Chapter 16 Campus Goddess Bai Yueguang 16 At the Banquet

After the Jiang family recognized Ji Hanlin, in order to officially announce the return of this lost young master in the circle, they specially booked the third floor of a hotel in the south of City A over the weekend and held an extremely grand welcoming banquet for him.

The entire hotel was ablaze with lights, and the halls were buzzing with activity. The guests were packed, not only with Jiang family friends and relatives, but also with many prominent figures in government and business from A-city. There were many familiar faces present, including Wen Qianning's father, Wen Zhengting, who had also been invited, and naturally, had brought his wife and daughter along.

Wen Qianning wore a white chiffon dress that highlighted her slender figure. Her skin was naturally fair, and her makeup was light today, giving her a look reminiscent of a white flower in the moonlight.

She stood in the banquet hall, watching those people laughing and chatting around the protagonist of the banquet, Ji Hanlin, and constantly toasting and complimenting him.

Ji Hanlin was wearing a well-tailored black suit today and standing beside Jiang Chengwang and Yu Xinci. He had a stern face, an upright figure, and an aura that could not be ignored.

Those who wanted to curry favor with the Jiang family laughed eagerly, but he just nodded slightly with a calm look.

Wen Qianning didn't approach, but stood silently in the distance. Her father was already greeting Jiang Chengwang, and her mother whispered to her, "Join us for a toast later, don't just stare blankly."

"……Um."

Soon it was their turn to toast the Jiang family. Wen Zhengting raised his glass, smiling gently but measuredly: "Congratulations, Han Lin is a handsome boy, and he really is your family's style."

Jiang Chengwang smiled and said, "Thank you. Xiaolin just came back and is still adapting. Take your time... Ningning, you are getting more and more beautiful as you grow up."

"Jinxin, too. She's getting prettier and prettier." Mother Wen echoed gently, "She's grown up so quickly in the blink of an eye."

Wen Qianning raised his glass and said softly, "Hello, uncle and aunt, congratulations."

Her eyes swept lightly over Ji Hanlin while she toasted, and there was an imperceptible tremor in the hand holding the wine glass.

Ji Hanlin's gaze swept across several people and finally settled on Wen Qianning.

"Thank you." He nodded, his voice low and hoarse. After a pause, he said with some cryptic meaning, "Thank you, too, Miss Wen."

Wen Qianning's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she avoided his eyes almost imperceptibly.

After finishing the social event with her parents, she just sat back in the lounge area when she saw new guests being led in at the door.

Wen Qianning looked in the direction of the noise and saw the heroine Lin Weixi standing there with a decent and gentle smile.

She was stunned and stagnant for a few seconds.

This is... the male protagonist invited Lin Weixi to come?

Lin Weixi's family was well-off, but she wasn't even close to being considered a member of the upper class in City A. Now that she was at the Jiang family's welcoming banquet, it meant she was invited by someone, and she couldn't think of anyone else besides Ji Hanlin.

Since... Ji Hanlin has invited Lin Weixi, it seems that there is some progress between the male and female protagonists.

Wen Qianning suddenly felt a little tight in her chest, so she made an excuse to go to the bathroom, quietly left through the back door of the banquet hall, and walked along the side corridor into the back garden.

Away from the crowd, she could finally relax her shoulders, then lean on the railing and look up at the sky.

"What is Miss Wen doing hiding here?"

A cold voice came from behind.

Wen Qianning's heart skipped a beat and she turned around suddenly, only to see the young man standing not far away, as if he had been staring at her for a long time.

"I just came out to get some fresh air." She felt a little awkward and turned her head away subconsciously.

Ji Han took a few steps closer, stopped beside her, looked at her with his eyes downcast without saying a word.

The garden was very quiet, with the noise of the banquet hall coming from a distance. Wen Qianning lowered her head and fiddled with her skirt. She always felt that it was strange that the two of them were still here now that they had broken up. It felt like they were having an affair.

"You're afraid of me."

He suddenly spoke, not as a question, but as an affirmative sentence, with an unquestionable tone.

Wen Qianning bit her lip: "I don't have any."

"You obviously have it." His eyes swept across her slightly red earlobe. "You said the other day that I wasn't worthy of you. So... what about now?"

Wen Qianning raised her eyes and met his dark eyes.

"What do you want?" There was a hint of anger in her tone.

"What do I want?" Ji Hanlin chuckled, put his hand on the railing behind her, and turned sideways to trap her in his arms. "I'm thinking about how to torture you without letting you get away with it."

Her breathing stagnated and her eyes widened: "You are crazy. Let me go quickly. There are so many people here today. What if someone sees us?"

"Just see it." He lowered his eyes and stared at her, but there was no warmth in his eyes. "Who told you to provoke me first?"

"I'm not provoking you." She bit her lower lip and said stubbornly.

"Isn't it?" He said in a cold tone, with a lazy arc at the corner of his mouth. "Who was it that insisted on getting close to me in the first place?"

Wen Qianning's face turned pale and he wanted to retreat but there was nowhere to retreat.

Ji Hanlin's eyes darkened as he looked down at her: "You'd better pray that you don't fall into my hands in the future. Otherwise, I will really kill you."

Wen Qianning bit her lips tightly, feeling a little aggrieved, with tears welling in her eyes.

