Chapter 43: Transmigrated as a Cheapskate Phoenix Man (43)
When evening arrived, Qiang Yuanqing, the host, finally made a late appearance.
He had first extended an invitation to Yu Xinyu and Cen Yu, then later invited Lou Baichuan. Next, considering that the place needed publicity for its grand opening, he invited Pei Zhuo as well.
And, of course, there was Yu Jinheng—an uninvited guest he hadn’t planned on hosting, yet who had shown up anyway.
When it came to extending dinner invitations to everyone that evening, Qiang Yuanqing found himself in quite a bind. He genuinely wanted to build a relationship with Lou Baichuan, while simultaneously remembering that he needed to pry and see what was so special about the guy Yu Xinyu was madly infatuated with. At the same time, he remembered he had invited Pei Zhuo, whom he ought to entertain properly out of etiquette and hospitality. As for Yu Jinheng… just thinking about him gave Qiang Yuanqing a massive headache.
Furthermore, both Lou Baichuan and Yu Xinyu’s party were only staying for the weekend.
They would be heading back on Sunday afternoon.
Although Yu Jinheng hadn’t said anything, Qiang Yuanqing guessed that once Yu Xinyu left, he would naturally depart as well.
Faced with this dilemma, while discussing some matters with Lou Baichuan in the afternoon, he subtly dropped this detail to gauge the man’s thoughts—
Only for Lou Baichuan to smile and say, “They actually happen to be acquaintances of mine.”
“Acquaintances?” Qiang Yuanqing hadn’t expected this.
He knew Lou Baichuan ought to know Yu Xinyu—after all, they belonged to the same social circle—but how could he possibly know Cen Yu?
Lou Baichuan didn’t keep him guessing either.
“Cen Yu and I work at the same company.”
Only then did Qiang Yuanqing recall that the company Lou Baichuan recently joined was located in Tianhe Tower. Thus, he asked subconsciously, “Is it Tianhe Tower?”
“Yes.”
“Tianhe Tower.” Qiang Yuanqing pondered the name for a moment, then teased Lou Baichuan with a chuckle, “Lately, that building has been popping up in the news quite a bit.”
“When I was reading the news today, I accidentally clicked on an article—it was precisely about that incident with Sang Qianshan.”
Qiang Yuanqing brought it up as casual small talk. “I remember the place where Sang Qianshan picked someone up from work was right at Tianhe Tower,” he remarked casually. “Did you happen to run into Sang Qianshan a few times before?”
“I didn’t run into Sang Qianshan, actually.”
Qiang Yuanqing didn’t think much of it, having merely offered a few idle remarks, yet he never expected Lou Baichuan to drop a massive bombshell in the very next second.
“I do, however, know the person Sang Qianshan picked up.”
Qiang Yuanqing constantly felt there was something slightly off about Lou Baichuan’s tone.
Pondering it for a moment, he couldn’t recall any conflict between Lou Baichuan and Sang Qianshan. If he had to point to something, it would be the way Lou Baichuan had paid an unusual amount of attention when hearing gossip about Sang Qianshan that day.
—Could it be that Sang Qianshan’s mysterious partner had some sort of connection with Lou Baichuan?
Before he could figure it out, Lou Baichuan delivered a direct finishing blow—
“The person Sang Qianshan picked up was none other than Cen Yu.”
“…?” Qiang Yuanqing turned his head instinctively to stare at Lou Baichuan.
He even forgot to drink the tea he was holding, staring blankly at Lou Baichuan like a stunned duck a few seconds later.
“Huh?”
Either way, under Lou Baichuan’s subtle pushing and a thoroughly dazed Qiang Yuanqing’s arrangement, the dinner that was originally meant to invite only Yu Xinyu and Cen Yu ended up turning into a massive gathering.
Qiang Yuanqing specifically checked with Yu Xinyu separately, mentioning that there was another guest, Pei Zhuo, staying at the villa estate.
He hadn’t expected Yu Xinyu to agree to adding another person, yet after hearing him out, Yu Xinyu paused for a brief moment before generously agreeing.
“Sure,” Yu Xinyu said. “The more, the merrier.”
“…” Holding his phone, Qiang Yuanqing remained silent. Why did he feel that Yu Xinyu’s tone didn’t sound like he was talking about ‘the more, the merrier’?
It sounded more like the more people there were, the faster he could stab them all to death.
