Win My Husband Over to Find My Child
Chapter 134: The Nucci Spouses’ Anniversary Banquet

Chapter 134: The Nucci Spouses’ Anniversary Banquet

"Mr. Xu, welcome to our humble abode."

Calix grinned at Mr. Nucci’s choice of words. Extending a hand, he shook hands with the middle-aged man and his wife.

"Congratulations on your 20th anniversary," Calix earnestly relayed his wish, his tone had a hint of playfulness, "Let’s make it to another decade, en?"

"Hahaha! You jest! Sure! I’ll make sure to invite you for our 30th anniversary."

Mr. Nucci broke into laughter while Mrs. Nucci chuckled, still carrying herself elegantly as she thanked Calix.

The Nucci spouses’ anniversary banquet was tonight. Calix came here with his assistants, Mr. Hao and Mr. Tan. Mr. Nucci sent a limousine to pick them up at the private villa.

Calix didn’t talk much with the Nucci spouses. He noticed many guests were waiting for the chance to arrive. After sharing a few more words, he and his assistants stepped away.

"Enjoy the food, Mr. Xu," a joyful Mr. Nucci patted Calix’s back, beaming delightfully, "Let’s talk again later."

"For sure," Calix chuckled, waving one hand at the older man, "I won’t miss the chance to feast on these delicacies."

Calix, Mr. Hao and Mr. Tan leisurely walked away from the Nucci spouses. They took in the elegance and opulence ambiance exuded by the whole ballroom.

The gentle tunes of classical music drifted from where a septet played the instruments, the echoes harmonizing with the guests’ chattering and glasses’ clinking. They gathered in small groups, seemingly sharing stories of their new accomplishments and building networks.

While Calix and his assistants wandered into the ballroom, a group of men and women approached them.

"Mr. Xu! It’s a pleasure to meet you!"

Calix smiled gracefully, keeping up his usual front when dealing with people, "Hello, Mr. Marcello. I didn’t expect to run into you here. How have you been?"

Caught to socialize with the other guests, Calix stopped to talk to Mr. Marcello and his acquaintances. They formed another small group of guests chatting in the ballroom.

As the waiters walked around the gathering with trays of fine wines and gourmet delicacies, Calix and the others picked one glass of wine each. Some of them chose the dainty sweets offered by the waiters.

’Hurm... I wonder what she’s doing right now.’

A small part of Calix’s mind wandered to the private villa, unconsciously thinking about Leslie. He accompanied her to have an early dinner before the limousine arrived to get him.

Leslie seemed to wake up in a good mood this morning and she stayed that way until night came. Calix could only attribute it to their bus and scooter tours last night.

"Oh, we’ve kept you here long enough," Mr. Marcello grinned apologetically, "Mr. Xu, have you eaten? You should try every dish we have for this banquet. Mr. Nucci’s chefs are among the best, I assure you."

"Would you like to join me, Mr. Marcello?" Calix asked something that went against his heart, "I can’t get enough of the Italian cuisines I’ve tried during my business trip."

"Then, you should come here again in the future. I won’t bother you any longer. Hope to see you before you leave later though."

Calix simply nodded, inwardly elated with Mr. Marcello’s refusal. He gestured at Mr. Hao and Mr. Tan to follow him once Mr. Marcello and his entourage headed in the opposite direction.

"You guys better go and eat quickly," Calix whispered to his assistant duo, his expression remained unchanging, "Believe it or not, we’ll talk to others again."

"As expected of attending a banquet, Boss Xu. You can’t run away from socializing," replied Mr. Tan, followed by Mr. Hao’s humming.

Calix refrained from rolling his eyes. What his assistant said held the absolute truth.

"I don’t feel like eating anything heavy. You guys can go if you want something else," Calix’s attention fell on the long table where various kinds of desserts were served.

Mr. Hao and Mr. Tan looked at each other before staring impassively at their CEO. Their boss’ true intention was well written on his face.

"Boss Xu, we know that you’re hooked by those strawberry tarts."

"Don’t make excuses, Boss. We’ve known you well enough."

Coughing awkwardly, Calix glared at the two older men. None of them seemed to be affected by his glowering.

Tsk. Surely Edward taught his subordinates to talk back to him, huh?

"Go. Don’t disturb me."

Mr. Hao and Mr. Tan nodded. They flashed the brightest grin.

"Bye bye, Boss Xu."

"Enjoy your desserts."

The two men scurried for the table where heavy dishes were served. Calix scoffed, thinking how annoying they appeared in his eyes right now.

"Huh, I better ignore them. Sweets, here I come~"

Calix’s sour expression instantly changed once he returned his attention to the dessert table. Grabbing one plate, he began pondering which cakes and pastries should he take.

If possible, Calix wanted to try everything but, he needed to think of his image in public of this foreign country. He didn’t care much about it if he was back in his homeland.

"It’s fine. I’ll just take another slice of this pie," murmured Calix to himself as he picked the second slice of strawberry rhubarb pie.

The plate was filled with strawberry tarts, strawberry panna cotta and strawberry brownie tart. The red color of the fruits appeared so striking on the white plate.

"Do you like strawberries?"

The unfamiliar voice of a man caught Calix’s attention especially when the former spoke Chinese instead of Italian. Shifting his eyes from the strawberry tiramisu sitting next to fruit tarts, he looked at the man.

"You can say so," Calix replied with a polite smile, wondering who this unfamiliar man was, "Have we met before? I didn’t see much of my countrymen here in this banquet."

The man’s lips curled into a smile. He nodded once to Calix, "Hello, CEO Xu. I’ve only seen you from afar before. I’m glad that I can greet you personally like this. My surname is Yan."

"Mr. Yan, are you here on a business trip?" Calix had to abandon his desserts for a while. He started chatting with the young man, "Or, is your base here?"

Calix remembered everyone in the upper tier of high society. He believed Mr. Yan might come from the lower echelon or, he might be involved with a startup.

"The latter, my base is here," replied Mr. Yan easily, "But, I hope to return to China soon. Perhaps, in a few months. Gosh, I miss our food."

Calix entertained Mr. Yan for a little longer, thinking it was great to see his fellow countryman here. He also learned more about the young man.

Mr. Yan partnered with his close university friend to build a tech startup. The latter was invited here as well but, unfortunately, he couldn’t attend the banquet.

"Perhaps we’ll run into each other again once you’re back," said Calix, humoring Mr. Yan, "Will both of you return? Oh, is your friend a Chinese too?"

"He is but, he has lived abroad his entire life," Mr. Yan half-shrugged, "I really hope to cross paths with you again, CEO Xu. Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve bothered you enough."

Mr. Yan exchanged a few words with Calix before he finally left. Smiling, he wondered which startup the former established. He forgot to ask for its name.

"Hurm... I’ll know if we ever meet again later," murmured Calix. Ignoring everything else, he went looking for a good spot to enjoy the desserts.