The banquet hall was completely silent. A beam of light shone down on Zhang Fan from head to toe, and he couldn't even hide from it.

I originally wanted to hide in a secluded corner where no one was around, but now I've become the most eye-catching person in the room.

On the other side of the banquet hall, Alice stood there, staring wide-eyed, while the Marchioness beside her stood on tiptoe, smiling and craning her neck in anticipation.

This was naturally the Marquis's idea. Since her father couldn't come to accompany his daughter, what could be more appropriate than inviting her male classmates to dance?

The guests in the middle have automatically parted to the sides, making way for a passageway in the middle.

Who is that person?

"I don't know. The emcee seemed to have said that she was Princess Alice's classmate."

"A student at the Royal Military Command College? A second lieutenant?"

"A student gets the rank of second lieutenant while still in school? Then upon graduation, he'll at least be a first lieutenant, right?"

"You're too conservative. A student who can get the rank of second lieutenant while still studying must have extremely high talent. The academy will naturally focus on cultivating such a person. So in my opinion, his rank will not be lower than captain when he graduates!"

"How come I've never heard of any Zhang family with such an outstanding descendant?" a woman interjected.

The unmarried sons of various families were usually the subject of gossip and criticism from these noblewomen. Now that an outstanding young man with whom they had no information had suddenly appeared, they naturally became extremely interested.

"They're probably from a military family, so they rarely participate in social events. It's normal that the ladies don't know them," one of the men nearby explained.

“Indeed, I’ve heard that the Marquis has been getting quite close to some people in the military lately…”

"Shh, don't talk about this here."

"oh!"

The men tacitly changed the subject.

"Among the children of students, the number of families with the rank of second lieutenant can be counted on one hand. I have never heard of a family with the surname Zhang."

"They might be a family from a remote star region; we should pay more attention to them in the future."

Amidst the murmurs of the surrounding crowd, Zhang Fan stiffened and forced himself to walk forward step by step.

In front of so many people, there's no way to avoid this ordeal; we can only take it one step at a time.

Alice stood there, mouth agape, her eyes widening as Zhang Fan drew closer.

Zhang Fan stood in front of Alice, leaned slightly forward, and extended his right hand in a very gentlemanly gesture of invitation. Although he maintained a polite smile, his toes were so embarrassed that they were about to dig a hole in the floor.

Alice was the most clueless person in the room.

She was naturally impressed by the man who threw her off the ring like a rag doll.

But why is this guy here?

Now I have to dance my first dance with this guy?

It would be better to just kill her.

She would rather die than dance with this guy.

Zhang Fan's hand had been frozen in mid-air for a while, and he was completely awkward. The Marquis looked at the two of them from left to right, appearing unusually excited, her eyes sparkling. All the guests in the room were also watching them.

Alice is a girl with extreme pride. Today is her 19th birthday. If she were to lose face in front of all the guests at her birthday party, it would be worse than death for her, not to mention that there are many noble children of the same age attending the party.

Finally, Alice took a deep breath and placed her trembling hand in Zhang Fan's hand.

Zhang Fan felt the coldness in his hand, and he didn't know whether it was fear or anger, but the other person was trembling all over.

As the music gradually rose in pitch, the two couldn't remain frozen in place forever, so Zhang Fan led Alice onto the dance floor.

For Zhang Fan, dancing simple ballroom dances is not difficult. Yui is a seasoned dancer who used to drag him to practice a lot when they were at the "Bird's Nest".

The music was light and cheerful, the dance was graceful, and the scene of a lieutenant in military uniform and a princess in white was pleasing to the eye.

The surrounding male and female guests cast approving and envious glances, and words of praise were heard one after another.

This made Alice feel a little better.

The men present also began to invite their favorite dance partners, and the banquet hall became lively, which gave the two a chance to talk.

A young boy and girl are in the center of the dance floor. The girl is close to the boy's ear, her breath sweet and fragrant. They are whispering sweet nothings to each other, creating a heartwarming scene.

I will kill you!

Their conversation wasn't as warm and friendly as it seemed on the surface.

"It's just dancing, it can't be that dangerous, right?"

"You dare to disrupt my birthday party? You won't leave here alive!"

"Hey, have you ever thought about this?" Zhang Fan tightened his grip slightly, and Alice's waist instantly felt a sharp pain. "Right now, with just a little force, I could snap your waist!"

Come on! Who's afraid of who? Let's hurt each other!

"You, you, what do you want to do?" Alice panicked a little. The force from her waist forced her to press herself against Zhang Fan's chest. The two could almost feel each other's heartbeats.

This made Alice very flustered.

"How about we make a deal?"

"What transaction?"

"I'll spare your life today, you have to let me go," Zhang Fan said. "After today, we'll go our separate ways. Whether you kill me or torture me, live or die, it's all up to fate."

"What if I disagree?" Alice retorted defiantly.

“Then tomorrow’s headline…” Zhang Fan said threateningly, “will be the news that Princess Alice and her dance partner committed suicide after dancing together!”

