Chapter 144: Meeting the Big Star Again

Ensuring that they were unharmed and safe put Liu Jingye at ease. No matter what dramatic events unfolded tonight, he was fully prepared to face them alone, all the way to the end.

By evening, he had donned a suit, readied his equipment, and hailed a taxicab straight to the city's most luxurious five-star hotel.

The parking lot at the entrance was, as usual, lined with luxury cars, resembling an auto show. Liu Jingye thought to himself, "Anyone attending the Tan family young master's banquet must understand the Tan family's background. I imagine there will be quite a few big figures."

The banquet was held in the second-floor buffet restaurant. Liu Jingye walked up alongside gorgeously dressed men and women. He noticed that the men around them were either bald or sporting beer bellies, yet their female companions were younger and more stunning than the last. It made one lament the unfairness of the world, wondering how such prime flowers always ended up in the hands of beasts!

"Pardon me, sir. Please show your invitation," a staff member blocked Liu Jingye at the entrance, asking politely.

"Young Master Tan Yifeng invited me here," Liu Jingye replied.

"You must still present an invitation. Every distinguished guest here is required to do so," the polite staff member said. "Furthermore, the invitation is for you to attend with a partner."

"There's a rule like that?" Liu Jingye looked at the surrounding people and saw that indeed everyone came in pairs. "Young Master Tan Yifeng personally invited me this morning. Oh, by the way, Tan Yixing, the guest of honor tonight, is my sworn brother."

"I am sorry, sir. Without an invitation, I cannot allow you to enter." The staff member remained polite in tone, but impatience—and even a hint of disdain—flashed in his eyes.

Just then, a man in black walked over and stated bluntly, "No one enters without an invitation. This is not a place for freeloaders."

Liu Jingye's expression instantly darkened. He stared at the man in black with icy eyes, recognizing him immediately as an old acquaintance—the very fellow whose nose he had broken last time.

"What is the meaning of this?" Liu Jingye thought to himself. "Tan Yifeng deliberately invited me without giving me an invitation or briefing his subordinates. Is he clearly trying to humiliate me and watch me make a fool of myself?"

A surge of blazing anger rose in Liu Jingye's chest, and he felt an urge to smash the man's nose bridge all over again, this time reducing it to pulp.

Right at that moment, a fragrant breeze swept in from behind, and a crisp, melodious voice sounded: "He is my date. Here is the invitation."

With that, a delicate hand clad in a black velvet glove extended forward, holding a gold-embossed invitation.

The staff member hastily took it, examined it, politely stepped aside, and made a welcoming gesture. His eyes remained fixed on the breathtaking visage before him—truly a face that could topple cities.

Especially striking was the black off-the-shoulder evening gown she wore, complemented by an elaborate hair bun and precious jewelry, which lent her an air of regal elegance and peerless beauty.

Liu Jingye was taken aback as well. By then, the gloved hand had already slipped through the crook of his arm, giving a gentle tug that led Liu Jingye forward with her.

"Well, well, having a popular actress as my date makes me the most dazzling guest here tonight," Liu Jingye said with a beaming smile.

"Don't mention it. I came alone anyway; rather than being pestered by other men, I might as well find my own companion." Tang Shiya smiled slightly, radiating a mesmerizing brilliance that eclipsed all other women. The moment she stepped into the restaurant, she instantly became the focal point of all eyes.

Although the guests present had seen plenty of the world, they still couldn't help but cast sidelong glances at such an extraordinary beauty. Even the envious and jealous looks from the women carried a trace of awe and sincere admiration.

"This is the charm of a celebrity," Liu Jingye praised heartily.

"If I had a choice, I would honestly rather take over my mother's place and be a cook at a small diner," Tang Shiya said with a continuous smile, nodding and greeting familiar acquaintances. Lowering her voice, she added, "What I detest the most are these hypocritical social gatherings. People act so courteous, but it's all just for showing off and chasing interests. And no matter how glamorous a woman might seem, here she is merely a man's accessory."

"You could look at it from another perspective," Liu Jingye said. "You are so beautiful and noble that all the female guests here are merely your accessories."

"That makes sense," Tang Shiya replied unceremoniously, her large eyes curving into crescents like the moon at the edge of the sky.

"Still, I really do love the food your mother cooks," Liu Jingye remarked. "I used to dream of my family running a diner so I could have a chicken every three days, a sheep every five days, and braised pork intestines at every single meal!"

Tang Shiya burst into a laugh and said, "Is that really the extent of your ambitions?"

Liu Jingye replied, "It's still much better than eating braised beef, spicy beef, or mushroom-chicken instant noodles all the time. I think instant noodle commercials are the most deceptive advertisements out there. You must never film that kind of commercial."

"Commercials nowadays are just promotional campaigns to polish one's own image; none of them are truthful," Tang Shiya said. "Even feminine hygiene products claim things like breathability, freshness, and leak-proof protection, but those all involve a degree of exaggeration."

Tang Shiya spoke quite naturally, but she regretted it the moment the words left her mouth. Her face flushed red, and she couldn't understand why she had rambled on about such things to him in a daze. Yet these were grievances she had harbored against the various shenanigans of the entertainment industry. As a public figure bound by numerous commercial contracts, she could never dare mention them aloud.

Liu Jingye, however, remained unfazed and chimed in, "Not necessarily. I happen to know of an advertisement that deliberately claims its product is bad and even harmful, yet after it airs, sales increase day by day."

