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  Xiao Yu followed Uncle Zhao all the way inside.

  This Jiangnan Spring restaurant is indeed one of the top high-end restaurants in Shanghai, with its interior decoration and furnishings adopting the style of ancient Chinese imperial courts, which can be described as magnificent and luxurious.

  Even the tableware on the table is glittering with gold, exquisite and extremely delicate, highlighting the overall atmosphere of nobility and luxury. The waiters are all dressed in ancient court attire, making people feel as if they have entered an ancient imperial palace.

  Xiao Yu found that almost every waiter who passed by politely greeted Zhao Shu, it seemed that this Zhao Shu was a regular here.

  Passing through the lobby on the first floor, Uncle Zhao took Little Yu to the elevator and rode it all the way up to the third floor.

  Uncle Zhao introduced to Little Yu in the elevator, the first floor of this restaurant is a hall, the second floor is a private room, the third floor is a venue for large gatherings or weddings, and the fourth floor has guest rooms for guests to rest.

  Xiao Yu asked about the cost of the package, the minimum consumption is 5,000 yuan, and couldn't help but sigh, people are more than others, their own small restaurant is probably just a drop in the bucket for them.

  Compared to the first floor, the third floor is obviously designed for various gatherings. Today, it has undergone a special arrangement. In the middle is an open space, surrounded by tables filled with delicious food and fine wine. More than ten chefs and bartenders are carefully preparing at the tables.

  Guests can pick and taste their favorite dishes on the table at any time, it seems that Shen Mengqi's birthday party is held in a buffet format.

  At the entrance, Shen's family had arranged for two reception ladies to be responsible for registering guests' names. Xiao Yu handed over the invitation card given by Shen Mengqi to the reception lady and signed his name on the guest registration book.

  Zhao Shu was the driver of the Shen family, and all the receptionists knew him. Naturally, he didn't need to show any invitation card. After Xiaoyu signed his name, they walked in together.

  At this time, there were more than 100 guests on the third floor, divided into more than 20 large and small circles. Some stood in the empty space in the center of the venue, while others sat on the sofas along the walls, chatting with friends.

  At the back there was a small stage with a big banner that read "Happy 17th Birthday to Shen Meng Qi!"

  "Uncle Zhao, why are there so many people?" Xiaoyu was a bit stunned. Although he had expected that Shen Mengqi's gathering would definitely have some people, he hadn't thought it would be this many. Among these people, there were quite a few young men and women of the same age as Shen Mengqi, but also not a few middle-aged people in their 40s and 50s. Had they made a mistake? What were all these people doing here?

  "Little Yu, our captain's business is quite large, so on his daughter's birthday, naturally there are friends from the business world coming to congratulate him. Right now, there aren't that many people, but by 6 o'clock when it officially starts, there should be twice as many!"

  Xiao Yu suddenly understood that business people would not let go of any opportunity, and this daughter's birthday party was actually like a commercial networking event. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Shen Mengqi, it seemed that children from wealthy families also had their own troubles.

  Looking at the people in front of him, Xiao Yu felt a bit disheartened and said to Uncle Zhao, "Uncle Zhao, go ahead and busy yourself, I'll just find a place to sit."

  Uncle Zhao looked at Little Yu with some surprise, nodded and pointed to a sofa against the wall corner, "Little Yu, sit there for a while, I'll go find QiQi."

  Having said that, he hastily walked inside.

  Xiao Yu's stomach was a little hungry, so he first walked around the dining tables and picked up a few pastries with a small plate. He then walked to the sofa that Uncle Zhao had pointed out to him and sat down to slowly savor them.

  The pastries here are mainly Western-style, with exquisite workmanship. At a glance, the variety and quality are not bad at all. I couldn't help but secretly praise it - this 'Jiangnan Spring' is indeed a big restaurant, even the pastry chef's skills are exceptional.

  Just as Xiao Yu was eating with gusto, a familiar voice suddenly rang out beside his ear, "Master! You've finally arrived!"

  Xiao Yu was startled, a piece of cake got stuck in his throat, almost choking him, and he turned red as he swallowed the cake. He looked up to see a short boy standing beside him, who was indeed Shen Mengqi's cousin Zhou Zhihao.

