Chapter 17: The Socialite

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Seeing the distressed and pitiful expression on her face, Mr. Xu recalled the situation at home that morning and realized that Lu Yao had indeed told the truth. He thus relaxed his vigilance slightly.

“Hurry up and come back quickly!” he said somewhat irritably.

If he could, he truly wouldn’t want Lu Yao to leave his sight. But... it was only to use the restroom, and he figured Lu Yao wouldn’t be able to pull any tricks. After all, everyone around here was his man at the moment. Besides, Lu Yao didn’t have the nerve to make a run for it.

With Mr. Xu’s permission, Lu Yao exhaled in relief. Naturally, she noticed Mr. Xu signaling the bodyguards with his eyes. Pretending not to care, she asked a nearby waiter for the location of the restroom, then strode off.

Along the way, she glanced around to see who was nearby. The two bodyguards assigned by Mr. Xu trailed closely behind her, as if afraid she might escape.

Before long, Lu Yao reached the women’s restroom door. Seeing that the two bodyguards intended to follow her inside, she frowned in displeasure.

“I’m going into the ladies’ room, are you coming in too?” she asked, stopping in her tracks.

She knew Mr. Xu was sly and scheming, but she hadn’t expected that even her excuse to go to the restroom would warrant two bodyguards accompanying her. This showed that the request she had made a few days earlier, asking not to be followed during the banquet, had not been taken seriously by Mr. Xu.

Since that was the case, she would not blame anyone else.

The two bodyguards’ faces stiffened. “We’ll wait outside then.”

Lu Yao snorted coldly and pushed open the door, entering the restroom.

But inside, her heart was far from calm. As the door shut behind her, she leaned against it, feeling as if she had just survived a disaster. Her heart pounded relentlessly.

Then she looked up at the small window above the restroom door.

Outside, Mr. Xu sat on a sofa in the hotel, waiting for nearly half an hour. Seeing that she had not returned, he was about to personally check the restroom when suddenly Lu Yao appeared, flanked by the two bodyguards, approaching him.

“Why did it take so long?”

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Mr. Xu stood up and said, “Look at the time. Let’s go.”

Was she deliberately stalling?

Lu Yao kept her head lowered, saying nothing. She followed closely behind Mr. Xu as they took the elevator together.

Along the way, Mr. Xu ran into several acquaintances, all headed to the jewelry banquet. A few had just come from visiting Old Master Huang, bearing gifts.

Seeing this, Mr. Xu furrowed his brows slightly. He paused, glanced sideways at Lu Yao trailing behind, lost in thought, then turned toward the jewelry banquet.

This surprised Lu Yao somewhat.

Well, it was for the best. It saved her from having to spend so much effort planning how to leave Old Master Huang’s birthday banquet only to come here instead.

Meanwhile, Old Master Huang, having learned that Lu Yao had arrived at the hotel, was preparing to welcome her joyfully. But moments later, his assistant informed him that Xu Shenghai had taken his daughter to the jewelry banquet instead. Furious, Old Master Huang immediately overturned the table.

“That bastard! How dare he stand me up.”

“Grandpa, I want a bride, I want a bride!” Huang’s eldest grandson kept tugging his grandfather’s arm, urging him impatiently.

This instantly softened Old Master Huang’s anger.

“All right, all right. I’ll find a bride for Chenchen soon,” he said indulgently.

“Come with me. I want to ask Xu Shenghai exactly what his intentions are,” he commanded, his face stern.

How dare he play him like this? Did he want to die?

Old Master Huang had been a formidable figure in his youth. If not for the tragic accident that killed his son and daughter-in-law, leaving only Huang Chen as his grandson, he might not have been so weakened now.

Mr. Xu was still unaware that Old Master Huang was preparing to come with his grandson to confront him.

Upon entering the jewelry banquet, Mr. Xu was immediately drawn to the affluent guests surrounding him. He quickly took a wine glass from a waiter and began greeting the magnates.

Lu Yao stayed at his side. Whenever someone noticed her, Mr. Xu introduced her as his adopted daughter.

This prompted many lecherous glances directed at Lu Yao.

After all, there was a difference between an adopted daughter and a biological one.

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Many in this circle had adopted daughters. But these were never purely familial relations; often the adopted daughters ended up in bed with their benefactors.

Thus, when Mr. Xu introduced Lu Yao this way, it was inevitable that some cast depraved looks toward her.

This made Lu Yao deeply uncomfortable. She kept her head low, avoiding the gazes.

But her refusal to meet their eyes did not mean they would easily leave her alone.

Several wealthy young masters raised their glasses to her in succession, their intentions clear: if you drink with us, we won’t make things difficult for you. If you refuse, don’t blame us for being rude.

Mr. Xu pretended not to see, turning his face aside.

To him, Lu Yao was nothing but a socialite brought to the jewelry banquet for networking. Even without the Huang family, there were always men from families like Zhao or Zhang who would ally with her.

Of course, as long as someone came forward to save the Xu family in the end, it didn’t matter to Mr. Xu who it was.

Lu Yao could easily guess Mr. Xu’s little schemes. Unfortunately for him, his dreams were destined to be shattered by her.

“I won’t drink!” she said bluntly, refusing the persistent men who urged her to drink.

She didn’t care how embarrassed they looked.

After refusing, she turned to leave but was suddenly grabbed by one of them.

“What are you playing at, acting all high and mighty here?” The eldest master of the Zhao family, humiliated in front of everyone, was furious. He seized her arm, refusing to let her go.

“Who do you think you are? At best, you’re just a socialite walking among men. Who are you trying to impress with your airs of purity?”

“Drink up, now!”

The Zhao eldest master lifted the wine glass toward her mouth.

Furious, Lu Yao wildly waved her hand and knocked the glass from his grip, shattering it on the floor.

“Clink!”

The sharp crash immediately drew everyone’s attention. All eyes turned toward Lu Yao.