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Join the ServerGao Cheng nodded with a smile and reached out to shake his hand.
“I know; your company has a partnership with the Jiang family. I met your son while out recently; Zhexi introduced us.”
Hearing this, Father Shi was even more pleasantly surprised.
“Young Master Gao, you actually know my son?”
Gao Cheng nodded, his tone casual.
“I do; we are both sophomores at the Jingda Business School.”
“What a coincidence!”
Father Shi immediately turned to Mother Shi, the delight in his voice impossible to hide.
“Where is Yanzhou? His classmate Young Master Gao is right here, so why isn’t he over here chatting with him? Where did he go?”
Mother Shi looked sheepish, her smile barely holding together.
“How unfortunate… he had something to attend to with friends and has already left.”
Father Shi glared at her, his dissatisfaction plain for anyone to see.
Such a golden opportunity to form a connection with the Gao family, yet his son was so disappointing.
Mother Shi also felt a wave of regret.
If she had known the Prince was her son’s classmate, she would have insisted Yanzhou stay to build a relationship with him at all costs; there was no way she would have let him run off on a date.
Gao Cheng didn’t seem to mind much; his gaze drifted away from the parents and settled on the white figure standing silently beside Mother Shi with her head bowed.
Then he smiled.
“And Miss Shi is also my classmate in the Business School.”
Everyone was stunned for a moment before Father Shi snapped to his senses, hurriedly grabbing Shi Kezhen’s arm and pulling her forward a few steps.
“Yes, yes, exactly. Kezhen is in the Jingda Business School, just like Yanzhou.”
He turned to Shi Kezhen, his voice urgent yet laced with reproach.
“Kezhen, why haven’t you greeted Young Master Gao?”
Shi Kezhen had recognized him as the man from the garden while he was talking with Father Shi.
Although she hadn’t seen his face clearly in the dark earlier, she was far too familiar with the clip on his tie.
That tie clip had been hooked onto her clothes for a long time, and her fingers had fumbled with it countless times; naturally, she recognized it at a glance now.
Shi Kezhen was somewhat puzzled—why would Gao Cheng suddenly come over to start a conversation?
If it was out of respect for the head of the Zhang family, coming over to say hello seemed to give the man far too much credit.
Or was it really because they were classmates in the Business School?
But it had been nearly two years since they started university, and neither she nor Shi Yanzhou had ever had any interaction with him.
‘Because of her?’
Even more impossible.
Shi Kezhen possessed enough self-awareness to immediately discard that possibility.
When they were in the small garden just now, he had been extremely impatient and quite cold toward her.
She didn’t know what he was up to, but she still took an obedient step forward and gave him a polite, distant smile.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Student Shi.”
Gao Cheng looked at her with the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.
And then, there was nothing else.
Shi Kezhen stood quietly back beside Mother Shi after giving her greeting, showing not the slightest intention of continuing the conversation with Gao Cheng.
Her expression was cold and distant; her entire demeanor was introverted to the point of being petty.
The smile on Gao Cheng’s lips slowly faded away.
He knit his brows slightly; this version of her was far too different from Yao.
Although he didn’t know if Yao had the same face, he was certain that his Yao did not have this person’s personality.
Conservative, rigid, and submissive.
She was a completely different species from the girl who dared to proactively tease him during late-night video calls, acting both spoiled and cold toward him.
Her overall vibe was wrong—completely wrong.
Gao Cheng began to doubt if he had identified the wrong person.
His smile vanished entirely, and his eyes grew cold.
If she wasn’t Yao, why was he wasting his time here?
“Uncle Zhang, I’ll take my leave.”
He gave a nod to the head of the Zhang family, then turned and strode away in disappointment.
He didn’t even say goodbye to Jiang Zhexi and Jiang Chengshuo, who were still at the banquet; his steps were fast and heavy, looking thoroughly disappointed.
Gao Cheng’s sudden enthusiasm followed by an equally sudden, cold departure left the remaining people utterly bewildered.
The head of the Zhang family gave Shi Kezhen an unreadable look but said nothing; after seeing the Shi family off, he left with a smile to attend to other departing guests.
Father Shi shot Mother Shi a displeased look, his tone unusually harsh as he spoke to her.
“You really need to discipline Yanzhou. Coming to a banquet together only for him to leave early—he’s an adult, yet he has no sense of etiquette.”
Mother Shi felt aggrieved, but knowing she shouldn’t add fuel to the fire right now, she endured the scolding in silence.
The group walked out of the banquet hall and headed toward the parking lot.
Old Master Shi and Old Madam Shi got into one car to return to the old Shi estate.
Father Shi, Mother Shi, and Shi Kezhen got into another car.
On the way back, no one spoke in the car; having drunk a lot of wine, Father Shi closed his eyes to rest as soon as he got in.
***
They arrived back at the Shi house.
Father Shi entered the living room and sat on the sofa instead of going straight upstairs as he usually did.
He leaned back against the sofa, massaging his temples, then raised his eyes to look at Shi Kezhen.
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