Chapter 87: Banquet

Chapter 87: The Banquet

The moon hung above the willow branches, and the night grew deeper. Outside the largest hotel in the city, cars came and went as the evening's activities began to pick up.

Shen Qingye and her mother arrived at the banquet venue half an hour early. The moment they stepped into the grand hall, all eyes turned toward them.

A stark contrast to her usual laid-back, everyday wear, Shen Qingye wore a light blue dress that evening. Her porcelain skin and posture naturally upright from years of professional discipline made her stand out. Her naturally striking features were subtly accentuated by the makeup artist, adding a touch of radiant beauty. Her poised smile, serene eyes, and composed expression exuded grace and confidence, drawing the attention of many.

Several CEOs and their wives, familiar with Shen Linyue, came over to chat and subtly probe, their gazes filled with subtle curiosity and appraisal. Meanwhile, in a corner of the hall, Yue Lingchuan, who had been keeping to himself, tugged at his tie and turned to look, his expression freezing for a moment.

He gazed at the woman, both familiar and foreign, as if she were the moon surrounded by stars, and his fingers tightened around his glass, a strange feeling stirring in his chest.

This was a side of Shen Qingye he had never seen before.

Back at the station, she always kept it casual—whatever was easiest—and tackled cases with sharp instincts and bold determination. Even among a group of men, she never once complained, no matter how grueling the investigations got.

But tonight...

Yue Lingchuan stole another glance her way, then looked away, feeling awkward. He took a small sip of his drink to soothe the dryness in his throat.

Nearby, a cluster of young men leaned in, whispering among themselves.

"Who's that girl? She looks new."

"What's wrong with your eyes? She's with Boss Shen. Who else would she be but his daughter?"

"Oh, I heard Boss Shen has a daughter, but why haven't I seen her before?"

A tall young man chuckled, "She's been busy with her studies and now her work. She rarely appears in social circles, so it's no surprise you haven't seen her."

"Ah, so she's a good girl," the other remarked, sounding somewhat regretful. The tall young man couldn't help but add, "What do you mean 'good girl'? She's a police officer—a detective, no less!"

"A detective?" The young man glanced over again, looking surprised. "Her? She looks so delicate. She can be a detective?"

"Well, I've heard something about that," another tall and lean young man chimed in, lowering his voice. "I heard she was involved in the Boss Jiang incident recently..."

"Boss Jiang? You mean she uncovered all that?"

"From what I've heard, she was definitely involved..."

"That's impressive. I was shocked when the Boss Jiang scandal broke. Who would have thought that someone who seemed so easygoing had so many lives on his hands... and it was connected to her."

The group turned their attention back to Shen Qingye, their gazes now tinged with caution.

Someone else added, "Not just that. I heard the mess at the Xue and Yuan family wedding was also tied to her."

"Really? That girl is something else!"

"The Yuan family took a huge hit from that incident, losing half their shares to the Xue family. Even the Liao family didn't come out unscathed."

"Not just unscathed—Boss Liao and his wife are still in prison."

"Serves them right. Tsk tsk, good thing I wasn't close to Liao Hongyuan, or who knows where I'd be now..."

Those involved in that case didn't fare well either. After the case concluded, many of them were reprimanded by their families, fearing they might follow in the footsteps of Yuan Zhenghao and Liao Hongyuan.

"By the way, Yuanfeng, I heard your mom is considering setting you up with Miss Shen?"

One of the young men teased with a grin. Yue Lingchuan paused at the comment, his gaze drifting over with a faint, unreadable expression.

The tall guy who had just been seen at the mall in the morning spat out, "Buzz off, quit spouting nonsense! I've got a girlfriend!"

Hearing this, Yue Lingchuan's expression eased up a bit.

The others pressed on, surprised, asking, "Are you serious? I remember your girlfriend... you've been together for about a year, right? That's a pretty long stretch!"

Others were also surprised, "Yuanfeng, are you serious?"

Zhou Yuanfeng snapped, "You think I'm like you, just fooling around?"

"No, I remember your girlfriend, she's... her family seems quite ordinary."

Zhou Yuanfeng took a sip of his wine, "It's all good, her folks are both blue-collar workers."

"Huh... so, will your parents be okay with that?" someone asked cautiously.

Zhou Yuanfeng didn't care, "Why wouldn't they? It's my life, not theirs. Why should their opinions matter?"

The others just chuckled, letting it drop, but their expressions clearly showed they didn't quite agree.

Yue Lingchuan, though, gave him a couple more looks, and his opinion of the guy improved slightly.

...

