Sweet Chief Secretary

Chapter 504 Come to Provoke
Although Ningjing’s father was only a housekeeper, he was well-respected in Shen Family, and he had been a major shareholder of Shen Group as early as Shen Yan’s grandfather was still alive. This time Shen Mo contributed a lot to the matter that Ningjing’s injustice was undone. What was more, he was the man who Ningjing loved. Even for the sake of his daughter, Ningjing’s father would support Shen Mo this time after he came back.

So, First Madame left no means untried to please Ningjing’s father. In order to hold a grand and special birthday party for him, she put a lot of thought into the location of the hotel. After visiting almost all the five-star hotels in S city, she was still not satisfied, and she almost tried to hold it in another city. Finally, President Ning himself proposed to hold it in a manor hotel in the suburbs of S city, which was improved from dozens of mu of land gained by one of his old friends, who was an alcoholic, for growing grapes with some old cottages.

He never marketed or advertised it, and its operation relied entirely on some insiders. So ordinary people didn’t know that there was such a fine hotel in the mountains at all.

Probably, the owner of the hotel was not short of money at all, so he willfully bought the land as well as those farmhouses and then renovated them according to his preferences. There were not many guest rooms in the hotel, only seven or eight, and the rooms were not mainly used to receive guests, but to receive some friends or business partners at ordinary times. And this time the hotel was used to hold the birthday party for President Ning.

Shen Yan drove himself up the mountain. Since the hotel was somewhat secluded, the people who were responsible for the birthday party had already put up signs at all the road crossings on the mountain road in case that those guests couldn’t find the exact place. The signs were customized uniformly, which were all carved boards of wood, indicating arrows and the address of the birthday party on them. It could be seen that First Madame really put a lot of thought into this birthday party.

Shen Yan arrived at the hotel at about 7:30, and the entrance was teeming with many people. The special parking lot had been full of cars, and there were on-site staff in charge of guiding.

This birthday party was quite grand. President Ning disappeared for several years, and this time almost all the elites in business in S city arrived here since he came back. It was exactly what First Madame wanted. Shen Mo was not the man he used to be now. He was in charge of Zeng Group this time, and he had been much more powerful.

If he got the support of President Ning, Shen Group could be said to belong to him then. So, First Madame was the most active person, and she kept smiling all evening and shuttling among the guests.

Shen Yan did not like this kind of occasion. Or rather, he even repelled it very much, so he didn’t get off immediately but sat in the car and lit a cigarette. While he got a call from Liu Sijie after only two puffs.

“Young Master Yan, I haven’t seen Xia Yu yet. How about I go upstairs to knock at her door?”

Shen Yan raised his hand and looked at the wristwatch. “No need. You can go back first.”

He hung up the phone in a puff of smoke, and his eyes were riveted on the front with pitch-dark pupils. The hotel entrance at a short distance was ablaze with lights and teeming with many people. He could imagine how bustling it was inside. While the silence reigned in his car. Except for the bright lights of the key on the instrument board, the car was almost shrouded in the pitch dark as if he was in another space.

Shen Yan raised his lips and took another puff at the cigarette, suddenly feeling ironic. He couldn’t tell which was the dream or which was the real world.

At this moment, someone knocked at the window beside him with a few drumming sounds. Shen Yan tilted his head, lowering the window. Second Madame who was standing outside involuntarily waved her hand several times in order to wave away the smoke rising from the car.

“Why don’t you come in after coming here? Your elder brother came here this afternoon, and the guests have almost all arrived!” She meant that Shen Yan was late.

He was indeed late. The birthday party was hosted by Shen Family, so he should have arrived in advance by rights. He should have received the guests at the door as a host at least, while he was just the last one to arrive here, which really couldn’t be explained away.

But Second Madame did not dare to ask or blame him much. She didn’t know what had happened to him recently, and she could not understand everything he had done recently.

For example, he did all the work to clear up Ningjing’s grievances while Shen Mo got all the credit.

Shen Mo was not an easy rival, who actually picked up Zeng Group on the sly. With Zeng Group and the abundance of capital in his hands, those directors of Shen Group who changed their views according to circumstances all stood by his side at once. If he got the support of President Ning, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Second Madame was worried about him, and she called him so many times in the afternoon. While he had not answered any of her calls, so she had been so afraid that he would not come here. While he finally came here, anyway. Although he was a little bit late, it could be explained away, at least.

“Get off first. People are all waiting for you.” Second Madame opened the door of his car and urged.

Shen Yan snuffed out his cigarette and shut down the car calmly. While as soon as he got off the car, he heard someone calling him outside, “Brother Yan!”

Yang Ke’er trotted over gracefully. She was in a pantsuit with a hand-made shirt of advanced customization in a solid color, silk shorts, and sapphire heels, which made her legs look slender. Her makeup was also very plain and light, which seemed to be different from her usual style.

Shen Yan paused. He did not expect her to be present, as he heard that she had gone to Europe from Zhang Peng.

“Why didn’t I see Xia Yu?” Yang Ke’er asked. She had been here for a long while. She had thought Shen Yan and Xia Yu would have arrived here earlier than her, while one of them was late, and the other one hadn’t arrived yet.

“Yeah! Why didn’t I see Xia Yu, either?” Second Madame also asked on the side.

She saw that Shen Yan seemed to have made his peace with Xia Yu recently, while First Madame told her mysteriously that Xia Yu was having a relationship with Zhou Yan yesterday. Although she knew that First Madame’s words couldn’t be trusted, she was still worried.

After all, Zhou Yan was also a rare talent, who was no worse than her son. She had planned to find a chance to sound him out, while she found out their out-of-sync phenomenon before she could ask him.

