Han Jifeng had been paying attention to Tang Li.
He noticed her restraint at the moment, with his left hand resting on the button of his suit jacket.
Before he could take off his suit, a coat was already draped over Tang Li’s shoulders.
Tang Li was instantly enveloped by a wave of warmth.
Turning her head, she saw it was Song Baiyan’s suit that had just been draped over his arms.
When he had stepped into the banquet hall, he was still wearing the meticulously tailored suit, but as he walked over, he had taken it off and draped it over his arm.
Tang Li guessed that Song Baiyan had planned to drape his jacket over her from the start.
Lai Wenyan already spoke up: "How can she wear Minister Song’s clothes? Ah Li has her own coat." Saying this, he turned his head and said to Ouyang Qian, "Have someone fetch Ah Li’s coat."
"No harm, let her wear it. She can return it to the waiter before she leaves."
Song Baiyan spoke up, and no one else said anything after.
Lai Wenyan looked at Tang Li: "Haven’t you thanked the Finance Minister yet?"
Hearing this, Tang Li turned to look at Song Baiyan.
Before she could speak, Song Baiyan gently touched her right shoulder and said, "In situations , if something undesirable happens, you can tell the security staff. Girls going out need to protect themselves."
To others, his words sounded like the protective care of an elder.
Meeting his warm gaze, Tang Li asked in a low voice, "What if security isn’t useful?"
"Then let things proceed as they will," Song Baiyan said, with a hint of indulgence in his tone: "If anything is broken, it’s on me."
The surrounding guests heard this and cast restrained glances.
One couldn’t help but envy the lucky girl from the Lai Family, harassed yet defended in a fight that caught Song Baiyan’s attention, gaining his favor.
In the corner, Lai Yuaner, seeing this scene, clenched her wine glass tightly.
Her friend sighed beside her: "Had I known, I would have let Ling Zixi harass me to catch the New President’s attention, then he would become my support."
"Right, Song Baiyan is sure to be re-elected. He’ll stay as President for ten years. Having secured his strong support, there’s nothing to worry about for the next ten years." Another friend leaned closer to Lai Yuaner, looking at Tang Li not far away, and whispered, "Your poor relative got lucky. With Song Baiyan’s words, whoever bullies her, even if beaten to death, would have no recourse."
Lai Yuaner clenched her teeth in frustration, her face flushing red and then turning pale.
Letting Ling Zixi deal with this illegitimate daughter was meant to have her embarrassed, not to steal the spotlight!
Her brother Jifeng fought for her and Song Baiyan even backed her up.
An illegitimate daughter, why does she deserve such glory?!
Ji Ming came over to call Song Baiyan: "Minister, the gentleman is waiting for you."
Before leaving, Song Baiyan’s generous hand patted Tang Li’s shoulder, as if to soothe and encourage.
Noticing this scene, the rage in Lai Wenyan’s chest dissipated. He wanted to win over Song Baiyan, and didn’t mind doing so through Tang Li, this "bridge."
Thinking this way, he no longer deemed Tang Li useless.
Han Jifeng standing up for his daughter indicated that there might be hope in the marriage matter. Now that Tang Li had made a mark in front of Song Baiyan, in dealing with Song Baiyan in the future, just by mentioning Tang Li, their relationship would naturally be closer than with others by a notch.
Lai Shengxia saw Han Jifeng leaving the banquet hall through a side door, excusing herself to the restroom to follow, and without any particular effort, she spotted Han Jifeng at the window corner of the corridor.
Han Jifeng had taken off his suit and loosened his tie, standing there smoking.
Approaching, Lai Shengxia noticed the scraped skin on his right hand.