"…Could someone please come save me…?"
No one answered the message she'd sent to the group. Ying Jiayi took a deep breath, put down her phone, and numbly continued to endure Yu Zhou's warm, gentle attentions.
"Jiayi, are you hungry? Shall I get you a slice of cake from that table?" Yu Zhou asked with a smile, casually switching to the familiar form of her name.
"Sure. Thank you. Off you go, then," Ying Jiayi replied coolly. She watched him glide over to the waiter, ask about the different cakes, accept a porcelain plate, and select his favourites with care—all while easily striking up conversations with several young ladies choosing cakes nearby.
Supposedly Ying Jiayi was meant to look after Yu Zhou because this was his first banquet of this kind. They had worried that he'd feel uncomfortable surrounded by strangers.
But what part of this situation suggested he needed her to look after him?
She almost admired people like him. With skin that thick, he could probably succeed at anything he tried. So why insist on fastening himself to her?
Did she look like such a gullible little fool? Hadn't she made her reluctance obvious enough?
Help. How could anyone in this world be so shameless?
Seizing the moment, she grabbed the two spectators, one with each hand, and pulled them close, gritting her teeth.
"He's practically glued himself to me. Are you two just going to stand there and watch?"
Gu Yang asked quietly, "Aren't you hopelessly in love with him?"
"Get lost. You believe what Yu Bai says?" Ying Jiayi took a deep breath to steady herself. She wasn't deliberately trying to be rude; she had been raised better than that.
But every time she looked at Yu Zhou, it was as if the words "kept man" were written on one cheek, "fortune hunter" on the other, and "return to the ancestral surname in the third generation" across his forehead. Holding a normal conversation with him was impossible.
"I'm going outside for some air. One of you figure out how to get rid of him for me."
"Naturally, our Brother Gu is the man for the job," Yu Bai recommended enthusiastically. "Fair skin, gorgeous face, excellent family background—he's got everything a rival could want."
Ying Jiayi found the argument convincing. She patted Gu Yang's shoulder and, ignoring his complete lack of enthusiasm, entrusted the important task to him.
After reluctantly saying goodbye to the young ladies he'd been chatting with, Yu Zhou hurried back carrying a plate of little cakes.
He hadn't forgotten his real purpose tonight. He couldn't afford to lose sight of his priorities.
But when he turned, he saw Ying Jiayi standing very close to two boys, their heads bent together as they whispered.
His formerly smug expression fell at once.
Before he could return, however, Ying Jiayi walked straight out of the hall.
"Jiayi just stepped outside. You can keep the cakes for yourself." As Ying Jiayi's devoted best friend, Yu Bai was naturally on her side. Now that he knew about Yu Zhou, he couldn't stand the sight of him.
"Are you Jiayi's classmates?" Yu Zhou composed himself and restored a faint smile. "You seem close. What were you whispering about just now?"
"We're all right. Just ordinary friends." Gu Yang smiled back and answered the second question while he was at it. "Nothing much. She asked me to take good care of you."
Yu Zhou watched his transparently suggestive performance and heard the easy intimacy in his tone, as though he were part of her family already. A sour feeling rose in him. The calculated, deceptively sweet implication was so strong it set his teeth on edge. "Well, thank you very much."
Gu Yang casually brushed the long strands of hair back from his cheek. "It's only what I should do. No need to thank me."
Yu Zhou stared at his wrist. The pigeon-blood-red ruby bracelet, set among tiny diamonds, flashed into view and seemed to sting his eyes.
He knew Ying Jiayi attended an extremely expensive private high school. Naturally, her classmates were bound to be wealthy or well connected.
Though Uncle Liu had already reached an understanding with him in private about marrying off his only daughter to Yu Zhou, the boy suddenly felt a profound sense of threat.
After all, unions between powerful families were far more common in high society.
…And besides, this boy had exactly the sort of face women adored.
Yu Zhou was consumed with jealousy, but he forced himself to remain friendly and kept Gu Yang talking, probing discreetly for information about his background.
"Little Zhou, what are you doing standing here?" A woman in a strapless white evening gown approached. "I just saw Miss Ying outside. Why aren't you…?"
The woman broke off when Yu Zhou frowned at her in warning.
"This is my mother. She's not used to places like this, so she worries about me a little." After a brief introduction, Yu Zhou led his mother away.
Gu Yang said nothing. His eyes merely flicked toward the jade pendant hanging from the woman's neck.
