Chapter 26.1
Today was a special day, because the Xie family was holding a banquet.
Of course, a banquet itself was not surprising. After all, in high society, aside from differences in scale, holding banquets was already normal. What surprised them was the purpose of this banquet—and who the person at the center of it was.
The identity of this banquet’s main character undoubtedly shocked everyone.
The Xie family’s adopted daughter, Cheng Lingxue.
After Cheng Lingxue’s mothers passed away, four years had gone by before the Xie family finally held a birthday banquet for her. The biggest reason for that was naturally the Xie family’s eldest miss, Xie Shuyun.
Because Xie Shuyun had treated Cheng Lingxue terribly, Cheng Lingxue’s status in high society had always hovered awkwardly, neither high nor low, and she had been criticized behind her back.
But things were different now.
When all the honored guests received invitations to a birthday banquet with Cheng Lingxue as the main figure, they all began guessing at the Xie family’s intentions.
Had Cheng Lingxue truly been acknowledged by the Xie family?
Should they redefine Cheng Lingxue’s value?
No matter what, since the Xie family, the head of the top aristocratic families, had sent out invitations, naturally no one could miss this opportunity to expand their connections. Regardless of who the main character was, it could not stop them from attending. So basically every powerful figure who could attend the banquet headed toward the Xie residence.
The venue for the banquet was one of the Xie family’s villas, designed jointly by several world-famous architects. Built with many different elements blended together, it resembled a castle, and it was also the place where the Xie family usually held important banquets.
It was clearly nighttime, yet this place was brightly lit. It truly looked like a shining castle beneath the moonlight, ready to welcome the honored guests who were about to arrive.
One luxury car after another was only allowed into the estate after security strictly checked identities and invitations.
The banquet had not even begun yet, but below, things were already lively. Everywhere were men and women dressed in suits and gowns, holding wine glasses as they socialized. It did not look at all like a birthday banquet that had yet to officially begin.
The second floor of the estate was much quieter. It was where dressing rooms and makeup rooms were specially prepared for guests, and accommodation could also be provided when necessary. It counted as an area with relatively fewer people.
Xie Shuyun was wearing a custom-made dark blue little suit. Combined with the makeup artist’s skillful work, her already heroic features appeared extraordinarily handsome. Her well-proportioned figure and long, slender legs were also fully emphasized. Her long hair was loosely tied with a ribbon and draped over her right shoulder, adding a soft air to her appearance. The two qualities intertwined, making her especially eye-catching.
This was Xie Shuyun’s first time dressing so formally, so she was still somewhat unused to it. But after moving her limbs a little, she found it comfortable and convenient to move in, which made her quite satisfied.
To be honest, she hated skirts. Fortunately, this place was more diverse when it came to gender, and there were not so many rigid stereotypes about clothing. Otherwise, if she had been asked to wear a gorgeous dress with high heels, there would have been no need to continue. She would have died from suffering on the spot.
Tucking the loose strands that had fallen against her cheek behind her ear, she turned in place. Feeling that everything about her was quite perfect, Xie Shuyun finally turned her head and asked the makeup artist cleaning up beside her,
“Is Lingxue ready?”
The maid beside her looked at Xie Shuyun with eyes full of admiration. But when she heard that the subject was Cheng Lingxue, she secretly curled her lips. Still, she said softly,
“Miss Cheng still needs a little more time, but she’s almost done.”
Not long after she finished speaking, the door to Cheng Lingxue’s dressing room opened.
The young girl in a pale green dress slowly walked out. The dress shaped the girl’s well-developing figure and was designed with bare shoulders, revealing her fair, rounded shoulders. The knee-length skirt was embroidered with exquisite patterns touched with a trace of exotic charm. It was full of youthful energy without losing elegance and nobility.
Around her snow-white neck was a swan carved from sapphire. On her wrist was a matching bracelet made of sapphires of the same standard. It was beautiful without overwhelming the wearer herself. Instead, it served as the perfect accent for the young girl, making every movement of hers dazzling.
Not only that, Cheng Lingxue’s face had also been lightly made up. It softened her originally cold and aloof aura, reducing the distance she usually gave off and highlighting more of the young girl’s delicate softness.
Xie Shuyun looked at the girl slowly walking toward her and completely froze. It was only when the girl’s faint coconut milk fragrance came toward her that she finally returned to herself. She lightly turned her face away, gave a dry cough, and said,
“Lingxue, you look very beautiful today…”
Inwardly, she once again sighed over Cheng Lingxue’s looks.
