Su Yaya knew who Xu Mu was, of course.
But as the saying goes, one shouldn't hit a smiling person. Since he congratulated her with a smile, she couldn't possibly respond with a cold face.
So, Su Yaya gave a slight smile. "Thank you."
"Yaya, let's go. Your uncle is here."
Mu Qingying couldn't be bothered to look at Xu Mu again.
In her view, Xu Mu must have realized he couldn't win her over.
He was starting to play hard to get.
Intentionally getting close to Su Yaya was just to provoke her.
But he was overthinking it.
Mu Qingying wished Xu Mu would disappear from her world.
A middle-aged man with slicked-back hair walked over from the distance. He was impeccably dressed in a suit, with deep crow's feet at the corners of his eyes.
He was Su Yaya's father, Su Weiye.
"Hahaha! Mr. Su is here. Congratulations, congratulations."
"Yaya can become a disciple of the Master; her future prospects are limitless."
"I can already see the Su family becoming a rising new force!"
...
As soon as Su Weiye appeared, many people around him chuckled and flattered him.
In fact, what everyone said wasn't wrong. With his daughter being a student of Zhou Hening,
Su Weiye naturally forged a connection with Zhou Hening.
Su Weiye smiled and clasped his hands, then his gaze fell on Xu Mu. He hadn't expected the Xu family to actually want this contract.
If Xu Shou had come personally, he might have shown some respect.
But for Xu Mu, this prodigal son, to come and ask for his family's contract?
Of course, Su Weiye also knew that Xu Shou couldn't possibly come.
Because this banquet was held in his daughter's name.
A prominent figure like Xu Shou, whose status was already above his, would not specifically come to congratulate his daughter.
If it were in his own name, Xu Shou might have come over.
Just like Mu Qingying's father, Mu Yuansheng, who hadn't shown up this time.
"Mr. Zhou, I apologize. I had an urgent phone call just now."
Su Weiye walked up to Zhou Hening, his face full of apology.
"It's alright. I should also congratulate you for raising such an outstanding daughter."
Zhou Hening smiled. "Yaya is still young, and her future achievements will definitely be substantial."
"Hahaha! Thank you for the kind words, Mr. Zhou."
Su Weiye smiled and clasped his hands, then looked around. "I believe that besides extending congratulations, everyone here has other matters in mind, right?"
The surrounding businessmen chuckled without speaking.
"Our Su family's food business has been operating in Jiangbei for twenty years and has deeply rooted itself in the public's mind. We recently plan to open a new production line, and the raw material processing partner has yet to be finalized."
Su Weiye paused here. "There are too many excellent processing companies in our Jiang City, and it's difficult to please everyone."
When he said this, many people around looked toward Xu Mu's side.
Everyone present was an old fox who had been in the business world for many years.
They knew that the main competition was only between the Xu family and the Mu family.
Su Weiye definitely still wanted to choose the Mu family, but doing so would indirectly offend the Xu family.
The Xu family dominated the industry in Jiang City. If they caused even a little trouble, the Su family would suffer immensely.
Their main purpose for coming this time was to get acquainted with Zhou Hening.
The second reason was to vie for that slim chance.
Perhaps the contract might fall into their hands.
"This time, I intend to let Mr. Zhou decide our partner."
Su Weiye pointed at Zhou Hening. "We will each send one person to play the piano, and let Mr. Zhou judge. We will choose whoever performs the best."
Hearing this, the people present started whispering.
They hadn't expected Su Weiye to come up with this method, which allowed him to choose the Mu family without offending the Xu family.
The Xu family only had Xu Mu here. What could this prodigal son know?
If they didn't get the contract in the end, they could only say they were outmatched.
Mu Qingying, meanwhile, displayed a confident expression. Her piano skills had long reached the performance level.
She had already played for Zhou Hening earlier.
Zhou Hening's evaluation was that her foundational strength was extremely strong, a rarity in the country.
The only thing she lacked compared to Su Yaya was some artistic flair.
Mu Qingying was very happy. Su Yaya was a member of the Su family, so she naturally wouldn't compete with herself.
So, among those present, or even the entire Jiangbei,
How many could compare with her?
Mu Qingying didn't know that there was someone else here just like her.
