The Wealthy Tycoon's Game of Life

Chapter 23: Chapter 23 Birthday Banquet

”What Zhou Wang? Weren’t you saying he wasn’t coming?”

Yu Peipei turned her head in surprise, upon hearing her boyfriend’s exclamation.

The classmates beside them all looked over; they were all from the same class and had found it odd that Zhou Wang hadn’t shown up today. Hearing his name now, they naturally paid close attention.

”Peipei, do you think that’s Zhou Wang over there?”

Because the distance was a bit far, and the person sitting in the car had a hairstyle and aura completely different from the Zhou Wang he knew, Li Cheng almost didn’t dare to recognize him—if it weren’t for the T-shirt he was wearing, which looked very familiar.

Yu Peipei and several classmates followed the direction of Li Cheng’s pointing finger and also saw the black Alphard, but by the time they looked, the car door had already closed, and they couldn’t see the figure inside.

”Where? Where?”

”I didn’t see Zhou Wang, but that sister who walked in is pretty!”

”That sister looks a lot like a certain celebrity; don’t you think?”

”She does resemble one, especially the popular actress recently, but her aura is quite cold, they have a bit different styles...”

Li Cheng was somewhat speechless on the side—weren’t they talking about Zhou Wang? How did the conversation veer off topic?

However, to be fair, that young lady was indeed pretty beautiful. From this perspective, Li Cheng thought he must have been mistaken.

He knew Zhou Wang through and through; that Alphard couldn’t be connected to Brother Dog, and this seemingly aloof young lady was even less likely.

”Ding Yi sent a message; our private room is on the fifth floor. Let’s go up!”

At that time, Yu Peipei glanced at her messages and called everyone to head over.

They had already been waiting in the lobby for a while, and since Ding Yi had not replied to their messages just now, they had grown a bit impatient. Upon hearing the news, they quickly followed Yu Peipei towards the elevator.

Li Cheng stopped dwelling on it but took out his phone and sent Zhou Wang a message anyway:

”Zhou Wang, I just saw your long-lost brother. But man, he was sitting in an Alphard. You gotta step up your game, little bro! (dog head)”

...

Elsewhere, Jiang Mo, feeling a bit bewildered, followed the usher’s guidance and took the executive floor’s exclusive elevator. Upon reaching the fifth floor, another staff member with a headset was already waiting for her.

”Good evening, miss. May I ask which private room you’re headed to?”

”...Mountain and River Hall.”

Jiang Mo realized that the treatment she was receiving was all thanks to Zhou Wang.

Otherwise, even in a five-star hotel, there wouldn’t be someone leading the way right from the main entrance, let alone taking a VIP-only elevator.

But Zhou Wang had said he was merely staying at the hotel. Jiang Mo couldn’t figure it out for a moment; just staying at the hotel, how could he have such clout?

While preoccupied with these thoughts, Jiang Mo arrived at the Mountain and River Hall. As she pushed open the door, a small banquet hall split into two sections unfolded before her, along with the sound of noisy voices.

So many people?

Jiang Mo frowned subconsciously—she now detested this kind of social gathering the most. But in the next moment, a pleasantly surprised and melodious voice reached her, making her soften her expression.

”Sister Jiang, you’re finally here!”

Seeing the girl who ran up to hug her tightly, Jiang Mo offered a rare smile.

”There was a bit of a traffic jam on the way, so I’m a little late... You look beautiful today.”

”Really?”

Hearing the usually aloof Sister Jiang compliment her like this, Ding Yi beamed happily, letting go of Jiang Mo and twirling around, her cute cheeks revealing a touch of rightful pride.

”That’s what I think too!”

Today, Ding Yi wore a white spaghetti strap maxi dress, adorned with a layer of green patterns underneath the translucent overlay. Paired with her fair skin and tall figure, she was as beautiful as a fairy tale princess.

She had a classic oval face and features that resembled those of a mixed-race, stunningly beautiful. Standing under the lights, even Jiang Mo, whose looks were not inferior to hers, had to admit that Ding Yi was far more dazzling.

Such radiant beauty, magnified by her naturally cheerful personality, created a visual impact that was exponentially striking.

Jiang Mo recognized that the evening gown Ding Yi was wearing was a high-end Chanel design. Something crossed her mind, and her eyes dimmed slightly.

”Sister, come with me over here. You probably don’t know everyone else too well, so you can just sit next to me later!”

Ding Yi, completely oblivious to Jiang Mo’s change in demeanor, cheerfully pulled her towards a table in the inner room.

”I didn’t expect your birthday celebration to be this grand. Had I known, I wouldn’t have come.”

Jiang Mo playfully complained, somewhat helplessly.

”Actually, I already had a small celebration at home. I originally just wanted to celebrate my solar calendar birthday with a few close friends and didn’t give it much thought. But then I realized I couldn’t leave some out, and, and I only asked in our class group chat, not expecting so many classmates to show up...”

Ding Yi was clearly also troubled, ”I initially planned on booking just one table, but I had to add another because so many classmates were coming. Look, that table outside is for them!”

”You’ve always been popular, so it’s not surprising.”

Jiang Mo nodded and softly replied.

”That’s true. Even the usually unapproachable Sister Jiang is a close friend of mine. I feel like I could conquer the world in the future!”

Ding Yi boasted with mock arrogance.

Jiang Mo smiled, about to say something, when suddenly a strange male voice interrupted.

”Little Ding, if we’re about set, I’ll head to the kitchen first to say hello to Chef Luo Wenle in person... Oh, and who is this beautiful lady?”

The tall young man who had approached stopped mid-sentence as if only just noticing Jiang Mo, his eyes widened in surprise.

”Jiang Mo, our senior from Caiyun University, and we share the same graduate advisor.”

Ding Yi quickly introduced, then added to Jiang Mo, ”Sister Jiang, this is Lu Jin, a brother from a family friend... He’s the one who booked this room for us today!”

”Nice to meet you, Senior Jiang.”

Lu Jin offered a warm smile, extending his hand.

However, Jiang’s expression, which had turned cold after Lu Jin appeared, did not change, and she merely nodded slightly in greeting without shaking his hand.

Lu Jin’s smile stiffened for a moment, but he quickly recovered and said with a natural smile, ”You two chat. I’ll go see the kitchen.”

Once Lu Jin had walked away, Jiang Mo glanced at Ding Yi, ”You and him...”

”We really are just family friends!”

Anticipating Jiang Mo’s suspicion, Ding Yi quickly clarified, ”I wanted to decline when he offered to book the restaurant, but I’ve heard of Chef Luo before. He’s won the ’Culinary God Contest’ several times, and you know I’m a foodie, so, heh...”

...

At the same moment, Zhou Wang returned to the door of the presidential suite, where Bella was already waiting for him.

”Mr. Zhou, welcome home. I’d like to discuss your dinner plans for tonight.”

”Just have it sent to my room...”

Zhou responded offhandedly.

But this time, Bella didn’t immediately reply. Instead, she considered her words carefully, ”Mr. Zhou, the thing is, I would actually recommend dining in the restaurant tonight. Do you remember Chef Luo Wenle, whom I mentioned to you before?”

”I have a vague recollection. What about him?”

Zhou Wang recalled briefly. The name seemed familiar from when he had checked in, prompting his curious inquiry.