It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

......

After parting ways with Lyon, Li Cheng inquired with the hurried servants and finally found Chairman Smith, who was entertaining guests.

Smith was dressed in a formal black suit, with a serious and focused expression, and his hair was neatly combed, showing that he was very attentive to the banquet.

Upon seeing Li Cheng approaching, Smith quickly ended his conversation with the other man, then flashed a warm smile and gave Li Cheng a hug as soon as he reached him: "It's a pleasure to see you again, my friend."

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Chairman Smith.”

Li Cheng reluctantly accepted the uncle's enthusiastic hug, but felt uncomfortable all over: "Actually, I came to talk to you about something else. There are too many people at this banquet, which is different from what we originally agreed on, so I have to leave early."

"leave?"

Smith frowned slightly, then relaxed his gaze: "You might not know this, but the reason this banquet is so lively is because I invited Miss Anne to perform. She's preparing on the other side right now..."

Li Cheng interrupted, "I already know."

Smith asked, somewhat puzzled, "Then why are you in such a hurry to leave? Have something to eat, dance with a lady, leisurely wait for the banquet to end, find a secluded corner, catch up with Miss Anne whom you haven't seen in a long time, and then... cough cough, I can't say any more."

As he spoke, he winked at Li Cheng and gave him a knowing look.

???

I get you, Gil.

Li Cheng felt that his judgment had been insulted in the greatest way in history; it was something that a person could not, and should not, do.

He said firmly, "President Smith, I think you have a slight misunderstanding about my relationship with Anne. We are just close friends, with only a firm and pure revolutionary friendship."

Smith had a look on his face that said, "You're talking, and I'm listening."

"Hmm, so do you need me to provide a spare room? By the way, I just got my hands on a batch of fruit wine imported from the East Indies. It's very mellow and sweet on the palate, almost like a sweet wine, but it has a strong aftereffect. People with a normal alcohol tolerance will feel dizzy after three glasses. It's perfect for adding to the fun."

In his view, pure friendship between men and women can only happen in one situation: when one of them is so unattractive that they are completely excluded from the human race.

Li Cheng's lips twitched: "You don't need to say anything more. I plan to leave. Thank you for your invitation."

Smith looked at the situation with a headache: "Why don't you reconsider?"

Li Cheng firmly stated, "There's no need to consider it."

Smith said helplessly, "Alright, if you insist on leaving, there's something I have to tell you, which I was originally planning to keep secret for now."

Li Cheng asked with interest, "What is it?"

President Smith gave a mysterious smile: "Mr. Banana, aren't you curious why I went to such great lengths to gather so many nobles for this gathering?"

Li Cheng asked in confusion, "Isn't it to enhance the reputation of your chamber of commerce?"

"This is only one of the purposes."

President Smith shook his head and said, "Those nobles are all here because of Miss Anne's recent fame. I'm afraid few of them will even give me a second glance, so it won't really boost my influence. On the contrary, Miss Anne's fame might just get a boost."

After hearing Smith's words, Li Cheng thought about it carefully for a while, but due to a lack of clues, he could not deduce why Smith wanted to gather so many nobles.

He shook his head: "President Smith, stop keeping me in suspense."

Smith said slowly, "Actually, there's another important thing to announce this time, and a very important person will be there."

Li Cheng asked in confusion, "Who has such a big influence?"

Smith smiled and said, "It's a secret for now, but I assure you that if you stay, you won't regret it."

........

Li Cheng stayed behind, thinking that if that old bastard Smith dared to lie, he would teach him a lesson.

However, Li Cheng didn't know many people at the banquet. He originally wanted to chat with Lyon to pass the time, but when he saw Lyon holding a glass of wine and chatting enthusiastically with a noble lady, he gave up on that plan and found a corner to sit in and eat some snacks by himself.

By this time, most of the guests had arrived, so the stage set up in a corner of the hall began to be prepared, and the actors arrived one after another.

It has to be said that the land price in Lincoln is really quite cheap. In addition to accommodating guests and rows of tables full of food, the Smith family's hall can even accommodate a temporary stage.

When the curtain was drawn, the guests knew that everything was ready and the hall quieted down.

then.

The sound of a flute filled the air, accompanied by the clatter of wooden planks.

As the music played, the curtain on the stage was suddenly lifted, and a dashing figure slowly walked into view, instantly catching everyone's eye.

The man had short, neat, light brown hair, a healthy tan complexion, and wore a blue and white short-sleeved shirt and trousers, with dark black leather gloves. He moved with a brisk, energetic stride, making others feel more alert and alert. His eyes were large and bright, his skin smooth, his nose straight, and his lips small and red, but together they didn't give him an effeminate look; instead, they exuded a refreshing, youthful charm.

She stood facing the crowd, her gaze sweeping across them as if she were simultaneously observing all the audience members below the stage, or as if she were staring directly at you alone.

With just one glance, many young ladies from merchant and noble families blushed and lowered their heads shyly.

The men all wore expressions of mixed admiration and confusion. Their eyes told them that this was a woman dressed as a man, with her exaggerated pectoral muscles and delicate features being the best proof. Yet, she also exuded a heroic air from within, as if a real young man were standing there.

Regardless of the reactions, one thing is undeniable: everyone's attention was completely drawn to it.

Many people come here just for the novelty, to check off their list, and to have something to talk about later. But they never expected that this Miss Anne, who is now famous in Lincoln, actually has real talent and is not just relying on luck.

That makes sense; if the performance wasn't up to par, how could the crowd at Lincoln Grand Plaza have grown so large?

......

While everyone was focused on watching the performance, Li Cheng calmly ate snacks in the audience.

He'd seen Anne's face at least a thousand times, and watched countless performances; he was already tired of it.

