When Charlie was near the three newcomers, he laughed then gave a salute, āBig Brother, welcome. I didnāt expect brother to come to this oneās small banquet, so I didnāt bother sending an invite. But for Big Brother to actually come here, itās a great honor.ā
The Crown Prince looked at Charlie and faintly smiled, āI also heard that Younger Brother has held a banquet, so I decided to stop by. On the way, I met Terry and Jason, so I decided to take them with me as well. I hope I didnāt trouble Third Brother for bringing additional guests.ā
Charlie smiled and said, āNo problem, Brother visiting has given me quite an honor. So how can Big Brother possibly bring me trouble? Big Brother, Terry, Jason, come in, donāt be polite.ā
Terry and Jason gave Charlie a small salute before heading towards the hall. The other people inside also gave a salute to the Crown Prince, naturally, Zhao Hai wasnāt an exception.
But Zhao Hai was surprised when the Crown Prince headed towards him after their eyes met. The Crown Prince smiled faintly and said, āMister Zhao Hai?ā
Zhao Hai smiled and said, āI didnāt think that the Crown Prince would know of my name. This is really surprising.ā
The Crown Prince laughed and said, āMister is too modest. There isnāt anyone in the continent who doesnāt know how fierce mister is. May I ask Mister to pay a visit to my mansion?ā
Zhao Hai smiled, āIf I have time, then I will certainly come visit.ā
The Crown Prince smiled and said, āThen Iāll be waiting for mister. By the way, I heard that mister has a lot of businesses in hand, is there a chance for the two of us to cooperate?ā
Zhao Hai faintly smiled at the question, āI certainly have some businesses on hand, but for cooperation? This is something I cannot say. Currently, Iām in a partnership with the Third Highness. Moreover, weāve already signed a long-term contract regarding our cooperation. If His Highness the Crown Prince wants to cooperate, then Iām afraid you will need to discuss it with the Third Highness.ā
The Crown Prince placed a small play on his words. The reason he asked Zhao Hai about the possibility of cooperation was to assess whether there was a chance for Zhao Hai to change sides.
But Zhao Haiās reply was very clear, he was now on Charlieās side, it was impossible for the other camps to recruit him at this point. The conversation between the two was clearly heard by the people present in the hall. All of them were smart people, it was impossible for them to not understand the exchange. When the Crown Prince heard Zhao Haiās response, his expression couldnāt help but drop, but he still forced a smile and said, āThat is regrettable.ā Then he turned around and left.
As soon as he heard the Crown Princeās regretful voice, Charlieās face changed, it was now quite red. Naturally, Zhao Haiās answer gave him this much happiness.
Zhao Hai also knew that he had already lost the opportunity to get closer with the Crown Prince. However, he didnāt find it regrettable. One couldnāt always be half-hearted, or else they wonāt be getting good results.
At this time, Terry and Jason arrived at Zhao Haiās location. Terry then smiled to Zhao Hai, āLittle Hai, I didnāt expect you to come. If I knew, I would have arrived earlier.ā
When Zhao Hai heard how he was called, he couldnāt help but stare. The age gap between the two of them arenāt so large to merit such calling. Terry was obviously doing this to make their relationship closer.
However, Zhao Hai didnāt relax because of this, he became even more vigilant instead. From what he heard from Megan, Terry was a sinister person. Moreover, he also knew that Terry was his love rival. For Terry to be warmer to him meant that he was already planning about how to deal with Zhao Hai.
Although he was thinking about this, he didnāt show it on his face. Zhao Hai just smiled and said, āBig Brother Terry is too polite. Brother should know about my relationship with His Highness Third Prince. So how can I not attend such occasion?ā
Terry wants to bring their relationship closer, while Zhao Hai attempted to back away politely. He also addresses Terry that way in order to throw the other party into confusion. Zhao Hai didnāt lower his guard against Terry.
When Terry heard Zhao Hai, he looked delighted as he smiled and said, āI knew that you have a very good relationship with the Third Prince. But since Godās Grace Day is approaching, I expected you to be helping inside Dark Soldier Fort, so I didnāt think that you would come.ā
Zhao Hai replied with a smile, āMegan told me to come, so how could I not? Hehe, Megan is also quite close with the Ninth Princess.ā
Then Zhao Hai turned his head to Jason and said, āIs this Young Master Jason from the Crook Family? Zhao Hai gives his greetings. Iāve heard about the young masterās name, I didnāt think that I would be meeting you today.ā
Jason looked at Zhao Hai and smiled faintly, āIāve also heard about mister Zhao Haiās name, but I cannot help but be disappointed by what I have seen today.ā
Zhao Hai stared, he didnāt think that Jason would be this impolite. One must know that in a Noble gathering, one would do his/her best to stay modest. It doesnāt matter if the two of you were life and death enemies, if you meet in a gathering such as this, you better show your full smile and act like how a noble should. But Jason was different, this was far from Zhao Haiās expectations.
