ar frauds across several counties and cities, targeting both enterprises and governments alike, using speculative psychology to seek out partners under the guise of investment or tourism projects. The...Chapter 84 Toasting

Surprisingly, he also found Zeng He's family sitting there with Su Cen wearing a checkered shirt among them.

This discovery did not sit well in Mr. Chen’s heart. Last time at his daughter's banquet, Su Cen's fist fight made many people watch, and everyone knew about the ambiguous relationship between his daughter and Su Cen as well as another girl. After the banquet ended, Mrs. Chen had a fit of anger at him but did not interrogate Chen Lingshan. Although both Mr. Chen and Mrs. Chen took an indifferent attitude towards this matter, they actually didn't have much good feeling towards Su Cen.

Zeng He also saw them; Mr. and Mrs. Chen gave her a symbolic smile but since other tables were already full and there were some people they did not recognize, they felt uneasy and had to sit down at Zeng He's table.

Zeng He warmly welcomed them and immediately invited Chen Lingshan to sit beside Su Cen. Chen Lingshan was very ladylike as she blinked at Su Cen, "Are you busy recently"

After the exams ended and summer vacation started, they lost touch with each other. Once, Xue Yiyang invited all the girls in their class to go swimming, a great opportunity for appreciating beauties, and he also asked Su Cen to join them but was rejected by him as he was busy going to Liu Cheng's villa from time to time and didn't have such leisurely time.

"Not very busy, just might need to take care of the family shop," Su Cen avoided his mother’s puzzled gaze with a smile towards Chen Lingshan.

Since summer vacation started, they had not seen each other. Now unexpectedly meeting at his elder sister's banquet was quite surprising. It seemed that Chen Lingshan had an enriching holiday; her originally fair skin on her arms now showed a light wheat hue like smooth mocha coffee, losing some of her usual innocence while adding a subtle hint of womanliness.

"Originally I got a summer swimming practice card at the swimming pool. They say that for girls, swimming can be very helpful for skincare, maintaining figure, and weight loss; originally I was planning to let you accompany me," Chen Lingshan revealed a smile that made one’s heart race, "but it's too bad."

Su Cen pretended not to mind her increasingly tempting gaze, turning his head away, "It is somewhat regrettable.

"If you can't go with me, is it happiness or unhappiness" Chen Lingshan said with a double entendre, clearly hinting at Su Cen's campus-wide sensational speech before graduation. Then she thought again and couldn’t help but laugh.

Su Cen felt somewhat guilty, secretly thinking that women change significantly as they grow up; this Miss Chen was becoming increasingly hard to handle.

Regarding Zeng He’s instructions for Su Cen to "take good care of Lingshan," although Mr. and Mrs. Chen did not show it outwardly, they inwardly felt indifferent and thought that Zeng He might be deliberately flattering them.

Father Chen, upon being introduced to the guests at the table, recognized that among them were a secretary from the Municipal Construction Commission and several office directors from the Construction Bureau. He quickly became enthusiastic in his interactions with these individuals.

The people present often dealt with characters like Father Chen on a daily basis, so they tended to maintain a rather cold demeanor towards him. The secretary from the Municipal Construction Commission even interrupted Father Chen several times, pouring drinks for Su Licheng and Zeng Zhaodong instead of him, while also asking warmly if Su Ran and Chen Ling珊 wanted anything to drink or if they needed more refreshments.

The role of a secretary typically involves such superficial courtesies, so Father and Mother Chen didn't think much about it. However, Mother Chen secretly blamed her husband for failing to establish connections with these officials, given their clearly indifferent attitude towards him, which made her anxious.

Meanwhile, Zeng A repeatedly approached Mother Chen to chat, asking what she had been busy with lately and how she spent her free time—playing mahjong or going to a beauty salon

Mother Chen vaguely replied and nodded superficially in response. After all, she was on a different level from Zeng He; she used to be an employee of their trading company while her husband had better connections there. However, Mother Chen always kept a cold face and appeared unapproachable, which some older accountants in Zeng's office even whispered about as "showing off." Therefore, she couldn't respond warmly to his friendliness.

Even Chen Ling珊 noticed her mother’s haughty attitude and gently tugged at her skirt, glancing at Su Ran. Seeing that Su Ran didn’t display any unusual expression, she felt somewhat relieved.

The officials from the Construction Commission and Bureau had seen many fathers like Father Chen before, so their faces naturally turned cold. This made Father Chen feel suffocated. He had already offered toasts to all these officials at the table, but they either sipped their drinks or didn't reciprocate his gestures—clearly showing disinterest in him. This left his face without a way to save it; several times he raised his glass only to put it down.

Mother Chen was anxious and couldn’t care less about maintaining her composure. She filled up a glass of wine, stood up to offer the Planning Office Director a toast: "Director Zhao, I’m offering you this drink. Father Chen is currently investing in real estate; all his money has been poured into it, but the project’s approval is slow. It's urgent that funding circulates quickly or there will be serious issues. I hope you can give us a hand with Director Zhao. "

Director Zhao had broad shoulders and an amiable face, glancing at Mother Chen while assessing her figure. His gaze carried a hint of greed before he slowly replied: "Regarding this project, it's not that I won’t help; there are some procedural issues to address. We need further discussion. They say you have a good drinking capacity Then for the first toast with your brother, at least three glasses are required!"

Mother Chen was incensed and felt uncomfortable under his gaze—it made her feel as if she were being crawled on by ants. Father Chen dared not interject in this situation; it made him uneasy to have his wife take the lead. However, he had no choice but to force a smile towards those opposite them who didn’t return it.

