"I thought everyone must be hungry after driving here, so to avoid waiting, I ordered some dishes first. Everyone take a look at what else you’d like," Li Yan signaled to the waiter who followed them in to take their orders.

Zhang Yurong and Hai Fu both shook their heads, saying they didn’t need anything else, indicating there were already too many dishes. In fact, Li Yan had dined with the three of them many times individually and understood their appetites quite well. Especially with Zhang Yurong, he had been acquainted with her for almost a year, so the dishes already ordered basically satisfied their needs.

Wen Qianyi also felt that the dishes were enough. Once they arrived, they didn’t have to wait, which was quite satisfactory. However, she did order a bottle of red wine.

When the waiter left, Li Yan, despite being familiar with them individually, couldn’t appear too close with all three at once. He could only smile, "I never imagined dining with President Zhang and President Hai would be my honor!"

Wen Qianyi laughed, "Can’t you be more creative? You’re repeating the previous person’s flattery."

She was originally the most enthusiastic one. Since Li Yan was ’brought’ by her, and seeing Zhang Yurong and Hai Fu being quite serious, she tried to liven up the atmosphere by saying, "President Zhang, President Hai, it’s after work, don’t be so formal. Li Yan is treating tonight, if you’re too serious, he’ll feel a lot of pressure."

Actually, she thought Li Yan was not that familiar with Zhang Yurong, but he had dined with Hai Fu a few times. Once, they ran into each other while Yudi organized a physical examination, and last week, they met up while having hotpot.

This was initiated by Zhang Yurong, although she wasn’t used to it, she didn’t want to spoil the atmosphere, so she smiled, "Yes, don’t be so serious. You don’t have to call me President Zhang, it feels too formal. Just call me Yurong."

Hai Fu also laughed, "Just call me Hai Fu directly. Here, I’m the oldest, you can call me sister, as long as you don’t call me Master Extinction."

Seeing them relax in their conversation, Wen Qianyi felt relieved.

Li Yan also sensed the underlying meaning, perhaps Yurong and Hai Fu were worried he might accidentally call out ’Yurong’ or ’Hai Fu sister,’ which would raise suspicion among others. So he chuckled, "Ha! I’m really lucky, Yurong, Qianyi, Hai Fu sister, you don’t need to be formal with me, just call me Li Yan."

Wen Qianyi didn’t expect him to come up with such a smooth response. Seeing them not acting unnaturally, she felt more assured, "Hey! You’re not being formal at all, as if we weren’t being polite to you?"

This exchange allowed everyone to relax a bit more. Although each had their own concerns, and Li Yan was the only one fully aware of the situation, the surface atmosphere was already very friendly.

With the waiter bringing the red wine, Li Yan poured the wine for everyone, and since the dishes were served long ago and needed to be eaten soon, everyone began to dine.

The earlier interruption made Zhang Yurong hesitate for a while, then she casually brought up the topic, "Li Yan...don’t take this as a rebuke from the CEO, it’s just that the earlier incident wasn’t a big deal. You’re a manager; avoid using force—it could easily escalate...If a reporter happens to expose your identity, it could be troublesome." To avoid arousing suspicion from others, she could only mask her concern under the guise of worrying about the company’s image.

Her words aroused concern from the other two women. Hai Fu had wanted to say this, but it would show too much concern, so she chimed in now, "Yeah, there were several of them, fighting isn’t good."

Wen Qianyi wasn’t worried about this at all, because she knew Li Yan’s true identity. Hearing the other two’s words and knowing they were always serious and unaware of Li Yan’s details, she aligned herself with them, saying, "Right, always resolve things reasonably!"

"You three have a point, next time I won’t resort to force,"

Li Yan responded with an eager-to-learn expression, secretly amusing himself at the thought of the phrase "beauties spell trouble"; having the three of them together is an ocean of trouble, and as the Flower Guardian, I must exert a bit of force to keep up!

...

Because each person had their own considerations, the conversation mostly revolved around the dining table, starting with food and drink, then extending to company matters, avoiding personal topics.

