Can hurriedly reached out to grab them. Just as Wang Ming couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Ah!", Su Can's right hand, which was grabbing the small item, accidentally hit her prominent chest.At...Chapter 167: Equal Status

======================Soon after, Su Can understood the whole situation. The "guests" in Huangpu's private room were only two people. One of them, Su Can recognized, Tao Chuhong. Beside him was another bald-headed man, around twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, dressed neatly in a suit, with an attractive appearance, tall nose, calm expression, yet carrying an invisible aura of authority. His eyes appeared peaceful but gave the impression of concealing abundant energy.

As soon as they entered, Li Luo warmly greeted them. After introducing for a while, this person turned out to be Tao Chuhong's cousin, Tao Zi. In the past, it was impossible to tell someone's true influence, but clearly after Tao Changping in Rongcheng was taken down, Wang and Tao families should have looked tense on the surface. However, from Li Luo and Tao Zi's warm greetings towards each other, one could not feel any tension as if a storm is brewing.

But it was precisely this superficially harmonious atmosphere that made Su Can break into a sweat.

"Captain Li can come to Shanghai. No matter what, this meal should be my treat. How could you possibly pay for the food It's an honor to welcome you. In China, how many people at twenty-eight years old can already wear two stars and one bar on their shoulders I see that Captain Li not only in the military district but also nationwide is among the youngest high-ranking officials," Tao Zi said with a smile.

Li Luo waved his hand, without being rude to Tao Zi. He said, "So, the local government and the army are different concepts. Always thinking about secrets of the army, making groundless guesses, what's so young about me wearing two stars There’s even a 23-year-old female captain in this year's Guangzhou Military District, compared with her don't we all look old The current military is not like before, it's hard to survive, technical troops are the ones favored now. In times of peace, establishing achievements does not compare to war times, nowadays promoting science and technology can boost combat effectiveness. It’s still more comfortable for your side, see, young high officials, but it's hard to enter officialdom through this door in Shanghai, once inside though, it becomes easy, isn’t the road clear ahead"

"Just joking," Tao Zi replied.

"Alright, let's not flatter each other, if word got out people would laugh their teeth off. This meal can't be treated by Young Master Tao because I'm paying and introducing my brother and sister to him; they study in Shanghai, who knows what will happen later on"

Su Can stared at Li Luo, thinking that this cousin of Wang Weiwei was indeed quite arrogant as he had said. Being a captain-level officer so young was something Su Can hadn't expected.

Tao Zi didn’t continue to talk about it and his expression became humble.

When the two exchanged glances, there seemed to be some fierce confrontation in the distance that couldn’t be heard.

Although it was just a polite conversation when they sat down for the meal, Su Can had already sensed the underlying attitude. If Tao Zi really wanted to treat them, Li Luo's words could easily refute him, but in fact, this was merely his politeness. Today Tao Zi came with an air of superiority, and he still hadn’t withdrawn it.

Sigh, Li Luo has made her stance quite clear and explicitly put Su Cen in the opposing camp. She acts as if she knows nothing about what happened in Rongcheng.

Su Cen suddenly feels that perhaps he shouldn't have come to this dinner party. Before sitting down, Lin Luoran held his hand and whispered in his ear, "I'll handle it later on. Try not to speak much."

After sitting down, Su Cen felt uneasy. It turns out there was this matter today, and Lin Luoran's actions might be an attempt to take the initiative and cover for him. Since she can't communicate with Tao Zi, she found someone who could—him—but Su Cen doesn’t like this approach at all. When did he start needing a woman to shield him

***Tao Chuohong noticed Su Cen's expression earlier and his face darkened slightly. Now that they're sitting opposite each other, Tao Chuohong obviously isn't pleased, especially when seeing Lin Luoran. Although she looks radiant today, in Tao Chuohong’s eyes, he wouldn’t dare to look at her with a man’s perspective due to the incident in Rongcheng, which made him wary and fearful of her. He turned his head away and talked to his brother Tao Zi.

"Luoran is also studying in Shanghai. Which school" As the banquet progressed, Tao Zi clinked glasses with Li Luo and asked.

"Shanghai International Studies University, first year."

"Are you very popular at school"

"Just an ordinary student," Lin Luoran replied to Tao Zi but her focus wasn't there. She scooped a wasabi shrimp ball from the dish and placed it in Su Cen’s bowl, her long eyelashes lowering as she looked at him intently and said, "Eat more."

Tao Chuohong was somewhat dumbfounded, thinking to himself: Sister, you’re not playing fair! Back then in Rongcheng, whether by rumor or appearance, she didn’t seem like this type of person. Now she’s deliberately making me uncomfortable He swallowed his humiliation and felt a fire ignite inside him. The two people causing all this trouble were living comfortably, one could only imagine the frustration building up in Young Master Tao.

Tao Chuohong glanced awkwardly at his brother but saw a flash of sharpness pass through his cousin's eyes, which startled him into stillness. After all, he was left with an indelible mark from the slap on his face when Tao Zi returned from Beijing to visit family; at that time, while personally overseeing the construction plans in the area, he had gotten burned by lime, leaving rough skin and great strength in his hand, resulting in a slap hard enough to split Tao Chuohong's lip and nearly knock him over. It left him completely powerless.

Tao Zi remained indifferent as he observed Lin Luoran showing some familiarity towards Su Cen.

