(The child has fully recovered from the rash. Going to take the kid to the bookstore on Saturday, and updates will be posted at night. Thanks for your understanding.)

With Wu Songtao's enthusiasm, including his girlfriend Qiqi entertaining the two female guests, the celebration luncheon seemed very lively and everyone enjoyed themselves, though Li Yunpiao seemed a bit dissatisfied because Wu Songtao probably didn't consult with him.

After they had eaten and drunk enough, Wen Qianyi excused herself to the bathroom to avoid drinking more. Li Yunpiao's lecherous eye twitched, and he immediately put down his wine glass, got up from his seat, and prepared to go to the bathroom as well.

However, women often like to go to the bathroom in pairs, so Yun Dandan and Qiqi used napkins to wipe their hands and decided to join her. Li Yunpiao could only sit back down, having lifted his butt just two inches off the seat.

After they left, Wu Songtao laughed and said, "Mr. Li, come on, I toast to you! Let's have another drink."

Li Yan smiled, "I don't hold my liquor well, and I have to go back to work later, so let's take it easy."

Li Yunpiao also joined in the drinking, saying "Take it easy." After finishing his drink, he said, "Mr. Li, should we go next door to have a drink with everyone, or wait for Ms. Wen to come back and join us?"

He said this deliberately, indicating that you represent Paradise Group, if you don't go then Wen Qianyi will have to go later. Although he was being slightly pushy, it wasn't too much, and Li Yan smiled and agreed. "Alright, let's go have a couple of drinks."

The three of them went next door, where the colleagues were familiar with each other despite being in separate groups, and without any bosses present, they were happily enjoying themselves. Seeing them come over, someone immediately found glasses for them and clamored for a toast.

Li Yunpiao and Wu Songtao were familiar faces and naturally exchanged polite toasts. Under their coaxing, more people proposed toasts to Li Yan, the customer representative.

Without a doubt, the negotiations earlier were entirely led by Wen Qianyi, and everyone was very impressed by her. Li Yan didn't leave much of an impression, so the current treatment was purely out of politeness. He was probably seen as Wen Qianyi's assistant, brought along to bear the brunt of the alcohol, so they were quite relentless.

If it were just regular social niceties, Li Yan might not enjoy such occasions but would still manage. His negotiation skills weren't outstanding, but his observational skills weren't inferior to these people! Amid the lively festivities and glass swapping, he noticed a business representative named Xi Qianbin was enthusiastically trying to pull him into conversation with slightly drunken familiarity, but lacked any passion when he first entered, turning lively only after receiving an eye signal from Li Yunpiao.

This made him secretly smirk, feigning discomfort towards their toasts.

The toasting from the subordinates was merely formal, intended to make them feel noticed by the boss. The true emphasis was on the customer side. So after the formalities, Wu Songtao wanted to drag Li Yan over to greet Wen Qianyi and the others, but Xi Qianbin didn't let go, enthusiastically keeping Li Yan drinking and chatting, while Li Yunpiao pulled Wu Songtao away.

After exiting, Wu Songtao was puzzled, and Li Yunpiao explained, "This Li Yan obviously lacks capability. We should focus on building a good relationship with Ms. Wen, and leave Xi Qianbin and them to accompany him. He's not worthy to hang with us."

Wu Songtao frowned, "You can't say that..."

"Old Wu, just heed my words, have I ever been wrong? Don't worry, since my sister-in-law is here, I won't put you in a difficult position. Leave the relationship building with Ms. Wen to me, I'll put in the effort, it's no big deal." Li Yunpiao acted determined.

Wu Songtao couldn't help but find it amusing, internally thinking: You're just attracted to Ms. Wen's looks, aren't you? But as a consistent partner, he could only say, "Leave it to the capable, only you, old Li, can handle this."

...

More than half an hour later, everyone had finished eating and begun to wrap things up. Xi Qianbin saw that he had successfully gotten Li Yan drunk, feeling triumphant, he smirked and said 'I can down it all, you take it easy,' then gave the 'if you're a man, drink it all' look. Such cooperation had a ninety percent success rate, getting those who claimed they couldn't drink to pass out. Now he had done it to Li Yan, albeit using the self-damaging approach to defeat the opponent, resulting in him drinking more and eventually passing out, satisfied that his task was complete.

Wu Songtao asked his girlfriend Qiqi to settle the bill and accompanied a few others over. Seeing things unfold as he had planned, he smiled with satisfaction, then acted concerned while calling out to Li Yan. He then turned to Wen Qianyi and said, "Miss Wen, it seems Mr. Li has had too much to drink. I can drive you back later!"

Earlier, when a few women were together, there was no opportunity, Li Yunpiao aimed to create a small space for one-on-one interaction, especially post-drinking, when conversations often flow easier. He hoped to quickly build a connection, though such ties quickly fade, he would naturally create chances for subsequent meetings. He had his capable subordinate, Xi Qianbin, get Li Yan drunk, with the goal of driving Wen Qianyi home.

