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Li Fu’s car went straight into the parking lot under the International Pengzhan Hotel, going through some private tunnels before reaching the hotel’s top floor directly. The place was evidently quite closed off: there weren’t any people at all.

Li Fu led the three to a private room, and knocked on the door.

Both Yushu and Mengyao had been to the place countless times, already very familiar with their surroundings.

“Please, come in.” Chu Pengzhan’s voice sounded from inside the room.

Li Fu pushed open the door, only to step to the side as he turned to them. “Miss Chu, Miss Shu, and Mister Lin- after you.”

Mengyao and Yushu entered the room at the gesture, clearly used to Li Fu’s position as something of a butler- it was an image long rooted in their minds.

Lin Yi, on the other hand, felt a little uneasy. “Uncle Fu, after you too…”

“You’re the guest, Mister Lin.” Li Fu said firmly.

Without much of a choice, Lin Yi stepped through the door as well. He smiled in greeting upon sighting Chu Pengzhan. “Good morning, Uncle Chu.”

“Yi, come, sit! Haha, it’s just a family banquet, relax yourself…” Chu Pengzhan greeted with a smile as well. “Just get used to it slowly, we do this every weekend. Unless I’m out somewhere else on a business trip, that is.”

“Ahh…” Lin Yi could only reply with a bitter smile of his- why the hell was he partaking in a _family_ banquet, anyway? Li Fu was the Chu Pengzhan’s most trusted man, Yushu was Mengyao’s best friend, and Mengyao was Pengzhan’s daughter… They weren’t out of place in a family banquet, for sure, but as for Lin Yi himself……

Mengyao, on the other hand, was absolutely taken aback by her father’s words- what did this Lin Yi do to her father, why was he telling him to get used to attending the banquets?? Didn’t that mean that Lin Yi would be joining them every weekend from now on?

While it was true that she’d accepted Lin Yi, she’d really rather not admit or submit to a cocky and lazy looking guy like him!! How many would line up for the position of her shield? Where did Lin Yi get off with that nonchalant attitude, even going as far as to frustrate her on a daily basis?

Mengyao didn’t know it at the time, but her proud nature would be cause for extreme regret in the near future……

“Hehe, Shield Guy, you’re part of the family from now on! Let’s be nice to each other, yeah?” Yushu said kindly as she played the good girl role.

_Be nice to each other, huh? Maybe you should stop threatening me with something I didn’t even do! Coughing ‘tissues’ every day……_

“Yao Yao, what do you think? Are you satisfied with Lin Yi so far?” Pengzhan asked with a smile as he turned to his daughter.

“Does it even matter if I’m satisfied or not? You’re obviously not gonna fire him at this point.” Mengyao said sulkily.

“Haha, I see Shu getting along with him quite well though! What are your complaints regarding Lin Yi, Yao Yao?” Pengzhan asked.

“Don’t have any……” Mengyao said with a shake of her head. In truth, she was still very much confused as to what she thought of the guy- he put his life on the line for her back at the bank, but he always acted as if she wasn’t someone he should be treating seriously! He always pissed her off, too.

The worst part was how he treated Yushu so much nicer than he treated her!! What was with that, had she lost her appeal or something? She’d have assumed that she’d gotten ugly recently if it weren’t for Zhong Pinliang still bugging her……

“Well, why don’t you two try to get along with each other if you don’t have any? You’re the same age, after all! Daddy wouldn’t be so worried about you if you had a companion, too……” Pengzhan nodded satisfyingly upon hearing his daughter’s response.

Mengyao only sighed- they were letting a wolf into the house, that’s what this was!! What was her father thinking, throwing a stinky man under the same roof as his innocent, fragile daughter? That wasn’t even the the worst part- the thing that pissed her off the most was Lin Yi’s disinterest in her!!

The dishes soon started coming out, clearly made with a great deal of effort. They weren’t fancy or luxurious, but the attention to detail was very evident in their presentation.

A man of Chu Pengzhan’s caliber had long since lost interest in the luxurious selections of food to dine from- preferring a nice, healthy meal instead.

Lin Yi decided to go all out- both Li Fu did tell him to do so, after all. The chairman was okay with it, as well- there wasn’t much of a point in pretending that he was someone he wasn’t, either: it was an employer-employee relationship between Pengzhan and him, and he decided to be more genuine when eating together. With that, Lin Yi started stuffing food items into his mouth under Mengyao’s disdainful gaze and Yushu’s surprised eyes……

A chill went down Mengyao’s spine as she watched the man. _Can… Can you not… You’re my follower you know……_ She glanced at Yushu, letting out a sigh of relief- the girl didn’t seem to be too shocked or anything……

_Hmph, he’s just my follower, what do I care? Who cares if he chokes himself to death?_ Mengyao thought as she tried to comfort herself.

Lin Yi taking all the largest portions was getting on Mengyao’s nerves- she couldn’t take it anymore. “Lin Yi, maybe you wanna pack some up to eat at home later?!”

“Ah, yeah. I was just thinking of doing that.” Lin Yi replied with a nod.

Mengyao died with speechlessness. Meanwhile, Yushu tried to contain her laughter as Chu Pengzhan watched Lin Yi with a smile on his face- his impression of the kid was at its peak after the whole incident at the bank. He didn’t think much about the whole thing when his father kept nagging him about it, but it seemed that his eyes were spot on- Lin Yi was quite the man.

“Yao Yao, why don’t you go down with Shu and Uncle Fu first? I’ll help Yi pack some food up.” Pengzhan said as he went to look for some containers. Mengyao only blinked in surprise- her dad wasn’t the lavish type, but he’d never done something like that before…

Yushu seemed to be thinking about something as she looked at Chu Pengzhan, when a sudden, incomprehensible change took place in her eyes. They reverted to normal an instant later, and Yushu pulled Mengyao up with her hand. “Let’s go, Yao Yao……”

“Oh……” Mengyao couldn’t quite understand her father’s actions, but it wasn’t something she could just ask about. After all, her dad seemed to be finding Lin Yi more likeable than he found his own daughter to be. _He’s just a follower you hired……_

Li Fu moved on to get the car, while Yushu tugged on Mengyao’s hand to slow her down.

“Hm? What’s up, Shu?” Mengyao asked curiously.

“Yao Yao… I have this feeling……” Yushu said after a little hesitation, deciding to voice her concerns to her friend. She did keep the sudden realization she’d had hidden deep down, however.

“Feeling? What feeling?” Mengyao asked, not quite understanding what Yushu was trying to get at.

“Yao Yao, don’t you think… there’s something up with how Uncle Chu treats Lin Yi..?” Yushu said softly.

“Yeah…… You felt it too, Shu?” Mengyao nodded in agreement- she was just trying to wrap her head around this a moment ago...

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don't ask me about the tree sap