CHAPTER 186: CHAPTER 186: HOUSEWARMING BANQUET

The Tianhai Center Building is a landmark super-tall building in Hua Country, located in the Tianhai Financial Center, and it is the tallest building in Hua Country.

The entire building is enclosed by a double-layer transparent curtain wall, along with a unique design that twists 120 degrees from the bottom to the top, making it a must-visit place for many tourists coming to Tianhai.

An Tong arrived early at the Tianhai Center Building, intending to prepare in advance at the restaurant for Li Jing, but she was stopped outside the building. She had to wait for Li Jing and others to show the reservation proof before she could enter.

Li Jing was also a bit surprised by this, not expecting the rules at this center building to be so strict that one couldn’t even enter without a reservation.

Once Li Jing and the group entered the building, they were guided by dedicated service personnel to the French restaurant located on the sixty-eighth floor.

The decor of this French restaurant was not much different from what Li Jing had anticipated, and it exuded an understated luxury design and atmosphere.

For Li Jing, who had visited many upscale restaurants, it was no longer impressive, not even for An Tong.

However, the greatest feature of this restaurant is that you can overlook the entire Tianhai night view through the floor-to-ceiling windows from such a high floor.

Upon entering the restaurant and seeing the view outside the window, An Tong couldn’t help but immediately approach the floor-to-ceiling window and whisper in awe, "So beautiful."

Hearing this, Li Jing also walked over, his heart slightly moved and was immediately struck by the beauty of the scenery before him.

Standing by the window, the two seemed to be at the edge of a dazzling galaxy.

Since it gets dark early in winter, all of Tianhai has already lit up countless lights, the night view resembles an extremely magnificent painting.

The colorful lines woven by neon lights outline the contours of streets and buildings. The rush of traffic turns into streams of light, weaving through the crisscross roads. In the distance, the tall buildings stand closely together, with lights shining through the windows like countless stars embedded in the city’s body, resembling a radiant and vast ocean.

Standing by the window, overlooking the scene, Li Jing even felt as if he was standing at the top of the world, witnessing the brilliance and prosperity of this metropolis.

Although compared to other upscale restaurants, the size of this restaurant isn’t large, Li Jing thought, just the view alone was worth its price.

A moment later, others also followed the service personnel upstairs to the restaurant.

Aside from An Tong, the gathering included Zhou Shun, Wen Lan, and Yang Xiaoxiu.

Zhang Xinxin, who was originally supposed to come, couldn’t make it due to working overtime recently, feeling extremely frustrated.

According to An Tong, Zhang Xinxin privately "greeted" the ancestors of her company’s leadership because of this.

Especially after knowing Li Jing would have a French feast at Tianhai Center, she was both aggrieved and angry, spending the entire evening cursing her boss upon learning she had to work overtime.

Li Jing promised to comfort her by allowing her to go to his previously charged styling salon to do her hair.

Initially, Zhang Xinxin didn’t think this was a big deal until An Tong told her that just getting a haircut there costs more than two thousand, then her mood instantly turned sunny, sending Li Jing over a dozen "kissy" emojis.

Besides Zhang Xinxin, Huang Jun, who was helping with the move, also couldn’t make it.

According to Zhou Shun’s explanation, Huang Jun has reached a critical stage in his competition prep, and all his meals were strictly monitored by his coach, meaning he had completely bid farewell to gourmet food.

Other than them, Wei Jia and Wen Lan originally planned to come upon hearing Li Jing’s move, but in the end, only Wen Lan and Yang Xiaoxiu attended.

Wei Jia had many matters to handle at her company towards the year-end, making it impossible for her to find time to come to Tianhai. However, she privately messaged Li Jing, asking him to treat her to a meal alone next time.

Though Wei Jia couldn’t come, she sent someone over to represent her.

Li Jing initially found this strange, but later learned that the person Wei Jia sent was Xu Tuantuan, the biggest influencer fostered by her group’s MCN company, with over eight million followers.

Knowing that Li Jing was recently working on a short-video account, Wei Jia specially asked Xu Tuantuan to participate in Li Jing’s gathering and shoot a video to help Li Jing gain followers.

This was gladly accepted by Li Jing, thinking that with an influencer having eight million followers helping him gain exposure, he’d surely gain a bunch of followers.

Thus, this dinner party included six people in total: Li Jing, An Tong, Zhou Shun, Wen Lan, Yang Xiaoxiu, and Xu Tuantuan.

The number of attendees was not far from what Li Jing anticipated, as he didn’t want to make the gathering too complicated or extravagant.