Who was also wearing a confident smile.
It wasn't Xu Mu, but Lin Yang.
As an overseas mercenary, Lin Yang had to play various roles when executing missions.
So, he had to learn various skills.
He had also learned the piano, and his teacher was a world-class pianist hired with immense wealth by a Middle Eastern oil tycoon.
The teacher had also said that his talent was good and that ordinary people were no match for him.
"Good! I think what Mr. Su said makes sense! Since Mr. Zhou is here, the winner should naturally be decided by the piano."
Lin Yang spoke loudly at this moment.
Everyone around turned their heads, looking at this young man, who seemed to be around twenty years old.
But no one knew his identity.
Only Su Yaya frowned slightly, suddenly feeling that this person looked somewhat familiar.
"But I have one prerequisite: no outside help. It must be someone from your own family."
Su Weiye chuckled. "Everyone here is wealthy. Spending hundreds of thousands to hire a master would defeat the original purpose."
This statement virtually blocked the Mu family from hiring outside help.
If no outside help could be hired, who among the present businessmen could surpass Mu Qingying?
At one of the round tables, Li Feipeng, sitting next to Lin Yang, whispered, "Mr. Lin, what should we do?"
"I am your distant cousin, so I count as family."
Lin Yang's smile remained.
Any hired help would definitely be a well-known person, which could easily be discovered through a quick investigation.
But he had never displayed his piano skills in the country.
"Young Master Xu, I'm sorry."
Su Ruiming, sitting next to Xu Mu, was a little helpless.
"It's alright. I know a thing or two about piano, too," Xu Mu said with a smile.
His words amused Lin Yang at the neighboring table.
Lin Yang sat down on the other side of Xu Mu, his face showing a condescending frivolity.
He looked as if he was dealing with an idiot.
"Young Master Xu, you understand the piano too?"
Lin Yang's voice was loud, intended for everyone to hear, wanting to embarrass Xu Mu.
"Slightly, just slightly."
Xu Mu said calmly.
Hearing this, many people present burst into laughter.
This prodigal son, understood the piano?
Who in the entertainment venues of Jiang City didn't know him?
He was a regular, frequently shouting that the entire tab was on Young Master Xu for the night.
"Slightly? I also know a little. How about we participate later?"
Lin Yang felt like he was teasing an idiot.
"Sure."
Xu Mu nodded.
Lin Yang sneered inwardly. Someone like you, who was just trying to flirt with my "white moonlight."
I'll have plenty of time to mess with you later.
"Alright, let's begin now. Who wants to go first?"
Su Weiye merely regarded Xu Mu as a joke.
"Our family will go first!"
A young man wearing black-rimmed glasses sent his elementary school-aged daughter towards the piano in the distance.
Everyone present was wealthy and cultivated their children from a young age.
His family happened to teach the piano.
The girl looked about ten years old, dressed in a black dress, and was adorable.
She sat at the piano, and her fingers began to fall onto the keys.
It was a relatively famous piece, Mariage d'Amour (Wedding in a Dream).
After the music ended, many people present clapped their hands and applauded.
"Not bad. Although a few notes were wrong in the middle, and the rhythm was slightly off, this piece is Grade 4. Being able to play it smoothly is already quite strong."
Zhou Hening sat in one spot and said with a smile.
Since today was Saturday, there were many children present.
As for the adults here, most of them didn't understand music because their families didn't have the means when they were young.
After several children who could play the piano finished, no one else stepped up to play.
At this moment, Lin Yang smiled and looked at Xu Mu, wanting to embarrass him. "Young Master Xu, why aren't you going up?"
That one sentence once again made many people around stifle their laughter.
They all guessed the reason.
Go up for what?
Xu Mu probably knew himself that he was worse than these children. Wouldn't going up be humiliating?
"I'm so good, I definitely need to be the finale."
Xu Mu's face was calm, but he was very annoyed inside.
Worthy of being his arch-enemy. He hadn't even provoked him, and he had even helped him out at the entrance.
Yet, Lin Yang kept trying to embarrass him. Well, he shouldn't blame Xu Mu for being ruthless.
"I'll go."
Mu Qingying rose from her chair.
When the people around saw this, they all stopped. The real master had arrived.