If Meng City ever made it onto the national trending searches, it was most likely due to its traffic jams.

Although Meng City had built numerous overpasses and expressways in recent years, as an old-school automobile hub, its excessive vehicle ownership rate still managed to jam the entire city to a standstill during the morning and evening rush hours.

Zhang Yan had always known how atrocious Meng City’s traffic could be, so he made sure to head out with plenty of time to spare for tonight’s banquet. Even so, by the time they arrived at the Shangri-La Hotel, they had less than ten minutes left.

“I’ll go to the powder room to change into my gown and touch up my makeup first. See you at the entrance in a bit,” Xia Xiqing said.

“Sure, I need to use the restroom anyway.”

After holding it in for the entire drive, combined with his slight nervousness about tonight’s banquet, Zhang Yan felt a rather strong urge to pee.

“AH…”

He let out a contented shiver. After washing his hands and stepping out of the restroom, Zhang Yan realized a small problem—it was his first time at this hotel, and he had no idea where the Grand Ballroom was.

It should be on this floor, though. Following the crowd was a foolproof strategy. Thus, he found himself walking into what appeared to be a rather spacious hall.

*Thank You to All Family and Friends for Attending the Engagement Banquet of Liu Shi & Cheng Lu*

Staring at those large characters on the display, Zhang Yan fell into a momentary daze.

Although he had known for a while that Cheng Lu had immediately found a sucker to take over her baggage, and he had heard they were already getting engaged—she had even sent him an e-invitation a few days ago—Zhang Yan hadn’t wasted a single ounce of energy on it. The greatest punishment was simply forgetting. A woman like Cheng Lu was no longer worthy of appearing in Zhang Yan’s life.

The only reason Zhang Yan had kept her as a WeChat friend was so that his future Friends Circle posts of him enjoying life would casually punish her fragile, materialistic heart. He had never planned to attend her engagement banquet. He had no desire to cause a scene, nor did he feel any nostalgic longing.

“What a coincidence,” he muttered.

Zhang Yan shook his head and was about to back out, but just then, a slightly chubby figure quickly approached.

“Since you’re already here, don’t be shy about coming in! Zhang Yan, to be honest, I’m really happy you could make it to Lulu and my engagement banquet!”

Zhang Yan didn’t recognize the newcomer, but judging by his words, this was likely that unfortunate sucker, Liu Shi. He was just about to explain that he had walked into the wrong room when he noticed Liu Shi approaching him with a facade of boisterous hospitality. However, once he was close enough, Liu Shi dropped his voice to a whisper that only the two of them could hear.

“How does it feel to see the goddess you worked so hard to woo getting snatched away by me? Are you furious? Do you regret everything?”

Zhang Yan looked at the smug man with a peculiar expression. Initially, he had wanted to drop a gentle hint or two to warn him, but seeing him act like this, there was clearly no need.

Liu Shi, however, took Zhang Yan’s silence as tacit admission.

“Hehehe, she told me she’d never seen anyone as big as me. After all, I’m a full fifteen centimeters, far above the average for East Asian men. She also said I’m way better than you, that I can go a solid three times a night. Hearing that, does it piss you off?”

Zhang Yan’s expression grew even more bizarre.

As a student who lived on campus, he naturally frequented the public student bathhouses. Zhang Yan was the renowned “T-Rex” of the Computer Science Department. In fact, that reputation was one of the main reasons he had managed to beat out numerous competitors and win Cheng Lu over in the first place. Given his average family background, the fact that he had been able to maintain a relationship with Cheng Lu for a year—and even stay married to her for many years in the future revealed by Brother Tongzi—was largely thanks to Zhang Yan’s stamina as a seven-times-a-night marathon man.

This poor bastard really believed whatever Cheng Lu told him.

Zhang Yan shook his head inwardly. He was different; he had “seen through” Cheng Lu’s true colors early on and awakened to reality.

Seeing Zhang Yan remain utterly silent, Liu Shi felt even more triumphant.

“But getting mad won’t do you any good. I might as well tell you—during college, I lived as a regular guy, but after graduation, I stopped pretending. I’m actually a second-generation heir!

“The starting line of my life is a height an ordinary person like you could never reach in a lifetime. We are simply not from the same world. You didn’t lose unjustly at all.”

The banquet was about to start, and Xia Xiqing was still waiting for him at the entrance. Zhang Yan couldn’t be bothered to waste time on this moron. However, since it was the man’s big day, Zhang Yan naturally had to offer some words of congratulations.

Seeing Zhang Yan slowly walking toward him, Liu Shi’s heart tightened. Treating him as a formidable enemy, he braced himself, fully prepared to yell for help the second the other man made a move.

He thought, “If he dares to lay a finger on me, I’ll have him locked up for a few days and leave a criminal record on his file!”

However, when Zhang Yan closed the distance, he didn’t do anything aggressive. He merely patted Liu Shi’s shoulder with profound meaning.

“May you grow old together and have plenty of children! In your future life, no matter what mistakes she makes, you must never leave her. Spend the rest of your life with her properly!”

Liu Shi paused, stunned. At first glance, it sounded like a blessing, but for some reason, it felt incredibly weird. But facing this “loser,” Liu Shi naturally wouldn’t let his momentum falter. “Do I need you to tell me that? Of course I’ll love her for the rest of my life! I’ll never abandon her!”

Zhang Yan tried his hardest to hold back his laughter.

“By the way, do you know how to get to the Grand Ballroom?”

The sudden change of topic, coupled with the indescribable look in Zhang Yan’s eyes, made Liu Shi extremely uncomfortable. However, mentioning the Grand Ballroom stirred a deep sense of yearning within him, dispelling his other strange emotions.

“Of course I know. It’s just around the corner up ahead. But today, that place is a sacred ground. It’s filled with a group of people that even I have to look up to.

“My father told me that my goal for this lifetime is just to manage to squeeze my way in there!”

Patting the silly kid’s shoulder one more time, Zhang Yan said, “I have plans with someone else, so I won’t bother you anymore.”

Zhang Yan hadn’t shown a single ounce of lost composure from beginning to end, which left Liu Shi feeling very displeased. Even though he had dumped out all the lines he had drafted in his head, the lack of the expected reaction made him feel like something was missing.

Seeing the direction Zhang Yan was walking in, he frowned again. Aside from the Grand Ballroom, there were no other facilities in that direction. What was he going there for?

He thought, “He was just asking how to get to the Grand Ballroom! Could it be… Impossible, absolutely impossible!”

Just then, a few of his peers hurried over.

“Brother Liu, are you okay? We saw that Zhang Yan seemed to have arrived earlier, and we were worried you’d be at a disadvantage, so we called a few bros over!”

Looking at his former classmates’ attentive faces, Liu Shi waved away his unrealistic speculations.

“What could possibly happen to me? That Zhang Yan guy scurried away with his tail between his legs after I mocked him. He even tried to puff himself up, claiming he was invited by the big shots in the main banquet hall.

“How ridiculous! The guards there are not to be trifled with. If he thinks he can bluff his way in, there’s absolutely no way!”

Although Zhang Yan hadn’t explicitly said he was invited over there, it didn’t stop Liu Shi from filling in the blanks himself.

The group of them gathered together, watching Zhang Yan’s retreating back as they waited to enjoy the drama. Many people inside the venue, noticing a commotion, also flocked over, wanting to see what kind of gossip they could feast on.

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