CHAPTER - 19 Invitation

When Lu Bai arrived at his apartment, he took off his clothes immediately. He went into the bathroom to wash thoroughly and threw everything he had worn straight into the garbage. It made his skin crawl. As he kept thinking back, he felt more and more like he was being toyed with. And, if he didn't get his revenge, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. He thought about it for another moment and decided to call Zhuang Zhu.

"Has the Lai family been working on a business project with you?"

"Yeah. I'm about to sign the contract." Zhuang Zhu was curious about why Lu Bai would call him to ask directly about the Lai family, given how little he normally called. A certain suspicion came to mind, and he asked, "Are you close with the Lai family?"

"No, but the Lu company will take the project we discussed previously," Lu Bai replied.

"Excuse me?" Zhuang Zhu was obviously mad. "What do you think you're doing?! Last time I asked you to sign a contract, you rejected the offer as if your life depended on it. But now, you're saying you want it? Iー"

"Yes or no, one word," Lu Bai interjected.

Zhuang Zhu hesitated for only a second, before firmly replying. "Yes!" His smile stretching from ear to ear, he said, "Anyone who wouldn't accept a deal like this is a fool!" Everyone knew that the Lu company was wealthy.

A new thought popped into Zhuang Zu's mind, so he decided to prod further. "Are you cutting off the Lai family's livelihood because they offended you?" The Lai family had asked literally everyone they knew for help, and Zhuang Zhu only agreed because he couldn't turn away a friend. The Lai family would've never foreseen such an unfortunate turn of events.

Lu Bai replied bluntly. "They did."

When Zhuang Zhu heard Lu Bai's icy tone, he suddenly felt a great deal of pity for the Lai family. Why would they offend Lu Bai? He was inhumanly ruthless when he wanted to be.

"Alright, I'll tell everyone to stay away from the Lai family. Also, remember to come by later." Zhuang Zhu made sure to stress the time and location, fearing that his friend wouldn't show up.

"I know." Lu Bai hung up after a curt reply.

While Zhuang Zhu was out womanizing with two of his wealthy friends, Lu Bai had already arrived 30 minutes early. Zhuang Zhu held onto the small and slender waist of a beautiful woman while his other hand was rubbing her chest. He was nearly about to yell at the waiter when he saw the waiter entering the room without his permission when he noticed Lu Bai behind him.

Lu Bai wore a white t-shirt and slim black pants, his hands in his pockets. With his chin up, he only used the corners of his eyes to examine the smoke-filled room. He gave off the impression that he was important and noble. His demeanor demanded the attention of the room's women and filled their eyes with desire.

Upon seeing Lu Bai, Zhuang Zu bellowed at the scantily clad women. "Leave! Hurry! Don't you see Master Lu Bai has arrived?"

But the women didn't want to leave. A few of them even blushed as they decided to put their feminine charm on display. They looked intimately at Zhuang Zhu and the others, making it very clear what their intentions were. They were suddenly told to leave, so they were the victims. Not to mention, after seeing their boss frantically trying to please the handsome guy, they couldn't help but want to keep Lu Bai in their sights for just a little longer.

"What are you looking at?! Get out of my sight now!" screamed Zhuang Zhu. He carefully prepared a smile for Lu Bai and was about to speak. He never had the chance because he was interrupted by Lu Bai.

"Either you change rooms, or I leave," Lu Bai said, completely expressionless.

The room reeked of cigarettes and perfume, and Zhuang Zhu knew that it would never please a clean-freak like Lu Bai.

"Yes! A new room! Let's change rooms!" Zhuang Zhu replied immediately, before commanding a nearby waiter to prepare one for him.

When the new room was ready, Zhuang Zhu welcomed his guest inside. "I hope this is to your liking, Master Lu Bai"

Lu Bai's silence was taken as agreement after he came back from smoking alone. Though the room was to Lu Bai's liking, Zhuang Zhu's wealthy friends would suffer unspeakably. If he stayed for the whole night, then their party would be about as eventful as a gathering for depressed monks, especially since none of the women were allowed to say. It was a pity because each and every one of them was an absolute stunner.

Lu Bai glanced at Zhuang Zhu and flashed a smug little smile. "You guys can't survive without women?"

The two rich guys laughed awkwardly, and Zhuang Zhu came out nearly sneering. "I wouldn't go so far as to say that, but it's not good for my body when I'm all pent up." As he finished his cheeky reply, he turned over to Lu Bai with a smirk. He had only intended to tease but decided to stop when he saw the man in front of him shooting daggers through his eyes. Instead, he did his best to change the topic. "But man, how rare is it for you to come early? What's your reason?"