  "Hey, Zhou Zhihao, can you please not startle me like that next time? I almost got choked on my cake just now. And another thing, don't call me Master, I didn't agree to take you as a disciple." Little Yu put down the plate in his hand and sized up Zhou Zhihao.

  This kid is still the same, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses, looking like a cartoon character from a Japanese anime - Detective Conan.

  He should be almost seventeen years old now, right? How come he's still so short? Could it be that he hasn't developed yet? No wonder he gets bullied.

  It's no surprise that Zhou Zhihao is here, as he is both Shen Mengqi's classmate and his cousin, either of which would have earned him an invitation.

  "Heh heh, Master, even if you don't accept me as your disciple, I'll still stick to you. In any case, I won't bow down to a second person as my master!" Zhou Zhihao sat down beside Little Yu, his eyes filled with adoring gazes.

  It was then that in the small woods, a scene was etched into Xiao Yu's heart, creating an almost divine and majestic image of him.

  Xiao Yu shook his head, unable to do anything about it, and since he had run into this sticky situation, he could only go along with it. He looked around the center of the venue but didn't see Shen Mengqi's figure anywhere, so he asked, "Where's my cousin? Why hasn't she come out yet?"

  "Oh, women's things are so troublesome. It's just a birthday party, but she's making it like a wedding or something! She's been getting ready for over an hour and still isn't done. I'm so bored, I heard Uncle Zhao arrived, so I came out to find him!" Zhou Zhihao seemed to have ADHD, sitting on the sofa restlessly, his head sticking out like a groundhog, looking around everywhere.

  Xiao Yu noticed that this kid always went to places where beautiful women were, it seemed that the surname of Holland had already begun to stir in his body.

  "Zhou Zhihao, I'm sure your cousin spent a lot of money on this birthday party?" Little Yu saw that as the number of guests increased, the chefs began to get busy. Bottles of expensive-looking wine were constantly being opened and poured into rows of empty glasses. The chefs in charge of cooking hot dishes were also showing off their skills, releasing enticing aromas that even reached Little Yu's location.

  "Master, don't worry, my cousin is a young rich woman, no matter how much money she spends, she can afford it. This Jiangnan Spring was originally opened by her family, what's the big deal about holding a party?" Zhou Zhihao said with a carefree attitude.

  "What? Is Jiangnan Spring her family's business?" Xiao Yu was shocked in his heart, no wonder Shen Mengqi's family had such a good private car, with the strength of 'Jiangnan Spring', it was as simple as buying a bicycle.

  Zhou Zhihao suddenly remembered that his cousin had once told him not to reveal her family background in front of Zhang Xiaoyu, and he silently cursed himself for the slip-up, involuntarily sticking out his tongue.

  Suddenly, Xiao Yu discovered that among the group of people closest to them, there was a familiar figure.

  "How did he come too?" Xiaoyu felt a bit depressed in her heart, seeing this person made her feel like she had swallowed a fly.

  "Who is that?" Zhou Zhihao followed Xiaoyu's gaze and saw a young man of eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing a suit that was neat and handsome. He was standing not far away with several peers, talking enthusiastically about something, and those young men and women were all looking at him with admiring eyes, making the young man feel even more self-important.

  "This guy is called Wang Tao, the heir of Jinsheng Group in the future." Xiaoyu said with a bad tone.

  "Oh, it's him! What? Master, have you had a falling out with him?" Zhou Zhihao immediately noticed that Xiao Yu's expression was somewhat off.

  "It's nothing, and it doesn't matter!" Xiao Yu waved his hand, the things between him and Wang Tao didn't need to be said to Zhou Zhihao, if he got involved, it would be even worse.

  Two people were talking in a low voice at the time, but Wang Tao also saw Xiaoyu sitting on the sofa, his eyes stunned for a moment, and then a sly smile hung on his mouth.

  "It's a bit tiring standing and talking, let's go sit on the sofa!" Wang Tao called out to those young men and women.

  Those people naturally looked up to him and followed him to the sofa in the corner of the wall.

  "Ah yo, isn't this Boss Zhang!" Wang Tao pretended to have just seen Xiao Yu and shouted exaggeratedly.

