Chapter 284: A Full Vegetarian Thank-You Banquet

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

When Wen Xinya arrived at the banquet venue, it was already 7 P.M. She came an hour early to repay the favor—after all, holding such a grand banquet, Aunt Zhou would definitely be very busy, and she should be able to be of some help by going there earlier.

Wen Xinya passed the invitation card to the butler and entered the banquet. As it was still an hour away from the banquet, the banquet hall was just scarcely dotted with some guests who were on good terms with Aunt Zhou who had come earlier to help.

Zhou Huiyan was speaking to a woman in a black customized suit when she saw that Wen Xinya arrived. She understood Wen Xinya’s thoughts at a glance, walked over with a smile, held her hand, and said, “It’s been a long time since I last saw you. You’ve grown taller and prettier.”

Perhaps because she had taught Wen Xinya etiquette lessons before, Zhou Huiyan subconsciously sized her up from top to toe, looking out for anything inappropriate in her outfit and appearance.

Wen Xinya was wearing a full set of blue sapphire jewelry. The gemstones were quite perfect, whether in terms of their colors or cuts. Especially their facets—with a total of 108 facets, the gemstones sparkled even more brilliantly than the stars in the sky under the chandelier lights.

She was wearing a moon-white tube top long gown. The color, close to light blue, was mild, poetic, clear and pure like the cloudless blue sky. Under the chandelier lights, it emitted a jade-like translucence, discreetly radiating brilliance.

It was actually such a plain dress—she frowned slightly!

Only after a few closer looks did she see the catch—there were actually light blue embroidery of interlocking branches on the skirt. Due to being close to the color of the gown, they were not obvious without looking closely.

Those interlocking branches prints were indistinct under the chandelier lights. With her every movement, they extended upwards delicately for a moment, extended downwards enchantingly the next, and sometimes stretched in all four directions gorgeously—so dynamic that it was bedazzling to look at!

Such extremely exquisite satin, superb workmanship, and perfect cutting and style exhibited this gown’s high value and uniqueness.

Zhou Huiyan recalled the phoenix brocade gown that she had worn on the night of her homecoming party—it was similarly very expensive. Seemed like this girl Wen Xinya was not as simple as she appeared to be!

Wen Xinya felt slightly embarrassed with her praise and blushed. She changed the topic and said, “Aunt Zhou, thank you for your invitation. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have the chance to come over tonight to widen my knowledge and experience.”

Zhou Huiyan smiled and said, “Since you call me Aunt Zhou, you don’t have to especially thank me for such a small matter. Furthermore, I heard that you were the one who made the decision to put up the Star of the Sea for auction at the charity banquet the other time. How can you be absent from tonight’s thank-you banquet.”

Upon mentioning the charity banquet the other day, Wen Xinya thought of how Ning Shuqian had spent eight million yuan to buy a pair of pink diamond earrings worth slightly over a million yuan, becoming the talk of the banquet. “It’s a pity that the Star of the Sea didn’t command a very good price at the auction.”

The Star of the Sea was currently worth around 12 million yuan. However, because of Ning Shuqian’s actions, this Star of the Sea only reached a bid of eight million yuan, four million yuan less than expected.

As if she also thought of what happened that night, the smile in Zhou Huiyan’s eyes deepened. She vaguely understood that the incident that day was somehow related to this girl, Xinya. However, that stepmother of hers obviously looked like a discontented woman—which family didn’t have a couple of troubles of their own.

“Aunt Zhou, how are the arrangements for tonight’s banquet coming along—is there anything I can do to help?” Zhou Huiyan had always taken great care of her. Although the two of them had not met in a long time, they often chatted on the phone. Aunt Zhou frequently introduced some books on etiquette and magazines on luxury brands and beauty to her, as well as told her many secrets of some wealthy families in the capital city.

Zhou Huiyan smiled and said, “The banquet arrangements are almost done. There’s nothing needing help. It’ll be quite boring for you to come so early.”

Wen Xinya nodded and said, “In that case, Aunt Zhou, you go get busy! The banquet is about to start in a while.”

Zhou Huiyan nodded with a smile.

At this point, the woman in a customized suit just now walked over hurriedly and said, “Teacher Zhou, previously, we’d invited Madam Li who’s very reputable in the charity circle to give the opening speech. However, something urgent cropped up and Madam Li can’t make it to the banquet.”

Wen Xinya saw that the badge on her chest read: “Soaring Public Relations Company, Banquet Public Relations Manager.”

Zhou Huiyan instinctively looked at her wristwatch. “The banquet is about to start in half an hour and the guests are already streaming in. It’s too late to find someone else to give the opening speech. Does your public relations company have any suggestions?”

The public relations manager said, “The veteran actor from Lingyun Media and Entertainment, Teacher Miao, is coming over later. She also has quite a good reputation for charity work in the circle. Why don’t we get her to do the opening speech—what do you think, Teacher Zhou?”

Zhou Huiyan frowned slightly in silence.

However, Wen Xinya could tell that, although given Teacher Miao’s reputation it was definitely not an issue for her to give the opening speech, Teacher Miao was still in the circle. If Teacher Miao were to deliver the opening speech, the banquet would turn into an entertainment event, and the next day’s papers and news would probably surround Teacher Miao, diverting from the theme of the banquet.

Wen Xinya was also anxious for Aunt Zhou. However, when she saw the huge screen directly at the front of the banquet hall, she couldn’t help but think of an idea and said, “Aunt Zhou, I have a way to do without an opening speech.”

Zhou Huiyan had also considered a few solutions. Now hearing Wen Xinya’s words, she wanted to listen to her idea and asked, “What way!”

Wen Xinya verbalized her thinking. “Aunt Zhou, I remember you mentioning before that the staff responsible for putting the donations to use had recorded some videos of the living conditions and words of gratitude of the students and disabled children living in the secluded mountainous areas. Why don’t we use this to replace the opening speech—not only is it sincere, it’s also intuitive and more touching than empty words. Most importantly, it can express the most honest side of the donations being put to use.”

Zhou Huiyan’s eyes lit up at what she thought was a great idea. “It’s a good solution. Previously, I didn’t like to show these stuff only because I was afraid of outsiders thinking that I’m attention-seeking. However, now that the donations have been put to good use, these videos would instead become proof of the utilization of the donations, and to show these to everyone would instead display the transparency and selflessness of the utilization of the donations.”

The public relations manager also smiled and said, “Miss Wen’s idea is great. The theme for this banquet is exactly to show gratitude, and to show these videos would add a sincere and real dimension, allowing all the notable public figures present to feel those children’s real lifestyles and sincere gratitude. Additionally, it’ll also serve as a push for the charity sector.”

Zhou Huiyan smiled and said, “We’ll do exactly as Xinya said.”

The public relations manager nodded and said, “I’ll immediately proceed to arrange it.”

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