Tang Ao quickly realized that all the hostile gazes in the room were directed at one person—Ye Chen.
From the moment Ye Chen entered, he had become the focal point of the entire gathering.
Since sitting down, the guests at Ye Chen's table had left one by one, heading elsewhere. Out of the eight seats at the table, Ye Chen was the only one left, casually munching on sunflower seeds!
Tang Ao could clearly see people pointing at Ye Chen and whispering among themselves, though they kept their voices low, making it impossible for him to hear what they were saying.
After a brief analysis, Tang Ao came to a conclusion:
These people must know Ye Chen's identity as the Dragon King!
The Dragon King commanded respect, so much so that even at a banquet, he had a whole table to himself. How enviable.
Because Ye Chen had been humiliated earlier at the Li family's entrance, these guests were now acting cold, showing displeasure as a way to pressure the Li family.
Tang Ao glanced at two older men at a nearby table, their faces dark as coal, clearly facing Ye Chen's direction. From their lip movements, Tang Ao could tell that their language was full of curse words.
[No doubt about it—Ye Chen, as the protagonist, never stays down for long!]
[I knew it! Ye Chen must have had a plan all along. Soon, the Li family will be forced to apologize publicly, and who knows... they might even kneel and slap themselves!]
Hearing Tang Ao's thoughts, Zhou Qiao'er couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
Tang Ao had no clue what was really going on, but Zhou Qiao'er knew the truth all too well!
These guests were furious because, just yesterday, Ye Chen had convinced them to invest in the Zhou Group's stock, resulting in them losing billions of yuan. It would take them years, possibly even decades, to recover their losses!
If it weren't for their fear of Ye Chen's status as the Dragon King, they'd have likely rushed over to tear him apart right now!
Tang Ao, noticing Zhou Qiao'er's sudden laugh, asked curiously, "What are you laughing about?"
Zhou Qiao'er stiffened for a moment, quickly covering up: "I just remembered something funny."
"..."
Meanwhile, Tang Ao noticed that Li Shiyun, who had been brimming with excitement just moments ago, now looked troubled, frequently glancing over at Ye Chen.
Believing in Tang Ao's internal thoughts, Li Shiyun was convinced that Ye Chen was indeed planning something, and her worries only deepened.
Seeing Ye Chen casually sipping tea, as if he were gloating after being bailed out of the police station three times, Li Shiyun couldn't stand the thought of him now scheming to pressure the Li family.
What bothered her most was that, while this involved her family, she couldn't simply take action. She didn't have a valid reason or sufficient evidence to arrest Ye Chen!
It felt as if a dutiful child, who during a famine was willing to cut off his own flesh to feed his starving mother, suddenly saw someone dancing wildly while digging up her grave.
How could she endure this?
Although she didn't fully understand why the Li family was treating Tang Ao so well, Li Shiyun knew that if Ye Chen really stirred up trouble as Tang Ao suspected, it would reflect poorly on Tang Ao.
She couldn't allow that to happen!
After a moment of contemplation, Li Shiyun slammed her palm onto the table and marched furiously toward Ye Chen.
But the closer she got, the more things seemed off.
Passing table after table of guests, she began overhearing snippets of conversation...
"Can you believe the nerve of some people? Didn't the Li family lose millions because of him? And yet, here he is, shamelessly attending their banquet!"
"Tell me about it. Look at him, sitting there, smug as ever, tapping his foot. That bastard cost me four million—I'd love to slap him across the face!"
"A man who shakes his leg like that will never eat more than three dishes in his life!"
"Yeah, but he'll soon be eating four... this is the Li family's banquet after all."
Li Shiyun recognized the four people speaking—they were prominent business leaders in Longquan City.
They seemed... to harbor deep resentment toward Ye Chen?
Were they not showing hostility toward the Li family but toward Ye Chen himself!?
"How does he still think he's the Dragon King? If I were under this much scrutiny, I'd be more uncomfortable than if someone had a gun pointed at me. But look at him, tapping his leg like he's having the time of his life!"
"Exactly! I wish someone would knock him down a peg—Ye Chen has become far too arrogant!"
...
Li Shiyun's pace slowed, and the frown on her face gradually faded.
Ten meters from Ye Chen, Li Shiyun stopped in her tracks.
She had reached a conclusion.
Ye Chen had clearly angered the crowd, swindling most of the guests here, which explained the tense atmosphere. There was no way he was putting pressure on the Li family!
With this realization, Li Shiyun called over a Li family servant handling the banquet and whispered a few instructions into her ear.
The servant glanced cautiously at Ye Chen, hesitating. "Is that really appropriate? Isn't it a bit too rude?"
Li Shiyun patted her chest confidently. "Don't worry, whatever happens, I'll take responsibility. Just do as I say."
After setting things in motion, Li Shiyun smugly glanced at Ye Chen, then hurried back to Tang Ao's table.
Their table had only three people—Tang Ao, Li Shiyun, and Zhou Qiao'er. The other five seats were empty. In the center of the table sat a delicate tea set, unlike any of the other tables.
[Has Li Shiyun been secretly sipping honey or something? She was just fuming a moment ago, all puffed up like a porcupine, and now she's smiling like she's won a prize.]
[Why does she have that strange smirk on her face? I can't shake the feeling that she's either just pulled a prank or is about to!]
Li Shiyun blushed, feeling exposed by Tang Ao's thoughts. She hurriedly set the freshly rinsed tea set in front of Tang Ao and began preparing the tea with professional precision. The first brew was poured over a black tea pet sitting in the middle of the table.
It was shaped like a black swan.
As the hot tea touched the surface, the black tea pet instantly turned white. Slowly, as more tea was poured, the entire swan turned pure white.
So this is the joy of tea brewing and nurturing a tea pet?
As Tang Ao pondered, Li Shiyun had already placed a cup of tea before him. "Try it while it's hot. This is a Pu'er tea that our family head treasures and usually enjoys in secret!"
Just as Tang Ao reached for the cup, two delicate hands snatched it away before he could take a sip.
Zhou Qiao'er?
What is she up to?
After all, Li Shiyun had also placed a steaming cup of tea right in front of Zhou Qiao'er!