While "Domineering Love" is novel, it gets tiresome after a while. Therefore, this time Anne is performing in "Romeo and Juliet". Although the story is cliché, the uniqueness of the performer brings a different viewing experience, especially since this time it is Romeo dressed as a man.

Yes, Anne is Romeo.

Li Cheng suspected that this girl was addicted to dressing as a man. Although there are many actors who dress as men or women, none of them are like her. She has never worn women's clothes since her debut!

However, Anne's popularity is also related to her menswear. These idle nobles have seen plenty of beautiful girls, so they are not particularly rare unless they are the kind of rare beauty that is once in a thousand years.

But a dashing young woman like Annie, dressed in men's clothing, capable of a 360° backflip onto the stage, and even wielding a wooden sword to demonstrate her skills, was truly a first. Because of this, quite a few noble ladies and wives were also present at the banquet, and seeing their expressions of utter admiration, Li Cheng exclaimed, "Absolutely stunning!"

In the past, Anne, dressed as a woman, would occasionally attend gatherings with other women, but was often ostracized by the noble ladies for various reasons. However, after changing her surroundings and appearance, she became very popular.

This reminded Li Cheng of some cross-dressing celebrities online, and he couldn't help but twitch his lips.

What did you think of the performance?

A voice rang out beside him, and Li Cheng turned his head to see that it was Lyon again.

Li Cheng asked curiously, "Why are you here?"

"I saw you eating all alone, so I thought I'd drop by and check it out." Leon swirled his wine glass. "Are you not familiar with her? Would you like me to introduce you to a pretty lady? Maybe you'll fall for each other while you're chatting?"

Li Cheng politely declined, saying, "No need, I'm fine on my own."

Lyon laughed and said, "You're welcome, it's nothing."

Li Cheng shook his head and said, "Really, there's no need."

Lyon asked in bewilderment, "There are so many beautiful noble ladies here, don't you find any of them appealing?"

Li Cheng was genuinely uninterested, so he casually said, "I don't like any of them."

After hearing this, Lyon was speechless and continued to watch the show silently while swirling his wine glass.

However, he thought to himself that this Banana kid was too pretentious. He was just a small merchant from out of town, yet he looked down on even a noble lady.

You know, many wealthy businessmen long to marry a noblewoman, but they can't even get to see her. Opportunities like today, where many noble ladies condescend to attend a banquet hosted by a businessman just to see the renowned Anne, are extremely rare.

Didn't you see how hard he was trying to strike up a conversation? If Li Cheng hadn't helped him sneak in, he would have wasted his time coming over to give the other person some pointers, only to have his good intentions taken for granted.

Li Cheng was unaware of all the thoughts swirling in Leon's mind. He continued eating, oblivious to everything else, pondering when the person that old man Smith had mentioned would finally appear.

......

Time flies by.

It was, after all, a banquet, and before we knew it, the brief drama was drawing to a close.

Romeo swiftly confessed his love to Juliet and, with lightning speed, dispatched assassins from both families, making it the most whirlwind marriage ever.

After bowing and taking her leave of the stage, Anne was surrounded by a group of enthusiastic guests. It seemed that stage fright was not a concept in her dictionary, and she chatted happily with them in a boisterous manner.

But this pleasant chat only lasted a short while.

A moment later, Anne seemed to get into an argument with a man who appeared to be of high status, and none of the surrounding guests dared to speak up for Anne.

"Everything I said is true."

"You've used this excuse many times, but I've never seen that person."

After this fruitless argument, Annie pushed through the crowd and stormed toward the edge of the hall, seemingly searching for something. The man, however, seemed determined to pursue her relentlessly.

While Li Cheng was still wondering what had happened, the two men had already arrived in front of him.

Then, in full view of everyone, Annie rushed to Li Cheng's side, grabbed his arm, glared at the man, and said, "He is my lover, so please stop bothering me, okay?"

Chapter 185 Feeding the Young Master a Peach

Help, Juliet! Your Romeo is seeing other men!

Although it was a bit absurd, Li Cheng's arm was suddenly tightly hugged by the cross-dressing woman, Annie, who rushed up to him. After hearing her shout, this was the first thing that popped into his mind.

After a brief moment of mental distraction, Li Cheng was soon overcome by a strong, intense ache in his testicles.

I'm so stupid, really.

I knew I shouldn't make any promises, because I was bound to run into trouble at a party like this where unexpected things could happen. But I was fooled by that old man Smith and actually dared to stay.

It's one thing to stay here, but instead of finding a safe room to stay in, I dared to wander around the banquet.

At this moment, many guests in the hall were attracted by this scene, and they looked at the two men and one woman with either curiosity or pity, wanting to see what tricks they could come up with.

Lyon, standing nearby, was also slightly startled, wondering if Mr. Banana's earlier statement that he looked down on the noble ladies here was because of Miss Anne.

While she certainly possesses a unique charm compared to ordinary aristocratic ladies, she's ultimately just an actress; looks can't put food on the table. On the other hand, the person behind her, I think his name is Kevin? To be captivated by an actress is truly laughable.

......

Li Cheng, the person involved, was in a state of confusion; he was genuinely confused.

Just then, Li Cheng felt a soft, squeezing sensation on his arm. He looked down and realized that Annie was trying to get his attention. When she saw him look down, she started frantically giving him meaningful glances.

Anne: 'Help me out, bro. This guy named Kevin's been harassing me.'

Li Cheng silently returned a look that said, "Are you kidding me? How did you come up with such a terrible idea?"

"Even if you just said you liked women, it would be better than this situation. Those aristocratic ladies would definitely speak up for you then. But instead, you have to spout nonsense like 'I'm your lover.' Look at the way those women around me are looking at me like they want to eat me alive. It's a thankless task."