The Favored Heiress
Chapter 315: She Has Attended a Cabinet Banquet

Chapter 315: Chapter 315: She Has Attended a Cabinet Banquet

Lu Xirui furrowed his brows and shook his head, seriously refuting, "That’s not right, I’m certain I’ve seen you before."

Li Qiao tilted her head slightly, pondering his name.

A few seconds later, she turned her head and asked Shang Yu, "Does Lu Xiheng have any relation to him?"

"He’s his brother." The man wrapped his arm around Li Qiao’s waist, his tone grave, "You know Lu Xiheng?"

Li Qiao shook her head, but patiently explained, "I don’t know him, I just heard Tang Yiting mention before that she had a cousin with long hair, apparently named Lu Xiheng."

At this moment, Huo Mang reached out to pat Lu Xirui on the shoulder, giving it a warning squeeze while looking at Li Qiao, "You know the Tang family?"

Decades ago, a woman from a collateral branch of the Parma Lu Family had married into the South Sea Tang Family, who was now Tang Yiting’s mother.

However, the relationship between the Lu Family and Tang family wasn’t close.

It was Lu Xiheng who often went in and out of the South Sea with Shang Lu, which is why he had a somewhat closer relationship with the Tang family.

At this moment, Li Qiao nodded and added, "I grew up with Tang Yiting, we’re quite familiar."

With this, Huo Mang visibly relaxed, since Li Qiao knew Tang Yiting, then Lu Xirui’s behavior seemed to make sense.

He might have seen her in the South Sea, or perhaps at the Tang family’s place.

But, Lu Xirui refuted as if something occurred to him, "That’s not right, I have not seen you in the South Sea."

Huo Mang was done, "..."

Li Qiao’s expression did not change as she pinched the bridge of her nose, scrutinizing Lu Xirui’s highly recognizable face, but alas... there was still no recollection in her mind.

After thinking for a bit, she offered an out, "Faces in the Asia District tend to be similar, maybe Mr. Lu has mistaken someone else for me."

"Alright, alright, whether we’ve met before or not, from now on we are all family." Seeing that the situation was unusual, He Qing quickly stood up to smooth things over.

Having already noticed Shaoyan’s signs of anger, and as a man himself, if his girlfriend was being chatted up and tested by his own brother this way, he likely couldn’t stay calm either.

He Qing stood up, and with a nod towards the opposite dining table said, "Come on, now that everyone’s here, let’s sit down and start the meal."

The moment his words fell, as others were about to make their move, Lu Xirui suddenly lit up with realization and exclaimed in a low voice, "I remember now."

Huo Mang couldn’t hold back anymore and directly kicked the back of his knee, "Are you f**king done?"

Lu Xirui staggered from the kick, but he ignored Huo Mang and instead began to clear up everyone’s confusion, "Miss Li, have you ever been to Myanmar before?"

Li Qiao: "..."

Alright, it seemed he really had seen her before.

Mentioning Myanmar, indeed his words were not false.

Li Qiao glanced at Lu Xirui coolly and nodded boldly in admission, "Yes, I’ve been there."

"I knew I couldn’t have been wrong." Lu Xirui laughed in sheer relief, "A few years ago, I saw you at the Myanmar Cabinet Office."

In an instant, everyone’s gaze converged on Li Qiao.

Myanmar, Cabinet Office?

Except for Lu Xirui and Shang Yu, the rest were all visibly shocked.

Instinctively choosing to believe Lu Xirui, this matter... was too incredible, and it couldn’t help but raise doubts.

Li Qiao, a girl unknown to the public, how could she have the capability to enter the Myanmar Cabinet Office?

That was the place where important members of the Myanmar Cabinet were located.

"Xirui, you... you’re not joking?"

He Xi asked in disbelief, his gaze shifting rigidly away from Li Qiao, staring intently at Lu Xirui, trying to discern any flaws in his expression.

The Cabinet Office, a place many have heard of but never seen.

Lu Xirui nodded with composure, "Of course not, a few years ago I was invited by the Minister of International Cooperation to attend a banquet at the Cabinet Office, and Miss Li was also present."

Lu Xirui did not elaborate on more details because, if he remembered correctly, Li Qiao was also invited to the banquet at that time, and her seat was right next to the commander of the Myanmar Military Department.

At that moment, the eyes of Li Qiao and Lu Xirui met, and she slightly curved her lips, "Mr. Lu has a really good memory."

Although it sounded like praise, there was a bit of insincerity behind it.

Li Qiao seldom cared about such major and minor matters at such events. She had been coaxed into attending the Cabinet banquet that year.

She really didn’t take it to heart.

Lu Xirui pursed his lips as if he was discussing something important, and his gaze towards Li Qiao was filled with admiration, "It’s not that I have a good memory, it’s that Miss Li left the banquet early before it even ended, which truly made a deep impression on people."

Li Qiao: "..."

It was a banquet hosted by a country’s Cabinet Office, and she was the only one with an impatient expression, who, after drinking a few glasses of watered-down wine, left with a tight face.

And the surprising thing was that none of the Cabinet members present tried to stop her; in fact, they all seemed unfazed.

Too horrific.

As a result, this incident remained vividly in Lu Xirui’s memory, unable to be forgotten even if he wanted to.

...

Ten minutes later, the private dining room started to serve the meal.

Probably because everyone was stunned that Li Qiao could attend a Myanmar Cabinet banquet, the large private room fell into an uncomfortable silence.

Li Qiao ate quietly, but felt somewhat annoyed inside.

The few prying gazes from across kept landing on her, and even if she deliberately ignored them, having people stare at her like this made her meals hard to swallow, making her feel like a monkey on display.

Li Qiao ate only a few bites, and her plate was already piled with various side dishes she didn’t eat.

He Qing watched as she picked up a bite of food and placed it on her own plate, then began to pick and choose.

From the tiny scallions to the large chunks of crispy bone, she didn’t eat any of it.

Hadn’t she just said she wasn’t picky?

After a few more minutes, Li Qiao silently set down her chopsticks.

At this moment, as an "exhibition monkey," she really couldn’t eat anymore.

Li Qiao wiped her hands with a towel, raised her eyebrows, and looked at Shang Yu beside her, "I’m full, I’ll go for a walk outside."

"I’ll accompany you," said the man, about to set down his chopsticks, but Li Qiao pressed his wrist, "No need, you guys talk, I’ll have Luoyu accompany me."

She knew very well that if she didn’t leave, these people wouldn’t say a word.

This meal had passed, and they hadn’t even uttered an opening remark, evidently still immersed in their shock that she could attend a Myanmar Cabinet banquet.

Even the dining atmosphere had a touch of oppressiveness.

All were friends of Shang Yu, and perhaps there were some things they didn’t feel comfortable discussing in her presence.

In an instant, Li Qiao left the private dining hall.

Three seconds later, the He family siblings and Huo Mang immediately looked at Lu Xirui, almost in unison, "Xirui, what exactly happened?"

A "click" of a lighter echoed, ringing in their ears.

The group looked toward the sound and saw Shang Yu with a cigarette between thin lips; his handsome features semi-concealed by the smoke appeared almost unreal in their haziness.

Lu Xirui looked around in confusion and asked back, "What exactly happened?"

He Xi took a deep breath, his tone much calmer, "Are you sure you didn’t mistake the person? Have you really seen her at the Cabinet Office?"

"Of course, Miss Li has admitted it herself. What else is there to doubt?"