Black Cloak fighter.Xiao Yu was also secretly anxious; prolonging this situation would be unfavorable. Suddenly, a black cloak fighter sidestepped and kicked towards Xiao Yu's head. As he saw the inc...Chapter 75: A Small Gathering

"Good, good, Brother Xiao is straightforward!" Luo Bingyang said連連好幾聲, not expecting Xiao Yu to be so cooperative. After speaking, he took Luo Jiao and Wu Qingzhi out of the private room.

The classmates in the room saw Luo Bingyang's actions and understood what had happened; they no longer looked at Xiao Yu with disdain but instead shot him heated glances.

Xiao Yu felt uncomfortable under these heated gazes and quickly finished his meal, dragging Yun Xi out of the Ancient City Hotel. Outside the hotel, the two exchanged a glance and laughed simultaneously.

Since Yun Xi still had to go to work in the afternoon, Xiao Yu took her as far as her workplace's entrance before returning to the top-floor room of the Ancient City Hotel for his cultivation practice with the Righteous Energy Formula.

……………

Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted Xiao Yu’s practice. Lifting his eyes to look at the sky outside, he found it had already darkened somewhat. He exhaled deeply and expelled all the turbid air in his body; he felt relieved after this afternoon's cultivation, although the amount of primordial energy – righteous energy – within him had only increased slightly. Yet Xiao Yu was very satisfied, believing that with accumulation over time, he would one day stand tall like Zhong Kui.

"Brother Xiao, let's go and have a meal together! Afterward, I'll take you to a great place!" Li Chuan walked in as soon as Xiao Yu opened the door and said enthusiastically. He even gave a suggestive look that all men would understand.

Xiao Yu smiled bitterly; he knew well what Li Chuan meant but disliked going to such places. Even if he did, it was only for drinking and dining with friends, which made him seem out of the ordinary. But in his heart, Xiao Yu had principles and persistence that he wouldn't compromise.

"Brother Li, I'm too tired to go out tonight. Why don't you order some dishes and we can drink here"

"Sure thing! You just wait here; I'll get the food!" Li Chuan immediately understood Xiao Yu's intention without any hesitation in his reply.

Moments later, Li Chuan returned, followed by a waiter pushing a small trolley with several exquisite dishes on it. Upon entering the room and seeing Xiao Yu, he said, “Little Brother Xiao, do you need anything else”

Xiao Yu glanced at the dining table; although there were only five or six dishes, they were exquisitely prepared and well-balanced between meat and vegetables. He shook his head with a smile and said, "Brother Li, that's perfect, we have plenty!"

The two of them proceeded to set the dishes on the coffee table, dismissed the waiter, but before they could start drinking, a knock at the door interrupted them. They exchanged puzzled glances—no one usually visited here, and this was Wan Hongguang’s private suite. If anyone wanted to see Wan Hongguang, they should first contact Li Chuan as his secretary. Moreover, if it were family members, they would know that Wan Hongguang wasn’t living in the hospital or at City Committee Building No. 1.

Li Chuan got up with a puzzled look and opened the door. Vice Secretary Luo Bingyang was standing outside holding two bottles of wine. Seeing Li Chuan open the door, he was taken aback and said, “Director Li Is Dr. Xiao here”

Li Chuan was also surprised to see Deputy Secretary Luo Bingyang at the door and wondered when Xiao Yu had become associated with him.

"Secretary Luo, what brings you here" Li Chuan asked, full of questions.

"Today my daughter got into a little misunderstanding with Dr. Xiao at her wedding banquet. I came over to…" Luo Bingyang said with a smile.

Seeing Li Chuan there, Luo Bingyang felt even more confident that he had done the right thing. It seemed clear that Xiao Yu must have a good relationship with Secretary Wan; otherwise, how could he be staying in this suite Furthermore, it wasn’t too late, and if Li Chuan hadn’t accompanied the secretary but was here instead, there must be something to it.

"Brother Li, who is it" Xiao Yu called out when he saw Li Chuan take a long time at the door.

"Little Brother Xiao, it's Secretary Luo!"

Xiao Yu walked over and saw Luo Bingyang standing outside with two bottles of wine. He quickly said, "Secretary Luo, please come in!"

"Dr. Xiao, I heard from my daughter about today's incident; she’s too ignorant and was spoiled by me since childhood. Please accept my apologies on her behalf!"

While speaking, Luo Bingyang followed Dr. Xiao and Li Chuan into the house. Seeing several dishes on the table untouched and the wine still unopened, he prepared to stick around to strengthen their bond. Thus, he continued saying: "I’m sorry for interrupting your enjoyment; originally I wanted to find Dr. Xiao for a drink..." He raised the bottle in his hand and sighed.

