Chapter 50: Seizing the Seat

The venue for the Duan Feng Hunting Forum was the grand hall of the North City International Hotel in District 16. In preparation for today’s speech, the hall had been transformed into a modern, multi-functional tiered lecture theater.

To allow guests the best possible view of the presentations, a temporary three-dimensional projection system had been installed at the center of the stage, ensuring the audience could watch from every angle.

At this moment, the banquet hall, which could accommodate a thousand people, was already packed. Fang Nian glanced at the invitation Xia Moyan had given him—the seats weren’t bad.

“Row 3, seats 1 to 25. Let’s go.”

The chubby man, dressed in an oversized suit, led the way and quickly found their seats. However, row three was already full, not a single empty seat from one end to the other.

Sitting right in the center, the chubby man immediately recognized the culprit—the very person who had been squeezing his business lately: Xiao Xuefeng.

He had only come out today to clear his mind, but who would have thought he’d run into this guy here? And now, the fellow had taken their seats. With his temper, the chubby man wouldn’t let it slide and immediately barked out.

“Xiao Xuefeng? What the hell are you doing in our seats?”

Xiao Xuefeng turned around and, seeing Fang Nian and the chubby man, a sneer curled on his lips.

“Well, isn’t this a coincidence? You two are here for the hunting forum as well? I never expected the forum’s standards to be this low. I’ll have to mention to the organizers that they really shouldn’t let just anyone in.”

Fang Nian smiled faintly.

“You’re absolutely right, Mr. Xiao. Especially those fools who can’t even work out a combination lock—they deserve extra scrutiny, lest they lower the forum’s standards by sneaking in.”

“You—”

The incident at the Xia Group’s R&D center, where Fang Nian had ruined his plans, still rankled Xiao Xuefeng. Now, hearing Fang Nian mock him with that very incident made his chest tighten with anger. He thought about retaliating, but in the end, just turned away, ignoring Fang Nian.

The chubby man curled his lip and slapped the back of Xiao Xuefeng’s chair.

“Mr. Xiao, as the saying goes, good dogs don’t block the way, and those who take others’ seats aren’t good dogs. I doubt this row belongs to you. Doesn’t your backside feel a little hot sitting here?”

Xiao Xuefeng’s face stiffened at that, but he forced a smile.

“Ah, my piggy friend, what are you talking about? This third row is reserved for the Xiao family—just look at the label on the seatbacks. How could we possibly be taking your place?”

With that, Xiao Xuefeng pointed at the seatbacks, which indeed bore the Xiao company’s logo.

Not convinced, the chubby man wanted to keep arguing, but Fang Nian pulled him back.

“Hey, Fatty, if a dog bites you, are you really going to bite back? Since there’s a dispute, let’s call the manager.”

With that, Fang Nian asked someone to summon the hotel manager. Soon, a young woman in a formal suit, with rather pleasant features, approached. She completely ignored Fang Nian and the others, heading straight for Xiao Xuefeng and immediately putting on a fawning smile.

“Mr. Xiao, you called for me? Is there something you need?”

Xiao Xuefeng sneered.

“This is the Xia family’s live-in son-in-law complaining that we’ve taken their seats. Explain to him.”

Fang Nian handed the invitation to the manager.

“Here’s the invitation. It clearly states that row 3, seats 1 to 25, belong to the Xia Group. Why is the Xiao family sitting here?”

The manager glanced at the invitation, thought for a moment, then spoke briefly into her radio before smiling.

“Ah, I’m sorry, sir. I just confirmed with the front desk—row 3 is indeed reserved for the Xiao family. As for the seat numbers on your invitation, it was a printing error by our staff; they missed a ‘1.’ Your seats should actually be row 11, seats 1 to 25.”

She pointed to the back, farther from the stage, where indeed, the Xia Group’s logo was affixed to the seats in row 11.

Upon hearing this, several Xia Group employees nearby grew indignant.

“Row 11? Are you kidding? With our standing in District 16, when have we ever sat anywhere but the front rows at these forums? And now you’ve put us in row 11? Is this a joke?”

“That’s right! Look, the Jin and Xu families are all in the first five rows. We just won the hunting competition, and now we’re stuck in row 11? You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Exactly! They’re only doing this because President Xia isn’t here. If she were, even if the hotel owner came down, they wouldn’t dare treat us like this.”

“Who do you think you’re looking down on? Are you saying the Xia Group isn’t good enough for the front rows?”

The employees were up in arms, and Fang Nian’s eyes burned with anger as well. Such blatant favoritism was infuriating, and the chubby man was already flexing his fists, ready to start something.

Just then, a young woman in a deep blue tailored suit strode over, her tone sharp with impatience.

“What’s going on here? The speeches are about to start—why are there still people not seated?”

Hearing this, Fang Nian looked up at her and was taken aback for a moment.

She was strikingly beautiful, her features in perfect harmony, her eyes bright and lively, reminiscent of the elegant ladies of the southern rivers. Her hair was thick, pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck, and she walked with a firm, confident stride, radiating efficiency.

One had to admit, she was quite a sight—almost flawless. But compared to Xia Moyan’s serene grace, she still fell short. For all her capability, this woman lacked the gentle dignity that made Xia Moyan so easy to be around.

Fang Nian didn’t know her, but it was clear she had considerable authority here.

“But what does that have to do with me?” he thought.

He stepped forward to explain their situation, but to his surprise, the woman had no intention of mediating.

“Mr. Fang, is it? I don’t care whether it was a ticket misprint or someone took your seats—what matters is that the event is about to begin, and you and your twenty-some people are still standing here. This is seriously disrupting our proceedings. I need you all to return to your seats immediately and stop disturbing others. Is that clear?”

Fang Nian bristled with anger and was about to argue, but Wei Jianshe, the director of the Xia Group’s R&D center, pulled him aside and tried to calm him.

“Mr. Fang, perhaps we should just let it go. Row 11 isn’t that bad—the acoustics are good, and we can hear perfectly well from the back. Maybe we should just...”

Fang Nian knew Wei Jianshe didn’t want to make a scene. In truth, there wasn’t much difference between the front and the back, except for the status it implied.

He let out a helpless smile. There was nothing more he could do with this woman, so he waved it off.

“We’ll do as Director Wei says. Let’s go to row 11.”

With that, Fang Nian led his group to the back. The chubby man, understanding Fang Nian well, knew he wouldn’t let things go so easily—if an opportunity presented itself, Fang Nian would be sure to seize it.