Return of the Celestial King

Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Attending the Banquet

The moment she walked into the office, Zhou Kexin stormed in and demanded an explanation.

"Wang Lei, what the hell is going on? The project was going so well, and now you’re telling me it’s all fallen through."

Wang Lei patiently explained:

"Ke Xin, you don’t get it! President Zhang has been in cahoots with the Zhao Family for a while now. There’s no way that kid Qin Tuo is going to close this deal!"

Zhou Kexin was shocked. She hadn’t realized that Zhang Cheng had orchestrated this personally.

Wang Lei let out a sinister laugh.

"When the time comes, after the Zhao Family has beaten that kid Qin Tuo into submission, we can just take over the project again. Isn’t that the best of both worlds?"

Only then did Zhou Kexin understand what was really going on.

However, she didn’t look pleased. Instead, her brows furrowed.

Seeing her expression, Wang Lei’s heart sank. He asked:

"Ke Xin, what’s with that face? Don’t you want to see that kid Qin Tuo get kicked out?"

Zhou Kexin thought about it for a moment, then slowly shook her head.

"Actually, I don’t think Qin Tuo is that bad. He even helped me get my bag back yesterday!"

Wang Lei was puzzled.

"Oh? What happened yesterday? Tell me!"

So, Zhou Kexin briefly recounted the events of the previous evening.

After hearing the story, Wang Lei scoffed dismissively.

"It was just a bag, what’s the big deal? Besides, none of you saw how Qin Tuo got it back. Who knows what kind of dirty, underhanded methods he used!"

"You meet all sorts of people these days, and he spent two years in prison, right? Who knows how many times his sexual orientation has been ’changed’ in there."

Zhou Kexin froze, a wave of nausea washing over her.

"Qin Tuo... he wouldn’t be that kind of person, would he...?"

Wang Lei continued to add fuel to the fire.

"Ke Xin, you’re just too naive. That kid Qin Tuo might look honest, but he’s rotten to the core. I saw right through him from the start."

"But..."

Zhou Kexin hesitated, trailing off.

Seeing her like this, Wang Lei immediately pressed his advantage.

"Ke Xin, don’t be foolish. Once this is all over, the Vice General Manager position will be mine for the taking. When that happens, forget one bag—I’ll buy you ten bags!"

Hearing this, Zhou Kexin nodded in satisfaction.

But she still seemed to have something on her mind.

Zhou Kexin left the office just as the workday was ending.

Han Zilin and Qin Tuo were chatting as they walked, and they happened to run into the preoccupied Zhou Kexin.

"Sister Ke Xin!"

Han Zilin greeted her with a smile.

Zhou Kexin glanced at Han Zilin, pulled a BMW key from her pocket, and offered it to her.

Han Zilin was confused.

"Sister Ke Xin, what are you doing?"

Zhou Kexin shook her head.

"I have something to do tonight, so I can’t make it to the banquet. You should take my car."

Han Zilin didn’t take the key. She looked conflicted and glanced at Qin Tuo.

Qin Tuo smiled and pushed the BMW key back.

"There’s no need. We don’t need your car, we have our own."

Zhou Kexin couldn’t help but let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Heh, that beat-up domestic car of yours? It’s one thing if you embarrass yourself, but if you embarrass Zilin, won’t that directly damage her image?"

But Han Zilin just smiled innocently.

"It’s okay! What does it matter? I’m just happy to be going with Brother Tu. Who cares what car we take!"

Zhou Kexin was speechless, then angrily turned her focus back to Qin Tuo.

"Qin Tuo, are you deliberately trying to drag Zilin down? Trying to ruin her image so she can’t find a good boyfriend?"

Hearing Zhou Kexin’s tone, Han Zilin quickly tried to explain.

"No, that’s not it, Sister Ke Xin, you’ve misunderstood! Brother Tu wouldn’t have such malicious intentions!"

Zhou Kexin was furious. Seeing Han Zilin so dead set on defending Qin Tuo only strengthened her own conviction.

’Tonight, I have to make that silly girl Zilin see what a real man looks like, or she’ll have no resistance to Qin Tuo at all!’

And so, Zhou Kexin had no choice but to get in her car and leave first.

Qin Tuo, on the other hand, took Han Zilin and drove off at a leisurely pace in his beat-up, secondhand domestic car.

They chatted and laughed in the car, and before long, they arrived at the Lige Hotel.

The two of them parked the car and were about to head to the banquet hall.

Just outside the entrance, however, they suddenly heard someone call out to them.

"Zilin, is that you?"

Han Zilin turned her head and was quite surprised.

"Ah, Xu Ting! What are you doing here?"

It was her college roommate, Xu Ting.

Xu Ting walked over, looking puzzled.

"Zilin, what brings you here? Are you also here for the banquet hosted by our senior, Wu Liang?"

Han Zilin smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, you too?"

Qin Tuo, standing to the side, was a little surprised. ’This Wu Liang guy must be pretty popular!’

Just then, Xu Ting noticed Qin Tuo and asked curiously,

"And who is this?"

Han Zilin quickly made the introduction.

"Xu Ting, let me introduce you. This is Qin Tuo, my brother."

As she said this, a slight blush crept onto her cheeks, still clearly visible despite the evening darkness.

Xu Ting understood immediately and teased her with a grin.

"Oh, ’brother’? I didn’t know you had a brother. You sure he’s not your boyfriend?"

"Hey, Xu Ting, stop talking nonsense!"

This made Han Zilin blush profusely.

Xu Ting laughed, then, remembering something, asked:

"By the way, Zilin, what happened between you and Zhang Xiaoqian?"

It took a moment for Han Zilin to process the question. She asked blankly,

"Huh? Zhang Xiaoqian? What about her?"

Xu Ting recalled,

"Zhang Xiaoqian broke up with her boyfriend. For the past two days, every time she comes back to the dorm, she’s been cursing your name, saying you ruined her. But when we ask what happened, she won’t say a thing."

Han Zilin was baffled.

"I have no idea what’s wrong with her. Besides, she’s the one who tried to hurt me. When have I ever done anything to her?"

Hearing this, Xu Ting’s expression changed to one of shock. She realized there was more to the story.

"Zilin, tell me what happened."

So, Han Zilin recounted the story of how Zhang Xiaoqian and her boyfriend had conspired to trick her into taking out an online loan.

After hearing the story, Xu Ting was aghast.

"So that’s what happened! If you hadn’t said anything, we’d still be in the dark. I can’t believe Zhang Xiaoqian is that kind of person!"

Han Zilin nodded, saying thankfully,

"Yeah, thankfully Brother Tu took care of it for me. Otherwise, my life would have been ruined!"

Even now, she shuddered at the memory of it.

Xu Ting looked at Qin Tuo with a strange expression.

"Zilin, who is your boyfriend, really? How is he so capable?"

In her eyes, anyone who could handle the thugs behind online loans was definitely no ordinary person.

The words had barely left her mouth when a BMW pulled up beside them.

The window rolled down, revealing none other than Zhang Xiaoqian.