Chapter 177: Double Standard

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Double Standard

Vivian Lowell sat in the corner of the banquet hall, keeping Grandma Faulkner company, with Julian Faulkner by their side. Although their spot wasn’t the most prominent, it was surprisingly bustling.

Many of the guests in attendance today were big shots in the industry. Even if they had no intention of bidding against Julian for the Faulkner Group shares, they still wanted to use tonight’s banquet as an opportunity to network and expand their connections. Quite a few people approached Julian to strike up a conversation.

Some even blatantly declared—right in front of Felix Faulkner, who wasn’t far away—that they would not compete with Julian tonight. They handed over their business cards, expressing their hopes for future collaborations with the Faulkner Group.

Not far away, Felix was also chatting with others, though he kept one eye fixed on Julian’s side of the room. Watching the scene unfold, his mouth twitched uncontrollably. He silently cursed those people a hundred times over in his head. "Damn it!" he thought.

Tonight’s banquet was the first event he had organized since returning to the country, and he had wanted to make it as grand as possible. Who could have expected these people to completely mistake the main character of the night? It was him, not his son!

Felix secretly memorized their faces. He decided that once he secured his collaboration with the Drake family, he would make things exceedingly difficult for these people if they ever came begging at his door.

Normally, Julian couldn’t be bothered with socializing. When faced with such crowds, he would typically exchange a few brief pleasantries. If there was a genuine intent to collaborate, he would usually hand the matter over to Vance Wyatt. As for the rest—those who only knew how to network but lacked actual competence—Julian would completely ignore them.

Today, however, was different. Julian seemed determined to oppose Felix at every turn. Instead of turning people away, he welcomed them all, engaging in enthusiastic conversations for a good while. He even shared his views on the current economy and his outlook for the future.

The big shots were astonished. "I never expected President Faulkner to possess such profound insights at such a young age. It’s no wonder your company is one of the largest in the country!"

Julian displayed a side of himself entirely different from his usual demeanor. With smooth and practiced diplomacy, he replied modestly, "Not at all. These are just some humble opinions, hardly worth mentioning.

"To be honest, I’ve gained quite a lot from chatting with all of you."

"You’re too modest, President Faulkner."

The two sides continued exchanging polite flatteries.

Vivian found it quite incredible. Watching Julian on the news in the past, she had always thought of him as a cold and aloof person. She hadn’t expected him to have this side to him. He was perfectly capable of adapting to whoever he was speaking with, seamlessly shifting his tone and words to suit the audience. It turned out he wasn’t bad at socializing; he just usually couldn’t be bothered to waste his time and energy on meaningless pleasantries!

After a while of mingling, Ms. Shaw arrived with the prepared meals, wheeled over on a dining cart by a server from The Solstice Hotel. The spread was incredibly lavish. Even though the dishes were covered, Vivian could still smell their mouthwatering aroma as the cart approached.

Many people turned to look, their faces filled with curiosity.

Sylvia Drake glanced at Felix in confusion and asked, "Mr. Faulkner, is this the food you prepared?"

Felix looked a bit embarrassed. Just as he was about to answer, he saw the dining cart pull up right in front of Vivian, Julian, and Grandma Faulkner. Understanding dawned on him immediately, and his expression soured. "Sylvia, if you’re hungry, there’s plenty of food at the banquet," he told her. "Let me go check on that cart first."

Sylvia didn’t say anything. She wasn’t hungry anyway. Although the food at tonight’s banquet looked exquisite, it didn’t really whet her appetite. On the contrary, the dishes on that cart smelled much more like Veridia’s home-cooked meals.

Home-cooked meals. She remembered that the head of the Drake family—her great-uncle—was very fond of home-cooked food. They even had several chefs at home specializing in Sichuan, Shandong, Huaiyang, and Cantonese cuisines. They all cooked extremely authentic Veridia home-style dishes.

Smelling the aroma now, Sylvia knew the food in that cart had to be just as good. She also preferred Veridia’s home-cooked meals over these desserts, steaks, and hams. Even though the ham was incredibly expensive Iberian Ham, she still had no interest in it. She ate far too much of it on a regular basis.

"Grandma, let’s eat before the auction starts! Look at how fragrant the food is. No one else has it; it’s just for us!"

Vivian was delighted to see the dishes. She arranged the bowls and chopsticks in front of Grandma Faulkner, preparing to join her for the meal. She also called out, "Julian, come eat."

"Mhm."

Julian responded and, under the envious and bewildered gazes of the numerous big shots, walked over and sat down beside Vivian.

Grandma Faulkner originally hadn’t had much of an appetite. But seeing that her granddaughter-in-law had gone out of her way to prepare so many delicious dishes for her, she decided to indulge her and eat.

After all, guests were welcome to eat during tonight’s banquet. It was set up like a buffet, featuring all kinds of sashimi, New Zealand scampi, sea urchins, and much more. But Grandma Faulkner didn’t like cold food. Looking at the scampi, she simply couldn’t stomach it.

Vivian picked up a piece of stir-fried pork for Grandma Faulkner and ladled out a bowl of chicken soup. She set it aside to cool down a bit before letting her drink it.

They had barely picked up their chopsticks when Felix and Sylvia walked over, one after the other. Felix’s brows were tightly knit in a deep scowl. He looked at Julian with unconcealed distaste and pointed at the food on the table. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"Mom, if you’re hungry, isn’t there plenty to eat at the banquet? Where did all this come from? You have to be careful—food delivered from outside might not be clean! With your poor health, it’s best to be cautious."

Felix had once again started putting on his act as the filial son. Vivian found the sight nauseating. Before Julian could speak, she beat him to it. "Rest assured, Mr. Faulkner. These dishes were all prepared by the chefs at The Solstice Hotel.

"They were delivered immediately after being cooked, and they were tightly covered the entire way here. There’s no chance of them being ’unclean’ like you suggested.

"On the contrary..." Vivian cast a sidelong glance at the buffet food laid out in the open and said with thinly veiled sarcasm, "Since they aren’t sitting out in the open, how could bacteria possibly get in, right?

"Besides, everything is from The Solstice Hotel, so please don’t worry, Mr. Faulkner."

"..."

Naturally, Felix understood the biting sarcasm in Vivian’s words. His expression darkened further. Pointing sharply at Vivian, he glared furiously at his son and demanded, "Julian, who is she?"

He had noticed from the start that this woman had been hovering around his son. For all he knew, she was his son’s girlfriend or something of the sort. Although his son was no longer young and it was normal for him to have a girlfriend, the doors to the Faulkner family were not open to just anyone!

This woman looked far too clever for her own good. If she managed to deceive his son and eventually tried to force her way into the Faulkner family with a pregnant belly, it would be a disaster! He would absolutely never allow it!