“What?” Zhang Han asked doubtfully.
“What about MaMa? Mengmeng is the cutest, so isn’t MaMa cute?”
“Your MaMa isn’t very cute,” Zhang Han said casually.
It’s easy to imagine if Zi Yan heard his words, she would absolutely say something like: Bastard! A wretched and boring man!
“No, MaMa is also very cute,” Mengmeng pouted and said seriously.
“Very well, your MaMa is as cute as you, okay?” Zhang Han agreed with Mengmeng.
“Yep.” Mengmeng replied, shaking her head, then she pouted again and muttered, “PaPa, I miss MaMa, she hasn’t come back for so many days.”
“Your MaMa will be back tomorrow,” Zhang Han responded.
“But I miss MaMa now,” Mengmeng said pitifully.
“So let’s call her now,” Zhang Han said with a smile.
“Great.”
With that, Mengmeng cheered up.
They went back to the bedroom, where Zhang Han took out a set of flimsy blue pajamas from the wardrobe. After helping Mengmeng change, He took off his coat and went to bed in his shorts.
The European-style bed was quite large and covered with light pink silk sheets and a quilt. Moreover, the mattress was soft, belonging to a top brand. Mengmeng stepped on the quilt and mumbled while hopping around, “PaPa, hurry up and call MaMa.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll call her now.”
With a chuckle, Zhang Han took his cell phone from the bedside table and dialed Zi Yan’s number.
On the other side in Shang Jing.
The program did not truly end until after six o’clock.
Zi Yan, a male star, and another female star were invited to dinner as a celebration.
Since it was Jia Dong, the chief operator’s son, who invited them, Zi Yan and Zhou Fei could not refuse the invitation, so they promised him.
Therefore, the group headed for the Luolan Lake Restaurant, which was rather good in this area.
Located in Lidu Park, the restaurant, made of glass, was a tranquil house with a view of the lake. It served Western-style and Korean food, together with refreshments at teatime that mixed well with the surrounding atmosphere. It was a restaurant that allowed for a good view of the changes of the four seasons. It was a good place to share relaxing time with family and friends, stay away from the din and bustle of the city, lay the fickleness of the world aside, and slow down the pace of one’s soul.
Luolan Lake Restaurant was ablaze with lights at night, while the paths in the forest were all decorated with various lights. As a quiet and secluded restaurant in the city, it attracted many of the celebrities from Shang Jing. Apart from the sound environment, there was also a famous chef with good cooking skills.
When the crowd arrived at the restaurant, Jia Dong had already ordered a whole table of specialties, containing sunshine rolls, roasted salmon heads, fried octopus, Korean seafood salad, garlic steaks, roasted ribs, roasted seafood platters, etc. It was truly a feast.
.
There were led by a waiter as they walked to Compartment No. 3.
In the Luolan Lake Restaurant, there were a total of eight lakeside compartments, all of which had large landings with a window for viewing. Customers could see the lakeside scenery clearly. Even at night, there were still plenty of lights positioned around the lake and the shadowy water gave people a sense of obscurity.
Of course, these eight private rooms were really expensive, with each one costing 1,999 yuan.
When they were about to enter Compartment No. 3, a confident and domineering voice suddenly filled the area.
“Xiaodong?”
Everyone turned to look and saw five people standing beside them. Apparently, they were preparing to head to Compartment No. 1 or Compartment No. 2, and they were being led by a homely young man with cropped hair.
“Elder Brother Liu? You’re here too.” Jia Dong was somewhat surprised, but he put a warm and flattering smile on his face.
The man opposite was Liu Feng, a new entrant with great influence in Shang Jing!
He had built a good rapport with some of the rich sons of several great families since he returned to Shang Jing. However, he had become more and more arrogant when facing others and continually changed his female companions.
Currently, there was an enchanting woman standing beside him, followed by three men who were obviously Liu Feng’s men. The chubby man among them who was seriously injured, with gauze on both his left cheek and a rugged right cheek, was Dong Hu.
“One of my younger brothers has just been discharged from the hospital, so I brought him over for dinner.” Liu Feng reached out his hand and clapped Dong Hu on the arm.
Dong Hu twisted his mouth because he had not completely recovered yet, so his arms were very tender. Every time his arms ached Dong Hu would always curse Zhang Han in his mind, which only goes to show what kind of snobbish villain he truly was.
“What are you doing here?” Liu Feng glanced around at the crowd behind Jia Dong. The instant he caught sight the female star who had appeared on the same stage with Zi Yan, his eyes brightened. However, when he saw Zi Yan, who was standing at the back of the group, his eyes were filled with avarice and amazement.
“They just finished recording a program at the TV station, so I came here to entertain them.” Jia Dong said with a smile, “Why don’t you join us, Elder Brother Liu?”
“Who’s that beautiful lady?” Liu Feng did not answer him but asked a question instead, while staring at Zi Yan unblinkingly.
At this point, a glint of embarrassment passed across Jia Dong’s face. He had planned to entertain his guests, but one of them was being eyed by a lady-killer.
He, however, could do nothing about it since he could not afford to displease Liu Feng in the end. So, he honestly replied, “She’s Zi Yan. Zi Yan, come over here and let me introduce him. He’s Childe Liu of the Liu family, who has a high social standing in Shang Jing.”
