Chapter 22

After all the invitees had gathered outside the door, a well-dressed usher in a smart suit pulled open the doors to the large private room, and a line of waiters entered in formation.

They were dressed in uniform attire, wearing crisp white gloves and carrying shiny silver trays, delivering snacks and drinks to the area where the students were seated.

Few students had ever witnessed such a display, and many stood momentarily stunned in place.

After a few seconds, murmurs began to emerge from various corners—”I heard Shu Wei’s family was well-off, but seeing it today, the gap is really something else.”

“Of course, could an average family host a party here? This is the best private club in City C; membership requires a certain level of assets.”

“…”

The latter gestured with their hand, eliciting shock from those around them.

Moments later, someone envied and remarked in admiration, “If anyone could marry her, they’d skip twenty years of struggle.”

“Hey, forget about it, can’t you see she’s already taken…”

Upon hearing this, those huddled together nodded in agreement, all looking towards the same direction—The bar counter.

The arriving waiters split into three groups, one heading towards the high bar counter.

The leading male waiter in this group approached the edge of the stage where the bar counter stood, stopping in front of Shang Yan and Su Miao Miao.

Across a stretch of black marble countertop, the waiter bowed to the two before placing the tray of snacks and two glasses of fruit wine in front of them.

Su Miao Miao’s attention was immediately drawn to the colorful glass of wine.

The cup exhibited a gradient of orange hues, transitioning from light to dark, resembling watercolor strokes on rice paper, creating a layered and speckled beauty.

This was the first time Su Miao Miao had seen something like it.

Curious, she stared for a few seconds before reaching out her hand to touch the cool glass.

Just as her fingertips were about to touch the cup, a delicate hand gently brushed hers aside.

Simultaneously, another slender hand replaced hers and took the glass of wine away.

—

Shang Yan placed the glass back in front of the waiter.

“Kid, you’re still young to be drinking, aren’t you?”

Waiter: “Sir, our fruit wine has an alcohol content of less than 3%, essentially like juice.”

“No, thank you.”

…

Watching the beautiful glass slip away from her grasp, Su Miao Miao was left almost dumbstruck on her high stool.

A few seconds later, she blinked and regained her composure.

Su Miao Miao turned her head, her eyes pleading with Shang Yan—”I won’t drink it, I just want to look at it.”

“That’s also not allowed.”

“I’m the same age as you!”

Shang Yan paused, a smirk playing on the corner of his mouth as he turned back to look at her, his expression somewhere between a smile and not.

Beside them, Wu Hongbo, unable to bear the situation, gently reminded, “Little Su, your master is actually a year older than you.”

Su Miao Miao: “… ” Stunned.

Shang Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The girl’s demeanor, to him, seemed perfectly poised, each expression itching at his heart like a gentle scratch of a cat’s paw.

He lowered his gaze, no longer looking at the girl.

—

“Any other objections?”

Su Miao Miao hesitated, then asked, “Then what should I drink?”

The waiter glanced at Shang Yan, then suggested, “We have several kinds of fruit juices…”

Su Miao Miao’s eyes lit up as she pointed to the tray in the waiter’s hand, “Can they make something like that too?”

The waiter nodded, and the girl’s dark pupils shimmered with anticipation.

She turned her head expectantly towards Shang Yan.

Shang Yan glanced at her, then suddenly squinted his eyes.

After a brief pause,He turned slightly and said calmly, “Give her a glass of milk.”

Waiter: “……?”

Shang Yan: “Healthier than fruit juice, and helps with growth.”

Su Miao Miao: “……….”

Feeling defeated.

Under the accusatory gaze of the girl, the glass in front of her was eventually replaced with fruit juice, adjusted to match the color of the fruit wine, immediately dispelling her previous frustration.

However, after setting down the glass this time, the waiter did not hurry to leave but instead respectfully addressed Shang Yan.

“Sir, there’s someone outside looking for you.”

“?”

“He asked me to give this to you.”

