48: Banquet

Good heavens, wasn't this what Yan Zhuohua and Yan Qinghe were joking about last time? How did the salary actually get sent over?

Yan Qinghe saw the shock on Yan Zhuohua's face and picked up a napkin to wipe the corner of his mouth. "My salary for this month was completely docked by the boss's wife. Isn't my wife going to give me some pocket money?"

"...How much of your income does your salary even account for? It's probably not even one percent, right?"

"My current persona is a poor worker whose salary was docked for no reason by the boss's wife. Where would I get other sources of income?" Yan Qinghe said pitifully, yet as if it were only natural.

Yan Zhuohua ate another spoonful of corn fed to him by Yan Qinghe, swallowed it slowly, and looked meaningfully at this "poor worker."

"Did you just say your salary was 'docked for no reason' by the boss's wife?"

Yan Qinghe's movements froze. Oh no, he'd said the wrong thing!

"How bold! To actually question the boss's wife's actions! As a loyal fan of the boss's wife, I must teach you a lesson. No pocket money for you; you can just live on air this month!"

Haha, trying to play the 'green tea' card with me? Don't you know I was already a force to be reckoned with at fifteen?

Having lost his salary and with no pocket money, Chairman Yan, in order to support himself, willingly became the secret little lover kept by Deputy Director Yan. For the sake of his livelihood, the little lover was truly dedicated, proactively serving his benefactor in every way every day until the benefactor was crying out in exhaustion. Only after reluctantly giving him a 10-yuan bonus did he finally stop this role-playing game that had lasted for two whole weeks.

Not long after Yan Zhuohua's harrowing life ended, it was time for Zhao Zixing's birthday party.

Speaking of which, the proposal Yan Zhuohua made at the regular meeting to snatch the Zhao Corporation's projects had been in progress for nearly a month, and the results were quite good. These directors were quite sensible; between a benefactor who didn't cause trouble and just gave money, and one who micromanaged while offering little, even a fool knew which to choose. Thus, Yan Zhuohua's plan proceeded very smoothly, leaving the Zhao Corporation with only a few small projects that clearly had no future.

Despite this, the Zhao family's invitation was delivered to the Yan Family on time, being the very first one sent. Not only were they feeling guilty, but in recent years, Old Master Zhao's health had been declining, leaving him without enough energy to manage the company's overall affairs. Nearly half of the power had fallen into the hands of the incompetent Zhao Zhongkai, directly causing the Zhao Corporation's industries to shrink significantly. They were on the verge of falling out of the Four Great Families, so they had no confidence left to challenge the Yan Family. They could only swallow this bitter pill in frustration.

It was said that Zhao Zichuo had been lectured by Old Master Zhao again, and his cards had been suspended.

Yan Zhuohua was extremely happy.

This time, the Zhao family's banquet was held at a hotel under the Zhao Corporation in the south of the city. Since it was quite far from the Yan Family, Yan Zhuohua and Yan Qinghe left at four in the afternoon.

Ever since Yan Zhuohua's mother gave him lessons on being the wife of the head of the family, he had completely taken over the task of choosing their outfits for various banquets. He was very busy, receiving one phone call after another. Today, he had selected two sets of deep blue suits, which were steady and elegant without stealing the host's thunder. When they left, his mother even praised the coordination as perfect.

The south of the city was indeed a bit far; most people in their social circle didn't live there, so it was a mystery why the Zhao family had chosen such a location.

The travel time was indeed long. Yan Zhuohua played with his phone out of boredom, scrolling through messages from Qiao Rongjing. Yan Qinghe, however, was quite good at entertaining himself; he spent the whole journey playing with Yan Zhuohua's fingers with great interest.

After enduring it for a long time, Yan Zhuohua finally pulled his hand back just as Yan Qinghe was about to bring his fingers to his lips.

Yan Qinghe was dissatisfied: "Why won't you let me play with your hand anymore?"

"Is it possible that since this is my hand, I can feel it when you touch it?" Yan Zhuohua slapped away Yan Qinghe's hand as it tried to sneak back. "You're making me itch!"

Having been rejected twice, Yan Qinghe could only reluctantly withdraw his hand. His gaze still lingered longingly on Yan Zhuohua's hand—the long, fair fingers with distinct joints, and the wedding ring on his ring finger. The more he looked, the more his heart itched.

Yan Zhuohua felt that increasingly sticky gaze on his hand and felt quite helpless. Ever since their talk that night, this man didn't even bother to hide it anymore, constantly trying to get touchy-feely, which annoyed Yan Zhuohua to no end.

"Put away your impossible thoughts; I have serious business to discuss with you."

Yan Qinghe's thoughts, which had drifted off into outer space, were pulled back by Yan Zhuohua.

"What is it?"

"Once we get to the hotel, don't leave my sight, and try to drink as little as possible."

"What's wrong?" Yan Qinghe also became serious.

"My intuition tells me there's something wrong with this banquet." It wasn't exactly intuition; he had just basically confirmed something.

Although Yan Qinghe didn't know why it was "intuition," he nodded cooperatively.

"Then remember to protect me, wife."

Yan Zhuohua sighed again. You're breaking character, Head of the Yan Family. Can you stay away from Yan Zhuoyan for a bit?

The car finally pulled up in front of the hotel. This time, at least, they weren't the ones greeting guests outside.

The sunlight at five in the afternoon hit the dark walls of the hotel, like light shining upon darkness.

Yan Zhuohua sighed softly and stepped forward.

"Finally here."

Standing at the door was Zhao Zijing. Her relationship with Yan Zhuohua and the others was decent, so they exchanged a few simple words before Zhao Zijing arranged for a Waiter to lead them inside.

At the moment they brushed past each other, a note was slipped into Yan Zhuohua's hand.

Greeting guests at the entrance of the hall were Zhao Zixing and Zhao Zichuo.

As today's protagonist, Zhao Zixing performed quite well, showing some semblance of an heir. However, Zhao Zichuo beside him still had a dark expression, essentially bringing his conflict with Zhao Zixing into the open. Yet, when he saw Yan Zhuohua today, he surprisingly didn't say anything; his expression was merely more arrogant, looking down on Yan Zhuohua.

Yan Qinghe frowned and was about to say something, but Yan Zhuohua held him back.

"I have serious business today, don't interfere with my plan," Yan Zhuohua whispered in Yan Qinghe's ear.

Although Yan Qinghe wanted to teach Zhao Zichuo a lesson, he felt his wife's plan was more important—even though he had no idea what the plan was.

The two of them ignored Zhao Zichuo entirely and, after a brief exchange with Zhao Zixing, entered the hall.

Many people had already arrived in the hall. When the crowd saw Yan Qinghe and Yan Zhuohua enter, they immediately turned their attention toward them. Had it not been for the necessity of being greeted by the hosts first, they probably would have been surrounded by now.

Yan Zhuohua maintained a proper smile and scanned the room. Well, Old Master Zhao and Zhao Zhongkai were walking this way, while Su Mo was busy attending to another family and hurried over upon seeing them enter.

Zhao Zijing was not there.

Yan Zhuohua fidgeted with the hem of his clothes; it seemed the protagonist of today's drama would be Zhao Zijing. He had already peeked at the note Zhao Zijing had just slipped him; it only said not to be left alone, so it seemed she didn't know much either.