127: Chapter 127 My Thoughts Are Exposed
After walking into the venue, Lin Yi ran straight into Li Runze's younger brother, Li Zhuoran.
Lin Yi thought he looked a bit familiar.
After thinking for a moment, he recalled that this was the rich second-generation heir who had tried to take advantage of Chen Yao under the guise of borrowing money.
Later, he even hired a group of thugs to go to the entrance of the old apartment complex where Chen Yao used to live to kidnap her.
When Li Zhuoran saw Lin Yi, he also recognized him as the person who had ruined his plans back then.
"How did you get in here?"
"Security! Come here!"
"Why are you letting just any Tom, Dick, or Harry in here!"
After all, Li Zhuoran was the second young master of the Li Group. At his command, the security guards responsible for checking invitations at the entrance hurriedly gathered around.
Lin Yi sneered.
It seemed that Li Zhuoran wanted to settle a personal score today.
Li Zhuoran pointed at the security guards and scolded them, though his words were clearly meant for Lin Yi.
"How are you doing your jobs!"
"Can you just let anyone in?"
"Do you know what kind of occasion this banquet hosted by the Li Group is?"
"What if some low-class trash sneaks in and disturbs the other guests!"
Lin Yi interrupted him immediately.
"Why shouldn't I be able to come in?"
"If a beast in human clothing like you can come in, why shouldn't I be able to?"
"Does the sign at the door say that only beasts are allowed inside?"
"If that's the case, then I must have come to the wrong place."
The security guards, having been scolded groundlessly by Li Zhuoran, were already dissatisfied with him.
Upon hearing Lin Yi's words, they subconsciously wanted to laugh.
But considering that Li Zhuoran was the chairman's son, they had to hold it in.
Li Zhuoran's face turned red, and he pointed at Lin Yi's nose.
"I am the Vice General Manager of the Li Group!"
"This banquet is hosted by the Li Group!"
"Are you asking if I can come in?"
"Hmph, as for you, I recall we didn't send an invitation to a nobody like you!"
"How did you sneak in?"
"You really are shameless!"
"Perhaps you came in to eavesdrop on our business secrets."
"Do you believe I can have people throw you out right now!"
Tang Ruowei, standing to the side, heard Li Zhuoran's words and nervously clutched the corner of her clothes.
She had come in with Lin Yi.
If Lin Yi were kicked out, her plan to pick up some bargains at the auction would be ruined.
What should she do?
Just as Lin Yi was about to retort to Li Zhuoran, Zhang Hanyu saw the commotion and hurried over.
"Li Zhuoran! Have you lost your mind?"
"Lin Yi is my friend, and they all came in with me."
"What, do you have a problem with that?"
Li Zhuoran and Zhang Hanyu had known each other for a long time.
Li Zhuoran's older brother, Li Runze, was the successor to the Li Group, while Zhang Hanyu was the successor to the Haoyu Group.
Both groups were among the top five real estate companies in Nanjing.
They saw each other all the time.
However, because they were in the same industry, their relationship wasn't exactly good.
But they were just acquaintances who nodded to each other.
When Li Zhuoran saw Zhang Hanyu, his arrogance instantly deflated.
Although the Li Group was larger than the Haoyu Group, Li Zhuoran was at best just a Vice General Manager.
Ultimately, he wasn't on the same level as someone like Zhang Hanyu.
"Fine, I have no problem, just make sure to keep your friends in check."
"Don't let them wander around and bump into other guests."
After saying this, Li Zhuoran slunk away.
Zhang Hanyu watched Li Zhuoran's back and rolled his eyes.
Then he turned to Lin Yi with an apologetic expression.
"Young Master Lin, it was my lack of planning. I'm sorry for the trouble."
Lin Yi didn't take this little episode to heart.
Instead, he became curious about the Li Group.
"What does this Li Group do?"
Lin Yi had dealt with both brothers, Li Runze and Li Zhuoran.
One had rear-ended him and then scolded Jiang Xiaowan with incredibly nasty language.
The other was lecherous and had inappropriate desires for Chen Yao.
To think those two were brothers.
As the saying goes, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower ones will be askew.
It was easy to guess that the Li Group wasn't anything good either.
Zhang Hanyu began to explain to Lin Yi.
"The Li Group and our Haoyu Group are both in real estate."
"But the Li Group got into this business earlier than us, so their scale is a bit larger."
Lin Yi stared closely at Zhang Hanyu's expression, having a slight suspicion in his heart.
"Old Zhang, you didn't just ask me to come over today to join in the fun, did you?"
Two drops of cold sweat seeped onto Zhang Hanyu's forehead.
He hadn't expected Lin Yi to guess his intentions.
"Young Master Lin, you... don't overthink it..."
Lin Yi smiled indifferently and patted Zhang Hanyu on the shoulder.
"Old Zhang, don't be nervous!"
"I was just asking you."
"If you don't have any other motives, then let's just assume I was reading too much into it!"
Hearing Lin Yi say this, Zhang Hanyu hurriedly explained.
"No, Young Master Lin..."
"Actually..."
"Sigh, I'll tell you the truth. You might not know the character of those two brothers from the Li Group, but I know it all too well."
"They are the type of people who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals."
"Our Haoyu Group plays by the rules, and we often suffer secret losses because of the Li Group."
"A while ago, I received notice that a few plots of land will be auctioned off in a few days."
"Every real estate company in Nanjing has their eyes on these plots."
"If we can win a good plot, our company will have the opportunity to reach the next level!"
"But two months ago, we fell into a trap set by the Li Group, and now a large sum of our capital is tied up."
"And with the land auction coming up..."
"So, I wanted to use this banquet as an opportunity to bring you here to take a look."
"You and the Li Group have always been at odds, so we could definitely join forces..."
Zhang Hanyu's explanation completely confirmed Lin Yi's suspicions.
No wonder Zhang Hanyu had been fawning over Lin Yi ever since Lin Yi went to buy a house.
At first, Lin Yi thought it was because this rich second-generation heir hadn't seen much of the world.
Now it seemed he must have had this plan in mind back then.
Lin Yi raised an eyebrow and asked.
"When have I ever been at odds with the Li Group?"
"I just don't appreciate the character of those two brothers."
Lin Yi didn't want to be used as a tool for someone else for no reason.
Even if he were to deal with the Li Group, it would have to be because Lin Yi truly wanted to.
Seeing that Lin Yi looked slightly displeased, Zhang Hanyu wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Ever since he had known Lin Yi, the financial power Lin Yi had displayed...
was enough to prove that there was a powerful family behind Lin Yi.
At this moment, the Haoyu Group needed an ally, and they absolutely could not afford to offend Lin Yi at this critical juncture.
So, Zhang Hanyu hurriedly explained.
"Young Master Lin..."
"Last time I went to your villa, I saw Su Ming. You know her family is the Su Family, right?"
"I saw that you two have a close relationship..."
"But... the Li Family and the Su Family have already privately discussed a marriage alliance between the two families."
"The purpose of this banquet today is for Li Runze to publicly announce his engagement to Su Ming!"