While speaking, Jia Dong reminded Zi Yan because he thought she should be aware of the importance of contacts as a star, and he firmly believed that Zi Yan would know to greet Liu Feng with a smile. After that… she could have a smooth development if she played up to Liu Feng.
But, this was only how it went in Jia Dong’s imagination.
In reality, Zi Yan did not even move. She just nodded slightly and greeted him calmly, “Hello, Childe Liu.”
Jia Dong and the others froze as soon as they saw her nonchalant manner. At the same time, a glint of dissatisfaction flashed across Liu Feng’s eyes.
To avoid embarrassment, Jia Dong quickly said, “Why don’t you join us, Elder Brother Liu? The drinking party will definitely be much livelier with so many people!”
“Me? Let’s talk about it later. I have to take them over to greet Elder Brother Lin, but I’ll ask him if he wants to come.” Liu Feng took his eyes off from Zi Yan with a lot of reluctance, then replied while looking at Jia Dong.
“Is Elder Brother Lin here, too?” Jia Dong was shocked. Then he smiled and hastily said, “Is he in Compartment No. 1? I’ll come greet him later.”
“Okay.” Liu Feng nodded, took a look at Zi Yan that was filled with emotions, and then turned to leave.
“Let’s go first.”
Jia Dong took the lead and entered the Compartment No. 3. After everyone was seated, he glanced at Zi Yan with calmness and said in a slightly earnest tone,
“Zi Yan, it has been five years since you retired, and the Entertainment Circle has witnessed great changes. In this era, contacts are becoming more and more important. You’re so beautiful, so it will be easy for you to make a comeback if you have a wide range of contacts.”
“Ah, I see.” Zi Yan answered, nodding her head slightly.
“Well.” Jia Dong on a smile on his face and said, “Although Liu Feng has a strong background, there are still a lot of people who are more powerful than him in Shang Jing. For instance, the Elder Brother Lin he mentioned just now, whose name is Lin Jie, is acknowledged as one of the four scions in Shang Jing and is very strong. Since he is also eating here, I’ll take you to propose a toast later.”
Immediately after he finished speaking, a glint of envy passed across the faces of the others, including the hosts.
“Zi Yan, you should thank Childe Jia.” An Qiang said with a smile, “This is an opportunity to get acquainted with a great man. If you are liked by Childe Lin, you will develop smoothly in the future.”
“That’s right.” The B-list female star, who had been on the same stage with Zi Yan, sighed softly and said with a trace of jealousy, “Elder Sister Zi Yan is so beautiful that she’s the focus wherever she goes. Even Childe Jia voluntarily plans to introduce you to Childe Lin while ignoring us.”
“Xiaoling, don’t make fun of me. I can bring you along, but Elder Brother Lin doesn’t like your plump figure. Ha, ha, if you had the same charming figure as Zi Yan, I would have already taken you to meet him,” Jia Dong answered with a smile.
“Ho, ho, ho, Elder Brother Jia is really a veteran.” Xiaoling rolled her eyes at him.
The others also chatted with each other, all while mentioning how high Lin Jie’s social status was.
Zi Yan, however, had no interest in such things. So what if he was one of the four scions? Zhang Han had been one of the four scions in the beginning.
While other people were talking, the faint sound of Zi Yan’s reply was heard.
“I’m sorry Childe Jia, but it’s not necessary to bring me to propose a toast.”
Huh?
Everyone present looked in her direction.
A smile froze on Jia Dong’s face.
“Zi Yan, what do you mean?” asked Jia Dong.
“Elder Brother Jia.” At this moment, Zhou Fei quickly said, “Elder Sister Yan seldomly attends drinking parties and isn’t in the habit of toasting others. Although Childe Lin is powerful, we’re complete strangers to him after all. It’s enough for us to know you. In my opinion, drinking with Elder Brother Jia is much better than drinking with the others.”
“Oh.” Jia Dong sized up Zi Yan and shook his head slightly. He did not say anything, even though he did not agree with her, and just replied flatly, “Just make yourself comfortable.”
“Waiter, a box of Mazaro.” Jia Dong waved to the waiter standing at the door.
“Okay.” After hearing what he said, the waiter quickly ordered some drinks with the ordering machine.
There were four bottles of Mazaro in a box. Mazaro was a brand of Mogao red wine, with four bottles costing 120,000 yuan. That is to say, it cost 30,000 yuan per bottle. Using it to entertain people was seen as a very sincere gesture.
After ordering the drinks, everyone chatted for a while. Then the waiter brought out dishes and put them on the glass tray of the round table. Those four bottles of red wine were not opened until all the dishes were served. The waiter opened a bottle of red wine, poured it into the decanter, and filled their cups a moment later.
“Let’s have a drink first to celebrate…”
Before he finished speaking, Jia Dong looked in the direction of the door out of the corner of his eyes. As soon as he saw a few people coming in, he stopped and his eyes widened. He stood up in a hurry, with a wide smile on his face, and stepped forward,
“Oh, Elder Brother Lin is here. I was just thinking of going to propose a toast to you later. I didn’t expect you to come here. Ha, ha, come on in, please sit here.”
