The Nie Family company needed to expand in reality before they could support more strongholds. As for where these strongholds would come from, they would be snatched right out of the hands of the Tuoba Family!

Tuoba Time popped into Nie Yan’s mind. With Tuoba Hongye suffering a heavy setback inside Conviction, Tuoba Time had probably already made his move. Nie Yan wondered how that went. Failure meant he would probably never again see Tuoba Time inside the game. Family disputes were often this bitter.

Nie Yan drew a road map in his mind. He planned to expand the Nie Family company into a conglomerate that could stand on equal footing with any financial group, including giants like the Dragonsoar Financial Group, Glory Financial Group, and Century Financial Group. Only then would he be qualified to marry Xie Yao!

A while later, Xie Yao walked over with her father in tow. Nie Yan hurriedly stood up.

“You’re Nie Yan?” Xie Jun greeted with an amiable smile, looking Nie Yan up and down.

“Yes. It’s nice to meet you, Uncle Xie,” Nie Yan greeted back. He was a bit nervous meeting Xie Yao’s father, but he still remembered his manners.

Xie Yao gave Nie Yan a helpless smile from behind her father’s back. She pointed at Xie Jun and waved her hands, expressing it wasn’t her idea to bring him over here.

Seeing Xie Yao’s funny face and weird gesturing, Nie Yan couldn’t help but break out into a faint smile. Only then did Xie Jun realize his daughter had sold him out. He pulled her forward.

“I heard you were recently accepted into the Top Military Academy as an Ace. It’s an impressive achievement. Your future is bright. Make sure to keep working hard,” Xie Jun said. He was a kind and caring parent.

“Yes, Uncle! I won’t slack off!” Nie Yan nodded earnestly. Compared to the contempt Xie Yie treated him with earlier, Xie Jun’s words were like a breath of fresh air.

“I won’t try to stop your relationship with my daughter. The two of you are both adults. You’re in charge of your own futures,” Xie Jun said with a sincere expression. Kids matured much faster these days. It wasn’t strange for them to commit to serious relationships in their early teens. Even so, he wanted to have a proper chat with Nie Yan. If he found anything unscrupulous about Nie Yan’s character, he would have no choice but to use particular methods to intervene.

Xie Yao’s cheeks blushed rosy red. She never expected her father to be so direct.

“I understand, sir,” Nie Yan solemnly said.

Xie Jun nodded. From his impression, Nie Yan seemed like an honest and reliable individual. As for how he really was, Xie Jun planned to send people to Huahuai High to investigate. He had previously heard Nie Yan injured Liu Rui. However, he didn’t have too good of an impression of Liu Rui. His personality was too fickle. Nevertheless, getting accepted into the Top Military Academy proved he had some ability. Xie Jun originally planned to wait a few more years to see if he showed any growth. But it seemed recently Xie Yao was completely ignoring him. Since that was the case, so be it.

Although Nie Yan’s background wasn’t comparable to that of Xie Yao, Xie Jun didn’t particularly care. Didn’t his Xie Family have enough money already? Any more would simply be a bigger number. As long as Nie Yan’s character was good, his mind would be at ease. Furthermore, who was to say Nie Yan wouldn’t catch up to them in standing? After all, he had already proved his ability by getting into the Top Military Academy as an Ace, the third to ever do so in the history of Huahai High.

Xie Jun asked a few questions about their relationship, to which Nie Yan answered promptly, not daring to dally in the slightest.

“I’ll leave you two kids to chat. This old man won’t trouble you any longer. I still have some business to attend to,” Xie Jun said with a smile before heading back to the front of the banquet hall.

Nie Yan nodded, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief.

“Nie Yan, were you nervous?” Xie Yao asked with a cute smile, revealing her two beautiful rosy dimples which looked like the ones found on dolls.

“I’m still okay. Your father is really nice,” Nie Yan said. He was indeed a little nervous, but that was because that man was Xie Yao’s father. It would be bad if Xie Jun didn’t like him.

“My dad is pretty easy to get along with.” Xie Yao told a few stories about her father to help Nie Yan better understand him.

Nie Yan listened attentively.

The banquet hall was packed and bustling, but nobody came to bother Xie Yao. To these high class elites of society, her birthday was nothing more than a gathering to help them network and expand their social circle. There were many bigwigs walking around with net worths in the range of several billion to tens of billions.

Nie Yan looked over at the other side of the banquet hall. Cao Xu and Xie Jun were having a heated discussion, both refusing to back down in the slightest. Nearby were several higher-ups from the Dragonsoar Financial Group. He guessed a problem had occurred, and they were figuring out a way to settle things.

Given the close relationship between the Glory and Dragonsoar Financial Groups, if a conflict broke out, the spearhead would be aimed at the Century Financial Group. Nie Yan naturally wished for nothing more than the Century Financial Group to suffer.

Nie Yan shifted his attention to Fan Yuan. The two happened to lock gazes as sparks flew between them.

