Chapter 2798 - 2860: Xiang Ba Admits Defeat

"I won’t go if I’m not invited, no big deal, having to keep smiling with those people is tiring for me!" Li Yifei said relaxedly.

Wu Shuwei replied with an "Mm," and said, "Then I won’t go either!"

"Don’t be like that, you go ahead, I don’t trust anyone else. I actually understand now, these classmates may have status and connections, but I don’t need to network with everyone because it isn’t worth it. I just need to know one or two impressive ones, but you’re different – knowing more people is beneficial, especially with these classmates; it’s useful in certain situations." Li Yifei advised.

Wu Shuwei blew his bangs slightly upward, then said, "No big deal, not going is fine."

Li Yifei felt good, which meant Wu Shuwei cared about him, but he still advised: "That’s settled then, whether I go or not is another matter, but you should go. Actually, I have nothing against going either, it’s just a meal, someone invites you to eat for free, that’s a good thing."

"All you think about is eating!" Wu Shuwei pouted.

"Food is the paramount necessity, if there’s free food why not eat it?" Li Yifei said.

Wu Shuwei then said, "Forget it, I know you, well, not going is OK, it’s not a big deal whether you eat or not!"

Actually, neither of them took this seriously; they were just chatting. As they spoke, Li Yifei’s phone rang, it was a call from Li Dazhuang. After answering, the caller said, "Brother Li, I heard the classmates are gathering tonight?"

"Yes, they say there’s a gathering."

"This is a mess, I already reserved a place for dinner and got a lot of specialties ready. So, today we go to the gathering together, next time I’ll invite you separately, how about that?" Li Dazhuang said.

"Alright, that’s fine." Li Yifei said.

"Haha, it’s settled then, the class monitor didn’t notify me, but someone else told me. I thought even though I wasn’t notified, I still should go, it looks better that way." Li Dazhuang explained.

Li Yifei laughed and said, "Same here, I wasn’t invited either."

"What a coincidence, we’ll go have a meal together."

After exchanging a few jokes, they made plans and hung up the phone. Li Yifei said to Wu Shuwei, "Go ahead, I’m going too, Li Dazhuang invited me to go with him."

"Did you know him before?" Wu Shuwei asked.

"Of course not, but it’s quite interesting."

"Li Dazhuang, he’s pretty good, well regarded in the circle, a man who actually gets things done." Wu Shuwei nodded and said.

In no time, it was evening, and neither Li Yifei nor Wu Shuwei had a car. While they could arrange for one, it wasn’t necessary to go to such trouble, so after leaving the campus, they took a taxi to the dinner venue.

Yue Ming was a local and had directly arranged the dining location, this ’host’ was naturally him as well. It was a private club called Wild Crossing, specializing in regional cuisines with unique flavors, usually not open to the public but only to internal members. Today it was used by Yue Ming to host classmates; minus those who didn’t come, there were eighteen classmates attending, including Li Yifei and Wu Shuwei. The two arrived by taxi at the club’s entrance, glanced around; the location was nice, not far from the Huangpu River Estuary. In this expensive area, having such a club meant the owner was not an ordinary person. The parking lot before the club was filled with luxury cars, none seemed to be less than a million; Li Yifei and Wu Shuwei walked in together, reported the room name to the concierge, who promptly led them in courteously.

Upon entering, many classmates were already there, everyone nodded in greeting; initially cheerful Zhang Bai saw Wu Shuwei and Li Yifei come in together and felt as if he had swallowed a fly, uncomfortable as the Northener kept hovering around Wu Shuwei like a fly; couldn’t he be more self-aware? Didn’t he notice he wasn’t invited, yet he still came?

"Wu classmate, Li classmate, you’re here, have a seat!" Yue Ming, as the class monitor, stood up and beckoned.

Li Yifei and Wu Shuwei both nodded; Yue Ming gestured for Wu Shuwei to sit next to Zhang Bai since there was an empty seat, with two women beside him, seemingly reasonable. In reality, however, why sit next to Zhang Bai when Wu Shuwei chose to sit beside Li Yifei instead, while Li Dazhuang was on Li Yifei’s other side.

Because of this, Zhang Bai could only feel anxious, as Wu Shuwei didn’t need to show him face. After sitting down, Li Yifei chatted with Li Dazhuang; the latter glanced at Wu Shuwei, as if understanding the situation, despite others’ obsequiousness, especially Zhang Bai, who seemed to overestimate himself.

As everyone arrived, the banquet began. Yue Ming stood up, said a few words, essentially about classmates gathering being fate, that everyone should enjoy themselves, and hoped in the future they could become friends; if anyone came to Haicheng, just inform Yue Ming, he would arrange everything.

