I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

But ever since the Gu family acquired Aihua Company, the old order has been completely disrupted, and their current status is hard to say.

With three families occupying five seats, there must be one person who sits in the most honored position.

So, which family is worthy of this prestigious position?

Placing any family in the central, prestigious position is essentially tantamount to presenting the Lu family's own understanding of the new order.

It can be said that the seating arrangement that Lu Qingxuan has made now is basically equivalent to the new order of status of the three families as perceived by the Lu family in official settings.

With hundreds of eyes watching during the birthday banquet, any arrangement made by the Lu family would inevitably spark a long-standing debate among the upper echelons of society.

Thinking of this, a bead of sweat trickled from the tip of Lu Qingxuan's nose, and her hand holding the pen became slightly damp.

"Great-grandmother, it's really a bit... difficult to arrange."

Lu Qingxuan smiled awkwardly and shook her head, indicating that she was not up to the task. When she looked up, she saw Old Madam Yu's smiling face.

"Qingxuan, you are a smart child. You are the smartest in our family generation."

After saying this without context, the old lady took the pen and added two names to the order form, then crossed out two more.

The two names added were "Lu Ningna" and "Gu Yuqing", while "Xia Zhijian" and "Fang Bai" were crossed out and added to the main seats at the next table.

At the original table, Lu Ningna firmly occupied the main seat, while Xia, Gu, and Qin were seated on either side.

Upon seeing this arrangement, Lu Qingxuan looked enlightened.

"Great-grandmother, how come I didn't think of that before? There was such a solution."

Grandma Yu smiled and said, "It's not that you didn't think of it, it's that only I could arrange it this way. You never imagined that I could even order Ningna over."

The old lady's corrections were quite deliberate.

Originally, this table was reserved for guests from top-tier families. After she moved Xia Zhijian and his wife away, this table became the "special seating for the younger generation of top-tier families," which is what people often refer to as "the children's table."

Because none of the people in the seats were married.

In addition, it was Old Master Lu's birthday banquet that day. The Lu family were the hosts, and the others were guests. It was reasonable for the hosts to sit in the most honored seats, so Lu Ningna sat in the center.

Moreover, as the leading figure among the younger generation of the Lu family and the legal heir of the Lu family in the future, it is perfectly reasonable for Lu Ningna to sit at this table.

After watching it several times, Lu Qingxuan couldn't help but repeatedly praise it. This arrangement was simply too reasonable.

It's so good that no one can find fault with it.

The old lady pointed her pen in the air and suddenly said, "Oh, right, there's more."

Then, she added two more entries to the order form, separating the names of Lu Qingxuan and Chen Ya, which were originally pasted together, moving one to the left side of the table and the other to the right.

The three members of the Lu family formed a triangle, dividing the table into three equal parts.

The old lady said, "I'll trouble you two younger generation members to chat with the guests as much as possible that day, so that our distinguished guests won't be bored."

Gao Jinliang watched the old lady's actions from the side and nodded slightly.

The old lady's move was extremely skillful, and her positioning was exceptionally high, leaving him feeling inferior.

When Lu Qingxuan first came over with the order slip, he thought she was there to help Chen Ya and himself get better treatment and status in the Lu family. But judging from her later behavior, it seemed he had wronged her, because her expression didn't seem fake.

However, my great-grandmother had a higher perspective. Regardless of whether you had ulterior motives, she would first help you get things done well and beautifully. Other family matters could be discussed behind closed doors.

After showing off his skills, he immediately arranged for Chen Ya and Lu Qingxuan to sit at the table. What's the reason behind this?

This table is filled with the most outstanding junior members of the four great families, a veritable constellation of stars.

Bringing you two to the table is clearly a way to make Lu Qingxuan and Chen Ya stand out in a big setting.

You want status and privileges? Fine, here you go. Whether you want them or not, I'm not afraid to give them to you.

Why not let Lu Shuying and Lu Qiming sit at the table? Why only order Lu Yuanbao's daughter and a stepson from a collateral branch of the family?