"Impossible! Who would intentionally disparage their own product?" Tang Shiya flatly refused to believe it.

Liu Jingye pulled a pack of cigarettes from his jacket and said, "Right here. It constantly proclaims that smoking is harmful to your health and advises you to quit as early as possible, yet sales keep growing. It's the most profitable business in the whole world."

"I suppose you have a point!" Tang Shiya laughed helplessly.

"Oh, by the way, why did you come alone? Were you invited, or did you come as Young Master Feng's date?" Liu Jingye steered the conversation back to the main topic.

"If you want me to be a date, the price is very high," Tang Shiya said proudly. "Like the last time I accompanied him to an event, it was because he signed a five-year advertising agreement with my agency totaling a hundred million, and I get a ten percent cut."

"Whoa, that's ten million!" Liu Jingye said, gritting his teeth. "Shouldn't you settle the room fee from last time then? Besides, you should invest some in your family's diner so you can serve more meat dishes in the future."

Tang Shiya smiled. "Aren't I currently acting as your date right now? How should we settle this account?"

Liu Jingye smiled wryly. "To be honest, I appreciate you helping me out of a tight spot, but this feeling is really uncomfortable. Look at all those men around us—their gazes toward me are as sharp as blades. That's why my mom always told me when I was little that you shouldn't date a woman who is too pretty; towering trees catch the wind, and they're too hard to hold onto."

"Is that so?" Tang Shiya glanced at him sideways and said, "I think appreciation of beauty is human nature, and everyone pursues wonderful things. Beauties, in particular, are a man's greatest love. If a man cannot even protect his own woman, it proves he's incompetent; if he doesn't even dare to pursue her, it proves he's cowardly."

"Heh, you've analyzed that quite thoroughly. Do you speak from deep personal experience?" Liu Jingye smiled. "True enough, a woman like you, as gorgeous as a fairy, would make anyone—regardless of gender—feel inferior. There must be many men who stop in their tracks, feeling too cowardly to think they're worthy of you, and assuming you wouldn't look at them either."

"That's why I say such men are the most cowardly," Tang Shiya sneered. "Appearance is innate; we don't get to choose whether we look good or ugly. But beyond looks, what matters more is that I am also a woman. While I cannot choose my looks, I can choose the man I like."

"Oh, listening to you talk like this, could it be that you do like someone, but that man feels inferior, thinks he isn't worthy of you, and never dares to confess his feelings?" Liu Jingye smiled.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Tang Shiya knitted her brows in warning. "There might be reporters lurking around here. If this gets out, it'll turn into another scandal!"

"Ah!" Liu Jingye feigned shock, hurriedly let go of the arm she was holding, stepped back three paces, and looked left and right, thoroughly startled.

Seeing his alarmed expression, Tang Shiya smiled and asked, "What? Are you afraid of scandals too?"

Liu Jingye wiped away a cold sweat, thinking to himself, "I'm not afraid of scandals; I'm afraid of reporters. If Chen Yuxin happens to be lurking here as well, I'll be in deep trouble."

Seeing that Liu Jingye didn't speak, Tang Shiya walked over and linked her arm through his once again. "Are you afraid of scandals, or are you afraid of me? Surely you aren't one of those cowardly, insecure men, are you?"

"Insecure?" Liu Jingye gave a disdainful, cold laugh. "Would this big heart of mine, accustomed to bloody battles across the world, feel insecure because of a woman? You underestimate me far too much. I believe I am worthy of all the beautiful things in this world, and to attain them, I am willing to fight and guard them with blood and life. I ask you, how many people in this world can claim to do that?"

Looking at him, Tang Shiya involuntarily recalled how he had carried a sniper rifle at the hotel—imposing, majestic, and exuding a stern murderous aura, resembling an peerless overlord standing before a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

She also remembered the robbery scene last time, when terrifying criminals charged forward ferociously while a smile remained plastered across his face. To him, those thugs were merely like suicidal ants, easily handled with a single hand. Could a man like that ever feel insecure?

Tang Shiya knew her own feelings at the time all too well; hiding behind him, she felt as though he were a towering mountain, bringing her an unprecedented sense of security.

Tang Shiya abruptly asked, out of the blue, "What if it concerns me? If you were to pursue me, would you feel insecure? Like your mother said, too pretty a woman catches the wind and is hard to hold onto—would you back off because of that?"

Liu Jingye smiled faintly. "That would depend on whether I like her or not. If I like her, of course I'd be willing to pursue her. It's true that a towering tree catches the wind, but I am capable enough that rivals won't get a chance to poach her. Of course, if I happen to run into a woman like Pan Jinlian, I'd just have to chalk it up to bad luck."

Tang Shiya shot him an exasperated sideways glare. Why on earth bring up Jinlian out of nowhere? Seemingly acting nonchalant, she asked, "Is that really how you think? Take me, for instance—I'm a well-known actress with plenty of suitors and fans, including quite a few high-ranking scions of wealthy families. If you liked me, would you pursue me? We could be said to live in two different worlds; could you ignore those boundaries and gaps?"

Liu Jingye shrugged indifferently. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the western-style buffet dishes being served one by one. With a faint smile, he said, "Look, tomatoes and potatoes are two completely different species. One grows on a vine, while the other is buried deep in the soil; one is bright red and brilliantly gorgeous, while the other is dull and unremarkable. Yet, when made into french fries and ketchup, they are an absolute match!"