The male protagonist is obviously about to develop a relationship with the female protagonist, so why is he still unwilling to let her go? Ji Hanlin is so mean to her now, but he would not be like this to Lin Weixi in the original text.

Seeing tears welling up in the girl's eyes, Ji Hanlin's Adam's apple rolled slightly, and his fingertips brushed the corners of her eyes, his movements extremely light: "What's the point of crying now? You should have expected this day from the day you came to provoke me."

He looked at her, who was about to cry, and sneered in his heart. She didn't know that her behavior... would only make him want to bully her more.

Ji Hanlin raised his hand and grasped her chin, firmly blocking her escape route. She was startled, and just as she took a step back, he grabbed her waist. His palm rested on her slender waist, squeezing it hard.

"Why are you hiding?" He said expressionlessly, pressing his lips against hers. "Shouldn't you be used to it by now?"

The next second, he kissed those bright red lips.

With a hint of punishment, he would not allow her to refuse, and his lips and tongue moved very deep into hers, blocking all her words with this kiss.

“Bang!”

The girl with a bad look on her face raised her hand and slapped Ji Hanlin without hesitation.

The sound was crisp, piercing the originally quiet air. He was forced to turn his face to the side, and remained motionless for a long time.

She gritted her teeth and choked with grievance: "How dare you do this to me."

How could he... kiss her forcefully like this? Lin Weixi was already beside him, so why did he treat her like this?

Ji Hanlin slowly turned his head to look at her. Fingerprints from her face were still visible. The smile on his lips faded slightly, and his eyes darkened.

Wen Qianning raised her hand and pushed him away with force. Ji Hanlin took a step back, but before he could react, she turned around and ran out.

He stood there without moving, lowered his head, and raised his hand to wipe the corner of his lips.

I don’t know how long it took, but I heard footsteps in the garden and Jiang Jinxin walked over.

"Brother?" She walked a little hurriedly, still holding the phone in her hand, "I've been looking for you for a long time, why are you here——"

Her voice paused for a moment.

Because she saw Ji Hanlin standing by the railing, with a faint slap mark on his cheek, which was particularly conspicuous on that perfect face.

Jiang Jinxin was stunned for a moment, thinking about the person who could make Ji Hanlin care... the only one was Wen Qianning. And she was also one of the guests today.

Jiang Jinxin took two steps closer and asked quietly, "Did you guys just... quarrel again?"

Ji Hanlin didn't say anything, but just lowered his eyes and looked at the ground, as if he didn't hear anything at all.

The slap mark was too obvious, so he naturally couldn't go back to the party later. Jiang Jinxin sighed slightly, but didn't know how to comfort him. Finally, she patted his shoulder and said, "Don't go back to the party if you're like this. Let's go home first. I'll tell my parents later and tell them that you're tired and need to go back first."

*

At the banquet, Yan Jiayue was looking around with a drink in hand, trying to find Wen Qianning. Unfortunately, he didn't see Wen Qianning, but he saw Lin Weixi. He was stunned for a moment, still biting a straw in his mouth.

Lin Weixi was still the neat and tidy top student he remembered her to be, and surprisingly, she didn't look out of place in such an occasion. So, he walked towards her and said hello: "Hi, Lin Weixi?"

Lin Weixi raised her head when she heard the voice, and the moment she saw Yan Jiayue, her eyes lit up slightly, and then she smiled: "What a coincidence, you are here too."

"Why are you here too?" Yan Jiayue was a little surprised.

Lin Weixi explained, "Student Ji and I are in the same class. Mr. Jiang originally wanted to invite our class monitor to attend Student Ji's welcome party, but she had something urgent to do at home, so he asked me to attend on her behalf."

"Oh..." He nodded and responded, "So that's how it is." The boy leaned sideways on the table, turning the cup in his hand, with an undisguised smile in his eyes as he listened to Lin Weixi speak.

But the next second, Yan Jiayue's eyes suddenly paused, as if something had caught her sight.

He saw Wen Qianning push the door open from the other side of the banquet hall and walk in. The girl's hair was a little messy from the wind, the corners of her eyes were red, and her face was cold, obviously she was in a bad mood.

Seeing this, Yan Jiayue immediately stood up and waved at her: "Ningning!"

Wen Qianning glanced over when she heard the voice, but ignored him and walked straight towards the bathroom, her movements a little hurried.

Yan Jiayue paused, looked back at Lin Weixi, and said hesitantly: "Well, I'll go see her first, maybe...something happened."

Lin Weixi nodded, still with a decent smile on her face: "Well, go ahead."

But the moment he turned and left, Lin Weixi's eyes darkened and the smile on the corner of her lips slowly faded.

As expected... he was just as rumored, and he had a close relationship with Wen Qianning. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a sense of loss.

"Ningning, what's wrong with you?" Yan Jiayue chased after her and grabbed Wen Qianning's hand, forcing her to stop. His gaze fell on her slightly red eyes, and his heart suddenly tightened. He asked seriously, "Are you crying?"

Wen Qianning took a deep breath. She was in a bad mood and didn't want to say anything more to him.

She turned her face away, her voice muffled, and she said carelessly, "I'm fine, please let me go, I need to go to the bathroom to tidy up."

"You call this okay?" He frowned, staring at her face closely. "Your eyes are red. Who made you unhappy?"

"I said it's okay, so it's okay." She pulled her hand out of his palm and walked quickly towards the bathroom.

Yan Jiayue stood there and sighed slightly.