As expected of the female lead O. She was already capable of toppling countries and cities before even reaching adulthood. This made Xie Shuyun feel the faintest trace of jealousy toward the female lead A who would eventually win the beauty in the end.
But the female lead A probably would not appear at this banquet, right? She remembered that the book said the two of them only met in university. Right now, the female lead A should still be studying abroad.
At this, Xie Shuyun secretly rejoiced. Out of selfishness, she did not want the two female leads to meet early. After all, the moment the two met would symbolize the start of her tragic fate.
“…Thank you…”
Hearing Xie Shuyun’s praise, Cheng Lingxue’s heart felt somewhat complicated.
It was not only because of that compliment, but also because the other party had actually organized a birthday banquet for her.
It seemed that ever since her parents passed away, she had never had another one. After all these twists and turns, the person who had once refused to hold one for her was now the one doing it.
This could not help making Cheng Lingxue sigh. As expected of an opposite personality. Her way of doing things was completely different.
“We should go down.”
“Mm.”
Xie Shuyun nodded and slightly bent her arm, letting Cheng Lingxue hook her hand into the crook of her arm. The two girls then slowly made their way to the staircase, where they heard Xie Ao’s opening speech.
“Thank you all for attending this birthday banquet. Today is the seventeenth birthday of my adopted daughter, Cheng Lingxue!”
As soon as his voice fell, warm applause sounded from all around.
Xie Shuyun lightly swallowed. Below them were densely gathered figures from high society. It would be impossible to say she was not nervous. Still, she was poised as she nodded toward everyone in greeting, and this helped settle her a little.
After that was Cheng Lingxue’s birthday speech. It was concise and powerful. Xie Shuyun followed everyone else and applauded while also observing from the corner of her eye the gazes that fell on Cheng Lingxue.
Finding that there was not much malice among them, she finally nodded in satisfaction.
She reached out and helped Cheng Lingxue walk down the steps.
Next, the host announced the gifts the honored guests had given Cheng Lingxue. Because there were so many guests, the pages in the host’s hands were quite thick. By the time they finished reading everything, it would probably be close to two hours later.
Of course, during this period, everyone naturally did not waste time and began chatting among themselves.
It was only when it came time to cut the cake that the sounds of conversation gradually faded.
The lights followed the giant cake as it was slowly pushed out. The cake was as tall as two people. On top were colorful, bright decorations: cream in all sorts of colors, shaped biscuits, macarons, crushed candies, and more. It was delicate without losing a young girl’s style.
Although it did not quite match Cheng Lingxue’s cold and aloof image.
But when Xie Shuyun saw it, she could not help clicking her tongue. A rich person’s birthday really was extravagant enough!
As the birthday girl, Cheng Lingxue symbolically cut into the cake. After that, the service staff divided the cake evenly among everyone present. Xie Shuyun also held a piece and used a small fork to scoop a bite into her mouth.
Perhaps because the guests were of all ages, the cake was not very sweet. Its flavor was mainly fruit-based, with cream filling mixed with various fruits inside. It was sweet and tart, paired with a soft, well-made cake body. Overall, it tasted refreshing without being greasy, and was very good.
She saw that Cheng Lingxue beside her was also eating the cake in small bites, with a little cream staining the corner of her mouth. Xie Shuyun waved to a nearby server, took a tissue, and gently wiped the corner of Cheng Lingxue’s lips.
“There’s cream here.”
The moment her fingertip touched Cheng Lingxue’s smooth cheek, Xie Shuyun shrank back as if she had been burned.
She…
She had maintained distance, and this was also in public. Would Cheng Lingxue be angry?
Her heart was very uneasy, and she was about to quickly withdraw her hand. But in the next second, Cheng Lingxue actually held her hand.
As if she could feel the soft, delicate touch on the back of her hand, Xie Shuyun stared blankly as Cheng Lingxue’s eyes curved slightly into crescent moons. Cheng Lingxue gently took the tissue from her hand and wiped her own mouth.
“Thank you. How thoughtful of you.”
“Ah, no, no…”
Xie Shuyun waved her hand and watched Cheng Lingxue’s every movement with some surprise.
She kept feeling that the other girl was already very familiar with this way of conversing, handling everything with ease. Unlike her usual distant manner, she had become measured in both approach and retreat.
But for some reason, Xie Shuyun felt that this was only on the surface. In private, she was still keeping people at a distance.
After thinking for a moment, she took two glasses of fruit juice from a nearby server’s tray and handed one to Cheng Lingxue.
“Here, drink some. Moisturize your throat.”
As she spoke, her voice lowered quite a bit.