Suppressing the strange feeling in his heart, he then recalled Yu Xinyu’s elder brother. He was genuinely terrified of Yu Jinheng. “What about your brother?”
“I don’t dare invite him.”
“Ignore him,” Yu Xinyu said casually. “He isn’t a fool. Besides, whether you invite him or not, does it make a difference?”
Hearing this, Qiang Yuanqing felt Yu Xinyu made sense. Inviting Yu Jinheng or not indeed made zero difference. If it was a place he wanted to go, he could go even without an invitation; when he didn’t want to go, an invitation was useless anyway. Forget it, best not to bother with whatever that grand deity was thinking.
Qiang Yuanqing simply felt mentally exhausted.
From the very beginning, Qiang Yuanqing’s hot spring villa had adopted the concept of a high-end vacation resort, prioritizing privacy. Each villa was separated by various flowers, plants, trees, and rockeries.
However, considering the possibility of banquet needs, there was also a dedicated venue for hosting dinners.
Because it was a resort hotel to begin with, and the number of guests wasn’t large, Qiang Yuanqing specifically emphasized that everyone should just wear whatever was comfortable—there was no need to be too formal. Aside from the jacket that Yu Xinyu had drenched, Cen Yu’s only other clothes consisted of the hoodie he was currently wearing.
Wearing a hoodie felt somewhat inappropriate after all, so he changed into the beige casual top Yu Xinyu had temporarily lent him.
Yu Xinyu chose a piece that was remarkably similar to Cen Yu’s in both style and color as well.
Although the two garments were similar in style, wearing them produced entirely different impressions on each of them.
Cen Yu possessed a cold, sharp handsome look, especially when silent. This soft beige top perfectly balanced out the overly distant edge in his disposition, softening his entire presence.
On the other hand, although Yu Xinyu wore a soft expression, the underlying build and height he possessed gave him a sense of refined nobility regardless.
Riding in the small cart driven by the butler, the two quickly arrived at the venue where Qiang Yuanqing was hosting the dinner.
The moment Yu Xinyu stepped off the cart, his gaze landed on Lou Baichuan, who was already standing by the doorway.
Lou Baichuan had changed into a casual shirt. Spotting Yu Xinyu, he gave a nod, then greeted Cen Yu behind him, “If you guys didn’t drive here, I can give you a ride on my way out tomorrow.”
Yu Xinyu was just about to offer a smiling refusal upon hearing this,
only to be interrupted by Cen Yu, who was single-mindedly trying to create opportunities for the main leads. “That’s perfect then! We don’t have a ride back yet.”
As he said this, he caught sight of Qiang Yuanqing walking out from the room, who gave them a nod upon seeing the group.
Pei Zhuo arrived at this time as well. He had changed into a new set of clothes too—whether to flatter Lou Baichuan or for another reason, he was specifically wearing a brand under the Lou family’s umbrella.
Lou Baichuan merely cast a single glance before turning his eyes away.
When Pei Zhuo spotted Cen Yu, he offered a greeting with a nod, only for his gaze to fall upon Yu Xinyu right beside Cen Yu in the very next second…
Since he knew Yu Jinheng, he was naturally very familiar with his precious younger brother as well.
He had never expected in a million years that Cen Yu would actually be together with Yu Xinyu?!
In the next instant, however, he recalled the rumors he had heard at certain banquets—
Supposedly, this Yu Xinyu was a total romantic fool who had fallen head over heels for a poor, cheap phoenix man. Amid his dramatic, life-and-death infatuation, Yu Jinheng hadn’t wanted to disappoint his younger brother, so he let him have his way, simply waiting until Yu Xinyu grew tired of him.
Thus, everyone knew Yu Jinheng thoroughly despised Cen Yu.
At that thought, Pei Zhuo felt a spark in his heart, sensing that he might have found a breakthrough point—only to unexpectedly hear a familiar voice—
“…Why isn’t anyone coming inside?” The man walking behind Qiang Yuanqing said to everyone with a smile.
Seemingly due to his poor health, he let out a few coughs as he spoke, before adding to the group, “Come on in, the food is all ready.”
Looking at that familiar, sickly man, Cen Yu froze on the spot in near utter shock, staring at him in disbelief. Consequently, he failed to notice Yu Xinyu’s gaze beside him darkening instantly, as well as his feigned, pleasantly surprised exclamation—
“Elder Brother, when did you get here?”
