At this mont, as Ding Fan turned toward the voice, who else could be entering the crowd but Zhang Wanyue?
When Ding Fan first ca to Zhangzhou, he had arrived on the sa train as Zhang Wanyue. At that ti, they were staying in berths across from each other. Soone had attempted to steal Ding Fan's belongings, and Zhang Wanyue, from the side, had shouted a warning. Shortly after, those bad people wanted to harm Zhang Wanyue, but it was Ding Fan who had eventually rescued her.
Back then, Ding Fan knew that Zhang Wanyue was here looking for her grandfather. Now he thought about it, although at the ti Zhang Wanyue hadn't ntioned who her grandfather was, her appearance here suggested that her grandfather must be Zhang Guanglin.
"Miss Zhang? What brings you here?" The police officer, who obviously recognized Zhang Wanyue, spoke with a smile plastered across his face.
Zhang Wanyue walked up to Ding Fan and then turned to the police officer and asked, "What are you trying to do?"
The police officer was taken aback.
However, the police officer was adept at reading the room, and upon one glance at Zhang Wanyue's expression, he roughly figured out that Ding Fan must be a friend of hers...
The officer hurriedly said, "There was so misunderstanding just now. The security guard said this man was causing trouble, so..."
"Who's causing trouble..." Zhang Wanyue glared at the security guard with clear annoyance.
"No... nobody's causing trouble..." The security guard hastily waved his hands and said.
Zhang Wanyue wasn't soone these sorts of people could afford to provoke; after all, she was a mber of the Zhang family. If they made her unhappy with just a few words, they'd have a hard ti in the future.
At this mont, Zhang Wanyue cast another glance at the security guard with blood around his mouth.
The security guard hurriedly waved his hands. "Nobody caused any trouble, I just bumped into sothing myself..."
The security guard felt he was indeed quite unfortunate—having been beaten until his teeth fell out, now he had to grin and bear it, claiming that it was his own clumsiness.
He wasn't stupid; how could he possibly knock out his own teeth...
But, unfortunately, there was nothing he could do...
After hearing both security guards' explanations, Zhang Wanyue looked at the police officer. "You heard them, no one was making trouble here."
The police officer, eager to please, said with a smile, "Then it was just my misunderstanding... Sorry, my apologies, Miss Zhang."
At this point, Zhang Wanyue paid no attention to the crowd around her and went straight up to take Ding Fan by the arm, leading him into the hotel.
Qin Manshu followed by Ding Fan's side, with Zhang Wanyue leading the way. After passing through a corridor, Zhang Wanyue brought the two of them into a private room.
"Brother Fan, and this lady is?" Zhang Wanyue asked, looking at the beautiful woman beside Ding Fan. She had wanted to ask earlier but the situation hadn't been right.
"This is my girlfriend," Ding Fan said.
Qin Manshu gave Zhang Wanyue a polite smile in response.
"Brother Fan, you're amazing," Zhang Wanyue said, looking at Ding Fan with admiration.
Though Qin Manshu dressed simply, her dignified deanor and outstanding temperant definitely made her a first-class beauty...
You know, even Zhang Wanyue herself could be considered a beauty, but compared to Qin Manshu, she fell short by quite a bit...
Ding Fan just smiled; Zhang Wanyue's straightforward temperant hadn't changed.
Ring... At that mont, Zhang Wanyue's phone rang. She checked the number and quickly answered the call.
"... What... Okay, I'm on my way... Yes, I understand," Zhang Wanyue said hurriedly before hanging up the phone.
"Brother Fan, I still have sothing to deal with... By the way, what brings you two here? Are you looking for soone or..." Zhang Wanyue asked.
"We're here to deliver a birthday gift to Old Master Zhang on behalf of a friend," Ding Fan said.
Zhang Wanyue nodded. "Well, Brother Fan, the banquet is being held in the lobby on the first floor. You and your girlfriend can head there later. Once I finish up here, I'll co find you."
Ding Fan nodded.
At such a grand birthday banquet, there would certainly be plenty of things to handle.
Then Zhang Wanyue dashed out of the private room, her light footsteps trailing behind her along the corridor outside.
Ding Fan and Qin Manshu exchanged a smile.
After Zhang Wanyue left, Ding Fan and Qin Manshu went straight to the lobby on the first floor as she had instructed.
Even if Zhang Wanyue hadn't given them directions, Ding Fan and Qin Manshu would have been able to find it. The hotel was particularly bustling with guests today, and there were various signs and markers placed around.
Ding Fan and Qin Manshu arrived at the first-floor lobby.
The lobby was enveloped in beautiful music, with guests twirling around the dance floor. Ding Fan and Qin Manshu, not liking the bustle, found a very quiet corner to sit down.
The two thought that as soon as they t Zhang Qinglin and delivered the gift for his grandfather, their task would be complete.
Ding Fan and Qin Manshu grabbed so food and sat together, unconcerned with the surrounding noise. For a couple deeply in love, no one else existed in their eyes—only each other...
"Brother Fan, finally done with everything, I'm so exhausted..."