Soft music wafted through the hall, the banquet hadn't started yet, and the guests were mingling in small groups. For them, the social aspect of the occasion was more important than anything else.

Shen Qingye was guided by Shen Linyue to say hello to some familiar CEO wives, during which she also saw Xue Mingqi who had come to attend the banquet. They caught each other's eyes, surprised, then shared a quick smile, a silent hello.

After the whole Yuan Zhenghao debacle, Shen Qingye had been swamped, only occasionally hearing bits about the Xue family from her mother. Rumor had it that after Yuan Zhenghao's scandal broke, the Yuan family was already unpopular. Now with the Xue family stirring the pot, Yuan Xingye was drowning in it. Coupled with internal factional struggles within the Yuan family, with all the heat, Yuan Xingye was hanging by a thread.

In contrast, the Xue family was riding high. The Xue family already held 41% of the Yuan family's shares and had secretly acquired several important companies of the Yuan family. With both internal and external efforts, the Xue family's industrial scale had expanded significantly. Xue Mingqi herself, after recovering her health, had also entered the company, her bold moves turning heads, and people couldn't help but admire the Xue family's daughter, whom they had previously underestimated.

These thoughts flitted through Shen Qingye's mind, and soon she had no more energy to dwell on them.

She was young before and rarely attended such gatherings. Later, she went to university in another city and didn't come back often, so she had no opportunity. But now that she was back in Pingjiang and with her mother, such occasions were unavoidable. In just half an hour, under everyone's curious or friendly gazes, Shen Qingye's smile was starting to crack.

Until she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in the corner, Shen Qingye was startled at first, then, like she'd been pardoned, she said to Shen Linyue, "Mom, I see our captain, I'm going over to say hello."

Shen Linyue glanced towards the corner, saw the tall, well-built man in a sharp suit, then looked at her daughter's pleading eyes, and helplessly waved her hand, "Go ahead, go ahead."

Shen Qingye felt a wave of relief, moving gracefully but swiftly toward him.

The banquet hall was crowded, and Yue Lingchuan's gaze kept drifting over there. When Shen Qingye, with her bright eyes, looking straight at him as if no one else was around, came towards him, a weird feeling stirred in his chest, making him unconsciously straighten up from his relaxed posture and become more serious.

"Ahem." He couldn't help but cough lightly, watching the girl stop in front of him, inexplicably feeling a bit nervous.

Shen Qingye, however, didn't notice Yue Lingchuan's state at all, just sighed in relief, "Finally, a break."

Yue Lingchuan was startled, looked at her, then at the crowd in the hall, and belatedly realized why she had come.

Meeting the girl's smiling gaze, Yue Lingchuan's lips twitched, suppressing the inexplicable emotions in his heart, and smiled calmly, "Rough crowd, huh?"

Shen Qingye shook her head, really unable to say it wasn't hard. She leaned against the wall like him, her words carrying a hint of complaint she didn't even notice, "My cheeks are about to cramp from all the smiling."

Yue Lingchuan looked at her delicate, fair cheeks, noticing her slightly heavier eyebrows and lip color, and felt an itch in his heart, inexplicably wanting to pinch them.

He forcibly looked away, mumbling a response. Shen Qingye turned to look at him again and asked, "Captain Yue, are you also here to wish Old Man Deng a happy birthday?"

Yue Lingchuan nodded, then slightly gestured with his chin towards a direction in the crowd, "My mom came to the banquet and brought me along."

By implication, he wasn't here willingly either.

They exchanged a glance and couldn't help but laugh softly.

Shen Qingye relaxed, "Today has been more tiring than chasing a suspect all day."

Yue Lingchuan also rubbed his temples, "Tell me about it."

He had been dragged out of bed early by his mother, trying on formal wear and shopping at the mall, hardly getting a moment to rest.

"By the way," he casually mentioned, "I think I saw you at Zhongyue Mall this morning, didn't I?"

Shen Qingye was surprised, "You were there too? My mom made me go with her."

Yue Lingchuan replied casually, "I was upstairs at the time, glanced down, and thought it might be you, but I wasn't sure."

He paused, then added as if it were nothing, "By the way... was there someone with you?"

"Huh?" Shen Qingye was puzzled, "Who?"

Yue Lingchuan took a sip of his drink, feeling even more thirsty, "Looked like a guy."

Shen Qingye thought for a moment, "Oh, you mean him."

She smiled, "That's a friend of my mom's. We bumped into each other and chatted for a bit."

Yue Lingchuan drew out an 'Oh,' and said, "I see."

He added casually, "I thought he might be your guy."