Chapter 303: Iron-Blooded Friendship
"There were so many people at the birthday banquet. A lot of them saw me, but... I don’t recall seeing you, Miss Zhu."
Zhu Yuehua’s expression stiffened for a moment, but it quickly returned to normal.
"You’re right, Mr. Fu. I was being too forward."
Yun Zijin listened to their conversation and blinked. ’Is the atmosphere a little tense?’
Just then, there was a knock on the door of the private room.
Fu Yang got up from his seat and went to open the door.
It was Creach, who led the servers in with their order.
"Enjoy your meal, everyone."
After serving the food, Creach and his staff left the private room.
Yun Zijin invited everyone to eat. To hide her embarrassment, Zhu Yuehua sat down next to Yun Zijin.
Fu Ze had been there for about ten minutes when the door to the private room opened again. This time, it was Lu Yunque.
Seeing Lu Yunque, Yun Zijin’s eyes lit up. "You’re here!"
Hearing Yun Zijin’s voice, Lu Yunque’s gaze couldn’t help but soften. "Yeah."
He walked toward Yun Zijin as he spoke.
Su Mengyao had expected Zhu Yuehua to have the sense to give up her seat for Lu Yunque, but she was so captivated by him that she was frozen in place.
With no other choice, Su Mengyao stood up, vacating the seat on Yun Zijin’s other side. She then moved to sit on the other side of Sheng Yang.
Lu Yunque gave her an approving look, then smoothly sat down in the seat next to Yun Zijin.
"Brother."
"Brother Lu."
...
Everyone in the private room was greeting Lu Yunque.
Fu Ze, however, simply raised his glass to Lu Yunque as a greeting.
Li Yuexing and Sheng Hao arrived almost back-to-back.
At this point, everyone for the gathering had arrived.
"Alright, everyone! Let’s raise a glass to celebrate our Zijing successfully acquiring the South Suburb plot!"
Li Yuexing was the resident hype man, getting the party started the moment he walked in.
Everyone raised their glasses. "Cheers!"
"Speaking of which, Zijing, I thought you were joking before when you said you wanted to buy that plot in the South Suburb. I never thought you were serious."
Li Yuexing truly hadn’t expected Yun Zijin to actually get her hands on the Xia Family’s land in the South Suburb.
"When have I ever joked about something like that?"
Yun Zijin figured they thought she was joking simply because they didn’t believe she could pull it off.
’Seriously? I have a system, for crying out loud.’
"So what are your plans for this plot? If you need anything, just say the word."
The Xia family might not have been able to handle this plot, but that didn’t mean their group couldn’t.
If Yun Zijin couldn’t manage it, she still had all of them to back her up.
"I’m building a manor. Didn’t I mention that before?"
Everyone else: ...
"Are you sure?"
That was no easy feat.
Even they wouldn’t dare guarantee they could secure the necessary permits to build a private manor.
"Of course. I’ve already handled it. I’m just waiting for the documents to come through, then I can pick a date to start construction."
Yun Zijin wasn’t building the manor to make a profit.
With this manor project, she wouldn’t have to worry about her spending missions for a long time.
"Alright then. If you need any help, just ask. I’ll definitely help if I can."
"You should worry about your own company. As her boyfriend, it’s my job to take care of Zijin’s business."
Lu Yunque knew Li Yuexing had a thing for Yun Zijin. Even though he hadn’t done anything inappropriate, it still rubbed Lu Yunque the wrong way.
"Who knows? Our companies’ main businesses are different. It’s not certain who can actually help Zijing."
When it came to Yun Zijin, Li Yuexing just wanted to butt heads with Lu Yunque.
He wasn’t about to fight a brother over a woman, but he did enjoy getting under Lu Yunque’s skin.
He felt a sense of satisfaction whenever Lu Yunque was annoyed.
Lu Yunque: ...
Li Yuexing’s behavior was the kind that made you grind your teeth in frustration, but there was nothing you could do about it.
"Alright, you two, stop bickering. I probably won’t need your help with the manor. I can handle it myself."
’If it really comes down to it, I’ll just go find Yan Shutang. For the sake of Mr. Tang Zhaosong’s laboratory, there’s no way he’d just stand by and do nothing.’
Lu Yunque and Li Yuexing temporarily called a truce, and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.
When these two titans clashed, it was the small fry like them, who barely dared to breathe, who suffered.
At this moment, the only ones unaffected were Fu Ze and Sheng Hao.
Oh, and Yun Zijin, the one who dared to break up their fight.
Qin Sitong moved closer to Su Mengyao and whispered, "Is it normal for them to be like this? They won’t end up as enemies over Zijin, will they?"
Although Fu Ze was sitting some distance from Qin Sitong, he still vaguely heard what she said to Su Mengyao, and the corner of his mouth curled into a slight smile.
"How would I know? I’ve only met them a few times in total."
Su Mengyao was so flustered by Qin Sitong’s question that she rushed to explain.
’I don’t know much about those two big shots either, okay?’
"Don’t worry. If they were really going to turn on each other, they wouldn’t have shown up here together today."
Seeing that Qin Sitong and Su Mengyao were worried, Sheng Yang lowered his voice and explained to them.
The bond Lu Yunque and Li Yuexing had forged over many years was real. Even if they happened to fall for the same person, they wouldn’t play out some drama where brothers become bitter enemies.
Besides, from start to finish, Yun Zijin had never given Li Yuexing a single opening.
The way Li Yuexing acted out against Lu Yunque was just to get under his skin; there was nothing more to it.
Fu Ze, Sheng Hao, and Sheng Yang could all see this clearly. In fact, they were even enjoying the show a little.
Who would pass up on some good drama? And live drama is always the best.
"As long as it’s nothing, then it’s fine. I was just worried... it wouldn’t reflect well on Zijin."
Qin Sitong was just worried that if the two of them fought, the rumors would be bad for Yun Zijin’s reputation.
Although Qin Sitong didn’t spell it out, Su Mengyao and Sheng Yang both knew what she was trying to say.
"Then you can rest completely assured. Nothing’s going to happen."
Sheng Yang could guarantee that much, at least.
Meanwhile, the nearby Fu Ze almost spilled the wine he was lifting to his lips when he heard what Qin Sitong said.
"You and Miss Yun are very close?"
Fu Ze hadn’t had much contact with Yun Zijin. He only knew that Su Mengyao had been getting close to Yun Zijin recently.
He didn’t know much about Qin Sitong, but after just eavesdropping, he found her quite interesting.
"Of course! Zijin and I have an ironclad friendship from four years of university!"
Because they didn’t get along with the other two in their dorm, Yun Zijin and Qin Sitong had to rely on each other to get by during their four years at university.
They would even share leads on part-time jobs.
"That does sound nice. So, when your friend suddenly went from a poor student to a rich young lady, you didn’t feel a sense of disparity?"
Fu Ze’s words were meant to sow discord.
Qin Sitong glared at Fu Ze. "What nonsense are you talking about? My friendship with Zijin won’t change just because her status has!"
’If I were the jealous type, I wouldn’t be here today, and I certainly wouldn’t have accepted Zijin’s help in opening the Wangyou Milk Tea Shop.’
Fu Ze nodded, feigning seriousness. "I believe you. The desserts here are quite good. Would you like to try one?"