Zhao Hai couldnāt help but look at Terry. At this moment, Terryās face expressed a wronged expression. This made Zhao Hai curious, since Terry and Jason came together. Arenāt they supposed to be in a group? Why did it seem like Terry wasnāt expecting Jason to utter such words? Didnāt they plan this encounter ahead of time?
Thoughts churned inside his brain, but Zhao Haiās face didnāt show any of it. He just smiled at Jason and said, āIām really apologetic for disappointing Young Master Jason.ā
Jason slyly looked at Zhao Haiās smiling face, he didnāt seem to be fazed. This gave Jason an incentive to push things further. He commended Zhao Hai to keep his grace and honor after such words. While he looked impressed, Jasonās mouth opened, āYouāre really unworthy of Miss Megan. Miss Megan is one of the Twin Flowers of the Imperial Capital. It seems quite a waste for her to be marrying a very ordinary looking person.ā
After Terry heard this, he turned to Jason and said, āJason, you should hold back on your words.ā
Zhao Hai actually laughed and said, āYoung Master Jason is right. I also think that marrying Megan is such a loss. But alas, I actually wanted to be more attractive, but my father didnāt make me handsome. This is such a disaster, hai.ā
Jason and Terry stared at Zhao Hai before they both laughed, Jason patted Zhao Haiās shoulder and said, āBrother, I must say, I like the way you speak. Hahaha. Good, youāre someone worth befriending.ā
Seeing that Jason didnāt seem to be faking, Zhao Hai couldnāt help but laugh as well, āYou really have low standards for making friends. Are you looking for a not so handsome guy? I must say, youāve found the right one.ā
The three of them laughed. Jason grasped Zhao Haiās shoulder and said, āI didnāt think that you would actually read my thoughts, youāre quite good.ā
Zhao Hai smiled, āEven if I guessed it right, I think thereās no reason for you to hold my shoulder this hard. Iām a mage, I might suffer injuries.ā
The conversation between the two made it seem like they were long time friends. It also seemed like Terry was pushed aside. It made Terry look a bit ridiculous. But he still smiled, but it was a stiff smile.
A person like Terry has always been heavily favored since he was a child. He was already quite used to being in the spotlight, no matter where he was. Even if he stood along with the Crown Prince, he didnāt allow himself to be overshadowed. Because he was a successor to a millenium-old family, his status wasnāt any lower than a Prince.
Zhao Hai and Jason chatting away made him feel like an outsider. He felt like the two of them had already forgotten about him, this made him feel unwell.
At this time, a servant passed to their side. On the tray that the servant was holding were two glasses of wine. Jason immediately took the two glasses and gave Zhao Hai one of them. Then he raised his glass to Zhao Hai and said, āI really thought that this would be a very boring party. But I didnāt expect to meet an interesting person such as you. Come, come, letās drink, after this, we will become friends.ā
Zhao Hai didnāt expect Jason to actually be so refreshing, whether his gesture was true or not, Zhao Hai still returned Jasonās toast and said, āRight, letās drink this glass, from today on, weāre both friends, cheers!ā
Jason raised his glass and bumped it with Zhao Haiās, āGood, cheers!ā Then without any courtesy, the both of them downed the wine in one go.
This scene was very visible to the other guests. When they saw the two, they couldnāt help but stare. There were a lot present that knew about Jason. He wasnāt very popular within the circles of nobility because of his frank attitude. He never gave anybody face, because of this, there werenāt a lot of nobles who wanted to mingle with him.
But with Jasonās status, average people wouldnāt dare to not give him any face. Therefore, in common banquets and parties, the hosts would still deliver an invitation to the Crook Family. However, even if Jason came, there were only a few people who came to talk to him. People were afraid to be embarrassed by Jasonās words.
Just as Jason was about to speak to Zhao Hai, the people nearby couldnāt help but watch in anticipation. They wanted to see Zhao Haiās embarrassed expression. However, they didnāt expect Zhao Hai to actually carry on with ridiculing himself. This move of embarrassing himself was out of their expectations.
Those who werenāt nearby and didnāt hear them speak still kept an eye out. This was because they also wanted to see how Jason manages to embarrass Zhao Hai. Even if they couldnāt hear anything, they knew from Terryās expression that Jason didnāt say anything nice.
However, what happened next made them confused. They didnāt hear what Zhao Hai said to make the three people laugh and even make Jason look amused at Zhao Hai. This was too unexpected. They were very curious to the point that they were on the verge of approaching the two just to ask what Zhao Hai said. But unfortunately, there was no way for them to do so.