The Qiu family had no reason to be so warm towards Zhou Xuan, a man with no power.
However, rumors had it that the Xiao family was very close to Zhou Xuan.
In order to win him over, Qiu Yuanhang and Qiu Wenlong, father and son, absolutely could not let Xiao Chenyi, the most likely successor, fall into Zhou Xuan's hands.
Once the Xiao family had the support of Zhou Xuan and the Zhou Group, it was possible that Xiao Chenyi would be in Qiu Wenlong's position next time.
Qiu Yuelian had been repeatedly warned by Li Huihui and Qiu Wenlong that if she didn't shake hands and make peace with Zhou Xuan at the banquet, all her funding would be cut off, and she would have to beg on the streets.
Now, facing Zhou Xuan, she dared not say anything out of line.
Lu Ling'er was surrounded by Lü Linglong, Fang Ruolin, and Zhuge Mingyue, whispering secrets.
"I think Old Man Qiu has his eyes on your Brother Xuan again, eager to marry this superficial and corrupt woman, Qiu Yuelian, to your Brother Xuan."
Lu Ling'er looked at Qiu Yuelian's attractive face and her figure, which was not inferior to her own. She was a little worried that Brother Xuan might really form an alliance with the Qiu family for revenge.
It was a pity that Brother Xuan didn't like such women. The one he loved was her, and only she was worthy of him.
"I actually think Brother Xuan won't marry Qiu Yuelian," Lu Ling'er said with a smile.
"What are you saying, you girl?" Lü Linglong lightly smacked her forehead. "Whether your Brother Xuan marries Qiu Yuelian or not has nothing to do with us, but don't forget that you haven't won Brother Xuan over yet!"
"Oh, that..." Lu Ling'er's pretty face flushed slightly. "I'm very confident anyway!"
"If you're confident, then act quickly," Lü Linglong said, then turned to the other girls and said, "I think you all should put in more effort too."
"Sister Linglong, Sister Ruolin and I are enough! Don't rush me anymore," Lu Ling'er said shyly in a low voice.
Lü Linglong chuckled and said, "I'm helping you."
"Sister Linglong, please stop talking," Lu Ling'er shook her head shyly. "When the time is right, I will definitely capture Brother Xuan."
"Alright, alright, everyone, let's go eat!" Lü Linglong waved her hand, signaling her friends to disperse.
But how could they eat the food at the banquet? They were all on diets for their figures, wishing they could lose a few more pounds.
"Be careful, absolutely don't let Qiu Yuelian have a chance to be alone with Zhou Xuan. We still have to consider Ling'er's happiness!"
"Sigh, you guys, you guys, stop talking, it's so embarrassing!"
Lu Ling'er felt very awkward.
Seeing her like that, Fang Ruolin had coaxed the truth out of her earlier, only to find out that Lu Ling'er and Zhou Xuan had not truly gotten together yet. The few close friends' faces instantly darkened.
"If it weren't for that brat Zhou Xuan's profound martial arts, able to fight ten bulls without breaking a sweat, I would truly think he was incapable!"
"Exactly! Ling'er is so wonderful, the most beautiful person here, and only Zhou Xuan could resist not taking that final step."
"Forget it, we'll help him a few times, and maybe it will work."
The few girlfriends were discussing.
Lu Ling'er couldn't stand it any longer: "You guys, don't mess around. Brother Xuan doesn't like me acting on my own."
"What are you afraid of? He, Zhou Xuan, talks and laughs with other women, but you don't even worry about it."
Lu Ling'er thought of how Zhou Xuan had looked at her that morning, as if he wanted to devour her, and her face turned red with shame.
She mumbled, "That's not true. Brother Xuan clearly likes me very much. I'm not afraid he'll have feelings for others."
The banquet was halfway through.
Everyone started dancing.
Qiu Yuelian arrogantly waited for Zhou Xuan to invite her for the first dance.
Who would have thought that Zhou Xuan would walk straight towards her, then bypass her, and extend his hand to his own mother, Li Huihui?
"Madam Qiu, I wonder if the junior Zhou has the honor of inviting you to dance this first dance?" Zhou Xuan asked with a smile.
Li Huihui's eyes showed a trace of surprise as she looked at Zhou Xuan.
She hadn't expected Zhou Xuan to be so bold.
In Li Huihui's opinion, Zhou Xuan was a potential boyfriend for her daughter in the future, and now that her daughter had apologized to him, she felt he should naturally dance the first dance with her daughter.
After all, the Qiu family and the Zhou family might cooperate in the future.
But she overlooked that Zhou Xuan did not like Qiu Yuelian.
She knew her daughter's character well, but she was also influenced by the prejudice and arrogance of the powerful families.
She assumed that Zhou Xuan would also cooperate with the Qiu family for business reasons.
"Young Master Zhou... you mean you want to invite me to dance?"
"I thought you would... my Yue Lian..."
Li Huihui asked intentionally. She knew Zhou Xuan was very smart and would understand her implied meaning.
As expected, Zhou Xuan nodded, "Yes, I would like to invite Madam Qiu to dance a dance together."
"But... Yue Lian, she just..."
Li Huihui deliberately looked towards Qiu Yuelian, her face showing a look of difficulty.
Qiu Yuelian stamped her foot in anger when she saw this.
"What's wrong with you? You saw me just now, why didn't you come and invite me to dance?!" Qiu Yuelian couldn't help but question Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly at this, "Didn't I say that there were too many people there, and you couldn't get through? Besides, I was afraid of disturbing you. You know I have a fiancée, so it's not very appropriate to dance with you."
Qiu Yuelian almost spat blood from anger upon hearing this, but remembering the purpose of her visit, she suppressed her anger and put on a sweet and shy smile, slowly approaching Zhou Xuan, "Zhou Xuan, you're really annoying. How can you speak of me so awkwardly? Alright, I admit, I was wrong before. I apologize now."
After saying that, she took Zhou Xuan's arm and began to dance gracefully.
Qiu Yuelian was gorgeously dressed and had a fiery figure. Coupled with the strong perfume she wore, many people couldn't help but take another look.
Zhou Xuan merely glanced at her indifferently and then shifted his gaze.
He still abandoned Qiu Yuelian, leaving her to be ridiculed.
"Forget it, I don't dare to presume to be a match for Miss Qiu. Let me dance with the birthday star of today first."
Qiu Yuelian's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and she quickly stood up and walked to Li Huihui's side, "Mom..."
"Mom, you don't have to be embarrassed. If you don't want to dance, don't!"
But Qiu Wenlong walked over at this moment and said, "Yuelian, what nonsense are you talking about?"
"Today is your mother's birthday. As the hostess, isn't it normal for Mr. Zhou to invite the birthday star to dance? You can dance after her. You are not allowed to steal your mother's thunder today."
These well-acted words pinned Li Huihui in place.
Zhou Xuan glimpsed a hint of the answer from their slightly stiff and unwilling physical movements.
It seemed that this Qiu couple was not as harmonious as they appeared to outsiders.
This was also because Qiu Wenlong, for his career, naturally could not abandon his wife and remarry.
And would his master's wife, Li Huihui, regret choosing Qiu Wenlong and abandoning his master, Xu Tianhua, for today's events?
What were her thoughts?