Chapter 230 – Wasn’t this Ye Qing’s opportunity to appear in front of socialites and shine radiantly and elegantly in the novel? (3)
The mayor and his wife were chatting and laughing with a group of people. Someone came over and whispered something into the mayor’s ear. Smiling, the mayor raised his glass at the crowd and said, “Everyone, please help yourself. I’ll be back.”
The group of people smiled and exchanged courtesies.
Holding her husband’s hand, the mayor’s wife walked over to Lu Beichuan and Ye Zhen. Smiling, she looked over Mrs. Lu, who was the topic of buzzing gossip. “I’ve been curious about the wife that CEO Lu has been hiding. I finally get to meet you today. Seeing for myself is better than hearing about you from others.”
Mayor Zhou was over fifty years old, but he was diligent about exercising and looked younger than his age. He looked elegant and graceful in his suit. His wife’s sensible decorum was even more impeccable than his. Eyes brimming with a smile, she looked amiable and approachable.
Holding a wine glass, Ye Zhen smiled. “Not at all. I’m the one that hasn’t had the opportunity to meet you. It’s my honor to meet you today.”
Lu Beichuan didn’t act pretentious in front of the mayor. “Today is Madam’s birthday. Zhenzhen and I came here on behalf of Lu Corporation to wish you a happy birthday. May you be eternally youthful. Here’s a little something. Please accept it.”
In these types of exchanges between people of their standings, any gift had to be carefully considered. To avoid the risk of gossip, gifts couldn’t be too expensive. It couldn’t be too shabby either, or it would be laughed by others. Lu Beichuan had chosen a valuable necklace as the birthday gift.
“I got this necklace from the charity auction last time. I hope Madam will accept it.”
The mayor’s wife glanced at the necklace. He said he got it from a charity auction, but smart people would know that he was just using the charity auction as a veneer.
“Thank you Mr. Lu, I like it a lot.”
Mayor Zhou imperceptibly snuck a glance at Lu Beichuan. After he finished the wine in his glass, someone whispered in his ear again. Mayor Zhou smiled and said, “Make yourselves at home. I still have something to do, excuse me.”
Lu Beichuan slightly nodded and watched Mayor Zhou enthusiastically walking towards a new guest.
Staying calm and collected while the crowd shuttled back and forth around them, Ye Zhen whispered, “Why did you say you got the necklace at a charity auction?”
Lu Beichuan didn’t hide anything from her. “Only by using a charity auction as a front, no one can make false charges.”
“What do you mean?”
Lu Beichuan calmly drank wine, looking at the other guests at the reception. There were all sorts of people. “You won’t understand unless you’re in it. The line between government officials and business people is never clear. You just need to know there’s no one that’s genuinely clean in officialedom or the business world.”
Ye Zhen naturally understood this logic. She raised her eyebrows at Lu Beichuan. “What about you then? What color are you?”
Lu Beichuan paused and nonchalantly turned away. “I’ll become white.”
In the novel, Lu Beichuan had been extremely ruthless in the business world. Using collusion with government officials, he had been successful in every endeavor. Countless times, he had used illegal methods to suppress other companies. Seen as wandering in the gray area between the black and white, but in truth, he had blackened a long time ago.
Ye Zhen thought about the past year. She had paid attention to the companies that Lu Beichuan had suppressed in the novel, but they were all fine in this world. This proved that Lu Beichuan hadn’t done anything bad to those companies, and his methods were at least clean.
“I’ll take you to meet some people.”
Ye Zhen smiled and held Lu Beichuan’s hand. She sociably mingled with the clusters of well-known people in the business world.
It was only that there were a lot of unfriendly gazes directed at her. Ye Zhen looked in that direction and saw a group of women gathered together. From a distance, Shen Weiyin respectfully acknowledged her. Standing behind Shen Weiyin, Ye Qing expressionlessly looked at her.
After seeing Ye Qing, Ye Zhen turned back and grinned at Lu Beichuan.
How interesting. Ye Qing was also here. Would she get to witness the famous scenes in the novel?
Under Ye Zhen’s gaze, Lu Beichuan strangely felt a chill behind him. Not knowing why, he furrowed his brow.
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