"Are you two arguing?" Yu Yue nudged Lü Qingqing's side. The woman had been stuffing herself with pastries non-stop.
"No!" Simple and direct.
Yu Yue grinned mischievously. Still not admitting it? She knew this expression and these words all too well.
Just then, Luo Wenwu walked in.
As expected, his forced smile looked incredibly fake. When others greeted him, he offered a professional smile in return.
"Good grief, a fat pig in armor—uncomfortable all over." Luo Wenwu walked over with a look of disdain. "I said I wouldn't come, but you two insisted. I hate pretending to be familiar with people the most."
"Hahaha..." Li Yang slapped him on the shoulder. "You need to get over this social anxiety, or no one will marry you in the future."
"Someone will always like an honest person like me. Do you think all women in this world are so superficial, only liking handsome guys like Brother Hu, or being easily conquered by persistent guys like you with no principles?" Luo Wenwu said.
Uh.
Lü Qingqing and Yu Yue exchanged glances.
Did you feel like that was a jab at us?
Superficial?
No principles?
Luo Wenwu finally realized his mistake under the cold stares of the two women. "Heh heh! Is it too late to praise you two now?"
"Don't try to sweet-talk your way out of it. You've offended me anyway," Lü Qingqing said with a stern face.
The birthday party venue was bustling. Regardless of whether they knew each other well or not, everyone acted familiar in such a setting.
Of course, people still formed their own little groups, just like Lü Qingqing, Yu Yue, and the other two.
Lü Qingqing deliberately put on a stern face, while Yu Yue egged her on. Li Yang was Yu Yue's devoted follower. The three of them teased Luo Wenwu, leaving him flustered and helpless.
"Sister-in-law, look, I came to this party for you, so please let me off the hook," Luo Wenwu pleaded.
"Hmph. For me? Didn't Hu Jia ask you to come?" Lü Qingqing wasn't buying his explanation.
"Yes, but didn't Brother Hu come because you wanted to?" Luo Wenwu explained.
...
"Brother Hu, these are friends I met at the training institute. They're working at the Municipal Bureau now."
"Brother Hu, this is my good sister from my student days. She really cares about important life events and always nags me about it."
"Brother Hu, you have to help me with this drink."
Tong Meng was still dragging Hu Jia around the venue, making Hu Jia feel a bit dizzy.
He found it strange. Wasn't Tong Meng his subordinate from before?
Did they know each other that well? She kept pulling him around, first here, then there. It was becoming unbearable.
"Miss Tong, you have quite a few guests today. I won't disturb you any longer," Hu Jia finally couldn't take it anymore. If it weren't for it being her birthday today, he would have left long ago.
He wanted to go chat with Lü Qingqing.
"Don't go. I still have a few more girlfriends arriving, and I'll introduce them to you." Tong Meng's enthusiasm undiminished.
Hearing this, Hu Jia's brow furrowed. "I don't see the need to meet your girlfriends. Excuse me."
With that, Hu Jia turned and left.
Tong Meng stamped her foot in anger.
"What did I tell you? You can't keep him," Tong Hua said, holding her wine glass, as she approached Tong Meng.
"Don't you mind me. You just need to do as planned," Tong Meng said, her eyes blazing as she watched Hu Jia walk towards the Special Operations Unit.
"My plan is definitely fine. As for you, if you don't do something intimate with Hu Jia soon, no one will believe he's your boyfriend later," Tong Hua said.
"Don't worry. I just took him around the venue and toasted everyone. They all know there's a man by my side," Tong Meng said, her face breaking into a smile as she recalled what had just happened.
"If you think it's fine, then fine. But I must remind you, Hu Jia isn't that easy to fool," Tong Hua said, not arguing further.
"Tong Hua, I'm very grateful that you managed to get Hu Jia to come. As for whether this matter can be settled, you don't need to worry about it. Rest assured, I will do what I promised you," Tong Meng said, her smile not hiding the emotionless tone of her words.
"Alright!" Tong Hua clinked her wine glass against Tong Meng's. "Then I wish both of us success."
...
