It wasn't a waiter bringing food. All the dishes had already been served.
The man who knocked and entered this time was tall and middle-aged. Behind him followed a short, stout man holding a bottle of Moutai in his left hand and a wineglass in his right.
Judging by their manner, unless they had entered the wrong room, they had come specifically to offer a toast.
Zhou Yi paused briefly. He wasn't close to either man, but he knew who they were.
The man in front was Municipal Public Security Bureau Director Sui Jianchang. They had met a few times.
Following him was Executive Deputy Director Ji Feng, who had led a team to fight the Public Security Department for custody of Dou Guozhong just a few days earlier.
"Director Zhou, Director Qu, Section Chief Wu..."
With a perfectly measured smile, Sui Jianchang greeted everyone in the room one by one, except Gao Songzhi and Chen Yurong.
"What a coincidence. I'd arranged a little get-together here tonight with Department Director Tian and a few friends. The restaurant manager, Zhang Pei, just told me Director Zhou was hosting a dinner here too, so I came over to offer a toast. I didn't expect Director Qu and Section Chief Wu to be here as well. And these two are...?"
Sui Jianchang explained why he had come, then kept up the full performance, turning his gaze toward Gao Songzhi and Chen Yurong as he waited for Zhou Yi to introduce them.
He genuinely didn't know Gao Songzhi. With Chen Yurong, he was only pretending.
"This is Director Gao Songzhi. He works at the Discipline Inspection Commission. And this is Ms. Chen Yurong." Zhou Yi kept the introductions brief, mentioning that Gao Songzhi worked at the Discipline Inspection Commission without specifying which one.
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