In middle age, one's comprehension becomes extraordinary.

Cheng Jing never expected Xia Zhao to invite Li Yuan to dinner.

Logically, it should have been Li Yuan who came to invite Xia Zhao to express his gratitude.

Xia Zhao then politely declined, saying that she had already received the other party's thanks and that there was no need for anything else.

But at this moment, it was Xia Zhao who took the initiative to invite Li Yuan...

Despite the unexpected turn of events, Cheng Jing didn't ask any further questions.

As an assistant, there's no need to ask "why" about everything.

Cheng Jing is a low-key person, and when she invited Li Yuan, she avoided other people.

Upon hearing Xia Zhao's invitation, Li Yuan nodded, indicating that he would be there shortly.

The 19th floor of the hotel houses VIP suites.

There are no restrictions on who can come here; anyone who wants to host a meal is welcome.

It's just that the cost is a bit high, with the minimum spending being over three thousand yuan.

Li Yuan's match against Jin Fan today was quite intense.

Many of his clothes were torn, so he went back to his room to change.

I also sent a message to Section Chief Wang and the others.

Tell them not to wait for me while they eat; I'm a little tired and want to take a nap first...

They found an excuse to temporarily cover it up.

With everything prepared, Li Yuan got up and headed to the nineteenth floor.

Meanwhile, Xia Zhao had already arrived at the private room.

The private room is called "Blooming Flowers and Full Moon," which Xia Zhao quite likes.

I remember that on the last night in Qijia Town, a bright, clear moon hung in the sky.

A perfect union of flowers and a full moon—a very auspicious meaning.

At that moment, Cheng Jing saw Xia Zhao, who had changed her clothes, and was stunned for a long time.

"Miss......"

She stammered as she spoke, and the words she had just thought of stuck in her throat.

Having followed Xia Zhao for so many years, this was the first time she had ever seen Xia Zhao dress up specially.

Xia Zhao changed out of her tight-fitting clothes and into a gentle and comfortable outfit.

What Cheng Jing didn't expect was that Xia Zhao had even put on makeup, and it was the kind of scheming makeup.

"What's wrong? Doesn't it look good?"

Seeing Cheng Jing's expression, Xia Zhao couldn't help but ask further.

Her question, "Does it look good?", startled Cheng Jing.

When did her Miss Xia Zhao ever pay attention to these things?

In terms of looks, Xia Zhao is several times prettier than Xia Yao, and has an excellent temperament.

In the past, however, her attire was mostly for the sake of being appropriate.

As long as it matches the occasion, that's fine.

This was the first time Cheng Jing had ever heard of a question like "whether it looks good or not."

"It looks good. I just rarely see you dressed like this, Miss, so it's a little unusual..."

Cheng Jing explained softly and immediately went to the door to greet the guests.

Less than five minutes later, Li Yuan arrived at the appointment.

After inviting Li Yuan into the private room, Cheng Jing quickly left and closed the door behind her.

Various cold dishes have already been laid out on the table, and the hot dishes should be delivered soon.

The two sat facing each other, neither knowing how to begin.

He sipped his tea to ease the awkwardness.

After a long pause, Xia Zhao spoke softly, "Have you forgotten my phone number?"

"I haven't forgotten, I've saved them all."

Li Yuan answered instinctively, and quickly.

"Then why haven't you contacted me even once in so long?"

Xia Zhao's words carried a hint of resentment, as she also sought an answer.

When asked the question, Li Yuan was momentarily at a loss for words.

The real reason is that I feel I'm not at a high enough level.

"I thought you must be quite busy, so I didn't want to bother you..."

Li Yuan came up with a reason, a reason that didn't sound believable.

Hearing this, Xia Zhao didn't press further; she vaguely guessed the reason.

It's clear that, compared to others who like to climb the social ladder, this is a different story.

Li Yuan prefers a marriage between people of similar social standing.

For Li Yuan, her background and identity actually became a source of various pressures.

"Thank you so much for today."

"Without your help, I don't know how things would have ended up," Li Yuan said softly.

After some hesitation, I couldn't help but ask, "Could you answer a question I have?"

Xia Zhao nodded, looking at Li Yuan, waiting for the question.

Why did you have such a high opinion of Jin Fan before?

Based on my intuition, he shouldn't be approved by you.

Fortunately, by a stroke of luck, he wasn't actually sent to Snow Shadow Mountain for training.

Li Yuan's words made no attempt to conceal his disgust for Jin Fan.

They are enemies who want each other dead, so there's really no need to hide.

Hearing Li Yuan's words, Xia Zhao's face showed even more resentment.

"Why did I grant him the qualification to train at Snow Shadow Mountain? Wasn't the reason because of you?"

Mr. Wu Lingjiao?

Upon hearing the name Wu Lingjiao, Li Yuan immediately realized who it was.

Back when I was in Qijia Town, I used this false identity to get around.

"I asked someone to use this identity to investigate further, and they found many people who had used this identity before."

Among them, the one closest in age and status is Jin Fan.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan understood everything.

He used the identity of Wu Lingjiao in a relatively low-key manner.

The records in the system were actually used by Director Zeng.

It's highly unlikely that Wu Ling will be able to find out about himself.

"No wonder..." Li Yuan replied.

As they spoke, hot dishes were brought in one after another.

After the dishes were served, Xia Zhao looked at Li Yuan with great seriousness.

He reintroduced himself in front of Li Yuan.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan reintroduced the topic.

At the dinner table, Li Yuan recounted the whole story of how he and Jin Fan became enemies.

Back in Qijia Town, Li Yuan also mentioned that it wasn't easy for him to get a chance to gain experience.

All of this makes sense now, considering what has been said.

"Jin Fan's injuries look rather serious."

I feel that his foundation has been damaged.

It's very possible that their entire martial arts prowess will be destroyed.

Xia Zhao shared her guesses, but there was no blame in her tone.

She actually approved of Li Yuan's actions towards Jin Fan.

Everyone could see it clearly in that live demonstration.

Mr. Jin Fan harbored malicious intentions and used various ruthless methods to seriously injure Li Yuan.

"Among the Jin family members, this Jin Lou might be a bit troublesome."

His strength has already reached the ninth rank, and he has the opportunity to step into the Grandmaster realm in the future.

According to the news, Jin Lou cares a lot about Jin Fan.

Jin Fan's ability to become Yao Jianyue's subordinate was thanks to Jin Lou's matchmaking.

Xia Zhao shared some information she had received.

From today onwards, Li Yuan will definitely encounter a lot of trouble.

The information she gathered served as both a reminder and a help.

During their conversation, Xia Zhao checked her phone and found a new piece of information.

Jin Fan is very likely Jin Lou's son.

Jinlou had an affair with his sister-in-law and had this child.

To outsiders, he is Jin Fan's uncle.

But in reality, it is another identity.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan became much more serious.

If Jin Fan is indeed Jin Lou's biological son, then he will definitely be very serious about revenge.

"I will have someone keep an eye on Jinlou's movements. As long as he is not given a suitable opportunity, a ninth-rank martial artist is not that scary."

As the two talked, the initial awkwardness disappeared.