Transmigration: The Little Chef Calls The Shots-Chapter 1333 - 185, Host a Banquet (Part 1 of 3)

Thinking of this, Lin Yuan couldn’t help but clench her teeth in anger. Zhao Hongsheng had clearly seen Wu Jiangtao’s sleazy gaze, yet he just grinned and patted his shoulder.

What did that mean? A reminder? Or a warning? Or perhaps...

Contemplating this possibility made Lin Yuan shiver uncontrollably. Now that Zhao Hongsheng had the wealthy Wu family of Jiangnan at his side, An’s House naturally no longer caught his eye. If he intended to win over the Wu family by offering An Yueyue, wouldn’t An Yueyue be in great danger?

Biting her lip tightly, Lin Yuan’s hand clenched the writing brush even harder. She had felt something amiss during the opening of Chen Ji Cloth Shop and had already warned An Jie. Unexpectedly, An Yueyue had naively followed along this time!

"What an idiot!"

Throwing down her brush, Lin Yuan then sent a less busy attendant to deliver a message to An Jie. An’s House had neither any connections nor shared hometown with Ma Junying, hence they naturally hadn’t attended this banquet.

Soon after, An Jie himself arrived. Upon seeing Lin Yuan, he nodded gratefully and followed the attendant up to the elegant room on the second floor.

An Jie was An Yueyue’s elder brother and could naturally take his sister away by simply fabricating a lie.

Watching An Jie lead a sullen-faced An Yueyue downstairs, Lin Yuan felt somewhat relieved.

However, it seemed that An Yueyue didn’t appreciate the gesture at all. As she walked past Lin Yuan, she frowned and glared at her.

Although there was no malice and the glare wasn’t particularly harmful, it seemed that An Yueyue had figured out that her being caught by her brother was due to Lin Yuan tipping him off.

Lin Yuan shrugged helplessly, not taking the young girl’s discontent to heart.

Just after An Yueyue left, First Scholar Ma Junying emerged from the elegant room, holding a cup of wine. Today, he was dressed in a black long robe, tightened around the waist with a belt of the same color, from which hung two pieces of exceptionally fine mutton-fat white jade.

From the first floor, Lin Yuan felt a bit dazed. The First Scholar truly was extraordinary. This Ma Junying looked very different from the Young Master Ma she had seen before, less scholarly and more sharp.

Lin Yuan furrowed her brow slightly, feeling this version of Ma Junying was not the same person she’d once been close to; he seemed distant and elusive.

She knew this wasn’t because of a change in status. Xia Zheng’s status was even higher than Ma Junying’s, but she never felt any hint of superiority from Xia Zheng or Xia Zhen.

Yes, a sense of superiority, distance, that was the impression Ma Junying gave now.

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

Just as Ma Junying began to speak, Lin Yuan’s thoughts were pulled back. freeweɓnøvel.com

He then raised his wine cup high while standing in the corridor of the second floor, overlooking the hall where his classmates, fellow townsmen, and friends sat. "Ladies and gentlemen, I truly appreciate your presence at today’s banquet and am thankful for your past kindness. Here, with a modest cup of wine, I express my deepest gratitude. Please!"

With that, he held the bottom of the cup with his left hand and drained it in one gulp.

Lin Yuan pursed her lips and resumed focusing on her accounts.

However, as she was about to bow her head, Ma Junying unexpectedly called out to her, "Miss Lin, thank you for your generous hospitality today, much appreciated!"

Lin Yuan looked up and met Ma Junying’s smiling eyes, momentarily losing herself. Could it have been an illusion earlier? Was the gentle and scholarly Young Master Ma not gone after all? Wasn’t this the same Young Master Ma with whom she had laughed and watched the children play in the snow?

"You’re too kind, Young Master Ma..."

"Oh! The First Scholar is truly polite!"

Lin Yuan had not finished her sentence when she suddenly felt a strong hand grasp her tightly. Then, Xia Zheng’s slightly provocative voice rang beside her ear, "Here at Dong Tian, we do business openly. It isn’t just the First Scholar, even if the Third place scholar or Second place scholar comes by on another day, we will treat them with the same hospitality. Of course, as long as they pay, we will treat them well. Don’t you agree? My dear?"

Staring at Xia Zheng’s suddenly enlarged smiling face close to hers, Lin Yuan’s mind blanked out, ignoring his mention of "my dear," utterly captivated by his thoughts of "so handsome" and "so charming."

Ma Junying, who had been trying to get close to Lin Yuan, was furious at being interrupted by Xia Zheng, his nose almost askew with anger. He had just seen Xia Zheng leaving; how had he popped back so suddenly!

Though enraged internally, in front of so many guests, including several government officials, he couldn’t afford to show any discontent with the Second Young Master of the General’s Mansion, lest manipulative individuals exploit the situation.

Without another word, Ma Junying raised his wine cup, downed it in frustration, then turned and went back into the elegant room.

Xia Zheng, watching Ma Junying’s retreating figure, smugly raised an eyebrow, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy about something being amiss.