"Yeah! Just look at how honored Mo Bei is," one of his friends chimed in.

"I just happened to have time tonight," Lu Bai said.

"No wonder. What did the Lai family do to you to turn you so ruthless?" Zhuang Zhu asked.

"Don't mention them right now." Lu Bai replied. The thought of that Lai family woman hugging him was still fresh in his mind, and it made him furious. He lifted his head to address Zhuang Zhu but stopped himself. There was no point in asking.

Zhuang Zhu was confused. "What is it?"

Lu Bai ignored him. He was certain that, with Zhuang Zhu's IQ, it was a waste of time to ask. The handful of men sat around twiddling their thumbs until the main lead, Mo Bei, arrived.

"Sorry. I was stuck with my family, so I only just arrived."

"It's fine as long as you're here!" Zhuang Zhu looked at Mo Bei, who seemed to have grown even more handsome during his time abroad. He went up to the guest of honor, and playfully tried to punch his shoulder while saying, "You're becoming almost as handsome as I am!"

Mo Bei laughed and dodged the pretend strike. "Don't compare me to someone like you."

"F***. Surname Mo, are you looking for a fight?"

"Well I'm civilized, so I don't resort to violence."

Zhuang Zhu got even more riled up by his reply, he nearly pounced on him.

Mo Bei ignored him and rushed to get rid of him by heading towards Lu Bai.

"Long time no see."

"Yeah, it's been a while."

Mo Bei smiled and continued the small talk. "I heard you took over the family enterprises."

"I did. How was your time outside of the country?" Lu Bai asked.

"It's alright. I'll probably stay here for a while. I'll move back to China and see how the market is doing in the meantime."

"Welcome home, then."

The group of men ate a very lackluster dinner and shared a few bottles of wine. Other than the odd dirty joke, nothing special happened. After dinner, Zhuang Zhu suggested playing mahjong. All five people joined in to play, but after each game, one person waiting for a turn would end up in the loser's seat. After only a few rounds, it was clear that the game was only really between two of the men. Lu Bai won many rounds, and so did Zhuang Zhu. As he placed a tile, Zhuan Zhu looked at his winning hand and bit into his cigarette.

"The god of wealth is watching our game, and he's definitely looking over me. My hands have been amazing, Master Lu Bai !"

Lu Bai was too lazy to respond.

Mo Bei had also won a few rounds. He looked at Lu Bai and casually mentioned, "There's this one woman from one of the countries I visited. I thought she was only good at cards, but it turns out she's good at everything."

Zhuang Zhu noticed how strange Mo Bei was acting when he talked about the woman, so he couldn't help but gossip. "There's more to her, isn't there? C'mon, tell us! She blonde? She hot?"

Mo Bei smiled, "She's not blonde. She's a Chinese woman, and A'Nan happens to know her too."

Lu Bai could tell what Mo Bei was trying to get at as he continued. "Her name is Chu Hua. She's in the same grade as you and attends the same college."

Lu Bai stopped halfway through dropping a tile. "Chu Hua?"

Mo Bei smiled, "When I was coming back, she promised me that you'd remember. Turns out she wasn't kidding. She'll be quite happy when I tell her the news."

Lu Bai laughed and decided not to speak his mind. What a coincidence; Chu Hua knew Mo Bei. Zhuang Zhu examined how the two had been acting and snuck his way into the conversation. "Who's Chu Hua to you, A Nan?"

Zhuang Zhu examined how the two had been acting and snuck his way into the conversation. "Who is Chu Hua to you, Lu Bai?"

Mo Bei decided not to wait for Lu Bai's reply and answered for him in an ironic tone. "She said she was your woman."

Zhuang Zhu was stupefied. When did Lu Bai get a woman?

Mo Bei waited patiently for Lu Bai to clarifyーLu Bai could tell from the glint in his eyes. Without even lifting his head, Lu Bai leisurely placed another tile and said, "If you know her so well, why don't you find out for yourself?"

Mo Bei held back his initial reaction and only glared at Lu Bai. He had felt an attraction to Chu Hua at first sight. He spent all his time trying to get closer to her. He helped and provided everything that he could for her. But when he confessed, she was merciless. "Thank you for telling me," she said.

"But my heart lies with someone else."

At the time, Mo Bei thought she was only using it as an excuse. "That's impossible!" he exclaimed.

