Chapter 9 - We Meet Again

The Ling family's banquet dinner was held at the Ling family's mansion in the suburbs.

Today was Old Master Ling's 60th birthday. Since the Ling family renounced their political legacy and ventured into the business world, they had been dealing with influential figures of the business and political circles. Hence, they were much more powerful than the Gu family.

A Bentley stopped at the entrance of the mansion. The car door was open before a man in a suit stepped out of the car. He reached out to straighten his tie. Then, the chauffeur opened the door and a young lady around the age of 18 got down from the car.

"Dad," called the young lady sweetly, as she elegantly slid her arm into his.

An ordinary taxi was trailing behind the Bentley before it stopped right behind it.

A young man got out of the taxi nonchalantly. The driver passed the man his change through the window and left immediately.

Lifting his gaze, the young man saw the pair of father and daughter in front of him.

The Gu family had some business dealings with the Ling family. Thus, the current leader of the Gu family, Gu Ming'an, brought his only daughter, Gu Yaxi, to attend Old Master Ling's birthday banquet.

The young man following behind them was actually Gu Nanyu. Usually, no one would notify her when the Gu family got invitations of any event or banquet.

She currently bore the identity of being the Gu family's eldest grandson. After Gu Yan'an's passing, the family shares and the company were supposed to be taken over by Gu Yan'an's eldest son.

However, the second son of the Gu family, Gu Ming'an, had used Gu Nanyu's young age as an excuse, and had since been managing the Gu family for more than 10 years.

The one thing Gu Ming'an absolutely disliked seeing was Gu Nanyu socializing and establishing her connections. Therefore, no one in the Gu family would inform Gu Nanyu about occasions such as these.

The moment Gu Nanyu got out of the car, Gu Yaxi gave her father a look.

"Dad, Nanyu is here."

When Gu Ming'an saw Gu Nanyu at the entrance of the mansion, his face darkened.

"Nanyu, the National College Entrance Examination is just around the corner. Why are you here instead of studying at home?"

"I'm here to wish Old Master Ling a happy birthday, obviously." Gu Nanyu placed her hands in her pockets and looked at the center of the banquet dinner nonchalantly. The corners of her mouth curved upward, appearing somewhat indolent and rebellious. Her wicked smile was exceptionally captivating.

Gu Ming'an had always loathed Gu Nanyu. However, in front of outsiders, he had no choice but to act like a stern adult.

"Your top priority right now is to improve your academic results. Don't think that you can live comfortably in the future just by relying on the Gu family. If you are ignorant and incompetent, how can I pass the company to you without any worries?"

Gu Nanyu scoffed at the irony in Gu Ming'an's words. After all, no one wanted her to be incompetent more than Gu Ming'an.

"Second Uncle, if I'm outstanding, you'd be even more worried," said Gu Nanyu, before turning to head inside.

Upon hearing her words, Gu Ming'an was stunned. Anger clouded his face immediately.

"Stop right there!" Gu Yaxi shouted from her back. She walked over to Gu Nanyu, frowning as she said quietly, "You need an invitation card to attend the Ling family's banquet dinner. You don't even know such a basic rule. Go home now, before you ruin our family's reputation."

Gu Nanyu could not be bothered to acknowledge her. Her crush was none other than the eldest son of the Ling family, Ling Xiuqi.

However, Ling Xiuqi only considered her as a friend, and did not know about her true gender. She had an agreement with Ling Xiuqi, and was told to show up despite not having an invitation.

As Gu Nanyu walked to the entrance, Gu Yaxi shouted at the mansion's security guards, "Hey, this person does not have an invitation card. Are you just going to let him in?"

Gu Nanyu was promptly stopped by a security guard, who asked for her invitation card.

At that moment, Gu Yaxi looked at Gu Nanyu, her sleek brows raising slightly. She had a smug look on her face.

"Gu Nanyu, you have previously been given a warning by the school. Grandfather has also punished you by grounding you. Don't you remember?"

Gu Yaxi smugly whispered the words beside Gu Nanyu's ear, but she realized that Gu Nanyu was not listening to her.

Holding her phone, Gu Nanyu made a call to Ling Xiuqi. Unfortunately, the call did not go through.

Gu Yaxi burst out laughing. "You won't be entering the Ling family's door. Just give up."

Just then, Gu Nanyu put her phone down and turned to look at Gu Yaxi.

Gu Yaxi pushed a few strands of hair behind her ears. She looked at Gu Nanyu, her beautiful eyes full of contempt.

"There's no point looking at me. I will not bring you in and let you ruin the Gu family's reputation."

Gu Nanyu walked toward Gu Yaxi. Thinking that Gu Nanyu was enraged by her words, Gu Yaxi was so frightened that she stumbled back in shock, until she collided with Gu Ming'an.

However, Gu Nanyu did not even look at her. She walked right past Gu Yaxi, heading toward a military Hummer that had stopped outside the gate.

Gu Nanyu knocked on the car window. The window lowered, and a man appeared before everyone.

His facial features were deep and distinct, so refined that they resembled the masterpiece of a sculptor.

His eyes were dark and mesmerising, as deep as an abyss, with an inherent coldness in them.

He was exuding an overpowering aura which was only found on a true ruler.

Looking at him, Gu Nanyu raised her eyebrows and grinned from ear to ear.

"Hello, we meet again."