CHAPTER 397: CHAPTER 327 QIANSHI MANOR_2

She originally planned to delete Li Jing’s contact information and stop communicating after thanking him in person this time.

Elder Shi noticed his granddaughter’s bias, his face slightly darkened, and he said sternly with a frown:

"Yangyang, you can’t always look at people with prejudice. You need to understand social conventions and learn more from your parents.

President Li saved my life on the plane before, and this favor cannot be forgotten. Even if you don’t like him in your heart, you must maintain enough respect on the surface, understand?"

Shi Yang noticed her grandfather’s dissatisfaction, and although she felt aggrieved, she obediently nodded her head, "I understood, grandpa."

Elder Shi pondered for a moment before continuing, "However, this time we originally invited him over to thank him for saving my life.

Now, asking him for help again seems a bit utilitarian and might cause misunderstandings.

Besides, this matter is indeed difficult to bring up, and he may not be able to help; perhaps let’s just forget it."

Just then, a subordinate rushed into the inner hall to report, "Sir, President Li has arrived."

Both Elder Shi and Shi Yang’s expressions changed slightly, and Elder Shi immediately stood up, saying, "Good, invite President Li to the main hall, we’ll head over now."

Then he turned to Liu Dazhi and said, "Dazhi, since you are here, let’s meet President Li together. Let’s all have lunch together."

Liu Dazhi, already troubled by the fitness competition matters, had little interest in meeting Li Jing, but since Elder Shi had spoken, he could only reluctantly agree.

...

At this moment, Li Jing was walking in the Thousand Stone Manor following the steps of the butler.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he felt a different atmosphere coming his way.

In his view, the large courtyard was cleverly laid out, with exquisite carvings and paintings everywhere, showing luxury.

Underfoot was a winding path paved with smooth and polished stone slabs. On both sides of the path, exotic flowers and plants competed for beauty, exuding a refreshing fragrance.

And the most eye-catching were the thousands of stones scattered throughout the manor.

Each stone had a unique shape, some like a fierce tiger descending a mountain, others like an immortal guiding the way, vivid and ingeniously crafted.

They were distributed throughout the manor with orderly elegance, complementing the surrounding pavilions, flowing water, and rockeries, creating a classical yet imposing atmosphere.

The scene made Li Jing secretly marvel; this Thousand Stone landscape was even more peculiar and mysterious than those famous scenic spots with a big reputation.

Just the scenery of this manor made Li Jing feel it was worth more than all the other online celebrity spots he saw in Hai City over these past two days combined.

If you want to see something different, you indeed have to engage with the local elites.

While sighing, Li Jing had already entered an elegantly decorated hall.

President Li stepped into the hall where three people were already standing.

Elder Shi, wearing a Zhongshan suit, was radiating a warm smile and approached with brisk steps.

Behind him, Shi Yang and Li Jing exchanged glances briefly, seemingly with an intention to avoid, and she looked away.

On the other side, Liu Dazhi merely nodded to Li Jing symbolically, with his expression clearly indifferent.

Elder Shi personally stepped forward to greet Li Jing and then took the initiative to introduce Liu Dazhi, "This is the head of the Liu Family, President Liu Dazhi."

When the Liu Family was mentioned, Li Jing raised an eyebrow, recalling the rich second generation Liu Jun who had a conflict with him at a concert, and asked, "President Liu, do you know Liu Jun?"

Liu Dazhi was slightly taken aback, showing a surprised expression, "President Li, you know my son?"

Li Jing was a bit surprised; he didn’t expect the other party to be indeed Liu Jun’s father.

But on second thought, although Hai City is large, the wealthy circles are relatively small and somewhat connected to each other.

It was normal for Elder Shi to know Liu Jun’s father.

So Li Jing responded with a faint smile, "Not really acquainted, just ran into him at a concert."

Li Jing refrained from mentioning the incident at the concert. He felt there was no need to discuss such a trivial matter.

Given his current abilities, he indeed didn’t regard a mere rich second generation with any significance.

Liu Dazhi, who seemed very aware of his son’s temper, took the initiative to say, "Liu Jun has been spoiled since childhood; he has a bad temper. If he has offended President Li, please show generosity."

