Birthday party

Su Jibai's gaze lingered on Wen Yan's face, as if trying to find something on it.

Wen Yan slapped Su Jibai's hand away abruptly, "Don't touch me. I only like Long Chen."

"You won't get a chance in your next life!"

Was his makeup strange today? But Mosa and the others had been doing his makeup for the past few days, and he thought it looked great. Wen Yan took out her phone and looked at herself, muttering to herself.

Su Jibai smiled and stepped back to the railing. Wen Yan, still shaken, glanced furtively; Su Jibai was already some distance away. Wasn't he supposed to be the gentle and refined second male lead? How come he's sometimes even more frightening than Long Chen?

A bright light streaked across the night sky. Su Jibai looked up at the sky and said, "Come and watch the fireworks."

The silvery-white bright spot vanished instantly into the night sky, replaced by shooting stars bursting forth in all directions, dazzling and illuminating the pitch-black night as if it were daytime.

Still shaken, Wen Yan stood behind and to the side of Su Jibai, secretly observing his expression. The fireworks roared like thunder, and he asked loudly, "Su Jibai, are these fireworks prepared by Long Chen?"

"yes."

"Then why did you show it to me? Are you trying to drive me crazy?"

Thankfully, he didn't ruin it. The three of us were watching fireworks together, and he, the third wheel, was probably brighter than the fireworks themselves.

Su Jibai remained silent.

With a mischievous attitude, Wenyan deliberately asked, "Aren't you jealous?"

Su Jibai seemed somewhat helpless and said something softly.

The deafening roar of fireworks drowned out his voice. Wen Yan looked bewildered. "What? What did you say?"

Su Jibai didn't repeat himself and quietly watched the fireworks. Wen Yan frowned; this man was really strange.

The night sky returned to silence, and Su Jibai had completed his task. "Let's go, I'll take you home."

Wen Yan was about to refuse, but then she remembered that the driver was changing shifts and she felt bad asking him to work overtime, so she let the driver go home by himself.

The second male lead actually became quite gentlemanly towards him.

Perhaps it was because he didn't poison Liu Xirou and even found the culprit who poisoned her that Su Jibai's attitude towards him improved.

But Su Jibai had just been teasing him...

The system's "ding" interrupted his train of thought, cruelly announcing: "Mission failed, deduct five points."

Wenyan: ...

The car window reflected Wen Yan's blank expression, while Su Jibai's lips curled up slightly, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.

Back home, Wen Yan looked dejected, as if a dark cloud hung over his head. Wen Ling sat on the sofa, holding a cup of tea. "Xiao Yan, tomorrow is Long Chen's birthday. Don't be too close to him."

It was common knowledge among these families that Wen Yan liked Long Chen. Pursuing someone was not a big deal, but Wen Yan's previous behavior was really incomprehensible. It was almost to the point that whenever he got close to Long Chen, everyone would laugh at him.

It was common knowledge that Long Chen didn't like Wen Yan. Wen Ling felt that since that was the case, Wen Yan didn't need to waste her time on Long Chen. There were plenty of men in the world, and besides, Wen Yan wasn't entirely useless, so why hang herself on one tree?

"I understand." Wen Yan lowered his head and went upstairs. Now his points were low again. When would he be able to unlock the surprise?

Watching Wen Yan's lonely figure, Wen Ling sighed, thinking that Wen Yan was unhappy because she couldn't stick close to Long Chen.

The original owner had prepared a gift for Long Chen a month ago. Wen Yan only needed to use it as a gift, but given how much Long Chen disliked him, he probably wouldn't even open the gift and would throw it in the trash as soon as the birthday party was over.

"Hey, system, what exactly is that mysterious surprise?" Wen Yan called out to the system in his mind. He was only one step away from unlocking the surprise, but it was like trying to catch the moon's reflection in water—he couldn't reach it, which made him very curious.

System: "The system is under maintenance. Please try again later."

Wenyan: ...This system is practically useless except for issuing tasks and deducting points from my account.

The clothes I bought today were delivered to my room by the housekeeper. Wen Yan excitedly took them out, changed into long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and felt as if he had been in another world.

Wen Yan looked at himself in the mirror from left to right. Even in just pajamas, with his long hair, he looked like a handsome young man in men's clothing.

Wen Yan was stunned to see the gift the original owner was going to give to Long Chen reflected in the mirror. He was going to have to wear a formal dress to the banquet tomorrow!

He hurriedly opened the walk-in closet, rummaged through it, and found it full of short dresses... Does that mean he'll have to wear high heels tomorrow?

Wen Yan took out a pair of high heels from the gleaming glass shoe cabinet, put them on while holding onto the wall, and took a few steps. Her foot trembled, and she almost fell flat on her face. These were the shortest heels in the shoe cabinet.

The thought of him wearing a short skirt and high heels tomorrow night, swaying back and forth with a gust of wind between his legs, made Wen Yan's vision go black. She knew that she would be laughed at by everyone for looking so ridiculous.

To avoid being ridiculed, Wenyan put her high heels back on and slowly moved forward, swaying as she leaned against the wall.

Through his tireless efforts, he was able to walk a few steps with his back straight, though he still needed to hold onto the wall for support...

