Translated by Eve
Edited by Kara
Thank you Ciel and two anonymous donors for the kofi đ
âObviously you.â
Song Xuanhe responded sincerely without any hesitation. He was so direct that no one could doubt his sincerity.
Xiao Yuanmuâs expression cleared up a bit at this answer. The corner of his lips rose up, almost unnoticeable, but it did not miss Song Xuanheâs attention. A pair of beautiful eyes fixed onto him, and the accompanying voice was cool and refreshing, âBut to me, it looks like youâre really interested in him.â
Song Xuanhe became slightly dazed at Xiao Yuanmuâs eyes that seemed to carry a smile in them. If he didnât remember incorrectly, this was the first time he had ever seen Xiao Yuanmu smile.
Although the smile wasnât obvious, when that faint smile came onto that face, it was reallyâŠexceptional.
Xiao Yuanmuâs eyes were slightly curved, making Song Xuanhe think of spring water in early winter, clear and bright. When the wind blew, light reflected off the waterâs surface, and revitalizing mist and the scent of rosin came with it. If he used a large expanse of white with just the right amount of ink blue as the main pointsâif he hadnât transmigrated into this bookâSong Xuanhe thought that he would be very satisfied with what he could have come up with for this yearâs spring-summer line.
However, there was no point in thinking âWhat if?â in this world. However, he couldnât deny that Xiao Yuanmu really gave him a lot of inspiration.Xiao Yuanmu quietly waited for Song Xuanheâs response. The other side of the room, however, had become noisy. Everyone crowded around the centre. The two of them suddenly looked really incongruous standing there in their original spots.
âEr shao,â Someone patted Song Xuanheâs shoulder and said with a smile, âTheyâre cutting the cake over there. Arenât you coming?â
Song Xuanhe came back to himself. His eyes fell onto the person who was speaking. He silently peered at Xiao Yuanmu from the corner of his eye and then said, âIâll be right there.â
That person nodded and left without saying anything else. Only then did Song Xuanhe turn to look at Xiao Yuanmu. After he had been interrupted, his appearance had become much more natural. There was a frivolous smile on his face. Relaxed, he tossed over the question back to Xiao Yuanmu with the attitude he knew Xiao Yuanmu hated the most, âWhat, jealous?â
Xiao Yuanmu indeed pursed his lips slightly. However, before he could speak, someone came and wrapped an arm around Song Xuanheâs shoulder. âWhat are you talking about, ne? Nan zi has been waiting for you. Everyoneâs already there. Hurry up and come with me.â
Song Xuanhe glanced at this unfamiliar person. He knew that this was the plotâs doing. Therefore, he pulled the hand off his shoulder and lightly gestured at Xiao Yuanmu with his chin, âIâm going to head over there.â
After saying this, he didnât wait for Xiao Yuanmuâs response and directly left with the person who had been speaking with him before. He didnât look back.
The music in the banquet hall was relaxing. Their footsteps were light. Xiao Yuanmu could faintly make out their conversation:
âJust now, was that your new boyfriend? The one you embarrassed Lu Chao over?â
Song Xuanheâs voice was muffled. He had probably just made a âmnâ sound.
âReally high quality, ah,â That person clicked their tongue. He then laughed with a wretched overtone, âOnly, you donât seem as interested in him as they say. Our Er shao is famous for getting tired of his lovers after three months. Who knows how long that fellow will last? When you break things off, let me play with him, hm?â
Xiao Yuanmuâs expression was ice-cold. He turned to look in the direction Song Xuanhe had gone. Those two had already reached the crowd. He couldnât hear Song Xuanheâs reply.
âIsnât this Mr. Xiao of the venture investment division? Why are you standing here all on your own?â
A charming but undisguised hostile voice chimed. Xiao Yuanmu cast an insipid gaze over towards it. He saw a woman dressed in bright and neat clothes.
Song Jiani looked in Song Xuanheâs direction and smiled. Her red lips slightly parted, âXuanhe gege, really? How could he leave you here? He shouldnât have done that, ah.â
Sweeping a gaze over Song Jianiâs lips that had lipstick on them, a layer of frost covered Xiao Yuanmuâs already icy face. âMove.â
When she saw Xiao Yuanmuâs expression, Song Jiani laughed, muffled in her hand. After laughing, she gave him an askance glance with misty eyes, smile not reaching her eyes, âDo you know what kind of place this is, asking me to move?â
âOr rather, do you know what the theme of todayâs party is?â Song Jiani blinked her eyes, mood quite good, âLet me tell you, ba. The theme of todayâs party is âhunting.â Look at those people gathered over there. Donât they look familiar? You see them often on TV. Theyâre all prey. Prey without owners, just like you.â
Xiao Yuanmuâs expression didnât change. In his mind appeared the profound look the person who had called Song Xuanhe over had had on his face. A bad premonition rose up in his heart.