  The people around him were taken aback by Wang Tao's words, and they couldn't help but wonder if this was the young master of that large financial group. Even the eldest son of the Jinsheng Group had personally come to greet him, how come they hadn't seen him before?

  These young masters and ladies usually have their own circle, as the saying goes "birds of a feather flock together". They are familiar with the children of big tycoons and wealthy families in Shanghai, but Xiao Yu is clearly a stranger, could he be from some newly emerging wealthy family?

  Xiao Yu ignored him and picked up the remaining pastries on the tea table, eating them by herself.

  Wang Tao didn't mind at all, and said to the young masters and misses, "Come on, come on, let me introduce you. This is my classmate, Zhang Xiaoyu. His business is doing very well. He opened a spicy sauce noodle shop on Tianlin Road and also sells breakfast food. If you're interested, go give him lots of support!"

  "Cut! So he's just a small noodle shop owner! I thought he was some big shot!"

  "He's actually quite good-looking, unfortunately, my dad doesn't allow me to date poor guys."

  "I said why his clothes were all non-branded, it turned out to be a ramen master, and the money he earned in a month was not enough for my pocket money, haha."

  ……

  These young masters and ladies started discussing in a low voice, all looking at Xiaoyu with disdainful eyes. Wang Tao was delighted in his heart, this is the effect he wanted, to let Zhang Xiaoyu know what it means by three six nine ranks! High and low nobility! A poor boy dares to compete with me? It's simply a dream!

  Xiao Yu treated those people's words as fart, didn't take it to heart at all, and didn't even give Wang Tao a straight look.

  But Zhou Zhihao next to him couldn't sit still, in his heart, Xiao Yu was his master, and now someone was insulting his master, it was like slapping him in the face.

  He suddenly stood up from his seat, "What are you guys? Just relying on your family's wealth! Have the ability to make money and support yourself! My master is much more capable than you! In my eyes, you are just a group of parasites!"

  Zhou Zhihao's words immediately caused these people to feel displeased, yet they couldn't refute him, and instead glared at him with venomous eyes.

  Xiao Yu furrowed his brow, Zhou Zhihao was also too impatient, and unexpectedly took the lead to offend those young masters and ladies. However, in his heart, he secretly admired him, this kid had a sense of justice in his bones, just like when he dared to fight with Chen Bo and others at school, here, he was not afraid of any provocation either.

  It seems that I can consider taking him as an apprentice after all.

  "What's wrong with you? I'm talking to Zhang Xiaoyu, what does it have to do with you? Are you itching for a beating?" Wang Tao looked up and down at Zhou Zhihao, only to find that he didn't recognize him.

  "He's my apprentice, if you don't want to get beaten up, then scram! Otherwise, I won't be polite!" Little Yu finally spoke up. Wang Tao could insult him all he wanted, but he couldn't just watch as Zhou Zihao was bullied.

  "Master!" Zhou Zhihao's heart was excited, finally Xiao Yu acknowledged him as his apprentice. Thinking of Xiao Yu's kung fu skills, he puffed out his chest and said, "Did you hear that? My master told you to get lost!"

  Wang Tao's face turned red and white with rage, pointing at Xiao Yu, "Zhang Xiaoyu, don't be arrogant, next month I'll come to collect the house on time! See what you can do!"

  Xiao Yu gave him a cold shoulder and cursed, "Stupid!" Then she didn't bother with him anymore.

  Zhou Zhihao directly gave him a middle finger.

  Watching Wang Tao and others leave with a huff.

  Zhou Zhihao carefully glanced at Xiao Yu and said, "Master, did I cause any trouble?"

  Xiao Yu smiled and patted his shoulder, saying "It's okay, you did well! People like that are just begging to be scolded, the more you scold them, the more they'll get used to it."

  Zhou Zhihao immediately became spirited and thought of what Wang Tao had mentioned earlier about the house, and asked again, "Master, did you rent his house? Is it urgent? Do you want me to help think of a solution?"

  "I've already found a new store, I can move in next month, it's okay!" Xiaoyu smiled slightly, what could he think of to help me?

  "That's great! Oh, my cousin is coming out!"

  Zhou Zhihao was sharp-eyed and spotted Shen Mengqi in the distance with one glance. He stood up and waved his hand at her enthusiastically.

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