Chapter 52: Compensation Theory

Chapter 52: Compensation Theory

Zhou A felt very confused.

Lu Wei definitely knew what her stance implied.

Was she really willing to offend him so deeply, risking his fury, for the sake of these two people?

Zhou A truly didn’t understand. Was he really that unworthy?

Even though Lu Wei had a powerful background and felt unafraid, was she truly bold enough to show him such disrespect in Hanzhou?

Was what she was doing worth it?

“Sister Weiwei, I was just making some harmless jokes, right? Isn’t this going a bit too far?” he forced out.

Lu Wei’s face still wore a serene, gentle, and calm smile.

She confirmed it, though her gesture was subtle, nodding slightly. “Young Master Zhou, please.”

“You…” Zhou A instinctively raised his hand, looking as if he wanted to point at Lu Wei.

But looking at her calm, smiling face, he held back after all.

“Fine, very good,” he muttered coldly through gritted teeth. He gave Chen Feng and Zhong Lei one last fierce glare before turning and walking away.

Previously, his actions against Zhong Lei had always been private. Even though he’d faced setbacks repeatedly, he hadn’t felt particularly humiliated.

This time, however, both his face (reputation) and inner pride had been wounded to the extreme.

To be kicked out of Lu Wei’s birthday party in such a humiliating fashion meant he hadn’t just lost face; his business dealings would also suffer a significant blow.

The elders in his family wouldn’t let him off easily. They would surely scold him for failing to handle such simple social interactions and relationships.

Despite their repeated warnings to manage relations with the Lu family’s daughter, he hadn’t succeeded.

No wonder he was almost choking with rage.

But what made him even angrier was that while he was practically furious inside, he still had to maintain an appearance of grace and composure.

He felt a twinge of regret. Maybe he shouldn’t have made his move here today. Alas.

Not just Zhou A, but even Chen Feng and Zhong Lei hadn’t expected Lu Wei to take such a strong stance.

Who knew whether Zhou A wasn’t important enough, or whether the two of them mattered more to Lu Wei.

Regardless, Zhong Lei, who had previously been determined to leave and escape the trouble, decided to stay.

“This way, please, you two,” Lu Wei warmly invited after watching Zhou A leave.

She turned to Qin Lu, who was standing awkwardly nearby, not knowing what to do. “Since you know them, could you show our two guests to the inner courtyard?”

“Oh! Yes, yes!” Qin Lu finally remembered her own role and quickly agreed.

Zhong Lei felt slightly uncomfortable with Lu Wei’s warmth, but since the other woman was being friendly, she didn’t act out again.

As they walked further inside, Chen Feng couldn’t help but give Zhong Lei a thumbs-up.

Zhong Lei looked at him blankly. “What does that mean?”

“I honestly didn’t see that you could be so fierce. You can’t judge someone by their appearance!” he said while mimicking the horse stance Zhong Lei had struck earlier. “Haha! You didn’t see Zhou A’s face properly. He was stunned, you know!”

Zhong Lei turned crimson with embarrassment. “Stop talking about it!”

Right, now she was shy.

“By the way,” Zhong Lei dug into her pocket and pulled out the simply wrapped CD case, “isn’t there a gift table by the door? We forgot to give our gift.” She turned to head back outside. “I’ll go put this there.”

Maybe she was trying to escape; maybe she genuinely remembered it then.

Chen Feng’s hand hung frozen in the air where he might have stopped her.

He’d thought about mentioning how beautifully wrapped the other gifts were, wondering if they could have done a slightly better job, but it was too late.

Oh well.

Outside, Lu Wei was courteously welcoming guests.

Though Zhou A was gone, the group gathered around him earlier remained.

“Please don’t let this little incident ruin your moods, everyone. I’ll speak with Young Master Zhou myself later to clear things up, no need to worry. I’m not one for excessive displays, anyway. The purpose of this birthday party is simply to give everyone a chance to meet and get to know each other better.”

