160: Chapter 159 A Full House of Distinguished Guests

Time soon reached 8:30. No news had come from the Municipal Bureau yet, and when Cao Xiao logged onto the forum online, he didn't see any post released by the bomb maniac that day. He patiently waited for over half an hour, but there was still no movement. Cao Xiao was also somewhat uncertain. In the past twelve days, the bomb maniac had perpetrated a total of eight bombing incidents. The locations and times of the explosions showed no pattern whatsoever. Twice, two explosions occurred within a single day. The longest interval of calm lasted four consecutive days. However, the time the perpetrator posted on the forum was always between 8:00 and 9:00 in the morning. It was now 9:15, and the reasons for the lack of a post so far could be threefold. First, the other party might not be planning to cause an explosion tomorrow. The second possibility was more troublesome: the fact that no explosion occurred at the Yellow Crane Tower today might have alerted the perpetrator, causing them to delay the next bombing, or perhaps they would no longer release information in advance before committing the crime.

The first scenario was manageable. If it was the second, Cao Xiao's bold claim would become a joke. The bombings would continue, and without any warning, Cao Xiao would truly be at his wits' end. Not only would he be unable to prevent the explosions, but catching the perpetrator would also be a distant hope. At that point, the only option would be to impose a prolonged city-wide curfew and deploy personnel to strictly guard important public facilities. Regardless of the situation, getting anxious now was useless. All Cao Xiao could do was continue to watch and wait.

Now, only Cao Xiao remained at home. The others had gone early to Tianxing Garden to help with the preparations. All the bodyguards had been dispatched to set up security posts. Cao Xiao had given Duan Hong and the other five their military officer certificates last night. Like Cao Xiao, they held nominal positions at the General Logistics Department Headquarters. However, Cao Xiao was a Major Staff Officer, while their positions were listed as his guards. Interestingly, the higher-ups, for reasons unknown, had directly reinstated their pre-retirement military ranks. Duan Hong and Li Quanshuo held the rank of Major, while the other four were Captains. A Major Staff Officer being assigned two Majors and four Captains as guards was unheard of. One must know that a unit commander eligible for Major-level guards would at least hold the rank of Major General, and even then, only one such guard would be typical. Usually, guards for high-ranking officers were soldiers holding the rank of Second Lieutenant or below. Only under special circumstances might a Major, serving as a guard battalion commander, personally take on the duty. Logically, an officer of Major rank would not be assigned dedicated security personnel. Yet, Cao Xiao, a Major, not only had six guards but also enjoyed this extravagant, over-the-top allocation. If word got out, no one would believe it.

To prevent the Linghu Family from causing trouble, Cao Xiao had Duan Hong and the other five set up a guard post at the main entrance of Tianxing Garden. With their military status, they could legally possess firearms and weapons. Cao Xiao not only equipped them with a complete arsenal of firearms but also prepared a Mengshi armored assault vehicle mounted with a Vulcan Cannon for them. Placing such a formidable weapon at the entrance of Tianxing Garden would make any troublemakers think twice. Forget about Mingjin Martial Artists; even three or five Anjin Martial Artists wouldn't dare confront it head-on. He gave Duan Hong and the others strict orders: prohibit anyone from the Linghu Family from entering Tianxing Garden. If they dared to force their way in, fight them to the death. He was now the Director of the Huanghe City Supervision Office. With a valid reason, he could stand firm against the Linghu Family. If the other side deployed superhuman individuals to attack his estate, Cao Xiao could use that as a pretext to strike the Linghu Family hard, eliminating all their superhuman personnel. Secondly, this was also to deter petty troublemakers and display strength. Compared to the wealth and status of He Yueyou's family, the Cao side seemed somewhat weaker. However, simply parking that combat vehicle at the entrance ensured no one would dare look down on the Cao family. Could an ordinary family have the military dispatch mechanized armored troops to stand guard?

Cao Xiao took a helicopter alone and arrived at Tianxing Garden in less than ten minutes. He disembarked at the main entrance. Seeing the gate and even the walls freshly decorated with flowers, colorful silks, and various beautiful ornaments, with lovely flowers tastefully arranged all the way from the roadside to the entrance, Cao Xiao couldn't help but marvel at the level of importance He Yueyou's parents placed on this engagement ceremony. After greeting Duan Hong and the others, he took an electric-powered sightseeing vehicle directly to the villa.

"Brother-in-law! Over here!"

Just as Cao Xiao reached the villa entrance, he saw Ren Keke excitedly waving to him from the living room doorway.

"Huh! Keke, when did you return to the country?"

"We got tired of playing in Cape Town. Of course, we had to rush back for Cousin Yueyou's engagement ceremony. We returned yesterday and flew over from home this morning," Ren Keke said.

