The dinner was held at a hotel owned by Xuanyuan Group. Besides Ye Qiu and Liu Qin, there were also the head of the IT department and a staff member from the legal department who had followed the transaction process throughout.
Ye Qiu was articulate and polite, and also very knowledgeable, leaving a strong impression of appreciation in the eyes of the other three attendees, especially the head of the IT department, who mentally put Ye Qiu on a pedestal after a few questions.
"Xuanyuan, isn’t that our homeroom teacher and your stepmother over there? Why are they dining together?" Today was Sima Kai’s birthday, so he and his usual group of friends rented a place to celebrate and happened to see Ye Qiu and the others.
"Did Mr. Ye know your stepmother before?" Ouyang Yanming, who usually didn’t talk much, raised his eyebrows in query.
Xuanyuan Junrui’s face quickly turned sour: "I don’t know."
Sima Kai let out a brief snicker: "Last time your dad was about to fire Mr. Ye and Liu Tong, but then your stepmother stepped in to defend them. Don’t you think they’re..."
He didn’t finish his sentence, but it was enough for Xuanyuan Junrui to make his own connections, darkening his face even more.
"Ah! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, are you okay?" As the three were talking, suddenly a clumsy waiter bumped into Xuanyuan Junrui, spilling drinks all over him. This update is available on novel⸺fire.net
"What’s wrong with you, waiter? Don’t you have eyes?" Xuanyuan Junrui was already irritated, and naturally lashed out at the careless waiter who had bumped into him.
"I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean it." The female waiter apologized profusely, looking panic-stricken, "I have some wipes here, please use them to clean up. I’ll compensate for it."
"Compensation? Do you know how much this suit costs?" Sima Kai looked at the female waiter playfully, clearly teasing her as he noticed she was quite attractive.
This girl was none other than the female lead of this world, Li Manyu, who was genuinely flustered at the moment and pressed her lips tightly: "I’ll pay for the dry cleaning."
Xuanyuan Junrui took a deep breath, glared at her, and roared: "Get lost!"
Li Manyu, looking very aggrieved, retorted: "Why are you being so fierce? I already said I would pay for the dry cleaning."
Not that it mattered much to her at the time, but upon seeing Xuanyuan Junrui’s face, she remembered the incident when he nearly hit her best friend Zhao Shanshan: "Oh, it’s you. Don’t you know you almost hit someone? Hmph, someone like you deserves to be splashed. I’m warning you, be careful when you drive next time. I won’t compensate for your clothes, just consider it as payment for almost hitting my best friend before. Goodbye, and don’t let me see you being so arrogant again, otherwise I won’t be so polite next time!"
"Yo, this chick has quite the personality!" Sima Kai curled his lips, seemingly very interested.
Xuanyuan Junrui was fuming: "What utter nonsense! Where did this crazy woman come from!"
"Could it be a case of playing hard to get?" Sima Kai, looking like he was familiar with this kind of drama, then teased Xuanyuan Junrui with a raised eyebrow.
Xuanyuan Junrui, disgusted: "Who would be interested in such a crazy woman? Just my bad luck."
He looked over at the table where Ye Qiu and the others had been dining and saw that they had left, which added to his irritation. Moreover, he was convinced that Ye Qiu and Liu Qin had struck some kind of deal.
"Xuanyuan, just try to keep a low profile at school from now on, and don’t let your stepmother get anything on you again." Ouyang Yanming hinted and decided, "I’m leaving first."
"Hey, weren’t you here for my birthday? If you all leave, how am I supposed to celebrate?" Sima Kai said, clearly displeased.
"Not in the mood." Xuanyuan Junrui tugged at his wet clothes and left with big, irritated strides.
Ouyang Yanming offered a regretful smile: "I’ve delivered my gift, and you know I wasn’t planning on staying long."
"You used to despise her so much, why do you care about your stepsister now?" They were all acquaintances who knew each other well. It just so happened that Sima Kai looked down on Ouyang Yanming’s unrelenting feelings, and also thought Ouyang Yanming’s stepsister, Lin Xiaoman, was somewhat pretentious. Considering how obvious Ouyang Yanming’s feelings were, he didn’t believe Lin Xiaoman was unaware. However, knowing there was no possibility between them yet still stringing him along made Sima Kai feel disgusted.
"You wouldn’t understand." Ouyang Yanming smiled gently, a rare sight which was dazzling like a blossoming thousand-year-old iron tree.
Sima Kai slanted his mouth in indifference, although he didn’t plan to intervene.