Qin Ran knew that Qin Sheng was unwilling to idle around with that circle socially, but since that he became a member of the Qin Family, he was supposed to get used to a lot of things, like inheriting Qin Changan’s business, paying New Year Calls for the Spring Festival, and entertaining guests at home for Qin Changan, and this was no more than another one of them.
As he gained power, wealth, and other advantages, he should also take those responsibilities and accept some potential rules. That was life. Since Qin Changan had declared his identity to all, though Qin Sheng was motionless, a variety of people would come to him, pushing him into one circle after another.
People are as complicated as books—they require time to read, rather than judging them by their cover. Qin Sheng didn’t care that much, but Qin Ran certainly did, who was always eager to protect her brother.
That was why she wanted to introduce Qin Sheng to her friends, who she knew about at least, and hoped that these people would be ready to help her younger brother then.
Qin Ran was taking Qin Sheng to a party held by some core people from different circles. They were at the age when one had already gotten on the right track of life, so they held this kind of party to share the resources they had. It was also totally different from the parties of young rich people that were held only for fun, where fashion models and entertainment celebrities gathered.
The Spring Festival was exactly the time to have parties. It was a tradition for people working outside to go back to their hometown to celebrate the big festival with their families. As for the party that Qin Ran and Qin Sheng were participating in, some of the guests had their own business with the help of their families, and some became civil servants, having a position either in Ministries or Commissions of the CPC or in provincial governments. Thanks to their own abilities and family backgrounds, they were all too young for their achievements.
Businessmen came here for profit, whilst government officials came for potential political achievements. These people needed an opportunity to meet others for new friendships, and then, for cooperation.
But the permission to enter this party was limited.
These parties were held annually in different places, which were all low-profile considering the special identities of most of the guests. This year, it was held in a boutique hotel with a rather plain look. The hotel was not open during these two days, and its young owner was also on the guest list.
Qin Ran and Qin Sheng arrived a little bit later than others. Qin Ran was exhausted by the whole-day chatting with elders, for she had to be extremely careful with her wording and phrasing while facing those big shots. She had come because her girlfriend called her a couple of times to urge her, or she would have rather stayed home watching TV with Qin Sheng, considering that they had a full schedule the next day and a flight to Shanghai the day after that. It was quite exhausting.
Qin Ran drove her Audi A6L. If she was a government officer, she would have had to be particularly careful with her expenses and should never drive a luxurious car. Those people could only drive normal cars or take a taxi, for fear of others’ accusing them of taking bribes.
Their car pulled into the hotel entrance. Qin Ran said, “You go down to Ma Wei first, and I’ll be there later. I have to greet some people. You must feel bored by this.”
There would be a number of people playing up to Qin Ran, the daughter of business titan Qin Changan.
Qin Sheng nodded with an understanding smile in response to her arrangement.
The receptionist at the entrance checked Qin Ran’s identity and let them in. He didn’t check Qin Sheng’s identity since every guest was allowed to have a guest without special permission.
After that, Qin Ran asked Qin Sheng to go to the elevator while she, however, stayed in the lobby. When she was sure that Qin Sheng had reached the top floor, she went to another elevator.
This boutique hotel was decorated in a concise style. Qin Sheng arrived at the floor of a restaurant by following the signs. This Western-style restaurant had some changes done and was divided into several areas. The central area offered wine and food. There were no stage and dance floor since nobody was going to make a speech. The guests came to meet their friends and talk about something, and were free to leave at any time. That was also a reason why they were willing to come.
There were two guards standing by the restaurant entrance. They were arranged specially for today’s party. Qin Sheng thought they would check his ID when he approached, but they didn’t move, so Qin Sheng just offered them a smile and went in.
The restaurant was not very large. There were several men and ladies already inside. They all wore casual clothes rather than formal wear or evening dresses. They were all idling around, lounging about, and chatting away, talking in quiet voices.
Qin Sheng stopped at the entrance and looked around. He was not curious about this occasion, he was just looking for Ma Weiyang and her friends. He soon saw them sitting by a window. There were seven or eight young people lounging on two round sofas, which was the most lively place in the room. Qin Sheng only knew Ma Weiyang, Fan Dezhi, and Yin Hao. But what surprised him was that the young man he had met in the Songs’ siheyuan was also there. He had heard from his sister that this young man was Song Hesheng, Song Ruyu’s cousin.
Qin Sheng frowned and didn’t go over to them right away, but looked around for Song Ruyu. But then he laughed, realizing that he was wrong since Song Ruyu would not likely enjoy this occasion. Her aura was too different from that of this place.
