Chapter 204: Senior Zhu Zhu Xuan

With the arrival of Yu Yu Hongxi and Lv Qing'er, the banquet officially began, and as the light, cheerful music played, the atmosphere in the banquet hall grew even more lively.

Yu Yu Hongxi wore a smile as she clinked glasses and took small sips with some guests who came forward to offer congratulations, then glanced at Lv Qing'er's position behind her. At this moment, she was already surrounded by a crowd of outstanding young talents—Senior Zhu Zhu Xuan, Ning Zhao, Wang Wang Hejiu—these young people could all be considered the cream of their generation.

"Heh, President Yu, what do you think of my boy?" On the side, the Lord of Extreme Flame Manor, Zhu Zhu Qinghuo, asked with a beaming smile.

Yu Yu Hongxi smiled and said, "Senior Zhu Zhu Xuan does indeed have the potential to surpass his master."

Zhu Zhu Qinghuo laughed and said, "I think he and Qing'er actually make quite a good match."

Yu Yu Hongxi glanced at him, shook her head, and said, "Matters between the younger generation—we elders shouldn't be meddling. If they truly have intentions for each other, it won't be too late to give them a push then."

Zhu Zhu Qinghuo's eyes flickered. Yu Yu Hongxi's words were vague, but she hadn't outright refused, clearly meaning that if Senior Zhu Zhu Xuan truly developed intentions toward Lv Qing'er, she wouldn't stand in the way.

Knowing this point was actually enough.

Zhu Zhu Qinghuo smiled and raised his glass. The Golden Dragon Bank had powerful influence and abundant wealth—if Extreme Flame Manor could draw closer to them, that would naturally be a tremendous blessing.

Of course, if he could win over Yu Yu Hongxi, the President of the Golden Dragon Bank herself, that would be the most perfect outcome of all. But unfortunately, Zhu Zhu Qinghuo knew all too well just how thorny this beautiful woman before him was; even he wouldn't dare harbor improper intentions and provoke her.

Yu Yu Hongxi clinked glasses with Zhu Zhu Qinghuo and said with a smile, "This time, the Golden Dragon Secret Key is actually meant to select a few outstanding young people to accompany Qing'er into the 'Golden Dragon Dojo.' When young people go on adventures together, it always tends to improve their mutual affinity."

As the Lord of a manor, Zhu Zhu Qinghuo naturally caught the deeper meaning in Yu Yu Hongxi's words, and immediately laughed, saying, "Rest assured, President Yu. I've already instructed my boy to give it his all."

Yu Yu Hongxi smiled and nodded. Of course, she wouldn't tell Zhu Zhu Qinghuo that she had actually said similar things to the elders of some other outstanding young talents as well.

Her hidden purpose in doing all this was simply that she had noticed her daughter's growing fondness for Li Luo, and this fondness even showed signs of gradually increasing.

Regarding this matter, Yu Yu Hongxi was naturally opposed. Not to mention the complicated grievances between her and Li Luo's parents, the mere fact that Li Luo still had an engagement with Jiang Jiang Qinge was enough for Yu Yu Hongxi to flatly reject it.

Regardless of whether that engagement was a marriage in name only, Yu Yu Hongxi would not accept it.

However, Yu Yu Hongxi wasn't the type of overbearing, arbitrary parent. She knew that if she directly forced Lv Qing'er not to have contact with Li Luo, it wouldn't just be ineffective—it would instead provoke the girl's rebellious heart, and if other troubles arose from that, it would be even more of a headache.

In her view, the reason Lv Qing'er had developed a fondness for Li Luo was mostly because they had attended the same academy in Tianshu County back then. There, Lv Qing'er hadn't seen many outstanding peers, which was why she had taken notice of Li Luo.

But now that they had come to Daxia City, the heart of the Kingdom of Daxia, the geniuses here were as countless as carps crossing a river.

Coupled with her own maneuvering, Lv Qing'er would be able to come into contact with more outstanding peers. When that time came, Lv Qing'er's fondness for Li Luo might gradually fade.

So from beginning to end, she never openly opposed Lv Qing'er's fondness for Li Luo, but she chose a different approach.

For instance, this Golden Dragon Secret Key...

If in the end, people like Senior Zhu Zhu Xuan and Ning Zhao could obtain the Secret Key and accompany Lv Qing'er on this trial, their relationship would improve significantly. Perhaps by the time the trial ended, Lv Qing'er's fondness for Li Luo would have gradually worn away.

When that time came, not only would she be free of these worries, but Lv Qing'er wouldn't develop any resentment toward her either.

It could truly be called the best of both worlds.

As for whether Li Luo might also obtain a Golden Dragon Secret Key... that boy is still only at the first stage of the Resonant Master Realm, right? Yet Senior Zhu Zhu Xuan, Ye Ye Qiuding, Ning Zhao and the others are all at the third stage of the Resonant Master Realm.

No matter how monstrous that boy is, he shouldn't have reached that level, right?

"Qing'er, happy birthday."

