Chapter 27

As for the remaining roles in the film, they were divided among artists under Li's Meihua Film Company and members of several major clubs at Diwan High School. Li Rongxiu and the young heirs did not interfere much with the casting of these roles, instead following Director Zhang Mengqiu's advice. Just as his second brother, Li Rongjia, had once advised—

"You're not a professional at this, so try to listen to the director. Director Zhang won the Golden Olive Award for Best Director, and this film is being prepared for Diwan's Centennial School Anniversary. No matter what, Director Zhang won't ruin his own reputation."

Li Rongxiu had always hated trouble. Now that Li Rongjia had given him this reminder, he treated it as gospel and openly dumped all the trivial matters onto the production company and directing team. Only after they had finished everything did he gather the young heirs for the final review.

Of course, even during the final review, Li Rongxiu raised no objections. Zhou Ruixin and the others merely laughed and muttered a few words. "A few boys and girls from school came to us privately, hoping to make an appearance in our movie." But in the end, all they asked for were insignificant roles that let them show their faces without giving them many lines.

It seemed that when it came to serious business, his young heir friends still knew what mattered.

At that moment, Li Rongxiu could not help feeling grateful once again for Li Rongjia's advice. Since the auditions had begun, quite a few people had come to him through all sorts of connections. This one wanted a leading role, that one wanted a good part. If Li Rongxiu had not shamelessly shoved all the mess onto Director Zhang, he would never have had any peace of mind.

This was a society built on connections!

Li Rongxiu sighed, tossed all the documents aside, and signaled for Zhao Qijun to call Zhang Mengqiu's directing team to discuss the next steps. He stood, straightened his clothes, and smiled at the others. "I heard Imperial Residence in South Bay has hired a master chef who used to prepare state banquets. Shall we go try it out?"

Naturally, the young heirs had no objections. They got off the yacht and headed toward where their cars were parked.

Before they had taken more than a few steps, Li Rongxiu's phone rang. He picked it up and saw an unfamiliar string of numbers on the display. Li Rongxiu raised a suspicious brow. Just as he hesitated, the ringing stopped.

Xin Mengmeng, who was walking ahead, noticed Li Rongxiu dragging behind. She stopped, turned around, and frowned. "What are you thinking about? Hurry up."

Hearing that, Li Rongxiu simply stopped thinking about it. He put his phone back into his pocket and took a few long strides to catch up with the others.

The group took six cars. When they arrived smoothly at Imperial Residence, the lineup of ultra-luxury limited-edition sports cars immediately drew the attention of passersby. Someone even gave a frivolous whistle. Li Rongxiu's flashy red sports car was always in the lead. It showed just how thick-skinned Li Rongxiu was and how excellent his mental fortitude was—

After all, in his previous life, Li Rongxiu had gotten into a car accident while speeding in a red sports car. For an ordinary person, even if it did not leave a psychological shadow, it would at least make them uncomfortable. Only Li Rongxiu carried on exactly as before after being reborn, without the slightest taboo. Wasn't that why the elders of the Li family always said the boy had a big heart?

Of course, put another way, that meant he never learned his lesson. So it was understandable that Xin Mengmeng and the others worried Li Rongxiu would repeat Shen Manyao's mistake. After all, this boy had never been one to hold grudges.

What they did not know was that Li Rongxiu usually did not seem vengeful because he did not think it was necessary—victors who held the upper hand always appeared more forgiving. Li Rongxiu was not particularly shrewd, but thanks to his good family background, he had never suffered much in his life. The only major loss he had ever taken had come at the hands of Chi Junrui and Shen Manyao, so he remembered it.

After struggling through two lifetimes, it was not quite a fight to the death, but in the end, it came down to this: Seeing you miserable makes me happy.

After tossing his car keys to the valet who hurried over, Li Rongxiu led the young heirs into Imperial Residence's resplendent lobby. The lobby manager had received word through her walkie-talkie while they were parking and had hurried over to greet them. But she got the message a little too late. By the time she reached the entrance, Li Rongxiu and the others were already inside.

