The sickly one in F4 was the group's darling.

Zhou Jianguo and his wife followed behind Shen Shao from the square toward the main building of the manor.

The stone slabs underfoot were polished smooth as a mirror, and when you stepped on them, you could almost see your reflection.

Every few steps there is a uniquely shaped stone flowerpot, filled with precious flowers pruned into spherical shapes. Surprisingly, they are in full bloom in November, and a delicate fragrance floats in the air.

Mrs. Zhou couldn't help but glance at the flowers a few more times, muttering softly, "What kind of flowers are these? Why are they blooming in this cold weather?"

"Don't ask." Zhou Jianguo lowered his voice, keeping his eyes straight ahead. "Asking is shameful."

After passing through the square, you are greeted by a stone staircase about five meters wide. On both sides of the staircase stand two bronze sculptures, each more than a person tall, depicting white falcons with outstretched wings. The sword and shield patterns under their talons are consistent with the totems on the lampposts along the mountain road.

The patina on the sculpture's surface gleamed with a dull luster under the light, clearly indicating that it was an old object that had been around for many years.

Zhou Jianguo glanced at it, calculating in his mind how much it was worth, but didn't dare to say a word.

At the end of the steps, two large double bronze doors were open, and two rows of waiters in dark uniforms stood at the entrance. They were all tall and slender, the men upright and the women dignified and proper. They all bowed slightly when they saw Young Master Shen.

An older waiter, the head waiter, stepped forward and asked in a gentle and courteous manner, "Good evening, welcome to the dinner. Do you have an invitation?"

With a languid expression, Shen Shao casually pinched a matte black invitation card between his fingers and handed it out.

The waiter accepted the items with both hands, scanned them lightly with the instrument, and then returned them with both hands, his tone respectful yet neither servile nor arrogant: "Young Master Shen Ye, welcome. Are these two your friends?"

Shen Ye gave a faint "hmm" in response.

The waiter nodded slightly to Shen Ye: "Young Master Shen Ye, the banquet will be held in the main banquet hall. This way, please." He then turned to Zhou Jianguo and his wife and politely gestured for them to enter, without exchanging any further pleasantries.

Zhou Jianguo straightened his back and followed Shen Ye inside.

Mrs. Zhou gripped the bag strap tightly, wearing high heels, trying to make herself look like she "frequents these kinds of occasions".

The interior of the Bai family manor was even more extravagant than she had imagined.

Upon entering, there is a long welcoming corridor with an arched ceiling inlaid with a full-length stained glass window. Light shines through the glass, casting a soft, colorful shadow on the floor.

Countless precious flowers and trees were displayed against the wall on the right side of the corridor. She couldn't recognize the varieties, but just the flowerpots alone—some were blue and white porcelain, some were cloisonné enamelware, and some were even carved from a single piece of jade—made her afraid to approach.

The glass wall on the left side of the corridor leads to a French-style garden.

As dusk fell, the garden was bathed in a deep blue and dark green hue, and strings of lights meandered along the spherically trimmed shrubs, like a string of pearl necklaces scattered on the grass.

On the left, there is a bronze sculpture about half the height of a person, depicting a galloping horse with smooth muscle lines.

She didn't understand art, but she could see the plaque on the base, with the year engraved below. It was something from over a hundred years ago, just sitting there in the corridor, without even a glass cover.

She instinctively reached out to touch it, but before her fingertips could even touch it, she heard a waiter's gentle voice behind her: "Madam, please watch your step."

Mrs. Zhou withdrew her hand, her face burning.

Every few steps on the wall hung a painting. When Zhou Jianguo passed an oil painting, his steps involuntarily slowed down.

A sailboat sits on the deep blue sea, its sails billowing in the wind, and a signature is visible in the corner. The brushstrokes and colors clearly indicate it's the work of a master.

Zhou Jianguo squinted at the signature in the corner. He couldn't recognize it, but the frame was pure silver, with hand-carved flowers and dark green gemstones inlaid in the four corners.

He swallowed hard, not daring to ask if it was jade or something else. He couldn't help but take another look at the label in the lower right corner of the frame, which only had a year and a number on it, but no price.

But he knew that things without a price were often the most expensive.

Out of the corner of Shen Ye's eye, he saw Zhou Jianguo leaning closer to examine the oil painting on the wall, as if he wanted to use a magnifying glass to study the gemstones set in the frame. Shen Ye's lips twitched slightly.

Bringing someone like this to the Bai family, if word gets out, how will he ever be able to get along in the industry again?

He quickened his pace, putting at least five steps away from the two men.

"Stop looking." Mrs. Zhou tugged at his sleeve, her voice very low. "You're so close, people will think you're trying to steal the painting."

Zhou Jianguo quickly straightened up, pretending he was just passing by.

After walking a few more steps, at the corner of the corridor stood a blue and white porcelain vase, thicker than a person's leg, with lotus scroll patterns painted on its body, and the glaze gleaming warmly under the light.

Mrs. Zhou felt the item looked familiar. She remembered seeing a similar one in an auction catalog last year. She had flipped through that catalog several times at the beauty salon and remembered the selling price: eight zeros.