"Oh, I should have known and let you return with me. Well, you go ahead and enjoy yourself; I have things to attend to!"

Cao Xiao had no time for idle chat. Close relatives from both families had arrived early. Although they were being entertained, as a junior, Cao Xiao still needed to greet each one personally. Since this wasn't a formal wedding, his side hadn't invited many relatives or friends. Among relatives, only his two uncles' families, Second Aunt's family, his teacher's family, and Li Dongping's family were invited. As for friends and classmates, only Hao Linger was invited.

Cao Xiao's eldest uncle, Li Fenggang, was five years older than his mother, Li Fengmei. He currently worked as a quality inspector at a trading company and was set to retire next year. His eldest aunt only had a junior high school education. In earlier years, she ran her own fruit store. Now older, she stayed home to look after her grandson. The eldest uncle's family had one son and one daughter. The eldest cousin, Li Rui, was three years older than Cao Xiao. After graduating from university, he passed the exam to join the power supply bureau. He married a year into his job, and now his son, Li Bin, was six years old. His cousin, Li Tong, was a year younger than Cao Xiao. After university, she didn't seek a job but instead started a business with several classmates. However, it wasn't successful; she lost a considerable amount of money and even fell out with her classmates. In the following years, she dabbled in small businesses on her own. Currently, she ran a small accessories shop. Business wasn't particularly good or bad, just enough to scrape by. But since graduation, she had never been in a relationship, so she remained unmarried. This had caused countless arguments with her family, to the point that she had moved out to live alone.

The younger uncle, Li Fengqing, was two years younger than Cao Xiao's mother. He and his wife currently ran a small supermarket, living a decent life. They had only one son, Li Long, who was twenty-three this year. In high school, not only were his grades poor, but he also learned to mix with the wrong crowd, getting into trouble frequently and even being taken to the police station several times. The younger uncle not only paid a lot in compensation for him but also worried endlessly. Li Long barely finished high school and never found a proper job, idling around and stirring up trouble all day. Fortunately, as he grew older, he gained some sense and didn't get involved in prostitution, gambling, or drugs, which would have brought major trouble to the family. However, he had nearly squandered the family's meager savings.

Last time he visited his uncles, Cao Xiao hadn't seen Li Tong or Li Long. The last time he saw them was several years ago. Unexpectedly, both had arrived early today, not only coming themselves but also bringing their respective partners. Li Tong hadn't changed much, except she had learned to dress up, appearing more mature and attractive than before. The person she brought was a gentle, scholarly-looking young man dressed like a student. One could tell at a glance that he was just over twenty, possibly still in university. His appearance was fairly decent. His entire outfit consisted of international brand-name clothing. On his left wrist, he wore a Cartier Ballon Bleu mechanical watch; on his right, a string of Hainan yellow rosewood beads. The pendant around his neck was made of ice-type jadeite, and he even wore a diamond stud in his left ear, with the embedded diamond being at least two carats.

After glancing at this youthful young man and observing his cousin Li Tong's attire, Cao Xiao's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. This young man was clearly from a wealthy family. His outfit alone was worth no less than two million. His family likely had assets of at least hundreds of millions. Standing next to him, Li Tong couldn't be said to be a perfect match in terms of looks, but it wasn't jarring either. However, Cao Xiao possessed keen observational skills. Although Li Tong's clothes were quite nice, they weren't major brands and probably didn't exceed two thousand in value. Her jewelry were all imitations, dazzling to the eye but with none actually worth over a thousand. Cao Xiao wasn't thinking that the disparity in their family backgrounds made them unsuitable; with him around, Li Tong's family status wouldn't be inferior to any young lady from a wealthy family. Rather, as Li Tong's boyfriend, this young man was decked out in gold and silver while his girlfriend didn't have a single decent item on her. This felt very off. If he genuinely cared for Li Tong, he wouldn't hesitate to buy her even a piece of clothing. Li Tong was three or four years older than him. How they got together was something Cao Xiao needed to ponder. Now wasn't the time to discuss this. After he finished his duties, Cao Xiao planned to have a good talk with this young man.

Li Long, however, had changed dramatically. If he hadn't been with his aunt, Cao Xiao wouldn't have recognized him. The first thing that caught the eye was a head of bright yellow, flowing, layered hair. He wore faded, ripped jeans and a black tank top, with strange pattern tattoos on his arms. Around his neck hung a string of silver-white metal skull pendants the size of marbles. His face bore a prominent scar from a healed wound.

The girlfriend he brought along surprised Cao Xiao even more. This girl wore a simple floral dress without any accessories. Her looks weren't exceptionally beautiful, but at first glance, she gave off a pure and innocent vibe. Her jet-black, straight hair was tied into a ponytail, with neat bangs on her forehead. A pair of large, dark eyes appeared very clear. She seemed to be only eighteen or nineteen, looking like the girl next door. Needless to say, this was another mismatched pair. Looking at his cousin's slovenly, hooligan-like appearance, even though he was his own cousin, Cao Xiao felt Li Long was unworthy of her. Moreover, this girl was so young. Cao Xiao knew exactly what kind of person his cousin was. This girl was clearly another victim.

