Since Zhang Yan was pressed for time, he didn’t bother arguing with the clueless Liu Shi. With only two or three minutes left before the banquet officially began, he had no intention of being late. While a late entrance might draw attention, it would also make people question his manners and upbringing.

In truth, Zhang Yan didn’t even need to do anything. Now that Liu Shi had married a fickle, bloodsucking leech like Cheng Lu, the foolish guy’s future was completely ruined. Given how much of a parasite Cheng Lu was, it was hard to say whether Liu Shi could even protect his family’s wealth, but she would definitely take half of whatever remained when they inevitably divorced.

Zhang Yan couldn’t warn him in advance, lest the poor guy notice something and wake up to reality too early. Instead, he would wait until her baby—who was absolutely guaranteed to be born “premature”—finally arrived. Then, Zhang Yan would deliver a special “blessing” to congratulate the happy couple on a lifetime of matrimonial bliss. Perhaps he’d suggest a paternity test, which would surely take their relationship to the next level.

Zhang Yan arrived at the entrance to the grand banquet hall. Right on cue, Xia Xiqing, who had just finished changing her clothes, came looking for him. Unlike when they were alone together, the current Xia Xiqing had reverted to her persona as the aloof and untouchable black swan, completely outshining everything around her.

She approached with elegant, measured steps. Frowning slightly, she reached out to adjust Zhang Yan’s sleeves and straighten his tie. Giving a satisfied nod, she lightly linked her arm through his to walk into the hall together. She managed the distance between them perfectly; it prevented any accidental intimate contact, yet it wouldn’t make anyone suspect that they weren’t close.

BEEP!

He pulled out a digital invitation and scanned it at the door. Under the respectful gaze of the guards, the couple vanished from the crowd’s view.

WHOOSH!

A commotion immediately erupted outside the nearby multi-purpose hall.

“Even though they were a bit far away, my instincts are telling me that the girl in the black evening gown is an absolute knockout!”

One gossiping onlooker stared smugly at his Far Ahead P60 smartphone. “I managed to snap a picture of her side profile while she was adjusting Zhang Yan’s collar. Does anyone recognize this beauty?”

SWISH!

A circle of heads instantly crowded around the screen.

“Holy crap, who is she? She’s stunning! And that figure is basically supermodel-tier!”

“She looks familiar…”

“Are you all blind? That’s Xia Xiqing! There are a few candid photos of her on the campus forum. Even though they aren’t very clear, I’ve seen her in person. I can guarantee that’s Xia Xiqing!”

“What! The Xia Xiqing?!”

Xia Xiqing was incredibly famous, yet she had never been involved in a single rumor with any man. Combined with her usually aloof demeanor and her mysterious, aristocratic background, it was hard for people to immediately associate the woman at the door with her. But now that someone had pointed it out, the crowd quickly matched the profile to the divine face in their memories. Some even opened the campus forum and dug up bookmarked posts, scrutinizing the blurry photos.

“I almost didn’t recognize her in those clothes! But looking closely, it really is Xia Xiqing!”

“Dammit! Who exactly is that guy?! How did he get my goddess to fix his collar for him?!”

“I heard his name is Zhang Yan. He’s supposedly the bride’s ex-boyfriend.”

“Ex-boyfriend? Did he dump the bride because he hooked up with the Campus Goddess?”

“Shhh! Don’t talk nonsense. The bride’s best friend said she dumped him.”

“Give me a break. The bride is pretty, sure, but she’s not even in the same league as Goddess Xia.”

The crowd buzzed with overlapping chatter. This explosive piece of gossip swept through the entire engagement party like a hurricane.

“Brother Liu, it looks like he went into the grand banquet hall, and he had a massive beauty with him. I hear it’s Xia Xiqing.”

“They scanned a code at the door. He actually had an invitation! Brother Liu, what exactly is going on in there?”

Faced with his friends’ incessant questioning, Liu Shi gave no response. His head was buzzing. The shock in his heart far exceeded that of the clueless onlookers around him!

The only reason his family had spent a fortune to host his engagement party at this venue was to soak up some of the prestige from the grand banquet next door. Anyone qualified to be invited to that event was at least a second-generation heir waiting to inherit tens of millions in family assets. It was a place that even he had no right to enter. So how did Zhang Yan get in?!

According to Cheng Lu, Zhang Yan was a poor loser who couldn’t even scrape together a few hundred thousand for a betrothal gift. But there was no faking his invitation to the grand banquet. Not to mention, he had walked in arm-in-arm with Xia Xiqing!

Liu Shi had obviously heard of the legendary Campus Goddess. If possible, he would have loved to try his luck with her, but he didn’t even have the connections to get a foot in the door. Even now, he had no confidence, as he had heard that many graduated seniors who were qualified to attend that grand banquet had already faced crushing rejection from her.

Yet, this very Goddess Xia had acted like an affectionate little wife, intimately fixing Zhang Yan’s collar before holding his arm and walking him inside!

Flames of jealousy burned brightly within Liu Shi. Every sign pointed to the fact that Zhang Yan was actually a far more powerful second-generation heir than himself. Liu Shi suddenly remembered his own mocking words from just a short while ago:

“My starting point in life is a height an ordinary person like you will never reach in your entire lifetime. We are simply not from the same world.”

He cringed so hard his toes curled.

At the same time, Liu Shi finally realized a rather concerning issue. Seeing Zhang Yan today, he had to admit that he fell a bit short in the looks department. Add to that Zhang Yan’s true family background and wealth, and it was entirely impossible for him to be the broke kid Cheng Lu described. In that case, many of the things his soon-to-be wife had told him suddenly didn’t hold water. Especially a few matters that he cared deeply about… could they also be a lie?

He told himself, “Impossible, absolutely impossible! Cheng Lu must have just been fooled by Zhang Yan. Yes, that has to be it.”

Liu Shi shuddered, hastily waving off those terrifying thoughts.

“Alright, alright, dear guests, please return to your seats! Lulu and my engagement party is about to begin!”

Having barely managed to disperse the crowd without delaying the schedule, Liu Shi wiped his sweat. He decided to just focus on flawlessly wrapping up the engagement party first.

The man who had snapped the precious photo on his Far Ahead P60 was currently tapping away at his phone. He planned to crop the goddess out and set her as his lock screen wallpaper. Just then, a younger guest patted him on the shoulder.

“Excuse me, senior, my name is Fu Hang. Let’s add each other on WeChat. I’m very interested in that photo of yours.”

“Not giving it out, not giving it out. I’ve said it a dozen times.”

“Don’t be so quick to refuse, senior. I’m willing to buy it for a hundred yuan.”

“Well… you can’t share it with anyone else, then. I took it secretly, after all.”

“Don’t worry, senior. It’s for my private collection, too!”

BEEP!

Fu Hang smiled faintly as he looked at the newly received photo on his phone. He thought to himself, “Chi Xinyue, do you have any idea how much of a player your boyfriend is?”

Meanwhile, inside the grand banquet hall, Zhang Yan wasn’t feeling nearly as suave as the gossiping onlookers believed. In fact, he was actually a little nervous.

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