Her steps faltered, her high heels clattered on the stone slab, and she nearly twisted her ankle.

Zhou Jianguo reacted quickly, catching her and lowering his voice, "Can't you be a little more steady?"

"Take it easy, take it easy," Mrs. Zhou whispered, but couldn't hide her trembling voice. "Do you know how much that bottle costs?"

"Knowing is one thing, but don't show it! Keep moving forward!"

The two quickened their pace to catch up.

At the end of the welcoming corridor, a fork in the road leads east to a viewing platform enclosed by a glass curtain wall. Through the glass, one can see the entire night view of Qinglu Mountain, with the city lights at the foot of the mountain reflected like a galaxy, and the distant sea shimmering with light.

Mrs. Zhou stood at the entrance of the observation deck for two seconds, stunned.

She thought of her own "viewing balcony" that overlooked the balcony of the building next door, and suddenly felt a little sad.

But she quickly suppressed these emotions; today she was here to climb the social ladder, not to wallow in self-pity.

"Come on! Don't fall behind!" Zhou Jianguo's voice pulled her back, and she quickly followed.

After passing through the observation deck, you enter the main banquet hall.

The waiter stopped at the entrance of the banquet hall, bowed slightly, and gestured "please": "Have a pleasant evening!" He then turned and left, his steps light, disappearing around the corner of the reception corridor in an instant.

The banquet hall was filled with the clinking of glasses and dazzling lights.

Zhou Jianguo's throat tightened. Before coming here, he had heard many people boast about this private territory on the top of Qinglu Mountain. At the drinking parties, the bosses' eyes would light up when they talked about the Bai family, and they would talk about it in glowing terms.

At the time, he thought, "How amazing can it be? It's just a bigger house and more expensive renovations."

Now he realizes that he was narrow-minded.

The banquet hall was ridiculously large.

Zhou Jianguo estimated that it was at least a thousand square meters, with a dome about seven or eight meters high, and three giant crystal chandeliers hanging from it. Thousands of crystals refracted tiny lights under the lights, illuminating the entire hall as if it were daytime.

The upper level of the hall features a mezzanine corridor, and the outline of the band can be vaguely seen behind the carved railings.

The melodious string music cascaded down from above, gentle and soothing, elegant and lingering, its light sound spreading to every corner of the banquet hall, perfectly natural.

Mrs. Zhou looked up at the musicians, then quickly lowered her head, afraid that looking up for too long would make her seem ignorant.

There were already quite a few people in the hall.

The men were all dressed in dark suits, with a few wearing tuxedos or tailcoats, their bow ties perfectly tied.

The ladies were vying for attention, their long gowns trailing on the ground, their jewelry sparkling, and their perfumes mingling in the air to create an atmosphere of expensiveness and aloofness.

Mrs. Zhou subconsciously looked down at the satin dress she was wearing.

She thought the dress was formal enough in the taxi, but now, standing among this group of people, she suddenly felt that the dress looked like a prop costume from a photo studio.

She glanced at the other women's handbags, then looked down at her own handbag with the fake designer logo. She quietly turned the handbag around, hiding the logo side against her palm.

Zhou Jianguo and his wife had only followed Shen Shao for a few steps when they were overwhelmed by the sheer force of the crowd.

The hall was filled with important figures that people usually only see on TV and in magazines. A single glance from them made them feel out of place.

Shen Ye felt a surge of disgust looking at the two of them, who were so reserved.

From beginning to end, he was lazy and indifferent. He had no intention of taking these two around and losing face. It was already more than enough that he brought them in along the way.

"Ah Ye!"

A young man in a silver suit approached, carrying a glass of champagne, a warm smile on his face. "You've finally arrived! I've been waiting for you for ages. Come on, come on, Mr. Liu and the others are over there. They were just talking about that gathering you organized last time..."

The man casually glanced at the Zhou couple, giving them a cursory look without any investigation, completely ignoring them and not taking them seriously at all.

"Okay." Shen Ye took the champagne from the waiter, turned to Zhou Jianguo and his wife and said something in a nonchalant tone.

"You guys wander around on your own, just don't cause any trouble. I'm going over there."

Zhou Jianguo immediately nodded and bowed, his face full of flattery: "Okay, okay! You're busy, you're busy! We definitely won't cause you any trouble!"

Shen Ye didn't look at him again. Holding the champagne, he was led away by the man in the silver suit, who then disappeared into the clinking of glasses.

Zhou Jianguo watched Shen Ye's figure disappear into the crowd and took a deep breath.

The powerful backer is gone, but the business remains.

What's the secret to Zhou Jianguo's success in Yunliu City? It's his thick skin.

"Old Zhou, we..." Mrs. Zhou's voice was a little weak.

"What's there to be afraid of?" Zhou Jianguo straightened his tie and pulled his trousers up half an inch. "If no one's guiding you, you'll find your own way."

At the same moment, outside the gate of the Bai Family Manor.

The night was as dark as ink, and the mountain wind, carrying the chill of November, swept down from the mountaintop, rustling the ancient trees along the roadside.

"We took a shortcut and finally arrived. Bye-bye," Xiaoqi said.

Bai Ci was slightly out of breath as she looked up at the carved gate.