Chapter 35: The Engagement Banquet

  The Chen family set a banquet, inviting the Wu family. The matter concerns the life and death of the family, so naturally they should not be slow. According to the highest specifications, the entire Chen family villa was bustling with excitement, with beautiful flowers and large red carpets, all of which were not lacking. As the first rich man's handwriting is naturally not small.

  In Chen Ziyin's boudoir, Chen Zishan was combing her hair. Today, the second Miss Chen wore a pink dress, pure and moving, shining brightly like a princess.

  "Ziying, if you don't like Wulong, you don't have to agree to this. The family may not necessarily be in trouble, and you shouldn't sacrifice yourself for the family." Chen Ziyin couldn't bear it.

  "Sister, you're a typical cold outside and hot inside." Chen Ziyin teased Chen Ziyun, seeing her face was somewhat unnatural before saying: "There's no need to like or dislike, being able to spend a lifetime together is better than loving to the point of dying, isn't it?"

  “……” Chen Zishan was speechless after hearing this, shaking her head with a bitter smile: "You little girl, you're not old yet, but you look more worn out than an old woman. If you hadn't gotten that thing back then, our family might have lived a peaceful and stable life, and we wouldn't have had so many troubles."

  "But I don't want to starve, the scene of my growling stomach at that time is still vivid in my mind." Chen Zining said calmly, as if she was talking about someone else's story.

  Chen Zishan gently stroked her sister's hair, and memories flew back to a few years ago. At that time, the Chen family was not only not one of the richest in Chengdu, but also a struggling and declining family. They didn't have snacks like other kids did, nor could they afford meat. When their parents came home with two dishes, it was enough to make the two sisters ecstatic.

  For the Chen family, it was a bittersweet memory, one that they usually didn't dare to touch.

  It's not that Chen Ziyin is unrealistic, it's just that she's really afraid of being poor. Her subconscious fear of poverty comes from her heart and soul, so she fears the decline of the Chen family more than anyone else.

  "Humming!......"

  The vibration of the mobile phone broke the tranquility of the room. It was Chen Zixuan's mobile phone. She took it out and looked at the incoming call display, her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

  "Is he a handsome guy? You shouldn't be too lonely either, finding someone suitable to talk about love isn't bad, just don't become an old maid." Chen Zining joked.

  "Get out." Chen Zixuan gave her a cold glance before answering the phone with a calm tone, "Li Meng, what do you want?"

  Although Chen Zixuan's tone was calm, it was enough to surprise Chen Zixiang. In her memory, her sister had always been cold and icy towards men, so this calm tone was rare. Having discovered the affair, she quickly leaned in to eavesdrop. After all, she was only a 21-year-old girl, and her Iceberg sister's curiosity got the better of her, making her gossip.

  Chen Zishan gave her a white eye, and she, who considered herself innocent, didn't say anything. The reason she didn't use an icy tone to face Li Meng was that he had saved her before, nothing more than that.

  "Director Chen, I've made a great achievement tonight. Won't you invite me to your home for dinner or something?" asked Li Meng with a thick face.

  Chen Zishan furrowed her brow, feeling incredulous - was there really such a person?

  Chen Ziyin beside her also furrowed her brow, because she felt that the voice was vaguely familiar, but specifically who it was, she couldn't make out for a moment.

  "Hey, Director Chen, you're not even willing to do this?" Li Meng asked skeptically. To be honest, Li Meng also felt that he was being quite shameless, but the task was what it was, so he just went along with it!

  “……” Chen Zishan supported her forehead with her hand, at this moment she really didn't know how to express her emotions, it was just that Li Meng's request was too sudden, and too presumptuous and rude. After thinking for a moment, she replied in a stiff tone: "Can we talk about the thank you note tomorrow? Tonight I……”

  "It's okay, just come over, the address is No. 8 Villa, Zijin Community, South Gate, and we'll let the security guard pass your car at the entrance." Before Chen Zishan finished speaking, Chen Ziqing beside her quickly answered first.

  "Zi Ning!" Chen Zishan covered her phone and gave her sister a murderous stare.

  "Sister, since he's our lifesaver, we should invite him over for a meal." Chen Ziyin said with a smile.

  "But you know what kind of occasion it is tonight, don't you? Can you afford to be reckless?" Chen Zixuan scolded while planning to clarify things with Li Mang, but was shocked to find that Li Mang had already hung up the phone.

  "This isn't anything shameful, it's settled then. I'll make sure to explain things clearly to Mom and Dad." Chen Ziyin made the decision without giving anyone a chance to object.

