Getting Serious
"Excuse me, who is speaking?" Huang Baobao on the stage seemed to see a lifeline, his eyes lit up, and he stood up to look around.
Not only are newborn calves unafraid of tigers, but drunkards are also fearless.
He Jiong the strange looks from those around him, He Jiong brazenly waved the wine bottle around.
After recognizing the speaker, the reactions from the audience varied.
Her best friend asked Du Keke with a strange smile, "Your friend seems to be drunk?"
Du Keke felt her face burning and wanted to step forward to stop He Jiong from continuing his drunken rampage, but seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, she was too embarrassed to go over and acknowledge him. She could only bite her lip and pretend to be a stranger. "We weren't really close, just ordinary friends who were just passing through. I didn't expect him to be such a bad drinker."
She didn't want to recognize anyone, but Ning Li beside her moved.
They gathered around He Jiong, along with Huang Baobao and the others.
Du Keke had no choice but to walk over reluctantly.
The most excited Huang Baobao spoke first, "This... uh, what's your name, big shot?"
In his haste, he forgot to turn off the microphone, holding it in his hand, which meant that the conversation in that small circle could be heard clearly by everyone present.
"What did you say?" He Jiong looked in the direction of the voice, his eyes blurry with drunkenness, trying to find whose mouth it was.
Having been called out earlier and not daring to respond, Ning Li felt somewhat embarrassed as a half-step Earth Immortal. Eager to escape the previous topic, he took the initiative to introduce, "Young Master Huang, this is Mr. He Jiong, Tower Climber from the Thirteenth Consortium, a renowned senior who has climbed the three hundred floors."
"Pfft"
The moment those ambiguous words were uttered, someone on the sidelines couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Huang Baobao was a little stunned, muttering "three hundred floors" repeatedly. Her gaze turned to Ning Li, and hope rekindled. "People from the Thirteenth Consortium? Even Captain Ning respectfully calls him 'senior,' so he can't be wrong!"
"Oh, no, that's not it." Ning Li shook his head, pointing to Du Keke behind him, and said, "We just met tonight; she's a friend of this Miss Du."
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Du Keke's face flushed red like a burning sunset, and she just wanted to find a secluded place to hide.
She hesitated for a moment, then flatly denied it. "Actually, I'm not very familiar with him; we just came to the dinner together."
Ning Li smiled.
Huang Baobao raised an eyebrow, unsure how to continue the conversation. She wondered, "Is this person really that unpopular? Why is everyone trying so hard to distance themselves from him?"
He turned to look at He Jiong: "Mr. He? You just said that Teacher Wang Wen is your... elder brother?"
"Wang Wen?" He Jiong reacted immediately to those two words, took another sip of wine, exhaled the smell of alcohol, and shouted, "My older brother! What's wrong?"
Huang Baobao tentatively asked, "Could you please pass on a message to Teacher Wang, saying that Huang Baobao from the Sixteenth Consortium requests an audience? I'll reward you handsomely if you deliver the message!"
"No problem!" He Jiong patted his chest and shouted.
Huang Baobao was startled and added, "When will we have news about this? To be honest, my father is getting old, and I'm afraid his health won't be able to handle it if it takes too long. I hope Mr. He will understand my eagerness and give me a specific timeframe."
"Anytime is fine!" He Jiong shouted, patting his chest.
Huang Baobao was so startled that she took half a step back.
Someone nearby scoffed, "He doesn't look like a conman, he looks like a fool!"
Du Keke no longer hold back.
He turned and walked away from the crowd.
Her "best friend" gave her a strange look and pulled her aside, asking, "Your friend is drunk, aren't you going to do anything about it?"
Du Keke forcefully shook off her hand and angrily said, "I'll say it again, he's not my friend! I don't know him!"
After saying that, he quickly walked out of the banquet hall and disappeared.
The "good sister" smiled slightly, pursing her lips.
Ning Li watched helplessly as the delicious treat he had almost obtained slipped away, his brow twitching slightly.
He wanted to pursue her, but he was too embarrassed to do so because of all the stares, especially since his female companion was watching.
If things had gone smoothly, she wouldn't have been able to say much.
But going out of your way to chase after him now would seem too deliberate.
It's unwise to give up a delicious meal you already have just in order to enjoy one you may never have.
I thought about it.
He shook his head regretfully.
As the farce ended, the crowd dispersed.
A familiar person patted Huang Baobao on the shoulder, offered a few words of comfort, and then left.
Huang Baobao nodded with a forced smile as she saw the guest off.
This dinner party was a complete waste of time.
Not only did it waste money, it also completely exposed the current predicament of the Sixteenth Consortium, which is now leaderless.
I imagine we'll be besieged by all our competitors starting tomorrow.
They'll be eaten alive and devoured completely.
They might not even make it to tomorrow.
He forced a smile, but his heart was filled with sorrow, and his gaze wandered aimlessly.
Suddenly, I saw a person in front of me who looked like both a "liar" and a "fool." He fumbled for his phone for a while, and finally seemed to find a number and dialed it.
Everyone's gone, there's no need to keep acting, right?
Huang Baobao leaned closer to listen with suspicion.
Despite being drunk, the other person maintained a fawning attitude.
While bowing and scraping, he said into the phone, "Boss, it's me, Xiao He. Are you busy right now?"
A puzzled voice came through the receiver. "Which river?"
"Is that the Xiao He who Zhang Wei treated us to dinner and then ran errands for you?" He said with He Jiong smile, "You really have a bad memory. You must be exhausted from being so busy lately."
Wang Wen, who was sitting in the corner of the Tiansheng conference room listening to the group of people having a meeting in front of her, looked at the caller ID, picked up her phone again, and said, "Oh, it's you! I haven't heard from you in a while, I thought you'd been wiped out by those two groups, haha. Ahem, is this your number?"
"Yes, yes, yes." He Jiong that he bent over even more.
Huang Baobao, who was eavesdropping nearby, looked even more puzzled.
He could hear voices on the phone.
But they weren't sure who the other person was.
With a hint of doubt, he leaned even closer, almost pressing his ear against the back of the phone.
He Jiong, on the other hand, bowed and scraped like an old eunuch, saying, "I didn't dare to bother you because you're so busy!"
The other side. "What's the big deal? If you hadn't shown up, I wouldn't have anyone to act as a cannon fodder or run errands."
"Alright! What do you need?" He Jiong stood at attention, then noticed a "little ear" next to him. He looked at Huang Baobao with a puzzled expression, realized the purpose of his call, and reached out to press down on him, signaling him not to rush.
Huang Baobao was truly shocked!
He felt a chilling electric shock run down his spine and up to the top of his head.
An incredibly bold guess slowly formed in his mind!
No way?
Could it be this guy?!
Is this for real?!
Before she knew it, Huang Baobao's back had bent a little, and her face showed an expression even more complicated than when she found a fly in her cake only to discover it was made of chocolate.
The receiver said, "No rush. I'll save your number. Don't go into the tower for the next few weeks, wait for my message, okay? If you really need money, come to the Academy; they provide room and board!"
"I'll be there anytime you need!" He Jiong stood at attention again, then looked at Huang Baobao, who was "groveling" beside him, and said into the phone, "Um, boss, could you spare a minute to listen to something?"