Chapter 748: Chapter 647: Birthday Banquet

The phone rang as they were talking. Weiwei ran to answer it. It was Lu Jianling, who said that Zhao Xian had gotten a half-day off. He’d just run into Uncle Lu on the street, so he brought him home along with a lot of meat and vegetables. He was planning to cook everyone a delicious meal and asked his brother and sister-in-law to bring Weiwei over.

Zhao Xian was indeed an excellent cook. A few of his regional specialties were especially authentic and delicious, and Yang Liu’er was tempted the moment she heard.

When Lu Jianling found out Xiao Man was there too, she asked to speak with her and invited her to come along.

Xiao Man spoke with Lu Jianling for a few minutes before politely declining the gracious invitation. ’It’s a family reunion,’ she thought. ’What would I be doing there? It’s not like I’m that bored.’

Weiwei had worked up a sweat running around, so Yang Liu’er told him to go take a shower and change. She also returned to her room to freshen up, leaving only Lu Jian Country and Xiao Man in the living room.

Xiao Man recalled that day at Gu Qiming’s house in the military compound. While brewing tea, she had vaguely overheard a conversation between the father and son. Although she was curious at the time, there were always too many things to talk about when she was with Gu Shaojun. Who had time for trivial matters? Now, however, she couldn’t resist asking Lu Jian Country:

"I heard that Bai Junfan has ’disappeared.’ Is that true?"

Lu Jian Country put a finger to his lips, his gaze darting to the bedroom door. "Keep your voice down. Don’t let her hear."

Xiao Man pursed her lips and looked at him, her expression clearly saying, ’I’m all ears.’

Lu Jian Country gave a wry smile, then lowered his voice and spoke quickly. "Not disappeared. Vanished forever! He brought it on himself, courting death like that. He was in such a poor area, yet he insisted on having a huge sum of money sent over. Wasn’t that just asking to be targeted? And he dragged down the people who took him in. The case is closed. It was the sons of his host, along with their maternal uncle. Money corrupts, you know? Ten thousand yuan just falls out of the sky. If there’s ten thousand, there must be twenty, thirty, maybe even a hundred thousand. You’re a freeloader living under their roof—how can you say you don’t have more? So they beat it out of you, and it seems they went too far. He’s dead."

"But Bai Junfan isn’t that weak, is he? Besides anything else, he’s an Ancient Martial Arts expert. In the military, he could take on ten men at once. How could a few ordinary guys overpower him?"

"They couldn’t have. But what if he was already injured? He fled the military after committing a crime, so he was a deserter. Who knows what kind of enemies he made on the run? The point is, he was seriously injured when he sought refuge with a family named Qin, and... well, that was the result."

Xiao Man nodded in understanding and didn’t press further, as she could hear Yang Liu’er about to come out of the bedroom.

But Lu Jian Country added, "I hear they’ve found new evidence against Bai Lihua. He’s dead for sure this time. As for Bai Qingyue and the other two women of the Bai Family, I won’t let any of them go. The Bai Family will be completely erased from Beijing. That’s what they owe my Liu’er."

Xiao Man already knew Lu Jian Country was a ruthless tycoon and a doting husband, so his attitude didn’t surprise her. She was just a little speechless. ’Surely Yang Liu’er didn’t run her mouth again and tell her husband all about the torment she suffered in her past life? Otherwise, with this murderous aura Lu Jian Country is giving off, it seems he isn’t content with just erasing the Bai Family. He probably wants to dig up their ancestral graves, too.’

Lu Jian Country offered to take Xiao Man home first, but she didn’t want to hold them up. She simply said she had to meet a friend and it was out of their way. After waving goodbye to the family of three, she went outside and hailed a taxi.

When she got home, her grandmother told her Pang Xiaoji had called twice for her and that she should call back.

Xiao Man made the call. On the other end, Pang Xiaoji invited her to her cousin’s birthday party. Xiao Man was hesitant to go, but Pang Xiaoji said, "For your birthday, since you rented such a big place, you ended up inviting a lot of other people, right? My two older brothers went too. So today, for my Brother He’s birthday, he invited Gu Shaozheng, which reminded him of you. He specifically asked me to invite you."

At the mention of her own birthday, Xiao Man felt a pang of guilt. "I’m so sorry about that day..."

Pang Xiaoji said, "What are you talking about? Brother Gu so rarely comes home, and you barely get to see him all year. Everyone totally understood. Besides, we had so much fun! Everyone was ecstatic. Once my brother showed up, I felt relaxed enough to have a couple more drinks. I think I got drunk. Anyway, I was so wound up when I got home that I couldn’t sleep all night... Hehe, don’t you dare tell my brother!"

Xiao Man laughed. "I won’t tell. So, should I really go? I don’t have a gift prepared."

"Come on! I’ve already invited our whole crew, all the friends we usually hang out with. We’re on break—aren’t you bored sitting at home all day? You don’t need a gift. Just wishing him a happy birthday is fine."

Xiao Man decided to go wish him a happy birthday. Firstly, Pang He had attended her birthday party, and now he had specifically asked his sister to invite her. Secondly, Xiao Man had heard about Pang He in her previous life. He was said to be well-informed and a smooth operator who had helped the Gu family a great deal, making him a friend Gu Shaozheng could truly trust.

It was only in this life, after getting to know Pang Xiaoji, that she realized she and Pang He were cousins. Pang He was the same age as Gu Shaozheng but seemed much calmer and more mature, acting more like an older brother. Of course, many years later, Gu Shaozheng would also become a deep and calculating schemer, but for now, he simply had less patience than his friend.

The Pang Family, much like the Gu family, hadn’t split the household for generations, with the large extended family all living together in a courtyard home. Pang He was Pang Xiaoji’s cousin, the third of the four grandchildren: Pang Long (Dragon), Pang Hu (Tiger), Pang He (Crane), and Pang Xiaoji. This led their friends to nickname the family "the zoo." Everyone joked that while Xiaoji’s name sounded like "little chicken," it must be a pun on "feng," or phoenix. Why they didn’t just name her Pang Xiao Feng in the first place was anyone’s guess—the minds of adults were a strange thing indeed.

Attending a party without a gift was out of the question. Xiao Man rummaged through her room and finally settled on a pair of fountain pens that Tang Haohao had brought back from abroad. She wrapped them up to give as a birthday present.

Pang He’s birthday party was held at a hotel that had been booked out for an all-inclusive night of food, drinks, and entertainment. Xiao Man called Gu Shaozheng to come pick her up. By the time the two of them arrived, the party was already in full swing. The place was packed with guests, and not just young people. There were also men in their thirties and forties. Seeing Pang He chatting so freely with them, his laughter ringing out, it was clear they weren’t relatives but friends. This just went to show that Pang He was a skilled networker even at a young age, with deep connections.

Xiao Man wished Pang He a happy birthday and handed him the gift. Pang He thanked her, clearly pleased. Pang Xiaoji then ran over, and Pang He instructed her to take good care of Manman before pulling Gu Shaozheng aside to talk with another group of friends.

Pang Xiaoji led Xiao Man straight upstairs where their group of friends was hanging out. As they walked up the stairs, Xiao Man happened to glance back down and was surprised to see Zeng Rong. Dressed in an elegant, flowing long dress, Zeng Rong had an ethereal air about her. Xiao Man had no idea where she’d come from. She was now standing next to Gu Shaozheng, smiling gently as she watched the men converse. With her quiet, beautiful, and graceful demeanor, her gaze was glued to Gu Shaozheng. Anyone who didn’t know better would have assumed there was something romantic going on between them.

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