"Rumors could be groundless, but I heard that the fifth master of the Li Family has taken a special liking to the young lady who has just returned to Beijing from the Ye Family,"

spoke a gentle voice, unhurried and somber.

Since entering the banquet hall, Mingchong had been quietly observing, never joining in the conversations of others.

Surprisingly, when it came to the matter of Li Mochan, he did speak up.

"Such unfounded news is just the media grasping at straws, best to take it as a jest, right, elder Ye?" The patriarch of the Li Family’s face stiffened for a moment, but having weathered many storms, he quickly recovered.

Both men exchanged a smile. Elder Ye concurred, "You are right, Li elder. Our families have been close for many years, and Mohan, as a senior, merely took extra care of Jiuliang,"

"Elder Ye, I heard the young lady from your household has also arrived. Why don’t we see her here?" Mingchong’s eyes looked faintly toward Elder Ye, his face wearing a warm smile, impossible to fault.

Not a word was said until it struck like thunder.

At this, the others could not help but presume.

Li Mochan was absent, and so just happened Ye Jiuliang was too—could it be...

The Ye patriarch remained expressionless, "Jiuliang is not quite accustomed to such events, so she preferred to dine in her room instead."

Mingchong nodded, his tone carrying an imperceptible hint of regret, "Is that so?"

He had hoped to see more of the young lady. What a pity.

As time ticked on, Old Cui said, "Li elder, it’s about time to start the banquet. Why don’t you give Mohan a call; it’s rare for us to gather like this."

With the Jiang Family’s wealth and power standing behind Li Mochan, securing an alliance with him would be far more advantageous than one with the Li Family.

As his friend had repeatedly requested, the Li patriarch couldn’t disregard his face. The cellphone was with the butler, so he turned his head towards the next table and gestured to the younger generational members of the Li Family.

Li Jingjie and Li Jingqi were busy with cordial greetings among friends and had not noticed the Li patriarch’s gesture. It was Li Jingxuan who saw it first.

She put away her phone and stood up to walk over.

"Grandfather, is there something you need?"

The Li patriarch said, "Call your uncle and tell him the banquet is about to start."

Upon hearing this, Li Jingxuan glanced over the crowd, then realized Li Mochan hadn’t arrived yet, "I understand, I’ll call right now."

Knowing well how capricious Li Mochan could be, Li Jingxuan wasn’t sure she could rouse him, so she decided to make the call in front of her grandfather. After all, if it didn’t work out, let the old man hear it himself; she certainly didn’t want to be scolded.

After several rings, someone finally picked up on the other end.

"Who is this?"

A cool voice, tinged with a unique nonchalance.

That voice was the one Li Jingxuan hated most, loathed utterly.

Her eyes widened with shock, forgetting the crowd watching her, she blurted out angrily, "Ye Jiuliang, how did my uncle’s phone end up in your hands?"

The uncontrollable volume made sure everyone heard her clearly.

Had they misheard?

No wonder neither of them had appeared—they were together.

But the real puzzle was, why did Ye Jiuliang have Li Mochan’s phone?

Meanwhile, Ye Jiuliang blinked.

Li Jingxuan?

Hearing footsteps, she looked up to see the person emerge from the washroom and handed the phone back to him.

Feeling the gazes from around her, Li Jingxuan realized she had reacted too strongly and misspoken.

"Grandfather, this..." she murmured, lowering her head and handing over the phone to the Li patriarch.

The old Li Family patriarch gave her a look of disappointment and reached for the phone to put it to his ear.

Under the gaze of everyone, he didn’t even know how to begin.

The next moment, a low and cold voice came from the other end, it was Li Mochan, "What is it?"

"Mochan, the banquet is about to start, hurry over." The old patriarch commanded calmly.

With that statement, another solid confirmation was made.

Li Mochan and Ye Jiuliang at this very moment...

Were, together.

On the other end of the line, just as Li Mochan was about to refuse, a cool small hand tugged at the hem of his clothes.

He looked down to see Ye Jiuliang shaking her head at him.

Li Mochan grasped her hand back and replied coldly, "Understood."

Without wasting another second, he hung up the call.

"If I had known it was Li Jingxuan, I wouldn’t have picked up." Ye Jiuliang leaned into his arms, expressing her helplessness.

There were no names saved in his phone contacts; how was she to know who it was.

This was bad. With so much noise on the other end of the phone, there must have been many people around, and with Li Jingxuan speaking so loudly, probably quite a few people had heard what she said.

Looks like she couldn’t keep her peace any longer.

Li Mochan chuckled low, pinching her chin, "What, being with me is so embarrassing, hmm?"

"How could that be? This would only ruin the prospects of Fifth Master Li, after all, the line of girls chasing you could circle Beijing a few times." Ye Jiuliang flicked away his hand, speaking nonchalantly,

Li Mochan’s deep gaze intensified slightly, "You’re doing this on purpose, hmm?"

"Alright, I’ll stop joking with you, hurry over there; otherwise, the old patriarch might personally come looking for you. I don’t want to stand out here." Ye Jiuliang sat up straight, urging him.

Li Mochan raised an eyebrow, "And what about you?"

Ye Jiuliang rubbed her overfull belly and smiled slyly, "Having eaten my fill, of course, I’m going to play games. Yisheng is terrible at gaming; I’m going to log on and give him some lessons."

Li Mochan stretched out his long arm, pulling her back into his embrace, and kissed her on the lips, "Don’t run around everywhere."

"I know, you’re so nagging."

Over at the banquet hall

The old Li patriarch suppressed his anger, still maintaining a smile on his face, "Everyone, please start the meal. Mochan will be here soon."

Li Jingxuan got the phone back and, unable to bear the somber atmosphere, quickly returned to her place.

"Old Master Li, Fifth Master Li is truly fortunate. I also met the Ye Family girl just now; she’s full of spirit and very intelligent—a great choice by Fifth Master Li." Mingchong spoke up again, his smile deepening when he mentioned Ye Jiuliang.

Everyone looked toward the old Li Patriarch as if they heard the sound of faces getting slapped.

He had just suggested that the rumors were media speculation, doesn’t his face hurt?

The old patriarch barely squeezed out a smile, his hand tensely clenched under the table, and deftly changed the subject, "The Ye Family’s granddaughter does indeed look lovely."

Mingchong glanced at the old Ye patriarch out of the corner of his eye, smiling without saying a word.

Seeing Li Jingxuan return, Xiao Mengxue asked curiously, "Jingxuan, was that really Ye Jiuliang on the phone just now?"

Their table was quite far away, and they hadn’t heard the exchange very clearly.

Li Jingxuan bit her teeth hard, muttering quietly, "Who knows what fox-like tricks Ye Jiuliang used to get my uncle’s phone. No wonder she isn’t here; she must be busy seducing my uncle."

Xiao Mengxue glanced at Su Yishan next to her and thought for a moment, "Jingxuan, we shouldn’t say things carelessly. Maybe Fifth Master Li was just busy and Miss Ye helped answer the call. Speaking like this, if people from the Ye Family hear it, it could harm the relationship."