Qin Sheng sighed and walked over to them slowly.
When Qin Sheng was approaching, none of them said hello to him; they just eyed him and guessed who this stranger was. It was an unwritten rule that one should never accost others.
When Qin Sheng went over to Ma Weiyang, the other people were even more surprised about his identity and that he was among Ma Weiyang’s circle.
Fan Dezhi saw Qin Sheng first and waved to greet with a smile. “Hi, Sheng.”
Ma Weiyang realized that he had arrived then, so he turned around and offered him a brilliant smile and a big hug. “Ah, Sheng, I missed you so much. Why did you arrive so late?”
Qin Sheng was embarrassed by her over-hospitality. Apart from Fan Dezhi and Yin Hao, others of this group were all wondering who this Sheng was and were feeling jealous of Ma Weiyang’s special attitude toward him. The same could be said for other people around.
Ma Weiyang was a sexy beauty with an elegant aura and hot body. Qin Sheng felt a bit awkward by her hug and pushed her away. “Sister Mawei, you’re almost smothering me.”
Ma Weiyang was dissatisfied by Qin Sheng being distant. “Hey, boy, you know that there’s a long list of men waiting for my hug.”
“Well, well, well, I’m sorry.”
Fan Dezhi asked at that time, “Where’s your sister?”
Qin Sheng turned to the entrance and saw her coming in. He giggled and replied, “She’s over there.”
Qin Ran was about to go up to them before a lot of people surrounded her to chat. Qin Sheng then understood why her sister had asked him to go in first.
Qin Sheng offered Yin Hao a smile as a greeting and his arm was then held by Ma Weiyang, who spoke to Song Hesheng and the others. “Let me introduce you all. This hot guy is…”
“I know, we met before. He is the Young Master of the Qin Family, Qin Sheng.” Song Hesheng interrupted Ma Weiyang’s words.
Other people were stunned by Song Hesheng’s introduction of Qin Sheng’s identity. This was quite big news.
Ma Weiyang was surprised. “Damn, Lao Song, how do you know him? Oh, oh, oh, I know part of the story. You still have feelings for someone, right? So you’re concerned about your possible brother-in-law.”
“Ma Weiyang, don’t talk nonsense.” Song Hesheng gave her an impatient glance.
Ma Weiyang didn’t care, though. “Tsk-tsk, I’m just making a joke. You’re boring.”
“Brother Song, nice to see you again.” Qin Sheng politely greeted Song Hesheng first, considering the complicated connection between the Qin and Song families.
Song Hesheng giggled and stood up. “I don’t expect to see you again so soon and in this place. It seems that you’ve already gotten used to all of this.”
Qin Sheng understood his half-veiled words and squinted. “What do you mean by that?”
Their strange and aggressive conversation made others a bit nervous.
Song Hesheng didn’t bother to explain and left then to avoid meeting Qin Ran. Song Hesheng looked down upon Qin Sheng and disliked him due to his engagement with Song Ruyu. He wished that Qin Sheng would have died during his 20-year disappearance.
Two people followed Song Hesheng to leave to pry into Qin Sheng’s story, which was definitely big news.
Qin Sheng forced a bitter smile and was pulled by Ma Weiyang to take a seat. She asked him in curiosity, “Sheng, did you offend him before? He acted strangely.”
“Sister Mawei, I also wonder.” Qin Sheng was a bit annoyed.
Ma Weiyang said in an aggressive tone, “Never mind. If he offended you, I’ll take a little revenge for you later.”
Qin Sheng just said a few words to make her calm down. Fan Dezhi changed the topic and introduced Qin Sheng to the others. Since Qin Sheng was Qin Ran’s brother, they all treated him kindly and friendly.
Then they went on to drink and chat away. They were all curious about Qin Sheng, so the topics were all about him. Thanks to Ma Weiyang and Fan Dezhi, Qin Sheng didn’t find it difficult to deal with these people’s curiosity. He had been fed up with repeating his childhood story again and again.
Qin Ran took some time before coming over to them. One group after another of people came to see her, and she had to chat a few words with all of them considering their relationships of cooperation. It took her about 20 minutes to finish her social activities.
When Qin Ran came over, Qin Sheng was staring at a group of people nearby, a man in particular.
Qin Ran waved her hand before Qin Sheng’s eyes, and asked in curiosity, “What are you doing? Are you attracted by some beauty?”
Qin Sheng said gruffly, “Sister, would it be troublesome if I had a conflict here?”
Qin Ran was confused and scared by him.