Chapter 64: The Lin Family's Grand Celebration Banquet

Lin Wan no longer wanted to speak with Lin Hen.
However, in order to maintain her image, she forced a smile through her grievance: "Alright, Second Brother, I know you've been in a bad mood lately."
"It's fine, I'll go downstairs first."
Qin Lian pointed at Lin Hen: "Look at you, your sister is being so considerate, yet you still make her sad."
Lin Hen's hands clenched at his sides: "I'm sorry."
"I will try to restrain my temper."
Lin Yunhe's hair was meticulously styled, and dressed in a suit, he exuded an aura of scholarly refinement.
Sitting on the sofa, he saw Lin Wan coming down the stairs: "What's wrong, Wanwan? Why are you unhappy?"
Lin Wan bit her lip: "Nothing."
Lin Jun cared for his younger sister the most.
After being humiliated at the last banquet, it had been difficult to finally find something worth celebrating, yet she was still frowning.
He walked over: "Wanwan, let's go. Ride in my car."
"Mom said I should drive my own car there," Lin Wan forced a smile. "Why don't Third Brother ride in my car instead?"
Lin Jun nodded and followed Lin Wan outside.
Lin Yunhe frowned, looking at Lin Hen: "You need to manage your emotions, instead of taking your anger out on Wanwan every day."
Lin Hen: "Mo'mo..."
Lin Jianchen toyed with the car keys in his hand and sneered: "Ha, do we need to observe three years of mourning for her?"
「She's dead, and we aren't even allowed to be happy anymore？」
"Second Brother, don't be too overbearing."
Lin Hen lowered his head, still remembering what Lin Qinglang had said.
Mo'mo was still alive.
Sooner or later, he would see her again.
Wuhu Restaurant.
The Lin family got out of their car.
This grand restaurant was one of the finest in City A, boasting vast landscaped gardens and an imposing entrance manned by beautiful greeters.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Lin. Your banquet has been prepared, please come in."
Qin Lian nodded: "Have all our guests arrived?"
The beauty paused, looking slightly surprised: "It seems not many have arrived yet. They might still be on the way."
Qin Lian's heart skipped a beat as a sense of foreboding washed over her.
The Lin family's banquet was on the third floor.
When they ascended to the third floor, they found that apart from Mu Bai and his friends, almost no one else was there.
Qin Lian checked her phone; it was already 2:00 PM.
"This..."
Lin Tiancheng also stepped out of the elevator, frowning: "Did you send out the notifications properly? Why is there nobody here?"
Qin Lian said anxiously: "I don't know either. Maybe they'll arrive a little later."
Though she said this, she quickly took out her phone to message people on WeChat.
They had expected an attendance of two hundred people and reserved dozens of tables.
Originally, she had worried that even half wouldn't show up, but who would have thought that not even a single table was full yet!
Qin Lian called her friend: "Hello? Lily, why aren't you here yet?"
"Oh, good grief, we're busy buying gifts! Can't talk, I'm busy!"
Hearing this, Qin Lian stared blankly at her phone: "Buying gifts? Could it be... could it be that they think our Wanwan did so well on her exams that they need to carefully prepare a proper gift?"
Lin Wan felt a surge of joy: "It's all because of Mom's reputation. You and Aunt Lily are such good friends, which is why she values this so much."
"Since the notice only went out yesterday, and she's always busy with business, it's completely normal that she only found time to go buy a gift now."
Qin Lian thought about it: "That does make sense."
"Then there's no need to rush."
The elevator chimed and opened once more.
Qin Lian quickly looked over, only to see a dozen students walking out.
"Wanwan, congratulations on your graduation banquet. This is our class gift."
Lin Wan took the gift and, just as she was about to smile, caught sight of her archenemy, the study committee member Li Sisi.
Li Sisi: "Lin Wan, congratulations."
"However, whether that admission spot was obtained legitimately or not, you know best in your heart."
Li Sisi let out a huff: "Living off the blood and sweat of others, aren't you afraid of ghosts knocking on your door at midnight?"
Li Sisi had figured it out.
Lin Moxuan was the top student in the city! There was no way she couldn't pass!
As for Lin Wan, what right did she have to attend University A?
Anyone could tell at a glance that something fishy was going on.
The expressions of the others were also somewhat unnatural.
Fearing she would lose face in front of her father, Lin Wan quickly guided them to sit in the most remote corner.