In the past, Cao Xiao lacked the ability, and Li Long never took his words seriously. He had earnestly advised him several times, but his words carried little weight. Not only were his efforts ineffective, but Li Long grew to dislike him even more. Once, Li Long even resorted to violence, kicking him. At that moment, Cao Xiao was stunned, unable to believe Li Long would hit him. But as the elder brother and considering the potential conflict it might cause between the adults of both families, he didn't fight back. From that moment on, he never spoke another word to Li Long.

"Cousin, this is my boyfriend, Xu Ran!" Seeing Cao Xiao approach, Li Tong pulled her boyfriend beside her to stand up and introduce him to Cao Xiao.

After sizing up Cao Xiao, Xu Ran somewhat reservedly extended his left hand, adorned with the Cartier watch, towards Cao Xiao. A faint smile on his face, he said softly to Cao Xiao, "Hello! I'm Tongtong's boyfriend. Nice to meet you!"

Cao Xiao gave Xu Ran a cold glance, didn't even lift his hand, and shifted his gaze to Li Tong. Smiling, he said, "Little Tong, you've become even more beautiful after all these years!"

Xu Ran's hand hung in mid-air, his eyes staring at Cao Xiao in disbelief. He never expected Cao Xiao to ignore him so completely. Not shaking his hand was one thing, but not even saying a word to him? That look was as if he were a complete stranger.

"Cousin, he's greeting you. How can you treat him like that!" Li Tong didn't respond to Cao Xiao's compliment but instead questioned him unhappily.

"Heh! You enjoy yourself. If you want something to eat, go find it yourself. I need to go over there first." Faced with Li Tong's question, Cao Xiao wasn't angry. Still smiling, he said this, turned, and walked away.

"Cousin!" Li Long sat on the sofa, legs crossed and swinging, reluctantly calling out before turning his head away.

"Heh!" Cao Xiao didn't stoop to his level, nor did he speak to him. He chuckled and went upstairs.

Reaching his bedroom, he locked the door, rummaged in his space for a long while, then finally opened the door and came out. Going downstairs, he found the outside already bustling with noise and excitement. Beyond the villa courtyard, as far as the eye could see, figures were moving all over the hills. Some fruits in the orchard were in season. Since the originally planned planting areas weren't large, they hadn't been harvested for sale. It was now 11:00 in the morning. Most guests had already arrived and were enjoying the pleasure of picking fruit in the orchard.

The engagement ceremony was scheduled for exactly 12:00. Cao Xiao had prepared everything he needed. Subsequently, he was pulled along by Father He and Mother He, walking around everywhere as they continuously introduced him to relatives, friends, and various dignitaries from the He family's side. It wasn't until it was almost time that Cao Xiao was freed. After that round, he estimated he had greeted at least three hundred people. His face ached from smiling, and his mouth was parched from talking. Fortunately, many guests enjoying the orchard hadn't shown themselves yet; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to keep up. It was utterly exhausting—not only were his legs weak, but he was also mentally drained. However, he witnessed firsthand how extensive Father He and Mother He's social connections were and clearly felt the widespread influence of the Hongdu Group.

Apart from relatives from both sides, today's guests consisted of elites and authoritative figures from all walks of life. Among them were senior managers and bosses of major domestic and international companies, renowned experts and scholars from various fields, political and military figures from the province, big names from the cultural, entertainment, and media industries, famous artists, and even religious figures. Some were people Cao Xiao knew, and most were those who had attended the Tianxing Auction last time—many of whom came uninvited. Among these guests, quite a few were unfamiliar even to He Yueyou's parents. After interacting with them, Cao Xiao learned they had come in groups upon hearing about his engagement banquet. Firstly, to offer congratulations, though Cao Xiao felt most were there to freeload. This left Cao Xiao both amused and exasperated. Had he known, he would have invited everyone he knew. Otherwise, not only was it awkward for those who came, but it also made him seem inconsiderate. Including the family members brought by guests, the latest count from the gatehouse was over 2,600 people, with more guests continuously arriving. The road outside had long been congested; later guests had to walk. Judging by this situation, the total number of guests attending his engagement ceremony wouldn't be fewer than 4,000. Even Father He and Mother He, who had been managing everything, hadn't anticipated so many guests. For many uninvited people, even if they didn't know them, they couldn't turn them away. Therefore, the preparations that initially seemed ample now appeared severely insufficient. Making additional arrangements was too late. The only solution was to arrange it like a rural-style continuous feast.