DASFAM_CH 16

The sky hung low and overcast, a fine drizzle drifting down.

The car passed smoothly through the first security checkpoint and drove on toward Qinya Mansion.

Xiao Deng, who was at the wheel, caught sight of the Republican-era architecture coming into view not far ahead and couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration, "This place is something else. Assistant Xie, what's the background on this Sun family? To choose a venue like this for their very first banquet?"

It was worth noting that Qinya Mansion had originally been the private residence of a prominent figure during the Republican era, later became the site of a diplomatic consulate, and after being vacated had been taken under the protection of the relevant authorities— a place steeped in deep historical heritage.

Not just anyone had the standing to hold a grand banquet in a place like this.

Even the Shang family, well known throughout the capital social circle, had only held one private dinner at Qinya Mansion over the years. The Old Master Shang had found it more trouble than it was worth and preferred to spend the money holding banquets elsewhere.

Xie Qi, seated in the front passenger seat, heard Xiao Deng's question and his gaze drifted involuntarily to Bai Xu in the back—

For tonight's banquet, the latter had put on a bespoke suit and taken particular care with his hair. Without the fringe obscuring his face, his already refined features were fully on display.

Bai Xu turned his head and looked at the fine beads of rain on the car window. Light and shadow swept across his brow and eyes. The usual gentleness had receded, replaced by a cool, unapproachable hauteur— he looked, for all the world, like some privileged young scion just returned from studying abroad.

Xie Qi prompted, "Young Master Bai?"

Bai Xu's gaze lifted ever so slightly. Not a single syllable left his lips, yet the presence he gave off effortlessly commanded the entire cabin.

Xie Qi blinked, inexplicably reminded of Shang Yanxiao still 'lying in his hospital bed,' and found the respect in his tone rising without quite meaning it to.

"I've looked into it. The Sun family originally built their roots in the Shanghai circle through the steel trade."

In terms of strength and standing, they were a match for the Shang family.

"The family enterprise has passed down to Sun Miaochun, the fourth generation. Though…"

Xie Qi paused for a beat, and Bai Xu picked it up without effort, "Though she's the only one left, a woman who took over the family business."

Xie Qi was taken aback, "You already knew?"

"Just a background check. Not particularly hard to find out."

Bai Xu naturally couldn't say he had read the novel and already knew this character—

Sun Miaochun had not been favored in her family. She had a half-brother three years her junior.

Her brother had no head for business and had instead been led astray, gambling away the family fortune accumulated over three generations before jumping from the upper floor of a casino, leaving behind a pile of wreckage.

When the family's downfall came, Sun Miaochun had just turned thirty. Her courage and business acumen were a match for any heavyweight in the industry, and in fact surpassed many of these men outright—

In seven years, she pulled the Sun family back from the brink of bankruptcy and secured its footing in the maritime industry. She also broke with the family tradition of dealing solely in steel, extending her reach into other sectors with a single sweeping move.

Sun Miaochun didn't appear much in the original novel, but she was unmistakably cast as a ruthless, business-first type of formidable woman.

She could set up schemes to outmaneuver the Shang family and poach hundred-million deals for the sake of expanding her group's interests, and she could also forge a mutually beneficial partnership with the grown male lead of the original story when it served to maximize the group's gains.

Neither wholly righteous nor wholly villainous, at once adversary and ally— she was a striking and outstanding female character!

The car finally came to a stop at the main gate of the mansion.

Xie Qi was still not entirely at ease, "Young Master Bai, are you really alright going in on your own?"

The invitation was addressed to the third branch of the Shang family and their relatives— he, as an assistant, had no grounds to enter.

They were on their way to handle business at the group headquarters and had simply dropped Bai Xu off along the route.

Bai Xu watched the attendant approaching outside the car window and answered calmly, "I'm here representing the third branch this time. I know what I should and shouldn't do."

He gave the black ring on his finger a small turn— it had a slight thickness to it, and a gentle rotation was enough to reveal a small, slim blade tucked inside. Still quite sharp.

The original host's constitution had always been frail. In a moment of necessity, a small object like this could serve for self-defense.

The rear car door opened.

The attendant who came to receive him bowed respectfully, "Good evening, sir. Welcome. May I trouble you to present your invitation once more."

Xie Qi held out the invitation from his side of the car and spoke on his behalf, "Hello. I am Xie Qi, assistant to the Third Young Master of the Shang family. This is Mr. Bai, he is the Third Young Master's fiancé."

Come to think of it, this marked the first time the third branch had formally acknowledged the relationship between Bai Xu and Shang Yanxiao to the outside world.

"……"

The attendants at the mansion had all received relevant training and were thoroughly versed in even the most obscure news from prominent households.

Hearing this, the attendant showed not the slightest sign of surprise, "Understood. Mr. Bai, please come this way."

Bai Xu stepped out of the car and said over his shoulder without looking back, "You two head back."

At a banquet of this caliber, dedicated drivers were always arranged to send guests safely home once the evening concluded.

Xie Qi gave a nod, his form of address shifting subtly, "Understood. Don't hesitate to reach out if anything comes up."

"Mm."

...

There was still some time before the banquet was to begin.

Song Qiancheng and a few other young men from wealthy families had gathered outside the hall, smoking and chatting idly.

"What do you think the Sun family's deal is, anyway? My dad practically dragged me here."

"Word is they're quite a force in the Shanghai circle. Just not sure what they're after over here in the capital."

"Who cares what they're after. All I'll say is, thank god you lot are here too, otherwise I'd die of boredom tonight. It's all business pleasantries, round and round."

