Chen Feng's pupils instantly constricted in shock; he simply could not believe his eyes.
"Was it this talisman that protected me? What on earth is that young man's identity?" Chen Feng thought, terrified to the core.
Remembering that the man was also attending today's charity banquet, he immediately started looking around for him.
Meanwhile, Shen Qing and the two women had already arrived at the venue.
Both Xiao Yuyan and Li Xue had changed into formal evening gowns. Their stunning faces and breathtaking, curvaceous figures immediately drew the attention of many people at the banquet, with the men finding it particularly difficult to tear their eyes away.
When they saw Shen Qing accompanying the two beauties, a look of astonishment crossed the faces of quite a few people.
"Who is this guy?" everyone wondered in bewilderment.
At this moment, Shen Qing was feeling immensely pleased with himself. With Xiao Yuyan on his left and Li Xue on his right, the setup felt like having a beauty in each arm.
Xiao Yuyan was even linking her arm intimately through his, and the soft touch against his arm made it impossible to wipe the smile off his face.
"Xiao Xue!"
A voice suddenly rang out as a young man walked over.
"Yang Ping, what are you doing here?" Li Xue asked, slightly frowning.
Yang Ping wore a smile. "Naturally, I'm here for you."
"Oh, and who might this be?"
His gaze fell upon Shen Qing, and noticing that Li Xue seemed a bit too close to him, his expression shifted immediately.
Li Xue caught it sharply. "Yang Ping, Shen Qing is my friend, and I'm warning you not to try anything!"
"Hahaha!"
"Xiao Xue, you've misunderstood me. I'm not some kind of violent person," Yang Ping said with a benign smile.
He reached out a hand. "Hello, my name is Yang Ping. I just returned from abroad after getting my doctorate in medicine, and I currently run a private hospital. My net worth is a modest few hundred million."
The corners of his lips curved upward, radiating a strong sense of superiority.
"Shen Qing, an unemployed drifter who just came to the city from the countryside," Shen Qing said, feeling rather speechless as he shrugged with complete indifference.
Yang Ping almost laughed out loud, the smile on his face growing even broader.
He had originally thought Shen Qing was some kind of big shot, but it turned out he was just a country bumpkin.
"A man still needs drive and ambition. Otherwise, even if you have a beauty by your side, you won't be able to keep her."
"Looking at your age, you're no longer young. How can you be such a good-for-nothing that you can't even find a job?"
Yang Ping's tone was full of disdain, and his eyes held a thick trace of mockery.
Shen Qing instantly felt annoyed.
"Mr. Yang has certainly achieved great success, but how come you don't even have a female companion with you? Could it be that you're just too ugly and no woman is willing to look at you?" Shen Qing retorted with sarcastic mockery.
At these words, Yang Ping's expression stiffened.
"What are you talking nonsense about? It's just that my female companion didn't come together with me today."
Pfft!
Li Xue burst out laughing on the spot, leaning against Shen Qing so hard she couldn't straighten up. "Shen Qing, your tongue is way too vicious!"
Yang Ping's complexion didn't look too good. Watching Shen Qing flanked by two beauties, jealousy welled up in his eyes.
He had set his sights on Li Xue long ago and had come today specifically to get closer to her, never expecting a Shen Qing to pop out of nowhere.
Just as he was about to say something, a voice rang out.
"Elder Jiang is here!"
Someone shouted, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
Footsteps approached as an elderly man with white hair and a white beard walked in, and the crowd parted to clear a path for him.
"Elder Jiang!"
"Elder Jiang!"
The old man instantly became the center of attention. His aged face wore a warm, kind, and amiable smile, giving people a very approachable feeling.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming to tonight's charity gala."
The old man's gentle voice resounded across the entire venue, and everyone listened intently.
Yang Ping, who had originally intended to mock Shen Qing, stopped. The look he cast at Shen Qing carried a hint of annoyance.
Li Xue leaned close to Shen Qing's ear. "He is Jiang Wenmao, the host of tonight's charity banquet. Elder Jiang holds a very high status in Pingjiang—even the current mayor of Pingjiang is his student."
"Later on, I'll introduce you two to him!"
Xiao Yuyan revealed a look of gratitude. "Xiao Xue, thank you!"
Jiang Wenmao quickly finished his opening speech, and the donations officially commenced.
Yang Ping walked up with a smile, took out a check, and dropped it into the donation box. "I'm personally donating five million as a small token of my support for Elder Jiang."
Gasp!
Five million was no small sum; he sure was generous!
Hearing the gasps of the crowd, Yang Ping looked extremely smug.
At that moment, Yang Ping turned his gaze toward Shen Qing with a provocative expression. "Shen Qing, I wonder how much you're planning to donate?"
"Since you're just a country bumpkin who just came to the city, I'm afraid you probably can't even scrape together one hundred thousand!"
Yang Ping sneered derisively, his eyes filled with playful mockery.
Country bumpkin?
His remark surprised quite a few people present, and the looks they directed at Shen Qing took on a strange quality.
Seeing this, Xiao Yuyan's expression turned ice-cold. As his senior sister, she would not allow anyone to insult Shen Qing like this, so she immediately stepped forward. "On behalf of Shen Qing, I donate ten million!"
With that, she took out a ten-million-dollar check, dropped it into the donation box, and returned to Shen Qing's side.
Gasp!
The astonishing sum of ten million caused an uproar throughout the entire venue.
"Ten million? That's simply insane! Is it really worth spending that much money just for a charity gala?"
"He doesn't even look that handsome. How did he manage to win such favor from this beauty?"
"That's ten million we're talking about! Even Yang Ping only donated five million."
The crowd buzzed with discussion, all of them utterly astonished.
Yang Ping's face turned gloomy in an instant, feeling as though he had been slapped hard across the face.
"Are you out of your minds? You're actually donating ten million?!" Yang Ping said, a mix of shock and anger in his voice.
He had originally planned to donate five million to show off grandly, but he never expected to be completely overshadowed by Shen Qing.
Up at the front, Jiang Wenmao's aged face showed a look of approval.
"Not bad. For a young person to have such financial strength and still care about charitable causes—that's a good thing!"
Jiang Wenmao's praise made Yang Ping's expression grow even uglier.
Just as he was about to say something, Jiang Wenmao suddenly clutched his chest, a look of agony washing over his face.
"Elder Jiang is having a heart attack!"
A cry of shock swept through the venue.
"Quick, call an ambulance!" someone shouted loudly.
Many people panicked and scrambled around, none of them expecting such an incident to happen right at the start of the charity banquet.
Yang Ping's eyes lit up. He quickly stepped forward. "Step aside! I hold a doctorate in medicine, let me save Elder Jiang!"
He was thrilled; if he could save Jiang Wenmao, it would undoubtedly be a monumental achievement.
The crowd hurriedly made way for him, and Yang Ping rushed forward to begin treating Jiang Wenmao.
However, as time ticked by, Jiang Wenmao's painful expression did not ease at all.
His aged face twisted in agony, and his entire body even began to convulse.
"Good grief, why is Elder Jiang's attack so severe? Could something happen to him?"
Yang Ping's expression turned unsightly. "Elder Jiang is suffering from an acute heart attack, and it's triggered multiple complications. If the ambulance doesn't arrive within three minutes, Elder Jiang is dead for sure!"