Ye Zhi thanked the butler. She opened the envelope and found an invitation inside. Upon opening it, she was left speechless.
"An invitation from the Cen family?" Qi Xuan walked over, his expression surprised. "They invited you too?"
"I'm also very surprised," Ye Zhi frowned in confusion.
She could understand the Cen family inviting Qi Xuan, but why invite her?
"Then are you going?" Qi Xuan asked.
"Of course... not!" Ye Zhi closed the invitation. With a flick of her wrist, the invitation landed precisely in the trash can. She said with a sigh, "Do they really think the CEO of Taoxun is that easy to invite? No matter what they're scheming, the Cen family isn't qualified to invite me to a banquet."
Qi Xuan looked at her with a faint smile, his eyes full of admiration. Ye Zhi was becoming more and more like a domineering CEO, but she certainly had the right to say such things.
"This banquet hosted by the Cen family is being held under your name, essentially a matchmaking event for you. What are your thoughts, Young Master Qi?" Ye Zhi asked with a smile.
"I won't be going," Qi Xuan said, his eyebrows slightly raised. "Setting aside the Cen family's presumption, even a regular banquet isn't something just anyone can invite me to."
His response didn't surprise Ye Zhi much. She asked in confusion, "I heard from Ruoqing that the Cen family publicly announced you would definitely attend the banquet. What kind of promise did they receive?"
"None," Qi Xuan stated sternly. "This is their own initiative."
Without even consulting him, the Cen family had invited many wealthy young ladies using his name. Afterward, they contacted Cheng Yi and, using the excuse that many wealthy young ladies wanted to meet him, tried to morally blackmail Cheng Yi into forcing him to attend.
Cheng Yi, who usually had a good temper, was so angered by this that she hung up the phone on the spot. She had called Qi Xuan earlier and sternly stated her stance.
Ye Zhi was stunned after hearing this.
She had initially thought the Cen family had a deep connection with the Qi family, which is why they dared to boast beforehand. She never expected the Cen family's plan to be a double deception, a bluff for nothing.
Ye Zhi didn't know what to say. This was probably another case of a "little genius" projecting their own desires, believing that with so many wealthy young ladies to choose from, the protagonist Qi Xuan would surely attend gladly.
"Aren't you going to clarify?" Ye Zhi asked.
"Why should I clarify?" Qi Xuan's gaze turned slightly cold. "If they're using my name, they should pay a price, shouldn't they?"
"Not bad!" Ye Zhi gave him a thumbs-up. "Revenge is best served cold, I like it!"
Qi Xuan's heart warmed.
Ye Zhi added with emotion, "We're truly kindred spirits."
"What kind?" Qi Xuan was slightly taken aback.
"Dedicated to our careers, devoid of worldly desires!" Ye Zhi said casually.
Qi Xuan: ...
Who said he didn't have any? He did! He really did!
It was a miscalculation; he shouldn't have asked that question. If he hadn't asked just now, he could have been happy for a while longer.
"However, I'm not focused on my career right now, I just want to eat," Ye Zhi said with a smile. "Let's go, let's go grab some food!"
Qi Xuan sighed softly and agreed.
*
Soon, the day of the Cen family's banquet arrived.
Ye Zhi was at home at the moment. She had called Qi Xuan over, and they were playing a game together. They were playing "Star Conquest," a game that Taoxun was preparing to publish.
After playing several rounds, Ye Zhi reluctantly pushed away her mouse. "I'm not playing anymore, that's enough."
Qi Xuan looked at her with amusement. "This game has a rather high barrier to entry. New players need some time to understand its mechanics and gameplay. As long as you get more familiar with it, you'll be able to play well."
"Actually, you don't need to be so indirect..." Ye Zhi said helplessly. "I know I'm bad at this. I'm playing this game just to understand it better and see which promotional strategy would be more suitable for it."
"So, the rumors about Taoxun about to publish Star Conquest are true?" Qi Xuan asked.
Ye Zhi nodded. "Yes, we've been negotiating quite a bit. However, due to the previous publisher, the game company still has some concerns. Once we finalize a few more details, the agency contract should be signed."
"After securing the agency rights, how do you plan to operate it?" Qi Xuan continued to ask.
"As you said, this game has a high barrier to entry and isn't very friendly to casual players," Ye Zhi frowned. "So, I was thinking, why not host a world-class competition? Invite some foreign teams, have everyone compete together, make it more lively, and ensure the matches are visually appealing to attract casual players first. Then, collaborate with streaming platforms to hold events and stimulate casual players' enthusiasm to participate..."
Before Ye Zhi could finish speaking, her phone rang.
It was Zhan Ruoqing calling. Ye Zhi nodded at Qi Xuan, then got up to answer the phone.
"Ye Zhi, do you know what happened at the Cen family's banquet?!" Zhan Ruoqing's voice was filled with schadenfreude.
"You went?" Ye Zhi asked in surprise.
"I didn't go. One of my girlfriends went, and she told me... Oh, why aren't you asking me what happened?" Zhan Ruoqing asked teasingly.
"Alright, what happened?" Ye Zhi played along as a straight man.
"My girlfriend said that many young ladies from the capital attended the banquet with Qi Xuan as their target. But when they arrived, they found out Qi Xuan wasn't coming today!
Even that's not all, Ou Minghan publicly presented Cen Ya with an expensive necklace at the banquet and declared a lot of cheesy love poems. Afterward, they even had others watch them dance!
Cen Ya was incredibly moved, but my girlfriend was disgusted. Not only did she not see Qi Xuan, but they were also force-fed public displays of affection. They thought they were attending a banquet, but it turned out they were free actors, an unpaid atmosphere group! Who wouldn't be angry about that?
My girlfriend has told everyone in her circle about this. She was so angry that she swore she would never buy any jewelry from the Cen family again!"
Ye Zhi was dumbfounded. What kind of operation was this?
Qi Xuan didn't show up, and instead of trying to appease people and gain their understanding to minimize losses, they proceeded to put on a show for their guests?
Did the Cen family feel that since they had already offended people, they might as well go all the way?
"I don't understand this operation," Ye Zhi said, recovering from her shock. "What was the Cen family's reaction?"
"No reaction. I heard that the Duchess was quite pleased. But my mother said," Zhan Ruoqing explained, "that Country K is actually a feudal country disguised in modern clothing, and their concept of social hierarchy is very strong. It's likely that in the Duchess's view, their family members had the highest status present, so it was only natural for her daughter to be the center of attention."
Ye Zhi: ...
Understood, this was a cultural difference!