Wu Shuwei didn’t drink alcohol, Li Yifei and Li Dazhuang exchanged a glance and didn’t put on a show, choosing white spirit, both of them liking a good drink, so naturally they couldn’t resist.

"Wu classmate, won’t you have a bit of alcohol? If you drink, pour some, let’s toast together."

"Sorry, I don’t drink." Wu Shuwei replied.

"Okay, let’s use juice then, waiter, two glasses of fresh orange juice please!"

After raising their glasses, the clinking and toasting began. Honestly, Li Yifei rarely attended such relatively ’high-end’ gatherings, he remembered some names, but evidently those people didn’t want to engage with him; the only one he connected with was Li Dazhuang.

"Brother Li, there’s actually an interesting person, but he’s coming in a couple of days, currently abroad at a conference. I’ll introduce you when the time comes." Li Dazhuang said after taking a sip.

"Oh? Another classmate?"

"Yeah, we joined together, planning to find a drinking buddy, but he got delayed by a contract signing for a couple of days." Li Dazhuang explained.

Li Yifei chuckled, "That’s great, more drinking buddies the better."

"His personality suits you, straightforward and passionate, despite his age, he’s got a fiery temper, but great with friends; I’ll introduce you." Li Dazhuang added.

Li Yifei agreed with a smile, halfway through the meal, the atmosphere still lively. On the table, each classmate reintroduced themselves, like Zhang Bai, after his introduction, everyone commented on his promising future, a real talent, Yue Ming also wasn’t bad, similarly praised. When it came to Wu Shuwei, she simply introduced herself, prompting a round of applause; Wu Shuwei nodded in acknowledgment. When it was Li Yifei’s turn, he similarly explained, just saying he’s from Ning Province Li Group, without mentioning his position, many were unfamiliar with Li Group, but Xiang Ba, his fat face twitched, unsure if it was forcefully or genuinely shivering.

The Li family’s assets now exceed a hundred billion, and there’s a significant flow of funds especially after several commercial moves; the Li family particularly values liquidity, so as the Li Family Head, Li Yifei had a lot more money than typical corporate leaders, rivaling top families in the country.

With the fall of the Zhao Clan from Southern Sky, Li Yifei’s Li family gained significantly, while Zhao Clan... was truly a giant entity, yet this family succumbed under Li Yifei, let alone ordinary companies.

The more Xiang Ba understood, the more he was alarmed, obliviously dared to offend this man, asking for trouble. Earlier he dared to provoke, when that evening his father sent him updated information, leading Xiang Ba to completely submit.

After drinking halfway, Xiang Ba, moving his overweight body, struggled to stand, walked over to Li Yifei, gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Li, I’m Xiang Ba, I was wrong the other day, I’ll toast you as an apology!"

Swoosh, the room fell silent. In fact, when Xiang Ba stood with the glass, many stopped, curiously watching his plan.

It turned out Xiang Ba was apologizing to Li Yifei, was he actually apologizing?

Most widened their eyes, confirming they hadn’t misheard or misseen, Xiang Ba’s heavy body even leaned forward slightly in a respectful manner.

Yue Ming frowned, knowing the incident between Xiang Ba and Li Yifei, yet didn’t expect Xiang Ba would apologize publicly during such an occasion. He instinctively believed Xiang Ba intended trickery on Li Yifei, but even after waiting ten or so seconds, no action followed, confirming Xiang Ba sincerely apologized with a genuine attitude.

The most astonished was Zhang Bai, who had just raised his glass with the intention of saying a few polite words, but was interrupted by Xiang Ba. Seeing his actions and words, Zhang Bai’s mouth moved, wanting to intervene, speak on Xiang Ba’s behalf, but unsure of what to say. He was on-site during the incident and comprehended the situation, yet how did Xiang Ba suddenly yield?

Zhang Bai hadn’t reviewed Li Yifei’s details nor knew more than others, thus baffled.

Wu Shuwei tilted her head slightly, glanced at Xiang Ba, the very person she relinquished her villa to, but she felt no remorse, anticipating living with Li Yifei in the same villa was better than living separately.

Seeing him apologize, Wu Shuwei nodded subtly, not entirely clueless, she initially feared Xiang Ba might keep bothering Li Yifei, yet unexpectedly, he acknowledged his mistake first.

Li Dazhuang squinted his eyes, smiling lightly, lifting his glass sipping slightly, confirming his judgement, Li Yifei was remarkable; Xiang Ba, despite his known capability, was naive trying to provoke Li Yifei. Him apologizing was positive, minimizing family trouble.