Wen Qianyi saw Li Yan get drunk so soon and frowned slightly but still politely declined Li Yunpiao's offer with a smile: "No need, I can drive myself and I need to take him back."

She said this while taking Li Yan's hand, "Get up!"

Li Yunpiao was internally pleased and immediately pretended to help support Li Yan, saying eagerly, "How can you handle such a big man? Let me arrange two more people to send him back. Miss Wen, you also had a drink, it's really not safe for you to drive yourself back!"

"It's alright, I drove myself here, no problem." Wen Qianyi was completely at ease in situations like this and knew he was deliberately trying to chit-chat and get close to her. The only trouble was Li Yan; having to drag such a grown man was certainly inconvenient.

"Miss Wen, no need to be so polite with me. How about this, I'll help you drive the car and take you back to the company... oh! Mr. Li has arranged for someone else to take him back to the company... oh..."

Wu Songtao found it strange; Li Yunpiao seemed like he was burping after being full, but when he said "oh," his face showed some pain, which didn't look like burping, making it all very odd to him.

Seeing Li Yan standing up in a daze, Wen Qianyi immediately smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Li. Please help me support him out first!"

"Of course, of course, no need to be so polite." Li Yunpiao strove to put on a smile. Although it was a bit of an effort, being able to be alongside a beautiful lady, lending a helping hand, was a good start to close the distance, after all.

Others also hurried to assist Xi Qianbin, and everyone left the hotel together. Li Yan, who was staggering a bit, would occasionally step on a foot or bump into someone.

While they waited for the car to drive over, he took a deep breath and called two people, "You guys take Mr. Li back!"

"That won't be necessary, will it? Just put him into my car, and I'll take him back." Wen Qianyi still held onto Li Yan's arm.

Li Yunpiao quickly accompanied her with a smile and said, "How can that work? What if he starts vomiting later? Wouldn't it ruin Miss Wen's car? And we can't let a delicate young lady like you take care of a big man. Better let me take care of you and drive you back!"

He had put so much thought into this, helping such a big man down the stairs with his foot already swollen from being stepped on, all for a chance to get closer and to have this opportunity to get in contact, how could he let it slip away?

The others somewhat looked down on Li Yan; incompetence was one thing, but getting drunk to such an extent was embarrassing. Only Wu Songtao and Qiqi knew it was Li Yunpiao's doing, but they couldn't speak up.

At this moment, Li Yan seemed to have heard a command and suddenly woke up.

"Drive? Are we driving now?"

He looked like he had just woken from a sleep, then turned to Wen Qianyi, quickly saying, "Miss Wen, are we leaving? Sorry, I dozed off, let me drive!"

This sudden change left everyone momentarily stunned. If they hadn't seen Xi Qianbin and Li Yan both drinking until they passed out, they would really suspect he was faking it. Otherwise, how could someone sober up so quickly? But now...

Li Yunpiao's smile froze, and he couldn't help but glance at Xi Qianbin, who was still drunk and being put into a car. Did this guy fake being drunk to fool Xi Qianbin? Was he stepping on me on purpose? "Mr. Li, you drank so much, can you really drive?"

Li Yan, as if awakening from a dream, quickly laughed and explained, "It's okay, I have a low alcohol tolerance and get drunk easily, but when I get too drunk, I've developed a habit: as long as I'm overly drunk, I soon fall asleep, and if I take a short nap, when I wake up, the intoxication mostly subsides."

Li Yunpiao was secretly fuming, damn it; who knew he had such an abnormal habit? Why didn't he say so earlier? If he had, they would have held back a bit with Xi Qianbin, not letting him completely pass out!

Seeing Li Yan still with a bit of a boozy aura, yet already looking quite alert, Li Yunpiao could only swallow his frustration.

Seeing Li Yunpiao's forced smile, Wu Songtao and Qiqi exchanged knowing glances and smiled, not expecting that after all his scheming, this would be the result.

Once they got in the car, with Li Yan driving, Wen Qianyi turned around, smiling broadly at him. "Wow! I never expected you to have such an amazing skill, how did you cultivate that?"

Li Yan laughed heartily, "My dear Manager Wen, as clever as you are, don't tell me you didn't see that I was faking it."

"You wish!" Wen Qianyi laughed, feigning reproach with a playful slap, then added, amused, "You're such a scoundrel! Pretending to be drunk to mess with others, letting their plans fail is one thing, but why step on him so much? His foot's probably a roasted hog trotter by now."

"Heaven knows, I was being the bad guy for you. To those guys who want to take advantage of pretty ladies, it's good to give them a lesson to avoid provoking someone they can't handle someday."

Wen Qianyi just smiled, not saying anything, but her heart felt warm. She's been hustling for years, always dealing with such troubles alone. When it comes to business, nothing is more real. Even partners or colleagues wouldn't offend clients for you. Li Yan was the first fool she'd met who disciplined a client to help her.

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