Chapter 368: Something’s Off About Tonight’s Gathering!
Beijing. Workers’ Club!
With the arrival of the Lin siblings, the guests for this gathering were nearly all present.
As the host, Ye Jianhua immediately had the music paused and then shouted, “Quiet… quiet!”
Everyone graciously stopped talking, and all eyes turned to Ye Jianhua.
“Brothers and friends, thank you all for doing me, Ye Jianhua, the honor of taking time out of your busy schedules to attend this gathering. Before we officially ‘kick things off,’ let me introduce a few new friends to you all!”
Ye Jianhua then pointed to Lin Yi standing beside him and said, “This is Ying’er’s older brother, Lin Yi—he’s also my older brother. His line of work is rather sensitive, so I can’t go into details, but you can all just call him ‘Brother Yi,’ just like I do.”
Lin Yi immediately stood up and said casually, “Since you’re all Jianhua’s friends, we’re all friends from now on!”
Next, Ye Jianhua pointed to Li Yi, standing beside Jiang Longcheng, and said, “This is Li Yi, my brother-in-law. I can’t go into specifics about that just yet, but you’ll all find out in due time!”
“My brother-in-law runs a restaurant in Beiguan Village specializing in grilled and hot-pot meats called Grassland Beef and Lamb. If any of you are looking for a place to dine, please give it your support—I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!”
Li Yi also stood up and said, “I’m Li Yi. I look forward to getting to know you all!”
After briefly introducing these two, Ye Jianhua continued, “The main reason I organized this gathering today is twofold. First, I’m getting married, and I’ve promised Ying’er I’ll be a good husband. I’ve also promised my old man I’ll work hard and strive to better myself.”
“Because of that, I’ll have less time to hang out with you guys in the future. I’m letting you know this in advance—don’t think I’m distancing myself from you all. I really mean it!”
Hearing this, everyone present couldn’t help but burst into laughter, and some even chimed in:
“Young Master Ye, you haven’t even gotten married yet and you’re already suffering from bronchitis? That’s no good!”
“Does that mean from now on, we’ll have to ask your wife for permission just to see you?”
“Young Master Ye, this isn’t like you at all. You’re really going to break our hearts…”
As everyone teased and joked, the atmosphere in the room gradually heated up, and everyone’s faces were filled with smiles.
However, Li Yi, standing among the crowd, seemed somewhat distracted and deep in thought.
He neither joined in the banter nor ate anything, and his hand never touched his glass.
Seeing this, Jiang Longcheng immediately asked, “Are you not used to this kind of gathering?”
Li Yi shook his head and said, “No, I’m just thinking about things at the factory!”
“You’re already here—why worry so much? We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it!” Jiang Longcheng said, sipping his beer.
“Haha, you sure have a positive outlook. I’ve staked my entire fortune on this, and I still owe your factory 300,000 yuan!” Li Yi said.
“Don’t worry. I’ve already had Second Brother reach out to quite a few channels. If all else fails, we can always sell the clothes we produce to the enterprises and organizations he’s designated!” Jiang Longcheng said.
“It hasn’t come to that yet. Don’t get so worked up…”
Just then, Li Yi suddenly noticed that a few young men by the window were acting suspiciously. He immediately whispered to Jiang Longcheng, “See those guys by the window on the right?”
“I see them. What’s up?”
“Do you know them?”
“I do. Those are all guys Jianhua met at work. The one with the long hair is Zhu Qiwen, the one next to him is Gou Daocheng, and the other one is Yang Xueli. We jokingly call them Jianhua’s ‘Pigs, Dogs, and Sheep’!” Jiang Longcheng said with a laugh.
“So it’s them!”
Hearing those names, Li Yi’s brow furrowed even deeper.
So it was these traitors. It looked like things weren’t going to go smoothly today.
Although Li Yi hadn’t paid much attention to Ye Jianhua’s affairs in his previous life, since he was a direct descendant of the Ye family and had been treated as a model case back then—with national media reporting on it extensively, every edition featuring it as the top headline—
Combined with Jiang Longcheng’s connections, it was hard for Li Yi not to be aware of the situation.