That was the second one he'd seen tonight.
Even the quality and translucency of the jade seemed remarkably similar.
Come to think of it, Yu Zhou's mother had a part in the original novel too, didn't she? Was her name Zhou Qinqin?
"Mom!" Once they were away from Gu Yang, Yu Zhou's voice dropped sharply. "Didn't I tell you not to bring this up in public?"
"Bring what up? I just wanted to ask why you weren't with Miss Ying," the woman mumbled.
"The boy standing beside me was one of Ying Jiayi's classmates. What would he think if he heard you say that? He'd definitely think I was after something. I've told you before, rich people can be terribly suspicious."
Yu Zhou was seething, but at the sight of his mother's embarrassed expression, he softened his tone. "I was with Ying Jiayi just now, but she left after we'd barely spoken. I can't follow her everywhere she goes, can I? I'd look desperate."
"That's true," Zhou Qinqin agreed at once, then couldn't help complaining. "That girl's terribly wilful. She just does as she pleases. Her family's spoiled her rotten."
"And did you see how long her manicured nails are? How's she supposed to do housework with those…?"
"Mom, you saw the Ying family's house when we visited. They have several maids. Why are you worrying about that?" Yu Zhou laughed.
"They can't leave absolutely everything to the maids. What, when you're married, are you supposed to wait on her hand and foot? What kind of marriage is that?" Zhou Qinqin muttered.
She was satisfied with the proposed match, of course. But the Ying girl didn't look like someone who would know how to be considerate, and she feared her precious son would be made to suffer.
"Ying Jiayi's an only child. Of course she's got a bit of a temper. Once we're married, I'll have her change her ways gradually," Yu Zhou said gently. "I'll make sure she treats you with the respect you deserve, too."
Only then did Zhou Qinqin smile in relief.
Her husband had died young. With a child in tow, the men she was introduced to afterward were mostly unimpressive, and she found none of them worthy of her. She had put off remarriage year after year, until she ran into Liu Chaoyin earlier that year.
She had never imagined that the boy who'd pursued her in high school, who had been so lacking in both looks and family background, would transform into the head of a publicly listed conglomerate.
And it seemed the awkward schoolboy of those years still harboured feelings for her that he couldn't quite explain.
She had always been someone who knew how to seize an opportunity to climb higher.
Clearly, her son took after her.
"Chaoyin, are you listening to me?" Mrs Ying asked softly, drawing her husband back from his obvious distraction.
"Sorry, I wasn't listening just then. I've been rather tired lately, perhaps because of work." Liu Chaoyin didn't try to deny it. He rested his hand over hers with an apologetic smile. "What did you want to tell me?"
Mrs Ying parted her lips. She had meant to discuss their daughter with him, but in the end she couldn't bring herself to say it. "Nothing important. If you're tired, try to get some rest when we go home tonight."
Liu Chaoyin murmured agreement, but his gaze wandered again, settling on the slender figure in the white evening dress. Unconsciously, his grip on his wife's hand tightened.
Ying Jiayi, returning from outside, witnessed this scene and couldn't help breathing a little easier. Some of her suspicions began to dissipate.
[Impressive.] Gu Yang's thoughts sounded at precisely the right moment. [That freeloader really did manage to marry into the family in the end.]
[What on earth did Ying Jiayi see in him? Was she put under some kind of spell? Or was it simply her parents arranging her marriage? Is she really that old-fashioned?]
Ying Jiayi's face stiffened.
What did he mean, that freeloader had married into the family? Surely he wasn't talking about Yu Zhou?
That couldn't be right. Even setting aside the terrible first impression Gu Yang's rambling had already given her, she didn't particularly like Yu Zhou himself.
[…So she was forced into it? Where does a high-school boy even learn tricks like that? That's filthy.]
[He—]
His thoughts stopped abruptly because someone interrupted him.
What did he do to me? Aaaaaah—!
Inside, Ying Jiayi screamed like a shrieking marmot. She wanted to take off her shoe and throw it at the idiot who had interrupted at the worst possible moment.
Unfortunately, the interrupter wasn't someone insignificant.
It was Lu Zheng, the eldest young master of the Lu family and host of the banquet.
Lu Zheng was the oldest son of the family, roughly twelve years older than the students. After studying abroad, he had formally joined the family business and, barring unforeseen circumstances, would inherit the entire Lu empire.