As expected, Song Jiani smiled lovably in the next second and said, âI thought that you were important to Xuanhe gege, ne. I didnât think that it was just this. You looked pitiful, so I came to explain things to you so that you donât offend someone you shouldnât and embarrass Xuanhe gege.â
âAside from lovers and people with owners, everyone else who came here are split between hunters and prey. You know who the prey are, I donât have to talk about that. The hunters are those by the long table. You should also be able to see, ba. Xuanhe gege is also over there. After the cake is cut, itâll begin. The hunters have a tacit agreement that they can capture any prey they take a fancy to during this banquet. So long as itâs prey without an owner, the hunter can use any means to capture them. Usually, they offer money or directly grant them some kind of status, Of course, thereâs also slightly more exciting things. For example, if a prey doesnât agree to these conditions, other methods can be employed, la.â
Song Jiani beamed, âOnly, the prey who come here all know about the rules and agreed to this game. Usually, the methods used wonât be too much. You donât have to be too scared.â
As soon as Song Jiani had finished speaking, a woman with a round face came over from the side and looked at Xiao Yuanmu. Her tone was full of anticipation, âJiani, I quite like him. If Song shao really left him here, I will have to participate and contend for him.â
âDo it,â Song Jiani laughed. Her eyes were full of disdain, âOnly, looking at how seductive he looks, there will probably be quite a lot of people contesting for him, both guys and girls. When the time comes, youâll have to fork over quite a lot. You might as well discuss things now with Mr. Xiao and see at what price heâs willing to sell.â
The other womanâs eyes clung to Xiao Yuanmuâs body, licking it all over from top to bottom with her gaze. She flipped her hair and blinked, âXiao gege, what do you want?â
Song Jiani and some others stared at Xiao Yuanmu silently as if watching a good show, waiting for his response.
Xiao Yuanmuâs gaze lowered. Aside from slightly pursed lips, no one could discern his expression. He was more calm than Song Jiani had expected. Even the people by Song Jianiâs side were rather surprised. If they didnât know that the young man before them really hadnât known about the rules, they would have thought that he had already made mental preparations.
Xiao Yuanmu couldnât bother with the onlookersâ shock, whether they were expressing it openly or inwardly. Only he knew how cold his heart had become upon hearing Song Jianiâs words. Along with the frost came a nearly insuppressible darkness. However, even though he had seen Song Xuanhe leave without looking back, he still had a sliver of hope that even he found ridiculous.
Before he could respond, the people by the long table suddenly broke out into a celebratory ruckus. There was laughter mixed in. The lighting in the banquet hall darkened considerably at the same time. The originally relaxing music also suddenly stopped and changed into an impassioned tune. The people by the table scattered, heading towards the âpreyââaccording to Song Jianiâseeming to each have their own targets.
Amongst them, there were quite a few people who headed over towards him.
Song Jiani didnât expect the game to start so soon. Only, the faster the better. When Xuanhe gege saw Xiao Yuanmuâs true face, he would naturally snap out of the spell Xiao Yuanmuâs looks had on him. He would understand who really loved him the most and who was really best suited for him.
âThereâs quite a few people who like you, ne,â Song Jiani covered her lips and laughed. She said to him, âIn any case, weâve worked together, so I should give you a word of advice. Thereâs a lot of people willing to spend money, ne. Be on your guard and choose well. Youâll absolutely be able to get yourself a good financial supporter.â
Xiao Yuanmu didnât even give them a glance. He slightly turned his head and quietly stared in Song Xuanheâs direction. His profile that looked like it had been carved out of stone was cold, but there was a hope contained in his eyes that he himself didnât even notice.
Song Jiani laughed upon seeing this and said, âDonât think that Xuanhe gege will come over. If he didnât agree to this, do you think that these people would dare to come over? Donât be so naive. You couldnât really have thought that he would really fall in love with you because of your face?â
Xiao Yuanmu glanced back slightly. His frosty gaze had a nearly tangible cold to it. His clear voice lowered and was hoarse, carrying a sliver of anger, âShut up.â
These two words made Song Jiani startled for no reason whatsoever. She even felt a bit afraid.
However, before she could analyze why she would feel fear towards this lowly orphan, she saw Xiao Yuanmuâs gaze turn back toward its original direction. His originally icy silhouette, however, seemed to have softened quite a bit.
Song Jiani bit her lips. She followed Xiao Yuanmuâs gaze and indeed, saw the person she yearned for, heading in their direction.
Eve: Hehe, here comes Xuanhe coming to âsaveâ his beauty.