Seeing this, the manager quickly approached them with eager greetings. People in her profession generally had silver tongues and could naturally coax distinguished guests into arriving happily and spending lavishly. Besides, Li Rongxiu and the others were no ordinary distinguished guests—the people backing them were the kind who could make Wancheng's business world quake with a single stomp of their feet.

Led by the lobby manager, Li Rongxiu walked unhurriedly toward the VIP elevator. As he walked, he smiled and said, "I heard you hired an old master chef who used to make state banquets, and that his skills are exceptional. We brothers came to try something new today... Is he still in the Golden Throne Hall on the top floor?"

The moment the lobby manager heard that, her heart sank. She instinctively thought, It's over. An awkward, troubled expression appeared on her face. However, Li Rongxiu and the others did not notice the emotion she had deliberately displayed. That was hardly surprising. These people were all young masters accustomed to being served by others; who among them would be skilled at reading expressions? The only one good at it, Zhao Qijun, had all his attention on the upcoming start of filming and did not spare the lobby manager a glance.

Seeing that they had already reached the VIP elevator, the lobby manager could no longer hold back. She could only brace herself and say, "I'm terribly sorry, but the Golden Throne Hall has guests at the moment, and Chef Zhao is preparing dishes for them. If Young Master Xiu doesn't mind, you may go to the Autumn Palace on the top floor instead. We'll arrange it for you immediately—"

"It's not even mealtime. Who booked the Golden Throne Hall?" Xin Mengmeng glanced at the diamond watch on her wrist. The hands clearly showed that it was half past two in the afternoon.

Hearing that, the lobby manager looked at them with some difficulty.

Li Rongxiu did not notice the manager's expression. He waved a hand. "Forget it. We didn't think it through either. We assumed no one would be eating at this hour. Since that's the case... just arrange somewhere for us."

After saying that, he saw the lobby manager's grateful expression and casually asked, "Who are the guests in the Golden Throne Hall?"

The lobby manager hesitated over whether and how to answer. Seeing the growing dissatisfaction and impatience on Xin Mengmeng's face, she finally forced herself to say, "It's... the eldest young master of the Chi family and the guests he invited."

The moment those words left her mouth, all the young heirs turned their eyes toward Li Rongxiu.

Chapter 27

Chi Junrui sat in the splendid, spacious, and luxurious private room on the top floor of Imperial Residence, enthusiastically serving food and urging his distinguished guest to drink. The view inside the private room was broad and the temperature pleasant, yet as Chi Junrui bustled about, fine beads of sweat had unknowingly appeared on his forehead.

Beside him, at the head of the table, sat a handsome and distinguished man around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. Holding a wineglass, he leisurely enjoyed Chi Junrui's service. He seemed very accustomed to such attentive treatment from others and even had the leisure to examine the Golden Throne Hall's overall decor, as well as the dense rows of modern high-rises outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. Then he smiled at Chi Junrui. "I've always heard that Wancheng's wealthy merchants are rich beyond measure, and that their luxurious indulgences surpass even those of the Capital. Now that I've seen it for myself, the reputation is well deserved."

Hearing that, Chi Junrui hurriedly refilled his distinguished guest's half-empty glass. With a broad smile, he said, "Wancheng's wealth and extravagance are nothing more than Paper Drunk Golden Lost piled up with money. In the end, it is merely a small display. But when it comes to the grandeur of a flourishing realm, how could it compare to the Capital, where all nations pay tribute and all rivers flow into the sea? You grew up in the Capital, sir, and having lived among orchids for so long, you no longer notice their fragrance. Yet we humble commoners envy every blade of grass and tree in the capital. It's just that the Capital is too vast, and not easy to live in."