As the conversation neared its end, Wen Qianyi remembered a topic that Zhang Yurong and Hai Fu were aware of regarding Li Yan, so she brought it up, "By the way, do you remember Beihai Country’s Shinohara Corporation?"

"Is there a problem?" Zhang Yurong was very proactive in expanding overseas, and through cooperation with Shinohara, there had been significant progress in penetrating the Beihai Country and Li Country, and the East Luoyin Market. She didn’t want any issues, as it was far from the point of not needing reliance on Shinohara.

"Hehe, there’s no issue. It’s just that I’ve been in contact with them, and work matters are fine. But you know, Li Yan is our outstanding male public relations officer and goodwill ambassador! Shiroyama Gou’s daughter, Shinohara Mirai, is still thinking about Li Yan and said she wants to visit Yun Country to find Li Yan for some fun."

Seeing Wen Qianyi smiling mischievously, Li Yan secretly regretted her mentioning this sticky situation, even if she didn’t care, Yurong and Hai Fu would be uncomfortable hearing it.

He glanced at Zhang Yurong with some apprehension; she coolly remarked, "Don’t worry, although I don’t agree with our people sacrificing themselves to appease clients, if you don’t feel put out—Shinohara Mirai, whom I’ve met, is very pretty; if you enjoy pretending and sacrificing appearance, go ahead. Just don’t invest too much or toy with her feelings; that could be dangerous."

"Makes sense," Hai Fu nodded in agreement.

Wen Qianyi saw Li Yan’s unease and continued with a laugh, "It’s not just Shinohara Mirai who is young and beautiful; there’s also her translator friend Matsushima Kui who’s just as youthful and lovely. They don’t know what’s up, but they’re both very interested in Li Yan, who seems thoroughly enjoying himself. Yurong, you say this now; he’ll surely carry out orders and sacrifice his appearance later!"

"..." Carrying out orders and sacrificing appearance! Li Yan and the other two were speechless. Wen Qianyi’s words also triggered some resistance from Zhang Yurong and Hai Fu, thinking why the interest in Li Yan seemed misplaced since they too shared the same sentiment!

This topic transformed into a series of mild criticisms, and educational remarks about Li Yan from the three women, leaving Li Yan sweaty, forced to focus on consuming food.

After finishing the meal, everyone walked to the seaside bathing area across the street. The beach was brightly lit, and there was a stage under the Wish Tower with performances where many tourists gathered to watch. They went to take a brief look but were not interested due to the deafening sound systems and preferring not to mingle in crowds, so they all suggested a stroll along the shore for a chat.

Li Yan felt somewhat helpless; if they squeezed past to watch the performance, he could stay close to them, or even under the guise of protecting them from harassment, extend his big hands and have them all guarded in front. Strolling along the shore meant behaving properly instead.

There were quite a few others like themselves; although it was cold weather and not suitable for swimming, they could stroll along the water’s edge or sit on the beach watching the sea, chatting while breathing in the ocean air.

Walking behind the three, even though it wasn’t the summer swimwear show, Li Yan felt peaceful watching their backs. They were all women he considered his own; he was willing to protect them from behind, ensuring their carefree and delightful chat. Ideally, they would eventually know and accept each other’s status, living amicably together.

"Hey, what’s a big guy like you doing following us? Isn’t it boring hearing us chat about women’s topics?" Wen Qianyi suddenly turned around to ask.

"Haha, a Flower Guardian or bodyguard is necessary, right? Just treat me as invisible!"

"Then here’s a mission for you, get a mat and buy some snacks to bring over, so when we’re tired we can sit down and chat," Wen Qianyi laughed and instructed.

Her casual attitude made Zhang Yurong slightly frown. This was her husband after all! She normally wouldn’t order him around like this, Wen Qianyi was using him naturally, as if he was hers...

(Thanks for yesterday’s rewards: Little Purple%, Yagami Light II, Snowflake Crimson, Book Friend 20101009110036632, Sea of Falling Leaves, dongmin8061, Old White Water, Cp Pampas) (To be continued, for further information please visit www.qidian.com, more Chapters available, support the author, support legitimate reading!)