The waiter handed a business card to the table.Su Miao Miao also curiously glanced over.

On the black marble countertop, the white business card stood out prominently.

The design of the card was simple, with faint gold patterns at the corners, and a unique black embossed logo in the center.

—

The person who had brought clothes for her in the training room earlier also carried a gift bag with the same logo.

Shang Yan raised an eyebrow.

He picked up the card, tapped his foot on the ground, then got off the high stool, intending to leave.

But just before turning around, Shang Yan thought of something and glanced back, reaching out to tap the table in front of Su Miao Miao.

“At this spot, replace all the fruit wine with fruit juice.”

The waiter nodded.

“Understood.”

Shang Yan returned his gaze, “Kid, stay here and behave, don’t wander off.”

“……”

Su Miao Miao didn’t say anything.

She just slowly lowered her head, looking at the ground.

Shang Yan followed her gaze—The girl’s feet in small white shoes swung in mid-air.

—

They were quite a distance from the ground.

Shang Yan chuckled softly.

“Not bad.”

“……”

Su Miao Miao slightly tensed her face, lifting her head to stare at him expressionlessly.

In her dark pupils, like reflections of summer water, clear and beautiful.

Shang Yan’s gaze flickered slightly.

“I’ll be back soon.”

The girl hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“…”

Shang Yan turned away, his eyes unsettled. After a pause, he walked out.

Su Miao Miao watched as the man’s figure disappeared beyond the door.

After a few seconds, she lowered her eyes and turned back to the bar.

She took a sip of the juice in front of her.

It was sweet and sour, a little cool. As it flowed down her tongue, the subtle taste of the juice lingered.

As Su Miao Miao was lost in thought, she suddenly felt a slightly unfamiliar presence beside her.

Turning her head, Su Miao Miao looked over—Shu Wei stood by the bar, holding the high stool vacated by Shang Yan, smiling gently at her.

“Hello, Su Miao Miao.”

Su Miao Miao hesitated, then slowly nodded.”Uh… hello.”

Shu Wei casually glanced towards the door of the private room. “Shang Yan has left, huh?”

“Um…”

“Do you know?”

Shu Wei didn’t mind the girl’s reserved nature and took the initiative to sit on Shang Yan’s high stool, leaning her cheek on her hand, her lips painted red, slightly curled.

“I’m very curious about you.”

Su Miao Miao paused.

Then, as if she hadn’t heard anything, she took a big gulp of juice, her cheeks puffing up slightly.—Naturally, she couldn’t continue the conversation.

A momentary wave of displeasure passed through Shu Wei’s eyes.

But soon, her gaze shifted, turning that hint of displeasure into a smile.

“What I’m most curious about is why you’ve always hidden your face from everyone.”

Su Miao Miao took another small sip of juice, innocently meeting Shu Wei’s gaze.

The prolonged eye contact caused Shu Wei’s smile to falter, and the dark, negative emotions lurking beneath her eyes were almost exposed. Her lack of confidence, worry, jealousy… seemed transparent in the girl’s clear and pure eyes.

Finally swallowing the last sip of juice, Su Miao Miao pursed her lips and looked at Shu Wei.

“Because… of you all.”

Caught up in her own regretful thoughts, Shu Wei took a few seconds to come back to reality after hearing the voice.

Forgetting to conceal her emotions, she subconsciously furrowed her brows.

“What?”

But the girl’s gaze towards her remained as innocent as before, untainted, allowing Shu Wei to see her reflection clearly in those eyes.

But the words that came out left Shu Wei cold—”I don’t like… being disliked, and I don’t like pretending to like those I dislike.”

The girl turned away, no longer looking at Shu Wei, and absentmindedly rubbed the cool glass rim with her fingertips.

“Pretending not to dislike someone… and talking to them. Isn’t it tiring?”

Shu Wei’s expression changed several times, finally settling on an awkward note.

She forced a smile, “Miao Miao, have you misunderstood something? I never said I dislike you—”

“But I’m tired.”

