Seeing Ye Fei stay under such circumstances, everyone was momentarily taken aback.
But soon, disdainful glances resurfaced across their faces.
What they thought in their hearts was nothing more than sentiments like "this guy really has some nerve."
Wu Xia, seeing this, could only let out a cold snort and walked towards the far-right side.
Ye Fei sat on the far-left side, so Wu Xia naturally wanted to keep her distance, heading to the far-right, far away from this clueless boy.
For a while, apart from Chen Qian chatting and laughing with Ye Fei, the others formed groups of three to five, instinctively distancing themselves from Ye Fei, as if he carried some fearsome plague.
Although it was Chen Qian's birthday party,
as members of Yuntai City's inner circle, mutual probing and networking were unavoidable, and alcoholic drinks were naturally part of the affair.
However, since Chen Qian didn't drink and was sitting with Ye Fei the entire time,
the group's attention shifted to Bi Jie, who was showered with compliments now and then.
After all, Bi Jie had the highest social status and worth among them, significantly leading the pack. Even these privileged offspring knew the importance of currying favor.
"Young Master Bi, your alcohol tolerance is truly impressive! You even look dashing when you drink!"
"Exactly! Young Master Bi, I feel the wine becomes even sweeter after you've had a sip!"
"That's true! I believe even this wine glass has become more valuable after Young Master Bi used it—I'd better hold onto it as a keepsake!"
"Haha! Thanks, everyone!"
Though Bi Jie listened to the familiar flattery, he appeared distracted, his gaze periodically darting toward Chen Qian, filled with fiery anger.
A thin, wiry man, noticing Bi Jie's thoughts, rolled his eyes and said, "Young Master Bi, as the local tycoon of Yuntai City, your family must know many big shots, right? Why not tell us about a few to give us insight—and to show some nobody how formidable Young Master Bi truly is!"
"Big shots?"
Hearing the man's words, Bi Jie immediately smiled and nodded, replying, "When it comes to big shots, although I may lack in some ways, I do know quite a few—for example, Director Zhao from the City Bureau, or Mr. Hu, Yuntai's oil magnate…"
As Bi Jie listed these prominent figures from Yuntai City as if reciting a catalog, the room burst into envy and admiration.
However, Chen Qian and Ye Fei continued their lively conversation, completely unaffected by Bi Jie's flamboyant showing-off.
Seeing this, Bi Jie let out a cold snort in his heart and deliberately raised his voice a bit, saying, "Oh, right! I heard from my father that over in another Supreme Suite on the fifth floor of Azure Sea and Blue Sky Grand Hotel today, there's a particularly powerful figure named Liu Shan. Have you heard of him?"
"Liu Shan? Could that be the top expert from Yuntai's foremost family, the Guo Family—the trusted aide of Elder Guo, Brother Liu? My God!"
Someone exclaimed immediately.
Although they were privileged offspring with advantageous family backgrounds,
that advantage was just relative. Compared to Yuntai's true elites, they were leagues apart. Though Liu Shan wasn't truly a "big shot," he was the trusted aide to one, placing him well beyond their reach.
Because of the widespread exclamation, even Chen Qian finally glanced over, her eyes full of confusion, seemingly not understanding what her friends were so astonished by.
Seeing Chen Qian finally attracted by his topic, Bi Jie quickly said, "Exactly! That's him. How about we all go toast to him together? If any of us manages to gain Brother Liu's favor, we could potentially connect with the Guo Family. I don't need to explain how beneficial that would be, do I?"
"Great! Young Master Bi truly wants to broaden our horizons! Let's all go together!"
Someone instantly shouted impatiently.
In their circle, networking was the top priority!
So now that there was an opportunity to befriend someone influential, who wouldn't want to go?
Thus, in a moment, everyone raised their glasses in agreement.
Seeing this, Bi Jie couldn't help but smirk inwardly. He then approached Chen Qian and said, "Xiao Qian, you're the guest of honor today. Since everyone's going, you should come too, right?"
"Me?"
Chen Qian, evidently uninterested in the idea of toasting, hesitated briefly. But with everyone's eyes on her, she could only nod and say, "Alright then! Brother Ye, let's go together!"
Saying this, Chen Qian reached out in an attempt to pull Ye Fei to his feet.
Seeing this, Bi Jie immediately let out a cold laugh in his heart. He had worked hard to set up this opportunity to impress Chen Qian—there was no way he'd let Ye Fei ruin it.
So he deliberately showed a hint of difficulty and said, "Xiao Qian, Brother Liu is truly a distinguished individual—not just anyone can meet him. I'm afraid Brother Ye…"
"It's fine, I won't go," Ye Fei said indifferently.
He could easily read Bi Jie's petty thoughts, but asking him to toast to Liu Shan? Liu Shan probably wouldn't even dare to accept the gesture.
From Bi Jie's brief remarks, Ye Fei deduced that this Liu Shan was the same man whom Ye Fei had encountered on Qingyun Mountain—the close attendant of the elderly man—and later respectfully escorted Ye Fei back.
Judging from the elder's grand entourage at Qingyun Mountain that day, he was clearly no ordinary figure. And with Liu Shan's name appearing again, it was undoubtedly no coincidence.
Since Ye Fei wouldn't go, Chen Qian promptly sat back down, saying, "If Brother Ye isn't going, then I'm staying too! I didn't like drinking in the first place—you guys go ahead!"
Awkward!
It was the definition of awkward!
Hearing Chen Qian's response, Bi Jie's face darkened to the point where it looked like water could be wrung out of it.
But the others were already eager to proceed, and with Bi Jie having publicly suggested it, there was no backing down now.
So Bi Jie had no choice but to suppress his urge to throttle Ye Fei, take a deep breath, and feign a smile, saying, "Alright then… Xiao Qian, you wait here—we'll be back soon!"
With that, Bi Jie led the group out of the private room, leaving Ye Fei and Chen Qian behind.
Not long after, however, the group hurried back, looking utterly disheveled.
"Damn it! What the hell? They didn't even let us through the door!" a man cursed angrily.
Bi Jie's face was also filled with rage.
He had assumed that as the sole heir of the Bi Family, he was already someone of significance. Yet, to his surprise, his attempt to initiate a toast was met with a flat rejection.
The others had varying degrees of complaint as well.
But most of them were hesitant to express their anger outright—in comparison with the Guo Family, they were nothing but dirt.
Although Liu Shan was merely Elder Guo's trusted aide, if push came to shove, even Bi Jie would have to humbly submit.
Still, having been embarrassed in front of so many people, Bi Jie found himself unable to swallow his pride.
After some thought, he forced a smile and said, "No need for everyone to be so upset. He's just flaunting the fact that Elder Guo served in the military years ago, right? Times change; why should we stoop to his level? Come, let's carry on with our meal…"
BANG!
Before he could finish his sentence, the private room's door burst open with a deafening noise as someone kicked it in.
It was Liu Shan, his cold eyes fixed firmly on Bi Jie as he demanded, "What did you just say?"