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Chapter 6 — The Aloof Crown Prince Plays Games with Us!

Song Qiao was slightly startled. She glanced at him in confusion. Nothing had ever happened between the two of them in that way — she didn’t understand what Xie Yanli meant by those words.

Just as she was about to ask, a surprised exclamation suddenly rang out from the crowd:
“Wow! Guys, we’re really honored today — not only is President Xie here, but the belle of Jiang University has come too!”

Before Song Qiao could react, a sweet, melodious voice drifted into her ears:
“Sorry I’m late. You won’t blame me, will you?”

Song Qiao’s eyelashes trembled slightly — Jiang Xinhui had arrived!
Before she could collect herself, the crowd had already surged away from her and flocked to Jiang Xinhui’s side.

“Xinhui, you’re still as gentle and beautiful as ever. Your figure is so well maintained, and your skin is practically glowing — so enviable!”

“Xinhui, that outfit — is it this season’s haute couture from Chanel? I saw it on the runway. I couldn’t even place an order when I went to the store the other day — it costs at least several hundred thousand. And that bag — a Hermès Kelly Doll II, crocodile skin no less. Xinhui, you’re so generous. That line easily starts at a million.”

Song Qiao didn’t even need to look — she knew the ones talking were the infamous bootlicking duo, Lin Rong and Fu Yue.

Back in school, they’d latched onto Jiang Xinhui day and night, flattering her relentlessly. Especially Fu Yue — every outfit she wore had at least five or six clashing colors, making her look like a walking parrot.

Song Qiao instinctively turned away, just in time to see Jiang Xinhui standing sweetly and demurely next to Xie Yanli. The two of them looked as perfectly matched as they had ten years ago.
Suddenly, Song Qiao felt like she was the classic villainous second female lead in a TV drama, the one who forcibly breaks up a perfect couple.

If she hadn’t shamelessly pursued Xie Yanli all those years ago, he and Jiang Xinhui might have long been together and wouldn’t have needed to sneak around behind her back.

As for Jiang Xinhui — she truly lived up to all their praises. Standing in a crowd, she was always the most dazzling one.

Today, she wore a Chanel suit with Hermès flats. Her voluminous, seaweed-like curls cascaded casually behind her shoulders. Her delicate, fair features and curvaceous figure gave her a graceful yet commanding presence. She truly deserved the title of Beijing’s number one socialite.

Song Qiao suddenly felt a bit dim in comparison. Though many people praised her beauty, she didn’t belong to the bold, striking type. Her charm leaned more toward the sweet, delicate elegance typical of a Jiangnan woman. Either way, standing next to Jiang Xinhui made her seem a bit provincial and unremarkable.

Seeing the two of them so close left Song Qiao feeling stifled, a sensation she couldn’t quite describe.

Jiang Xinhui gracefully exchanged pleasantries with everyone. Although she didn’t greet Song Qiao immediately, the moment she entered, she had spotted Song Qiao in the crowd.

Compared to ten years ago, Song Qiao had grown much more beautiful — but still carried that pure, naive look, lacking mature femininity.

A flash of smugness flickered in Jiang Xinhui’s eyes. Slowly, she walked over to Song Qiao, curled her lips into a smile, and said,
“Song Qiao, long time no see. I didn’t expect you to attend today’s gathering too.”

Song Qiao could tell Jiang Xinhui was deliberately throwing shade. After all, she wasn’t from their graduating class. She only knew this group because of Xie Yanli. Now that they had long broken up, her presence here indeed seemed a bit awkward.

But Song Qiao had clarity. No matter how well-matched Jiang Xinhui and Xie Yanli appeared, it was Jiang Xinhui who had intruded on her relationship back then — she wasn’t about to cower in front of her.

Her gaze flickered thoughtfully. She realized it had been ten years already. If she acted too hostile toward Jiang Xinhui now, she’d only look petty and hung up on the past.

After lowering her gaze for a moment, she calmly replied,
“I happened to run into Senior Brother Shen at the restaurant entrance, and he dragged me here. Now that I’ve greeted everyone, I’ll just—”

Song Qiao didn’t want to stay and keep watching them flaunt their affection — she wanted to leave. But before she could finish her sentence, Xie Yanli spoke coolly,
“Are you all planning to stand here chatting the whole time? Not tired?”

When the Crown Prince of the Xie family spoke, who dared disobey?
Voices quickly rose from the crowd:
“We haven’t seen each other in so many years, we got a little too excited and forgot. Let’s hurry and sit down.”

