198 The Birthday Banquet
The Yao family was one of the richest families, so they only had a limited number of invitations. Those who could attend the birthday banquet were all from influential families.
It was the beginning of October. The weather was pleasant, and the garden was filled with the fragrance of flowers. The guests were dressed and holding wine glasses in their hands as they flattered each other in the garden.
There were many journalists gathered outside the Yao family’s main manor. They did not have any invitation cards, so they could only wait at the entrance. However, they did not stay idle and quietly took photos of the guests getting out of their cars.
Thirty minutes ago, Yao Zizhou arrived at the banquet. He was dressed in a tailored suit, and his handsome face and tall posture made him the brightest star in the crowd. Everyone stopped talking and stared at him.
This was not the first time Yao Zizhou had appeared in front of everyone after he woke up, but last time, he was still wheelchair-bound. Tonight, he was standing. His face was calm, and he had a commanding presence, as if no tragedy had happened at all.
The crowd saw that he did not bring his wife with him. They were surprised, but at the same time, they thought it was reasonable.
“President Yao, congratulations on your recovery,” someone immediately said.
Yao Zizhou raised his wine glass and said, “Thank you, everyone, for attending this banquet despite your busy schedules. Please forgive me for not taking care of the place properly. The banquet will begin in a while, and everyone can take a seat in the banquet hall.”
“Oh my,” Cheng Sanjin said as he walked , “you’re quite handsome today.”
Yao Zizhou glanced at Cheng Sanjin and said, “Thanks, you tidied up well today, too.”
The two of them gave each other polite compliments and went inside the banquet hall together.
Yao Ziyang and his father were also dressed to the nines as they walked into the banquet hall from the main manor, as if they were the hosts of the banquet, and greeted the guests.
When the crowd saw Yao Ziyang’s father, they were also a little surprised. Ever since he lost the succession, Yao Ziyang’s father rarely appeared in public. He usually kept a low-profile, and it had been a long time since he attended such a grand occasion.
Upon closer inspection of the father-and-son duo, one would notice that they were both wearing top-tier branded clothes.
Cheng Sanjin looked at Yao Zizhou and said, “I’ll delay them. We can’t let them steal the limelight, after all.”
Cheng Sanjin walked over with a glass of wine.
“Uncle Yao, Ziyang, you’re here, ” Cheng Sanjin said. “It’s Zizhou’s birthday today. You’ve worked hard.”
Yao Ziyang’s father, Yao Hui, did not take Cheng Sanjin seriously, so he said, “It’s the Yao family’s banquet. You are an outsider, and you’re not related to the Yao family, so you are not qualified to come and talk to us about hard work.”
Cheng Sanjin did not get angry. He smiled and said, “I’m Zizhou’s best friend, of course I have to help entertain the guests.” Cheng Sanjin deliberately emphasized the word “guests.”
Yao Hui snorted coldly, deliberately leveraging his own seniority to speak. He said, “The younger generation of the Cheng family are becoming more insensible. When I have time, I’ll definitely have a good talk with old Cheng.”
“You don’t have to worry about the Cheng family’s affairs,” Cheng Sanjin said. “But Yao Zizhou is the most capable person in the Yao family’s generation. In just a few years, he has significantly increased Yao Corporation’s stock prices and profit revenues.”
As he spoke, Cheng Sanjin clicked Yao Ziyang’s wineglass with his own and he continued, “Ziyang has contributed a lot as the Vice President. Uncle Yao, you’ve taught him well.”
Yao Ziyang’s heart was still tense, and he was not in the mood to talk to Cheng Sanjin. He said perfunctorily, “Thank you for the compliment. Brother Cheng, you should go and sit first.”
Cheng Sanjin had no intention of leaving. He said, “I’m very interested in the Xinghai City project. I have time now. Can you tell me about it?”
Both father and son did not want to continue talking about this with Cheng Sanjin. Yao Hui said, “Ziyang, let’s go.” Cheng Sanjin did not want to cause a conflict, so he let them go.
Yao Hui and Yao Ziyang made toasts at each table. As long as it was an attendee, Yao Hui would formally introduce his son to them. The people present were all smart and had seen all kinds of news on Weibo recently. However, to them, no matter who had the final say in the Yao family, their business was still running, and they could not offend anyone.
No matter what happened to the Yao family in the end, they had to give face to Yao Hui.
The crowd also peeked at Yao Zizhou’s expression. Even while facing such a situation, Yao Zizhou did not show any dissatisfaction, but greeted the guests with a smile.
The banquet was about to begin. Yao Gui led Cai Wenlun and Chen Xiaomei into the venue from the main manor. The appearance of these guests surprised everyone present, and they began to discuss among themselves.
Yao Ziyang frowned. He had already sent people to stop the Cai family from coming out, so how did Cai Wenlun and Chen Xiaomei get here?