"How is it not possible?!" Chu Hua had firmly replied.

"If you already like someone else, how come I've never seen you talking with someone like that at all? You've never even mentioned him."

"I didn't mention him because I'm afraid I'll turn weak just thinking of himーafraid that my heart will soften and I'll go back to China to find him. And I've never contacted him for the same reason. If I don't hear his voice, I won't think about him as much," said Chu Hua.

Mo Bei was thoroughly hurt by her confession.

He wasn't expecting her to continue. "You know him too."

"Who?"

"Lu Bai."

Mo Bei gave a bittersweet smile. "Why are you so sure that I know him?"

"You're from Shengjin City, and everyone there knows of him. Mo Bei, the man I love can control the forces of natureーyou can't possibly compare. I never thought about giving him up, and in fact, I even went abroad for him."

Nothing is worse than an attack right after a rejection, but Mo Bei still kept his smile. "Are you sure that Lu Bai loves you? According to what I know, he was never into women."

"I'm his girlfriend. What do you have to say to that?"

Mo Bei's heart shattered into thousands of pieces. He wanted to call Lu Bai for proof but was too scared to hear the truth. He wanted to forget about Chu Hua, but she still acted like everything was business as usual. He remembered her saying, "Mo Bei, even though we can't be lovers, I still hope that we can be best friends." He was screaming inside, frustrated at how useless he felt! Why couldn't he give up on a woman that would never return his love? Why couldn't he just let go? Her every movement, her every expressionーeach minute detail about her was intoxicating.

Chu Hua, I'll always love you.

On their way back, Zhuang Zhu insisted that he wanted to ride Mo Bei's car. Mo Bei tried to refuse, but he wasn't as shameless as Zhuang Zhu. When Mo Bei heard Zhuang Zhu's teasing, he ignored him. Zhuang Zhu folded his hands behind his head and raised his two long legs. He lazily said, "I'm not criticizing you but, stealing a brother's woman really shows that you have no taste. Although whoever is more capable, the woman should be his; but there are so many women in this world. Women are like clothes, so why would you break off a decade of brotherhood for a woman?"

Mo Bei said, "I'm not like you. You play with women like you're changing clothes. But the woman I like is different from all the women you know."

Zhuang Zhu was amused by his serious tone, "It seems that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder."

Mo Bei glared at him, hinting that he should restrain himself before he becomes impolite.

Zhuang Zhu raised his hands in surrender. "Damn, I can't even say anything."

Mo Bei heavily sighed; it seemed like he was still frustrated.

Zhuang Zhu understood that Mo Bei was someone who would easily fall in love. However, when he actually falls in love, he would lose control. In the past, Mo Bei was madly enamored with his first love. But no one expected that his first love would make him wear a green hat**. Because of that, the Mo elders didn't even need to stop the relationship from progressing anymore. Mo Bei immediately broke up with her. Since then, he has lived an innocent life.

(Help: green hat-cause the lover to be jealous, or cheat on him)

Now he finally found someone he loved, and it turned out that the woman belongs to Lu Bai, it's not surprising that it was hard for him to accept that.

"Brother, since that woman had said that she is Lu Bai's woman, why are you torturing yourself about it? There are plenty of fish in the sea, don't hurt yourself over one woman."

Mo Bei said, "Are you Lu Bai's agent? Why are you helping him?"

"Hey! I'm saying this for your sake. How can you bite the hand thats helping you?"

"Then it seems that I have eyes but have failed to recognize Mt. Tai."

Zhuang Zhu felt like it was hard to talk with Mo Bei. "Since we're brothers, I've already tried to convince you. If something happens in the future, don't blame me for not stopping you from jumping into the fire pit!"

Mo Bei didn't appreciate his kindness. "Then why don't you go convince Lu Bai?" He laughed lightly, "What? I bet you don't dare to!"

Zhuang Zhu cried out in grievance, "Of course I want to persuade him. But he is really hard to read. He either deliberately avoids my questions or answers in an ambiguous way. Who would know whether he is acknowledging something or not? Do you think you can read him?"

Mo Bei's expression darkened. It was precisely because he couldn't read Lu Bai that he was suspicious.

When Zhuang Zhu saw his expression, he heartily laughed. "Haha, do you see now? It seems like I'm not the only one. Who could know what Lu Bai is thinking about?"

