When Qiao Xi heard about the apprenticeship banquet, she instantly understood and nodded.

“Would you like me to show you to Room Three, Sixth Miss?” the manager asked.

Qiao Xi said, “No need. I’ll wait for my friend.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Qiao Xi’s phone suddenly rang. Tang Ruge’s voice came from the other end. “Xi Xi, did you receive the invitation? When are you arriving? I can send someone to pick you up. We’re in Room One of Fragrance Hotel.”

Qiao Xi’s entire body emitted a chill as she decisively hung up the call. In order to prevent Tang Ruge from bothering her again, she even blocked Tang Ruge’s number.

Right now, she only wanted to attend Li Xing’er’s birthday party and was not in the mood to care about Tang Ruge. However, Tang Ruge still shamelessly called her. Qiao Xi even suspected that Tang Ruge had masochistic tendencies.

After a moment, Qiao Xi suddenly heard a cry from behind her.

“Xi Xi?”

Qiao Xi turned around and saw a group of people walking over. Tang Ruge was in the middle, and the old man beside her was Qi Zhong. Qiao Xi had seen Qi Zhong in an art exhibition, but Qi Zhong did not know her identity.

Tang Ruge held the arm of a middle-aged woman intimately. The woman was dressed gorgeously and had a jade pendant around her neck. Judging from her age, she was probably Madam Tang.

When everyone saw Qiao Xi, their expressions changed slightly.

“What are you doing here?!” Tang Lingyun looked defensive. “Just now, my sister called you and invited you over, but you hung up immediately. Why are you suddenly here now?”

When Tang Ruge called Qiao Xi just now, Tang Lingyun was beside her. She thought that Qiao Xi wouldn’t be coming, but who knew that Qiao Xi would appear here? She must have known that the people attending the banquet were all famous figures in the painting world, so she came over to get to know them.

The group suddenly stopped walking. The painters behind all asked curiously about what was happening.

Madam Tang’s face darkened, and Tang Ruge frowned slightly. “Mom, don’t worry. I’ll talk to her.”

“Yes, no matter what, don’t let her cause trouble. Today is your apprenticeship banquet. You can’t let her ruin it,” Madam Gu instructed in a low voice.

Tang Ruge slowly walked up to Qiao Xi and said gently, “Xi Xi, I sent you an invitation a week ago. I even called you today, but you clearly rejected me. Since that’s the case, why did you still come to my apprenticeship banquet? If you’ve suddenly changed your mind and want to attend the apprenticeship banquet, I’ll naturally welcome you. But why are you blocking the door? The guests today are all respected figures in the painting world. Don’t mess around, or else in the future…

“Anyway, can you leave first? If you’re unhappy, you can wait until after the apprenticeship banquet. I beg you not to ruin my apprenticeship banquet, alright?”

In everyone’s eyes, Tang Ruge was trying to persuade her nicely, but Qiao Xi did not even bother to look at her. She fiddled with her phone as if Tang Ruge did not exist.

Tang Ruge’s face was ashen. She bit her lip. “Xi Xi, I sincerely welcome you to my apprenticeship banquet. And I heard that you like oil paintings very much. If you want to learn, I can recommend a master to you.”

Qiao Xi still stood on the spot without saying a word.

Tang Ruge’s eyes were red as she said aggrievedly, “Xi Xi…”

“Qiao Xi! Are you done?!” Tang Lingyun finally couldn’t suppress the anger in her heart and shouted loudly, “Aren’t you just relying on President Gu’s power to throw your weight around here? When you heard that Sister Ruge would be Mr. Qi Zhong’s apprentice, you started to feel jealous again. That’s why you came to cause trouble, didn’t you?! Why are you blocking the door? Get out of here immediately. Don’t make us miss the apprenticeship banquet!”

The corners of Qiao Xi’s lips curled up as she sneered. “Does your Tang family own Fragrance Hotel?”

Tang Lingyun blurted out, “No!”

“Then why can’t I be here? Besides, do you think I came to Fragrance Hotel to attend Tang Ruge’s apprenticeship banquet?” Qiao Xi said casually.

“You!” Tang Lingyun was fuming with anger. She gritted her teeth and roared, “Get lost! Although our Tang family doesn’t own Fragrance Hotel, it’s wrong for you to block the door!”

Seeing that there was an argument, everyone looked over curiously.

Qi Zhong asked unhappily, “What’s going on?”

Madam Tang explained, “That girl is Ruge’s friend. Previously, Ruge invited her to attend the apprenticeship banquet, but she threw a tantrum and refused to come. Who knew that just before the banquet started, she appeared and blocked the door to cause trouble?”