Xue Miao's birthday arrived soon.

The venue was a rather elegant restaurant. The private room was discreetly set up with only two tables, and the invited guests were all young friends with whom he was close. Without elders present, there was much less restraint.

When Zhuang Yihan and Chen Shu arrived at the private room's entrance, they saw that most of the people had already arrived. A handsome young man with elegant features was weaving through the crowd with a wine glass, smiling faintly as he greeted everyone and showed them to their seats. It was none other than the host of today's birthday banquet, Xue Miao.

"Bro!"

Zhuang Yifan was also attending the banquet today. He was the first to see his older brother, and he raised a hand in greeting from his seat with a devil-may-care attitude. When his gaze fell on Chen Shu beside him, a hint of surprise appeared. He probably hadn't expected this male model to actually win over Zhuang Yihan and even be brought to an occasion like this. He looked like an ordinary university student; truly, one couldn't judge a book by its cover.

'Hmm...'

Zhuang Yifan was a bit puzzled. 'Could the power of beauty really be that great?'

"My younger brother. Don't mind him."

Zhuang Yihan had always disliked Zhuang Yifan's undisciplined demeanor. He tilted his head slightly, signaling for the newcomer Chen Shu to follow him closely, and led him towards Xue Miao. At this moment, Xue Miao had also spotted them and immediately strode over to greet them. His opening words were teasing, clearly indicating his good relationship with Zhuang Yihan.

"Yo, the busy President Zhuang actually came today. I'm truly flattered. Really, it's just a small birthday party. It wouldn't have mattered if you didn't come, as long as the gift arrived."

Hearing Xue Miao's banter, a rare trace of a smile appeared in Zhuang Yihan's eyes. "Then you might be disappointed. Not only did I not bring a gift today, but I also brought an extra mouth to feed. In any case, it's a rare treat from the great Young Master Xue, so it would be a waste not to eat."

After speaking, Zhuang Yihan turned slightly to reveal Chen Shu behind him, subtly pushing him forward, the intimacy of the gesture evident. "This is Chen Shu. Last time his father was hospitalized, you were the one who helped arrange the surgery. He heard it was your birthday today and wanted to come over and thank you."

Chen Shu took the cue and nodded at Xue Miao, his gaze clear and steady, showing no signs of stage fright. "Young Master Xue, thank you for your trouble last time. Happy birthday. I hope you don't mind my uninvited presence today."

Xue Miao was momentarily stunned when he saw Chen Shu, but he quickly recovered and praised him with a smile, "Seeing is better than hearing about you. You're just as handsome as Fang Yiting said. We're all friends from now on, no need to be so polite. Just call me Xue Miao. Have a couple more drinks with me later, and I definitely won't blame you."

Zhuang Yihan hadn't hidden the fact that he was with Chen Shu. Anyone in their circle could find out with a little inquiry that he had a new young lover by his side, one he doted on especially. Otherwise, who would bring a young lover to a gathering of friends like this?

The people secretly watching the drama had originally been speculating whether Zhuang Yihan had been hurt too deeply by Jiang Xi and decided to just give up on himself, finding some seductive floozy to heal his wounds. After all, unlike those second-generation rich kids who just idled their lives away, Zhuang Yihan had inherited the family business at a young age and had always conducted himself with integrity. He was a famed favored son of heaven. For others, finding a young lover was commonplace, but for him, it was seen as giving in to depravity.

But seeing him today, as people mulled it over, they felt that wasn't quite the case.

For no other reason than the man beside Zhuang Yihan was simply too eye-catching. Despite the dazzling crystal lights in the private room and the many glamorous guests, he just stood there quietly, giving off the feeling of a pearl that had fallen into a pile of gravel. His appearance was outstanding, his physique was outstanding, and what was even more special was the enigmatic, mysterious aura about him that made people unable to resist looking at him again and again. The gazes of more than half the people in the room were fixed on him.

