Jinsheng Hotel was owned by the Ye family, so everyone knew who this celebration banquet was being held for.
After all, Ning Li was only Su Yuan’s daughter from her previous marriage and not really related to the Ye family.
“That’s true. In that case, the Ye family is being very nice to her. If she was still with her previous family, they surely wouldn’t even be able to afford such a venue, right?”
“Actually, the gap between first and fifth place isn’t that big. At the very least, it’s not as big as the gap between their families.”
“Yeah. I heard that the Ye family bid for the Qinghe Bridge project. They can definitely earn back whatever they spend now with that project.”
The person who spoke looked envious.
“I heard that the Ji family’s bidding price was extremely close and only missed by a hair. What a pity.”
“Hey, they’re here…”
The door to the banquet hall opened.
Ye Ming took the lead and walked in, greeting the crowd as he approached.
He was clearly in a good mood today.
With the Qinghe Bridge project progressing well and Ye Ci’s achievement, it was no wonder he looked like that.
Tonight’s celebration banquet was not very big. The Ye family had only invited less than thirty people of a certain status in Yunzhou that had good relations with them.
On the second floor.
Ye Ci was all decked out that night.
She wore a navy blue maxi dress and her hair had been pulled up with a diamond hairpin.
Ye Ci wore light makeup, which made her look very innocent and ladylike.
She walked out of her room and knocked on the next door, “Sister Ning Li, it’s almost time. Shall we go?”
In the afternoon, Ning Li had said that she had an errand to run and would come to the hotel by herself in the evening.
It was almost time for them to go downstairs.
In a moment, the room door was opened from the inside.
When Ye Ci saw Ning Li behind the door, she was stunned.
Ning Li wore a white, knee-length sleeveless dress that revealed her beautiful and slender calves.
Her soft, lustrous long hair had been curled slightly at the ends and draped over her shoulders.
Ning Li did not wear any makeup, but her skin was flawless. It made her big eyes seem extraordinarily bright.
Her outfit was incredibly simple. The aloofness in her eyes made her seem more untouchable.
Even Ye Ci had to admit that Ning Li’s face was truly impeccable.
Ye Ci smiled stiffly and covered up the jealousy that surged violently in her heart with a laugh.
“Sister Ning Li, your dress is beautiful. I’ve never seen it before.”
Ye Ci had seen every dress from all major brands, but she had never seen the one Ning Li wore.
‘Is this from an unknown brand? It doesn’t look cheap though…’
Ning Li stepped forward and closed the door behind her.
As she walked, the inconspicuous embroidery on the hem of her dress gradually appeared, like the gentle moonlight.
Ye Ci saw it and was suddenly shocked.
‘The embroidery on her dress seems to be from…G&S?’
Ning Li’s dress was indeed from G&S.
To be precise, George had sent it to Ning Li.
As the heir of G&S, George would sometimes participate in the design and release of certain products as a consultant of sorts.
Only occasionally would he personally design something when he was in the mood to do so.
However, those were usually not for sale to the public and were kept as a collection to be enjoyed by himself.
Because of this, he even had his own production line.
Previously, Ning Li had mentioned that she was looking for a dress, so George had immediately picked a few and sent her several boxes of them.
Ning Li had stored them all in her rented apartment and had gone there this afternoon to pick one.
As Ye Ci stood there uncertainly, Su Yuan called out to them. “Lil Ci, Ning Li, it’s time to go!”
Ye Ci turned around and saw Su Yuan walking over as she lifted the hem of her gown.
“Mom, have you been waiting for a long time?”
She took Su Yuan’s hand naturally and leaned in close.
Ning Li was one step behind as she followed them downstairs, with an indifferent look on her face.
…
“Hello, Uncle Sun.”
“Auntie Liu, it’s been a long time since I saw you.”
The guests present were all acquaintances of the Ye family, so Su Yuan took Ye Ci around to greet them one by one.
The way they treated Ye Ci was also very cordial.
“Lil Ci, you’re getting more beautiful by the day!”
“She’s not just pretty, she also has the brains! Lil Ci got fifth place this time in the provincial physics competition. Su Yuan, I really envy you guys for having such an outstanding daughter like Lil Ci. My child is a far cry from Lil Ci and only knows how to play games all day long…”
Although these were just perfunctory words, Su Yuan still felt very flattered.
She beamed as she took Ye Ci’s hand.
“It’s all because of Lil Ci’s efforts. She stayed up late every night just to study for this competition and refused to go to bed early. She insisted on finishing all her study materials before she was willing to rest.”
Ye Ci gently pulled her back.
“Mom, don’t exaggerate. I was just lucky this time and happened to study the questions that came out. Moreover, Sister Ning Li did better than me.”
When Ning Li was mentioned, the surroundings became quiet for a moment.
Although Ning Li had come with them, the crowd still ignored her presence and only talked to Su Yuan and Ye Ci.
It was as if they had all forgotten that Ning Li had done better than Ye Ci in the competition.
All the liveliness, celebration, and laughter had nothing to do with Ning Li.
“Speaking of which, why didn’t the Ji family come today?” Someone broke the silence. “I’ll make a phone call.”
A moment later, she hung up the phone with a confused expression.
Su Yuan asked, “What’s wrong? Are they stuck in traffic?”
The woman looked embarrassed and replied, “No. They’re…not coming tonight.”
“Not coming?” Su Yuan frowned.
Even if they were still hung up about the Qinghe Bridge project, they should not be acting like that.
When had the Ji family become so calculative?
“Mrs. Ji said that they’re attending Second Master Lu’s party tonight.”
The crowd was shocked.
“Second Master Lu? Lu Huaiyu?”
“I thought he laid low in Yunzhou and rejected most visits from people. Why would he hold a party this time?”
The woman clutched her phone and looked confused.
“I don’t know either. All I know is that Second Master Lu seems to be having a party tonight at the Grand Hyatt.”
Just as the woman finished her sentence, Ning Li’s phone vibrated.
[Come get your candy.]
It was a message from Lu Huaiyu.
