The Engagement Banquet

The makeup artist studied her from left to right, utterly satisfied—with bone structure like that, she'd look good no matter what. "Miss Lin, we're done. Take a look—anything you'd like adjusted?"

Lin Sangyu didn't know much about this sort of thing. She glanced at herself in the mirror and did seem prettier. She smiled at the staff. "It's lovely, nothing to adjust. Thank you all."

"Great, it's about time, so we'll head out."

Lin Sangyu stood up. "Should I walk you out?"

The stylist waved a hand. "No need, Miss Lin. There'll be a shuttle to take us."

Lin Sangyu didn't follow them out, instead staying in the dressing room to scroll through videos.

What should she film next...

Having sorted out his emotions, Jiang Wenzhe came down from the attic. The moment he pushed open the door, he saw Lin Sangyu sitting obediently on the soft leather chair, head slightly bowed, a song playing on her phone that he didn't recognize. She hadn't noticed the man standing behind her at all.

"Heart moves along, heart loses track, drilled with a little hole."

"It hurts the moment we meet; composure is a must."

"We're both bad at letting people into the locked doors of our hearts."

"Then we start to tough it out with our shells."

"Only you in the whole world know I'm fooling people."

Lin Sangyu wore a velvet backless gown, her entire smooth, delicate back exposed. Exquisite round pearls wound down along the dip of her spine, making her skin look even more crystal-clear. Her small shoulder blades were prominent, and a few loose strands of hair clung between the pearl strands and her skin, swaying gently with her movements.

His Adam's apple bobbed. Jiang Wenzhe's eyes stopped moving.

It took him a long while to notice the passage of time before he finally lifted his legs and walked toward Lin Sangyu.

The air shifted behind her, and Lin Sangyu's lashes fluttered. She looked up with a bright smile, meeting Jiang Wenzhe's gaze head-on.

Her full, rosy lips parted, and her eyelids had something shimmering applied to them. He heard her sweet, pleasant voice ring out: "Jiang Wenzhe, do I look good?"

A moment of silence. He raised his hand uncontrollably, his fingertips brushing from the corner of her eye down to her collarbone, and said in a hoarse, low voice, "Beautiful."

At the same time, a wild thought echoed in his mind:

This was his Lin Sangyu, the one he'd raised.

Lin Sangyu belonged to him.

This was his birthday gift, his alone.

Lin Sangyu let out a breath. "Good to hear. This is my first time wearing a dress like this—I was worried it'd look weird."

He'd bought her plenty of dresses before, but nothing this revealing.

"It's not strange. Come on, it's about time." Jiang Wenzhe took her hand.

Lin Sangyu swung his hand playfully. "Can I go check the mirror first? The stylist said I have two dimples on my lower back, and I'm curious what they look like. I want to see right now."

Jiang Wenzhe's gaze dropped again, then lifted after a moment. "Seems like you do. Let's go, we still have plenty of time."

The dressing room used to have a full-length mirror, but after Lin Sangyu accidentally knocked it over once, Jiang Wenzhe had it moved to the bedroom and mounted flush against the wall.

"Can you carry me to the bedroom? I'm not used to walking in these yet." Lin Sangyu pointed at the high heels on her feet.

"Alright."

Jiang Wenzhe scooped her up, his large palm covering her snow-white, delicate skin without a shred of fabric between them.

He carried her over to the two-meter-tall mirror. Lin Sangyu turned her head to look. In the mirror, she saw Jiang Wenzhe's broad chest wrapping around her slender shoulders and back, one arm circling her waist, the other holding her bottom securely. With the effort, the normally quiet veins on his arms stood out prominently, radiating a raw masculine energy.

Their bodies pressed together—one broad, one narrow, one skin white as jade, the other honey-toned like warm amber—a jarring contrast that was almost striking.

Lin Sangyu's face flushed bright red in an instant. So this was what it felt like from a third-person perspective when Jiang Wenzhe carried her like this every day.

She stammered, "Jiang... Jiang Wenzhe, I don't want to look anymore. Let's get going soon."

Jiang Wenzhe teased, "Weren't you going to check your dimples?"

Whether it was her imagination, Lin Sangyu felt his fingertips shift, now brushing over some spot on her rear she couldn't identify.

Embarrassed and on the verge of tears, she balled up her fist and gave his chest a light smack. "Not looking, not looking! I'll check myself when I shower later."

Seeing her face so red it could drip blood, all the gloom cleared in an instant. Jiang Wenzhe was in a great mood, a smile playing at his lips. "Fine, but you said it yourself. Don't blame me later."

"I won't, I won't! Let's go, let's go, hurry up!"

She'd never look in the mirror with him again.

*

The platinum hotel, perched on a mountainside overlooking the sea, stood in the city's most expensive district. The entire complex was a sleek silver-gray flowing design; the setting sun's glow reflected off the walls, casting a hazy halo.

Lin Sangyu looped her arm through Jiang Wenzhe's as they walked the red carpet bathed in light.

