Xia Henao and the other two didn't hear Zhang Hong's scream and were a bit unaccustomed to it for a moment, but Gongsun Xue quickly stood up and called into the house, "Shuang'er, are you okay? You didn't kill him, did you!"
Xia Henao heard this and rushed to the door in a hurry, pushing it open to go inside. What a joke, in this world, there was no better tool than student Zhang Hong. If he died, who would develop the equipment?
Xia Henao shoved the door open, "Are you okay, Zhang Hong?"
Seeing that it wasn't Zhang Hong's corpse inside, but a bound and gagged Zhang Hong, Xia Henao gave an awkward laugh, "I won't disturb you two any further, please continue..."
Closing the door, Xia Henao turned back to the courtyard. Shen Yu asked him, "How is it? Is everything alright?"
Xia Henao nodded, "It's fine. I just didn't expect Zhang Hong to have such a hobby. Let's go, we won't disturb them..."
Two days later...
Xia Henao arrived at the small courtyard again, "Oh, Sister Xue, good morning."
Gongsun Xue was doing morning exercises in the courtyard, "Good morning to you both too."
"How's his dancing coming along?"
Gongsun Xue looked at the house, "How to put it... it's hard to describe. You should go see for yourselves."
"Alright, we'll head over then."
Standing outside the house, Xia Henao knocked on the door, "Sister Shuang, may I come in?"
"Come in..."
Entering the room, Xia Henao and Shen Yu only saw Gongsun Shuang sitting on a chair, looking dejected, her eyes completely devoid of sparkle, her whole being as if covered by a shadow of darkness.
"Uh, Sister Shuang, what's wrong?"
Shen Yu was concerned about Gongsun Shuang's state, and Gongsun Shuang slowly looked up at Xia Henao, "I've remembered you. We can never be friends!"
Xia Henao was startled, "No, Sister Shuang, what happened?"
Gongsun Shuang forced a wry smile, "I'm not teaching dance anymore."
Gongsun Xue walked in, "You don't know, he has absolutely no talent for dancing. Although I taught him the basic steps, he's too stiff, he just can't relax. He's like a robot. Forget a sixty-hour crash course, you couldn't teach him even in six hundred days."
Xia Henao sighed, "So he won't mess up, right? Like, he'll make a mistake while dancing??"
"That won't happen, it'll just be a little ugly."
Xia Henao breathed a sigh of relief, "Then it's fine. Where is he?"
Gongsun Shuang pointed to a small door inside the room, "He's still practicing in there. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I kicked him in."
Xia Henao walked to the door and looked through the glass. Inside, Zhang Hong was practicing his dance steps. It was truly, too ugly. His body was stiff, like a robot dancing. But even a robot dancing, an advanced one, would have some rhythm. Zhang Hong had no rhythm at all, it was too unsightly.
Xia Henao pushed the door open, "Alright, stop practicing. Do you expect to become a dance king in two days? Let's go, we have other preparations."
Zhang Hong stopped his dance steps, "Preparations? What preparations?"
Xia Henao pointed at Zhang Hong's clothes, "You're not planning to go to the dance in this, are you? You're a person of some standing now, you need to prepare clothes suitable for such an occasion."
Zhang Hong looked down at his clothes. If he were going to a singles party, they might be appropriate, but for a dance? Definitely not. It was really not presentable.
Zhang Hong followed Xia Henao and the others out of the small courtyard. Xia Henao bid them farewell, "Goodbye, you two sisters. I'll visit when I have time."
Zhang Hong also extended his hand to bid farewell to Gongsun Shuang, but Gongsun Shuang pointed her right hand towards the outside of the courtyard, "Scram, I don't want to see you!"
...
They arrived at a clothing store recommended by Yu Linglong. Xia Henao took out Yu Linglong's business card, "Hello, I was introduced by Yu Linglong, and he is the one who needs service."
He then pointed at Zhang Hong, who was standing by. Zhang Hong, still in a daze, was dragged to the back to be measured for clothes.
Xia Henao asked, "Excuse me, how long does it take to make clothes here?"
The salesperson said proudly, "Our store has professional designers and production staff. It can be done in one to two hours. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Xia Henao looked at Shen Yu, "Xiao Yu, what do you think about us getting some clothes made here too?"
Shen Yu looked at the store's decor, "Here? It must be very expensive."
The salesperson said, "Miss, please don't worry. Our store has multiple service tiers, so you don't have to worry too much. Moreover, you are all recommended by Teacher Yu Linglong."
Xia Henao took out a wallet from his pocket, "If I remember correctly, Sister Linglong mentioned..."
Xia Henao said, opening his wallet to search, then took out his Coordinator Trainer medal and handed it over.
"If I remember correctly, having a Coordinator Trainer medal might get us a discount."
Looking at the Trainer medal on his phone, the salesperson's mouth opened slightly, "You, you are..."
Xia Henao said in a low voice, "Yes, it's me. Could you please customize a set of formal wear for the two of us?"
"Of course, it's our honor to serve you."
...
