed in a beautiful gown, had an elegant smile on her face as she gracefully followed her father to toast table after table. Although she had previously said that she would come over to eat halfway, there were more than ten tables of guests in the hall. Moreover, they were all seated together, and all of them were more or less related to the Zhang family. Thinking about it, even if she finished half of the banquet, it would still be a rather large workload. Moreover, looking at the glass in her hand, the water she was drinking was not the secretly substituted plain water. Lingjing and Shasha prayed for "Sister Ya Han" while betting on whether she would be drunk by the time she arrived.
Under these circumstances, Jiaming was also guessing when Ya Han would cheat by filling the wine bottle in her hand with plain water. Ya Han looked elegant and soft, but when it came to alcohol tolerance, in reality, a woman who had experienced countless social engagements had already been trained to a rather terrifying degree. However, even if she was a wine immortal, it was impossible for her to cope with this kind of cartwheel-like interaction.
As for the table in front of them, Ye Han, Duan Jingxian, Wen Congyi, and the newly arrived couple occasionally laughed and chatted a little.
Wen Congyi casually talked about his experience of returning from America, but he also pretended to inadvertently bring up his blind date with Ya Han this time, pretending that Ya Han's stepmother had only asked him to come over to take a look. Who knew that it would become a blind date?
Previously, he did not refute Lingjing's words. Now, he used an incomparably natural attitude to deny his relationship with Ya Han. It could be said that he had put in a lot of effort. Occasionally, he would say a few words to Lingjing. Because everyone was eating at the same table, Lingjing would only reply briefly, not wanting to spoil everyone's mood during the meal.
Jia Ming looked at the little scheming and Wen Congyi's effort in picking up girls and couldn't help but feel bored.
The banquet continued in such an atmosphere. Ya Han finished toasting the elders of her family, who had no choice but to give face to them. Her face was red as she staggered over and sat down for a while. She seemed to be surprised that Wen Congyi would sit beside her. Then she reacted and leaned on Lingjing to whisper to her. Shasha also joined in. The three women chattered about some ambiguous things and then laughed and played with each other.
After Yahan hurriedly ate some dishes, she wobbled off to accompany her family to socialize.
At this time, the banquet had been going on for more than an hour. Many people were free to move around, holding wine glasses and greeting people they were familiar with. Dongfang Wan, who was sitting beside Jiaming, finally left her seat and prepared to find someone to discuss business.
She had already found a candidate. Today, it was impossible for her to discuss business. She just wanted to get to know people, make a toast or greet them, and earn some impression points.
After Dongfang Wan left, Lingjing and Shasha were chatting on the opposite side. Then Lingjing ran over to Jiaming and leaned over to say, "Shasha told me to tell you to be careful of the crazy bees and butterflies that will pester Dongfang Wan. You have to be a good protector."
Jiaming rolled his eyes at her and said, "Got it."
Lingjing ran back with a smile and whispered in Shasha's ear. Obviously, she was conveying Jiaming's answer without any suspense. The two girls whispered in each other's ears for a while. Lingjing smiled and ran over again. "She said that you obviously have no sense of responsibility towards Dongfang Wan, so if you don't help, you're not allowed to touch her tonight."
"Please?" Jiaming laughed softly. "You have to believe in my character, okay?
Also... when did you become a mouthpiece... "
Lingjing laughed and ran back to pass on Jiaming's words. The two girls were still whispering in each other's ears. Jiaming blinked and waved at Lingjing. Lingjing ran over again like a cat. "What?"
Jiaming whispered in Lingjing's ear, "I think there's something wrong with your threat. You're not allowed to touch her. I have another one anyway."
Duan Jingxian was only one seat away from him. Anyway, they had played together since they were young. It didn't matter if it was a little ambiguous. If this was heard, it would be big trouble.
"My period is here." Lingjing blinked and replied softly.
"Uh, isn't your period usually at the beginning of the month? It's always punctual..."
"Today is the 25th. What can I do if it comes early?"
