Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Banquet

  （1）

  When the three of them entered, there was still a minute left before the time on the invitation, so there weren't many people in the hall. The really important figures usually wouldn't arrive this early.

  "I told you not to come so early, if it weren't for you wanting to arrange this and that, I would have arrived on time, that's the only way to show off. Look at all these people who are already here, they're all from small families, it's really embarrassing."

  Shen Yu didn't bother with her, narrowed his eyes and took a glance around the hall, then waved his hand towards one side.

  Shen Si Jia rolled her eyes and pouted, "I knew he would definitely come early, probably been waiting there for an hour already."

  "When did you arrive?" Yin Changjing strode over, a large palm slapping Shen Yu's back, startling Liao Xinxin.

  "We just arrived." Shen Yu moved away Yin Changjing's large paws and stretched his slightly numb back, "How about you?"

  "I've been sitting there for more than an hour," Yin Changjing said with a hint of pride.

  Shen Si Jia rolled her eyes and whispered to Liao Xin Xin, "See, I told you so. That impatient guy can't wait to stake out here a day in advance. My brother is like that because of a boss like him, he can't even go home on weekends." Then she glared at Yin Chang Jing with great dissatisfaction.

  Yin Changjing turned around to see Shen Sijia staring at him, immediately becoming excited, holding Shen Sijia's hand and chattering away, "Ah, isn't this little Sijia? Your sister-in-law mentions you every day, but you never go visit her."

  Shen Si Jia pouted and hummed twice, "I'm also always at home thinking about my brother, but he doesn't even come back on weekends. My feelings are being held back by this brother of yours."

  "Haha, haha." Yin Changjing let go of Shen Sijia's hand, "Come visit your sister-in-law at home next time."

  "Alright, every time Aunt Yin sees me, she tries all sorts of ways to introduce me to boyfriends. I'm not someone who's going to be left on the shelf, you know? The effort she puts into introducing me would be better spent introducing my brother instead, that would be much more effective."

  Shen Yu coughed on the side.

  Yoon Chang-keun immediately returned to the subject, "Those related to the case have not arrived yet."

  "Uh-huh." Shen Yu nodded, "I think so too, it's a hassle for Deputy Inspector to come here and watch over us so early."

  "Ah, otherwise I would have gone crazy at home too." Yin Changjing swung another big slap over.

  "Hmph, you can't even stay at home yourself, but you won't let others have a good time at home either." Shen Sijia said with a sarcastic tone.

  "Liao Xinxin, you and Si Jia are together, we'll go and come back." Shen Yu said to Liao Xinxin, "Eyes are shining a bit, many people recognize me, it's not very convenient to move around, Si Jia is the same, so I can only rely on you to keep an eye on things."

  "Hmm." Liao Xinxin nodded.

  She didn't think that even if Shen Yu attended the dinner party, she would be able to relax and have fun. She had also heard about Shen Yu's family background, which was a long line of high-ranking officials, far more prestigious than the purely business-oriented Yu family. Nowadays, with the close ties between government and business, Shen Yu, as a first-level police monitor in the provincial office, naturally had many people trying to curry favor with him at this dinner party, and there would also be many people keeping a close eye on him today. This was probably also one of the reasons why Shen Yu brought her along.

  "Let's sit down, you don't often wear high heels, your feet will hurt if you stand for too long." Shen Sijia said to Liao Xinxin as she watched Shen Yu and Yin Changjing walk to the other end of the hall.

  "Okay." Liao Xinxin grasped Shen Sijia's hand, trying to stand up straight as she walked step by step towards the rest area on the side of the hall.

  "Big brother has handed everything over to you, right?" Shen Sijia asked.

  "Uh-huh."

  "That's good, I might not have too much free time later, after all, only the two of us from the Shen family came, so we also need to socialize a bit. Xinxin, you can handle yourself, right?" Shen Sijia handed her coat to the waiter and then got a glass of orange juice for herself and Liao Xinxin each. "You have things to do today, so it's better not to drink alcohol, is orange juice okay?"

  Liao Xin quickly took over, "Thank you, Miss Si Jia. I'm actually not supposed to drink either. Once I start drinking, I get really crazy and it's said that it's quite scary. That's why people who know me don't dare let me drink."

  "Just call me Shen Sijia, we should be about the same age, although you look like a kid. Shen Sijia smiled and intimately held Liao Xinxin's arm, "You're also my brother's subordinate, so we'll see each other often in the future."

  Just as they were chatting, a middle-aged man walked over and bowed to Shen Sijia, "No wonder I felt familiar from afar, it turns out to be the young lady of the Shen family. It's hard for Miss Sijia to come so early, thank you for gracing us with your presence."

  Liao Xinxin saw the smile on Shen Sijia's face and immediately became polite and distant, with a hint of arrogance as a superior "So it was Manager Wang, I didn't expect to trouble you, such a busy person, to entertain."

  Wang Guan's smile looked very sincere, but it always gave Liao Xinxin a feeling of being cunning and deceitful.

  "I wonder if Shen's family has anyone else visiting besides Miss Scarlett..."

  "My brother has come this time too." Shen Sijia said with a smile.

  Mr. Wang's right eyebrow moved slightly, and he drew out the syllables, "So Mr. Shen has arrived too. But Mr. Shen is a busy man who rarely attends such dinner parties. This time, he has actually condescended to attend our Yu family's anniversary dinner, which makes us overjoyed. Here, I would like to welcome Mr. Shen on behalf of our host, and I will personally entertain him later."

  "Where, where. The Yu family has almost monopolized the real estate industry in North China and is the leader of the industry. My Shen family has always regarded the Yu family as a close friend, so how can we say 'condescending' when we are friends? This really makes my siblings and me at a loss for what to do."

  "Haha, Miss Su is indeed eloquent, but the Shen family has been prominent for generations and is a force to be reckoned with in official circles. Now, Young Master Shen and Miss Su's generation are even more impressive, like the waves of the Yangtze River pushing forward, while my Yu family is just a humble merchant family, how can we be mentioned in the same breath?"

  Liao Xinxin silently watched the two of them laughing and tossing an embroidered ball back and forth, although she couldn't quite understand what they were saying, she could tell that they were competing with each other. She took a step back, after all, she was an outsider and it seemed inappropriate to get too close.

  At this time, the number of people in the hall had gradually increased as it was approaching the scheduled time. Although Liao Xin Xin did not usually pay much attention to politics and business, many people had seen her on TV news before, and couldn't help but admire that the Yu family was indeed powerful and influential, with all the guests being either rich or noble. If she hadn't come as Shen Yue's companion, how could she have entered such a place?

  Just then, I heard a faint scream from a girl nearby. Liao Xinxin turned her head to look and found that several rich girls were blushing and looking at the same place with embarrassment, whispering something. The sound just now should have come from them too.

  Liao Xin's gaze followed the direction of their attention, and he saw a tall and slender figure walking in from the main entrance of the hall. The person had a subtle smile on his lips, and the gentle curve of his mouth added a few points to his already handsome appearance.

  A well-tailored charcoal gray suit on him did not make him look old, but added stability and grandeur. The delicate tie clip and crystal cufflinks were all in the right place.

  What a perfect man. Liao Xinxin thought. Then turned around and exchanged glances with Shen Sijia for a moment.

  The first person appears.

  The man walked up to Shen Si Jia and gently took her soft hand, planting a light kiss on it.

  "Beautiful Miss Scarlett, we meet again."

  Shen Si Jia had already withdrawn her gaze, a faint smile on her face.

  "Good evening, Master Yu Jian."