In a richly decorated great hall, soothing music was being played. Carefully dressed up people of both genders gathered in their own groups as they chatted.
Shi Sheng sat in a corner. Her expression was calm and natural, there was no visible hint of her feeling out of place. This party was held to celebrate Mrs Nangong’s birthday. It was also the day when the original owner had revealed Su Yiyi to Nangong Jing’s parents.
Her wish was to leave Nangong Jing that scumbag as well as to protect the Xu family and be filial to her parents, to let them enjoy a safe retirement.
“Chengyue, why are you sitting over here? Why isn’t Young Master Jing with you?” A pretty and delicate young girl sat down next to Shi Sheng. She had a long curly hair that reached down to her face and an adorable baby face.
Her information appeared in Shi Sheng’s mind: Lan Xue. Someone who was good friends with the original owner. Of course, that was what she used to think. When the Xu family was in decline and Xu Chengyue had reached out to her for help, Lan Xue not only didn’t help, she even mocked Xu Chengyue.
That the original Xu Chengyue knew Nangong Jing and Su Yiyi had sparks flying between them in the first place was due to this Lan Xue.
“Don’t know.” Shi Sheng answered expressionlessly. ‘Get away from me, you scheming bitch! Pretentious white lotuses can just scram!’
Lan Xue found her reaction a bit weird but didn’t think too much on it, thinking that she was just a bit unhappy. After all, put in anyone’s shoes, seeing your own fiancé be intimate with another woman must be hard to accept.
“Chengyue, I saw Su Yiyi just now.” Lan Xue’s voice was full of worry, though it clearly didn’t show on her face. “Young Master Jing is your fiancé, you can’t just let her steal him.”
Because Nangong Jing’s father hadn’t stepped down yet, everyone in this social circle called Nangong Jing Young Master Jing.
Shi Sheng swept her a gaze. Lan Xue hadn’t done much to conceal her true intentions, leading Shi Sheng to wonder, ‘Just how blind was Xu Chengyue to think this bitch meant her well?’
The saying that the IQ of female villains and side characters was in a perpetual offline mode wasn’t wrong one bit.
“How did she get in?” Shi Sheng didn’t feel like being in open conflict with Lan Xue as of right now so she just casually asked.
Of course she knew how the female lead got in. In every story, other than the male lead, the female lead would always have loyal and devoted male admirer(s) who just so happened to have high status as well.
And Su Yiyi had entered the party with Male Admirer No. 1, Ling Hao.
“She came in with the youngest Young Master of the Ling family. That woman seduced Young Master Jing yet also seduced Young Master Ling. Who knows where she learned these shamelessly slutty methods.” Lan Xue’s face was filled with anger.
Shi Sheng was about to say something when a magnetic voice sounded from the side. If one listened closely, one would be able to hear the hint of impatience in the tone.
“What are you doing over here?”
“Young Master Jing.” Lan Xue immediately stood up, panicking slightly inside, ‘Young Master Jing didn’t hear what I said just now, right?’
Nangong Jing gave Lan Xue a cold and aloof nod. Lan Xue winked at Shi Sheng before escaping somewhere else, leaving the two of them alone.
Shi Sheng lifted her head to look at him. As the male protagonist, Nangong Jing’s looks and aura could easily outclass normal people.
Shi Sheng clicked her tongue in ‘amazement’ secretly, though her face remained as expressionless as ever. She made no move of getting up. “Not feeling well, sat here to rest.”
It was clearly the same voice as before yet it wasn’t as annoyingly cloying as before. All that was left was an endless calm. ‘Did she eat the wrong medicine?’
“My mom is looking for you.” Nangong Jing remembered what he was looking for her for. In the past, he wouldn’t even have to look for her since she would always tag along with him everywhere. Today though, she had disappeared from his vicinity, causing him to have to look for her, which pissed him off quite a bit.
He had just seen Su Yiyi appear next to Ling Hao and the two had appeared rather close. This caused the anger in his heart to increase, which in turn, caused his gaze to sharpen.