“She said she had something else to do. But don’t worry. She will come here definitely.” Shen Yan raised his lips and smiled, walking forward first.

Second Madame reacted then, catching up with him by taking two steps. “You didn’t bring a gift?”

“What gift?”

“It’s the birthday party for your Uncle Ning today. You just came here with nothing in your hands?”

Shen Yan frowned tightly. “Do I have to bring something?”

“Of course, you have to!”

“But don’t you often say that a family need not care so much about the details?”

“…” Second Madame was refuted into silence.

Yang Ke’er broke the ice at once on the side. “Auntie, Brother Yan is joking with you. Xia Yu must have prepared the gift for him.”

This time, it was Shen Yan’s turn to be speechless.

“Don’t look at me like that. I also heard that from Zhang Peng. He said that Xia Yu just bought a top purple clay tea set yesterday. Uncle Ning likes drinking tea. Xia Yu must have prepared to send the gift on behalf of you two.”

“See! It is still Xiao Yu who helped you. You bad boy…” Hearing Yang Ke’er’s words, Second Madame felt much better in her mind. She turned back to take Yang Ke’er’s hand happily after giving Shen Yan a ticking-off.

Shen Yan’s eyes swept over them, and he really felt so strange at that moment. He involuntarily snorted lightly, turning around to walk to the hotel door.

As expected, almost all the guests had arrived. The specially-created banquet hall was teeming with many people, and new guests kept coming.

President Ning greeted the guests in the doorway with Shen Mo and First Madame beside him. They were all smiling, which looked quite harmonious. Then Second Madame called, “President Ning, Little Yan is here!”

First Madame wore a sulky face immediately. She pretended not to see them, while Shen Mo beside her snorted on the side. “What a sight for sore eyes! You could be the last to arrive even in such an occasion.”

Second Madame looked embarrassed. It was clear that Shen Mo was making mischief, but it was exactly the truth.

“He should have arrived here early in the morning. But something happened temporarily in the company. It is not his fault. He is just too busy with his work.” Second Madame excused Shen Yan’s being late.

While Shen Mo was not going to let go of him, saying with a faint smile on his face, “Well, what a busy bee! It is just that you have too much on your plate. Of course, your business is more important than Uncle Ning’s birthday.” Shen Mo sneered at Shen Yan while adding insult to injury.

Shen Yan showed no expression on his face still. He was not angry, as he had experienced such things countless times already, anyway. He had a remarkable tolerance in this respect.

President Ning said on the side, “It is great that you have arrived. Work matters indeed.”

Second Madame tugged at Shen Yan’s sleeve hurriedly when seeing this. “Apologize to your Uncle Ning right now.”

But before Shen Yan could speak, President Ning said with a smile, “Forget that! Go in. Your Uncle Xiao has arrived. Go and say hello to him!”

Then Second Madame was ready to go in with Shen Yan, followed closely by Yang Ke’er behind them. While they heard a noise in the doorway as soon as they just raised their legs.

“Uncle Ning!”

At this time, Shen Yan and Yang Ke’er turned around at the same time, seeing Zhou Yan and Liu Sijie coming in from the outside with another person behind them.

President Ning was quite happy to see Zhou Yan, as his daughter’s injustice would have never been undone in this life without him. President Ning smiled and planned to greet him, while he just saw a figure move.

President Ning’s eyes shone at the moment.

Zhou Yan had been in front of him then as if nothing had happened.

“Sorry for being late. It’s a little hard to find this place.” When he was speaking, he put a piece of calligraphy in his hand into the hands of a staff member who received gifts on the side, smiling and saying politely, “I wish you happiness as immense as the Eastern Sea and wish you live as long as the southern mountain. May each year be better than the last!” After that, he gently moved his arm, and then the figure behind him showed up completely. He made an introduction lightly and said, “I also brought a friend here with me!”

It seemed that he meant something else. Shen Mo looked so sulky, and his eyes were fixed on the figure firmly. In addition, the rest of the crowd present here also looked over in unison.

Second Madame looked so surprised. Probably, she never expected Zhou Yan to have something to do with this woman.

Shen Mo took a look at Shen Yan, hitting himself on the head with the last vestige of his self-control and telling himself that he couldn’t be impulsive in such a wrong occasion. He had to force himself to lower the head and take a deep breath.

Although Shen Yan had told him that they were in a relationship, Shen Mo had thought that they were just in a primary stage. He did not expect him to bring her here. How awkward Zhang Hanyu would be if he saw this scene?

As for Shen Yan, he seemed to be the calmest one from beginning to end. He first took a glance at Liu Sijie who was standing behind Zhou Yan with placid and quiet eyes, while Liu Sijie just threw up his hands innocently, as if he was saying with grievances, “What can I do? I am very helpless as well.”

Shen Mo then looked back, just feeling that the figure was dazzling.

She was dressed in green. Because of the low neckline, a large area of her skin was exposed. Her collarbones were sharp, and she had a slender waist. Her exposed arms, legs, chest skin, and shoulders were all as white as snow under the lamplight, which was so amazing. And she wore a pair of round pearl earrings on her earlobes with her skin as slippery as congealed fat.

If Shen Mo’s memory was right, Zhang Hanyu bought these things for her.

At this time, Zhang Hanyu, who had been helping to organize the birthday party, came over probably to talk about something with Shen Mo. He paid no attention to the person standing beside Shen Mo at first, perhaps. But when he came up to him, he was stunned.

Seeing this scene, Shen Yan could not help lowering his head to smile with the corners of his lips upward. What was this? Was this her provocation by taking Zhou Yan’s arm here while wearing the skirt and earrings which Zhang Hanyu bought for her?