The sadness of the Chen Family People was quickly dismissed by Mu Jinyu after Wang Zhengbiao had sent them away.
Mu Jinyu couldn't be bothered to care whether they would fight afterwards or not.
How was that his business?
He had always been a stingy person; if Chen Jiahui and others dared to slander Lin Qiaoxia with baseless accusations and he hadn't caught up with it, he wouldn't have bothered to deal with Chen Jiahui either.
But since they took the initiative to bring gifts, shamelessly trying to foster a relationship, he naturally wouldn't be polite and accepted all the gifts they sent as per the list.
And since they had a big celebration to prepare for, there was no need to keep them around any longer, saving him the eyesore and the waste of drinks.
By the side, Xiang Mantang watched Mu Jinyu's maneuvers, and after being stunned for a while, blinked and gave Mu Jinyu a thumbs-up, clicking his tongue in admiration, "Senior brother is truly amazing. I really can't match that thick skin."
"Of course, you should learn from me more in the future," Mu Jinyu said, accepting Xiang Mantang's teasing as a compliment.
Xiang Mantang: "..."
Gu Xiyan and the other girls standing by couldn't help but giggle.
Later, seeing that no one else seemed to be coming to offer gifts anymore, Mu Jinyu said to Xiang Mantang and Lin Qiaoxia and the others, "Let's go, let's go back to our seats to eat, I'm starving."
The group followed Mu Jinyu's arrangement and sat at the main table closest to the stage.
This table was very large, capable of seating more than twenty people, but there were only a few who were qualified to sit there.
Only the parents of Lin Qiaoxia, the father of Yu Linglong, and the two birthday stars of the day, Lin Qiaoxia and Yu Linglong, along with Gu Xiyan, Wen Rou, and Mei Yinxue, the three women with a deep relationship with Mu Jinyu, were present.
The last ones were Xu Qingya and Jiang Huaimeng, representing the Xu Family and Jiang Family to celebrate their birthdays.
And finally, Xiang Mantang, who arrived last.
Only these twelve people sat there, and even the Chief of Staff of the Governor of River City was not invited by Mu Jinyu to this table.
If it were Gu Xiyan or Wen Rou's birthdays, there would probably be more people than this. Xu Tianzheng and Jiang Wangchuan would not rely on their status and send juniors, but would come personally.
And due to their relationship with Mu Jinyu, they too would likely be squeezed onto this table.
The banquet soon began.
Mu Jinyu and the others began to eat and drink.
Xiang Mantang sat next to Mu Jinyu, turned his head and saw him dealing with the lobster with a somewhat distracted expression, and whispered, "Do you feel like someone else is missing?"
"Hmm?" Mu Jinyu, hearing Xiang Mantang's words, refocused and then mulled over it for a moment before replying faintly, "Who's missing? It's just the right number of people."
Xiang Mantang, while using a ladle to scoop Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, continued to speak to himself, "She didn't come not because she doesn't want to come back, or because she doesn't consider them part of the family and thus relies on her status to avoid coming. It's because..."
While Xiang Mantang continued to speak, Mu Jinyu's expression darkened. He had planned to stuff a piece of lobster meat into his mouth to shut him up, but upon hearing the end, he paused, also curious about the reason.
But after his lips moved a few times, he didn't ask, thinking to let Xiang Mantang continue on his own.
However, after waiting for a while, Xiang Mantang did not speak anymore.
This annoyed Mu Jinyu so much that he really wanted to take the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, which had been simmered slowly over twelve hours in front of him, and smash it on his head!
Unable to hold back any longer, Mu Jinyu finally asked impatiently, "Because of what?"
Xiang Mantang chewed the food in his mouth carefully, smiling inside but not making a sound. After a good while, he swallowed his food and, seeing that Mu Jinyu was about to lose his temper, he spoke evenly:
"Because she's getting married."
As soon as the words fell.
"Clang."
The spoon in Mu Jinyu's hand dropped directly onto the bone plate, making a loud crisp sound.
The people who were eating turned their heads upon hearing the noise, curious about what the fellow disciples were discussing that could cause Mu Jinyu to lose his composure like that.
Hearing Xiang Mantang's words, Mu Jinyu felt his throat go dry and his mind buzzed, as if several flies were buzzing inside his head.
Mu Jinyu shook his head, waved his hand at Gu Xiyan who was sitting next to him, and said hoarsely, "I'm fine, you guys continue eating, Ah-Xiang and I will step outside for a moment."
After speaking, Mu Jinyu stood up, patted Xiang Mantang on the shoulder, and then walked towards the banquet hall's main door.
Seeing this, Xiang Mantang chuckled softly, shook his head slightly, ate a few more bites, and then casually got up and followed Mu Jinyu out.
Gu Xiyan and Wen Rou, watching Mu Jinyu's somewhat strange behavior, wondered what was going on. They felt a vague worry and thought that they would inquire and comfort Mu Jinyu when they got back.
Mu Jinyu walked on the red carpet, ignoring the people at the tables along the way who greeted him. Some he knew, others he did not, but it did not matter; he ignored them all now.
His mind was a bit messy, and he felt inexplicably irritable inside.
He knew something was wrong. He had thought long ago that the woman's affairs were none of his business. He did not even want to pay attention to that woman anymore.
Why, then, hearing that the woman was getting married, did he feel this annoyed? Was it because he felt it was unfair to his deceased father once more?
Hadn't he always thought that the woman was materialistic, abandoning her husband and child to remarry someone else?
Now, she was merely turning the misunderstanding from those years into reality. Why should he feel upset about it?
After leaving the banquet hall, Mu Jinyu wandered aimlessly before entering an empty conference room to wait for Xiang Mantang.
Xiang Mantang soon followed him in, holding a glass of red wine that was still mostly full. He took a sip as he entered and said with a light smile, "What's the matter? We haven't even finished eating yet. You dragged me all this way, and I'm still hungry."
Mu Jinyu came to his senses, his gaze as sharp as a sword, and asked hoarsely, "Stop beating around the bush, what's going on?"
Xiang Mantang casually responded, "Which matter? About me not being full, or about Su Zijin getting married?"
"What do you think?!" Mu Jinyu's voice grew louder.
Xiang Mantang said, "Oh, I thought you really didn't care about such trifles. I thought you'd be more concerned about your brother preparing a meeting gift for your sister-in-law, running around tired, hungry for half a day."
As Xiang Mantang spoke, he shook his head in disappointment, his face full of sorrow, "Brother, you really break your brother's heart!"
Mu Jinyu didn't reply, just staring intently at Xiang Mantang.
Seeing this, Xiang Mantang pursed his lips and shook his head:
"Ah, this is so boring. I'll just tell you straight, then,
Years ago, Su Zijin's fiancé, now seeing the Old Dragon King on his deathbed, to court favor for the True Dragon title, used the backing of his sect to pressure the Old Dragon King into agreeing to marry the Saintess to Beidou Tian Quan!
In order not to let the Dragon King Hall fall apart after his death, he finally agreed."