When Xia Zhetao saw his superior’s expression looking increasingly dark, his heart skipped a beat and nearly burst.
‘I hope the president is not going to lose it in this place, right? It’s the former master of the Zhao family’s birthday banquet. If the president were to lose his temper, would this cause the former Mrs. President to be unhappy as well?
‘If the former Mrs. President is unhappy, then the president is definitely going to be upset. By then, when the president bursts with rage, I’m the one who’s going to suffer!
‘Sobs… God, please help me to get out of here…’
Many people at the banquet were caught by surprise by Mu Tingfeng’s sudden appearance. This was because Mu Tingfeng topped the list as the most desired wealthy bachelor among the women in the upper-class society. However, all the while, he seldom showed up at social banquets like this. Therefore, it was difficult for the noblewomen and celebrities to run into him.
Today, they actually met him here. Moreover, he had just divorced not long ago and regained his single status. His appearance at the banquet not long after his divorce must have meant it that way.
If Lady Luck smiled upon any of the women and one of them caught his attention, then the woman was better off than clinging to any of the four most powerful families. It was truly a trip worth making.
Although Mu Tingfeng’s appearance surprised them, the women were so appalled at his intimidating imposing aura that none of them dared to take the initiative to flirt with him.
Anyone could sense that Mu Tingfeng was apparently in a bad mood at that moment. Therefore, it was not a wise act to approach him now.
However, not everyone was a wise man in this world, and not all of them had self-awareness. For instance…
“Young Master Mu,” Someone finally broke the silence at the banquet.
Xia Zhetao looked at the person who had the guts to approach his superior at that moment. A hint of glee darted across his eyes. ‘There’s someone in this world who doesn’t mind digging his own grave just to ride on his coattails.’
Mu Tingfeng turned around and looked at the person. He frowned. The person looked familiar, yet, he could not remember who he was.
When Zhao Shuncheng saw Mu Tingfeng kept quiet after casting a glance at him, he thought Mu Tingfeng was still holding a grudge against him due to the incident related to Zhao Youlin.
He cursed Zhao Youlin to himself for being so ignorant and dragged him down. At the same time, he smiled in flattery and said, “Young Master Mu, you may not remember me. I’m Youlin’s father. Thank you for taking care of her when she’s in the Mu family. Sad to say, I’ve neglected and failed to discipline my daughter ever since she lost her mother when she was young, while I was busy with my work throughout the years. So, I pray that you could let bygones be bygones and don’t lower yourself to meet her standard.”
Mu Tingfeng did not respond to him. Meanwhile, Xia Zhetao was already struck dumb by Zhao Shuncheng’s remarks.
‘S-So, he’s the former Mrs. President’s good-for-nothing father! Is he a numbskull? How could he tell this before the public that he had been negligent and not being able to discipline his daughter ever since she lost her mother at a very young age?! Is he saying to the president that the former Mrs. President had a lack of family upbringing?!’
Xia Zhetao thought that the person in front of him was an idiot. He actually wanted to sacrifice his own daughter just to curry favor with his superior.
Even if he had been with the president for many years, he had not been able to see through the president’s genuine thoughts for the former Mrs. President. However, he noticed that the president did care about her.
When something happened, this man resorted to betraying his family. Even if he did not have any fatherly love for her, the way he played up to the president was mostly wrong. Instead, he might suffer the consequences.
Right after Zhao Shuncheng spoke, Mu Tingfeng instantly recalled who he was.
Before this, he had asked Xia Zhetao to investigate Zhao Youlin. The results of the investigation showed that this man had looked for Zhao Youlin. The reason was because he had assumed Zhao Youlin had offended him, so he wanted to take Zhao Youlin to apologize to him.
At that time, Mu Tingfeng had not seen his face. By the time he assigned someone to follow Zhao Youlin, he only managed to identify Zhao Youlin’s sister who came to find fault with her.
In other words, the last time Mu Tingfeng saw Zhao Shuncheng was four years ago. Back then, he had hated Zhao Youlin very much. Naturally, he hated the Zhao family as well. Hence, he hardly had any impression of this man.
After he found out the man’s identity and recalled how he had taunted Zhao Youlin discreetly beneath his words, Mu Tingfeng felt displeased.
Even if the woman was at fault, it was, after all, an issue between the two of them. When did this man have the right to butt in his nose into their affairs?
He did not bother to respond to Zhao Shuncheng. Instead, he put on a straight face, remained silent, and looked away from him.
When Zhao Shuncheng saw Mu Tingfeng ignoring him, the smile on his face stiffened.
He got worked up when he realized the others were pointing fingers at him.
Just as he wondered how he should get himself out of this awkward position, Li Hongyu, who was equally anxious, went up to him and smiled as she said, “Shuncheng, how could you say that? Today’s the former master’s grand birthday. What’s the point of talking about those things. What matters most is to serve the young master Mu well.”
Li Hongyu’s words instantly reminded Zhao Shuncheng. He brushed off the awkward topic and reminded Mu Tingfeng about the former master’s grand birthday. In other words, he hinted to Mu Tingfeng that he should at least give his honor to the former master and stop putting him in a difficult position.
Unfortunately, Mu Tingfeng had never given his respect to anyone, especially those people who were displeased in his sight.
He remained silent. Not only that, he even cast a cold glance at Li Hongyu. His gaze sent a shiver down Li Hongyu’s spine.
Meanwhile, Zhao Youxi was unaware of her parents’ awkward situation. Her eyes were glued to Mu Tingfeng the moment he came in.
She noticed that all the women on the spot had been eyeing Mu Tingfeng as well. She was so anxious and afraid that someone else would take action before she did. So, she immediately dragged Li Hongyu and Zhao Shuncheng to bring her over to him.
She was very excited to be able to talk to Mu Tingfeng at such a close range. She put on a perfect smile and said bashfully, “Young Master Mu, I’m Youxi. I’ve been paying very close attention to you. I also admire you a lot. I wonder if tonight we have the chance to…”
When Zhao Youxi spoke such words, Xia Zhetao felt like he had been struck by thunder once again. ‘What is this woman talking about?! She’s been admiring the president for a long time?!’
As far as he was concerned, this woman seemed to be the former Mrs. President’s stepsister, right?
Although the president and the former Mrs. President had divorced, as a lady as well as her identity as the former Mrs. President’s step-sister, she actually had the guts to flirt with the president! Was she not afraid of being called a disgraceful woman?!
‘Are the family members all numbskulls? That’s very scary. How did the former Mrs. President stay pure and not be affected by the people around her?!’
What happened next was precisely the same as what Xia Zhetao had had in his mind. Right after Zhao Youxi spoke, Mu Tingfeng was not the only one whose expression changed, even the expressions of the crowd who was watching the show also changed, including Li Hongyu and Zhao Shuncheng.