After a while of casual conversation between Ding Fan and Qin Manshu, Zhang Wanyue found her way over.
Zhang Wanyue was quite considerate. Seeing Ding Fan and Qin Manshu dressed plainly, she worried they might be neglected, which is why she ca over to attend to them herself.
"Parties and banquets are like that, always needing so mind to it," Manshu said with a laugh at this point.
"Ah... no kidding. I'm in charge of the red wine, and once we run out, I have to go to the back storeroom to fetch more," Wanyue said, fanning herself with her hand.
"Is this your grandfather's birthday banquet?" Ding Fan asked, slightly taken aback after hearing what Wanyue had said.
Wanyue nodded. "Yes, it's my grandfather's birthday banquet. Is there sothing wrong with that?"
Seeing the puzzled look on Wanyue's face, Ding Fan fell into a mont of deep thought.
"Responsibility for red wine should be handled by the staff, shouldn't it? You're a mber of the Zhang Family, you should just be taking care of guests…" Manshu, who had understood Ding Fan's point, chid in from the side.
Wanyue blinked and then smiled in realization. "It's no big deal. It's my grandfather's birthday banquet after all. I can't do much else, so I might as well do what I can manage."
Ding Fan nodded.
Clearly, Wanyue didn't understand so of the etiquette in high society. Things like being in charge of red wine simply weren't done by young ladies of the family.
But now Ding Fan didn't understand whether Old Master Zhang intentionally wanted to train Wanyue or if there was so other situation...
Because he didn't know the specifics, it wasn't appropriate to speak carelessly.
"Wanyue... what are you doing here?" Just then, a particularly inhospitable voice ca from nearby.
Upon hearing this voice, Wanyue quickly stood up, looking as if she were a child caught doing sothing wrong by a teacher during roll call.
Ding Fan looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young man, about twenty-three or twenty-four, approaching from the side.
"Cousin Du Lei..." Wanyue greeted softly.
The young man called Du Lei approached their table and, after scanning Ding Fan, Manshu, and Wanyue, his eyes finally settled on Manshu.
"Wanyue, is this your friend?" Du Lei's eyes were now as if nailed onto Manshu, impossible to pull away.
"She's my friend... my classmate..." Wanyue seemingly worried that Manshu might be driven away by Du Lei, quickly told a white lie.
"He is also my classmate…" Wanyue introduced Ding Fan as well.
However, at this point, Du Lei's eyes hadn't even rested on Ding Fan; his focus was entirely on Manshu.
"Miss, let introduce myself. I am the Head of the Planning Departnt of the Zhang Corporation. The one celebrating his birthday today is my dear maternal grandfather..."
Having said that, Du Lei put on an air of superiority.
Ding Fan looked at Du Lei as if he were looking at an idiot. Just a Head of a Planning Departnt, and in a regional company like Zhang Corporation at that, Ding Fan couldn't fathom why Du Lei felt such a strong sense of superiority.
"Miss, may I have the honor to ask you for a dance..." Du Lei said, offering Manshu an inviting gesture.
In Du Lei's view, being young and wealthy as he was, an invitation from him would surely make Manshu rush gratefully into his arms.
But while imagination can be pleasant, reality is often harsh.
Manshu didn't so much as give Du Lei a glance. "I'm accompanying my boyfriend, and also, if you have nothing to do, please don't disturb us here…"
Boyfriend?
Du Lei's expression turned sour as he turned to look at Ding Fan.
After sizing up Ding Fan, Du Lei said, "Kid, your outfit probably isn't even worth five hundred bucks, is it?"
As Du Lei spoke, the corners of his mouth curled into a sneer. "Do you know how much my suit costs? It was personally tailored for by the Italian master designer, Mussolini. Conservatively speaking, it's worth at least three hundred thousand…"
Provocatively staring at Ding Fan, Du Lei continued, "I'll give you three hundred thousand right now to get out of here, then I'll dance with the lady."
After making his offer, Du Lei slapped a cheque right in front of Ding Fan.
He really wanted to use money to make go away…
At this mont, Ding Fan didn't want to deal with Du Lei. After all, he was here with Manshu on business and didn't want to make a scene.
"Scram!" Ding Fan said in a low, gruff voice to Du Lei at his side.
Du Lei's complexion turned ugly, but he quickly sneered. "Kid, don't try to act tough when you're just a skinny cow pulling a heavy cart. Think carefully, it would take you a year to earn that three hundred thousand. If you don't disturb and the lady tonight, the money is yours…"
As Du Lei spoke, he turned his attention to Manshu. "Tonight, if you're with , I can give you everything… You see, I'm so poor, I've only got money left!"
"Cousin Du Lei, what are you doing? These two are my classmates; please don't behave like this," Wanyue said sternly from the side.
"Get out of here before I get angry!" Du Lei said coldly, without even glancing at Wanyue.
"I'll say it again, these two are my classmates; please show so respect, or I will have to tell Grandfather," Wanyue retorted with defiance.
With Manshu showing no signs of agreeing and Wanyue continuing to talk, Du Lei got increasingly angry.
"I told you to get lost, didn't you hear ?"…
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