Chapter 21: Hurry up and untie it.

The Zhang family heard that Gao Cheng had arrived and hurried over to greet him.

A crowd gathered at the entrance of the banquet hall, creating a bustling scene that drew the attention of even more guests.

Shi Kezhen glanced over from a distance, possessing no interest in the excitement over there.

Since Gao Cheng had come to offer birthday wishes, he naturally did not put on airs.

He first followed the head of the Zhang family to the main table to congratulate Old Master Zhang, offering a few words of greeting on behalf of his elders.

Only then did he find a seat with his two close friends.

The heirs and socialites at the banquet were like bees drawn to the scent of flowers, approaching in wave after wave to strike up a conversation.

***

From the moment Gao Cheng appeared in the banquet hall, Li Yunshu could not control her gaze from being drawn to him.

With it being so obvious, it was difficult for Shi Yanzhou not to notice.

He turned his head to look at her, somewhat displeased.

“Who are you looking at? You seem so entranced.”

Li Yunshu snapped back to reality and hurriedly averted her gaze to hide her reaction, her fingers unconsciously stroking her hair.

“I was just curious about who the newcomer is, having such significant influence that even the head of the Zhang family went to the door personally to welcome him.”

Shi Yanzhou did not suspect anything and jerked his chin toward Gao Cheng.

“Gao Cheng, the Prince of the first family in Jingzhou.”

Li Yunshu nodded, her eyes darting around as she tested the waters.

“Oh~~ So it’s him. Then the two next to him must be Jiang Zhexi and Jiang Chengshuo? I remember you saw them at the billiards club a few days ago; are you going to go over and say hello?”

Shi Yanzhou looked at Gao Cheng, who was surrounded by the crowd like a star amongst moons, and recalled the cold attitude the man had shown him at the billiards club.

He shook his head with self-awareness.

“Forget it. Their circle isn’t one that ordinary people can break into; I’d rather not seek out a snub.”

After eating three or four small pastries in a row, Shi Kezhen felt somewhat bored.

She glanced toward Mother Shi; the noblewomen were still chatting fervently, and it didn’t look like they would come looking for her anytime soon.

Therefore, she picked up a glass of juice and quietly slipped out through the side door of the banquet hall.

Outside the side door was an exquisite, small Suzhou-style garden.

In the night, various precious plants grew in an orderly yet natural arrangement, accompanied by artificial mountains, flowing water, and winding corridors.

The lighting came from suspended handmade paper lanterns, their warm yellow glow spreading out and making the night air soft and tranquil.

She wanted to find a quiet, deserted corner to stay for a while, so she wound through several corridors and stopped by a small wooden bridge.

Leaning against the railing, she looked down at the schools of fat koi swimming to and fro in the pond.

Thinking of nothing, her pupils gradually began to lose focus as her mind wandered off.

She didn’t know how long she had been spacing out when she suddenly heard footsteps approaching, followed by two young female voices.

“Huh? I clearly saw him walking out of the side door just now, how did he disappear in the blink of an eye?”

“Could he have gone that way?”

“It’s pitch black over there… maybe we should just forget it and head back.”

“Don’t. It’s rare to find Young Master Gao alone; we have to take this chance to make our presence known.”

“Well… alright then.”

“Go, go, hurry up! Young Master Gao must be over there; let’s check it out quickly before other women get to him first.”

Hearing the footsteps getting closer and clearly heading her way, a look of annoyance at being disturbed flashed in Shi Kezhen’s eyes.

She cast a disgusted glance in the direction of the footsteps, turned around, and walked in the opposite direction.

Just as she rounded two corridors and passed a few plants with lush leaves, her foot tripped over something.

The center of gravity in her upper body suddenly spun out of control, and she lunged forward uncontrollably.

“Ah!”

She grabbed at the air with both hands, trying to find something to steady herself, but only managed to snatch a few fragile leaves.

Those unlucky leaves were torn from the branches as she fell.

Just as she was inevitably about to fall flat on her face, a large hand suddenly grabbed her wrist from the side.

With a forceful tug, the person pulled her toward them.

She was spun around by the pull and, still shaken, crashed into a rock-hard chest.

There was a muffled thump.

It took her a good while to realize that she had been saved by a kind-hearted person.

It seemed the person was a man.

She hurriedly pushed him away, saying repeatedly, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, thank you for saving me just now…”

The hands she intended to use to push him away were stopped by resistance at her collar.

She looked down and was instantly mortified.

‘This damned lace fabric!’

About an inch below her mandarin collar, her outfit had become entangled with the other person’s tie clip.

Shi Kezhen looked up awkwardly, first seeing the man’s slender neck and the prominent masculine feature of his Adam’s apple.

Her gaze paused for a moment, and she was momentarily dazed.

Aside from when she was video chatting with Cheng, this was the first time she had seen a man’s Adam’s apple from such a close distance.

In a trance, she actually had the illusion that the person before her was Cheng.

“Have you felt enough?”

The man’s cold voice rang out from above her head, carrying clear impatience.

Shi Kezhen snapped back to reality.

She looked down to see her hands, which had stopped mid-push, resting right on the man’s chest…

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