Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Uninvited Guest _1
Afterward, Xu Lele introduced Ye Ming to the other two, "This is my boyfriend, Ye Ming!"
Once these words were spoken, the atmosphere immediately dropped to freezing point.
Xu Xincheng’s gaze was filled with disdain, not even deigning to give Ye Ming a proper look, he responded indifferently, "Ye Ming, I’ve heard the name, quite famous in Hai City recently, but sister, don’t make it too clear."
"I haven’t acknowledged this boyfriend of yours, and even if our parents were here, busy with their affairs, they wouldn’t agree either."
"Your presumptuous and arbitrary opinions, better left unsaid."
On the other side, Li Yaozong sipped his tea while sizing up Ye Ming from the corner of his eye. It didn’t take long for him to lose interest, feeling disappointed that Ye Ming was just an ordinary person without any accomplishments.
Xu Lele was immediately unhappy and asked, "Xin Cheng, what do you mean by that?"
"Nothing much, just that Ye Ming is far from being good enough to be my brother-in-law!" Xu Xincheng said unhurriedly, "Coming back to Hai City this time wasn’t only for your birthday, but I also have a mission!"
"The person will be here soon, he is the brother-in-law I’ve selected for myself. You should meet him too."
Saying all this in front of Ye Ming made Xu Lele very angry, and she wanted to say something, but Ye Ming stopped her.
"It’s fine, let him continue," Ye Ming said with an indifferent attitude.
As the younger brother-in-law was trying to show him who’s boss, Ye Ming certainly couldn’t be perturbed and even had to accept it cheerfully.
Seeing Ye Ming’s nonchalant look, Xu Xincheng slightly furrowed his brow, but he soon snorted coldly and said, "Holding your breath doesn’t mean anything!"
What was originally a lively birthday party turned a bit awkward because of Xu Xincheng’s remarks.
Xu Lele kept trying to salvage the situation, but was stopped by Ye Ming time and time again.
Before long, the roar of an engine sounded from outside the villa.
Xu Xincheng immediately perked up, saying cheerfully, "They’re here!"
Shortly after, a young man dressed in a white suit walked in through the door.
He was poised and elegant, superior in looks and presence to Ye Ming.
As soon as he entered, Xu Xincheng promptly got up to welcome him, the stark difference in greeting also serving as a subtle warning to Ye Ming.
"Old Li, why are you so late? You can’t afford to be late for my sister’s birthday party!" Xu Xincheng said warmly.
The newcomer was named Li Kai, the heir to a wealthy family from Yanjing.
Although his family’s scale was not as big as the Xu Family, his status in Hai City was enough to rank among the top.
Li Kai hurriedly greeted everyone and cheerfully approached Xu Lele, saying, "Miss Xu, happy birthday, this little gift is a token of my regard!"
With that, Li Kai took out a jade bracelet and placed it in front of Xu Lele.
"This is a jade bracelet I selected with great care, made of the finest Imperial Green quality. Only a rarity like this is suitable for Miss Xu like you!"
Watching Li Kai’s obsequious demeanor, Xia Ningning couldn’t help but frown.
Although Li Kai’s various qualities were not bad, this ingratiating attitude, his self-diminishment, made Xia Ningning feel he was even less appealing than Ye Ming.
Xu Xincheng immediately responded, "Old Li, why are you so late? So you were picking out a gift for my older sister, that’s very thoughtful of you."
"Imperial Green is indeed a rarity worthy of my sister’s status."
"Moreover, I’ve heard that recently in Hai City a master appeared who specially blesses jade items with spiritual power, and items blessed by him have very powerful effects. If this jade bracelet could be blessed by the master, that would be even better!"
Hearing what Xu Xincheng said, Xia Ningning couldn’t help but think of Ye Ming, something she seemed to have heard about from him.
However, given the atmosphere at the time, Xia Ningning didn’t say it outright.
Li Kai quickly said, "That’s right, and I’ve also heard that the master’s blessing service is not cheap, costing five to six million for just one session, and still, it’s so sought after that you have to queue up."
"I was in a hurry this time and couldn’t get an appointment, but I’ve already booked one in advance. How about Miss Xu wear it for now, and once the master is available in a few days, I’ll take it to him to have it blessed."
After speaking, Li Kai took out the jade bracelet and was about to put it on Xu Lele himself.
However, Xu Lele didn’t accept his flattering gesture and even involuntarily took a step back, distancing herself from Li Kai.
This simple movement inflicted a great wound on Li Kai’s heart.
Not only that, but Xu Lele went on to say, "Mr. Li, we’re not that familiar with each other yet, and I can’t accept something so valuable."
"How can this be considered valuable? It’s just a drop in the bucket for me," Li Kai said hastily.
Xu Lele smiled politely and said, "I don’t really like wearing too many things on me, it’s actually quite tiring having so many pieces of jewelry."
Just at this moment, Xu Xincheng, feeling uncomfortable, directly asked, "Sister, what’s with the jade pendant around your neck? I don’t recall you wearing it before."
Xu Lele explained leisurely, "That’s different, this jade pendant was given to me by Ye Ming."
With just a simple statement, a critical hit landed in Li Kai’s heart. Xu Lele had made it very clear that she accepted Ye Ming’s gift but not Li Kai’s. Even Xu Xincheng’s face turned exceedingly awkward. He wanted to react but dared not say anything, after all, this was his older sister.
Seeing the expressions on Xu Xincheng and Li Kai’s faces, Xu Lele seemed very happy.
She had achieved her goal; this was her payback against the two men.
Earlier, when Xu Xincheng had spoken ill of Ye Ming, Xu Lele naturally would not show a good face to them and deliberately emphasized that the pendant on her neck was a gift from Ye Ming, which moved Ye Ming slightly.
However, Xia Ningning was starting to feel uncomfortable watching.
Seeing the atmosphere turning awkward, Xia Ningning quickly said, "How about we start eating? The food today is specially ordered by me, prepared by the top chef from the Garden Hotel. Let’s all give it a try."
After smoothing things over, Xia Ningning hurried to Xu Lele’s side and whispered, "You know the Li Family’s status in Yanjing. It’s not good to offend them so blatantly, don’t make them lose too much face."
Xu Lele replied indignantly, "So what? I don’t need anything from them anyway."
"Besides, I didn’t invite him to my birthday banquet."
Xia Ningning frowned and said, "By doing this, you’re making an enemy for Ye Ming."
