"Guo Jia? That name is certainly peculiar. Of course, I mean nothing by it; I just find it amusing," Liu Hui chuckled.

"Haha, I sometimes find it strange myself. But my father is a huge Three Kingdoms fan, hoping I’d become as clever as Guo Jia, so he gave me that name. Naturally, I’m nowhere near as formidable as the Guo Jia from that era," Guo Jia responded with a laugh.

"Mr. Guo doesn't seem to be a local. I've never heard anyone around here mention your name," Mei Peng added with a smile from the side.

"It's kind of you to ask, Dean Mei. I’m actually from the capital. This is my girlfriend, and we’re here in Bashan visiting a friend. We happened to catch your reception and thought we’d drop by, hoping to meet some new people."

"Haha, welcome to Bashan, Mr. Guo. I hope you make many friends tonight," Liu Hui also smiled.

"I wonder if I might have the honor of becoming friends with Mr. Liu?" Guo Jia asked with a slight smile.

"Aren't we friends already?" Liu Hui returned the smile.

"Heh, Mr. Liu has been quite the sensation lately. Who in all of Huaxia doesn't know your name now? You're considered the most likely person in the country to win the Nobel Prize," Guo Jia remarked.

"Just a little bit of luck, nothing worth mentioning," Liu Hui said modestly, though he chuckled internally—only moments ago, he had encountered someone who didn't know him!

As they were chatting animatedly, a man approached from the side and called out, "Xiao Liu." Liu Hui turned to see his future father-in-law, Liang Bo. He immediately excused himself to Guo Jia and walked over to Liang Bo, addressing him as Uncle.

"Xiao Liu, do you know the person you were just speaking with?"

"No, Uncle. He said his name is Guo Jia, and he’s from the capital," Liu Hui replied honestly.

"I saw you talking to him a while ago, but I didn't call you over. I encourage you to make friends, but I called you over immediately after you started talking with this Guo Jia. Do you know why?" Liang Bo inquired.

"Why is that, Uncle?" Liu Hui played along cooperatively.

"Because this Guo Jia is no ordinary person. His family belongs to one of the absolute top tiers in Huaxia. His ancestors made immense contributions and sacrifices for the founding of our nation, and naturally, they earned countless merits. The Guo family’s influence in Huaxia now is vast, even more powerful than the Lin Dao you encountered previously. I was afraid you wouldn't know his background and might accidentally plant a seed of trouble, so I wanted to give you a preemptive warning."

"Ah, he's such a formidable figure? I couldn't tell at all from his appearance," Liu Hui said, feeling slightly dazed.

"Perhaps you were misled. Children from prominent families—aren't they all well-mannered and humble? Even if they employ underhanded tactics behind closed doors, they at least appear respectable on the surface, giving no cause for complaint. As for those who seem arrogant and overbearing, their families wouldn't let them out much, lest they disgrace the family name and bring disaster upon them."

"I understand, I will handle things carefully. By the way, Uncle, did you come alone?" Liu Hui casually asked, noticing Liang Bo had no one else with him.

"My female secretary is with me. A man needs a bit of face sometimes, and your Aunt knows that," Liang Bo replied, pointing toward a young, beautiful woman beside him.

"Uncle, I don't seem to see anyone from the Dream Group here. What's the situation with them?" Liu Hui asked, noting Wei Chao's absence.

"Heh, this appreciation dinner is primarily aimed at Chinese enterprises and Chinese nationals. Wei Chao's Dream Group is essentially a foreign-invested company, and Wei Chao himself holds foreign nationality, which is why he wasn't invited."

"I see." As Liu Hui was contemplating this, he suddenly noticed a procession of major leaders from the Municipal Party Committee and the City Government entering. Trailing them at the very back was a familiar figure—Lin Dao, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. It seemed the reception was about to officially commence, and as the hosts, the city leaders were preparing to speak.

The city leadership spoke first, summarizing the glorious achievements of 2010 and looking forward to a bright future in 2011. They then called for everyone to unite around the core leadership to jointly create a prosperous future for Bashan. After the leaders concluded, several pre-arranged corporate representatives delivered speeches. After praising the city leadership, the reception officially began, and guests started mingling freely.

Because he spotted Lin Dao, Liu Hui found himself preoccupied, speculating about his purpose, and thus paid little attention to the leaders' speeches. As soon as the reception officially kicked off, Lin Dao walked directly toward Liu Hui.

"Boss Liu, we seem to have some misunderstandings between us. How about we talk things over?" Lin Dao was very direct.

"Certainly. Where would President Lin like to discuss this?" Liu Hui smiled. Rather than guessing Lin Dao’s objective here, it was better to ask him directly.

"Let's go upstairs. I’ve reserved a room there."

"Alright!" Liu Hui informed Mei Peng and then went upstairs with Lin Dao. With his current abilities, he wasn't afraid of Lin Dao playing any tricks.