"Oh, then it seems that I can consider forcing myself on her tonight..."
"Oh, you really don't have any sense of responsibility. Be careful that Shasha doesn't f * ck you. She's very loyal to girls."
"There's no need to be responsible towards Dongfang Wan..."
Lingjing leaned over Jiaming's chair and whispered to him. Duan Jingxian saw her running back and forth a few times and laughed. "What are you doing? Why are you being so secretive?"
"It's a secret."
"Stop being naughty."
Lingjing smiled and ran back to her seat. She said a few words to Shasha. Shasha glared at Jiaming. Jiaming could only spread his hands to express his innocence.
He originally promised Dongfang Wan and didn't really intend to go back on his words. However, even if he pretended to be her boyfriend, there was a limit. He couldn't just drive Lei Qing away when he came to Dongfang Wan's side. This kind of thing was too tiring.
Looking in the direction of Dongfang Wan, he happened to see Lei Qing's figure. This guy probably drank a lot and was talking to Ying Zifeng. Then, he glanced at Dongfang Wan and actually walked towards Jiaming.
Walking to Jiaming's side, Lei Qing, who reeked of alcohol, pulled out Dongfang Wan's seat. "Sorry, can I sit here for a while?"
Shasha didn't like this guy and said, "There's someone there." Lei Qing just sat down and pretended not to hear this sentence.
Duan Jingxian and Ye Han both suspiciously looked at this person who seemed to have a grudge with the Jia Ming. A moment later, a face flushed red from the smell of alcohol looked at the Jia Ming: "Hey, let me ask you something."
"What?"
"Burp … I'll get someone to investigate you …" Probably because he was drunk, Lei Qing didn't have any scruples and went straight to the point. In fact, with his family background, there was no need to be scrupulous about Jiaming. "I have to admit that you have some background. The Huang family is nothing, uh … the most important thing is … the most important thing is the background of that Liu Huaisha …"
He drunkenly pointed at Shasha who was sitting across the round table. "The detective agency couldn't find much information about you, but I'm too lazy to use more power to investigate. You're not worth it, burp … there are some things that we all know. You're actually very smart. You're very good at computers, right? I actually just want to ask you, during Chinese New Year … uh, during Chinese New Year, was it because of you that my car couldn't open the door … Tell me honestly."
Jiaming turned his head in confusion. "What car couldn't open?"
"You … you're not honest … burp …" Lei Qing pointed at him and burped. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but then his whole body slumped on the seat and fell asleep. The people at the table looked at each other. Ye Han frowned. "Jiaming, what's the matter?
Who is this person? "
"Uh, he's the one who's chasing after Dongfang Wan …"
Jiaming hesitated for a moment. In the corner of his eyes, Ying Zifeng had already walked over. After a moment, he hugged Lei Qing who was sliding down and helped him up. "Sorry, my friend is drunk."
He helped Lei Qing up and walked a few steps, but then stopped. After thinking for a moment, he smiled at Jiaming. "Oh right, Gu Jiaming, can we find a place to talk?"
His smile and tone could be considered gentle. Jiaming looked at him for a moment, but after a moment, he smiled and said, "I don't think it's necessary. Actually, I don't have anything to do with this."
"Oh, then goodbye …" Ying Zifeng nodded and turned to leave with Lei Qing. But in his eyes, there seemed to be a hint of anger.
This Ying Zifeng was born into a wealthy family, so he had a clear sense of superiority and oppression. The people at the table were silent. Duan Jingxian frowned and said softly to Jiaming, "This person is not much. He's too arrogant. You should avoid dealing with him in the future." There was no need to ask about the other party's identity. Father Ye and Mother Ye were always on his side.
After this small episode, the atmosphere at the table became gloomy. Shasha said bitterly, "What arrogance …" But in her heart, she knew that Ying Zifeng and these people had the right to be arrogant. But at the same time, they also knew that Jiaming was hiding his strength, so they were not necessarily worried.
