Chapter 11 Part 1
As soon as Yan Shiting appeared in the doorway, the guests flocked to him.
Although today was Grandma Yan's 80th birthday party, who else would the guests have come for if not Yan Shiting?
While wishing the elder a happy birthday, they could also curry favor with Yan Shiting. If they could even strike a deal with the Yan family, that would be even better.
"President Yan, it's been a while. Your charm hasn't diminished a bit."
"Thanks to President Yan, the cooperation in A Port last time..."
Yan Shiting picked up a glass of wine, casually socializing with a few nearby people, then handed the matter over to his assistant, Jiang Miao.
He walked into the house, his peripheral vision first catching sight of Yu Li and Yan Sui in the corner by the mahjong table.
Yan Shiting glanced at them briefly before turning his gaze away, walking to Grandma Yan with an indifferent expression.
"Happy birthday, Grandma."
Just a simple sentence.
Grandma Yan snorted coldly, "Yan Shiting, you sure are full of yourself. My birthday party is just a venue for you to do business."
Yan Shiting replied coldly, "Hosting the birthday party was your own idea."
The birthday party was her own idea, and she had also approved the guest list. So those people came for Yan Shiting and for their own interests, no matter how you looked at it, it couldn't be blamed on Yan Shiting.
Grandma Yan said self-mockingly, "Oh, yes, wherever Yan Shiting is, there's bound to be interests involved."
She looked at Yan Sui in the corner with an unfavorable expression.
"Leaving other matters aside, I'll ask you this - do you plan to let your brother just drift aimlessly forever?"
In hosting this birthday party, she also had the intention of letting Yan Sui make an appearance in front of the other business elders.
Alas, Yan Sui had no ambition, and after chatting with her, he just slipped away to play with his friends.
Grandma Yan tapped her cane in dissatisfaction.
Yan Shiting looked at her, his voice seeming even colder: "How Yan Sui chooses is his own business."
He turned around in front of Grandma Yan's astonished gaze and said, "Your calculations are doomed to fail."
*
In the corner, Yu Li watched this scene with a slight daze.
He didn't hear their conversation, but he saw the hatred in Grandma Yan's eyes.
This was the first time Yu Li had seen Grandma Yan, and before this, he had only heard Yan Sui mention that his grandmother was quite nice to him.
He had originally thought that Grandma Yan's attitude towards Yan Shiting should be about the same, but...
But after all, it was someone else's family affair.
Yu Li put away his thoughts, pursed his lips, and didn't think about it anymore.
At this time, Yan Sui suddenly came over and pulled him to the mahjong table, "Xiao Li, come help me play."
Yu Li's eyes widened as he pointed at himself, "Me?"
"Yes." Yan Sui's hand rested on his shoulder, "My brain's not working well, you help me play."
"Don't worry, if we win, it's yours, if we lose, it's mine."
Yu Li swept his gaze around, seeing the other three people's triumphant smiles.
He lowered his voice and said to Yan Sui, "But I don't know how to play at all."
Yan Sui smiled and patted his shoulder, "Don't be afraid, I'll teach you the rules. You have a good brain, you'll get the hang of it after two rounds."
He clasped his hands together, "Please, bro, I'm counting on you to help me turn the tide."
Yan Sui's cousin sitting across from Yu Li chuckled and said, "Yan Sui has terrible luck, playing with him, he's always the one losing."
The person on the left also said, "Yeah, don't be nervous, you might even be better than Yan Sui."
"Don't worry, we're all just playing for fun."
With them all saying that, Yu Li could only nod.
Yan Sui briefly taught him how to play, and by the end of the first round, Yu Li had already gotten the hang of it.
By the third round, he even won a hand.
As he pushed the row of mahjong tiles in front of him, Yan Sui and the other three were all stunned.
"Huh? He won already? I didn't even hear the tile call."
"This skill, it's way better than Yan Sui's."
Yu Li gave a light smile and said, "Maybe it's the newbie protection period, good luck."
They all laughed.
The next round, Yu Li won again, and it was even a clean suit.
Watching this, Yan Sui was burning with envy, eagerly wanting to take another round.
Yu Li got up and gave up his seat.
As the four of them started drawing tiles, Yu Li turned his head and saw Yan Shiting standing alone by the wall in the courtyard.
The tall wall was covered with lush, green ivy, and Yan Shiting was tilting his head back slightly, his silhouette casting onto the leaves, swaying gently in the wind.
Yu Li paused, feeling that Yan Shiting's back looked heavy with thoughts.
"Xiao Li, can you help me see which tile to play?"
Yan Sui's voice brought him back to his senses, and Yu Li turned his gaze back to Yan Sui's tiles.
He pointed to a one bamboo and casually asked, "Do you want to call your brother to join us?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the atmosphere at the table suddenly fell silent for a few seconds.
Yan Sui's cousin's hand paused as he rearranged his tiles.
Yan Sui played the one bamboo and said, "My brother doesn't play with us."
"That's right," the other person agreed, "President Yan's social circle is not ours."
"President Yan is too strong, unreachable. Although we're peers, the ones who can talk to him are my dad and the others."
Yan Sui's cousin also said, "Yeah, we rich second-generation layabouts are not in the same world as President Yan."
Listening to this, Yu Li gradually zoned out.
He only knew that he and Yan Shiting were from two different worlds, but he hadn't realized that the people here also had this kind of mindset.
Inadvertently, Yan Sui played an extremely rare cannon - a tile that allowed the other three to win.
"Haha, won! I won too!"
"Me too!"
In the laughter of the three, Yan Sui seemed to shatter into several pieces.
"This..." He raised his trembling right hand, on the verge of tears, "What's with this luck of mine!"
"Xiao Li, you'll have to play for me. I'll go wash my hands, get rid of the bad luck."
Yan Sui abruptly stood up and gave his seat to Yu Li.
In this round, Yu Li was a bit distracted.
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