OFR – Chapter 258 Huan Zijin’s top dinner party.

Qian Yiwen, with such mixed emotions, exchanged a few more messages with Mu Bai.

“小慕豪 (Little Mu Hao), don’t give me such big rewards again in the future, it’s such a waste of money. I’ll keep updating diligently for a few more days, and once I’ve stockpiled some chapters, I’ll come see you.”

“Ying ying ying (a cutesy crying sound), just wanted to act cute for you. Thank you so much! I’m going back to writing now, message me on QQ if you need me.”

After sending those two messages, Qian Yiwen waited for a bit. When she didn’t get a reply from Mu Bai, she casually closed the chat window, opened her writing software, and resumed her journey of writing her new book.

Meanwhile, in the Xuanwu Zhongshan villa, after Mu Bai closed the chat with Mi Xuan, he saw the messages from “this girl” (Qian Yiwen).

Seeing the messages, he smiled slightly and casually replied with a “cheer up” emoji, then logged off QQ.

Then, prompted by Li Xiaoqing’s crisp voice, he headed to the kitchen.

The kitchen had been cleaned spotless by Li Xiaoqing, and on the dining table, there was a hearty and appetizing meal she had just prepared.

Seeing all this, Mu Bai felt somewhat pleased.

He took the bowl of rice that Li Xiaoqing served and sat down to try the dishes.

Though the taste wasn’t quite on par with high-end hotels or Xu Jinhuan’s cooking, for a young girl her age, it was definitely top-tier.

So Mu Bai nodded and said, “Xiaoqing, not bad cooking skills.”

“Heehee, as long as Mu Hao likes it.” Li Xiaoqing responded with a bright smile after being praised, still remaining modest.

About half an hour later, Mu Bai finished dinner.

He stood up, looked out the window, and saw that night had already fallen and the street lights were on.

Perhaps because he’d stayed up too late the night before, he was already feeling a bit sleepy now.

Feeling drowsy, Mu Bai withdrew his gaze and softly said to Li Xiaoqing, who was clearing the dishes, “Xiaoqing, once you finish tidying up, feel free to use the living room TV, computer, or 3D gaming pod. Don’t be so restrained. I’m heading back to my room first. If anything comes up, just knock on my door.”

“Mm-hmm, I got it. Thanks, Mu Hao,” Li Xiaoqing respectfully replied.

“Mm.”

After hearing her acknowledgment, Mu Bai nodded, walked out of the kitchen, and returned to his cozy bedroom upstairs.

To be honest, living in such a big villa, having someone else around did add a touch of warmth.

As for concerns about things like increased utility bills from having an extra person? Mu Bai simply laughed at the thought.

Not only did he not care, but probably no one living in Xuanwu Zhongshan — an elite luxury neighborhood — would care either.

With that amusing thought, he lay down on his soft, comfortable bed, preparing to sleep.

But just as he finished arranging the covers, his phone suddenly rang.

“Cry on my shoulder, if you need someone who cares for you…”

This was the first incoming call since Mu Bai switched to his new phone — a James brand.

So when he heard the gentle English ringtone that came pre-installed, he didn’t immediately recognize it.

After a few seconds, Mu Bai picked up the phone from the bed.

The screen showed a local number from Nanjing.

But the number itself was unusually eye-catching — aside from the prefix, the rest was a string of sequential digits, a kind of “vanity number” that would make anyone marvel.

Mu Bai didn’t react strongly, but he was curious about who would be calling.

He casually hit the “answer” button.

As the line connected, a somewhat familiar voice came through.

“Brother Leng, good evening. It’s me.”

“Hm? Young Master Yun?”

Mu Bai was slightly surprised. He hadn’t expected the caller to be none other than Nalan Yunshao.

Then he remembered: during the Daoke networking event in Yue’an City, they had exchanged numbers to stay in touch.

But it now seemed that Nalan Yunshao had more than one phone number.

“Yes, it’s me, Brother Leng.”

“Good evening. So, Young Master Yun, what’s the occasion?”

Mu Bai asked softly, a bit curious.

Although they were on good terms and had gone through a rough patch together, he knew well that neither he nor Nalan Yunshao were the type to call just for casual chatting.

A call at dinner time like this could only mean one thing — business.

And sure enough, Nalan Yunshao’s next words confirmed his guess.

“Yes, there’s something I wanted to bring up. Brother Leng, do you know about the annual banquet held around Zijin (Purple Gold) in Nanjing? Every year, the top 20 on the city’s rich list attend. You’re ranked fifth this year, but the organizers couldn’t find your contact info, so they reached out to me. What do you say, Brother Leng? Interested in attending the Zijin Banquet?”

The Zijin Banquet in Nanjing.

Hearing this, Mu Bai nodded slightly.

To be honest, having lived in Nanjing for several years, he had indeed heard of this prestigious banquet.

The Zijin Banquet was definitely on par with other elite gatherings in China, such as the “Wuzhen Banquet” or “Dongxing Banquet.”

Any banquet of such a level — deserving of the label “top-tier” — would have guests whose combined wealth exceeded a trillion yuan.

And the Zijin Banquet was no exception.

Even without factoring in out-of-town elites, just the top 20 on Nanjing’s rich list already represented a combined net worth approaching the trillion mark.

After all, the wealth of just four individuals — Chen Yunzhi (the richest man), Yu Youxiong, Nalan Yunshao, and Dongfang Jing — already totaled nearly 500 billion yuan.

You could say this was the most significant banquet in all of Nanjing. No other event even came close.

With that in mind, Mu Bai softly replied, “Alright, when is it? If I’m free, I’ll attend.”

“Starts at 6 PM the day after tomorrow.”

“Got it. Thanks for the heads-up, Young Master Yun.”

“No need to thank me, Brother Leng. Compared to the life-saving favor you did for me, this is nothing. If there’s nothing else, I won’t keep you.”

“Alright. Bye.”

Once they confirmed the banquet’s time, they chatted a little more before ending the call.

As for this Zijin Banquet, the elite gathering of Nanjing’s most powerful and wealthy?

Mu Bai had no intention of going.

What he said earlier was just out of politeness.

Truth be told, unless necessary, he didn’t enjoy going to high-profile, spotlight-heavy events.

Not because he was afraid of anything, but simply because he didn’t like them.

After all, Nalan Yunshao’s danger rating toward him had already dropped to B-level.

And even the number-one rich man in Nanjing, Chen Yunzhi, likely wouldn’t be rated as S-level.

Anything below S-level posed no real threat to him.

At this point, across the entire country, there were probably very few people who could be classified as S-level threats to Mu Bai.