Six people was an adequate number, and they were mostly familiar friends, allowing the meal to be relaxed and enjoyable.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, besides Li Jing and An Tong initially being amazed by the night view, Wen Lan and Zhou Shun were also impressed by the sight, snapping a bunch of photos by the window.

Yang Xiaoxiu, however, appeared extremely restrained, sitting rigidly at her seat after An Tong’s assistance, not daring to move much.

Even though she also really wanted to take some night view photos by the window, she never dared to get up.

In terms of age and social status, Yang Xiaoxiu was the lowest among those present, naturally making her the most apprehensive and nervous.

But Yang Xiaoxiu differed from typical girls; her thinking was agile and her intentions clear.

She realized attending this dinner was a rare opportunity for her, so despite being nervous, she still worked hard to overcome her emotions and tried to chat occasionally with those around her, making herself appear more sociable and leaving some impressions on others which might be useful in the future.

The last to arrive was the major influencer Xu Tuantuan, representing Wei Jia.

After entering the restaurant and seeing everyone at the table, Xu Tuantuan first nervously and awkwardly introduced herself, then apologized for being late, appearing even shier than Yang Xiaoxiu.

In the end, it was Wen Lan who helped ease the situation for Xu Tuantuan, allowing her to sit at her seat sheepishly.

This surprised Li Jing somewhat, unexpectedly finding an eight-million-follower female influencer to be so reserved.

Wen Lan, noticing Li Jing’s curiosity, explained, "I’ve met Tuantuan a few times at Wei Jia’s company before. She cameoed in my movie and promoted it for me.

She’s inherently socially anxious, but she has some talent for being a media personality, eloquently speaking in front of the camera. Yet in front of strangers, especially at high-end events like yours, her socially anxious nature becomes apparent."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing raised an eyebrow and curiously glanced again at Xu Tuantuan sitting at the back.

Although Xu Tuantuan looked better than average, she wasn’t extraordinarily pretty, hardly scoring around eight in Li Jing’s rating system.

Moreover, her attire was very casual, with a down coat paired with jeans and snow boots, and a white knit hat on her head adding some playful and cute touches.

If Li Jing met such a girl on the street, he definitely wouldn’t think she was a major influencer with eight million followers.

"Xu Tuantuan, I follow her; I used to watch her videos while eating."

At this point, An Tong whispered to Li Jing as she leaned closer.

Initially, she found it hard to believe her eyes; Li Jing told her an influencer would be coming, but she didn’t expect such a major influencer, and one she had followed.

After getting over the shock, An Tong also noticed Li Jing’s curiosity about Xu Tuantuan and said proactively, "Her persona and video style are very appealing to the audience, and very down-to-earth, as she goes to different cities to explore eateries, sometimes visiting upscale restaurants to give viewers a glimpse."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing nodded in understanding.

Presumably, Xu Tuantuan was following this path, so her dress and even personality matched her style well.

"President Li, may I... film?"

At this moment, taking advantage of the silence, Xu Tuantuan timidly raised her hand like a student and asked Li Jing with some embarrassment, "It’s my first time here, and I want to shoot a video."

As she spoke, she quickly added, "Don’t worry; if you and others don’t want to be on camera, I’ll just film myself and the restaurant, trying not to disturb you all..."

Li Jing chuckled; given that she was here to bring him exposure per Wei Jia’s arrangements, he naturally wouldn’t refuse, so he said, "You can film me, but for others, you need to get their consent."

Seeing Li Jing was quite gentle, Xu Tuantuan was delighted, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Upon learning that the company wanted her to attend a senior executive’s moving dinner, she had been anxious and fretful for several days, her social anxiety reaching a peak.

However, as this was a direct order from the group president, Xu Tuantuan could only brave it and attend.

Now, seeing that this executive was not only young and handsome but also gentle, she finally eased the weight off her shoulders, realizing things were simpler than her previous fears.

Subsequently, she asked others in turn, and except for Wen Lan, who didn’t want to be on camera, others didn’t mind.

Especially An Tong and Yang Xiaoxiu quickly initiated conversations with Xu Tuantuan, with the young women easily finding common topics.

With Yang Xiaoxiu and An Tong’s help, Xu Tuantuan felt much more relaxed. She took out a small sports camera from her bag and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows to begin recording a video.

Facing the camera, her initial nervous look gradually disappeared, replaced by confidence and enthusiasm.

She showcased her signature bright smile and began speaking, "Everyone look at the night view behind me, can you guess where I am?

Today is a great day for Tuantuan, crashing a big shot’s dinner party, let me show everyone a truly top-tier restaurant!"