This means that the Lu family never hesitates to give opportunities to talented and meritorious members of the younger generation.

For someone like Lu Shuying, who would think of dividing the family business as soon as she saw that the main family had nothing left, this was a warning; for the other playful and carefree children of the main family, it was also a spur.

Moreover, after arranging the seats this way, who knows how many of the younger generation will be envious of Chen Ya and jealous of him, and there will definitely be many who will stab him in the back in the future.

As long as he can overcome this hurdle and understand the Lu family's good intentions, he will definitely be a great help to the Lu family in the future.

Lu Qingxuan also understood a bit of the old lady's intention. Holding the bill, she whispered:

“Great-Grandma, if this is the arrangement, won’t Ningna’s original seat be empty? Chen Ya and I can sit in other seats.”

The old lady laughed and said, "What? You all insist on sitting together? Are you that close?"

"Ah, ah? No, no..." Lu Qingxuan quickly shook her head, "I just... no, it has nothing to do with him."

The old lady waved her hand: "Alright, alright, the more you try to cover it up, the worse it gets. I'm an old lady, I was your age once, I know this very well. By the way, speaking of you and Chen Ya, I have another task for you."

Lu Qingxuan's expression immediately turned serious: "What mission?"

……

……

More than ten minutes later, Lu Qingxuan returned to her car.

After confirming that the car doors were closed, the windows were shut, and no one was around, Lu Qingxuan stared straight ahead, took a deep breath, and slammed her head hard against the steering wheel.

"Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep—"

The car horn blared several times before stopping, and the hazard lights at the front and rear of the car were on, flashing intermittently.

Lu Qingxuan sat in the car, panting, her hands gripping the steering wheel, her hair disheveled, and a red mark on her forehead.

This is so embarrassing. Today was truly embarrassing.

How come I'm being misunderstood as having a connection with Chen Ya wherever I go? It's so embarrassing!

Lu Qingxuan asked herself: Did I really act like I liked Chen Ya?

But I don't like him!

Fortunately, these were just their guesses, and they didn't say them to Chen Ya's face.

I wonder what kind of expression Chen Ya would have if this rumor reached his ears.

The thought of Chen Ya hearing them say that she had feelings for him... made Lu Qingxuan feel itchy inside, as if she were being scratched by a kitten's paw, and she couldn't help but shiver.

This rumor absolutely must not be allowed to spread.

Then, she looked in the rearview mirror, tidied herself up, and touched up her makeup.

The red mark on my forehead can't be covered up for now; I can only let it disappear naturally.

After that, she dialed Chen Ya's number.

"Hey, where are you? I need to talk to you."

"...Stop talking nonsense, just give me the address."

After saying that, she started the car, stepped on the gas, and drove straight to her destination.

...After a while, Lu Qingxuan found Chen Ya in a fireworks shop.

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry..."

Before Chen Ya could finish speaking, Lu Qingxuan reached out and slapped a piece of paper onto his chest.

"I have a surprise for you."

"what?"

"You'll know just by looking at it."

Lu Qingxuan removed her hand from his hard chest, and the red paper floated into Chen Ya's hand. Chen Ya picked it up and looked at it:

"what is this?"

"Look at the seating chart at the old master's birthday banquet, where you're sitting."

Chen Ya glanced over and saw—

Sitting at his table were: Qin Yunchu, Gu Yuqing, Xia You, Lu Ningna, Lu Qingxuan...

Good guy.

What kind of birthday banquet is this?

This is clearly a meeting of women!

Chapter 276 Foolish or Not

Chen Ya put down the bill in his hand, looked up at Lu Qingxuan and said, "I'm not sitting in the main hall, I'm planning to sit in the side hall."

Upon hearing this, Lu Qingxuan felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head while she was in the middle of something exciting, and her face immediately fell.

"You finally get a chance to sit in the main hall, why are you sitting in the side hall?"

"I want to attend my aunt's wedding."

