"Miss Chen, Miss Xu, long time no see. You both are still as dazzling as ever... Hmm... No, you should be even more charming now. I'm really grateful that you gave me, Chen, the honor of attending this gathering."

Chen Jue smiled elegantly, feeling quite pleased. Even though Chen Jiatong's words were ambiguous at noon, she still showed up in the evening with Xu Jingyuan, which certainly boosted his image in front of his cousin Chen Yujie.

"Third Master Chen, you're kidding. It's our honor, mine and Jingyuan's, to be invited by you." Chen Jiatong laughed lightly, her friendly gaze sweeping over Chen Yujie and another man, "These two gentlemen are..."

As women in the entertainment industry, Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan naturally had strong social skills. At times like this, they needed to ask questions proactively, showing enough attention and curiosity in both their demeanor and tone to cater to the other party's vanity and to save face for the men.

After all, in the eyes of ordinary people, they were enveloped in the halo of entertainment celebrities, but in the eyes of true powerhouses, they were nothing at all. Moreover, in this Lidu, Chen Jue was someone who could navigate both the legal and shady worlds quite successfully.

Chen Jue guided the eyes of the two women with his gaze, "This is my cousin Chen Yujie, visiting from the provincial capital. Haha, my brother is much more impressive than I am. You can call him Young Master Yujie."

The two women were startled. In their eyes, Chen Jue was already very powerful, yet he said Chen Yujie was much stronger than him. Even if there was some politeness in his words, Chen Yujie's background was enough for them to see the broader picture.

"Young Master Yujie."

The two women smiled and greeted Chen Yujie, who raised the corners of his mouth, sitting back in his chair, crossing his legs, and nodding slightly.

Although his goal today was these two women, Chen Yujie was somewhat influenced by Chen Jue. He didn't rush straight to the point and also enjoyed playing the kind of casual demeanor like Chen Jue's.

However, even though Chen Yujie's behavior could still be considered gentlemanly, Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan couldn't help feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Because in those eyes, there was clearly an unrestrained gaze, as if they weren't even seen as people, but rather as two intriguing items. They were more than accustomed to such looks by now.

After introducing Chen Yujie, Chen Jue introduced another man named Gao Wei.

Gao Wei was a business friend of Chen Jue, who invited Gao Wei here because this guy was smooth and could talk eloquently. His ability to flatter was quite impressive. Having Gao Wei around to brag with Chen Yujie would definitely keep Chen Yujie amused.

Chen Jue needed Chen Yujie's goodwill, indeed, to maintain their relationship. But as Chen Yujie's cousin, it was inappropriate for him to say certain things, so having Gao Wei there to praise Chen Yujie made things much easier.

After exchanging some formalities, they began to eat.

Initially, Chen Yujie behaved decently, but ultimately, he was not a patient person. After a few drinks, when he looked at Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan, his gaze revealed unabashed lust.

Feeling such a gaze, Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan both felt a bit uneasy, subtly exchanging a glance, both expressing in their eyes a desire to find an excuse to leave.

"Miss Chen, Miss Xu, I see you haven't been drinking for a while. How about I arrange something?" Chen Yujie smirked, leaning back in his chair, his gaze lingering on their full bosoms, the heat and lechery in his eyes growing unconsciously.

The unease in Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan's hearts intensified. Chen Jiatong hesitated for a moment, gently nudged Xu Jingyuan's foot under the table, and then stood up. Xu Jingyuan understood immediately and quickly followed suit.

"Young Master Yujie, to be honest, Jingyuan and I have another appointment today. It's Tianqing Company's celebration banquet day, and it's being held here coincidentally. I guess they've been here for a while, Young Master Yujie, so..."

By saying this, they were hinting to Chen Yujie that they were not just two people, making it clear that they weren't disrespecting him. Given two simultaneous engagements, they came here first, showing their sincerity. Moreover, it was a subtle way to propose leaving.

For Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan, the current atmosphere was already somewhat off, and instead of waiting for the situation to worsen, it was better to express their stance while they could.

The reason they spoke to Chen Yujie was that they realized that Chen Jue's words previously weren't mere politeness; among them, Chen Yujie indeed held the absolute dominant position.

Chen Yujie didn't speak immediately, looking at Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan with an increasingly mocking expression, flicking his middle finger against the wine glass on the table with a "ding-ding," "So, you two, don't plan on having this drink with me? Wasting my effort to arrange it?"

Xu Jingyuan quickly shook her head, "Young Master Yujie, that's not what we mean, it's just..."

