ch at Langwei Sports. When saying this, Gao Fan couldn’t help feeling proud; he had his eye on a pair of Nike running shoes priced at six hundred yuan. If he wore them to school, it would be quite imp...Chapter 94: Dinner Gathering

Casan and Tangmei returned from Boston on a plane that landed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport around six o'clock. Before leaving the US, Tang Wu had bought many local wood carvings and specialties in Exeter Town, New Hampshire, so she had quite a lot of luggage this time. With an additional small suitcase she had purchased temporarily, there was considerable weight to her belongings, for which they paid nearly one thousand yuan extra as overweight baggage fees.

Seeing Su Can towing two suitcases upon disembarking the plane, Tang Wu felt a slight tug at her heartstrings but frowned and said, "It seems like we have too much luggage."

Su Can was walking ahead, wearing white shirt with slim trousers. With his hands casually dragging two suitcases behind him, he turned back to say, "To be the porter for a beauty is an honor that many people can only dream of!"

Although Tang Wu had become somewhat more outgoing during her exchange studies in New Hampshire, she still felt that Su Can was rather blunt at this moment, especially on the plane when their intimate behavior made her feel a little uneasy even now to recall.

This made Tang Wu subconsciously hesitant to look directly at the young man ahead of her. His white shirt may not be whiter than others and might even have wrinkles from travel, yet it shone brightly in her eyes.

Surprisingly, as they emerged from the passage, they saw a few bald men dressed in black suits holding up signs with Tang Wu's name at the entrance of the hall.

Both of them had already entrusted the local ticketing agency to arrange pick-up and transfer to Chengdu upon disembarking, so their stay in Shanghai would be extremely brief. Moreover, this was also what Tang Wu’s family requested. How could there be people waiting for her with such signs at the entrance

These few men all seemed quite distinguished.

Tang Wu walked over despite her puzzlement. The bald men had been sizing them up since they entered, and when she approached, someone immediately stepped forward and greeted in Mandarin, "Miss Tang Wu"

The mixed English-accented greeting was strange yet familiar to the two who were used to Exeter School's American-English mix, making them feel as if everything seemed unreal.

Tang Wu nodded. The bald man leading the group then said, "Miss Tang, we are friends of your father’s; have you met He Guoke Your father is coming right away. Please follow us."

Speaking, one of them took the suitcase from Tang Wu's hand while another assisted Su Can with his luggage. Su Can handed over Tang Wu's case but kept his own in hand and followed the puzzled Tang Wu out of the waiting hall.

Parking outside the entrance were two black BMW Series 7 cars, lined up one behind the other. The three bald men placed the suitcases into the trunk of the front car when a middle-aged woman wearing her hair tied back and a silk blouse with a satin skirt emerged from the rear car.

Next to her was a girl about her age, wearing glasses and calling out "Miss Tang Wu!", looking very delicate in ethnic-style pleated skirts with typical Shanghai girl refinement behind her spectacles.

The middle-aged woman's voice had ups and downs, clearly indicating she was well-spoken. "Little Tang Tang, you're back from your studies abroad! Yesterday I heard about this from your father. I even criticized him; how could he let his daughter come straight to Chengdu without having a place in Shanghai No one can see her except for Miss He. If we don't meet face-to-face now, we might not recognize each other later on. Today, Miss He is treating everyone as she welcomes you back."

"Our Dongdong has been asking about Tang Wu's appearance all along; when you came to Shanghai with your mother before, Tang Wu was just in elementary school! These past few years, he has often talked about her but never got a chance to see. It makes Auntie so eager!"

The girl named Ning Dong smiled and extended her hand to shake hands with Tang Wu, saying, "Ms. Tang Wu, you look really beautiful!" Then she saw Su Can behind Tang Wu and whispered as they shook hands, "Are you his sidekick"

This question was partly playful but clearly suggested that Su Can's image at Exeter High School had been somewhat tarnished during the long journey; he didn't impress this girl in any way.

Perhaps it could be said that Su Can lacked anything truly dazzling, and for a woman accustomed to shark fin soup and abalone, he was merely a small dish, nothing out of the ordinary.

Miss He Guokeshun, while pulling Tang Wu into the car, also addressed Su Can. "You're one of her classmates returning from abroad Since we're here today anyway, Auntie will treat all you young folks to celebrate your return."

Su Can sat in the front BMW 7 Series and watched the night view of this bustling city. The two cars followed each other closely; occasionally, Su Can turned around to look through the window at a few women's figures barely visible from behind in the second car, intermittently illuminated by streetlights.

After nearly fifty minutes of driving, they reached Century Avenue near Jin Mao Tower.

This building had been constructed in 1999. In Su Can’s recollection, it was also used as a filming location for a work of Hai Yan's set in Shanghai later on.

As one of the landmarks of Shanghai, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel at Jin Mao Tower remained grandiose and hospitable; He Guokeshun’s amiable demeanor complemented the imposing entrance hall, naturally exuding an aura of elegance. The doorman greeted them with a professional smile but also showed deference to this woman in their service.

The bald man who had picked up Su Can at the airport wasn't among them; clearly he knew that He Guokeshun was hosting a welcome banquet for Tang Wu today.