“What are you looking at me like that for? I didn’t do anything to bother you today!” Shi Sheng was annoyed by Nangong Jing’s gaze. ‘What? Just because you’re the protagonist you can date someone else while being engaged? Even if you didn’t like your fiancée, you should’ve dissolved the engagement first before dating the person you like. This is called being responsible to both your lover and your fiancée!’
“Don’t cause any trouble today.” Nangong Jing warned in a low voice.
“Ha ha…” ‘Do I(bbb) look like that kind of person? I’m(bbb) also very busy you know!’
Nangong Jing brought Shi Sheng to the second floor. On the way, Shi Sheng was very quiet, not speaking to him or making any advances on him. It was as if she had turned into someone else.
Nangong Jing just thought she was playing hard to get so he didn’t think too deeply since he had never and would never like her.
Shi Sheng was pondering on how to dissolve the engagement with Nangong Jing so when he suddenly stopped, she slammed headfirst into his back, causing her to stagger back a few steps.
“What is- ” ‘wrong with you?!’
She swallowed back the words at the back when she saw who was standing in front.
Did this count as a lucky encounter? Su Yiyi and Ling Hao were standing right there! And they were holding hands
The female lead was the normal kind of pretty you could find everywhere. She wore an exquisitely tailored white evening gown which clung tightly to her slim waist. She wore light makeup. Overall, she appeared very pure and flawless.
Seeing Nangong Jing, Su Yiyi was stunned for a moment, her eyes seeming like a startled deer’s. However, upon seeing Shi Sheng who was standing behind Nangong Jing, a hint of hurt flashed on her face.
Shi Sheng pursed her lips. With light steps, she walked past Nangong Jing and spoke, “I’ll head over to Auntie on my own.”
“Miss Xu, don’t misunderstand.” Su Yiyi’s aggrieved voice sounded out, her face full of helplessness, as if Shi Sheng really had misunderstood her.
Shi Sheng paused slightly and just so happened to have stopped in front of Su Yiyi. She cast a side glance at her. “Miss Su, what am I misunderstanding, exactly?”
‘I(bbb) never said anything, female lead-sama, why are you provoking me of your own accord?’
“I…” Su Yiyi choked, clearly having been caught off guard by Shi Sheng’s attitude.
“Xu Chengyue, don’t go overboard!” Nangong Jing berated from behind.
‘Hey fuck you man. What did I do? Don’t be so goddamn biased!’
Shi Sheng took a deep breath. “I’m in a good mood today so I won’t continue arguing with you people.”
[Host, please do not attempt to kill off the male lead.] System’s icy cold voice extinguished the budding idea in her heart.
Shi Sheng humphed before turning to head off to find Mrs Nangong.
Looking at that departing back, Nangong Jing felt a bit weird. ‘Xu Chengyue is not normal today.’
“Help me look after her.” Nangong Jing looked at Ling Hao.
“I don’t need you to tell me to take care of my little white rabbit.”
Ling Hao’s provocation caused Nangong Jing’s suspicious thoughts to fly out the window. He glared at Ling Hao before consolingly patting Su Yiyi on the head. “I’ll resolve this quickly so don’t worry.”
Su Yiyi bit on her lips and nodded.
The corridor regained silence. Suddenly, a door was pushed open, from which two tall and burly bodyguards stepped out. They retreated to the sides of the doorway and respectfully waited. A few seconds later, a man emerged from the room. He wasn’t wearing a tuxedo, just a white blouse, with the sleeves slightly rolled up, revealing an exquisite designer watch. His posture was languid as he took in the empty corridor. His lips hooked upwards as he lifted his feet to leave.
Translator’s Corner
Shi Sheng uses ‘daren,大人’, which is like saying Lord in Chinese but I thought it sounded weird so I replaced with ‘-sama’, which is what I think sounds more fitting. Also she herself uses Japanese expressions sometimes so this doesn’t sound out of place.