“You don’t need to be so restrained. Although this is a big occasion, this is also the Xie family’s home ground. You’re the birthday girl, so it’s fine to relax a little.”
“…Mm…”
Cheng Lingxue lightly sipped the juice in her glass, feeling the sweet-and-tart taste on the tip of her tongue. She gently shook the liquid in the glass, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Xie Shuyun’s words. Her gaze landed on several places, and a thoughtful look flashed through her eyes.
Xie Shuyun looked around and noticed the people nearby gradually approaching.
They looked around twenty years old, and even some teenagers were slowly moving toward them. Her mind could not help recalling Qin Yu’s warning.
“Eldest Miss, Miss Cheng, you have already differentiated and are no longer the same as before. There are some things you need to pay attention to, especially since there are differences between alphas and omegas. Your words and actions must maintain a proper distance. Also, neither of you is engaged yet, so you may become targets for young people.”
If not for her experience during her rut, Xie Shuyun probably would not have taken those words seriously. But now, she had to raise her guard to the highest level, because she could feel burning gazes circling over her body.
As expected, when the two of them handed their empty plates to a server, it was as if a signal had been given. One person after another approached, instantly surrounding the two of them. Slowly, the two were pulled away from each other, each becoming the center of their own whirlpool.
However, there were also quite a few familiar faces from school mixed in, which greatly lowered Xie Shuyun’s pressure. Not long after, Shang Yan also came over and helped Xie Shuyun chase away the surrounding beauties.
Xie Shuyun’s gaze swept over Shang Yan’s dark brown suit.
She had to admit that Shang Yan was actually also top-tier in looks, but her qualities were completely different from Xie Shuyun’s. Her face was full of scholarly elegance. As long as she did not speak, she looked refined and gentle, full of charm.
However, because of her usual gossipy image, as well as the fact that Xie Shuyun was the more attention-grabbing presence, her sense of existence was greatly reduced.
No wonder Shang Yan always complained that it was Xie Shuyun’s fault she could not find a partner.
“Where’s Shang En? Don’t you always have to watch over your little sister?”
Xie Shuyun asked softly.
She remembered that Shang Yan had a younger sister three years younger than her, a cute, lively little girl with a sweet appearance.
Their parents often tossed her to Shang Yan to take care of. Now that the little girl was not around Shang Yan, surely she had not lost her, right?
“I let her stay with her little friends. It’s not like I can go around with a little tail in a place like this, right? I wouldn’t be bored, but she’d probably be bored to death.”
Shang Yan shrugged.
Although she said this, her gaze still looked somewhat worriedly in a certain direction within the crowd.
Xie Shuyun followed her gaze and saw several boys and girls around thirteen or fourteen gathered there. Shang Yan’s younger sister, Shang En, was among them.
“Don’t worry. Shang En is very well behaved and won’t run around. Besides, there are cameras everywhere here, and bodyguards outside too. Nothing will happen.”
Xie Shuyun was still quite confident in the Xie family’s security system.
The two looked at each other while holding fruit juice. Their glasses clinked, silently congratulating each other on escaping their suffering.
After taking a sip of juice, Shang Yan’s gaze landed on the circle of people on the other side. She nudged Xie Shuyun with her elbow and snorted coldly toward those people.
“Yunzi, aren’t you going to help the school beauty? Although the school beauty doesn’t look like she needs help, these people are a little too enthusiastic. Before, they didn’t even look at her. Now look at them, one after another, all crowding around.”
“It should be fine. If something happens, we can go over then.”
Her fingertip gently rubbed the cold glass. Xie Shuyun looked at Cheng Lingxue’s calm and composed face.
Even when speaking with people in their twenties, Cheng Lingxue remained unruffled, possessing a bearing and attitude rarely seen in someone her age.
It was not only Xie Shuyun. Anyone who had spoken with Cheng Lingxue had admiration in their eyes.
It was submission before a queen. It was affection toward a young girl.
Even after finishing their conversations, those people were unwilling to leave. They preferred to linger around the young girl, hoping to receive her gaze once more.
It was just like at the pet shop last time.
Only this time, the puppies and kittens had turned into people…
Xie Shuyun licked her lips, suppressing the faint sourness rising in her heart. This thought appeared in her mind, and a trace of amusement could not help flashing through her eyes.
Seeing that she had no desire to go over, Shang Yan did not mind either. She looked around and simply pulled Xie Shuyun to sit on a nearby sofa. The two chatted casually while enjoying the food, feeling quite at ease.