Feeling the tension in her back, Jiang Wenzhe slowed his pace, slipped his hand free, and patted her gently. "Don't be scared."

Lin Sangyu looked up and said, "Jiang Wenzhe, I'm never attending a banquet like this again. Seriously, don't you ever fool me into coming to one again."

"Alright, we won't attend any more."

He never wanted her at these fake, superficial events anyway.

This was the exception.

The moment they stepped into the banquet hall, all eyes locked onto the pair, and the crowd began to drift toward them.

"Happy birthday, President Jiang! Wishing you endless success and a lasting legacy."

"Wenzhe, happy birthday! May everything go your way."

"Happy birthday, Mr. Jiang."

Jiang Wenzhe wore a faint, polite smile, responding to each greeting with propriety and distance.

"So this is Miss Lin Sangyu? Congratulations, President Jiang, on double blessings—today's a truly good day."

Someone nearby quickly chimed in, "Indeed, indeed! Wishing you two a—"

long and lasting love

The words were on the tip of his tongue when Tang Lin, who'd been watching the situation from the sidelines, cut in with an exaggerated expression and said loudly to Lin Sangyu, "Little Fish, I've missed you so much! Huang Jue's been missing you too—she keeps saying she wants to see you. Come on, come on, the three of us should go hang out together."

Two dark, unreadable gazes met in the air. Tang Lin turned to Jiang Wenzhe. "I'll take Little Fish off your hands then. Anyway, whatever you guys are talking about, she definitely wouldn't enjoy it."

Jiang Wenzhe gave a slight nod. "Go on. Keep an eye on her, and don't let her drink too much."

Lin Sangyu couldn't have been happier. With so many people crowding around her, her palms were sweating. She quickly followed Tang Lin away from the crowd.

Only when she was completely gone did Jiang Wenzhe continue dealing with the people in front of him.

"Thank you all for your blessings, and especially for taking time out of your busy schedules to grace my birthday banquet—and engagement banquet." Jiang Wenzhe paused briefly, then calmly finished the sentence.

A woman in a red formal dress, around fifty years old with a dignified bearing, smiled and teased, "Engagement banquet too. Wenzhe, don't take this the wrong way, but when have you ever thrown a birthday party? That young lady just now—what a beauty! I took a liking to her at first sight. You two will definitely grow old together."

Jiang Wenzhe reached for a red wine glass from the table, leaned in slightly to clink it against hers, and said, "Thank you for your kind words. I will treat her well and spend the rest of my life peacefully by her side."

Meanwhile, Lin Sangyu was pulled into a private room, the banquet's noise shut out entirely.

Huang Jue, in a long white gown, lounged lazily on the sofa with a glass of fruit wine. Seeing them enter, she raised her glass and flashed a bold smile. "You're here. Wenzhe gave us a heads-up and told us to keep you company."

Aww, fine. Jiang Wenzhe wasn't so bad after all.

Maybe she wouldn't hold it against him for dragging her to this overwhelming, all-socializing event.

Lin Sangyu, as if grasping at a lifeline, sat down close to Huang Jue.

Huang Jue stared at her, praising generously, "You're so pretty, Little Fish. With a face like that, you really should be in the entertainment industry."

"I'll pass on that. If I went in, I'd be called a pretty vase with wooden acting. It should be for people with real talent," Lin Sangyu said. "Oh, Huang Jue, I watched your new movie the day before yesterday, that one, 'On the Hook.' It was so good! I even said if I got home early today, I'd rewatch it right away."

Huang Jue's eyes twinkled, and she curled her lips. "Watching it with Jiang Wenzhe?"

"Mm-hmm, yeah."

Huang Jue let out a cheerful laugh and teased, "Alright then, you've got nothing left to regret. Jiang Wenzhe finally took a liking to a movie I starred in."

Lin Sangyu covered her mouth and laughed. "That's over the top."

Huang Jue leaned a little closer. "Not at all. I'll tell you, the three of us went to the same school back then. Let me dish on his past."

Lin Sangyu's eyes lit up at that. "Tell me, tell me! I want to hear."

Huang Jue recounted slowly:

"Jiang Wenzhe is a total blockhead. After all these years of dealing with him, I've come to think he's a pure machine. That damn robot, daring to pretend he's human!"

"His life is extremely monotonous. He basically has zero entertainment. No, not basically—absolutely none."

"Because he had a weird temper and didn't talk, and his family was strict, he didn't have any friends in school. He went to class alone, came home alone, ate alone, and occasionally hung out with Tang Lin."

Lin Sangyu's nails dug into her palms, and a dull ache suddenly gripped her heart. "How could that be!"

"Probably because he was being cool. There were still plenty of people trying to suck up to him, but Jiang Wenzhe wouldn't even spare them a glance. Ha! I still remember the resentful look on this one guy's face, hahaha..."

...

Tang Lin quietly closed the door, leaving the two of them alone to chat.

He clenched his jaw and fists, ready to go find the man currently surrounded by the crowd.

Damn it, making him play the fool who doesn't read the room again.