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The guests had arrived, and Li Hao pressed the bell, signaling the server to begin bringing out the cold dishes. He welcomed everyone to take their seats, with Fang Shuoyan taking the main seat first, followed by the others as they settled in. Li Hao sat to Fang Shuoyan's left, while Si Ningyuan took the seat on his right.
"Xiao Jia, come over here," Fang Shuoyan said, standing up and pulling out the chair on his right.
"I'll sit with Lin Xiao; you can sit over there," Nan Jia said, glancing at Si Ningyuan who had already moved closer.
Fang Shuoyan remained still, casting a look at Si Ningyuan that seemed to say, "Try sitting here if you dare."
Si Ningyuan sighed inwardly; this love-struck brain was too intense, even during a meal they had to stick together. Nan Jia turned to Lin Xiao with a hint of apology. "Let's add each other on WeChat later and chat more."
Lin Xiao smiled in response, agreeing.
Lin Xiao noticed that Fang Shuoyan was cold to everyone except for Nan Jia, whose voice he spoke to in a gentler tone, though his words still carried an air of undeniable authority.
The other two at the table were Zhu Xiangwu, a friend of Nan Jia and a reporter from Beijing Daily News Agency, and Wang Mingxuan, Li Hao's childhood friend and a shareholder of Ningyuan Group. The rest of the attendees seemed familiar with one another, engaging in conversations that Lin Xiao couldn't join, so she quietly listened.
"You should eat this too," Li Hao said as he noticed Lin Xiao hadn’t eaten much except for her sweet soup. He handed her his bowl of sweet soup.
Lin Xiao accepted it and pushed her bowl of sea cucumber congee towards him.
"Eat more; I'll take you out to have some fun later," Li Hao said, concerned that Lin Xiao might be bored.
How could she be bored? They were all great storytellers, and she was thoroughly enjoying listening to them.
"Li Hao, what secret whispers are you sharing with Lin Xiao? Come on, let us all hear it!" Si Ningyuan teased.
When Lin Xiao worked as Li Hao's secretary, she thought Si Ningyuan was an extremely shrewd businessman; she never expected him to be such a character in private.
Lin Xiao mentioned that he hadn’t enjoyed his drinks enough today and suggested he visit Yu Rao next time since she would treat him then. Li Hao playfully patted Lin Xiao's leg.
Lin Xiao smiled knowingly in response.
"Li Hao, I only knew you were good at studying; I didn’t realize you were so good at making your wife happy," Yan Ge chimed in. "You should learn from Li Hao!" Si Ningyuan exclaimed dramatically.
Si Ningyuan understood that Li Hao had orchestrated this gathering intentionally; he had brought Wang Mingxuan along to strengthen their investment in tourism development for Yurou County.
Fang Shuoyan gazed affectionately at Nan Jia. "Xiao Jia, what do you want?" (For more about Fang Shuoyan and Nan Jia's story, please refer to another book titled "Crossing a Thousand Years to Love the Tyrant.")
Nan Jia smiled lightly and playfully scolded Si Ningyuan, "Brother, you really should keep an eye on Mai Dong today. Look at how arrogant you are."
Fang Shuoyan did not respond to Nan Jia and returned to his cool demeanor.
Lin Xiao, perceptive as ever, sensed an inexplicable distance in Nan Jia's smile. She had assumed that Nan Jia and Fang Shuoyan were a couple, as their interactions seemed intimate, and it appeared that Fang Shuoyan's heart was entirely devoted to Nan Jia.
Yet, while Nan Jia maintained her composed smile, the warmth she showed Fang Shuoyan was distinctly different from how she smiled at others. When she chatted with her friend Zhu Xiangwu, her laughter felt much more genuine.
Li Hao had excellent control of the situation; by the end of the meal, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.
"Lin Xiao, how about I take you out for drinks?" Nan Jia approached and patted Lin Xiao on the back.
Lin Xiao was somewhat surprised; after all, Nan Jia had already consumed quite a bit of alcohol.
"What are you looking at Li Hao for? Aren't you trying to promote tourism in your town? Just give me this package," Nan Jia said, clearly a bit tipsy.
Lin Xiao felt a warm flutter in her heart; she realized that coming to this gathering with Li Hao was all for her own sake.
"You've had enough to drink today. Let's head back; I'll keep you company," Fang Shuoyan stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Nan Jia.
"Fang Shuoyan, let go of me. I don't want to see you," Nan Jia insisted as she pushed against him.
Fang Shuoyan was cautious not to hurt her; he loosened his grip but did not completely let go.
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