As far as he knew, the Ye Jianhua case in his previous life had far-reaching implications, but he wasn’t the one who received the harshest sentence.
The ones who actually received the harshest sentences were these three—Zhu, Gou, and Yang—all of whom were sent to the guillotine, while Ye Jianhua was sentenced to only seven years.
Precisely because of this, many people were dissatisfied with the verdict, believing that these three had taken the fall for Ye Jianhua and served as scapegoats.
But little did they know, these three were the truly wicked ones.
Many of their actions were carried out under Ye Jianhua’s name, and Ye Jianhua had no idea about them at all.
Moreover, during the investigation, these individuals all, as if by prior arrangement, shifted the blame entirely onto Ye Jianhua.
Otherwise, based solely on Ye Jianhua’s own misconduct, he might not have been sentenced at all.
Li Yi wasn’t particularly surprised to see these men at the gathering organized by Ye Jianhua’s group, but their expressions seemed off.
The reason he noticed them wasn’t because they were particularly handsome or had a unique aura, but because they seemed somewhat out of place among the other guests at tonight’s gathering.
Everyone else’s attention was either on Ye Jianhua or on the fine wine and food.
Only these few looked deeply troubled, and even when they chimed in, it seemed extremely half-hearted.
One of them kept glancing toward the door from time to time, as if waiting for someone.
Seeing Li Yi’s brow furrow even deeper, Jiang Longcheng spoke again: “Brother-in-law, though it might not be proper for me, as your older brother-in-law, to say this, I still want to mention it. We’ve finally managed to get out for a night on the town—we should eat and drink to our hearts’ content. Don’t let anything get to you…”
But before he could finish, Li Yi said flatly, “Something’s off about this gathering today.”
“Uh… What’s wrong with it?” Jiang Longcheng asked curiously.
“I have a feeling we’re in for some bloodshed today!” Li Yi said, making a startling remark.
Jiang Longcheng froze for a moment, then glanced around before looking at Li Yi and saying, “Brother-in-law, don’t scare me like that. Just hearing you say that has my legs shaking!”
To be honest, Jiang Longcheng had developed a psychological trauma from Li Yi’s talk of bloodshed.
The last few times, he’d truly come back from the brink of death every single time.
Hearing those words out of the blue today, he suddenly felt a chill in the air around him.
“It’s not as bad as you think. No one’s going to die…”
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out from beside them: “What are you two whispering about with your heads down? Can I join in?”
Li Yi and Jiang Longcheng looked up to find that it was Lin Yi approaching, holding a glass of wine.
Jiang Longcheng immediately said, “Aren’t you the one who doesn’t drink? And you never go to these kinds of gatherings. Why are you breaking your rule today?”
“Don’t say that. It’s just that my job doesn’t allow me to drink, so it’s not convenient for me to attend all these drinking gatherings. But letting loose once in a while isn’t a big deal!” Lin Yi said with a smile.
Then, he looked at Li Yi and said, “Brother Li Yi, right? I’ve heard of you. It’s a pleasure to meet you!”
Li Yi glanced at the large wine glass in his hand and immediately said with a laugh, “Brother Lin, put that glass down while we talk. Just looking at that thing makes me a little nervous!”
Lin Yi chuckled, “Looks like Brother Li Yi isn’t much of a drinker either!”
“Yeah, I’m not much of a drinker!”
“Heh, you two seemed pretty engrossed in your conversation just now. I hope I didn’t interrupt you,” Lin Yi said again.
Jiang Longcheng looked at Lin Yi and said, “My brother-in-law says something’s off about this gathering today. I’m afraid trouble might break out!”
“It can’t be that bad. This is the Workers’ Club—what kind of trouble could possibly happen with this kind of backing?” Lin Yi said, puzzled.
Li Yi shook his head and said, “Not necessarily. There are always some people who think they’re made of iron!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than a loud “BANG!” echoed through the room!
Immediately afterward, the door was violently kicked open from the outside, and a dozen or so young men, cigarettes hanging from their lips, strode in with swagger…
……