"What are you guys chatting about? You look so happy," Hu Jia had wanted to join Lü Qingqing and the others for a while, but that woman was too troublesome, wasting the time he could have spent teasing Lü Qingqing.
Seeing Hu Jia approach, Lü Qingqing's smile vanished, and she subtly leaned closer to Yu Yue.
Yu Yue pursed her lips and smiled, then deliberately nudged Lü Qingqing with her hip, pushing her out.
"I must get closer to Brother Hu!"
Lü Qingqing glared at Yu Yue, thinking this woman really needed a good scolding.
"Be careful," Hu Jia reached out to steady Lü Qingqing.
"Oh? Finished chatting with Tong Meng and now you remember us?" Yu Yue, having seen Lü Qingqing's displeasure with Hu Jia, actively played the role of an assistant.
"Oh, don't even mention it. Qingqing, your friend is too enthusiastic. If I were afraid of making things difficult for you, I would have left long ago," Hu Jia said, looking dejected.
"Hmph. I thought you were so smart usually, but you're confused now. Who is her friend? Do you believe whatever Tong Hua says?" Lü Qingqing said, speechless.
Just now, after chatting with Luo Wenwu and the others, Lü Qingqing learned that Tong Meng had personally invited Hu Jia to the birthday party on Friday, but Hu Jia had refused.
However, somehow, Tong Hua had visited Hu Jia yesterday afternoon. After she left, Hu Jia agreed to attend the birthday banquet.
When asked for the reason, it turned out to be because Lü Qingqing was attending.
This made Lü Qingqing so angry she was speechless. That Tong Hua was so calculating!
First, she tricked Hu Jia, saying Lü Qingqing would be attending the birthday party, and since she was worried Lü Qingqing would be bored alone, it would be best if two familiar people went together.
Then, Tong Meng used emotional blackmail on Lü Qingqing, saying Hu Jia only hung out with people from the Special Operations Unit, and if she didn't come, Hu Jia wouldn't come either, which would be a real dampener.
When Hu Jia heard that Lü Qingqing would be alone, of course, he had to go.
And when Lü Qingqing heard Hu Jia was going, of course, she had to go too.
The result was that both of them thought the other was going, so they both ended up going.
What the heck!
After hearing Lü Qingqing's explanation, Hu Jia was also out of words. "Heh heh, you can't blame me for this, can you? Who told you that when it comes to Qingqing's matters, my brain stops working, and my IQ drops to negative?"
Lü Qingqing and Yu Yue rolled their eyes. Even Luo Wenwu couldn't believe his ears. "Brother Hu, where did you learn such mushy words?"
"Heh heh."
"I taught him."
Li Yang's tone was filled with confidence and pride!
The birthday banquet continued. Lü Qingqing and Yu Yue ate pastries while watching Hu Jia navigate through the crowd. The two of them occasionally whispered to each other, commenting on which girl had a good figure and which guy was strong.
Li Yang broke out in a cold sweat.
He now deeply regretted not helping these two women push Brother Hu out for socializing earlier. If Brother Hu were still here, would Lü Qingqing be looking at handsome guys?
If Lü Qingqing wasn't looking at handsome guys, would she corrupt my little Yueyue?
"Are you sure they really have a scheme?" Yu Yue asked Lü Qingqing.
"Not sure, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared. Besides, I'm not the one who will suffer," Lü Qingqing guessed that the Tong siblings must have a follow-up plan since she learned they were both tricked into coming, and Hu Jia was the target.
Therefore, adopting a "wait and see" approach, at her suggestion, Hu Jia was proactively sent to cooperate with Tong Meng's act, wanting to see what card they would play.
Hearing Lü Qingqing's words, Yu Yue shook her head vigorously. Fortunately, Brother Hu hadn't heard this. This woman Lü Qingqing really didn't take her Brother Hu seriously.
If such an excellent Brother Hu was seen as ordinary in her eyes, why should I wholeheartedly care about Li Yang?
Yu Yue gave Li Yang a look, like a chilling gust of wind that dried up Li Yang's sweat, leaving him feeling cold.