One person: After starting with the academic atmosphere, I'll take down Xia He!

The short man in a standard suit continued his discussion with the young man beside him.

Lu Linglong, who had been constantly humiliated, could no longer bear it.

But they dared not retaliate, for not far away was Feng Zhenghao, one of the Ten Elders, and many other prominent figures.

If she really lost her temper like a shrew, then she would completely disgrace the Lu family.

Lu Linglong glared at Ma Long and put down the roast chicken she was holding.

He held the chicken breast with one hand and grabbed the chicken leg with the other, then ripped it off hard.

The ferocity in her eyes chilled Ma Long to the bone. He stared at the peeled chicken leg, lost in thought.

Lu Linglong picked up a chicken leg and quickly took a few bites. Once her mouth was full of chicken, she dropped the chicken bone and ran quickly out of the hall.

After seeing Lu Linglong off, everyone considered it a minor incident and didn't think much of it.

Malone remained silent throughout, watching quietly, secretly pleased: 'Luckily, these suits were rushed and didn't have the Salvation Palace standard printed on them.'

Otherwise, we'll definitely be exposed!

He looked up at Li San and Hou Qi at another table, who were wearing obsequious smiles as if they were trying to curry favor with him, and nodded.

They were overjoyed, indicating that they had done a great job; this time, they had indeed helped Ma Long out of a predicament.

The table opposite us was full of core members of the Salvation Palace. The men were eight prospective protectors led by Yuan Dahai, and the women were five people led by Yi Zhangqing.

Ma Long and his group left first to celebrate the New Year at Longhu Mountain. After spending the New Year at headquarters, they applied to Elder Shen Chong of the Azure Dragon to go to the Longhu Fengyun Society to cheer on the Salvation Palace.

Shen Chong naturally agreed, so the group of thirteen people rushed to Zhejiang without stopping, and coincidentally arrived on the same day as Ma Long and his group.

Before we even had a chance to meet, we were both invited to a dinner party.

They had originally come to toast Malone, but Malone signaled them to hold back, in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

Because the Salvation Palace was established not long ago, apart from a few leaders who were well-known, almost no one among the core members knew about it.

Pretending not to know the person acting as a shill seemed even better, and Malone immediately tasted the sweetness of it.

Lu Linglong took a big bite of chicken and stormed back to her room.

She originally had a very good impression of Ma Long, but what happened today is hard for her to accept.

Even someone as intelligent as her could see the misunderstanding and hidden story, but her girlish heart was still pounding and she just couldn't wrap her head around it.

It seems that Li San's words were true; he wanted to attract the other party's attention.

Lu Linglong was filled with complex emotions. She definitely wouldn't tell her great-grandfather Lu Jin about what happened today; she was just trying to scare Ma Long.

If this were told to Lu Jin, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Moreover, the younger generation of the Lu family does not have the habit of asking the elders to step in and resolve issues when they are bullied.

Lu Linglong was planning in her heart that as soon as her older cousin Lu Lin arrived with the whole group tomorrow, she would first ask who the little monkey who had humiliated her today was.

She always felt that Ma Long's reputation shouldn't be so good, at least he shouldn't have so many mindless fans.

……

At the banquet, Ma Long, who had driven Lu Linglong away, was not happy at the moment. He knew that with Lu Linglong's temper, this matter was far from over.

It's bound to escalate, and my attitude of being a scumbag who doesn't speak, doesn't take initiative, and isn't responsible is definitely not going to work.

But how can we deal with this unlucky nemesis?

"Sigh, never mind, let's eat first!"

With a furrowed brow, Ma Long couldn't help but swallow hard as he watched Feng Baobao bring over the braised pork knuckle from the next table.

I sat up straight, arms outstretched, just about to have a big meal, when I was interrupted by a voice in my ear.

"Young Master Long, how have you been?"

Happy New Year, everyone!

Dressed in an elegant tailcoat and holding a wine glass, Zhuge Qing, with his squinty eyes, walked over.

Ma Long had no choice but to abandon his dining plans and greeted Zhuge Qing with a smile, saying, "Zhuge Qing, it's been a long time."

Happy New Year!"

Zhuge Qing would linger a little longer with a well-known figure like Ma Long, especially since Zhuge Qing himself wanted to talk to Ma Long for a while longer.

There happened to be an empty chair nearby, so Zhuge Qing slowly sat down, raised his wine glass, and said, "I originally thought that Young Master Long wouldn't come."

I didn't expect you to bring so many people, you're really showing your support!

This glass is for you!

Malone smiled slightly, raised his glass, and drank it all in one gulp.

With so many people around, he couldn't very well take out the Nine Dragon Cup. He had no choice but to drink it properly, and luckily, he had a pretty good tolerance for alcohol.

After finishing his drink, Zhuge Qing continued, "Young Master Long, you didn't even give me a heads-up before you came."

Please don't blame us from Zhuge Village for our lack of courtesy during today's misunderstandings!

Ma Long knew that he was referring to the four old men of the Spring and Autumn period at the entrance of the village. The four old rascals were testing him. Wasn't this Zhuge Qing's doing?

Ma Long absolutely did not believe it, and nodded with a smile without saying anything, which probably meant: Okay, you're quite good at playing the fool.

Zhuge Qing's smile remained unchanged; he was a true grandson to begin with, so there was no need for him to pretend.

"Young Master Long, we've become friends through a fight."

Last time I lost to you, and I was completely convinced of my defeat!

Malone knew what he was going to say, and waved his hand: "Come on, here we go again!"

People say that everyone improves eventually. Just because you were convinced last time doesn't mean you'll always be the same.

Sigh, I'm too lazy to argue with you about these useless empty titles. If you want to be number one, I'll let you have it!

Ma Long's tone quickened, and he became somewhat impatient. The reason was simple: Feng Baobao had almost finished a whole plate of braised pork knuckle.

He whispered a reminder, "Baby, save some for me!"

Feng Baobao ignored him and instead sped up her eating.

Even though Ma Long showed no mercy, Zhuge Qing remained calm and composed.

"Young Master Long, don't underestimate me. I don't care about empty fame."

I just want to fight you at the conference!

The pork knuckle on the plate had been completely eaten, and even the last piece of soft, mushy skin was scooped into Feng Baobao's mouth.

Ma Long swallowed hard, then looked at Zhuge Qing and said, "Do as you please!"

Zhuge Qing nodded secretly: 'It's really hard to feel contemptuous!'

To think that I, the proud son of the Zhuge family, am inferior to a piece of bouncy pork knuckle skin.

Haha, how ridiculous!

"Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll go serve the guests at another table!"

Zhuge Qing was not willing to engage in verbal sparring; he had conveyed his meaning, and the real competition would have to wait until the conference began.

He picked up his wine glass and prepared to leave.

The piping hot pork knuckle skin was eaten clean, and Ma Long lost his appetite. Seeing that Zhuge Qing was about to leave, he didn't bother to stop him.

Suddenly, something came to mind: I've been feeling restless ever since the beginning of this year.

Something big seems to be about to happen, but there's no trace of it.

It's not exactly a case of everything going wrong, but it's pretty much the same.