"Is that him?" Hua Tianmin watched the youth in the distance, a flicker of admiration in his eyes. He thought to himself, "Truly extraordinary."
However, while Hua Tianmin admired Ye Ming, Lin Zifeng clearly harbored deep hostility towards him.
Especially when he saw Ye Ming interacting intimately with Nangong Qianyu from time to time, Lin Zifeng wished he could tear him to shreds.
"You just wait!" Lin Zifeng clenched his fists, a vicious glint in his eyes.
After Ye Ming and the others were seated, the birthday banquet officially began not long after.
At this point, Nangong Fu, the host of the banquet, began his speech.
This was no different from other birthday banquets. After expressing his gratitude to the guests, he invited out the guest of honor and the head of the Nangong family, Nangong Li.
Amidst the gazes of everyone, an old man in a Zhongshan suit walked onto the stage.
"Thank you all for attending my sixtieth birthday banquet. Please help yourselves, eat well, and drink well!"
Nangong Li cut to the chase and directly announced the start of the feast.
As the atmosphere livened up, Nangong Qianyu brought a few people to Nangong Li and said crisply, "Grandpa!"
"You little girl, how long has it been since you came home to see your grandpa!" Nangong Li feigned anger, but his eyes revealed undisguised doting.
"Ah! Grandpa, I was wrong!"
Seeing this, Nangong Qianyu deployed her charm, squatting down to hold Nangong Li's arm and shaking it.
"Alright, alright! Stop shaking me!" Nangong Li smiled and patted Nangong Qianyu's head, then turned to Ye Ming, "Are you the young man who spirited away my precious granddaughter?"
"Grandpa!" Nangong Qianyu let out a coy huff upon hearing this.
"Greetings, old sir. It is indeed I, Ye Ming." Ye Ming said, bowing.
This time, he didn't shamelessly call him "Grandpa" directly.
"Hahaha!" Nangong Li seemed pleased that Ye Ming boldly admitted it, "You're a good lad!"
Hearing Nangong Li's assessment, Ye Ming smiled faintly and said, "Thank you for your kind words, Grandpa!"
This time, Ye Ming changed his address.
It seemed his previous address was merely to probe. After discerning Nangong Li's attitude, Ye Ming no longer held back.
Nangong Li, hearing the sudden change in address, did not get angry but instead laughed heartily, "Hahaha! Good lad."
From this, it was evident that Ye Ming had won the favor of Old Master Nangong.
However, some people were not impressed by Ye Ming.
"Hmph!"
At this moment, Nangong Fu, who had overheard the conversation from not far away, walked over with a cold expression. Beside him was a still graceful and elegant middle-aged woman.
This was Nangong Fu's wife—Wang Jingqing.
Nangong Fu glanced at Ye Ming and said with displeasure, "Lad, is it appropriate for you to address him as Grandpa?"
'You brat, you think you can trick my precious daughter away with a few sweet words? Not a chance!' Nangong Fu thought to himself.
"Dad!" Nangong Qianyu was about to use her charm to calm Nangong Fu down when, unexpectedly, Nangong Fu berated her first, "And you! You don't come home for more than half a month, do you even have this family in your heart?"
Nangong Fu's outburst seemed to wound Nangong Qianyu's fragile heart, causing her eyes to mist over, tears welling up involuntarily.
Nangong Qianyu sniffled, her face filled with grievance, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks.
This scene greatly distressed Wang Jingqing, who was beside Nangong Fu. She quickly took Nangong Qianyu's hand and then fiercely berated Nangong Fu, "Nangong Fu, what are you losing your temper about?"
"I..."
Nangong Fu hadn't expected that his outburst would make Nangong Qianyu cry.
"What are you still standing here for? Go entertain the guests," Nangong Li said, unable to watch any longer, and gave his son a severe scolding.
"I..."
After being berated, Nangong Fu could only retreat sheepishly. However, as he left, he shot Ye Ming another fierce glare.
Ye Ming felt he was innocent.
"Alright! Stop crying!" Wang Jingqing wiped the tears from Nangong Qianyu's face and comforted her, "I'll go teach him a lesson for you!"
"Mhm!"
Hearing this, Nangong Qianyu's tears finally stopped, and her mother went to settle the score with Nangong Fu.
"Qianyu, are you alright?" Ye Ming asked somewhat uncertainly.
After all, from his understanding of Nangong Qianyu, she shouldn't be so fragile.
As expected, Ye Ming's feeling was correct.
After Wang Jingqing left, Nangong Qianyu had already regained her energetic demeanor and said naturally, "I'm fine!"
Ah!
This...
Let's offer three seconds of silent mourning for Nangong Fu.
Nangong Li also shook his head helplessly, "This girl!"
He then turned his gaze to Fang Junxue, who had been silent the whole time, and his expression softened, "Girl Fang, have you given any thought to coming to my birthday banquet this time?"
Nangong Li had always been very fond of Fang Junxue. Even after that accident, his feelings had never changed.
However, a touch of regret had been added to that affection.
If only Fang Junxue could have been born into the Nangong family.
This was Nangong Li's most frequent fantasy.
"Mhm!" Fang Junxue nodded, her eyes firm.
"Good! Good! Good!"
Nangong Li exclaimed thrice, then seeming to notice something, asked with a hint of confusion, "Your leg..."
Although he had a guess in his heart, he couldn't be sure.
"Yes, I've recovered!" Fang Junxue did not conceal it and informed Nangong Li of her recovery.
"This..."
Upon receiving the answer, Nangong Li was clearly a little surprised. After all, he was well aware of Fang Junxue's leg injury.
"Good! Good!"
Nangong Li didn't ask for more details, but his tone was clearly more relaxed.
But just as the few were talking, someone broke the gentle atmosphere.
"Fang Tingsheng, on behalf of my father, wishes Old Master Nangong everlasting youth and eternal longevity." Fang Tingsheng walked over with Fang Qianhan.
"Lin Fengxuan, on behalf of my father, wishes Master Nangong boundless fortune and a long life!"
Following closely behind, Lin Fengxuan walked forward with Lin Zifeng.
Finally, Hua Tianmin also bowed to Nangong Li and smiled, "Old Master Nangong still possesses the same demeanor, never aging!"
Seeing this, Nangong Li rose and returned the bow to Hua Tianmin, "I didn't expect Lord Hua to come in person. It is truly an honor for this old man!"
He then said to Fang Tingsheng and Lin Fengxuan, "Are the two old fellows doing well?"
"Thank you for your concern, Master Nangong. My father is well," Fang Tingsheng replied.
"Thanks to the good fortune of Master Nangong, my father is still in good health!" Lin Fengxuan followed suit.
"Mhm!" Nangong Li nodded with a smile.
At this moment, Fang Tingsheng turned to look at Fang Junxue beside Ye Ming, stepped forward, and said faintly:
"Junxue, come home and visit when you have time!"