“True, I embarrassed Zhou A today. But surely you all realize that by provoking my guests here on my turf, he was disrespecting me first? Even if there’s an unresolved grievance between parties, I’d hope they could bury the hatchet here at my event. If that’s impossible, I at least ask that they not spoil the atmosphere of my birthday party!”

“Especially when his attack was completely groundless – using baseless, filthy talk to try and suppress industry newcomers on my property! If this got out, what would people think of me? What would they say?”

Lu Wei spoke loudly enough that not only did Zhong Lei hear it as she stepped outside, but even Chen Feng, sitting bored on the inner courtyard sofa, heard it clearly.

Although Chen Feng didn’t witness the scene outside himself, he could easily picture it.

The feeling was complicated.

Lu Wei, who seemed so gentle and mild in private, possessed this street-smart vibe in public, talking about “face” so fluently.

Was this the natural imposing aura of someone from a wealthy, prominent family?

Envy was pointless!

Chen Feng had to admit, he felt a tiny pang of envy. He wished that one day, he too could have such effective social capital as Lu Wei. Life would be so much smoother then.

After Lu Wei stated her position, the people outside reflected and realized she had a valid point.

Those who had momentarily felt a sense of foreboding (“If it happened to Zhou A, it could happen to me”) relaxed.

With just a few concise sentences, Lu Wei had politely but firmly diffused this minor non-crisis.

Lu Wei led a small group of her closest female friends over to the gift pile.

This was to show she valued the gifts offered, but she wasn’t rude enough to start opening them publicly. Instead, she respectfully took the presents down from the shelf, one by one, placing them on a handcart held by an attendant.

He Jiaqi, Chen Li, and a few other close friends from the industry also pitched in to help.

“Jiaqi,” Lu Wei asked somewhat offhandedly, “what was the name of that new song the young girl only sang two lines of?”

He Jiaqi answered without suspicion. “It’s called ‘Night Has Grown Deep’. Rock style, fits my vocal range quite well. Weiwei, haven’t you heard it?”

Lu Wei really didn’t want to admit that, though she’d known the song existed, she hadn’t actually heard it, nor even known its title.

A small itch of curiosity was building inside her now, that feeling of seeing something that excites you immediately.

She was also particularly intrigued about what level Chen Feng’s second composition could reach.

If it was consistent with the quality of the previous “Dullness”… that would be rather terrifying.

She felt this rising interest, but tried not to show it too obviously, lest He Jiaqi mistakenly think she wanted to fight for the song.

“Hmm, no, I haven’t heard it. I only caught those two lines just now and thought it sounded really good. Too bad it was just a glimpse, like looking at a leopard through a tube. A real tease. Jiaqi, you absolutely must release the official version quickly. I’m endlessly looking forward to it,” Lu Wei said, her tone carrying genuine regret.

“Pfft, it’s no big deal! Weiwei, if you really want to hear it… today is your birthday, after all. How about I sing the full version for you right here? Acoustic. Consider it a little extra fun, and I get to ride your coattails to promote my new song!” He Jiaqi suggested, seemingly casually and without any hidden agenda.

Sometimes, whether a song becomes popular really depends on serendipity beyond its own quality.

A roughly filmed short video uploaded online might seem pointless.

But such a spontaneous, life-touched clip, if it conveyed the feeling right, might resonate far more deeply with listeners and spread like wildfire.

However, He Jiaqi was just throwing the idea out casually, not seriously expecting Lu Wei to agree.

After all, Lu Wei was the birthday star; it wouldn’t do to steal her spotlight.

Lu Wei only hesitated for a few seconds before decisively agreeing. “Good! If you don’t mind doing it, Jiaqi, I absolutely welcome it!”

“Huh?” He Jiaqi clearly hadn’t expected that.

Lu Wei nodded firmly.

Deep down, Lu Wei felt a slight trace of guilt towards Chen Feng that was hard for others to detect.

She regretted not speaking up earlier to support him and Zhong Lei, letting them be humiliated.

Helping this song gain popularity benefited He Jiaqi, but it also helped Chen Feng.

She decided to do something to make it up to him, to compensate.