He Xingluo felt that he could still push through a little longer, replying stubbornly: “I can walk, of course I can!”
He emphasized it twice, making his ability sound extremely robust.
Six in the evening, guests attending the banquet arrived one after another. He Xingluo followed behind the star-studded Li Zhanbei, quietly acting as an expensive, close-fitting pendant.
He even had time to tease the system, wondering if he would be directly force-controlled back by the plot if he ran away now, given that he wasn’t actually in the script.
The little system did not know either.
Feeling bored, He Xingluo picked up a glass of sparkling wine at random. Before he could even take a sip, a sharp shriek echoed in his mind: Oh crap, is that person Wen Tian? Is Wen Tian the one who handed me this drink right now? Is this something I am even allowed to drink? Wen Tian is the male protagonist after all! Will not this come back to haunt me later?
Wen Tian handed it to me voluntarily, I definitely did not bully him! Are there any security cameras around here?
Wait, if I do not drink it, will I end up with a criminal charge later for refusing to drink wine poured by the protagonist?
The system was jolted right out of its seat by his mental shrieking: Host, calm down! Wen Tian is a very kind protagonist, he would not do something like that!
“I am not talking about him.”
He Xingluo looked at Li Zhanbei in the center of his vision. “Young Master Li is already acting pretty unhinged right now. Once he turns into a full-blown simp later on, who knows what he will become?”
“Will he punish you by making you wear ill-fitting clothes?” The little system tried to imagine it. “Even though this outfit is super expensive, do you still feel like it is a humiliation?”
He Xingluo thought that wouldn’t make him look even more unhinged. How could this possibly be a humiliation? This was Young Master Li giving him a bootstrap opportunity, like Reborn: Selling Luxury Goods in the Wealthy Elite.
It was practically a zero-investment, high-return path to getting rich.
For the first time, He Xingluo felt a twinge of regret that Li Zhanbei was not unhinged enough. Then again, maybe he was; He Xingluo cast a secret glance at Wen Tian, considering that simp symptoms come in all different flavors.
The little system shook its head and helplessly hopped onto He Xingluo’s shoulder. His host had such a niche mental state; could it be due to excessively long working hours?
“Yes,” He Xingluo replied calmly. “I want to get off work.”
Half an hour ago, when Wen Tian finished tidying up the final set of tea sets prepared for guests at the horse track, nobody else was left around.
He was here working part-time as a waiter, and originally he had not needed to be sent miles away to handle these tasks. Yet he had no spare time to dwell on it because he still had to rush to the banquet venue to finish the rest of his shift.
Foreman Wang giving him a hard time was entirely expected, and there was even a threat to dock part of his wages. Wen Tian felt a sense of powerlessness mixed with the feeling of of course it turned out like this, since Foreman Wang had always been unfriendly toward him.
Fortunately, the banquet was about to begin, and Foreman Wang did not push him too hard.
Wen Tian was assigned to the cocktail party venue to work alongside other waiters serving the attending guests. Old Master Li’s birthday banquet truly drew plenty of heavy hitters, and the scene was exceptionally glittering.
Wearing a mask, Wen Tian wove through the crowd until the atmosphere of the banquet shifted, as the head of the Li family and Li Zhanbei made their appearance, making the scene even more lively for a moment.
Busy with his work, Wen Tian only shot a distant glance before looking away. He wanted nothing to do with such big figures; he could not afford to offend them, nor did he want to get tangled up in any trouble.
The protagonist of the banquet was surrounded by a crowd, making the entire birthday party look like a giant vanity fair. Right in the middle of this vanity fair, one person seemed completely out of place.
Wen Tian remembered this person. Around noon, the guy had apparently tried to help him, and he heard he was some young master’s steward. Wen Tian did not know what stewards actually did, but he acutely noticed that this person was completely different from everyone else at the venue. The other people immersed in the banquet were either walking on eggshells or climbing the social ladder, always looking like they wanted to gain something.
This person, however, looked like a mere spectator, as though everything happening in this world had nothing to do with him.
This conclusion sounded mind-boggling, but Wen Tian trusted his own intuition.
Wen Tian’s intuition had always been remarkably accurate. Out of sheer curiosity, Wen Tian handed this person a glass of sparkling wine.
He Xingluo stared blankly at that glass of sparkling wine for a bit, ultimately deciding not to drink it. After all, not drinking on the job was basic professional ethics. Still, he quickly realized he was not even bored at this banquet.
He seemed to have become a pit-stop spot for check-ins. Those who had no chance to speak with Li Zhanbei seemed to collectively settle for second best by coming over to talk to him.
At first, he forced himself to entertain a few sentences, but he really did not want to be a tourist attraction.
After brushing off a wave of people with three standard phrases, namely Mhm, Oh, and Truly remarkable, He Xingluo wanted nothing more than to transform into a capybara on the spot and join the rodent cult.
Half-alive and half-dead was his professional workplace attitude.
He Xingluo set down his wine glass as if laying down this life of forced servitude. Yet not even a minute later, He Xingluo encountered the next person treating him like a landmark.
“Steward He, all by yourself?” The check-in visitor delivered an opening line from behind him.
The guy also looked like a young master from a wealthy family, dressed to the nines with completely forgettable facial features, to the point that the moment He Xingluo turned around, he could not even tell if this person had already approached him before. He prudently let out a mhm.
This young master had originally arrived with a hint of haughtiness, struggling to understand why he needed to take the initiative to interact with a mere steward. However, the instant he caught sight of He Xingluo’s face, his expression shifted on the fly from forced politeness to enthusiastic radiance.
He proactively introduced himself: “My name is Chen Mu, and Chen Dawei from Starsea Electronics is my father.”