Li Sisi sat down and scanned the surroundings: "This Wuhu Restaurant is extremely expensive. Your family treats you really well."
Lin Wan forced a smile: "We're all classmates, and today is my happy day. Let's not talk about irrelevant matters."
"Are you scared?" Li Sisi sneered.
She simply couldn't stand the fact that Lin Mo, who had worked so hard and studied so diligently, had her spot stolen by someone like Lin Wan!
"Seriously, back in senior year, who could have known that you, the campus belle, would be biological sisters with Lin Mo?"
The others chimed in.
"Exactly. Lin Mo never spoke much, and she wore shoes until they were completely ragged," said Li Daha. "I remember she always took the public bus."
Liu Huahua also nodded: "True, Lin Mo worked really hard. When she first transferred from the countryside, the head teacher didn't even like her."
Li Sisi looked at Lin Wan: "You're the young lady of wealth and privilege, while Lin Mo was just your stepping stone."
"There are many unfair things in this world, but I believe justice will prevail eventually."
Lin Wan's expression turned ugly.
She stiffly smiled: "If you're here to bring bad luck to my celebration, you can leave now."
With that, she dropped the pleasant facade and walked over to her parents with a gloomy expression.
Liu Huahua let out a soft huff and whispered, "Sisi, is it really a good idea for us to provoke her like this?"
"What's wrong with it? If you ask me, that admission spot rightfully belonged to Mo'mo!"
Even though they hadn't been particularly close to Lin Mo in ordinary times, having competed against each other on the grade rankings forged a different kind of bond.
Lin Tiancheng wore a dark expression: "Lin Wan, is everything arranged properly? Don't let your distinguished guests arrive only to find out that your admission spot was acquired through shady and improper means!"
Lin Wan felt deeply aggrieved: "Dad, I've arranged everything. I'm sorry for causing you worry."
Lin Tiancheng let out a cold snort.
"Go wait downstairs."
With that, he and Qin Lian stepped into the elevator.
Qin Lian actually wanted to comfort her daughter, but seeing her husband's darkened expression, she didn't dare.
Mu Bai walked over and patted Lin Wan's shoulder: "Don't worry, I asked my father to come as well. There will be plenty of people here to show their support."
Only then did Lin Wan heave a sigh of relief: "Brother Mu Bai, thank you. Shall we go wait downstairs too?"
"The guests should be arriving soon, I suppose."
The Lin family members walked together into the lobby on the ground floor to wait.
Lin Tiancheng looked out at the main road with a gloomy expression.
It was completely empty, with not a single luxury car in sight.
He raised his phone and saw that it was already 2:30 PM.
Every passing second felt like a year.
He personally called several of his close friends.
At the very least, he couldn't let there be absolute silence with no one showing up.
He thought to himself in the dark: "Could it be that because I offended the Chamber of Commerce president and Zhenghua Pharmaceuticals last time, they've actually blacklisted us?"
Lin Tiancheng's shoulders slumped slightly, his face pale and his heart growing cold.
Although it was late August and temperatures were soaring close to 40 degrees Celsius, his heart felt as cold as ice water.
"Darling, cars are coming!"
Qin Lian cried out in surprise: "Look over there!"
Lin Tiancheng straightened his posture again and hurried toward the entrance.
Upon closer inspection, it was a familiar license plate.
As soon as that car stopped, several more pulled up right behind it.
It was already past 2:40 PM.
Suddenly, over a dozen cars had arrived! They were all Mercedes-Benz, BMWs, and Audis.
In a flurry, they completely blocked the main road.
Seeing the person step out of the first car, Lin Tiancheng quickly went forward to shake his hand: "President Liu! Didn't you go abroad? I can't believe you rushed back today—you're really giving me a lot of face!"
Liu Qing instinctively shook his hand: "Haha, a graduation banquet is such a huge event, even if I had to crawl, I'd crawl back from abroad!"
"In our circle, who would dare not show up?"
With that, he even asked: "Am I the earliest one to arrive?"
Lin Tiancheng's complexion flushed with delight. This President Liu was a wealthy man, yet he was showing him so much respect.
He hurriedly nodded: "Yes, President Liu, you're the very first. Please come with me to the second floor for some tea."
"Second floor? I thought it was the seventh floor?" Liu Qing frowned, then laughed heartily: "Getting old, poor memory. Let's go, let's go."
"It's certainly lively today."
Qin Lian also hurriedly welcomed the rest of the corporate executives heading up to the second floor, her smile beaming without a single pause.