At this time, Jiaming's eyes were looking in the direction of the entrance of the hall. It seemed that there was a late congratulator. A man in a white suit walked in with a smile after registering at the reception desk. He was about twenty-four or twenty-five years old. His smile was warm, but he gave people the feeling that he was quite modest and steady. The first person to notice him was a nationally famous medical professor at the banquet. He was talking to him enthusiastically.
This kind of scholar was famous in the academic world, but his status at the banquet was not very high. Because of Ya Han's illness, the Zhang family sponsored many medical institutions in the country. This old scholar was naturally one of the sponsors.
This time, he came to attend Ya Han's stepmother's birthday banquet, but he did not know many people. He only exchanged academic insights with a few scholars at the same table. He did not care much about the business world.
And when the old professor led the young man in the white suit to their table and introduced him, a few well-known medical and biological experts in the country stood up. They smiled and talked with the young man about topics of interest. The atmosphere at the back of the banquet seemed to be heated up because of the arrival of the young man.
This young man who was late must be a student of some academic master or a genius in the medical field.
Most of the people at this banquet were businessmen. Even if they valued academic researchers, they did not care much about them.
Zhang Jingan, who was sitting at the front, was already drunk. When he saw someone coming, he stood up again and went over to say a few words of thanks.
At this time, there were a few bosses of large companies at the front of the banquet who stood up one after another when they saw the young man at the back. They walked over with wine glasses in their hands.
There were only five or six people, but in the eyes of those who paid attention, it had a different meaning. The companies represented by these people were all multinational groups of considerable scale, and they were all in different fields.
Zhang Jingan originally treated the man as an ordinary birthday guest, but when he turned around to leave, he noticed that several bosses had begun to greet the man. Only then did he vaguely sense that something was wrong. After exchanging a few words with one of the bosses, he revealed a look of realization. Then, the few of them began to chat enthusiastically with the man in the white suit.
And in the eyes of others, it was not difficult to see that the modest man in the suit kept shaking hands with people. He smiled and bowed slightly, vaguely with a sense of restrained Japanese etiquette.
In other words, this man who was warmly treated by a group of academic researchers and valued by the bosses of these large companies was actually Japanese.
The banquet was actually coming to an end, and the atmosphere was mostly chatting. At this time, when they noticed the sudden arrival of this mysterious man who seemed to have some status in academia and the business world, many people were interested in making a few guesses.
Dongfang Wan returned to the seat next to Jiaming with a faint smell of alcohol. She also asked curiously, "Who is that person who just came in?"
Jiaming shrugged. "How would I know …"
Zhang Jingan and the others chatted with the man for a while. They seemed to want to pull him to the front of the banquet hall to sit down, but the Japanese man smiled and waved his hand, declining them one by one.
After the businessmen left, he sat among the group of scholars who were older than him. Occasionally, he smiled and said a few words with a modest smile. His eyes inadvertently swept across the entire hall, pausing slightly at Jiaming's seat.
His eyes met with Jiaming's, and the man smiled. He raised a glass of wine from afar, drank it in one gulp, stood up, apologized to the few old people around him, and turned to walk out the door.
"I'm going to the toilet."
On the other side, Jiaming stood up with a smile and left the seating area. He stroked the vibrating electronic watch, took out an earpiece from his pocket, and plugged it in. Then, he walked out of the banquet hall and walked along a corridor.
"When did you arrive in Jianghai?"
"The plane from Yokohama. It arrived in Jianghai yesterday afternoon."
"You're here to join in the fun too. Are you here for Dongfang Ruo, or for Kelly Fornim?"
"Maybe both."
The white figure turned a corner in front of him. Through the earpiece came Masanori Tianyu's leisurely and fluent Chinese. "Besides … didn't Xun suffer?"
A waiter walked past in his field of vision. Jiaming vaguely sensed a trace of strangeness.
After a moment, Masanori Tianyu added, "I'm being watched."
Jia Ming turned his head slightly and caught a glimpse of Ying Zifeng's figure following him out of the banquet hall. At that moment, he could only laugh in annoyance. "I seem to have been targeted as well …"