"Of course, of course, alright then, I’ll drink these three glasses as an offering!" The glass wasn't small like porcelain; instead, it was a slender clear glass that, although not as large in volume as a beer mug, still posed quite a challenge to down three consecutive ones. Mother Chen gritted her teeth; though she had drunk plenty of white liquor before and had decent tolerance, never had these three glasses felt so bitter and hard to swallow.

The moment Wang wanted to raise her cup, she was pulled back by someone. Turning around, she found it was Zeng He who had held her hand. Then he turned his head and smiled at that Mr. Zhao.

"Mr. Zhao, this is a good friend of mine. She's a woman and can't drink much alcohol, so let's not make her do it."

Zhao's face showed some displeasure as he laughed again, "That’s impossible! How can she not drink She herself asked for three cups! Impossible, impossible! Drink, drink!"

Mrs. Chen’s expression conveyed a hint of pleading; she hoped they would stop involving themselves.

Zeng He was taken aback but said firmly, "Then I’ll drink on her behalf." With that, he poured the cola from Su Can's glass into a teacup and filled it up with liquor.

Seeing this, Mr. Zhao’s expression immediately fell. His hands left the table as he coldly watched Zeng He down three cups of alcohol.

The secretary of the Municipal Construction Committee was extremely worried; he inwardly cursed Zhao for his stupidity. That man was the brother of the director of the Construction Bureau!

At this moment, Su Can smiled and said in a somewhat childish tone, "I’ve only heard that men drink three cups while women drink one. How can you make her drink just one cup while everyone else drinks three This drinking is unfair, Mom, don’t drink anymore."

Seeing Mr. Zhao, whose face had turned slightly green from Su Can's quick retort, both Mr. and Mrs. Chen felt even more distressed; how could they end up sitting with this family who didn't know their limits

The secretary hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, the drinking is unfair; we won’t drink anymore. Let’s eat some dishes instead," though he was sweating profusely from anxiety and harbored even more resentment towards Zhao.

Zhao coldly remarked, "Fine, let's eat then. No alcohol." He upended his glass on the table as if to make a point. Everyone looked at him with alarm.

Mrs. Chen and Mr. Chen were anxiously turning around, while Chen Ling Shan noticed something amiss and saw her parents being humiliated but felt powerless. She was about to shed tears when she felt Su Can squeeze her hand gently from below the table.

Chen Ling Shan bit her lip as thoughts of determination filled her mind: in future, she must study hard so that her parents no longer have to bow down to others.

The atmosphere was tense. When it came to Zeng He's table for a toast, the Mr. Zhao who had just upended his glass earlier now held a full cup of liquor again and laughed loudly; he seemed to be the loudest at their table, "Beautiful Zeng Na got into Southwest Medical University, which is no mean feat! Your Uncle Zhao will definitely attend your wedding celebration in the future!"

"Thank you, Uncle Zhao." Eldest Sister blushed. She turned her head and saw Su Cen subconsciously picking up a glass of white liquor, causing her to frown. "Brother! How did you start drinking white liquor!"

Ever since then, Zeng Na had been eyeing this younger brother of hers. Instinctively, she recalled the days when Su Cen frequently visited their home while they were filling out college applications. He often asked her which medical school was the best and inquired about her preferred major, hinting to her to take a chance on applying for something she truly wanted. Reflecting back, Zeng Na realized that it was closely related to Su Cen's encouragement during those days, though it turned out to be quite risky—her score barely made it over the admission line by a few points. Nonetheless, with just one decisive thought, she felt like she had finally grasped onto her long-chased dream.

This slight scolding of "Brother!" caused many people at the table to suddenly become animated in their expressions.

Mr. and Mrs. Chen even briefly suspected that they might have misheard it, slowly turning their heads to confirm that Zeng Na was indeed speaking to Su Cen.

Chen Ling珊 looked at Su Cen in surprise, seemingly realizing the reason why he would be sitting at this occasion today.

After watching Su Cen switch his drink to coke, Zeng Na couldn’t help but frown at Mrs. Su and say, "Auntie, what’s going on How could you let him drink white liquor! Alcohol is harmful to the brain, especially when he's still in high school!" Then she pursed her lips at Su Cen, saying, "If I see this again, I'll talk to you about it."

When Zeng Quanming’s family left for another table and everyone returned to their seats, the expression on the Director Zhao's face became awkward. He then understood why the Construction Committee secretary had been so respectful towards Su Cen's family from the beginning.

The moment he was about to make a casual remark, there was an uproar at the door as the city party secretary, Wang Bo, arrived on the scene, further elevating the atmosphere.

Wang Bo had a drink with Zeng Quanming for being late and encouraged some words to Zeng Na. He then briefly toasted with several high-ranking officials before coming over to this table where he should not have been invited due to its guests' lower ranks. However, Wang Bo truly walked over in person.

This made everyone at the table tense and anxious, exchanging glances as they wondered which of them was worthy enough for Secretary Wang Bo to personally come over to toast with.

Wang Bo approached Su Cen, "Haha, Su Cen, I’ll have a drink with you. I heard about your speech at school from Weiwei; it was very impressive." Then feeling that this might not be appropriate enough, he redirected his gaze and casually raised his glass to the entire room, saying, "Alright then, let's all toast together."

The whole hall fell silent as everyone stared in disbelief at what they witnessed.orward, shortening the distance between herself and Su Cen to match where Tang Wu stood. She looked directly into his eyes with a tone that hinted at slight reproach, "Hey, don't forget you promised m...