Chapter 114: The birthday banquet 1

Wei Tianyu’s birthday banquet was held at the Wei family’s main residence, a sprawling villa estate some distance from the city center.

The estate was nestled against the mountains beside a large lake. With its beautiful scenery and excellent feng shui, it was an ideal place to live.

"How beautiful." Lin Feng looked out through the car window, his eyes filled with admiration.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Wei Ranmiao nodded. "It is indeed beautiful. Even though I come here a few times a year as part of the Wei clan, I still find it amazing."

Although the nights in the north were still cold, the days had already brought pleasant spring weather.

Flowers were blooming along the mountain roads.

Mountain peach trees, magnolias, cherry blossoms, red maples, and other trees filled the scenery with color, making the passing road seem almost like a painting.

The lake was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the mountain peaks and clouds in the sky.

On the other side of the lake, another similarly vast estate could be faintly seen near the foot of the mountains. It was surrounded by red maple trees and white peach trees, making the entire place seem unusually isolated.

Lin Feng asked, "There’s another estate over there. Which family does it belong to?"

Wei Ranmiao looked in the same direction. "Oh, that’s the Hou family’s estate. I mentioned them to you before while we were shopping."

She glanced at the boy, who was looking at her with wide eyes.

"The former head of the family built it after moving to the capital a few years after the reform and opening-up, but sadly, his descendants died one after another."

"Ahem, dear." Bai Tingyu, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, coughed lightly and glanced at Lin Feng.

Wei Ranmiao ignored him and continued advising Lin Feng and Bai Jianning, who had little experience socializing.

"Some people say that place is cursed, so almost no one lives there anymore. There’s only one person left in the Hou family now, and he doesn’t like talking to people."

She pointed to her neck.

"If you see a handsome man with dark skin and a tattoo on his neck, stay away from him. That man has killed someone before."

Bai Jianning nodded obediently.

Lin Feng: "..."

Wei Ranmiao quickly added, "But he was invited because he’s a close friend of the birthday celebrant. He won’t cause trouble here. He values his friends very much. Just avoid him."

"...I understand."

Lin Feng tactfully gave an ambiguous answer instead of agreeing or disagreeing.

It seemed that Hou Yizhen’s infamous reputation was by no means an exaggeration.

His amber eyes remained fixed on the distant estate until it slowly disappeared from view.

He missed that man a lot.

Once he entered the villa, would he finally be able to see that handsome, sculpted face?

The fiery dream from last night came to his mind again.

A shiver ran down his tailbone, and a faint blush rose on Lin Feng’s cheeks.

His turbulent longing surged for a moment, and it took him a while to rein in his desire and yearning.

Outside, several squirrels and birds stopped and perched nearby.

They watched the car disappear, before silently scampering and flying after it, as if guided by something, only to stop in confusion afterwards.

The car followed the mountain road, passed through a large, ornate gate, and soon arrived at a vast lawn.

Lin Feng had seen the splendor of the imperial palace before, but the magnificent Versailles-style mansion still made him sigh in appreciation.

A multi-tiered marble fountain stood near the entrance, decorated with statues of mythical creatures that spouted water into the air.

Several waiters dressed in well-tailored butler suits were waiting at the entrance.

They stepped forward to take the invitations and car keys before guiding the group toward the decorated lawn on one side of the mansion, while their car was driven to the designated parking area by a chauffeur.

It was the height of spring, so the banquet was naturally held outdoors.

Many guests had already gathered on the lawn, chatting in small groups. Soft music from an invited orchestra played nearby, blending with the sounds of birds and creating a pleasant atmosphere.

Bai Tingyu quickly spotted several acquaintances and brought the group over to introduce them.

"Mr. Dong, Mr. Qin, it’s been a while!"

The Wei family was an influential clan with extensive connections to established bureaucratic families in the capital. Through intermarriages, they had also formed distant ties to the red aristocracy from the country’s political core.

Because of these connections, the Wei family’s banquets often attracted influential figures from both political and business circles.

Even Wei Ranmiao, despite belonging to a distant branch of the Wei family, was highly regarded by the Bai family simply because she bore the Wei family surname.

Soon after they arrived, the banquet formally began.

The Wei family members took the stage, especially the current family head, the female successor Wei Yue, and the birthday celebrant, Wei Tianyu, who was also the future heir being groomed among the younger generation.

After the elders gave their speeches one by one, Wei Tianyu stepped up to take the microphone.

He wore a crisp maroon suit, which made his usually gentle and languid temperament appear even more charming and vivid.

The man smiled gently with his peach blossom eyes. "Ladies and gentlemen, I appreciate you coming to celebrate this important day with me..."

A few young girls in the crowd blushed furiously as they gazed up at this tall, rich, and handsome man, one of the most sought-after bachelors desired by all the young women in the capital.

Lin Feng watched and listened attentively from below, then unexpectedly met the man’s peach blossom eyes.

Before Lin Feng could react, the man had already shifted his gaze away.

Thus, the banquet festivities finally brought the gathering to life.

People came and went, exchanging greetings and elegantly clinking their champagne glasses with one another, including members of the Bai family.

It was inevitable that Lin Feng would catch the attention of the other guests.

First, the scandal from earlier that year was still the biggest shock in high society. It was simply too difficult to forget.

Second, Lin Feng himself was hard to ignore.

He wore a light camel-colored suit with a subtle gray undertone, paired with a white shirt and gray silk tie. A platinum diamond tie bar was neatly fastened to the tie, while a small decorative brooch was pinned to his lapel.

The muted colors complemented his soft brown hair and gray-amber eyes, making his gentle appearance even more striking, almost as if he was glowing under the spring sun.

Especially when he smiled, his eyes gently curved upward, resembling the sparkling lake nearby.

It made everyone who saw him develop a favorable impression of him.

Some of the people who had never seen Lin Feng before could not help but look at him several times.

When they quietly asked others who the boy was, their expressions changed one after another, turning from curiosity to surprise and scrutiny.

Although people held all kinds of thoughts, most of those they spoke to still gave the Bai family some face.

However, there were also people who lacked manners.