"That official?"
Hearing this, everyone's gazes shifted to a spot not far away.
Where their eyes met stood a middle-aged man in a black suit, his eyes sharp and penetrating, exuding an invisible aura of authority with every gesture.
The arrival was none other than the highest leader of Minghai City – Hua Tianmin.
Upon seeing him, Nangong Fu immediately greeted him with a broad smile.
Fang Tingsheng followed closely behind.
"Greetings, Lord Hua!"
"Greetings, Lord Hua!"
Both bowed to Hua Tianmin in succession.
"You are too kind. Today, Hua has come to partake in the birthday feast. Brother Nangong, you won't mind, will you?" Hua Tianmin said with a smile.
"How could we! How could we! Your presence at my father's birthday banquet is a tremendous honor for our Nangong family!" Nangong Fu gestured, "Please, come in!"
Hua Tianmin nodded with a smile, also acknowledging Fang Tingsheng with a glance, and was personally led into the Nangong family courtyard by Nangong Fu.
Behind them, Fang Tingsheng's expression turned complicated.
He was puzzled why Hua Tianmin would personally attend this birthday banquet.
In the past, for such occasions, Hua Tianmin would send his subordinates to represent him.
After all, his official position meant he was not supposed to associate closely with people like them.
But his personal attendance this time was rather unusual.
As the saying goes, "When something is out of the ordinary, there must be a trick."
Fang Tingsheng couldn't figure out where the "trick" lay this time.
In fact, it wasn't just Fang Tingsheng who was confused about Hua Tianmin's intentions; even Nangong Fu, the host of the banquet, was bewildered.
However, Hua Tianmin's personal attendance was undoubtedly a good thing for the Nangong family.
Understanding that much was sufficient.
...
Ten more minutes passed, and most of the guests had already entered the courtyard. It was then that Nangong Qianyu and her group arrived, fashionably late.
"Hmm! Where's my dad?"
Nangong Qianyu looked towards the courtyard entrance, not seeing her father's figure.
By rights, even at this hour, her father should still be greeting guests.
Nangong Qianyu spotted Nangong Yi at the courtyard entrance and asked curiously, "Brother! Where's Dad?"
Hearing this clear voice, Nangong Yi noticed Nangong Qianyu and her entourage. But when he saw Fang Junxue, his expression visibly faltered.
"Why is she here?" Nangong Yi thought, somewhat surprised.
He quickly concealed his expression and lightly chided Nangong Qianyu, "Why are you so late?"
After scolding his sister, Nangong Yi turned to Ye Ming with a smile, "This must be Brother Ye... oh! I should call you brother-in-law!"
Oh!
Upon hearing this, Ye Ming's eyes lit up, and he immediately tagged Nangong Yi as "family."
"Hello, Brother!" Ye Ming enthusiastically shook Nangong Yi's outstretched right hand, feeling a sense of having found a kindred spirit, a meeting long overdue.
Nangong Qianyu, watching the two who seemed to hit it off instantly, her face darkened.
Were there not two living people standing beside them?
Even if he called him brother-in-law, it should be in private...
Pah!
Who's your brother-in-law!
Nangong Qianyu quickly pulled the two apart and stared fiercely at Nangong Yi, "If you dare to call him that again, believe it or not, I'll tear up all your treasured books."
Hearing this, Nangong Yi immediately shut his mouth.
Those collections were his life!
"Cough cough! I was wrong!"
In the end, Nangong Yi had to back down.
He then informed Ye Ming and the others about Hua Tianmin's personal attendance.
When Nangong Yi looked at Fang Junxue, his expression became inexplicably nervous, and he stammered for a while before managing to say, "Why are you here too?"
But as soon as he finished speaking, he realized the inappropriateness of his words and quickly explained, "I... I didn't mean it like that?"
Hmm!
Seeing Nangong Yi's somewhat submissive demeanor, Ye Ming couldn't help but feel curious.
Why did Nangong Yi seem like a mouse encountering a cat when he saw Fang Junxue?
"There's a story here!"
Ye Ming looked at Nangong Yi with amusement.
In reality, Ye Ming didn't know that it wasn't just Nangong Yi. Even the entire younger generation of Minghai City felt an instinctive fear when facing Fang Junxue.
This was because their teenage years were almost entirely spent under Fang Junxue's shadow.
Back then, due to Fang Junxue's overwhelmingly monstrous talent, whether in academics, skills, or later in the business world, she single-handedly crushed her peers in Minghai City, making it impossible for them to compete.
Even some of the older generation would avoid direct confrontation and give way when negotiating business with Fang Junxue.
Therefore, the title of "Queen" held by Fang Junxue was not given in vain.
Consequently, it could be said that the youth of Nangong Yi and others was dominated by Fang Junxue.
If it weren't for that accident later, which caused Fang Junxue to withdraw from the stage, they might still be living under her shadow today.
Some even said that if Fang Junxue had not been born into the Fang family, which prided itself on the principle of "struggle," she would still have stood tall and commanded respect, even after that accident.
In the end, the only evaluation people had for Fang Junxue was "a pity."
However, more often, it was a sense of relief.
...
"That's what happened!"
Seeing Ye Ming's confused look, Nangong Qianyu quietly recounted the past events to him.
"I see!" Ye Ming looked at Fang Junxue beside him and silently gave a thumbs-up.
"Why are you looking at me?" Fang Junxue said coldly.
Ye Ming smiled and said nothing.
"Uh!"
Seeing that it was getting late, Nangong Yi, to avoid further awkwardness, quickly led Ye Ming and the others into the courtyard.
Upon entering, most of the guests were already seated.
When they saw Ye Ming and his group enter, all eyes turned towards them.
However, most of the gazes landed on Nangong Qianyu and Fang Junxue.
Yet, there was a difference in how they were perceived.
The former was naturally well-loved, met with smiles.
But upon seeing Fang Junxue, their faces were filled with confusion.
These gazes seemed to have no effect on Fang Junxue; her expression remained calm.
At this moment, the people at the center table in the courtyard naturally noticed Fang Junxue.
However, no one spoke; they merely glanced subtly at Fang Tingsheng beside them.
After all, she was his daughter.
But to everyone's disappointment, Fang Tingsheng's expression showed no change. Fang Junxue's appearance seemed to have no impact on his emotions.
As for what he was thinking internally, it was impossible to know.
However, Fang Qianhan, sitting next to him, could not maintain the same composure as his father.
As mentioned before, Fang Junxue had left nightmares for her peers.
Even Fang Qianhan, her elder brother, was no exception.
Therefore, upon seeing Fang Junxue, a hint of panic involuntarily surfaced on Fang Qianhan's face.
Yet, what no one noticed was that Hua Tianmin's gaze had been fixed on Ye Ming from the very beginning.