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

As Zhao Ziang stood up from the table, Li Ze tugged at his sleeve from behind and whispered, "You still dare to go near the main table? Don't you know what happened at the banquet tonight?"

Zhao Ziang pulled his arm back and said calmly, "It's a rare trip to the Bai family, you should at least go up and offer a toast."

He spoke casually, but he had a different plan in mind.

Shen Ye's connection was broken. He sat in the corner all night, unable to reconnect with any other people. Bai Yanzhi was his last chance, and he had to seize it no matter what.

Perhaps Bai Yanzhi is in a good mood tonight, and the speech he prepared might just be able to move the distinguished guests present. He has taken too many gambles before, so one more won't make a difference.

He put on a well-practiced smile, picked up a glass of red wine, and walked straight to the head table.

Guests along the way turned their heads to look at him; some put down their wine glasses and whispered among themselves, while others scrutinized his back with a critical gaze.

He strode forward, taking all the stares as envy. Being able to go up and toast the head table was a symbol of status, and he had the illusion that he was walking a broad road.

As he walked to the main table, he happened to be standing behind Bai Ci, and all he could see was the boy's dark back of his head.

Knowing that this was the young master, but with all his attention focused on Bai Yanzhi's face, he didn't think much of it, raised his wine glass towards the head of the table, and put on a smooth smile.

"Mr. Bai, I apologize for disturbing you. Tonight's banquet is exceptionally grand. Let me toast you. I am Zhao Zi'ang from Zhao's Real Estate. My father often mentions you and specifically asked me to come and give my regards."

He turned to the side, raised his glass, and bowed to Bai Jiheng and Shen Tinglan in turn: "Third Young Master, Young Master Shen, I've heard so much about you."

When his gaze swept over Shen Tinglan, he thought of Shen Ye, his expression paused slightly, but he quickly concealed it.

He was not familiar with the other members of the Bai family's collateral branches and elders who were old friends at the table, so he simply raised his glass to that half of the table in general, his smile unchanged, and he was very polite.

He secretly planned to first entertain the key figures at the main table, and then get to know this rumored young master privately later.

He said solicitously, "I have always admired the Bai family's strategic layout in the new energy sector. I wonder if I could take this opportunity tonight to ask Mr. Bai a few questions?"

The main table fell silent.

Bai Yanzhi did not accept the wine, but slowly tapped the table with his fingertips, making the atmosphere increasingly oppressive.

The brief silence left Zhao Zi'ang feeling uneasy.

"Mr. Zhao." Bai Yanzhi finally spoke, his tone calm.

Zhao Zi'ang immediately nodded: "Yes, yes, yes, Zhao Zi'ang."

Bai Yanzhi picked up his wine glass, his fingertips slowly turning it, his gaze passing over the rim of the glass and landing on his face.

"Did you run into my brother on the mountain path this afternoon?"

Zhao Ziang's smile froze, and he subconsciously shook his head: "No, no, Mr. Bai, I was sitting in the car all afternoon and didn't see him—"

Halfway through her sentence, Bai Ci put down her juice glass, turned to the side, and slowly raised her head.

The moment their eyes met, Zhao Ziang felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

The scene from the afternoon and the face before him overlapped dramatically. The dusty, hiking boy on the winding mountain road and the young master of the Bai family sitting next to Bai Yanzhi now, wearing custom-made clothes and enamel cufflinks, were the same person.

The rest of his words got stuck in his throat; his lips moved a few times, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Bai Yanzhi's aura was as deep and cold as a pool, and the unique pressure of a superior made Zhao Ziang's breath catch in his throat.

Bai Jiheng looked at him with a half-smile, clearly waiting to see what would happen.

Shen Tinglan remained expressionless, her gaze indifferent. Bai Ci sat quietly, glancing calmly at Zhao Ziang.

The surrounding guests also noticed the strange atmosphere. The conversations gradually stopped, and all eyes turned to them, with whispers rising and falling.