The two arrived at the room Lin Dao had booked upstairs. There was no one else inside. Lin Dao invited Liu Hui to sit, then personally brewed a cup of tea and presented it to him.

"President Lin, just say whatever you need to say. I'm not accustomed to this kind of courtesy from you," Liu Hui admitted he was genuinely unsettled by Lin Dao’s demeanor.

"Hehe, the situation is actually this: I know Boss Liu has some misunderstandings about me, so I wanted to take this opportunity to explain things clearly," Lin Dao wasn't annoyed, watching Liu Hui with a slight smile.

"Oh? You think there are misunderstandings between us? Which ones exactly?" Liu Hui asked deliberately.

"I don't mind telling you: all the issues between us stem from my pursuit of Liang Jingyue. Beyond that, I haven't done anything else. Given my personality, I never deny things I’ve done," Lin Dao stated with unusual seriousness.

"You haven't done anything else?" Liu Hui narrowed his eyes at Lin Dao's solemn expression, sensing suspicion.

"The only thing I truly directed at you was sponsoring Liang Jingyue’s high school reunion and hiring a few stooges to try and get you drunk, aiming to humiliate you in front of her. Even that attempt was thwarted by your astonishing capacity for alcohol. Everything that happened afterward was not my doing," Lin Dao asserted sternly.

"Oh? The later events weren't you?" Liu Hui's eyes narrowed further; he smelled a conspiracy.

"It truly wasn't me afterward. That night of the reunion, I was worried you might drive drunk and get into an accident, so my driver and I followed you discreetly, intending to escort you home. However, on the road, we discovered police officers specifically targeting you."

"You must have been astonished when you saw the police stop me, right?" Liu Hui recalled the look of shock on Lin Dao's face that day.

"Indeed. While I certainly hoped the police would show up and arrest you at that moment, I didn't orchestrate it. So, seeing the police appear was surprising, as if someone knew my thoughts and carried out the action for me," Lin Dao explained.

"What about the subsequent personnel from the State Drug Administration?"

"Those two individuals were indeed connected to our Lin family. We investigated afterward and discovered that someone used my name to trick those two fools into causing trouble at your place. When they returned, they complained to us, and that's when we realized something was amiss."

"So, according to you, there's an unseen hand pushing both you and me toward antagonism?" Liu Hui found the situation getting complicated.

"Exactly. Thinking back carefully, ever since I met Liang Jingyue, it feels as if I was intentionally provoked into opposing you. I originally had no romantic feelings for Liang Jingyue, but rumors circulated in the capital elite circles that someone had stolen 'Lin Dao's woman' and made a cuckold of me. In a fit of anger, I decided to pursue Liang Jingyue, which naturally put me against you. The subsequent calculated incidents targeting you also align with my usual methods, so it's understandable you suspected me of scheming behind the scenes. That's how we ended up in opposition. I believe that was the goal of the hidden hand," Lin Dao explained the intricacies to Liu Hui.

Although Liu Hui couldn't fully believe everything Lin Dao said, it held a degree of plausibility. He paused, then asked, "Then why did President Lin decide to tell me all this today?"

"Boss Liu, even though I belong to a major family, my words and actions must align with the family's interests. Clearly, being in conflict with you now does not serve our family's benefit. Therefore, the elders sent me here to explain. Even if we can't be friends, we certainly shouldn't be enemies. Furthermore, the mastermind behind the recent actions targeting our Lin family may have grander ambitions, and we don't wish to create unnecessary enemies."

"As long as you don't pester Jingyue, I naturally won't go out of my way to oppose your family," Liu Hui also preferred not to clash with the formidable Lin family.

"My feelings for Jingyue are purely fraternal. If I hadn't been provoked before, I never would have harassed her. Rest assured, I will stay far away from Jingyue from now on."

"That’s excellent, I feel relieved then. But I am curious: I am merely a commoner, posing no threat to you all. Why did you need to come personally to explain this to me?"

"You still hold considerable weight in the eyes of those above you; several influential figures are backing you. The objective of the one provoking us might have been to pit our Lin family against the influential figures supporting you, allowing them to profit in the middle. To proactively avoid such a situation, my family's patriarch sent me to explain this to you personally," Lin Dao did not conceal the underlying truth.

"So that's how it is. Thank you for your candor, Brother Lin. Perhaps we can communicate more in the future; we might even become good friends!" Liu Hui smiled, extending his hand. Lin Dao, momentarily stunned, also reached out his hand. The two shook hands, resolving all prior unpleasantness in that gesture.

Qianyu will have two updates today; the second will arrive between 7 and 8 PM. Please stay tuned.

The clicks and collections for this book yesterday were quite good. Qianyu hopes to work with everyone to create a classic work.

The Qidian website has been very slow since last night. Why is that?