Listening to Chi Junrui's humble flattery and indirect probing, the man smiled faintly. Just as he was about to say something, there was a bang. The two solid wooden doors of the Golden Throne Hall, carved with dragons and phoenixes, were pushed open. A group of six or seven people filed in despite the lobby manager's attempts to stop them. A clear, pleasant voice brimming with mischief rang out.

"I heard Young Master Chi was receiving a distinguished guest here. We're not much, but we came to admire this 'distinguished guest's' noble bearing. Young Master Chi won't mind, will he?" As Li Rongxiu spoke, his assessing gaze passed directly over Chi Junrui's dramatically changed expression and landed on the man seated at the head of the table. The man played with his crystal glass, raised a brow leisurely, and gave Li Rongxiu a look as well. He nodded and smiled. "Li Jiuying."

Linda, the lobby manager who had followed them in, blushed furiously as she walked up to Chi Junrui. With an apologetic expression, she said, "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Shen. We did our best, but Young Master Xiu and the others insisted on coming in..."

Chi Junrui waved a hand, cutting Linda off. Deep down, he was extremely dissatisfied that Linda had allowed Li Rongxiu and the others inside. But he also understood that given the Li family's connections and status in Wancheng, it was understandable that Imperial Residence did not wish to offend Li Rongxiu.

The only ones to blame were the Chi family for not having enough standing, which gave Imperial Residence the chance to judge people by their status.

At such a young age, Linda had become Imperial Residence's lobby manager, so naturally she was a highly capable and tactful person. Skilled at dealing with all sides and reading people's hearts, she could tell what Chi Junrui was thinking from his expression. But she had no choice. Given how favored Li Rongxiu was in the Li family, along with the wealth and status of the others, could she really order security to stop them? Offending several rising great families, or kicking a man when he was down while doing the Li family a favor—anyone knew which choice to make.

Besides, she had not neglected a single courtesy she should have shown or responsibility she should have fulfilled. Even if Chi Junrui wanted to complain, she was not afraid.

Ignoring the silent clash between Chi Junrui and Linda, Li Rongxiu grinned like a little fox and slid into a seat beside Li Jiuying. He casually picked up an unused crystal wineglass from the table, poured himself half a glass of red wine, raised it toward Li Jiuying, and smiled. "What a coincidence. My surname is Li too. I'm Li Rongxiu, the youngest son of Wancheng's Li family. Five hundred years ago, we were one family."

Seeing Li Rongxiu's carefree behavior, Chi Junrui's expression changed again. He was about to rebuke him, but then seemed to think of something and swallowed the words. A malicious glint flashed in his eyes, as though he were waiting for Li Rongxiu to make a mistake and anger the distinguished guest.

What Chi Junrui did not expect was that Li Jiuying, who had always appeared gentle and refined before him but was actually quite proud by nature, did not take offense at Li Rongxiu's discourtesy. Instead, he followed Li Rongxiu's gesture and clinked glasses with him, smiling as he said, "Indeed. Li is a common surname, and it is also the royal surname. To meet family from five hundred years ago in Wancheng, we truly are fated."

Li Jiuying's unusually agreeable and gentle attitude made Chi Junrui grumble inwardly. He unconsciously glanced at Li Rongxiu's delicate, pretty face, beautiful enough to resemble a woman's, and curled his lips in secret. Everyone loved beauty; even the lofty royal family was no exception.

Still, he truly could not see what was so attractive about Li Rongxiu's pale, effeminate face.

From the moment Li Rongxiu had barged into this private room, he had intended to stir things up. Now that he saw how mild-tempered Chi Junrui's so-called distinguished guest was, and how willing he was to chat with him, he was even happier. While introducing the friends who had come in with him to Li Jiuying, he smiled and exchanged pleasantries. "From your accent, Mr. Li, you're from the Capital, aren't you? What do you think of Imperial Residence's Capital cuisine? Is it authentic enough?"

"Just call me Jiuying. No need to be formal." Li Jiuying said it casually, then added, "Chef Li's cooking is naturally authentic and beyond reproach."