Old Zhou's words instantly froze the smile on Jiang Yangxu's face.
Jiang Yehan sneered, "Second Brother, don't waste your effort. Chairman Zhou came specifically for Youli's engagement banquet tonight and has no intention of discussing any cooperation with you."
Old Zhou "tsked," not planning to save any face for Jiang Yangxu on such an occasion, his words blunt and sharp, "With his character, he still wants to cooperate with our Zhou family? A fool's dream."
By now, the guests who had taken their seats around them began to murmur again.
"What's the situation between Chairman Zhou and the Jiang family's Second Master?"
"It looks like the Jiang family's Second Master tried to cozy up to Chairman Zhou, but unfortunately, he wasn't welcomed."
"And it seems Chairman Zhou came specifically for the Jiang family's true heiress tonight, not by the Qi family's invitation."
"I've heard about that mess in the Jiang family. At the last welcome banquet, the true heiress they just brought back exposed herself, revealing that Second Master Jiang and his wife are her real parents. Unfortunately, they looked down on their own daughter for being a country bumpkin and refused to acknowledge her for the sake of their adopted daughter."
"Looking at it now, the Jiang family's true heiress is no simple person! She actually knows these three former big shots of Jing City!"
"Not acknowledging their own daughter is a huge loss for Second Master Jiang!"
Hearing these criticisms, Jiang Yangxu's situation became increasingly awkward.
Qin Yulian, Jiang Xing, and Jiang Yonghe, seated not far behind him, were also watching Jiang Yangxu's situation. Hearing Old Zhou's words and the surrounding guests' discussions, the expressions on their faces were a sight to behold.
Old Master Jiang's gaze at his second son also revealed disappointment.
It seemed that in the competition for the management rights of the pharmaceutical company, the second son was completely out of the game.
Jiang Li looked at her husband, Second Master Long, with some disbelief, lowering her voice to question him, "Long Junyu, what's going on now? Didn't you say Chairman Zhou would give you face and talk cooperation with my second brother?"
Long Junyu, questioned like this, was also very displeased and replied directly, "Yes, I am, after all, the Long family's Second Master. Who in Jing City wouldn't give me face? Even the Qi family is the same! But how was I to know Chairman Zhou is really that close with your niece!"
He didn't deliberately lower his voice, so Old Master Jiang, Jiang Xing, and Jiang Yonghe all heard him, shifting their gaze from Jiang Yangxu to Jiang Li and her husband, Long Junyu.
Noticing her family's looks, Jiang Li pulled Long Junyu's arm under the table. "Keep your voice down..."
Mentioning her bet with Jiang Youli, a suffocating pressure weighed on Jiang Li's heart. "I told you, if I fail to help my second brother secure a meeting with Chairman Zhou, I'll lose and have to kneel and apologize to Jiang Youli!"
Long Junyu interrupted impatiently, "Enough. Accompanying you here today is already giving a lot of face to you and your Jiang family. Really, you made that kind of bet with a young girl without even understanding the situation clearly! I think you brought this on yourself!"
Jiang Li was so angry at her husband's words her lungs felt like they would explode. "If you hadn't promised so confidently before, could I have been so sure to bet with Jiang Youli? Now that the situation has turned, you push all the responsibility onto me. Long Junyu, we've been married for years, have you no conscience?"
Long Junyu didn't care. "Don't forget, our marriage is just an alliance."
Just as Jiang Li was fuming and Jiang Yangxu wished he could bury himself in a hole—
The crisp, pleasant voice of Jiang Youli happened to ring out across the banquet hall.
"Uncle Zhou, Uncle Qin, Auntie Meng, you're here!"
Hearing Jiang Youli's voice, Old Zhou, who just moments ago wore a look of disdain, immediately switched to a warm smile, looking towards the entrance.
"Youli, my girl!"
Jiang Youli, pushing Qi Huan's wheelchair, quickly made her way through the crowd and tables towards Old Zhou and the other two.
"Uncle Zhou, thank you for the trouble of coming all the way from the village!"
Old Zhou didn't like hearing that. "What trouble? For your engagement banquet, we'd come even if we had to travel from another planet!"
Uncle Qin said, "But we have a project on a tight deadline recently, so your other uncles and aunts couldn't all come. Only the three of us could come as representatives to support you."
Jiang Youli knew that Uncle Zhou, Auntie Meng, and Uncle Qin were also the three most authoritative figures in Jing City. Their presence here was truly impressive!
"By the way, Uncle Zhou, Uncle Qin, Auntie Meng, let me introduce you. This is my fiancé, the Qi family's eldest young master, Qi Huan." Jiang Youli introduced him formally.
"Uncle Zhou, Uncle Qin, Auntie Meng." Qi Huan greeted them with gentle elegance.
Old Zhou winked and said, "See, I didn't lie to you, did I? Youli's fiancé is very handsome. I met him last time in the village."
Auntie Meng looked Qi Huan over with satisfaction and then nodded in agreement. "The young man is indeed very handsome."
Left standing to the side, Jiang Yangxu grew even more awkward. Leaving now wasn't right, but staying wasn't either.
Just as Jiang Yangxu resolved to walk back to his seat, Jiang Youli turned to look at him. "Oh, right, Uncle Zhou, my second uncle here wanted to talk to you about cooperation."
With that, she turned her gaze to Jiang Yangxu, who had just lifted his foot to leave. "Second Uncle, the Chairman Zhou you've been longing to meet is right here. Why aren't you speaking? Are you too excited and don't know what to say?"
Jiang Yangxu's step faltered, cursing inwardly at Jiang Youli for having such a sharp tongue!
Zhang Susu laughed. "Your second uncle already approached Chairman Zhou. Unfortunately, as soon as your Uncle Zhou heard he was your second uncle, he got so angry he didn't want to listen to him at all."
"Is that so? Well, that's really a shame. Second Uncle, even when given the chance, you can't seize it. You're just like your precious adopted daughter." Clearly not done with her mockery, Jiang Youli shifted her gaze to Jiang Li, who was sitting beside Old Master Jiang not far away. "Uncle Zhou, I'll also trouble you to come with me to say hello to my third aunt."
Old Zhou immediately said heartily, "No trouble at all. I'm here today. I'll cooperate with you however you want."
Jiang Youli then pushed Qi Huan's wheelchair towards the Jiang family's reserved seating area.
Seeing Jiang Youli approach, Jiang Li's expression grew increasingly ugly.
"Third Aunt."
Jiang Li forced out an awkward smile and responded with an "Eh," silently praying that Jiang Youli wouldn't make her lose face in front of everyone.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Youli had no intention of letting her off. "Third Aunt, do you remember our bet?"
Jiang Li's hands clenched under the table, her awkward expression turning to resentment. She took a breath and said reluctantly, "...I remember."
"That's good. I thought you weren't old enough to be forgetful yet." Jiang Youli smiled considerately. "I'm also someone who cares about the family's reputation. I won't make you kneel and apologize to me in front of so many people and embarrass our Jiang family. So, the kneeling and apologizing can wait until tomorrow."
She emphasized the words "kneel" each time, and with each mention of "kneel," Jiang Li's face grew even more unpleasant.