Li Jing found Liu Jun’s father more reasonable than Liu Jun himself and nodded slightly, without saying more.

Elder Shi then warmly invited Li Jing to take a seat, personally poured tea for him, and expressed his gratitude for the life-saving grace on the plane between words.

Seeing Li Jing drink a few sips of tea, Elder Shi immediately signaled his granddaughter Shi Yang to refill the tea.

Shi Yang was somewhat unwilling at first, but under Elder Shi’s stern gaze, she could only obediently get up to pour the tea.

Li Jing knew that Shi Yang’s attitude towards him was unfriendly, but he didn’t care.

Furthermore, since he stepped in here, except for initially noticing her presence, he paid no additional attention.

To him, women who showed displeasure towards him, no matter how alluring and beautiful, held no interest for him, as his conditions ensured he was never short of company.

After a simple chat for thirty minutes or so, everyone moved to the adjacent dining room to enjoy lunch.

The dining room was also luxuriously decorated, with a classic and elegant style showing opulence, and the furniture was made of precious woods.

As soon as they sat down, attendants entered in a steady stream, serving exquisite dishes.

Since Hai City was close to the sea, the menu was mainly composed of exquisite seafood, with giant lobsters in attractive colors.

Li Jing tasted a piece and secretly compared, finding Hai City’s seafood indeed fresher than Tianhai’s, feeling satisfied with the Shi Family’s hospitable reception.

Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with Shi Yang’s attitude, Elder Shi’s enthusiastic hospitality left a good impression on him.

During the meal, President Li noticed a few photos of Elder Shi hanging on the wall and casually asked, "Old sir, these photos are nicely taken; did you hire a professional photographer?"

After Li Jing mentioned the photos on the wall, Elder Shi glanced at Shi Yang, who had a subtly changed expression beside him, and instead of answering, he asked, "President Li, how do you find the photos?"

Li Jing examined them carefully and nodded in praise, "They’re taken well, very professional, certainly worth every penny spent."

Upon hearing this, Elder Shi smiled knowingly and then exclaimed, "Actually, all these photos were taken by Shi Yang."

President Li’s eyes showed a trace of surprise.

He truly didn’t expect Shi Yang’s photography skills to be so professional.

He knew his previous compliments were not mere flattery; these photos were indeed excellent, clearly the work of an experienced and skilled photographer, surprisingly the handiwork of Shi Yang.

Seeing Li Jing’s surprised expression, a proud look appeared on Elder Shi’s face. He explained, "Shi Yang, although uninterested in business, has a deep passion for photography.

She started tinkering with cameras from a young age and has won several awards, large and small, to date."

Despite hearing her grandfather praise her in front of Li Jing, Shi Yang showed no joy but instead frowned slightly and said softly, "Grandpa, please stop."

Looking helplessly at Shi Yang, Elder Shi turned to President Li and added, "This child, while pure and kind, is very stubborn and excessively spoiled by the family.

She was previously deceived by a sweet-talking guy. That man was a swindler; if not for her family’s strong opposition, she nearly ran away with him."

"Grandpa!"

Shi Yang immediately interrupted, full of displeasure.

Elder Shi quickly raised his hands in surrender, "Okay, okay, I won’t say anymore."

Li Jing was somewhat amazed, not expecting Shi Yang to have had such an experience; no wonder she detested scummy men, having encountered one herself?

Elder Shi observed Li Jing’s interest in photography works, and thus turned to Shi Yang, suggesting, "How about taking some photos for President Li?"

Before Li Jing could say anything, Shi Yang hurriedly shook her head in refusal, "I need inspiration to take photos; I’m not in the mood right now!"

Afraid of upsetting Elder Shi, she supplemented, "I need to see if the person has something special or is emotionally rich; only then can I create good works.

For people I am not familiar with, I genuinely have no creative desire."

Li Jing heard this and didn’t expect this disapproving woman to take photos of him, so he immediately waved it off, saying, "Old sir, let’s just forget about it."

While Elder Shi still wanted to say something, he was interrupted by Liu Dazhi’s phone suddenly ringing.

Picking up the phone to answer, Liu Dazhi suddenly stood up with shock and doubt, exclaiming:

"What?! If it’s not confirmed by tomorrow, the international professional competition will have nothing to do with Hai City?!"