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Seeing it was Yue Yao, Li Yan felt a bit embarrassed: "Queen, I want to say... actually, I'm much more innocent than you think; some things were just youthful boasting."

"Younger days? Are you old now?" Yue Yao smiled slightly at him, "Oh right. Young people like the mature ones, older people like the young ones. Seems you are living proof of that."

"..." Li Yan found it somewhat amusing: "Faint - I thought the impression I left you was a cold one, didn't expect it to be such an unbearable sleazy image!"

"Whatever it is, it's your own business. Marrying a wife is also your own matter." Yue Yao chuckled lightly, then pouted, "You're here with your little lover now; Yurong is still your wife. Look over there, when you are flirting with other girls, many men are flirting with your wife! Aren't you jealous? Don't you want to protect her?"

When Li Yan came over to get a drink, he was also somewhat intentionally avoiding Zhang Yurong. He could naturally acknowledge Wen Qianyi, but not Zhang Yurong! This is someone who's legally his wife, and Yu Xiaodi is different from other casual flings.

Afraid to be seen by her, he didn't dare to specially look for her in the crowd. Now hearing Queen's words, he looked over; many young men, including He Haibin and He Wei, were surrounding Zhang Yurong. Of course, everyone maintained a social distance; the topics were related to the company and enterprise, unlike the harassment from rogues and lechers. Still, based on Zhang Yurong's cold, impatient gaze, it was clear she didn't like it.

Seeing her like that, Li Yan felt a slight pain in his heart, wanting to chase those men away one by one. But it was just a thought; no one was going too far, and even if he came with her, he couldn't do that. If one were to restrict even normal social activities, she would have to be kept at home, almost like caging a person.

"Haha, it's just common levels of flirtation. If anything goes beyond that, you would naturally help me protect her."

Yue Yao sighed lightly: "Women... sometimes also need some attention and pampering, don't think just because she's your woman she won't leave. If you don't cherish her now, by the time someone else's pursuit leads her away, it'll be too late to regret."

Having said that, she gracefully moved away, heading in Zhang Yurong's direction.

Li Yan was startled; my woman... indeed, isn't she my woman? Even though there's no affection, they've been messed together by Matchmaker and Cupid, perhaps by objective necessity. But why can't I be proactive? Instead of always staying still until others move, why not try attacking actively!

Leaving aside purely transactional one-night stands, Li Yan suddenly felt very useless. In Queen's, Xiaodi's, and even Zhang Yurong's eyes, he seemed like a playboy. He had happily accepted this at one point, but thinking more closely now, he's at best a reveler, yet a novice in romance! Emotional components with Hai Fu were few; she was the active one. Yu Xiaodi didn't need mentioning, it could almost be termed as reverse pursuit. As for Zhang Yurong, even if he showed some care, it was always within the scope of duty and never truly pursued!

"Who said you can't chase your wife after marriage?"

Li Yan mumbled to himself, finding Yue Yao's words made sense. Progress with Yu Xiaodi also made him understand feelings can indeed be nurtured. But then…

Who do I really love?

Who do I really love?

This is a hard question to answer.

While never having thought about a future with Zhang Yurong, undoubtedly, months of cohabitation have already reserved a corner in his heart; never thought about a future with Yu Xiaodi, yet under this little girl's active advances, without realizing it, he's touched, and further unwittingly fond of her. Likewise, Wen Qianyi, Huang Ying, Hai Fu, each has weighed in their unique ways in his heart. And another he never thought of, had only paid attention after Guan Ziyi mentioned - Queen…

He recalled the movie dialogue he mentioned earlier to Yu Xiaodi today. In some ways, he saw himself in the protagonist of that movie. Just as the female lead asked, "Did you ever like me?" Ah Fei's response was, "I don't know how many women I'll like in this lifetime, won't know who I like most until the end."

Similarly, Li Yan couldn't answer himself now.

Yet thinking over having been with many women but couldn't say whom he truly liked felt sad to him. It's about time to be bold and proactive, accept when you like it, pursue when you like it, as for the future… let future matters wait till the future comes!

...

Carrying a drink and a glass of wine back, Li Yan was pulled to sit down by Yu Xiaodi, both of them curiously looking at him.

"Are you okay?"

Facing their stares and Yu Xiaodi's inquiry, Li Yan laughed: "I'm fine. You guys seemed a bit odd!"

Wen Qianyi smiled slightly, "I just saw a pretty girl go over and say a few words to you, and then you stood there daydreaming. Xiao Di is a bit worried about you. Did she steal your soul?"

Li Yan laughed loudly, "What about now? Have you two beauties brought my soul back? Haha... I just saw a beauty, she looked somewhat familiar, and I instinctively chatted with her for a bit. Later, I was just thinking about something."