Everyone instinctively surrounded Xie Yanli and invited him to sit at the head of the table. Jiang Xinhui originally wanted to sit beside him, but unexpectedly, Shen Huaichuan suddenly cut in, grabbed Song Qiao’s arm, and dragged her into the seat next to Xie Yanli.

The crowd was dumbfounded. Xie Yanli and Song Qiao had already broken up — and he was the one who’d been dumped. Shen Huaichuan arranging this way… surely the Crown Prince wouldn’t be pleased.

But to their surprise, Xie Yanli didn’t say a word — clearly, he tacitly accepted it.

Even though Xie Yanli had no objections, Song Qiao was unwilling to sit next to him. Just as she stood up, Shen Huaichuan firmly pressed her back down. Song Qiao knew Shen Huaichuan had drunk too much — if she insisted on moving, he’d stubbornly keep pestering her until she gave in. So she could only let it go.

A flash of coldness appeared in Jiang Xinhui’s eyes. She understood Xie Yanli’s personality well. He was excessively aloof and rarely attended gatherings. Forget class reunions — even other corporate tycoons struggled to get him to show up.

So why had he come today? She didn’t need to guess — it was because of Song Qiao.
Though Xie Yanli never said it aloud, she knew better than anyone that he had never let go of Song Qiao after all these years.

He had spent years abroad, only returning to China for his mother’s death anniversary and monthly memorial prayers. Otherwise, not even for New Year’s would he come back.

The Jiang and Xie families were old family friends — Jiang Xinhui knew everything about the Xies. She knew how much Xie Yanli hated returning to the country.

Yet as soon as he heard about Song Qiao’s engagement recently, he had rushed back from England and even stayed on to work at Xie Group.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xinhui shot a vicious glare at Song Qiao, then sat unwillingly in the seat opposite her.

Once everyone had settled, they began trying to engage Xie Yanli in conversation. After all, he was the Crown Prince of Beijing’s elite circle and heir to the Xie Group. Naturally, they all wanted to curry favor.

Everyone hoped that if they could forge some kind of connection with him professionally, it’d set them up for life. With a company like Xie Group — valued in the hundreds of billions — even crumbs falling through his fingers could keep them comfortable forever.

Especially since Xie Yanli had gone to study in the UK in his teens and had only recently returned to work, for second-tier rich kids like them, getting to see him was rare — they didn’t want to waste the opportunity.

But Xie Yanli remained aloof throughout their polite flattery. He neither rejected their toasts nor responded warmly — he simply took light sips to acknowledge them.

Perhaps because his aura was too cold and commanding — or because he barely spoke — the conversation starters got no traction. The whole dinner felt overly quiet and stifled.

Though Song Qiao wasn’t as intimidated by Xie Yanli as the others, her mind was still on the incident with Xu Qin earlier, so she didn’t join the conversation, appearing distant and detached.

Jiang Xinhui chatted idly with a few girls nearby, but her gaze constantly drifted to Song Qiao and Xie Yanli.

In the end, it was Shen Huaichuan who broke the stalemate. He staggered to his feet and called out loudly to the whole room:
“We finally managed to gather everyone — why’s the mood so dull? Come on, let’s play a game and liven things up!”

As soon as he spoke, someone chimed in:
“Huaichuan, you’re full of ideas. What should we play?”

Quickly, another person blurted out:
“What — Truth or Dare?”

Shen Huaichuan shook his head, squinting at the crowd. The corners of his lips lifted lazily as he said,
“That’s outdated — boring. Let’s play ‘I Have, You Haven’t’. Everyone takes turns saying something they’ve done that others haven’t. If no one else has done it, everyone who hasn’t drinks a shot of baijiu. If someone else has done it too, the speaker drinks two shots. How about it?”

The “fun crowd” immediately put on their boldest faces, all chiming in:
“No problem, bring it on!”

“I’ve got loads of things I’ve done that you all haven’t — I’ll spill some dirt and open your eyes today!”

“Exactly — how else can we deepen our friendships without games? Let’s play!”

Just as the chatter heated up, someone hesitantly asked,
“President Xie, would you like to join us?”

The crowd instantly fell silent, waiting for his answer.

Before Xie Yanli could speak, Shen Huaichuan knowingly waved them off:
“Eh, the Crown Prince isn’t interested in our little game. Let’s just let him sit quietly.”

“I’ll play,”
Xie Yanli spoke just as Shen Huaichuan’s words faded.

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