"What aunt's wedding?" Lu Qingxuan was taken aback. She had no recollection of a wedding on the day of the birthday banquet.

After staring at Chen Ya for a while, she vaguely recalled that she had indeed heard someone mention once or twice that on the day of Old Master Lu's birthday banquet, a wedding of a distant relative who had separated from the family would be held in the side hall.

The reason she forgot about it was because she had been fully focused on preparing for the birthday banquet these past few days and hadn't made any preparations for the wedding at all.

She now realized that the so-called distant relative was actually Chen Ya's aunt.

Looking at Lu Qingxuan's expression, Chen Ya sighed inwardly.

Sure enough, apart from himself, no one in the entire Lu family cared about his aunt's wedding.

If I hadn't come and helped with the preparations, my aunt's wedding for Grandpa Lu's birthday would have been a quiet and unnoticed affair.

If that were the case, I wonder how much of that moment of happiness my aunt captured was sweet, and how much was melancholic.

Lu Qingxuan's eyes darted around. She felt a little embarrassed that she hadn't remembered anything about the wedding, so she quickly changed the subject, saying, "Then, don't you think it's a waste for you to just sit in the side hall like this?"

"What's a pity?" Chen Ya raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Look, who else is at this table?" Lu Qingxuan reminded her, and poked at Gu Yuqing and Qin Yunchu's names. "The opportunity to dine with these two is something many people would pay money for, are you just going to give it up like this?"

Chen Ya couldn't help but laugh: "What's the big deal?"

In the past, Gu Yuqing and I not only ate at the same table, but we even slept in the same bed.

Qin Yun Chu had never eaten with her before, but as he got to know her better, he discovered that beneath her icy exterior lay a very silly side, so it wouldn't be difficult to ask her out for a meal.

He really wouldn't go through the trouble of missing the happiest moment of his aunt's life just for this.

Lu Qingxuan stared at him, her eyes rolling upwards incessantly, looking exasperated at his lack of ambition.

"Do you know how many times I ran around and how many scoldings I endured for this seat?" Lu Qingxuan said. "Think about it, there are so many members of the Lu family, how could it be the two of us sitting at this table?"

This was indeed a blind spot for Chen Ya. He opened his mouth and said, "Yeah, how did you do that?"

Looking at his blank expression, Lu Qingxuan wished she could poke a red mark on his forehead with her finger.

“I was scolded for half a day in front of my great-grandmother and Committee Member Gao, and they even suspected me of trying to force him out of office. You have no idea how it felt to be under Committee Member Gao’s questioning gaze. I suffered so much injustice!”

She spoke in a pitiful tone, her voice seemingly filled with endless grievances, as if she were saying, "Look at how much I've sacrificed, don't I deserve a thumbs up?"

Chen Ya had never seen her with such an expression before.

"You're amazing, absolutely fantastic," Chen Ya exclaimed casually.

He wasn't the kind of person to be harsh. Even if someone else's efforts were useless to him, he would still generously offer his praise.

Lu Qingxuan sensed a hint of perfunctoriness in his words, but she couldn't help but feel happy, a smile spreading across her face as she said:

"No, you don't need to flatter me. I didn't arrange this so that you would praise me."

She looked arrogant and didn't seem to buy into flattery at all, but if she had a tail like a puppy, it would probably be waving around in the air by now.

Chen Ya was speechless. Okay, praising her a couple of times was now considered flattery; this girl was really hard to like.

After a moment of smugness, Lu Qingxuan said seriously, "Of course, to be honest, the reason why Great-Grandma agreed so readily this time was also related to her good mood at the time."

"Oh? What happened to her?"

"Didn't you notice? Gu Yuqing is here!" Lu Qingxuan exclaimed, glaring at him.

"Gu Yuqing is here?" Chen Ya didn't understand the logic behind this.

Lu Qingxuan explained with difficulty, "We didn't invite Gu Yuqing at all. The fact that she took the initiative to come and wish Old Master Lu a happy birthday shows what? If so many celebrities saw her there that day, what do you think they would think?"