C9

At the entrance of Golden Palace stood a group of 5 people who had come for dinner. The group consisted of Tang Mo, Tang Yue, Song Liu, Song Jiu, and Sun Yichen. It consisted of the heirs and heiresses of three elite families. This was a gathering of powerful scions.

As they were about to enter the restaurant, Song Liu spotted a group leaving the restaurant. He recognized his sister and a few others which he had not seen in many years. He nudged Song Jiu and pointed towards their sister Song Liu.

Both of them walked towards the group. They exchanged greetings and then the group, except Song Liu, walked towards a black jeep that had been brought at the entrance by the valet.

Song Liu said, "Sister it has been a couple of years since I last saw you. When are you coming to visit mother and father??"

Jue replied, "I've been very busy. When I've time I will visit mom and dad."

Song Jiu said in a mocking tone, "Pfft…. What have you been busy with??? Reporting about animal attacks and celebrity scandals indeed seems to be very challenging. You bett—"

Song Jue interrupted him and said, "If that is all then I have to go. My friends are waiting for me."

As she was leaving Song Liu said, "Please wait! Tang Yue and Tang Mo are also here. You should at least greet them."

Jue paused a little but then she heard Song Jiu say, "Your fiancé Sun Yichen is also here. Greet him as well. He was asking about you."

When she heard the name Sun Yichen her face became cold and she said, "He is not my fiancé. I never agreed to it. Tell father and mother to quickly cancel the engagement. I will never marry him."

Saying that she turned around and walked towards the jeep. She got into the jeep and they rode off.

Song Liu turned to Jiu and said, "Do you need to talk to her in that manner. You always mock her. We met after 2 years and you still couldn't act civil."

Song Jiu was irritated and he said, "It's because she is stubborn. She doesn't listen to anyone, not even our parents. She ran away from home when father told her to work in the company."

"Now she works as a journalist for a 2nd rate newspaper. The Song family heiress is working in such a humiliating place! She should consider her parents' feelings, how we must be feeling. But no, she does what she wants."

"Again, the engagement with the Sun family was decided by Grandfather. Sun Yichen is a very capable person. He's smart, good looking and known for his expertise in Herbal medicine and acupuncture."

"Instead of thanking grandfather for finding such a good match, she declared the engagement as null and void."

After hearing his rant, Song Liu directed Song Jiu back into the restaurant.

The Tang siblings and Sun Yichen were already seated at their table. The Song siblings soon joined them.

Tang Mo asked, "Who did you meet?"

Song Liu said, "Some old acquaintances and our sister."

On hearing Song Jue's name, Sun Yichen brightened up and said, "You didn't invite Jue over. I wanted to meet her."

Tang Mo said, "ooohh!! Your so-called 'fiancé'. What's up with that? Are you two still engaged?"

Yichen glared at Tang Mo and said, "It was a childhood betrothal agreed by our grandfathers. When they asked me, I didn't have any problem. Unfortunately, they didn't ask Jue. Later she declared the engagement null and void to her family. Then she ran away from home. She hasn't come back since."

Tang Jue suddenly asked, "Who were the other acquaintances?"

Song Liu said, "Do you remember a pair of siblings in GVSU? They had a group of four and were always together. They were always indifferent when they talked to us. All of them were top students in their streams."

Tang Yue suddenly exclaimed, "Yes… I remember. The pair of beautiful siblings!!"

Song Liu, "Yes them, so you remembered. They were called Yang Li and Yang Mei."

Yichen interrupted and said, "Wait!! Yang Mei isn't that the name of the owner and CEO of MLH which was revealed this morning."

Song Liu smiled and said, "Indeed it is. She is the same person."

Tang Mo grinned and said, "Brother Song had a crush on Yang Mei in college…."

Yichen asked, "Is it true, Brother Song?"

Song Liu, "Don't spout nonsense. I just admired them."

Tang Yue said, "So the sister is the owner and CEO of MLH. What about the brother? What is he doing? As far as I remember, in college, he was the pillar of their group"

"He must also be doing very well."

She then looked at Song Liu and asked, "Do you have any idea?"

Song Liu shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't. There is nothing about the brother in the news. However, I do plan to find out."

With this Song Liu started thinking about his past in GVSU.

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9 years ago- Song Liu's final year in GVSU

Yang Li told Mei about the dinner invite from Shishi, however, she already knew. They decided to take a taxi there.

The dinner was in the restaurant of the hotel Obsidian Sky.

The famous hotel Obsidian Sky was owned by the Long family. In the last 5 years, Long family's hotel chain Obsidian Sky had grown rapidly. It became famous not only nationally but also internationally.

The siblings reached the restaurant at 8 pm. It was not crowded so they sat down and waited for Shishi.

They ordered some drinks and food.

Li said to Mei, "Have you talked to mother recently?"

Mei replied, "Yes I talked to her yesterday. Her contract with the research facility is coming to an end and then she will look for another job."

Li said, "It has been 4 years and those bastards are still suppressing her. Just one more year and I will pay them back with interest."

Mei said to Li, "Be patient, mother is fine. Even though she did not got any offers from the top facilities, she has other offers which are suitable for her. Also, she is being offered the job of a guest lecturer in our university's biotech department."