"Better early than never! My colleague Li and I haven’t started yet. Come on, Secretary Luo, sit down. We’ll have a drink together! Didn't I say that I’d accompany you if you wanted to drink" Xiao Yu said nonchalantly.

Although Li Chuan didn’t want Luo Bingyang to interrupt his drinking session with Xiao Yu, since Xiao Yu had invited him to stay, he wouldn’t object. Thus, hearing this, he quickly added: "That’s right, Secretary, please sit down! I was actually looking for a chance to talk to you; thank you for your care in the past!"

"Director Li, you’re too polite. I just can't stand how they behave," Luo Bingyang said when he heard Li Chuan's words. Although his position was higher than Li Chuan’s, as Secretary of the Municipal Committee and the Government, Li Chuan, being the secretary to the city party secretary, held much more influence and power. Moreover, at merely thirty-something years old, Li Chuan had an unlimited future ahead. Therefore, Luo Bingyang treated Li Chuan with great courtesy.

"No matter what, I need to thank Secretary for your support in the past. Come on, please sit down!" Hearing Luo Bingyang’s polite response, Li Chuan was very pleased.

Just as they were settling down, another knock at the door made Xiao Yu chuckle inwardly—what a day! He got up to open the door, but Li Chuan stopped him and said: "Let me go, I’ll get it... You guys sit."

By now, Li Chuan was beginning to feel irritated; he hadn’t even started drinking and there were already multiple interruptions. As he opened the door abruptly, he asked who it was.

Outside stood Wan Hongguang, his hand poised for knocking when he saw Li Chuan’s annoyed opening of the door. He chuckled and said: "Little Li, not welcoming me"

"Mayor Wan, I didn’t realize it was you!..." Li Chuan opened the door abruptly but stopped in surprise upon seeing Wan Hongguang outside; quickly apologizing to avoid appearing rash or unstable.

"No problem, we’re off-duty now; there’s no need for such formalities!" Wan Hongguang waved dismissively and stepped into the room.

When Wan Hongguang entered the room, apart from Xiao Yu, everyone else was taken aback. Seeing Luo Bingyang here, Wan Hongguang felt odd and glanced at Li Chuan. Since Luo Bingyang wasn’t part of his own camp but rather someone from the previous市委書記's (Party Secretary) faction, considering he had just arrived and didn't want to cause trouble by suppressing the old forces too much initially, and since Luo Bingyang was not a crucial figure anyway, he left him alone. Once Wan Hongguang got settled in and saw that Luo Bingyang continued to work diligently, he kept him on.

Seeing someone who wasn't his own person together with his secretary seemed like a private gathering, which aroused some suspicions, but since Xiao Yu was present, he merely cast Li Chuan an indifferent glance before warmly addressing Luo Bingyang: "Secretary-General Luo is here too!"

"V… Vice Secretary Wan!" Luo Bingyang hadn't expected to run into the vice secretary right upon arrival. It seemed like today was his lucky day; he must seize this opportunity.

Li Chuan saw Wan Hongguang give him a cold stare but wasn't sure what had happened until he realized the gravity of it—meeting with someone outside your faction as a close aide to leadership is highly inappropriate.

"Boss…"

"You, sit down!" Interrupted by Wan Hongguang's order, Li Chuan was stopped in his tracks. Initially seeing Li Chuan and Luo Bingyang drinking together had sparked his ire momentarily, but after a moment of reflection, he concluded that if they were discussing work matters, they wouldn't do so in his private suite, especially with Xiao Yu around.

"Little Brother Xiao, you're not being fair! You didn’t invite me for the drinks!" After making Li Chuan sit down, Wan Hongguang turned to Xiao Yu and complained.

“Haha… It's my fault. I’ll drink three cups in penance!” Xiao Yu laughed heartily and said with bravado.

Hearing their conversation, Li Chuan was still somewhat used to his boss's behavior, even more so than this; it had been worse when they were at the hospital. Luo Bingyang now felt completely bewildered as he kept pondering Xiao Yu’s identity, only to find that Xiao Yu held a higher status and influence than what he initially thought—being able to have equal footing with Wan Hongguang and sometimes even take the lead in conversations caused his heart to race uncontrollably. He couldn't help but secretly thank his fortune for not having offended Xiao Yu.

The group continued drinking, finishing off two bottles of liquor quickly. Through conversation, Wan Hongguang learned that Xiao Yu's girlfriend was a classmate of Luo Bingyang’s daughter, which made him less formal in their discussion.

Clearly sensing the change in Wan Hongguang’s attitude towards him, Luo Bingyang felt extraordinarily elated inside.ing courage when leading troops into battle" Wang Yuanping could feel a sense of fear in his heart and couldn't help but mock himself inwardly.Thinking of this, Wang Pingyuan suddenly felt a surge of...