Entering Jin Mao Club’s Shanghai Restaurant on the 86th floor, they were ushered into an exclusive room with a panoramic view of the city's nightscapes. As one of the most private and highest dining spots in town, it was no issue for He Guokeshun to have membership here as a prominent entrepreneur.

When they sat down in the suite, two well-dressed middle-aged people were already inside along with two teenagers and a girl; the latter looked at them enter and pouted slightly: "Why is Dongdong so late I'm starving!"

Two men, both around eighteen years old, noticed Tang Jie's careful observation of her but seemed less interested in Su Zhan.

As everyone sat down to introduce themselves, one of the boys with a crew cut was named Pang Yiran, and the other taller and slimmer boy was called Cao Ze. The girl who kept glancing at Tang Wǔ as soon as she entered was called Ding Tingting, nicknamed Dingding. Upon seeing Tang Wǔ, she paused for a moment but then cheerfully asked about their backgrounds.

Only then did Mr. Tang arrive late, clutching his precious daughter's thin shoulders and squeezing them tightly. He kept saying, "Look at my dear daughter, finally back! I’ve missed you so much; were you cold over there in the three months" He asked about her well-being and mentioned that he had just come from a business negotiation, apologizing for keeping everyone waiting.

Mrs. He smiled and said, "You know how it is; if not for my insistence, I'm sure you would have let your daughter buy a ticket back to Chengdu alone! Where's the father like that"

Mr. Tang had an apologetic expression on his round face.

Tang Wǔ shook her head and said, "It doesn’t matter; I can manage even without staying at Hangui." She glanced at Su Zhan, noticing he didn't seem nervous or uncomfortable in the setting, which somewhat put her mind at ease.

Mrs. He then said, "What do you mean 'it’s not a problem' Auntie wanted to let you stay with me! You can spend time talking to Dongdong tonight as well; he was so excited when he heard you studied at Exeter High School abroad! But since Tang Tang just flew in and must be tired, we'll skip that. Stay here for today; I’ve already reserved a room for you. Your dad who forgot about his daughter will have me take care of our Tang Tang!"

Tang Wǔ was taken aback. She and Su Zhan hadn’t planned on resting in Shanghai and were only planning to change flights back to Chengdu, expecting to stay at the airport for a few hours after hearing their flight had been delayed. They certainly didn't expect someone would come to pick them up.

Before she left abroad, Tang Wǔ called home and knew that her father was in Shanghai; however, he was very busy, so she politely declined his offer to meet at the airport.

Their paths crossed nonetheless. If she stayed here now, where would Su Zhan be

Girl Ning Dong looked reluctant: "Ahhh, Tang Tang isn’t staying with me That's too bad! I don't care though; I'll definitely drag you out to play later!"

Mrs. He was about to say something about Tang Wǔ needing rest when the two boys at the table started urging her to have fun, treating Su Zhan as an old friend and inviting him along. Dingding's face darkened but then she smiled and joined in the encouragement—this detail didn't escape Su Zhan’s notice.

The dishes, claimed to be the essence of local cuisine with a modern twist, were served one after another: Thousand-layer Wild Vegetable Rolls, Braised Pork Belly with Fresh Fish, Secret Recipe Thousand-layer Meat, King Scallops, Spring Roll Platter and more, leaving them no time to rest between courses. After their long journey, Tang Wǔ and Su Zhan had only eaten fried noodles on the plane; now ravenous from lack of food, Su Zhan was famished.

After getting used to American "cuisine" such as French toast ham sandwiches, broccoli chicken pieces, and flavorless calorie-filled meals abroad, encountering delicate Jiangnan small dishes can be quite tempting.

For Tang Wu as well, the food in America is clearly not something that people who grew up eating Chinese cuisine could easily adapt to.

However, she still maintained a ladylike demeanor. Compared to Su Cen's wolf-like manner of sweeping fish off his plate with two chopsticks, Tang Wu’s dining etiquette was quite elegant indeed.

Before his rebirth, Su Cen certainly didn't have such refined manners, and he had never been part of high society either. At business dinners accompanying the boss, he would be dragged up to serve as a shield against alcohol, essentially a sacrificial pawn.

To him, when hungry was hungry, and his current status as a high school student didn't require him to hide anything, so he simply followed his instincts.

Therefore, when he ordered a large bowl of white rice, savoring its softness and tenderness while enjoying the Jiangnan small dishes that melted in his mouth, with bits of rice clinging to his lips as he raised his head feeling how親切the Chinese cuisine was, those around him were visibly moved.

Ding Tingting, who wasn't one for restraint, turned back her words "Just a laborer!" at the last second just before saying them out loud.

Seeing how quickly their dishes were disappearing and starting to worry there might not be enough food left, He GuoKe smiled and patted the table. "Bring us the menu again. We need to order more. This child is starving."

The second update of the day has arrived so late, I wonder if anyone's still waiting

Oh my sins! I'll definitely update earlier tomorrow!

To those who've stayed up with me, have sweet dreams.Su Cen brought over a large amount of documents from Wang Bo's study and began going through them one by one. Reports from Xinhua News Agency, The New York Times' war commentary, snippets from Yugosla...