1.24 Couple Of The Year

The two people's appearance instantly drew people's attention. "Oh my God, is that...Old Master Meng?"

"Old Master Meng?! Didn't they say that he has retired already? What is he doing here? Oh, the beautiful girl with him… She must be Meng Yun. Old Master Meng always boasted about her every chance he got and now, I can see why."

"That's Old Master Meng and his dear granddaughter? Do they come specifically for the young master?"

"Ehem, I smell some conspiracy here. Do you think it's possible that Old Master Meng and CEO Lu are planning to…you know, introduce Young Master Ren and Miss Yun to each other?"

"Gasp! This will be a huge gossip!"

The ruckus finally pulled Ren Zexi's attention away from the cake. He lifted his head to see who it was but when his eyes landed on the girl in red cheongsam, he was stunned for a split second. It was like there's an invisible force that drew him to her but when he blinked again, the connection instantly severed as if it was never there.

What was that? Feeling weird, he turned sideways to find Lu Yizhou's gaze transfixed on the girl. The words stuck in his throat and once again, alarm bells rang in his mind. He had only felt the same danger from Jing Xuehao and now, he also felt it from this unknown girl?! Who was she?! Ren Zexi frowned. He felt instant dislike toward the two approaching strangers.

Lu Yizhou stepped forward and for the first fime tonight, greeted them on his own accord, his tone exceedingly polite and courteous. "Old Master Meng. Thank you for coming."

The elderly's hair was already painted white, yet he still retained vigor that no other men his age had. Guffawing, he patted Lu Yizhou's shoulders with familiarity. "Little Lu, you have really grown up to be an upstanding man. How time has flown, your father will be very proud if he sees you now."

Lu Yizhou bowed. "You're overpraising me." Then, his eyes turned to the female lead. "This is your granddaughter you have always talked about?"

"That's right! She has some free time today so I got her to accompany me. Meng Yun, say hello to Uncle Lu."

Meng Yun blinked and put on a sweet, alluring smile. Even her voice was soft and very pleasant to hear, making people feel as if their heart was being tickled by a soft feather. "Good evening, Uncle Lu. My name is Meng Yun. You look twice as handsome as in the news. They don't do you justice."

Ren Zexi's eyes widened as soon as he heard her words. What did she say?! How could she seduce Lu Yizhou right in front of his very eyes?! Shameless! How shameless!

"This girl…" Old Master Ren laughed jovially. "She has always been straightforward. Please pardon her. Let me officially introduce you two once again. This is Meng Yun, my Yun Family's sole granddaughter. She has just turned seventeen this year, so she's one year older than your kiddo here."

Lu Yizhou nodded and tugged Ren Zexi closer. "Zexi, this is Old Master Meng and his granddaughter, Meng Yun. Old Master Meng is a senior of my father. He's a very respected figure."

Ren Zexi retracted his glare from Meng Yun in a split second and flashed a professional smile toward the elderly. "I know. I've heard so much about Old Master Meng when I learned business for the first time. You have always been my role model."

"Am I?" Old Master Meng rubbed his long beard and laughed happily. "Aiyah, your mouth is so sweet, child. You're actually really similar to my Little Yun. How about we let the youngsters mingle by themselves, CEO Lu?" Without waiting for anyone, Old Master Meng led Lu Yizhou away. "Speaking of it, you haven't married yet, have you? How about I introduce a few good women for you?"

Ren Zexi's eyes almost spurted out fire as he glared at Old Master Meng's back. Like grandfather, like granddaughter! Why were the two of them such a busybody?! And Lu Yizhou too, how could that man leave him alone with this annoying girl?!

The two's eyes locked for a second and sparks instantly flew. Meng Yun stared at him and suddenly gave an innocent smile, making people around her couldn't help but turn to steal some glances. However, the words that came out of her mouth were anything but pleasant. "Keep your glare to yourself otherwise I will dig your eyes out."

From the third person's perspective, it looked like they were talking animatedly whilst picking food from the buffet table but nobody knew that knives were currently flying under the guise of cordiality.

Hearing Meng Yun's words, Ren Zexi was so angry that he laughed. "How about you keep your eyes to yourself first? Otherwise you're going to drool all over my uncle. Will that be ugly then?"

Meng Yun covered her mouth and chuckled elegantly. She picked up a black cherry with her fork and put it inside her mouth, gnashing her teeth along the way. "Shut up, you piece of shit. If it wasn't because I didn't want him to think that I am a promiscuous woman, I would have asked him out for a date." She glanced at Ren Zexi from her peripheral vision and scoffed. "Snotty brat like you is really not my type but I will bear with it for a while. I prefer men like your uncle more. Hmm, he's my ideal type for a husband."

Ren Zexi raked his fingers over his hair, so angry that his chest almost exploded. Still, a graceful smile donned his face. It was peerless without a crack. "You think I want to be here with you? If not for your grandfather dragging Uncle Lu away, he would definitely be here to accompany me, okay?" This girl wanted to be his aunt? He measured Meng Yun through the corner of his eyes and gave a mocking sneer.

"Oh?" Veins popped up in Meng Yun's forehead. Despite that, her movement was as delicate as ever, with her round eyes oozing with a charm of innocence. "Ckckck, haven't you realized it yet? Your uncle deliberately left us alone, idiot."

Far in the distance, the cameramen snapped the shots of the two like crazy. "Breathtaking! This is absolutely beautiful! The heir of Lu Group and the missus of Meng Family are getting chummy with each other at the first meeting. This is going to be such a great headline! Who knows, maybe they will become the couple of the year!"

***

After more than half an hour, Lu Yizhou painstakingly managed to convince Old Master Meng that he had no intention to marry and pulled himself away from the conversation. By then, he had lost all interest in the party. He wasn't a fan of crowded places and being the center of attention for a prolonged period gave him a headache. If this wasn't Ren Zexi's debut birthday party and the day he met the female lead, Lu Yizhou wouldn't even appear on scene.

Walking down the hallway to the lounge where he could take a short rest, Lu Yizhou opened a conversation with 666. [Are they doing okay?]

[666: Yup! 666 is currently monitoring them through the CCTV! Everything is going well and they look pleased with each other! See, I told you, Host. Ren Zexi will definitely be interested in the female lead when they meet. It has been written that way in the original plot, the same as his unexplained competitiveness with Jing Xuehao.]

Lu Yizhou nodded. [Then, Jing Xuehao will also meet Meng Yun and fall in love with her?]

[666: Of course yes! But no worry, we will make sure that it's Ren Zexi who gets the female lead's heart in the end!]

[I am not worried about that.] Lu Yizhou shook his head helplessly and opened the door to the lounge, pulling his tie off along the way. The light wasn't on thus he probed around the wall for the switch when all of a sudden, 666 exclaimed.

[666: O—Oh.]

[What?]

Click. The light was turned on and Lu Yizhou narrowed his eyes to block the glare. At the same time, he caught sight of another person in the room. Frowning, he asked. "What are you doing here?"

[666: 666 couldn't find the protagonist everywhere. It turns out...he's been here all along hehehe.]

Jing Xuehao stood nervously in front of the most attractive person in the whole world — in his opinion. His body trembled due to the nervousness. "C—CEO Lu, can you spare me some time? There's something I want to talk to you about…"