The huge banquet hall gradually became quieter. When everyone heard her question, they exchanged glances and meaningful smiles.

In the past few days, there had been a rumor amongst the socialite circles of Hong Kong City. It was said that Lu Huaiyu’s girlfriend, Ning Li, had just rushed to Hong Kong City to curry favor with the Gu family the moment her university vacation had started.

Not only had she won the favor of Old Master Gu and Old Madam Gu at the horse race last August, but this time, she had even come over directly to accompany the two young masters of the Gu family on horseback. She was extremely attentive.

Xu Yini’s words seemed to be meant as a greeting to him, but in fact, they were full of sarcasm.

If all this effort was not to climb up the social ladder, why would Ning Li have put in so much effort?

Even though she came from a disreputable family background, she was Lu Huaiyu’s girlfriend now. Such behavior was extremely unseemly.

Low discussions could be heard from all directions.

“I heard about this as well. I have to say, that Ning Li is quite skillful. She’s capable of winning the hearts of everyone in the Gu family.”

“How interesting. As the girlfriend of Second Master Lu from the Capital, how can she display such low behavior? She’s completely humiliating Second Master Lu.”

“You guys don’t understand. After all, a girlfriend is just a girlfriend. With Second Master Lu’s fortune, what kind of woman does he want? If he’s happy, he could lift a person to the sky. If he’s unhappy, he’s also capable of trampling people into a quagmire in the blink of an eye. If he could connect with the Gu family, he would have an additional path as well, right?”

“To be honest, there are as many people who want to be on good terms with the Gu family as there are carp fishes crossing the river. However, I’ve never seen anyone who wants to push their luck to such an extent.”

This statement, in fact, was biased.

There were indeed many people who wanted to curry favor with the Gu family. Many people used all kinds of methods to gain the Gu family’s favor. Ning Li’s actions were really nothing.

It was just that the Gu family did not give those other people a good opportunity, which made Ning Li especially special.

If no one was able to gain the Gu family’s favor, then the situation would have been acceptable. However, Ning Li had to be the one exception.

That was indeed very enviable.

Someone laughed in a low voice and teased,”It’s only possible for Ning Li to be in this position just because she bore a slight resemblance to the fourth young miss of the Gu family while she was riding a horse. Today, a true daughter of the Gu family is coming back. How should she handle the situation? I’m guessing that she doesn’t dare to come because she feels too embarrassed and guilty, right?”

A series of noises came from all directions.

Xu Yini’s lips curled up into a mocking smile.

It had already come to this point. The gossip would surely reach Lu Huaiyu’s ears.

He had always been so proud and arrogant. How could he tolerate his reputation being dragged down by a short-sighted, lowly, and overly-eager girlfriend?

Sure enough, Lu Huaiyu’s expression turned cold, and a thin layer of ice seemed to have fallen between his brows.

A cold and refreshing aura emanated from his body, and his pair of phoenix-like eyes, which were as deep as the sea, carried a threatening coldness and oppression. He looked extremely cold and dangerous.

When Xu Yini saw him like this, she subconsciously shrank back, and the feelings of unease and fear surged up from the bottom of her heart.

Lu Huaiyu’s aura was really too strong. Even his normally unrestrained and arrogant demeanor was enough to make people subconsciously look up to him and not dare to approach him.

Now that he was angry, he was even more frightening.

However, on second thought, since his anger seemed to have been caused by Ning Li, Xu Yini felt a secret sense of satisfaction in her heart, smothering all the previous feelings of uneasiness.

Her red lips curled up into a smile.

Lu Huaiyu might have feelings for Ning Li, but the gap between them was still too big.

That was not something that Ning Li could make up just by holding a few big shows and drawing a few paintings.

After this, Lu Huaiyu should understand that Ning Li was not worth his–

“Xu Yini.”

Lu Huaiyu finally spoke, his voice cold and without the slightest bit of warmth.

“It looks like you still do not remember my previous warning at all.”

His voice was extremely cold, and every word he said was crisp and clear, carrying a bone-chilling chill.

The smile on Xu Yini’s face suddenly froze, and her heart suddenly thumped.

In the next moment, Lu Huaiyu’s words fell clearly.

“You don’t have the right to call me by my name like that.”

…

The entire banquet hall went dead silent.

Everyone was stunned.

Everyone knew that the Xu family and the Lu family were family friends. Xu Yini had been in love with Lu Huaiyu for many years.

Although she could no longer pursue him and Lu Huaiyu already had a girlfriend, the relationship between the two families was clear. The friendship that had lasted for many years was clear.

No matter what, they still had to be civil to each other on the surface.

However, who would have thought that Lu Huaiyu would not refrain from disrespecting Xu Yini in public?!

No, this was not as simple as just disrespecting Xu Yini. It was as if Xu Yi’s face and dignity had been mercilessly ripped off in front of everyone!

Xu Yini had taken the initiative to strike up a conversation. When she had called out “Huaiyu”, everyone had thought that they were very close. Who would have thought that Lu Huaiyu would respond in such a way?

‘You don’t have the right to call me by my name like that.’

This sentence was like a resounding slap to Xu Yini’s face!

The color quickly drained from Xu Yini’s face. Her limbs were cold and her entire body was stiff.

The smile on her face suddenly froze. A huge sense of humiliation surged up, causing her face to tense up and burn.

She did not even know what kind of expression she should put on at this moment. Thus, the frozen curve at the corner of her lips gradually pulled into an embarrassing line. It was like a low-quality mask that had silently cracked at a certain moment until all that was left was a miserable mess.

“Also, as far as I know, my girlfriend indeed didn’t accompany Gu Siqi and Gu Sicheng to go horseback riding today.”

Lu Huaiyu knew that this morning, Shen Li had accompanied Shen Zhijin to Seven Treasures Mountain to pay tribute to Gu Tingyin.

Therefore, he had deliberately given them more time to be alone and had only flown to Hong Kong City in the afternoon.

“She had other matters to attend to.”

Lu Huaiyu had one hand in his pocket. His posture was noble and languid. He tilted his head slightly and looked at Xu Yini with an extremely cold gaze, which was full of arrogance and pride,

“But, what does this have to do with you?”

Xu Yini’s fingernails dug her nails deeply into the palms of her hands, causing her to feel pain.

However, at this moment, she no longer cared about this physical pain.

Countless gazes had fallen on her, either mocking or ridiculing her. They were all watching her being turned into a joke!

Her throat tightened. She wanted to say something, but she could not open her mouth.

Just then, a gentle voice sounded out.

“Second Master Lu, Miss Xu probably only asked this out of concern as a friend.”

The hall was very quiet. This sentence had been heard by many people.

Yan Zhen rolled her eyes when she saw this. She fiddled with her manicure and sneered.

“Since you know you can’t get on Second Master Lu’s good side, you decided to try and please Xu Yini instead. You’re really something. You don’t even care if she likes you or not!”

Lu Huaiyu turned his head to look.

Yan Fei felt a chill run down her spine as he looked at her. She forced a smile and subconsciously lowered her voice.

“… It’s rare for Miss Ning to come to Hong Kong City as a guest. We all welcome her, so we couldn’t help but ask a few more questions. Second Master, please don’t take it to heart.”

As Yan Fei said this, she had thought that it might make Lu Huaiyu unhappy. Unexpectedly, Lu Huaiyu suddenly smiled.

She was instantly stunned. She was at a loss and inexplicably felt nervous.

“Second Master Lu–”

Just then, a deep and weathered voice came from outside the door.

“Tangtang has returned home. Why would we need any outsiders to welcome her on behalf of the Gu family?”