Chapter 28: The Banquet

After resolving his mother-in-law’s troubles, she happily took cash to the bank to make a deposit.

Ye Chen went straight home.

As soon as he entered the house, he noticed his wife, Xiao Churan’s shoes were already at the door, indicating she had returned. He headed directly to the bedroom.

Upon entering the bedroom, he saw his wife, Xiao Churan, just hanging up the phone, her face filled with surprise and excitement.

Curiously, he asked, “Wife, who were you just talking to?”

Xiao Churan excitedly replied, “It was my good friend Dong Ruolin! Do you remember her?”

“I remember,” Ye Chen nodded and said, “She used to study at Jinling University and was quite close to you. I think she’s from a prominent family in Yanjing, right?”

“That’s right,” Xiao Churan said. “Ruolin’s family is quite influential in Yanjing.”

Ye Chen smiled and asked, “So, is she coming to Jinling to see you?”

Xiao Churan said, “Not just to see me; she’s coming to work in Jinling!”

Ye Chen, puzzled, asked, “A young lady from a prominent family in Yanjing, why would she leave her family’s business to work in Jinling?”

Xiao Churan replied, “I’m not too sure. She said she’s going to work at Dihao Group, but I don’t know why she would come all the way to Dihao.”

Ye Chen nodded but thought to himself: Although the Dong family is far less powerful than the Ye family, they still have some influence in Yanjing. Dong Ruolin has no reason to give up her family’s business to work at Dihao Group.

Could it be that this woman has some special purpose for coming to Dihao Group?

Ye Chen felt confused but couldn’t determine anything for the moment.

It seems he would have to wait until Dong Ruolin started at Dihao Group and then have Wang Dongxue investigate her background.

At that moment, Xiao Churan seemed to remember something and tapped her forehead, saying, “Oh right, Ye Chen, I have a meeting with people from Dihao Group tomorrow, and I can’t make it. Can you pick Ruolin up from the airport and arrange a place to welcome her?”

Ye Chen agreed, “Sure, I’ll make arrangements for tomorrow.”

Xiao Churan added, “Also, find a nice place. Don’t worry about the cost; use my bank card.”

As she spoke, she was about to hand him her wallet.

Ye Chen quickly said, “No need, I have a friend who owns a pretty good restaurant. I can handle it.”

With that, Ye Chen took out his phone, intending to send a message to Chen Zekai at the Platinum Han Palace to arrange a banquet.

However, after thinking it over, he realized that the Platinum Han Palace was meant to be a surprise for his wife. It would be better to choose another place to host Dong Ruolin.

So, he sent a message to Hong Wuye instead.

“I want to host a banquet for a friend. Please arrange a high-end hotel, but not at the Platinum Han Palace.”

Soon, Hong Wuye replied, “Mr. Ye, rest assured. I have a restaurant called Tianxiangfu, which is on par with the Platinum Han Palace in Jinling. Tomorrow, I will arrange the best diamond private room and the finest banquet for you. We await your arrival.”

Ye Chen simply replied with one word: “Okay.”

……

The next day, Xiao Churan spent the entire day at Dihao Group, busy handling matters related to their collaboration.

Ye Chen called Wang Dongxue, the vice-chairman of Dihao Group, to inquire about Dong Ruolin’s upcoming employment.

Wang Dongxue was surprised that Ye Chen knew about this. She mentioned that Dong Ruolin had applied for the position of administrative director, a mid-level management role. The group found her resume impressive and decided to hire her, with her start date set for a few days later.

Ye Chen then advised her to observe this woman closely after Dong Ruolin started and to report any developments to him.

After arranging things with Wang Dongxue, Ye Chen took a taxi in the afternoon to the airport to pick up Xiao Churan’s friend, Dong Ruolin.

Upon arriving at the airport, just as Ye Chen was about to head to the arrivals hall, a Mercedes-Benz G-Class suddenly screeched to a halt right in front of him.

Xiao Churan’s cousin, Xiao Hailong, poked his head out of the car window, looking at Ye Chen with a puzzled frown, and asked, “Ye Chen, what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to pick up a friend of Churan’s. What about you guys?”

Ye Chen frowned, noticing that everyone in the G-Class was familiar to him—besides Xiao Hailong, there were also Wang Yunfei and Xiao Weiwei.

Xiao Hailong disdainfully said, “You must be talking about Miss Dong, right? Miss Dong has us to host her; you don’t need to bother, so scram!”

Ye Chen snorted coldly and replied, “If you want to leave, then you can go.”

With that, Ye Chen ignored them and walked straight into the arrivals hall.

Xiao Hailong was furious and was about to curse when Xiao Weiwei quickly reminded him, “Brother, Miss Dong is arriving soon. Grandma has reminded you to make a good impression on her! If you can win her over as a sister-in-law, your status in our family will be unmatched. Don’t stoop to this loser’s level.”

Xiao Hailong suddenly came to his senses.

He almost forgot the main purpose of his visit today.

In fact, welcoming Dong Ruolin was secondary; making a good impression on her and winning her over was the most important thing.

The Dong family is quite powerful in Yanjing. If he could get close to her, he would rise to prominence, and the Xiao family would also benefit greatly.

So, he suppressed his dissatisfaction with Ye Chen and hurriedly got out of the car with everyone to head to the arrivals hall.

At that moment, a particularly eye-catching, young, and beautiful woman appeared in the crowd.

She had long chestnut hair and was wearing a white suit that accentuated her exquisite figure.

Although she was wearing sunglasses, her porcelain-like fair skin and cherry-red lips could not hide her stunning beauty.

Upon closer inspection, her looks were certainly on par with Xiao Churan’s; they could be said to each have their own merits.

In an instant, the attention of everyone waiting in the arrivals area was drawn to her.

Xiao Hailong was mesmerized.

Even Wang Yunfei, who had come to watch the excitement, couldn’t help but exclaim, “No wonder she’s a young lady from Yanjing; her aura is indeed different.”

At this moment, Dong Ruolin also spotted the crowd and hurried over, waving at them, “Hailong, Weiwei, and Ye Chen, long time no see!”

Xiao Hailong felt a surge of excitement and quickly said, “Long time no see, Ruolin! You’ve become even more beautiful.”

Ye Chen smiled and also said, “Long time no see.”

Xiao Hailong then hurriedly said, “Ruolin, knowing you were coming, I specially booked a private room at the best hotel in Jinling to welcome you. Let’s hurry over now.”

Dong Ruolin glanced at Ye Chen and apologetically told Xiao Hailong, “Hailong, I’m really sorry, but I’ve already made plans with Churan and Ye Chen. Let’s reschedule for another day. I’ll be staying in Jinling for a long time, so there will be plenty of opportunities.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hailong’s anger flared. On such an important day, that loser Ye Chen was here to mess things up for him; it was utterly infuriating.

So, he deliberately said, “Ruolin, to welcome you, I booked the most famous Tianxiangfu in Jinling, and it’s a golden private room with a minimum spend of three hundred thousand!”

As he spoke, he looked at Ye Chen with disdain, sneering, “I wonder where this live-in brother-in-law of mine booked his banquet? If it’s too low-end, wouldn’t that be disrespectful to you?”