“I thought you would go interact with other omegas. Don’t you really want to find a partner?”
After swallowing the cake in her mouth, Xie Shuyun placed the empty plate in her hand on the table, and a passing server took it away.
“No thanks. I want to seriously fall in love, not have a business marriage.”
Shang Yan looked around.
She had to admit that the omegas in high society were basically all very outstanding. But at an occasion like this, any conversation with them would be mixed with interests. Shang Yan did not like that, so she would rather hide here with Xie Shuyun and leisurely eat snacks.
However…
“Since you keep paying attention to the school beauty, why don’t you go over? Every time you say one sentence to me, your eyes drift over there three times. Is she that precious to you?”
“I’m afraid she’ll be bullied.”
Xie Shuyun smiled bitterly. After all, with Cheng Lingxue’s status as a female lead, Xie Shuyun did not believe no one would try to stir up trouble at an event like this.
“How is that possible? How could the school beauty be bullied at a time like—”
Before Shang Yan could finish speaking, she stopped. Then she closed her mouth and silently gestured toward Cheng Lingxue’s direction.
As if proving Xie Shuyun’s words, two uninvited guests appeared in Cheng Lingxue’s circle.
An alpha who looked passable, had a slightly sturdy build, and was around eighteen years old was brought over by a middle-aged uncle with a beer belly.
Aside from the difference in the shine on their foreheads, the two of them looked like they ate very well, both oily and shiny. In terms of resemblance, they were definitely father and son.
As for their identities…
Xie Shuyun rubbed her temples and recalled the guest list Qin Yu had given her before. After thinking for quite a while, she finally matched the people to their identities.
The simple outline of the other party’s background flashed through her mind, making Xie Shuyun reveal a speechless smile. She lightly raked through her hair and could not help sighing.
There were always some people who liked jumping into pits.
And that father and son were among them.
===
Dealing with the people constantly approaching her, Cheng Lingxue was actually the same as Xie Shuyun. She did not like socializing at banquets.
Unfortunately, she was the main character of this banquet, so she could not hide in a corner and slack off.
Moreover, she knew very well how important such an occasion was to her. She absolutely could not miss certain opportunities just because of her own preferences.
After finishing a conversation with a promising alpha who had great potential, Cheng Lingxue lightly sipped the juice in her glass to soothe her dry throat. Her gaze subconsciously searched for that person.
Unexpectedly, while she was surrounded by many people, Xie Shuyun was sitting on a sofa with Shang Yan, leisurely enjoying snacks.
The contrast between the two sides made Cheng Lingxue feel a faint twitch at her temples.
In the end, she threw an eye knife at Shang Yan, because she knew very well that this person must have dragged Xie Shuyun away. For some reason, a faint sourness rose in her heart…
Shang Yan suddenly felt cold.
It feels like there’s killing intent!
Suddenly, a large movement in the crowd attracted Cheng Lingxue’s attention.
She was just about to turn her head and look when a rough male voice rang out.
“Xiao Xue, long time no see.”
A middle-aged male alpha dressed appropriately, but unable to hide his out-of-shape figure, pushed aside the people around Cheng Lingxue and came to her side.
His slightly balding head shone under the lights, making Cheng Lingxue narrow her eyes faintly. Her brows furrowed slightly.
The teenagers who had been pushed aside recognized this middle-aged male alpha’s identity. They dared to be angry but did not dare speak. They could only glare at the father and son behind their backs. Still, they did not immediately leave, as if wanting to stay and watch what would happen.
“…Head of the Lu family…”
The temperature in Cheng Lingxue’s voice clearly dropped by several degrees as she looked coldly at this middle-aged male alpha.
However, the head of the Lu family did not mind. He still had a bright smile on his face. Patting his beer belly, completely unaware of how the trembling fat made people want to look away, he took a step closer to Cheng Lingxue and said,
“Aiya, Xiao Xue, why call me so distantly? When you were little, Uncle Lu even held you before.”
“I wouldn’t dare accept that.”
Dodging the hand that wanted to land on her shoulder, Cheng Lingxue lifted the hair that had fallen against her cheek and spoke coldly.
“You child, really… Right, right. Uncle Lu came today to talk to you about something.”
As he spoke, the head of the Lu family pulled the young alpha beside him, who looked seventy percent similar to him, in front of Cheng Lingxue. His narrow eyes smiled so much they were almost invisible.
“Didn’t our two families talk about an engagement before? The engagement with our Jiahao. When the time comes, I’ll go discuss this matter with the Xie family head. Since you two are both here, why don’t you get familiar with each other first?”
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