When Fan Yuan saw Xie Yao seated beside Nie Yan, he showed an envious expression. He turned his head and continued freely chatting with the several women beside him.

“Xie Yao, can you tell me a little about that Fan Yuan guy?” Nie Yan asked.

“Sure. He’s the second heir to the Euro Fortune Financial Group, but many people think he’s more likely to be picked over his older brother. He’s more famous for his accomplishments in Conviction. He’s known as Soaring Angel, the guild leader of Angel Corps,” Xie Yao replied. She still believed Nie Yan was better than Fan Yuan inside the game.

Nie Yan’s mind trembled as all sorts of information about Soaring Angel from his past life flowed into his mind. Soaring Angel was one of the most skilled players in the Satreen Empire. He had always ranked at the top of the leaderboards in the entire Righteous Faction, even surpassing other similarly talented geniuses. His levelling speed was astonishing to say the least. It was rumoured he played an elven Demon Hunter, a class that specialized in ranged combat. Their range was greater than Mages, but their damage output was slightly weaker. They dealt piercing damage with various enchanted bolts. A skilled Demon Hunter was extremely deadly. It was a powerful solo class.

In the previous timeline, Soaring Angel was extremely famous. Besides his own skill, he also had a large number of top-ranking experts gathered at his side. Angel Corps campaigned across the whole Satreen Empire, conquering one city after another. It was rumoured that at their prime it took the combined forces of Victorious Return, Radiant Sacred Flame, Alliance of Mages, Divine Protectors, and Bloodlust Blades to stand a chance against them.

Back then, Soaring Angel was a legendary existence.

Nie Yan’s eyes flashed with a peculiar light. He wondered what the outcome would be if he took on such an opponent.

“I heard he’s pretty talented. When he was our age, he participated in a Europe-wide karate tournament and took second place. The champion was older than him by almost a decade. Later on, he was accepted into the European Royal Air Force Academy. However, his character is terrible. One of my cousins used to date him, but they broke up after he cheated on her. He’s known for his frequent philandering,” Xie Yao said with a disgusted expression. Even now, Fan Yuan was constantly flirting around with different women.

Nie Yan chuckled. Xie Yao rarely showed such blatant contempt for a person. It appeared she really loathed Fan Yuan.

Xie Yao’s mother and grandfather couldn’t make it to the birthday banquet anymore since something had come up. Xie Yao couldn’t help but feel puzzled. Her mother was usually pretty free, so why couldn’t she make it? As the festivities carried on, people eventually started to disperse.

Fan Yuan shot Nie Yan one last glance before leaving.

As for Cao Xu, Xie Jun, and them, they still had more to discuss. They headed to a conference room in the building to continue.

“Let’s go,” Xie Yao said as she put on her coat.

Nie Yan and Xie Yao went down the elevator together. They arrived in the underground parking lot and got into his car.

After driving past numerous streets and busy intersections, Nie Yan arrived in front of the entrance to Xie Yao’s residence.

“Just drive into the garage,” Xie Yao said.

Nie Yan was taken aback for a moment but obliged.

“Come inside, and keep me company. My mom and dad won’t be home until late tonight,” Xie Yao said. Truthfully, if things really got busy, her father might not come home tonight at all, and she wasn’t sure about her mother either. It was somewhat lonely staying home alone.

Even after driving Xie Yao home every day, Nie Yan had never once entered inside. He parked his car in the garage, then entered the house with her.

The interior of Xie Yao’s home was a bit different from his own. The environment was much more calm and tranquil. There were many plants and flowers placed next to the front door, vibrant and full of life.

The living room was elegant and refined. Xie Yao took off her shoes and put on a large pair of fuzzy slippers before walking in.

“Nie Yan, since you’re a guest at my house, you have to try some of my tea. The barley tea I brew is really fragrant and delicious!” Xie Yao said.

Seeing Xie Yao’s spirited appearance, Nie Yan faintly smiled. “Alright.”

“You sit here for a bit. I’m going to get changed. It’s uncomfortable wearing these clothes.” Xie Yao lifted up her dress and headed upstairs to her bedroom.

“Sure.” Nie Yan nodded as he looked around at all the furniture and decorations in Xie Yao’s house. He could see hues of red, yellow, and orange everywhere, which filled his heart with a sense of warmth.

After a while, Xie Yao came back downstairs with a pink t-shirt and white pajama shorts. She looked quite cute.

Seeing Xie Yao brewing the tea, Nie Yan’s gaze softened.

The two of them were seated on the sofa. For some reason, Xie Yao recalled the previous incident when they both got drunk. Her face instantly flushed red.

Nie Yan picked up the cup and took a sip. A fragrant smell wafted up his nose as the tea warmed his throat and chest.

“Do you like it?” Xie Yao asked with an expectant look.

“Yeah, I love it.” Nie Yan nodded.

Hearing Nie Yan’s praise, Xie Yao’s face lit up with a happy smile.