"Alas, so young and already married!"
Old Master Xie couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.
If only Zhou Yu wasn't married.
Then he could have been a match for Xie Shishi.
Although Zhou Yu's medical skills were impressive, Old Master Xie didn't know Zhou Yu's true identity.
He thus believed that his granddaughter, Xie Shishi, who was quite lovely and the young lady of the Xie family,
was more than a good match for Zhou Yu!
"Old Master, you shouldn't dwell on such things, otherwise, my wife will know and come to Jiangnan City to kill you,"
Zhou Yu joked.
He still had so many engagements he hadn't dealt with yet.
He absolutely couldn't have more matchmaking attempts!
"A pity, a real pity!"
Old Master Xie shook his head.
This young man was mature beyond his years and possessed excellent medical skills.
From Old Master Xie's observation, Zhou Yu was likely a martial artist as well.
His future was limitless!
If they could tie the Xie family to this dragon before it soared, the gains would be immense.
What a shame.
Regardless of what Old Master Xie said, Zhou Yu dared not stay in the room any longer.
He found an excuse and fled!
It wasn't until the evening banquet
that Old Master Xie saw Zhou Yu again.
To avoid Old Master Xie, Zhou Yu even deliberately sat in the most inconspicuous spot in the crowd.
This left Old Master Xie speechless.
Was he really that terrifying?
Did he need to hide?
Zhou Yu paid no mind to this. After exchanging a look with Old Master Xie from afar, he averted his gaze.
He didn't want to look too long and attract others' attention!
However,
everyone's attention was currently on Old Master Xie,
so no one noticed the anomaly on Zhou Yu's side.
Initially, it was the gift-giving segment.
But Old Master Xie had said that he was newly recovered and preferred not to make a big fuss.
Therefore, gifts were presented to Xie Yu, and no one announced them.
Whether the Xie family returned the gifts, and to whom, was unknown.
Most families who didn't receive return gifts assumed this was the norm.
Zhou Yu, naturally, didn't need to give a gift. He idly observed the people around him.
After a while,
Zhou Yu suddenly noticed that the table not far away was occupied by the Shi family!
Even Shi Zhenxiang was there!
He sat in his wheelchair, leisurely enjoying the pre-meal dessert.
The humiliation of being thrown out of the Xie family previously was nowhere to be seen!
"What is he doing here?"
Zhou Yu frowned slightly.
Zhou Yu wasn't naive enough to believe that Shi Zhenxiang had truly let go of past grievances and come to congratulate Old Master Xie on his recovery.
His presence here this time likely hid another scheme!
Thinking of this, Zhou Yu couldn't help but wave his hand, intending to alert Xie Yu.
Unfortunately,
whether it was Xie Yu or Xie Shishi, both were surrounded by guests, busy receiving gifts.
Neither of them noticed Zhou Yu's gesture.
However, a woman beside him did.
"You were also invited by the Xie family, weren't you?" a crisp female voice sounded.
Zhou Yu turned his head to see an unfamiliar woman.
She was wearing a blue evening gown, her exquisite, almost artificially sculpted perfect features, her arched eyebrows, her upturned nose, and her rosy cherry lips added to her charm.
"You could say that," Zhou Yu replied nonchalantly.
The woman's watery eyes darted around, and she leaned closer, asking, "Then which family are you from? I've never seen you before."
In Jiangnan City, there were only these three prominent families.
One would generally see most people at such banquets.
Even among the second-tier families, she knew quite a few.
But Zhou Yu's face looked entirely unfamiliar, and he had been sitting there quietly, seemingly without anyone he knew.
Zhou Yu replied speechlessly, "What, have you met every man in the world?"
"Pah!" The woman gave Zhou Yu a reproachful look.
Then she introduced herself, "I'm from the Zhu family, my name is Zhu Ling'er. And you?"
"I'm just a wandering physician, my name is Zhou Yu," Zhou Yu said faintly.
The three prominent families of Jiangnan City were the Zhu family, the Xie family, and the Shi family.
The Zhu Ling'er before him was the youngest daughter of the Zhu family.
Most importantly,
Zhu Ling'er had an engagement with Zhou Yu...
Zhou Yu generally had little interest in women, and Zhu Ling'er was an engagement prospect.
Zhou Yu didn't want to talk too much with her and cause misunderstandings!
"What's this, no gentlemanly demeanor at all," Zhu Ling'er pouted upon seeing this.
In fact, Zhou Yu really wanted to say that if he had gentlemanly manners, Zhu Ling'er would be the one in a panic!
After all, they were engaged.
It was likely that someone of Zhu Ling'er's background would not want to fulfill the engagement and be with Zhou Yu, right?
Thinking of this,
Zhou Yu decided he had to find a way to make Zhu Ling'er dislike him first.
This would make it smoother when he went to break off the engagement later!
After all, who knew how these women's eyes worked.
Zhao Ruyue, who should have stayed put as his wife, was still chasing after Zhou Yu!
As the gift-giving segment concluded,
everyone began to dine.
A banquet is not complete without conversation.
Most people were chatting while eating.
It was rare to gather so many influential figures from Jiangnan City together.
Everyone was eager to make valuable connections.
Perhaps a business deal could be struck during their conversations.
Zhou Yu, however, focused his attention on Shi Zhenxiang, thinking while eating about how to warn Old Master Xie without drawing too much attention.
Just as Zhou Yu was contemplating,
"Hey."
A pair of small hands patted Zhou Yu's shoulder.
Looking up, it was Zhu Ling'er again!
She looked at Zhou Yu's empty bowl and asked curiously, "What are you doing here? Why aren't you eating or chatting?"
Zhou Yu at this moment felt that this woman was truly meddlesome...
He responded indifferently, "What's it to you?"
"I didn't mean it like that, I'm just curious," Zhu Ling'er said with a smile.
In fact, her curiosity about Zhou Yu had begun from their earlier conversation.
Everyone at this banquet tried their best to present themselves as wealthy to maintain appearances.
Yet Zhou Yu simply described himself as a wandering physician.
Who would believe that?
What wandering physician could be seated at the Xie family's banquet!
Furthermore, Zhu Ling'er had noticed earlier that
Old Master Xie had frequently exchanged glances with Zhou Yu at the beginning of the banquet.
This made Zhu Ling'er even more curious about who this man was.
Of course,
what made Zhu Ling'er feel the strangest was Zhou Yu's expression when he first saw her.
There was surprise, helplessness, and impatience.
But absolutely no greed that other men exhibited!
This made Zhu Ling'er wonder if Zhou Yu knew her?
Otherwise, why would he show such an expression!
Of course, at this moment, Zhu Ling'er wasn't thinking about the engagement.
After all, when the engagement was made, she was just an infant and had no memory of it.
Her family rarely mentioned it, and with Zhou Yu's prolonged absence,
Zhu Ling'er wasn't particularly sensitive to the name.
Couldn't there be people with the same name?