Song Qiancheng exhaled a puff of vapor from his e-cigarette, "We should find some entertainment."

The words had barely left his mouth when someone nearby exclaimed in surprise, "Wait, am I seeing things? Is that Bai Xu?"

Everyone's gaze shifted over at once—

Not far away, Bai Xu was following an attendant's guidance and walking into the main banquet hall with ease. Even those few simple steps carried the air of a runway model; not a trace of his former timidity was anywhere to be found.

"……"

Song Qiancheng narrowed his eyes, somewhat taken aback, "It really is him."

Someone beside him said in puzzlement, "The Bai family didn't send anyone tonight, did they? How does he have the right to be here?"

"Haven't you heard? He's with that vegetative one from the Shang family now."

"Right, I heard from my mom that Old Master Shang is actually quite protective of him? A few days ago Chen Shaoxuan from Jinbai had a run-in with him, and the Shang family turned around and cut ties with Jinbai just like that."

"Come off it. Old Master Shang is obviously doing it out of regard for that precious grandson of his, Shang Yanxiao. The way things are going, there's still plenty of drama left to watch from the various Shang branches."

"……"

Song Qiancheng listened to the chatter around him in silence and casually beckoned an attendant over.

The attendant stepped up promptly, "Young Master Song."

Song Qiancheng got straight to the point, "That Bai Xu who just came in, whose invitation was he on? Is he alone?"

The attendant answered truthfully, "The third branch of the Shang family. He's on his own."

Song Qiancheng smiled and raised an eyebrow, turning to his friends, "Weren't you just saying the banquet was going to be boring and you wanted some entertainment? Well, here it is."

One of the wealthy young men played along, "Right, I almost let Bai Xu put me on edge for a second, isn't he the most famous 'banquet joke' around?"

Another hesitated, "Is this really a good idea? Things are different now. He's got the Shang family behind him, can we actually afford to cross him?"

"Who knows how much of that backing is real? With his nerve, no amount of backing would do him any good."

Song Qiancheng pressed down hard on his e-cigarette, a flash of malicious amusement crossing his eyes, "We won't go too hard on him. We'll just sit back and watch him embarrass himself."

He beckoned the attendant beside him closer and leaned in to give instructions in a low voice.

The attendant felt a wave of reluctance rise within, but didn't dare dampen the mood of these wealthy young men to their faces, "Yes, Young Master Song."

"There'll be a tip in it for you once it's done."

Song Qiancheng gave the attendant's name tag a satisfied flick, then signaled to the friends around him, "Alright, the banquet is about to start. Let's head in."

The mood among the group visibly lifted.

"Let's go."

"Can't wait to see the show."

...

Knock, knock.

A knock sounded at the door of the main lounge on the second floor of the banquet hall.

"Come in."

Sun Miaochun signed her name on the contract without looking up and tossed it back to her secretary.

The head assistant in charge of the banquet opened the door and entered, "Chairman Chun."

Though Sun Miaochun's family name was 'Sun,' she disliked being addressed by it and much preferred this form of address instead.

The head assistant completed the handover with the secretary and passed up the confirmed guest list, "The banquet is about to begin on schedule. The full list of arrived guests is here, seventy-four distinguished attendees in total."

"It seems the prominent households of the capital circle are giving me some face after all."

Sun Miaochun swept her eyes over the list and asked pointedly, "Has anyone from the Shang family come? Is it from the third branch?"

Sun Miaochun knew better than to expect Old Master Shang himself— she simply wanted to meet the third branch, rumored to be the most favored branch.

"They have. Though Shang Queyan didn't come. Tonight's representative is Shang Yanxiao's betrothed, a person by the name of Bai Xu."

Upon hearing this, Sun Miaochun took a few steps forward and lifted a corner of the curtain. From where she stood, the view downward gave her full command of the scene within the banquet hall.

"Chairman Chun, a moment ago one of the attendants told me…"

The head assistant stepped closer and relayed in a low voice what the attendant had just reported, "What should we do?"

Sun Miaochun heard the petty little scheme and let out a derisive laugh, "A bunch of good-for-nothing parasites who know nothing but finding amusement at other people's expense. Just like that useless brother of mine, sooner or later they'll become the rot that destroys their own families."

The words had barely left her lips when her gaze suddenly locked—

At that very moment, Bai Xu, standing before the dessert table, had somehow sharply caught her gaze from above and met it head-on without the slightest flinching.

He even raised the champagne glass in his hand, greeting it with a smile.

Sun Miaochun startled, "Who is that? The one at the dessert table, in the dark blue suit."

He looked young enough, yet there was something in his eyes— a relentless, hunting quality.

The head assistant squinted and searched for a moment, "He— he's Bai Xu."

Sun Miaochun rarely showed surprise, but a flicker of it crossed her face. She let the curtain fall.

The head assistant returned to the earlier matter, "Chairman Chun, shall we just have the attendant pretend they heard nothing? Not carry out what Young Master Song had in mind?"

"After all, Bai Xu is here representing the Shang family tonight. If something embarrassing or untoward were to happen at our banquet, we wouldn't be able to avoid…"

"No."

Sun Miaochun cut her off and reversed course, "Tell the attendant to go ahead with what Song Qiancheng arranged."

The head assistant froze, "Pardon?"

Sun Miaochun straightened her outfit in front of the full-length mirror, a thread of calculation and curiosity hidden in her eyes, "Just do as I say. If anything comes of it, it's on me."

She had a feeling that this young man called Bai Xu was not as simple as he appeared.

The one directing this sordid little scheme from behind the scenes wasn't her anyway— she might as well use the opportunity to get a proper read on the Shang family and the true state of the third branch.

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