Ah, a trust-fund baby living off his parents.
Amniotic fluid truly was the most important watershed in life.
Noticing He Xingluo’s lackluster interest, Chen Mu spoke up again: “Starsea Electronics, you have heard of it, right?”
Chen Mu raised an eyebrow. That should hook him, right?
He Xingluo found it rather bizarre. This guy was not here to check in, he was actually here to flex his wealth! No way, why did he have to pick on the soft persimmon?
He Xingluo remained completely impervious: “Never heard of it.”
Failing his first move, Chen Mu switched tactics. He spoke up again: “Steward He does not seem to like sparkling wine. Would you like me to have someone get you another glass? I happen to know a thing or two about wine tasting.”
He Xingluo hurriedly denied it: “No, I just harbor a deep, passionate love for this particular glass of wine, so I want to let it linger in my hands a little longer.”
Though it was a totally absurd excuse, he had to love the wine given to him by the protagonist! He Xingluo drew a clear boundary: “Do not go talking nonsense.”
Chen Mu took a deep breath, feeling his area of expertise had been challenged as his ego inflated: “That just means you do not understand. When it comes to wine tasting, you really have to…”
Chen Mu chattered on endlessly, while He Xingluo only caught the first half of his sentence. He finally figured out what game this Brother Chen was playing: phrases like that just mean you do not understand and that is where you are wrong, weren’t those just classic pitches used by pushy salesmen?
“Sorry to interrupt,” He Xingluo asked: “Is your esteemed father in the winery business?”
“No!” Chen Mu stomped his foot in frustration, gritting his teeth as he emphasized: “My father is Chen Dawei from Starsea Electronics!”
“In that case,” He Xingluo pondered aloud, “could your esteemed mother be in the winery business?”
Before He Xingluo could finish, Chen Mu suffered another breakdown: “My family does not sell alcohol!”
He Xingluo: “Actually cooking oil, then?”
Chen Mu shouted in denial: “No!”
Breathing heavily in agitation, Chen Mu drew a shred of He Xingluo’s sympathy. He asked weakly: “So, are you going to keep talking?”
Chen Mu broke down completely: “You would actually listen?”
He Xingluo shook his head honestly, and Chen Mu cursed under his breath as he stalked off.
The moment Chen Mu left, He Xingluo noticed how dead silent the surrounding area had suddenly become. He raised his eyes in confusion, wondering why everyone had stopped talking.
Young masters and socialites exchanged glances, and one of the guys even gave him a thumbs-up.
He Xingluo was equally helpless, never expecting that a man skilled in deploying classic male-salesperson pitches could be so fragile.
The thumbs-up came with a look of unspoken hesitation.
Chen Mu was obviously trying to hit on him, yet someone seemed completely oblivious to it.
Li Zhanbei also noticed the commotion over here, and his presence made the surrounding crowd even more hesitant to speak casually. They were all peers, yet certain people carried such an overwhelming sense of oppression!
He Xingluo consciously addressed him: “Young master.”
Li Zhanbei glanced over the surrounding crowd; these onlookers actually looked quite entertained. He withdrew his gaze with displeasure, then heard He Xingluo ask him: “Why did you come over?”
Li Zhanbei let out a cold scoff. “Did I interrupt your courtship display?”
He Xingluo answered honestly: “I actually think Young Master Li’s mere existence is a courtship display, and everyone else is just your backup dancer.”
Every male protagonist has to love you; nobody can out-display you.
Yet Li Zhanbei’s gaze remained locked onto He Xingluo. That string of pocket watch chains seemed to adorn him a bit too exquisitely. Frowning, he instructed: “Stay close to me tonight, do not let yourself wander off.”
He Xingluo raised no objections: “Oh.”
Hearing his reply, Li Zhanbei’s sharp edge seemed to soften slightly, taking on an almost gentle tone. He Xingluo leaned in a fraction closer and said: “Young master, earlier so many people treated me like a check-in spot, and I collected a bunch of business cards. They all wanted to get to know you, right?”
Li Zhanbei frowned: “Go burn them.”
What kind of domineering CEO temper tantrum was this? He Xingluo was speechless: “Reporting to young master, I do not have a lighter.”
Li Zhanbei choked for a second: “Then throw them away.”
He Xingluo chuckled: “Yes, young master.”
Accompanying Li Zhanbei back into the social circle, He Xingluo resumed his role as the young master’s expensive accessory, though the young master showed genuine concern for him: “What are you staring up at?”
“I am running an experiment,” He Xingluo stared fixedly at that glittering, opulent chandelier and said: “Young master, if I keep staring at it with eager eyes like this, will you gift me the gold on that chandelier?”
Li Zhanbei asked in utter bewilderment: “Am I a wishing well?”
He Xingluo: “Young master, the only thing inside a wishing well is a turtle.”
Thinking for a moment, He Xingluo added: “And coins.”
Li Zhanbei fell silent for a fraction of a second, then spoke as if remembering something: “You have the mood to make wishes, but that place of yours does not hurt anymore?”
He Xingluo thought: What do you mean, that place!
His inner thighs, was that really some unspeakable body part? No, it was not!
Yet, prompted like that, he indeed felt a bit uncomfortable, though he kept his mouth glued shut: “Mhm, I am fine.”
Li Zhanbei doubted him: “Really?”
Just as He Xingluo was about to experience another sharp shriek inside his head, he was interrupted by an explosion of sound in the real world. Following the noise, he looked over.
Oh well, looks like the plot is finally starting.
Li Zhitao’s voice rang clear across the entire banquet venue: “No! I refuse to enter a business marriage, I reject it! I already have someone I like!”