Chapter 342: Chapter 341: But, In Front of Her...

"It’s their celebration dinner. If you, their boss, show up, don’t you think it’ll make your employees uncomfortable?" Xu Su was speechless. ’Does he really have no idea how employees feel?’

Even though she’d never had a proper job, she was very online-savvy. There was a popular joke that said an employee’s resentment is more potent than a ghost’s.

’It’s not every day they get a celebration dinner. They should be able to have fun and relax.’

The man already had such a powerful presence. Xu Su had just noticed that out of the whole group, only the two senior engineers in the lead seemed relatively at ease. Everyone else was so intimidated they hardly dared to breathe in front of Zhou Mochen.

’If he really goes to the celebration dinner...’

The corner of Xu Su’s lip twitched. She was about to say more, but Zhou Mochen pinched her cheek.

A smile played on his lips as he explained, "Susu, if you understood what my presence signifies, you’d realize just how much they want me there."

"..." It suddenly dawned on Xu Su.

He wasn’t just any ordinary superior; he was the corporation’s Crown Prince. And he wasn’t some spoiled, do-nothing heir. He was the kind who wielded real power within the company, and he was the undisputed head of the real estate division.

Every word he uttered and every move he made in front of his subordinates would be endlessly analyzed. Attending this celebration dinner would not only signal his satisfaction with the completed work, but also serve as a powerful endorsement of the Chang City project team’s abilities.

Compared to receiving an endorsement from the corporation’s future leader, what did a little discomfort at dinner matter?

After all, if you thought about all the branch companies combined, no matter how big the project or how massive the profits, how many teams could say they’d been granted the honor of having the Crown Prince himself attend their celebration dinner?

As Xu Su mulled it over, it all clicked into place.

’So that’s it. My perspective was too narrow. I was just focused on relaxing at the dinner...’

’So short-sighted of me!’

Seeing that she looked a little chagrined, Zhou Mochen leaned closer and asked, "So, are we going? Or should we just eat by ourselves?"

Xu Su didn’t really care either way, but...

"We’re going!" Xu Su said, her voice firm.

’It wouldn’t be as interesting with just the two of us, anyway. Besides, I don’t want to go home so early.’

’I always feel like it’s not safe at home. At any moment, I could be completely and utterly devoured by him...’

The celebration dinner was held at the Famous City Clubhouse, where they had booked two private rooms. The younger, less senior employees were seated in the adjacent room.

Only the senior leadership of the team were invited into the main private room.

A crowd of people ushered Zhou Mochen, who was holding Xu Su’s hand, to the head of the table. Only after the two of them were seated did everyone else take their own seats.

The round table was laden with exquisite dishes. This group were clearly regulars here, as the door soon opened and a female manager in a uniform entered, greeting them with a wide smile.

She addressed him as "President Wang" over and over, and they seemed to be quite familiar with each other.

The chief engineer, Wang Qiang, wasn’t as relaxed as he normally was with just his team. He was extremely formal as he instructed the manager to introduce their signature dishes to the distinguished guest.

The female manager was a sharp woman; one look at the seating arrangement told her who the real boss at the table was. Her familiar smile instantly vanished, replaced by a respectful demeanor as she gave a slight bow to Zhou Mochen, who had yet to speak, and began her presentation.

Everyone else at the table smiled along, chiming in occasionally. No one touched their chopsticks.

Xu Su listened for a moment but found it all rather dull. Besides, she hadn’t eaten much that afternoon and was already starving.

Her eyes swept over the table before she simply picked up her chopsticks and grabbed a slice of fish from the plate in front of her.

The moment her chopsticks moved, a hush fell over the table for a split second before the lively chatter resumed. It was a subtle shift you wouldn’t have noticed if you weren’t paying attention.

Xu Su, for one, didn’t sense it at all. She was too busy happily digging in.

Huang Chao, sitting on the other side of the table, was completely unfazed by this turn of events.

’Taking the first bite of food? That’s nothing. I’ve witnessed far more outrageous, far more absurd things from her.’

Ever since he personally witnessed his big boss down that bottle of red wine and still show up the next day looking perfectly fine, Huang Chao had mentally filed away this Miss Xu as his future boss’s wife.

’It wasn’t that he was being presumptuous; this girl was just... not your average person.’

After Xu Su started eating, Zhou Mochen told everyone to relax and help themselves. He then began placing food on her plate, only occasionally responding to the others.

She had only managed a few bites before the chief engineer, Wang Qiang, stood up to propose a toast to Zhou Mochen.

Next to him sat a girl with striking features and fair skin. She wore a dress that accentuated her exquisite figure. Xu Su glanced at her, certain this girl hadn’t been at the construction site that afternoon.

Before getting up, Wang Qiang shot the girl a look. Taking the hint, she rose as well, took a bottle of red wine, and walked over to Zhou Mochen’s side to fill his glass.

After pouring the wine, she didn’t move away, but remained standing by Zhou Mochen’s side with a respectful and demure air.

Xu Su’s eyebrow twitched. She paused, her chopsticks hovering, and settled in to watch the show with great interest.

’I’m not quite sure if this little play unfolding before me is what I think it is.’

’They always say guys in the construction business play hard. I’m probably not wrong about this, am I?’

’But to do it right in front of me...’

’Still, this girl is quite pretty. She has a perfectly proportioned figure, and she looks so fair and succulent. Both delicate and alluring. In my opinion, she’s not a bit inferior to that Fei Qiao.’ 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

’This President Wang must have gone to great lengths to find such a high-quality woman. No wonder he’s still making the offer, even after seeing me here with Zhou Mochen...’

Xu Su thought to herself in silence, pretending to be oblivious as she slowly continued to eat.

After delivering an eloquent toast that seemed to work himself into a state of high excitement, President Wang was the first to raise his glass and drain it in one go.

His face was flushed.

Zhou Mochen listened to the man’s pledge of loyalty with a completely blank expression. He gave a slight nod but didn’t touch the wine glass on the table, merely offering a few casual words of encouragement.

He then gestured to the still-standing Wang Qiang, indicating for him to sit down.

This was perfectly normal; no one thought anything of it.

For the Crown Prince to be willing to hear him out, let alone offer a few words of encouragement, was already a great show of respect.

Wang Qiang nodded and sat down. His gaze swept, as if by chance, over the girl still standing by Zhou Mochen’s side. He immediately feigned anger, saying, "Lili, what are you doing just standing there like an idiot? Young Master Zhou isn’t drinking. Hurry up and swap out his glass, then arrange for a different beverage and fill it up for him."

The girl, Lili, acknowledged him and hurriedly bent over to retrieve the wine glass she had just filled in front of Zhou Mochen.

Xu Su watched Lili, wondering if her flustered movements were genuine or just an act, and felt a wave of exasperation.

The motion of bending over brought the girl extremely close to him. Zhou Mochen shot to his feet and sidestepped away, his expression darkening instantly. "Wang Qiang," he said, his voice cold, "Did I ask you to ’arrange’ anything?"

Xu Su popped a slice of lotus root into her mouth, silently wondering, ’I bet that "arrange" has another meaning.’

’It’s probably not as simple as just arranging for a beverage.’

At the entire table, only Xu Su had the nerve to keep eating. Everyone else was frozen in terrified silence.

This was especially true for Wang Qiang, the one who had been singled out. He scrambled to his feet again, the excited flush gone from his face, replaced by a deathly pallor.