Standing onstage, he wore an apologetic expression that never slipped into servility. He remained every inch the polished gentleman.
He explained that the guest of honour—the younger of his two brothers—was unable to attend because of a health issue. He apologised and expressed the hope that everyone would nevertheless enjoy a wonderful evening.
On the surface, the explanation sounded perfectly reasonable. The official story was that the Lu family's second young master had been too frail to appear in public all these years.
"He can't come?" Yu Bai looked astonished. "You've got to be kidding. At an event this important, I'd crawl here if I had to!"
"He really doesn't know what's good for him." A flippant voice came from behind. An arm promptly hooked around Yu Bai's. "The Lu family finally agrees to acknowledge him, and he can't even seize the chance. It's not like they'll hold another welcome banquet. Some bastard raised outside the family really doesn't know his place."
"Don't you agree, Little Bai?"
The boy who'd approached wore the same Observance High School uniform as the others. His overlong fringe had been swept back into a little topknot, giving him the appearance of a perfectly well-behaved student.
Yet Yu Bai, who could normally talk anyone's ear off, only managed an awkward smile and said nothing.
Because this boy was a born troublemaker, the kind who delighted in stirring up chaos. Anyone who got involved with him was doomed. Better to keep quiet.
Ying Jiayi was already in a foul mood and shot the newcomer a cold glare.
"Well, well, Miss Ying." The boy wiggled his fingers in a cheerful greeting. "Don't look so unhappy. Isn't this a good thing?"
Ying Jiayi understood that he meant advance warning gave her time to make plans, but she couldn't resist snapping back. "Ye Chen, what business is this of yours? I don't need you telling me what to do."
She was so irritated that even an innocent dog wandering past was liable to get kicked.
Since the guest of honour clearly wouldn't be making an appearance, the people at the banquet simply carried on chatting where they stood.
The younger guests gradually gathered in one place. Gu Yang had been looking at these same faces all day and was thoroughly sick of them. He turned his head away. "It's stuffy."
The other students were speechless. First he'd complained of being cold, and now it was stuffy? Didn't he just mean they were too noisy?
The class monitor was more understanding. "If it's stuffy, go outside for some air. There's nothing much happening here now."
He completely ignored the murderous looks from the surrounding students. They'd shamelessly come over despite Gu Yang's cold shoulder because they wanted more gossip. How could he send the source away like that?
Ying Jiayi immediately grew anxious and looked at the monitor, barely containing her temper.
"I'm not deliberately preventing you from finding out," the monitor said with impeccable logic. "Here's the situation. We've been able to hear Ah Yang's thoughts since this afternoon."
"Whether it's you or Shen Mingjun, Ah Yang knows an extraordinary amount about your lives. There's a very real possibility that it isn't limited to you two, but includes the rest of us." He paused and watched Gu Yang's slowly receding figure with a complicated expression. "But did you notice? He even knows who you'll end up with in the future."
"Holy shit. That's practically seeing the future." Yu Bai finally understood. Earlier revelations might have been family secrets passed to Gu Yang by some older relative. But this was something else entirely.
Ying Jiayi fell silent, forcing herself to calm down. "You're right."
"So instead of rushing to squeeze every scrap of information out of him…"
"We should verify whether the information is accurate first." Ying Jiayi smoothed her hair. "We need something that'll happen soon."
Meanwhile, Gu Yang and Lu Zheng passed each other. Neither spoke; they simply exchanged nods in greeting and moved on. At that very moment, Gu Yang's thoughts sounded again.
"Come to think of it, the young master the Lu family just brought back really was unable to attend because he was unwell. But the reason was a severe pollen allergy. The corridors outside the hotel are filled with flowers, and he'd barely arrived when he went into anaphylactic shock and had to be rushed to hospital."
The students gathered together exchanged uneasy looks. Ying Jiayi immediately said, "I'll go ask my parents."
Few things in the world were more wicked than telling only half a juicy story. Gu Yang had no idea what a terrible crime he'd committed as he walked out carrying his cup of tea.
But the moment he rounded the corner, the cup dropped from his hand with a thud.
Another hand caught the ceramic cup just in time, saving it from shattering.
Gu Yang stared down the far end of the corridor. Shen Mingjun's father had his arms around a woman and was kissing her passionately. Her carefully arranged hair had come loose, and around her neck Gu Yang could see a jade necklace.
It was Zhou Qinqin.
His wife's younger sister.