Li said, "That's good. She should take the university job. I will talk to her."

Suddenly Li turned to Mei and said, "Sister are you dating someone?"

On hearing his question, Mei who was busy drinking her lemon juice suddenly sprayed it all over the table and started coughing.

She then glared at him and said, "Mind your own business."

Li innocently said, "Your business is my business."

Suddenly the waiter came to their table with a bottle of Chardonnay. Mei said to the waiter that they did not order it. However, the waiter said it was compliments of the house. He then pointed towards a table in the exclusive VIP section.

There were five people dining there. The two Tang siblings and the three Song siblings. Song Liu was looking towards them. It was him who had sent the wine.

Before Mei could refuse, Li accepted the wine and asked the waiter to thank Song Liu on his behalf.

Mei was surprised and asked him, "You never accept anything from anyone. You definitely do not thank them. What are you planning?"

Li said, "Nothing serious…. It is just that this is the second time that he has expressed goodwill towards us. I want to know what his motives are."

Mei sighed and said, "And here I thought you were making new friends…."

Li scoffed, "How can friends be made so easily." Saying that he poured the wine for his sister and then for himself.

In the VIP room

Song Jue turned towards Song Liu and asked, "Brother why did you send them a bottle of wine?"

Song Liu said, "They are someone I want to befriend, especially the guy."

Tang Mo looked at Liu and said, "Brother!!! this is the first time I have seen you take the initiative to befriend someone. Who are they?"

Then Tang Mo looked over at the table and exclaimed, "Whoa!!!! That girl is really a beauty, who is she? …... only my sister can match her. Now I understand. You have fallen in love. Hahaha…. Congratulations."

Tang Yue also looked towards Liu and asked, "Brother Song Is it true?"

Song Liu harrumphed and said, "Stop talking nonsense."

"Although I want to befriend both of them, I am more interested in the guy."

Again, Tang Mo exclaimed and said, "Hohohoho!!!... Brother do you swing the other way...I mean are you gay? And why is that dude wearing a mask?"

All of them looked towards Song Liu with an inquiring look.

However, Song Liu quickly replied, "No No…. Not at all. Tang Mo don't spread baseless rumors. It is just that I find them interesting and I believe they have great identities. About the mask, I do not know, as he was wearing it the last time we met."

He then told them about an earlier incident at a party.

Tang Jue asked, "So did you find their origins. Which great family are they from?"

Song Liu shook his head and said "That is the thing. According to my information, they do not belong to any great family.

They are siblings and their names are Yang Mei and Yang Li."

"However, this is the first time I've heard their names."

All the people around the table nodded in agreement. At that moment two more people came into the restaurant and joined the sibling's table.

Pointing to the two people who just joined Liu said, "However, those two who just joined them are Han Kai and Zhou Shishi."

"Both belong to the tier 1 Han and Zhou family respectively. The surprising thing is that except Shishi all three of them are top students in their colleges. Yang Li is in CoEngineering, Han Kai is in law school and Mei and Shishi are in the school of medicine. Even Shishi is amongst the top 10 in her school."

Tang Jue looked at them and said, "Hmmm…...Interesting" and her gaze lingered on Yang Li for a moment before she continued her meal.

Tang Mo on the other hand didn't bother any more as he received a call from one of his girlfriends.

Song Jiu also said, "Brother don't bother with them. They are just a group of naïve, intelligent kids who are unaware of the harsh realities of the world. They may be arrogant now but once they leave college they'll understand. Ultimately, all of them are going to work for us." He then smirked and gulped down the red wine placed in front of him.

Suddenly Song Jue said, "Brother Jiu, you should not belittle others like that. Who knows what will happen in the future?"

Saying that she got up and said, "I will take my leave. I have an early class tomorrow."

After Song Jue left both Tang Jue and Song Liu also got calls and they had to leave. The group decided to retire for the night.

In the meantime, the sibling's group had also finished their meal and they also moved towards the exit. Han Kai and Shishi went to get his jeep from the parking lot while the siblings waited at the front entrance.

In the other group Song Jiu and Tang Mo had gone to get their vehicles while the rest waited at the front entrance.

Song Liu greeted the siblings. They greeted him back.

Mei said to him, "Thank you for the bottle of chardonnay. It was very kind of you."

Liu replied, "Please don't mention it. It was my pleasure. Do you guys need a ride?"

Mei replied, "No, we are just waiting for our friends."

At that moment Kai and Shishi arrived with the jeep. The sibling hopped into the jeep and they drove off.

Tang Yue said to Liu, "You are right. They do have great origins. It is the first time I have been in the company of such nonchalant people." She had observed both Li and Mei. Mei didn't interact with her after greeting them. Li didn't even glance at her a second time after he greeted her. It was the first time Tang Yue felt such indifference from a man.

All of them belonged to elite families. From birth, they were admired and respected. Not only their peers but even the older generation of various families would seek their favor. Even when they met each other even if they were not friendly, they would try to be respectful. But the concept of indifference was foreign to them. Sure, many of them treated others in the same manner but they were never on the receiving end. Therefore, it surprised both Song Liu and Tang Yue. Others in the group didn't have the same insight as them and just considered Yang Li and company as being arrogant.

After this incident, both Liu's and Yue's interest in this group increased further.

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