"Just after drinking this glass, you want to leave?" Chen Yujie interrupted Xu Jingyuan, sneering wickedly, and turned to Chen Jue, "Brother, is that what they mean?"

"I don't think so." Chen Jue's gaze fixed on Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan, his smile never changing, remaining as elegant and warm as ever, "Miss Chen, Miss Xu, I should not have misunderstood, right?"

Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan pursed their lips. Even though Chen Jue's tone seemed gentle, without any threatening words, how could they not hear the underlying threat?

It was clear that Chen Jue was pretending to be clueless on purpose, not wanting them to leave.

"Third Master, we really apologize, we... really do have to go. We've already promised our colleagues at the company that we would go over, even though we might be a little late."

As Chen Jiatong finished speaking, Chen Yujie stared straight at them for a few seconds, squinted his eyes, and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Brother, these two women don't seem to be giving you much face, huh?"

After laughing for a while, Chen Yujie handed the conversation back to Chen Jue, eager to see what kind of amusing suggestion his cousin would come up with.

"Oh, is that so? A celebration party is indeed quite an important occasion." Chen Jue, with an understanding face and an unchanged smile, showed a hint of regret. "How about this, you two finish this glass of wine."

Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan perked up, exchanged glances, and their eyes were full of surprise. Did it mean Chen Jue was agreeing to let them leave?

The two women had just picked up their glasses when Chen Jue's voice sounded again, "Since you are using this glass of wine to say goodbye, wouldn't it lack a bit of sincerity if you just drank it like that?"

Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan paused in their movements, hesitated slightly, then left the table. Under Chen Jue's watchful gaze, they walked over to Chen Yujie's side with a touch of nervousness, smiled apologetically, and called out "Young Master Yujie," before drinking the beer in their glasses in one go.

Chen Yujie didn't say anything, leisurely lit a cigarette, crossed his leg, tilted his chin back, and took a slow drag, frivolously blowing smoke toward the two women, his face still full of teasing amusement.

He really didn't believe Chen Jue would let these two women leave so easily.

"Young Master Yujie, Third Master, Brother Gao, may we take our leave now?"

Although Chen Yujie's exhalation of smoke was extremely insulting, Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan did not show any dissatisfaction, continuing to smile apologetically. However, before they could put down their glasses, Chen Jue glanced at Gao Wei, then at a bottle of liquor on the table.

Gao Wei was a clever person and immediately caught on. As soon as Chen Jiatong formally proposed to leave, he picked up that bottle of liquor and generously filled the two women's glasses.

"Ha, two beauties, now that you've had a drink with Young Master Yujie, shouldn't you have one with me too?"

Gao Wei said with a grin, glancing sidelong at Chen Yujie to ensure he wasn't displeased, and breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed there was no sign of annoyance from him.

After all, the two women had drunk beer with Chen Yujie, and now it had turned into liquor with him. He was really worried that Chen Yujie would feel upset. However, from the looks of it, he didn't mind at all. Instead, he watched the scene with interest, cheerfully smoking in the background.

Upon noticing the glasses filled with liquor, Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan's smiles became somewhat unnatural. This... this was clearly making things difficult for them. It wasn't mineral water, it was a full glass of liquor over fifty degrees.

"Since Brother Gao said so, we have no choice but to comply graciously."

However, even though they knew it was difficult, the two women, wanting to leave this place, gritted their teeth, and with a helpless heart, smiled as they once again raised their glasses, and drained the liquor in their cups.

They did not want any unpleasantness with these men and knew that bargaining would be completely meaningless.

Having just downed a glass of beer and now a glass of liquor, even though the two women's tolerances were quite good, they were beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable.

From their throats to their stomachs, a pungent sensation lingered; even if the alcohol was of good quality, given their current mood, they couldn't taste any of its richness.

What made their hearts feel even more bitter was that since they had already had two drinks, they surely couldn't escape a third. After all, there were those two who might be either Chen Jue's or Chen Yujie's bodyguards, and then the three men at the table.

They had drunk with Chen Yujie and Gao Wei. If they didn't drink with Chen Jue, it wouldn't sit well with these men.

Sure enough, Chen Jue clapped his hands and praised "good drinking ability" before picking up the bottle from the table.

The only solace for Chen Jiatong and Xu Jingyuan was that what Chen Jue picked up was not the liquor, but a bottle of beer.

Yet, even when Chen Jue poured them beer, a strange feeling arose in their hearts.

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