In fact, Lu Bai was currently thinking about Zhan Yu. He and Zhan Yu had a great cold war in A City. The reason for the cold war was precisely Chu Hya. When he heard Mo Bei mention Chu Hua, he suddenly had a thought. If Zhan Yu had really lost his memory, then his previous memory regarding him and Chu Hua's love affair should've been forgotten. Now that Zhan Yu always have Chu Hua's name on the tip of his tongue, it should be because of Ji Yi and Mao Shiyuan telling tales and making mischiefs. The more he thought about it, the more his chest tightened in pain. The more he thought about it, the more his chest tightened in pain.

Since Lu Bai wasn't happy, the main culprit shouldn't have it easy either. He should give Mao Shiyuan a heavier workload, then he can vent his anger. As for Ji Yi, he sent a text message to Dean Zhao. Lu Bai suggested that Dean Zhao should teach more lectures and set up more activities to train his juniors. Dean Zhao thought that his suggestion was pretty good, so he asked what kind of lectures and activities he should arrange. Lu Bai moved his fingers and sent a series of questions Dean Zhao should focus on during his lectures. He even helped him draft a guest list. After Dean Zhao looked through it, he felt that everything was perfect. He contacted Ji Yi and asked the students to begin preparing. Ji Yi was busy preparing for the final exams. He was dumbstruck when he received the notification from Dean Zhao.

Does Dean Zhao want to delay their holiday? In fact, Ji Yi was really naive and pure. After attending one activity after another, Ji Yi was as busy as a spinning top. When the Dean finally stopped setting up activities, the holiday was already over. The entire student union was exhausted from all the events. However, no one was more exhausted as Ji Yi. After receiving so many suggestions from Lu Bai for no reason, Dean Zhao thought that Lu Bai was helping him so that Lu Bai can benefit from it.

As a result, Dean Zhao generously sent the only invitation he had received to Lu Bai early the next morning. Dean Zhao had also told the person delivering the invitation to leave Lu Bai this message: "This is the only invitation I have. The Dean has already promised the principal of A College that he will send someone to attend. Because of the current relationship between the two schools, Lu Bai, you have to attend."

When Lu Bai finished attending a meeting, he returned to his office. Upon entering, he saw a golden invitation with the words "A College" printed on it. A light flashed in his eye, and he asked, "Where did this come from?"

Assistant Wang Dongwen had been following Lu Bai around the meeting, so he was naturally unaware of the answer. As a result, he immediately turned around and said, "I will go investigate this." Because he is Lu Bai's only assistant, his workload was quite heavy. Fortunately, there are many secretaries working under Assistant Wang. Even though the secretaries also assist Lu Bai, because Lu Bai doesn't like having too many people around him, they were considered Assistant Wang's subordinate.

When Assistant Wang went downstairs to ask the secretaries, a secretary immediately reported everything to him, saying that it was Dean Zhao who had sent the invitation. He also relayed the message, saying, "The person who had sent the invitation told me that Dean Zhao had already discussed this matter with President Lu Bai yesterday. He also told me that President Lu Bai agreed to it, so I acted on my own initiative and accepted the invitation." Assistant Wang should've known about the origin of the invitation. In the past, he had never seen his boss having such a big reaction to just an invitation.

This must be because Master Zhan is still in A City!

Although Assistant Wang didn't know what had happened between the two in A City, he knew that this man wasn't ordinary. This man actually caused his boss to help him find the best doctor in the middle of the night, carry him to his car, and transfer hospitals. His biggest impression of Master Zn was from waiting in line forever to buy him porridge. What's more, he had to deliver the porridge under Mrs. Weng YinLin's name! No matter how he thought about it, the relationship between Master Zhan and his boss was very complicated. Assistant Wang thought about before, and began praying his boss wouldn't go to A City. He still remembered how his expression was gloomy nonstop for over two days. When he finally came back to his office, the pressure around him was too frightening. Assistant Wang felt that whenever his boss gets close to Master Zhan, the aura he gave off would be frightening. In the end, Assistant Wang himself will be the one to suffer. However, no matter how unwilling he was to suffer again, Assistant Wang relayed the message word by word to Lu Bai.

Lu Bai who sat on the swivel chair. He was holding his phone in one hand while flipping through the invitation with his other hand. He silently listened to Assistant Wang's report.

Assistant Wang looked at Lu Bai. He tried to guess his boss's feelings. Would he go or not? If his boss wants to go, then he will have to work hard to rearrange the important workload for his boss.

Lu Bai continued to stare at the invitation in his hand. He waved to tell his assistant to leave. He didn't confirm whether or not he would be attending.

To Be continued...

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