In the crowd that surrounded her like a cluster of stars, Wang Wang Hejiu showed Lv Qing'er a sincere smile: "I hope you won't take to heart what happened at the academy before."

Although she inwardly found Wang Wang Hejiu somewhat disagreeable, Lv Qing'er wouldn't show anything at this occasion, so she merely smiled and nodded, with no intention of saying more to Wang Wang Hejiu.

She spoke reservedly with Senior Zhu Zhu Xuan, Ning Zhao and the others beside her. After a moment, her gaze still drifted toward a certain direction, and she gave the others an apologetic smile: "I'll go greet some other people first."

After Senior Zhu Zhu Xuan and the others nodded, she walked with light, quick steps toward the direction where Li Luo was.

Wang Wang Hejiu gazed at her slender back, seemingly helplessly sighing, and said, "She's probably going to find Li Luo again. Back at the academy, they were already very close."

Ning Zhao frowned slightly and said coolly, "Qing'er and he are just ordinary friends. Besides, they both came from South Wind Academy, so it's natural their relationship would be a bit better."

Wang Wang Hejiu smiled faintly, the folding fan in his hand fluttering lightly: "Perhaps, but at the academy, Qing'er would sometimes even buy breakfast for that Li Luo."

The corner of Ning Zhao's eye twitched, and his expression turned slightly unsightly.

It was Senior Zhu Zhu Xuan beside them who smiled lightly and said, "Qing'er used to live in Tianshu County, where what she saw and heard was somewhat limited. Now that she's come to Daxia City and seen more, some of her past notions are bound to change."

"If we can obtain a Golden Dragon Secret Key this time and accompany Qing'er on a trip to the Golden Dragon Dojo, then some situations will naturally shift."

His expression was calm, and between his brows there surged a natural confidence.

Ning Zhao glanced at this Senior Zhu Zhu Xuan, and a hint of wariness and vigilance rose in his eyes. After all, as fellow students of the Two-Star Academy, he was well aware of Senior Zhu Zhu Xuan's excellence. If he truly managed to take advantage of the opportunity to get close to Lv Qing'er, then the chances of success on his own end might sharply decline.

"This President Yu is really something—why did she have to bring out the Golden Dragon Secret Key for no reason..." Ning Zhao grumbled inwardly. His father was also a high-ranking member of the Golden Dragon Bank, second only to Yu Yu Hongxi in status, so just like Lv Qing'er, he could directly obtain a Golden Dragon Secret Key. Originally, according to his plan, this time it should have been him accompanying Lv Qing'er into the Golden Dragon Dojo. Going through a trial together, he might have been able to take the chance to open Lv Qing'er's heart.

But now Yu Yu Hongxi had deliberately brought out the Golden Dragon Secret Key, which undoubtedly meant he had gained many powerful rivals for nothing.

However, no matter how much he grumbled, he couldn't make Yu Yu Hongxi change her decision, so he could only grit his teeth and accept it.

While they were each harboring their own thoughts, Lv Qing'er had already arrived at Li Luo's side with a wine glass in hand.

"Greetings, Princess, Senior Jiang." On Lv Qing'er's beautiful, moving face, a faint smile appeared as she raised her glass in greeting to the two women.

"Junior Qing'er."

Facing the guest of honor today, both the Princess and Jiang Jiang Qinge raised their glasses to offer congratulations.

Li Luo also raised his glass along with them.

"There are so many guests, and we haven't been able to attend to everyone properly. Please don't take offense."

Lv Qing'er exchanged a few polite words with the two women, then looked at Li Luo and said, "I originally invited Seeing Yu Lang, Zhao Kuo and the others too, but they all declined."

"This kind of occasion, they probably don't really like it. It's not that they didn't want to come," Li Luo explained.

Those who could come here were almost all noble families and major powers of Daxia. Seeing Yu Lang and Zhao Kuo came from relatively ordinary backgrounds, so bringing them to a place like this would actually make them somewhat uncomfortable.

Lv Qing'er nodded slightly and said, "I understand."

"Once the holiday ends and we go back to the academy, I'll find them and have them celebrate with you again," Li Luo said with a smile.

A faint, almost imperceptible brightness flickered in Lv Qing'er's eyes, then she said reservedly, "We'll talk about it when the time comes."

She paused, her gaze sweeping around, and said softly, "That Golden Dragon Secret Key—are you interested in it?"

Li Luo said frankly with a smile, "Anyone here at the Resonant Master Realm probably wouldn't have no interest in it, right?"

Lv Qing'er nodded. Actually, she had originally planned to ask Yu Yu Hongxi directly for an extra one, but she hadn't expected the Golden Dragon Secret Key to be used by her mother as a birthday prize, which made it rather difficult for her to bring it up.

"Then do your best," she could only offer encouragement.

Li Luo smiled and nodded.

While the two of them were talking, off to the side, the Eldest Princess's gaze shifted. She glanced at Jiang Jiang Qinge, whose expression was calm, and a look of keen interest immediately surfaced in her eyes.

This Li Luo truly is, just like his father, so favored by all the noble ladies of the Great Xia Kingdom.