Chapter 038: The Fall of the Heavenly King, Part 4

The International Culinary Conference proceeded as scheduled, with delegates from around the world gradually checking in during the days leading up to the event.

Manager Chang was in charge of all dining arrangements for this international conference, and she was so busy that she barely had a moment to catch her breath.

Le Yixian followed her, leaving early and returning late every day.

After several days of this, Aunt Liu looked at her with deep concern, “Miss, is your work too exhausting? You’ve lost weight.”

Wang Jingye, who was eating breakfast nearby, glanced over at his daughter and studied her closely, then nodded, “She really does seem thinner.”

“It’s nothing,” Le Yixian replied quickly, finishing five dumplings and two bowls of seafood congee in a flash, then grabbing two meat buns. She called out casually, “I’m heading to work now,” and dashed toward the door before either Wang Jingye or Aunt Liu could respond.

When she arrived at the hotel, Manager Chang was already in her office. She glanced at Le Yixian, who had hurried in, and simply nodded, “Let’s go. The conference starts today. Our main responsibility is lunch and dinner.”

The diligent businesspeople had already risen early and finished their breakfast.

The multifunctional conference hall, which could hold five thousand people, was already packed.

Huangfu Shang had also gotten up early and come with his cousin.

As a leading figure in the national hotel industry, Huangfu Lie was seated in the front row of the conference hall.

As his assistant, Huangfu Shang sat in the back, surrounded by a group of people in formal attire, clutching recorders and even laptops.

The atmosphere was tense and solemn, and the nerves made Huangfu Shang feel the urge to use the restroom.

He looked around and saw that everyone’s attention was focused on the official speaker at the front, so he quietly got up.

After politely asking a staff member for directions, he slipped out to find the restroom.

He felt much better after leaving the restroom. Ahead, a competent-looking woman in a professional suit hurried toward him, speaking rapidly: “The head of Carter Hotel doesn’t eat animal organs, Mr. Li from XXX Restaurant is allergic to broad beans, and Mr. Chen from KKK gets drunk after just a little alcohol… Take note of these and pay special attention.”

“Yes,” Le Yixian nodded, jotting down the key points in her notebook.

She found managing a hotel truly overwhelming; dizzy with the pace, she never noticed brushing past Huangfu Shang. In contrast, he seemed struck by lightning, standing rooted to the spot.

For a long moment, Huangfu Shang stood there dazed. By the time he snapped out of it, the polished corridor was empty. He hurried after the direction the two had just walked, but seeing no one, he returned to the conference hall, filled with regret and disappointment.

After the morning session, Huangfu Lie noticed his cousin’s gloomy mood. “What’s wrong? Did someone bully you?”

Huangfu Shang snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head, “No.”

All the assistants around them were diligently taking notes; who would have time to pay him any mind?

“Brother,” Huangfu Shang hesitated, then spoke, “Do you remember I once told you about someone I liked?”

“Oh?” Huangfu Lie raised an eyebrow.

He knew about the person his cousin liked—it had been a chance encounter before going abroad, allegedly love at first sight. Too shy to confess, his cousin had held onto the memory even now, years after returning from overseas.

“I just saw her in the corridor,” Huangfu Shang’s handsome face flushed. “She’s even prettier now.”

Huangfu Lie remained expressionless and aloof, thinking: No matter how beautiful a woman is, if you look at her long enough, she’ll seem ordinary.

His shy little cousin continued, “I think she works at this hotel. Do you think I should try to find her?”

“No need to go looking deliberately,” Huangfu Lie replied. “Otherwise, you’ll come across as a man with ulterior motives. If it’s meant to be, you’ll meet again.”

Huangfu Shang hesitated.

Sensing his cousin’s sincerity, Huangfu Lie added, “Do you want her to misunderstand you? To see you as someone with bad intentions?”

“Of course not!” his cousin blurted out.

“Good. Let’s go eat. I’ve arranged lunch with the owner of a foreign winery. Join me.”

On the way, while his cousin wasn’t looking, Huangfu Lie messaged his secretary: Find out whom Shang had contact with this morning.

He couldn’t let some mysterious little vixen hurt his cousin.

By the end of lunch, the ever-capable secretary had already identified everyone the young master had encountered that morning.

Aside from the group of assistants in the corner, there were only two others: a staff member who gave directions in the conference hall, and a restroom attendant.

The restroom attendant was nearly fifty, so she was ruled out.

As for the staff member—he was male.

Male???

Huangfu Lie felt a jolt of shock, then quickly composed himself.

Thinking back, he realized his cousin had never specified the gender of his beloved.

But wait—his cousin had said the person had become prettier. That adjective is most often used for women.

Still, there are a few men who might be described that way.

At this thought, President Huangfu’s mood took a nosedive. His uncle and aunt had always treated him so well, yet as their elder cousin, he was about to be the one who let the family line end with his little cousin.

He felt he could use a tune from a two-stringed erhu to express his melancholy.

Huangfu Shang didn’t notice his cousin’s wild imaginings.

Reluctant as he’d been to attend, over the next two days, he became unusually diligent.

But when the three-day conference ended, he never encountered his beloved again.

President Huangfu was both pleased and conflicted, and at the evening banquet, he inadvertently drank a few too many glasses and became drunk.

Huangfu Shang supported his intoxicated cousin. The secretary had left after the conference, so for a moment, he was at a loss.

Just then, Manager Chang, who had just entered the banquet hall, noticed their predicament and hurried over.

“President Huangfu is drunk. We have rooms upstairs for guests to rest,” she said, then turned to Le Yixian at her side, “Xiaoya, help President Huangfu up to a room.”

Huangfu Shang was about to refuse, but when he saw Le Yixian standing beside Manager Chang, his eyes lit up—fate had brought them together again.

He nodded, “Thank you for your help.”

Le Yixian was delighted to see Ke Yuandao, the male lead, pitifully supporting his cousin. The three-day conference was almost over and she had been wondering if she would have a chance to run into him here.

With her guidance, Huangfu Shang settled his cousin in the presidential suite on the top floor. Then, blushing, he asked Le Yixian, “Would you… like to have a late-night snack with me?”

Le Yixian agreed without hesitation.

The two of them went off happily for a midnight meal.

In the kitchen, Manager Chang casually pointed at someone, “Prepare a sobering soup and deliver it to the presidential suite upstairs.”

No trouble at all. Ouyang Zining nodded in reply.