He must have made at least a dozen phone calls, yet only two or three people agreed to co to the dinner. The rest all found various excuses to decline.
Clearly, it was difficult.
Beijing had always been a place where treatnt depended on who you were.
Nathalie had always stayed in McKinney, seldom visiting Beijing, and when she did, she kept a very low profile—hardly anyone knew of Nathalie’s existence.
Now their family suddenly decided to host a banquet, claiming it was to celebrate Nathalie’s return from McKinney and her academic advancent; when people heard the relative was from a lesser place, they found excuses to decline before he could finish speaking.
He was in his forties, a recognized figure in Beijing. When people politely declined, he couldn’t very well beg them to co for dinner shalessly.
After a round of phone calls, besides two or three minor families keen to ingratiate themselves with the Zachmann Family, none of the slightly more reputable families would attend.
He could only pin his hopes on his father.
"Dad, how many people are coming from your end?"
Mr. Zachmann’s face looked rather displeased, his complexion poor, his eyes tiredly opening; his usually spirited gaze was now dull and lackluster: "... Stephanie Tanzil from the Tanzil Family will co, Shawn Norton will too. In addition, Mr. Wafford and Mr. Avalon will make it, but others are all busy."
Upon hearing this, Leonardy Zachmann realized that those from the academic circle were no better than his situation.
In several of Beijing’s top families, apart from Stephanie Tanzil granting them ’face’ by agreeing to co, they were surprised to find that after reaching out to an entire circle, no one else would co.
This unexpected yet sohow expected situation caught them off guard.
After all, their patriarch had stepped down several years ago, and the Zachmann Family’s standing in Beijing was declining day by day. If Caryn hadn’t connected well with Amadeus and their elite circle, the Zachmann Family would probably feel even less confident.
According to the elder’s wishes, Nathalie’s advancent banquet was supposed to be a grand affair, ideally, with several prominent figures attending, so as to conveniently introduce Nathalie to this circle.
Instead, reality struck them like a slap in the face, taking them by surprise.
A high school student from McKinney.
Previously not very well-known, even if she perford well in the college entrance exams, in a city like Beijing that valued lineage, it would ultimately not et the discerning standards of the upper circle...
Leonardy Zachmann’s mood was heavy, not daring to look at his father’s face. He paused, his eyebrows furrowed, then said with difficulty, "I’ll try reaching out again, see if there’s anyone we haven’t contacted yet."
"Alright," Mr. Zachmann said in a defeated tone, lifting his eyelids slightly and murmuring, "Call the Imperial Hotel... switch our booking to a smaller hall."
"..." Leonardy Zachmann remained silent for a mont, sighed, and taking his phone, went out to take care of things.
Everyone was unwilling to co, and they couldn’t exactly put a knife to others’ throats to force them to attend, but this situation still made them feel rather powerless...
*
In the Vinson household, Sadam Vinson had just returned from outside, opened the refrigerator, and took out a bottle of water. Twisting off the cap, he took a sip.
He glanced over, noticing a red invitation carelessly placed on the table and asked the servant with a frivolous expression, "What’s that?"
"Master Sadam." The servant, who was brewing tea for him, stopped what he was doing when he heard the question, looked towards the direction indicated, and his face lit up with realization, "Ah, that. It was delivered by soone from the Zachmann Family just now. They are inviting you to dine at the Imperial Hotel next Wednesday."
The servant knew he was always impatient with these Beijing dinner gatherings and rarely dealt with these social obligations.
However, since Caryn Zachmann was on good terms with their young master, when the Zachmann Family sent an invitation, he accepted it out of politeness.
The servant hadn’t intended to ntion it to Sadam Vinson, but Sadam had seen the invitation himself.
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