"Pah! Who would commit suicide with you!"

"Metaphor, do you even understand metaphors?!" Zhang Fan was a bit exasperated; this explanation had completely ruined his momentum.

"Think it over carefully." Seeing that the other party remained silent, Zhang Fan made his position clear. "If you still haven't given an answer by the end of this dance, then when the music stops, you and I will be splattered with blood on the dance floor!"

The dance music gradually slowed down, entering the finale before the end.

“I agree,” Alice nodded.

"I'm letting you go today, but if we meet again, it will still be a fight to the death!"

"And I'm warning you, don't even think about sabotaging my banquet, or the agreement will be void immediately! You'll be dead right then and there!"

Zhang Fan breathed a sigh of relief. At least he had gotten through today's hurdle; he could deal with the rest later.

As the dance ended, Alice smiled, lifted her skirt, crossed her legs, and gave a graceful bow. She was the only leading lady in the room today and couldn't afford to embarrass herself in front of the guests.

Zhang Fan returned the greeting politely, showing that he still had to maintain appearances.

After the music ended, the two went their separate ways, not wanting to see each other again.

Zhang Fan was happy to have some free time. He wandered around with a wine glass, eavesdropping on other people's conversations, or even joining them for a chat. The guests at the banquet were all of high status, and naturally, they had a wealth of information.

Because of his previous experience dancing with Alice, the guests present were very willing to talk to the young man, which allowed Zhang Fan to collect a lot of useful information.

After the ball, Zhang Fan ate his fill and waited for the banquet to end so everyone could go home and find their own mothers.

The final part of the birthday party was opening the gifts on the spot.

This truly broadened Zhang Fan's horizons, and he couldn't help but squeeze into the crowd to see it.

On Princess Alice's birthday, the guests naturally brought very valuable gifts. Moreover, the unwrapping of the gifts on the spot created a subtle competitive atmosphere, with everyone worried that their gift would be too cheap and they would lose face. They really went all out.

Zhang Fan occasionally heard the emcee announce, "Viscount So-and-so presents a piece of thousand-year-old red coral," "Earl So-and-so presents a pair of deep-sea luminous pearls," and "Marquis So-and-so presents a blue diamond necklace of the Heart of the Ocean," followed by gasps of surprise from the guests.

Any one of these gifts could ensure a middle-class family of five a lifetime of comfort and security.

But when each gift was opened and presented to Alice, she would only nod and smile politely, without even the desire to pick it up and look at it.

By the end, Zhang Fan was numb; this part of reading out the gift list was the most boring.

"Hey, Lieutenant Zhang," a guest suddenly chimed in, "I wonder what gift you gave to Princess Alice?"

"Oh right! Did I miss it? I don't think I heard Lieutenant Zhang's name called."

After all, he was the one who danced the first dance with Princess Alice, so the surrounding guests were very interested.

Some guests, not wanting to miss out on trouble, even started to jeer.

On such an important occasion, even the emcee on stage was afraid that he had made a mistake, so he began to frantically flip through the long list of gifts in his hand, looking for Zhang Fan's name.

Zhang Fan wanted to slap himself right now. Why did he have to get involved? Now look what happened—he hadn't prepared a single gift!

Moreover, even if he used all his savings to buy gifts, it wouldn't be presentable in front of these nouveau riche.

Alice sat on the stage, wringing her handkerchief until it was almost tattered. The emcee had already flipped through the long list of gifts but still couldn't find Zhang Fan's name, so he sweated profusely and started looking for it again.

The jeering guests, the bewildered emcee, the princess who felt like she was sitting on pins and needles, the penniless lieutenant... the atmosphere was extremely awkward!

I wonder if this counts as ruining her birthday party by making her lose face in front of the guests?

Zhang Fan looked around, gritted his teeth, and decided to give it his all!

I'll try to use this trick to deceive them.

“No need to look anymore.” Zhang Fan took a deep breath, then smiled and stopped the emcee. “My gift is invisible and not on the list.”

"Huh? An invisible gift?"

The surrounding guests were even more intrigued.

"Take a look! Don't hide it!"

"Lieutenant Zhang, let everyone take a look!"

"Princess Alice, let us see!"

The girls around them started to get excited, whistling, cheering, and laughing all mixed together. If they didn't see the gift the lieutenant gave them today, they wouldn't be able to control the situation.

"Is it okay?" Zhang Fan looked at Alice for her opinion.

"Hmm." Alice nodded with difficulty.

What's this guy up to?

In this situation, no matter what gift this guy brings out, can it compare to the pile of treasures next to him?

Under the watchful eyes of everyone in the banquet hall, Zhang Fan walked onto the stage and sat opposite Alice.

There is a piano in that spot.

"This is a piece I composed, originally intended only for Alice." Zhang Fan opened the piano lid, placing his fingers on the keys. "I apologize for the embarrassment; the piece is called..."

"Für Elise"

A gentle melody filled the banquet hall...