"Isn't this Zhao Zi'ang, the second young master of the Zhao family?"

"Why are you standing there motionless?"

"Perhaps they offended the Bai family and got themselves into trouble?"

"This is going to be quite a show; it's incredibly embarrassing."

The whispers reached his ears, and Zhao Zi'ang's cheeks burned.

On the east side of the main table, an uncle from a collateral branch of the Bai family frowned slightly, turned his head and whispered to another, "Zhao Yuanshan's grandson?"

The other person didn't respond, but simply put down his wine glass, leaned forward slightly, and looked at Zhao Ziang.

Elder Yu, a family friend, who was chatting quietly with Elder Zhong, stopped talking, placed his chopsticks on the edge of the plate, and gave an ambiguous look.

Old Master Zhong adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and his gaze fell on Zhao Ziang's face.

Zhao Ziang's face turned pale and then red, his previous composure completely gone, leaving him in an extremely embarrassing situation.

He recalled what everyone had said tonight: Young Master Bai stood up for the young man in public, Shen Tinglan stayed by his side every step of the way, the Xu family's port cooperation was directly canceled, and even Shen Ye, who had inadvertently offended him, had to take the initiative to apologize. And the lifeline he had desperately tried to hold onto had been burned to ashes by himself this afternoon.

Bai Jiheng broke the silence first, his voice cold, deliberately throwing back the sarcasm from the afternoon verbatim.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Weren't you quite the chatterbox on the mountain road this afternoon? You said I was dressed tacky, like I was selling toys at a stall, and even asked if I'd snuck in for a free meal. Now you're standing here, all mute?"

Zhao Ziang trembled and hurriedly bowed deeply.

"Young Master Bai, I know I was wrong! This afternoon I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness, and I offended you with my arrogant words. Please forgive me this time!"

"Is a simple 'I admit my mistake' enough?" Bai Jiheng sneered, his tone sharp and intimidating. "Do I need to recount the Zhao family's current predicament in public?"

"Zhao's Real Estate has been overdue for six months, bank credit has been completely frozen, and two bridge loans are due next Wednesday. The company's entire cash flow has been completely cut off, and it is on the verge of bankruptcy."

In just a few words, the predicament that the Zhao family had been trying so hard to cover up was laid bare.

The entire room erupted in uproar, and a torrent of discussion surged forth.

"Is the Zhao family finished?"

"No wonder Zhao Zi'ang was so attentive tonight; he came to beg the Bai family for help."

"With this attitude, they dare to offend the Bai family? Aren't they just courting death?"

Old Yu put down his wine glass, clicked his tongue softly, and shook his head.

One of the uncles whispered to another, "The family fortune that Zhao Yuanshan built up over his lifetime is likely to be ruined in the hands of this grandson."

The other nodded slightly but did not reply. Old Master Zhong picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked away from Zhao Zi'ang, as if he had lost interest in him.

Zhao Ziang's face was ashen, and his legs trembled uncontrollably. He knew perfectly well that the Bai family had a complete grasp of their internal risk control data, and his little schemes were completely exposed to them.

"Having nowhere else to turn, they sought help from the Bai family," Bai Yanzhi's gaze was icy, "yet they dare to humiliate others so brazenly. Is this the Zhao family's style? So obsequious and arrogant? Is this how the descendants taught by Old Master Zhao behave?"

Zhao Ziang's lips trembled as he hurriedly explained, "President Bai, my family taught me this; it was my own recklessness—"

He paused, then his voice suddenly rose a few decibels: "But the old man is now lying in a hospital bed, paralyzed on one side, and the livelihoods of hundreds of people in the Zhao family rest on my shoulders. I admit I was being sarcastic this afternoon, but if I had known it was the young master, I wouldn't have dared to say it even if you gave me a hundred lives!"

The surrounding chatter started again.

"Using the old man to gain sympathy?"

"He's lying in a hospital bed and you expect him to try and curry favor with you? That's a really weak excuse."