The girl’s voice was extremely soft, with a hint of nasal tone, eerily calm, decisively cutting off Shu Wei’s words.

Then Su Miao Miao slowly raised her head, looking at Shuwei: “So, can I stop talking to you?”

“…!”

Shu Wei’s smile finally faltered.

She stared at Su Miao Miao with a somewhat grim expression.

Hesitating under Shu Wei’s gaze, Su Miao Miao reached out and slowly moved her juice, which was closest to Shu Wei, to the side.

After a moment’s thought, still feeling uneasy, Su Miao Miao added another hand to firmly grip the glass.

—

When she used to watch TV with the headmistress, she often saw people get splashed.

The color of this juice looked really beautiful in the glass, but if it got splashed on her hair…

Hmm…

That would be awful.

Thinking this, the girl held the glass even tighter.

Fortunately, after glaring at her for a few seconds, Shu Wei didn’t seem to have any intention of splashing her with the juice.

It wasn’t until a while later that Shu Wei, still staring at Su Miao Miao her painted lips curling into a mocking smile.

Speaking again, she lowered her voice and finally stopped concealing her hostility—”Relying on your pretty face to be liked, and having Shang Yan protect you, do you think you can compete with me so easily? In this past year, do you think you’re the first one to covet him?”

“…”

Su Miao Miao was stunned by Shu Wei’s words.

Before she could grasp the true meaning behind the phrase “competing for Shang Yan,” she heard Shuwei’s voice grow colder—”In the end, you only have a pretty face… I’ve heard you’re also sick, right?”

The word “sick” was emphasized heavily.

A full dose of the most immature and thoughtless malice from a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl.

Su Miao Miao’s expression finally showed a noticeable change. Her gaze darkened, falling to the slender white fingertips on her knees under the bar, unconsciously clenching.

Seeing the effect of her words, Shu Wei smiled with satisfaction. “Why such a reaction? Now I’m really curious, what illness were you born with?”

Su Miao Miao pursed her lips lightly. “…It has nothing to do with you.”

Shu Wei’s eyes turned cold at the retort.

After a moment, she crossed her arms, smiling disdainfully. “You don’t want to tell me? It doesn’t matter. Anything I want to find out, I can easily discover.”

“…”

Su Miao Miao lifted her face, her dark pupils showing a hint of chill for the first time.

Her lips parted, her face still innocent and harmless, but her voice was light and cold, each word biting with clarity.

“You can’t.”

“…”

Shu Wei was momentarily stunned.

After a few seconds, she regained her composure, her face changing color with embarrassment.

—

In that moment, was she really intimidated by such a young girl?

Shu Wei couldn’t sit still any longer, jumping off the high stool. “Look around you. Do you know how much the membership fee for this club is? It’s a sky-high amount that your kind of family could never imagine.”

She chuckled derisively. “I can’t? Why don’t we see if I can or can’t! I’m really curious. Once I find out about your illness, will Shang Yan still protect you?”

With that, Shu Wei turned and walked away.

“…”

Su Miao Miao remained silent, her eyes lowered.

To her left, Wu Hongbo had gone to the restroom and wasn’t around.

However, across an empty high stool, Luan Wenze sat behind the bar, looking hesitant.

After about half a minute, Luan Wenze finally gathered the courage to raise his head and look at the girl.

“Little Su.”

“…”

Su Miao Miao lifted her face to look at him.

Luan Wenze rehearsed his prepared lines a few more times before cautiously speaking, “Are you sick?”

“…”

Su Miao Miao nodded silently.

Seeing that the girl didn’t speak, Luan Wenze understood that she didn’t want to discuss the illness.

He smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry. Whatever the illness is, since the school admitted you, there won’t be any problems.”

Su Miao Miao nodded lightly. “…Thank you.”

“And Shang Yan isn’t the kind of person Shu Wei describes. He won’t treat you differently because of your illness.”