  Chen Zixuan couldn't help but think that it wasn't a big deal, just adding a pair of chopsticks, and showing gratitude was only proper. But what she didn't know was that Li Meng not only knew her sister, but also had a close relationship with the Wu family, and his arrival would inevitably spark a huge fire at tonight's engagement banquet.

  At 8 o'clock in the evening, a fleet of cars slowly drove into the Zijin community and finally stopped in front of Villa No. 8. Chen Hui's family, who had been waiting at the door, hurriedly welcomed them warmly: "Welcome, Mr. Wu, to our humble abode!"

  It was Wu Hong who emerged from the Audi, accompanied by the handsome Wu Long and the wealthy-looking Mrs. Wu.

  "Haha, tonight is a private gathering, Mr. Chen can't be called an official title." Wu Hong laughed and shook hands with Chen Hui.

  "Look, it's me who didn't think it through. Brother Wu shouldn't call you Old Master Chen either, it sounds too formal. If you look down on me, just call me Younger Brother!" Chen Hui became even more enthusiastic.

  "Come on, Chen, let's not be so polite. We're old friends now, no need to exchange pleasantries." Wu Hong smiled, the term "Chen, my younger brother" rolling off his tongue effortlessly, without a hint of awkwardness, as natural as the tricks of the trade in official and business circles.

  "Right, Wu brother..."

  "Drip...drip..." The sound of a car interrupted their conversation, and the crowd instinctively looked up to see that it was actually a taxi. Their titanium alloy eyes were instantly blinded. This is Zijin Community, the richest place in the province, where even cars worth 500,000 are rarely seen, let alone taxis.

  Perhaps being startled by the people who were usually only seen on TV, the taxi almost crashed into the car in front before the driver slammed on the brakes, scaring him half to death.

  Li Mengcai didn't care about these things, and generously threw him a 100-yuan bill before getting out of the car. Ignoring the stunned crowd in front of him, he enthusiastically greeted them: "Hey, everyone's here, quite a lot of people!"

  "Li Meng! It's you!" Wu Long exclaimed first.

  "Li Meng!" Wu Hong's eyes narrowed, shooting out a sharp gaze, and then he looked Li Meng up and down, his face darkening. To be honest, this was the first time he had seen Li Meng, but he never expected to meet him in such circumstances.

  "It's him!" Chen Ziyin at the door also recognized Li Meng, and was suddenly stunned, using her hand to poke Chen Ziyuan beside her and ask: "Sister, is this really your lifesaver?"

  "Hmm!" Chen Zixuan nodded coldly, but she was also shocked at this moment, clearly not expecting so many people to recognize her as the deputy head of the security department. Suddenly, her mind was in a state of confusion.

  The atmosphere on the scene was a bit eerie, with over ten people not speaking, staring at each other.

  In the end, Chen Hui was the first to react, and despite having many doubts in his heart, he still took the initiative to introduce: "This is a colleague of Zilan's. If it weren't for him tonight, Zilan might have been hurt... I'd also like to thank you."

  "Chairman, you're being too polite, this is my duty, it's only right to protect Director Chen well. And now I'm even invited by you all to attend such an important dinner party, I'm truly honored!" Li Mang hurriedly waved his hand in a gesture of modesty.

  "......Who invited him?" Chen Ziyin's eyes widened in shock, her face pale. Chen Ziyan, who was standing next to her, had a slightly dark expression, but fortunately it was evening and everyone didn't notice.

  Wu Hong held back Wu Long who was about to get angry, and smiled at Li Mao: "It's said that heroes emerge in their youth, I admire your bravery, young master Li!"

  Li Meng's identity is still unclear to him, so he doesn't dare let his son get involved with him, and pretending to be stupid is the most rational approach at present.

  "General Wu has already been rewarded for his bravery, but even if he were more courageous, it wouldn't be worth one of your commands, would it?" Li Mang said with a knowing smile.

  "Haha, Li Gongzi is really good at making jokes!" Wu Hong's face smiled but his heart didn't, as for what he was thinking in his heart, only heaven knows!

  Li Meng's arrival made the originally harmonious atmosphere suddenly become strange, which made Master Chen Hui very depressed. However, as a human being, seeing Wu Hong Gongzi call Li Meng "Young Master", he didn't dare to be slow and politely invited the guests into the villa.

  ……

  After all, it's a city novel, and some common urban plot elements are inevitable, but there won't be many, and later on, they will be very rare.