Good heavens.
As expected, my guess was right.
Li Chonglou chuckled in amusement, unsure of what to say.
He figured the partner Lu Yunxu was referring to was either her boyfriend, or someone whose plans he had disrupted.
"What time?" Li Chonglou finally relented.
With things said and done, and Lu Yunxu having helped Jiang Yuxin so much, he couldn't refuse.
This was a weakness of his character, one he could never improve.
Indifferent and ruthless towards strangers, yet he could never bring himself to be harsh with family and friends.
Lu Yunxu could certainly be counted among his close confidantes.
Who could refuse a friend's earnest request?
Upon hearing his words, Lu Yunxu burst into delighted laughter, "Two in the afternoon, at Desheng Grand Hotel!"
"You asked me to help with the publicity, didn't you? I pushed Feng Linxue aside for this."
"That's pretty loyal, huh?"
"Extremely loyal." Though Li Chonglou's expression remained unchanged, he was actually a little touched.
This woman, for his sake, had even disregarded her usual pride.
Alas, he was already married.
This was the limit of their relationship, a friendship that had reached its peak but hadn't bloomed into romance, perhaps the best state to be in.
Li Chonglou glanced at the time on his car clock. It was almost eleven. There was no point in going anywhere else now.
He turned the car around and headed back to Desheng.
Wang Dehai was standing outside the entrance, holding a walkie-talkie, directing his nephew Wang Jingwu and the servers as they carried various fruit wines and drinks from a truck parked outside.
Seeing Li Chonglou leave and then return, he looked surprised. "Brother, why are you back?"
"Are these items for the party setup at two in the afternoon?" Li Chonglou asked, not answering directly.
Wang Dehai gave him a thumbs-up. "Brother, your foresight is uncanny."
"I need to attend that party too," Li Chonglou said with a hint of helplessness. "I'll eat lunch here."
"I was planning to go to the antique market to find some small items to decorate the theme. I'll have to postpone it."
He had already spoken to Zhou Sanping.
He had asked him to help collect some small items that weren't very valuable but were genuinely ancient.
He had intended to have lunch with him, but Lu Yunxu's phone call had summoned him back.
Due to the venue setup, all the hotel staff had to eat a hasty working lunch together. Li Chonglou was among them.
After eating, he even personally helped move some things.
He had always been indifferent to hierarchy. This party was a business opportunity Lu Yunxu had brought him.
It was the first time!
It concerned the hotel's reputation and future credibility.
He couldn't afford to be careless.
Seeing this, Wang Dehai and his nephew dared not slack off, following suit and working with great effort, their heads slick with sweat.
They finished the setup just past one in the afternoon.
By then, quite a few guests who had arrived early were already present.
Luxury cars worth millions were successively entering the Desheng Grand Hotel's parking lot.
Li Chonglou breathed a silent sigh of relief, took off his jacket stained with fruit juice, and changed into a regular server's uniform to manage for now.
He asked Wang Jingwu to rush out and buy him a proper outfit.
Just then, a striking figure walked through the main entrance.
"Wow, who is that? So beautiful!"
"Her aura is incredibly noble, exactly like the goddess described in books."
"You don't even recognize her? She's the daughter of the richest man, one of the three beauties of Qin Province, Miss Lu Yunxu, you idiot."
A buzz went through the entire hall, most eyes fixed on the beautiful figure who had just entered.
Lu Yunxu was wearing a champagne-gold evening gown, her hair elegantly styled in an updo.
Combined with her tall, slender figure and bare shoulders, she exuded an unparalleled nobility.
Her adornments sparkled dazzlingly.
She was like a brilliant pearl in the night, captivating all attention.
Walking slowly in custom-made, diamond-encrusted high heels, every step she took was graceful and captivating, drawing the gaze of many men and women.
Most men had lecherous expressions, drooling, while women were filled with envy and jealousy, wishing they could trade souls with Lu Yunxu to experience such a superior life.
Lu Yunxu was accompanied by several companions of varying dispositions, both beautiful and handsome. Though each of them was quite outstanding, they merely served as a backdrop compared to her.
Lu Yunxu paid no attention to these whispers. As soon as she entered, her bright eyes began to search.
Finally, they landed on Li Chonglou, who was wearing a server's uniform.
A captivating smile flashed across her pretty face, and she strode towards Li Chonglou, calling out, "Brother Li!"
Brother Li?
This single, sweet exclamation stunned everyone.
The daughter of the richest man, a high and mighty young lady, had just entered the room and was smiling so happily at a server, calling out so affectionately.
Who was this person?
Immediately, all eyes followed Lu Yunxu's movement and focused on Li Chonglou.
Guesses and whispers spread like wildfire.
Apart from the hotel staff, no one recognized Li Chonglou.
But precisely because they didn't know him, most people immediately felt a surge of jealousy towards Li Chonglou.
"What's the background of this server? How can he make Miss Lu lose her composure like this!"
"Damn it, look at his pitiful, cheap, and unattractive appearance, yet he knows my goddess. I can't stand watching this."
"No wonder Yunxu insisted on holding the party at this unfashionable hotel today. It turns out it's to accommodate a friend."
"What friend? Does this pauper deserve it? People are born into different classes. A server is just a server, not meant to cross into our circle."
The young masters and ladies who had entered with Lu Yunxu all wore expressions of indignation.
This gathering today was a convention for the second-generation rich of Qin Province.
Unlike the older generation of businessmen, they cared nothing about the antique circle and had never heard of Li Chonglou's name.
It was difficult for them to accept Lu Yunxu's attitude towards him at first glance.
At the entrance, a man with an arrogant demeanor, dressed in a handmade Italian custom suit, stopped in his tracks.
His gaze fixed on Li Chonglou, whose arm was now linked with Lu Yunxu's.
Enmity flared, and his eyes glinted with a cold light.
"Young Master Gao, what's going on here? Why is Miss Lu publicly linking arms with a server?" asked a follower beside the man, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Another immediately chimed in, "Since Tang Xiuzhu's death, our Young Master Gao is the most qualified person to pursue Miss Lu!"
"This party today was organized by Young Master Gao for her!"
"The person she should be linking arms with is Young Master Gao. Who is this nobody?"
Others chimed in with their own grievances.
"All of you, shut up!" the young man surnamed Gao said coldly, cutting off his companions' discussion, and strode into the hotel.
All the hostility and indignation in his eyes were cleverly concealed.
In their place, a palpable malice surfaced as he deliberately raised his voice and said, "No wonder Yunxu chose such a hotel. It turns out she has friends here."
"Since we've met by such a coincidence, why not invite him to join the party."
These words instantly elicited a burst of laughter.
A server participating in a gathering of the upper-class second-generation rich.
This was a blatant invitation to humiliation!