A few hours later, Xia Henao returned to the store, received his new formal wear from the salesperson, and happily paid.
To be honest, as an honorary chairman, he enjoyed a considerable discount. The two sets of clothes for him and Shen Yu only cost the price of one. As for Zhang Hong, that kid had plenty of money, so they didn't need to worry about him.
The three of them got into Yu Linglong's car and drove all the way to the headquarters of the Grand Festival.
At the Grand Festival headquarters, Xia Henao checked his watch, "It's still early, let's rest for a bit. I say, Zhang Hong, why are you so nervous?"
Zhang Hong, dressed in formal wear, trembled, "I can't do it, I've never seen such a big occasion."
Xia Henao sighed, "Are you trying to lose your life? How about we go back?"
Zhang Hong shook his head, "Don't say that, Boss Xia, I..."
Seeing that Zhang Hong could barely speak, Xia Henao was helpless. He couldn't possibly let him take the stage.
The three of them waited in the car for a while longer. Xia Henao gently patted Zhang Hong's shoulder, "Let's go, don't just stand here. It's almost time to enter."
Xia Henao and the other two entered the headquarters and went up to the third floor as if they knew the way. Just outside the grand banquet hall, two bodyguards in black were checking everyone's invitations. Seeing Xia Henao and the other two, the bodyguard said, "Hello, please present your invitations."
Zhang Hong took out an invitation from his pocket and handed it to the bodyguard. After checking it, the bodyguard returned it to Zhang Hong, "Yes, the invitation is in order. Please come in."
Zhang Hong looked back at Xia Henao, "Then, then I'll go in first..."
Seeing that Zhang Hong still hadn't relaxed, Xia Henao shook his head, "No choice. I'll help you out again."
With that, Xia Henao took out an invitation from his formal wear's inner pocket and handed it over. The bodyguard saw the invitation and quickly bowed to Xia Henao, "Your invitation is in order. You two, please come in."
Seeing that Xia Henao also had an invitation, and that the bodyguard was so respectful to him, Zhang Hong was stunned. Outside the banquet hall, Xia Henao extended his hand, letting Shen Yu take his arm, and the two of them walked into the banquet hall together.
The attendees of the dance party were all familiar with each other. Seeing three new faces enter, someone whispered, "Hey, who are those three? I haven't seen them in Linglong City."
Her male companion introduced her, "Don't you remember? He's the honorary chairman of the Grand Festival. The Berry Pokémon you use was also developed by him."
"It's him. Looking at him up close, he is indeed handsome. Is the woman next to him his girlfriend? She's also very beautiful, they are truly a perfect match."
Xia Henao chatted briefly with the people present. Zhang Hong came over with a wine glass, "Boss Xia, I haven't seen yet..."
Just as Zhang Hong leaned in to ask, Yu Longdu's voice came from behind Xia Henao, "You're here. I was looking for you."
Xia Henao turned around and saw Yu Longdu standing with two girls on either side of him. Xia Henao raised his wine glass, "Of course. May I ask who these two young ladies are..."
"This is my sister, Yu Xiaoning," Yu Longdu said, pointing to the little loli beside him. Xia Henao made an "oh" sound and squatted down, "Such a cute little girl."
The little loli Yu Xiaoning said sweetly, "Thank you, brother."
At this moment, Zhang Hong behind him was completely flustered. He said he would introduce a girlfriend to me, but this little loli wouldn't work, it would be trouble.
Xia Henao stood up and looked at the other girl next to Yu Longdu, "And this one?"
Yu Longdu smiled, "This one is also my sister, Yu Tingyun."
Xia Henao pouted, "Tch, boring. I thought she was your girlfriend. Turns out she's your sister. I said, you little brat, finding such a beautiful girl is a waste."
Zhang Hong turned to look at this girl, and took a couple of steps back. He felt as if he had been struck by Cupid's arrow.
Xia Henao glanced and saw Zhang Hong's pathetic appearance. After thinking for a moment, Xia Henao put down his wine glass, "I say, A'du, do you know what this dance party is for?"
Yu Longdu looked around the banquet hall, "No reason. Gatherings like this are common. Young men and women get together to chat and dance, it's quite boring."
Xia Henao nodded, "You're right. However, you have to pay a usage fee for this venue, which contributes to our Grand Festival Committee's revenue, so I can't say much."
The little loli Yu Xiaoning, standing nearby, also nodded, "Yes, this kind of place is the most boring..."
Xia Henao took Shen Yu's hand, "In that case, Brother and Sister will accompany you over there to play, okay? I think I saw cake over there just now."
Yu Xiaoning heard about cake and looked at Yu Longdu expectantly. Yu Longdu nodded dotingly, "Go ahead."
Yu Xiaoning raised her hands, "Hooray! Brother and Sister, let's go!"
With that, Yu Xiaoning left with Xia Henao and Shen Yu. Yu Longdu looked around and saw Meng Tianya standing nearby, "Ah, Old Meng is also kicked out to attend such a party? I have to go see. This fun is hard to find."
After saying this, Yu Longdu also left, leaving only Yu Tingyun and Zhang Hong...