Chen Rong

Soon, led by his sister-in-law Pan Xinran, Qin Ning and his group arrived at the banquet hall on the second floor.

Tang Yuan was currently greeting the other guests who had already arrived. Seeing Qin Ning and the others appear, he immediately hurried over to welcome them.

"Hurry and sit down first, I'll have someone bring you some tea."

Saying this, Tang Yuan called a waiter over. After taking the teapot from them, he personally poured a cup for each of Qin Ning's group.

"Brother, Wang Er and the others haven't arrived yet?" Qin Fei asked curiously, her eyes sweeping across the venue without spotting Wang Er and his group.

Tang Yuan smiled and said, "They arrived yesterday. I even took them to see the commercial street and the newly built factory buildings. Then they discussed construction matters with Secretary Yang. It seems they talked until quite late, so they're probably just waking up now. They should be here in a bit."

At this moment, a young man in his twenties walked over and patted Tang Yuan on the shoulder. "Old classmate, why did you run off over here? Come on, let's head back and continue our previous conversation."

It was Chen Rong, who looked to be around the same age as Qin Ning and Tang Yuan.

He was Tang Yuan's junior high school classmate. His ancestral home was Xin'an Town, but he had later moved to the provincial capital.

Chen Rong happened to be back to pay respects to his ancestors this time. Although Tang Yuan hadn't been very close to him during their school days, so many years had passed. Meeting an old classmate, it was only natural to invite him.

Chen Rong had also heard about Tang Yuan's sudden rise to wealth recently. Knowing that his old classmate was no longer the same as before, he accepted the invitation and came.

"Uh, I still have other guests to attend to here. Let's talk later when we have time," Tang Yuan smiled politely.

Now that Qin Ning was here, it was naturally impossible for him to go entertain others.

Hearing this, Chen Rong looked a bit disappointed. His gaze then shifted to evaluate Qin Ning and the others at the table.

"Are you... Qin Ning?"

As his eyes swept over Qin Ning, he couldn't help but freeze for a moment.

Qin Ning nodded slightly without speaking.

He had recognized Chen Rong earlier. This was his university alumnus. Although Chen Rong was a grade above him, they had some unpleasant conflicts back in school due to certain matters. Naturally, they were no strangers to each other.

"You guys know each other?" Tang Yuan was taken aback.

"Hehe, of course we do. We're old schoolmates as well. We went to the same university. I didn't expect him to be here too."

Chen Rong smiled and then asked, "Qin Ning, aren't you from Liu City? Why are you here? Is Tang Yuan your friend?"

Hearing this, Qin Ning merely gave him a glance, having no intention of explaining.

Seeing Qin Ning's cold attitude towards him, Chen Rong immediately frowned, feeling displeased.

He continued to ask, "I heard that you went to deliver takeout after graduating from university?"

As soon as these words came out, Tang Yuan's face sank. He could tell that this guy Chen Rong was deliberately trying to embarrass Qin Ning.

Was he out of his mind?

With so many people here, he had to go and provoke the one person who absolutely could not be provoked!

Others might not know how special Qin Ning was, but how could Tang Yuan not know?

Someone like Chen Rong was not even considered trash in front of him.

How could he be so blind?

"If you're done spouting nonsense, then get lost. Today is my little niece's one-month birthday banquet. I'm giving my brother face by not lowering myself to your level," Qin Ning said, glancing at him.

"What did you say? Tell me to get lost?"

Hearing this, Chen Rong immediately flew into a rage and scoffed coldly. "Qin Ning, do you think we are still in school? We are all adults now. Out in society, once some words are spoken, there is a price to pay. Do you understand?"

Chen Rong did not come from an ordinary family.

His father was previously the town secretary and was later promoted. He was exceptionally elevated directly to the provincial level and was now the secretary of a district in the provincial capital, a division-level cadre.

"Young Master Qin."

At this time, Xia Fei, Wang Er, and the others also arrived and respectfully greeted Qin Ning.

Seeing such a scene, Chen Rong immediately furrowed his brows.

Who were these people?

And they actually called Qin Ning Young Master Qin?

That couldn't be right.

Wasn't Qin Ning an orphan?

"Take him out. Deal with him however you want, just don't disrupt the order here." Qin Ning glanced at Chen Rong and then ordered Wang Er and the rest.

"Understood, Young Master Qin."

Wang Er and the others acknowledged the order and immediately surrounded Chen Rong.

They had already heard what Chen Rong said even before they approached.

"Kid, you've got a lot of nerve hopping around in front of Young Master Qin. Come on, follow us downstairs. I want to see just what you're made of."

Saying this, Xia Fei grabbed Chen Rong with one hand and lifted him up, carrying him out of the banquet hall like a little chicken.

"Mmph, mmph..."

Chen Rong instinctively wanted to scream, but his mouth was covered by Xia Fei, preventing him from making a sound. The other people in the banquet hall were conversing with each other, so they didn't notice what was happening here.

Soon, they reached an alley downstairs. Xia Fei threw Chen Rong directly onto the ground. Wang Er, Cai Cheng, Zhou Ping'an, and the others followed and surrounded him.

Seeing their unfriendly expressions, it would be a lie to say Chen Rong wasn't afraid. However, he still braced himself and shouted, "What do you want to do? Let me tell you, my dad is Chen Xuewei, a district secretary in the province. If you dare touch me, I will absolutely not let you off!"

"Oh? So you're saying your dad is a big shot?" Zhong Mingyuan said disdainfully.

Seeing that they didn't seem to buy his threats, Chen Rong spoke again, "If you have the guts, let me make a phone call!"

"Go ahead and call." The group shrugged, looking completely unbothered.

Chen Rong scoffed coldly and didn't waste any more words. He immediately took out his phone and walked a few steps deeper into the alley.

"Dad."

Soon, the call connected, and he hurriedly explained what had just happened.

"Weren't you at a hotel banquet? How did you end up getting surrounded?"

After hearing his account, Chen Xuewei frowned. He had naturally returned for the ancestral worship this time as well. Right now, he was drinking tea in an office in Xin'an Town. "Who are these people?"

"I don't know either. Dad, you better send someone over quickly. I'm afraid they might actually beat me up," Chen Rong said.

"Alright, you wait there quietly and don't get into any arguments with them. I'll head over right now."

After hanging up, Chen Xuewei quickly stood up and briefly explained the situation to the other people in the office.

"In broad daylight, such a thing actually happens?" A director from the city scoffed coldly.

Town Secretary Yang Yong was also in the office at this moment. He frowned slightly. Based on Chen Xuewei's description, this incident was quite severe. Moreover, since it happened in their Xin'an Town, he as the secretary certainly couldn't escape responsibility.

Just which blind fools were they?

How did they end up offending Chen Xuewei's son?

Over at the hotel?

Wasn't Tang Yuan hosting a one-month birthday banquet right there?

He had originally planned to head over there in a little while.

Wait.

Young Master Qin was also supposed to come over today.

Could it be...

At this thought, Yang Yong's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and an overwhelming sense of foreboding welled up inside him.