If one didn't know the inside story, who would have thought he was Zhuang Yihan's young lover? He was in no way inferior to a noble young master like Xue Miao, who was cultivated by a distinguished family background.

The guests thought to themselves that Zhuang Yihan wasn't giving up on himself at all; he had clearly polished his eyes. After all, Jiang Xi was a difficult person to evaluate. His family background and status were there, so you couldn't, in good conscience, say he was bad. But if you were to say he was good, there were just too many incidents that were difficult to praise.

However, the only thing that was certain was that no fool would be as devoted to him as Zhuang Yihan had been, being manipulated so many times without turning hostile.

Many people at the table were acquainted with Zhuang Yihan. After greeting Xue Miao, he led Chen Shu to a seat at one of the tables. To his left were Zhuang Yifan and Fang Yiting, and to his right was Chen Shu. Next to Chen Shu sat a wealthy young master with a rather arrogant air. He looked to be in his early twenties, with red lips and white teeth, but for some reason, he kept his head down, appearing gloomy and not speaking to anyone.

Chen Shu glanced at this person discreetly, feeling that he looked somewhat familiar. After thinking back for a moment, he realized that the person seemed to be Duan Chengcai's "Young Master Chen," whom he had encountered at Xiangming Pavilion last time.

For some reason, however, the two who were once inseparable were now alone.

"Chuyao, it's Xue Miao's birthday today, a rare occasion. Why are you pulling such a long face? Anyone who didn't know better would think someone owes you a billion or so."

Zhuang Yihan wasn't familiar with Chen Chuyao, so he just gave a faint nod without saying much. Zhuang Yifan, on the other hand, had a good relationship with him and walked over with a grin to drape an arm around Chen Chuyao's shoulder and tease him.

Hearing Zhuang Yifan's banter, Chen Chuyao's expression didn't improve. Instead, he flicked his gaze over and stared gloomily at Chen Shu, asking rather abruptly, "Is this your brother's friend? Why don't you make an introduction?"

Chen Shu paused slightly, not knowing why the other person was so concerned with him.

In this life, Zhuang Yifan held no malice towards Chen Shu. On the contrary, he was extremely grateful to him for mesmerizing his elder brother, which conveniently allowed him to get rid of that crooked tree, Jiang Xi. Hearing the question, he stretched out a long arm and affectionately slung it around Chen Shu's shoulder. Anyone who didn't know would have thought the two of them were the best of friends:

"His name is Chen Shu, still in university. He's my brother's man, so don't get any funny ideas."

Chen Chuyao twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a perfunctory smile. "What a coincidence. We share the same surname."

After saying that, he averted his gaze and didn't speak for the rest of the time, as if he had only asked on a whim.

Zhuang Yihan sensed the undercurrents here and frowned imperceptibly. He said to his younger brother, "It's Xue Miao's birthday today. Go and toast him a few drinks."

There was a clear qualitative difference between Zhuang Yihan's circle of friends and Zhuang Yifan's. The former consisted more of capable people with good character like Xue Miao, while the latter was purely a cluster of disreputable friends.

Although Zhuang Yihan and Chen Chuyao didn't have deep interactions, they had met a few times. He could only say that, like his own younger brother, Chen Chuyao was the type of rich kid who was callous by nature and enjoyed hedonistic pleasures. Instinctively, he was reluctant to let Zhuang Yifan interact with him—

Although both were pieces of shit, if they kept their distance, at least they wouldn't get stained by each other's stench.

Zhuang Yifan obviously understood his older brother's meaning. He let out a reluctant "oh" and had no choice but to go find Xue Miao and the others.

Just then, two elders who were helping manage the event appeared at the door. They had an elegant demeanor and were probably Xue Miao's parents. They had no intention of participating in the youngsters' banquet and were just dropping by to make an appearance. But because their two families were old friends, Zhuang Yihan had to go over and greet them.