“…”

“But, Shu Wei’s family is indeed quite influential. You should be careful.”

Su Miao Miao was silent for two seconds, then lifted her head, her gaze clear, clean, and serious.

“My family is also very wealthy.”

Luan Wenze was taken aback, chuckling. “Uh, noted.”

Seeing that he didn’t believe her, Su Miao Miao hesitated.

Finally, she turned away in a sullen manner.

—

Exiting the private room, Shang Yan scanned the area and fixed his gaze on a figure by the window in the corridor.

Raising an eyebrow, he walked over.

“What are you doing here?”

The person by the window turned around, a nonchalant smile on their face.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? I’m just a dropout hanging out in a place like this, but you’re the top scholar-to-be. What are you doing here?”

Shang Yan chuckled lightly.

“There’s a birthday party.”

“Who’s the birthday person? They have quite the face to invite even our Young Master Shang… is it a significant other?”

Shang Yan jokingly pretended to kick him.

The man smiled and dodged, “Alright. I know that Master Shang focuses on self-cultivation and is dedicated to learning.”

Shang Yan retracted his long legs, leaning lazily against the wall, looking at him with a smirk, not fully smiling.

“Get to the point, less talk,” he said.

Standing by the window, he raised an eyebrow, “Don’t admit that she’s your sweetheart, really? Why are you in such a hurry to go back? Before coming to C City, weren’t you most annoyed by these kinds of occasions?”

Shang Yan glanced at him. “Am I leaving?”

“Alright, I shouldn’t ask—” the man chuckled and stretched his arm, “Actually, it’s nothing major. It just happened that your sister was next to me when you called me that day.”

Shang Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, “What did you tell her?”

“On my honor, I didn’t say anything.”

Shang Yan clearly didn’t believe him.

The man honestly revealed the mystery, “Your sister directly asked me to put it on speakerphone at that time.”

Shang Yan: “…”

The air stood still for a moment.

“Buo Yi.”

Shang Yan threatened in a deep voice.

Buo Yi innocently shrugged, “You know, I have no resistance in front of your sister.”

Shang Yan: “.”

Buo Yi: “But your sister came to C City for business, she had no time and left on the same day.”

“So?”

“So, on behalf of Miss Shang Xian, I ask you—what is the relationship between you and the little girl you personally measured the length of?” Buo Yi smiled and glanced at the door of the compartment where Shang Yan came from, “Is she the protagonist of this party?”

Shang Yan’s lips curled slightly, scornful yet impatient.

“No.”

“Alright.”

Seeing that Shang Yan didn’t want to discuss further, Buo Yi didn’t insist. He shrugged and turned around.

“Then I’ll go back to report.”

Buo Yi took a few steps, then suddenly heard Shang Yan calling him back—

“A few years ago, did you take in two young disciples?”

Buo Yi paused, “Yes,” he turned back puzzled, “What’s the matter?”

“Younger than you?”

“Yes…?” Buo Yi couldn’t understand the direction of the conversation, feeling a bit uncertain.

Shang Yan was silent for two seconds, “Are they pretty and cute?”

Buo Yi: “…”

Buo Yi: “???”

Shang Yan looked out the window, his eyes unfocused. On the spotless glass, the figure of the girl sitting on a high stool seemed to slowly emerge. Those dark, moist eyes looking at him. Whether hopeful, lost, bewildered, or aggrieved…

Shang Yan blinked, refocusing his gaze. “When you are with your young disciple, is there ever a moment…”

Buo Yi was puzzled, “What moment?”

“When she looks at you, have you ever felt…” Shang Yan squinted slightly, his voice husky and somewhat low, “You really want to make her cry, to see her eyes turn red, preferably crying so hard that she can only grab your clothes and softly call you ‘Master’… but when she really looks like she’s about to cry— you can’t bear it?”

Buo Yi: “???”

After a few seconds, Buo Yi exploded— “Damn it! Shang Yan! Those are two male disciples of mine… you’re a pervert!”