Li Luo naturally noticed everything happening and chatted casually with Tao Zi for a while, but Tao Zi never mentioned Su Cen throughout the meal. This itself was quite telling. He then picked up his chopsticks and put a piece of food in Lin Luoran's bowl: "Luoran, eat more. You've been like this since young, not good at taking care of yourself. I know several anecdotes about you. When you were little, you found a stray cat on the road; it fell ill after just a few days and needed veterinary treatment. It was pouring outside but you didn’t hesitate to run out with the kitten in a box, only for you to catch a cold and have high fever that lasted several days. See Su Cen She has this fiery enthusiasm for things she likes, yet sometimes neglects herself which is heart-wrenching. You need to take care of her properly."

Su Cen was stunned and did not respond.

"Su Cen, your father is with the Jian Gong Group in Chengdu" Tao Zi finally spoke up, looking at Su Cen.

Su Cen nodded. "Da Rong Construction."

Tao Zi smiled. "A star company in Chengdu. A great place to work. I've heard a lot about it. Su Licheng is a master when it comes to engineering, unfortunately, he's somewhat lacking in other areas."

Li Luo picked up his glass and took a sip of alcohol while glancing sideways at Su Cen.

Lin Luoran also subtly frowned; what did this mean Was Tao Zi not planning on making peace

Su Cen went to the restroom midway through their meeting. The private room they were in was from Yungel Windows, directly facing an inner courtyard pond. Following the ancient palace corridor, he arrived at a modern yet traditional toilet. As Su Cen stood in front of the mirror, Li Luo approached from behind, used the facilities, washed his hands, and then told Su Cen, "Later you should give Tao Zi a toast; I'll take care of everything after that."

"Make peace I don't need to apologize," Su Cen replied.

Li Luo paused, turned around, and narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Su Cen. "I'm not asking you to apologize. But we need to show a gesture first so that we can start negotiating; you must know how to negotiate with people, understand You know how Lin Luoran treats you, and I've heard about it from Wang Weiwei's group too. Don't make me disappointed, but more importantly, don't upset Lin Luoran."

Su Cen slightly raised his head, meeting Li Luo's gaze, "I hate being threatened."

Li Luo seemed to be encountering this kind of talk for the first time and laughed awkwardly. "This isn't a threat." He paused. "If you don't want things to become complicated, then it's merely advice."

"I believe I have my own way to handle things."

Lǐ Luò's expression was much more intense as he stared at Sū Càn. After a few seconds of eye contact, he said sternly, "Don't think too highly of yourself; there are still many things in this world that you can’t achieve. He might not do anything himself, but can you guarantee that the people around him and below him won’t take any action"

Lǐ Luò spoke quite frankly before turning to leave. These words made Sū Càn subconsciously think about Lǐ Luò’s driver who had driven them there earlier, whose severe expression indicated that he also served as a bodyguard.

When they were leaving, they happened to run into Lín Luòrǎn. Lǐ Luò whispered something to her before heading off to the banquet. Lín Luòrǎn then lightly walked over and held one hand on her other pale elbow, looking at his face intently as she asked, "Sū Càn, are you unhappy"

"It’s not a good feeling being treated like a pawn; how could I be happy" Sū Càn smiled, but it looked forced in Lín Luòrǎn's eyes.

"No one treats you as a pawn. Be more confident, okay "Lín Luòrǎn paused for a moment and blinked her large eyes slightly. “If you feel like you're being taken care of, then rest assured that Brother Lǐ Luò isn’t my brother but rather Uncle Wáng Weiwēi’s cousin. He wants to resolve this issue not just because of me. It's because he personally admires you a lot. If Sū Xiǎocàn feels his personal pride has been hurt in any way, then it would be an indication that your mentality is immature. As a man, shouldn’t you view problems with more maturity Why can't one simply think about resolving the issue"

"No wonder I don’t have much confidence from you; hence, it’s understandable that you see me as immature," Sū Càn smiled.

Lín Luòrǎn's eyes were slightly red and her pupils shimmered with moisture. "What do you mean Do you think I lack faith in you Are you saying being good at drawing also means you’re suitable for making stuffed buns Those are two completely different things!"

It turned out that this girl had even criticized Lǐ Luò, the cousin and lieutenant. Sū Càn couldn’t help but smile inwardly as he looked at Lín Luòrǎn with her slightly red eyes and rapidly rising chest due to suppressed emotions. Was she worried about him getting hurt Thinking of how Miss Lài Nǚ’s temper could be so humble toward him, it made Sū Càn's heart soften a bit before he gave her an radiant smile. "It's fine; I have my own ways."

Looking at the suddenly confident back of Sū Càn, Lín Luòrǎn was momentarily stunned and then her beautiful eyes showed doubt as she followed him, unsure of what had happened.

When Lǐ Luò, Táo Zǐ, and Táo Chǔhóng saw Sū Càn walking back to the dining table again, they noticed that he seemed different overall. Whether it was his demeanor, presence, or confidence, everything about him appeared changed. This sensation even made Lieutenant Lǐ and Young Master Táo feel a strange sense of equality with him despite their extensive experiences.

(To be continued)Yue's father and had an argument with him. I estimate that this will have a negative impact, and you'll feel somewhat regretful about not telling the truth going forward. If your family has any object...