"There are elders over there. I'm going to say hello and I'll be right back. If you're hungry, go to the buffet area and get some snacks. If you can't find the way, ask Fang Yiting to take you. If someone you don't know comes up to talk to you, it's fine to ignore them."

Zhuang Yihan pulled out his chair and stood up, pressing Chen Shu's shoulder. He thought that this was, after all, Chen Shu's first time at such an event and he didn't understand the treachery of the human heart, so he lowered his voice and added a few more words of advice.

Chen Shu nodded, thinking to himself how Zhuang Yihan had become so naggy in this life. "Go on, I'll wait for you. If you don't go now, they'll leave."

Zhuang Yihan couldn't help but choke. This ungrateful one. If he weren't afraid that he was naive and would be deceived, would he need to be so long-winded? He shot Chen Shu an annoyed look. "Don't wander off. I'll be back soon."

The social circles of adults were relatively more complex. Although most of the people Xue Miao invited for his birthday today were close friends, there were also some he had to invite out of courtesy. It was a mixed crowd, and who knew what intentions they were hiding.

It turned out that Zhuang Yihan's worries were not unfounded. No sooner had he left than a few people with ill intentions approached. Some of them, seeing Chen Shu's stunning looks, wanted to hit on him privately, while others were purely there for the drama, deliberately asking about his relationship with Zhuang Yihan.

Zhuang Yifan returned after making his toasts and saw the situation, forcing a smile. 'There are always annoying flies everywhere,' he thought. He downed a glass of wine with a blank expression, about to step forward to help Chen Shu out. After all, this was his brother's person, and it wasn't up to these nobodies to bully him. However, before he could make a move, he saw Chen Shu had already stood up with his wine glass, answering each person one by one, deflecting their questions neither too forcefully nor too lightly. As for those who wanted to secretly hit on him, he maintained his distance with a faint smile, skillfully evading them. His handling of the situation was even more masterful than his brother's in the business world; he didn't need any help at all.

Seeing this, Zhuang Yifan paused and sat back down with mixed feelings.

'Damn it,' he thought, 'I just wanted to find someone to distract my brother so he wouldn't be stuck on Jiang Xi all day long. I didn't want to find someone with even better skills to wrap my brother around their finger.'

This Chen Shu was hard to read. One always felt he was destined for greater things.

Chen Shu didn't notice Zhuang Yifan's covert assessment, and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared. After shooing away those annoying flies, he turned and returned to his seat. Unexpectedly, Chen Chuyao, who was beside him, suddenly turned his head to look at him.

It was difficult to describe those eyes. They were pitch-black and bottomless, like a sky thick with dark clouds. Even his voice was cold and gloomy:

"You know Duan Chengcai, don't you?"

Chen Shu's smile didn't falter. "Why don't Young Master Chen first tell me what business you have with him, and then I'll decide whether I know him or not."

Chen Chuyao's lips curled into a cold smile. "You're quite clever. No wonder you can be friends with him."

"Give Duan Chengcai a message. Tell him to stop playing dead and not replying. If he doesn't come find me within a week, I'll let him know what it feels like to have a life on his hands."

After tossing out this rather chilling statement, he didn't even stay for the banquet. He stood up and left directly through the back door. The lively hustle and bustle around him seemed to have nothing to do with him, separated by an invisible barrier that grew ever wider.

Chen Shu frowned slightly upon hearing this. 'Did Duan Chengcai do something recently?' he wondered. However, before he could sort out his thoughts, he felt the atmosphere around him suddenly quiet down for a moment. Many people turned to look at the main entrance, their expressions filled with unconcealed surprise, as if an unexpected guest had arrived.

Chen Shu seemed to sense something. Under the rich, beautiful lights, he looked up and saw that a tall, upright man had appeared at the entrance. Although he couldn't see the man's face clearly, his heart skipped a beat for some reason, and he guessed the newcomer's identity.

Jiang Xi...