All the people in the room instinctively stood up when they saw the person walking in from outside.
As the guest approached the venue with a genial smile, the whole audience was taken aback.
No one had been informed beforehand that this person would come, so when Chief Song appeared in the hall, the entire room fell silent, and everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief, completely baffled as to how such a figure, typically only seen on the daily news, was present there.
The Huang family knew about Huo Sining’s treatment of Lu Ruiqi, but because Song Chunxue had already called to offer congratulations, they didn’t expect Chief Lu to personally make the trip.
Chief Lu didn’t put on airs and didn’t even bring guards with him. Upon entering the banquet hall, he went straight to Mr. and Mrs. Gu’s side and sat down. Seeing Zhou Shitao there as well, he was momentarily stunned.
"Old Zhou, what are you doing here?"
Zhou Shitao made no secret of it and replied with a smile, "It’s my little disciple’s big day, I came to show my support."
"Little disciple?" Chief Lu was puzzled.
Guests at several nearby tables were all ears to their conversation, their faces showing confusion upon hearing Zhou Shitao’s comment.
Zhou Shitao didn’t feel the slightest bit embarrassed as he boldly stated, "I’m getting on in years, and I’ve been pouring my heart into finding a closed-door disciple. The Huo girl has good talent, and I’ve decided to take this child as my last little disciple."
As soon as Zhou Shitao uttered these words, the surrounding people immediately gasped, even Chief Lu and the Gu couple were taken aback.
How stringent Zhou Shitao’s standards for accepting disciples were might not be clear to the average person, but those present were either from hereditary families or distinguished households and had heard of the Zhou family’s rules.
Some had even sent their children to the Zhou family to be tested, but almost all were deemed unqualified and sent back.
Now Zhou Shitao had openly declared his intention to take the Huang girl as his closed-door disciple, and by the look of his smile and admiration, it was clear that he held the girl in high regard.
Liu Manshu was sitting far from the spot where Chief Lu and Zhou Shitao were, but the news about Zhou Shitao wanting to take Huo Sining as a disciple quickly reached her from the other side, falling into her ears.
The moment Liu Manshu heard the news, she was instantly filled with mixed feelings, having known about Zhou Shitao’s intention to take a closed-door disciple two years earlier.
At that time, Liu Manshu had the idea and went in person with her son and daughter, hoping that Zhou Shitao would consider taking her children as disciples.
But to Liu Manshu’s disappointment and even annoyance, Zhou Shitao didn’t meet with her in person. Instead, his disciple made things difficult for her children.
The outcome was self-evident, both her children were unqualified, and Liu Manshu left the Zhou family disheartened with her son and daughter.
Now, learning that Zhou Shitao intended to accept Huo Sining as a disciple, the unpleasant memories came flooding back to Liu Manshu’s mind, and her eyes flashed with anger and disdain.
Liu Manshu looked down upon Huo Sining, the suddenly emerged orphan, from the bottom of her heart. She saw her as nothing more than a country bumpkin who had never seen the world, wondering what Zhou Shitao saw in her.
She couldn’t believe that a rural girl with no parents could be stronger than her own children, whom she had invested a fortune in and meticulously trained with great care.
Liu Manshu felt indignant, but the Zhou family’s pedigree was indisputable, and someone of Zhou Shitao’s stature wasn’t someone their Liu family and An family could pressure or manipulate at will.
So Liu Manshu observed with cold eyes, sneering inwardly.
She wanted to see for herself who this soon-to-return niece of the Huang Family was, what sort of divine being she must be, and what kind of skills she had to deceive so many.
"Why did Chief Lu also come?"
Seeing Chief Lu take his seat, those who were confused about the situation glanced at the two stern-looking guards standing at the door and finally couldn’t resist nudging Huang Jialin, who was in charge of receiving guests, to quietly ask.
The Huangs, though a military family, didn’t have any real power within the armed forces—the two elder gentlemen held no significant authority, and the remaining three sons, while in the military, had neither outstanding ranks nor abilities.
Based on the Huang family’s status, an irregular recognition banquet one wouldn’t normally catch the attention of Chief Lu, let alone his secretary.
Perhaps sensing the questioner’s confusion, Huang Jialin smiled and explained, "Don’t look at me; our family doesn’t have that much influence. The Chief came for my niece."
"Your niece?" The questioner was stunned, "Is your niece very familiar with Chief Lu?"
Huang Jialin smiled, "Familiar might be an overstatement, but the Lu Family is probably tripping over themselves trying to court favor with my niece right now."
The first to curry favor with a little orphan girl without parents, power, or influence? What a joke.
The questioner listened to Huang Jialin’s words and couldn’t help but curl their lips, unconsciously feeling that Huang Jialin was bragging.
But the next second, they were completely caught off guard.
Over there, Chief Lu heard Zhou Shitao saying he wanted to take Huo Sining as his apprentice, and actually followed up by saying,
"From what you’re saying, it seems your decision to take her as a disciple hasn’t been discussed with the Huang Family yet, right? Well, that’s perfect, I’ve also been thinking about taking this child as my goddaughter. Perhaps we could go to the Huang Family and discuss this together."
What on earth is going on? Chief Lu wants to take the Huang’s niece as his goddaughter?!
If this news hadn’t come straight from Chief Lu, it’s likely that no one present would believe it, because it was just too outrageous.
What kind of magic did this girl with no background have to make the head of the military willingly stoop to attend her recognition banquet, even eager to take her as his goddaughter?
The already surprising words of Zhou Shitao were enough to shock everyone, but now Chief Lu’s statement had truly set the room abuzz.
Suddenly, everyone’s interest was piqued. Some attendees who had initially come with a spectator’s attitude had to reassess the situation; it appeared that the young girl the Huangs recognized had some serious abilities, if she had won the protective stances of both Zhou Shitao and Chief Lu.
"I’m going, Ningning, something big has happened!"
The banquet hall was in shock. Su Qingqing, who had gone to the restroom, accidentally overheard the news from the banquet hall and immediately turned pale, running frantically to the resting room behind the banquet hall and exclaiming to Huo Sining anxiously.
"What happened?" Huo Sining was the protagonist of tonight’s banquet, and thus she was supposed to make her appearance only after the official start of the event, so for now she could only wait in the resting room.
After Su Qingqing relayed the situation in the banquet hall, Huo Sining was covered in cold sweat.
She hadn’t expected Zhou Shitao to show up, and even less did she expect Chief Lu to join him in causing such a disturbance.