"For a womanizer, every beauty they see looks familiar." Wen Qianyi laughed, "But your excuse is too cliché, nobody would buy it."

"No, I actually have seen her before. That day, she was downstairs at our company, and a lot of my male colleagues didn't want to leave, just watching her. Later, I found out she was a friend of Mr. Zhang's. She heard I was from Paradise Group and said Mr. Zhang was there too." Li Yan straightforwardly admitted he had talked to and met Yue Yao. "Afterwards, I was thinking, if Mr. Zhang recognizes me and you later, will he think we're undercover trust fund kids at the company? If so, will he fire us, or continue to employ us?"

Wen Qianyi was taken aback, "So you were daydreaming about these boring questions?"

"How is it boring? If I'm laid off, I won't have a stable job or income. Where can I find another job that's so easy and has so many beautiful women to look at? For me, that's a big problem." Li Yan said seriously.

"Hehe, easy, is it? Looks like tomorrow I'll have to increase your workload."

"You're sucking up to the boss, I despise you!"

While they were joking, Yu Xiaodi watched on the side, neither jealous nor annoyed. Not knowing what they just talked about, Li Yan had to find a topic, "Qianyi leader, how did you end up here? As far as I know, you're not a wealth heir, right?"

"You could come with Xiao Di, why can't I come with a friend?" Wen Qianyi smiled.

"Hmm, with your connections, you surely know quite a few rich people."

Wen Qianyi pointed to a pretty girl who was waving at her from another corner, "See her? That's Li Keke, she's quite young, her father is Li Weijie, I forgot what he does. But it's said her father is a debonair man, with many mistresses, yet manages to keep them all peacefully."

Li Yan longingly sighed, "A role model for my generation!"

Wen Qianyi and Yu Xiaodi both laughed and looked down on him.

...

He Haibin and He Wei, the brothers representing the organization, announced that all guests had arrived. The banquet would proceed as a private party, without any fixed program, purely for socializing. The Prince Hotel also prepared a lot of drinks and food, available for everyone.

Lan Tianci, Wen Qiang, the Ling brothers, and others seen at noon were also dressed sharply. They weren't surprised to see Li Yan there, though Lan Tianci had some disdain for him because he knew Li Yan was brought in by Yu Xiaodi.

Walking around the banquet hall, there was no shortage of pretty girls. Those young masters seemed to flaunt their female companions, each more outstanding than the next. Lan Tianci, who originally wanted to come with Yu Xiaodi, also brought a decent companion. Wen Qiang brought a busty gal, but the most striking were the Ling Muhang and Ling Luqiu brothers, whose companions were twin girls.

However, in an era where anyone slightly prettier could be called a beauty, beauties would naturally be categorized into tiers. Among the guests, there were universally acknowledged stunning ones, only four: the icy and aloof Zhang Yurong, and her constant companion, leading many to think they're a couple, the dreamy fairy Yue Yao. There's also Yu Xiaodi, who didn't participate much but was quite known due to her family, and the fiery, passionate beauty Wen Qianyi dominating the scene.

These were the four acknowledged beauties. Zhang Yurong never showed a good face to anyone, Yue Yao spoke very little; even with lesbian rumors, she had many admirers. Li Yan was flanked by two beauties, one on each side, which initially was fine, but when people discovered he was brought by Yu Xiaodi, many were displeased. If Yu Xiaodi brought him, he should just serve her well, not occupy another beauty resource!

Though some were there for genuine socializing, around the four beauties, two focal points undoubtedly formed. This eventually drew Zhang Yurong's attention to Li Yan! Seeing him with one young beauty to his left and one mature beauty to his right, she was very surprised.

Previously, whenever Li Yan went out at night, she could imagine he was out solving physiological needs. After all, he's no longer a young boy; though she despised it, she understood. But she always thought he was just going to pay for it or hitting on a wayward girl at a nightclub. She never expected to see him surrounded by beauties in this kind of setting today!

"Yue Yao, what does he have? Why are there girls flocking to him? Didn't he say he would be away for a few days because of something? Turns out it's this kind of thing!"

Zhang Yurong feared she couldn't resist going up to Li Yan, or couldn't help looking over. So, she had to vent her dissatisfaction to Yue Yao, murmuring complaints closely.

Yue Yao smiled and reassured her, "Sister Yurong, don't worry about it. He's probably just playing along for fun..."

Seeing them whispering closely, those persistent men could only give up, confirming they were a couple. They could only retreat to nearby areas to socialize with each other and admire from afar.

While comforting Zhang Yurong, Yue Yao's phone vibrated. She took out her phone and glanced at it, her expression quickly changed. (To be continued, for more chapters, please log in to www.qidian.com, support the author, support legitimate reading!)

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