Luxury cars gathered, celebrities congregated, the banquet hall was resplendent with gold and filled with a delicate fragrance, and popular stars stood on the stage to sing.

Long Chen stood on the second floor, with no intention of going down to have a pretentious conversation with them.

Birthday parties are just a form of socializing. Apart from close friends and family, how many people actually come to sincerely congratulate him?

Long Lingtian walked over, his face stern. "What are you still standing there for? Your Uncle Su and Uncle Wen are here. Hurry up and go down to greet them." Although he was over forty, he still had a dignified air, and every move he made exuded authority.

No matter how domineering and cool Long Chen is outside, when he comes home he is still a young master who has not yet taken power and has no ability to challenge his father's authority.

Without turning his head, he went straight downstairs, wearing the same fake smile as everyone else downstairs.

"Phew." Wen Yan sneaked in through the side door. After a day of practice, he could barely walk in high heels, but his movements were too slow, and anyone could tell what was wrong at a glance.

He glanced around the hall, which was filled with round tables laden with fine wine and desserts. Despite its spaciousness and grandeur, there wasn't a single place to sit.

But it makes sense. As the most powerful family in the novel, the Long family would become a platform for various families to socialize at any banquet. Even if there were sofas, probably no one would sit on them, except for Wen Yan, an outsider.

He stood in front of the dessert table and took a piece of cake to eat. Mosa, Sanno, and Lin Pianyue also came from very prominent families, so of course they would attend this kind of banquet, but given their personalities, they might arrive a little late.

Wen Yan was quite bored because Ling had to go out for a social engagement and couldn't accompany him, and there was no one to chat with.

"Oh, isn't this asking about the young master?" A man in a blue suit said in a strange tone, holding a glass of red wine.

The woman holding his arm chuckled, "They were asking about a young lady, not a young master."

The appearance of the two quickly pulled Wen Yan back from his wandering thoughts. As he pondered their identities, the system automatically provided their information: [Long Xiao and Long Qingluan, Long Chen's cousins, studying abroad and only returning for important occasions. They disapprove of Wen Yan's persistent pursuit of his brother and are his adversaries.]

"I was mistaken," Long Xiao said, looking at Wen Yan with a half-smile.

Wen Yan looked him up and down, then gave a mocking laugh, "Ha, a poor imitation."

As soon as Wen Yan entered, she saw Long Chen on the second floor, dressed in a dark blue suit, looking elegant and noble. Long Xiao's suit was similar to Long Chen's, but Long Xiao was a few years younger, and his height was a disadvantage. Moreover, Long Xiao's appearance and temperament were slightly inferior, so even though the suit was custom-made, he did not look as elegant as Long Chen.

Long Xiao always regarded Long Chen as his role model, imitating Long Chen in everything from clothing to other aspects. To outsiders, this was like trying to draw a tiger but ending up with a dog instead.

"You!" Long Xiao gripped the wine glass in his hand, squeezing out a single word through his clenched teeth.

"What do you mean, 'you'? You can't even speak your native language after going abroad?" Wen Yan glanced at him, left with those words, and then left with a flourish.

Young people have short tempers. Long Xiao and Long Qingluan's faces turned as red as steamed shrimp. She glared angrily at Wen Yan's back and said, "Sharp-tongued! Brother Achen despises this kind of person the most."

Wen Yan, too lazy to argue with these two idiots, ended the fight with a few words and left proudly like a victorious peacock. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of Long Aotian talking to a strange girl.

System: "Zhong Yi comes from a scholarly family and studied abroad since childhood. She has an inexplicable feeling for Long Chen."

One more rival for the innocent-looking girl, and one more twist and turn in the relationship between the male and female leads.

With no mission in mind, Wen Yan neither wanted to nor dared to provoke Long Aotian, so he just secretly listened for a while from the side, using the champagne tower as a cover. The aroma inside was stuffy and unpleasant; he felt nauseous from eating too much, so he quickly went outside for some fresh air.

As soon as she stepped outside, Wenyan was surprised to see through the reflection in the fountain that he could walk naturally and quickly in high heels.

Human potential is indeed limitless.

Wen Yan jumped up and down excitedly, but in his excitement, he lost his footing and fell straight to the ground. A pair of warm, familiar hands caught him. "Be careful."

It's Su Jibai again.

Wen Yan glanced at him awkwardly, relieved to see that Su Jibai's expression hadn't changed. As long as he didn't laugh at her, that was enough.

"Did you twist your ankle?" Su Jibai looked at his ankle.

Wen Yan supported Su Jibai's shoulder and moved her feet a couple of times, "No."

A mechanical voice sounded in my mind, and the system suddenly appeared again: "Please go to the center of the banquet hall immediately and sow discord between the male and female protagonists. Successful completion of the mission will earn you 10 points."

Wen Yan's eyes lit up. Ten points! Completing this task would unlock a surprise! He let go of her hand, but his foot slipped uncontrollably to the side as soon as he took a step. "Ah!"

Su Jibai grabbed him and said helplessly, "You shouldn't be wearing high heels."

Ignoring his words, Wen Yan said matter-of-factly, "I can't walk right now. Help me inside, and I'll go find Long Chen. You can go find Liu Xirou. It's a win-win situation." He could perfectly accomplish his task of sowing discord.

Su Jibai: ...

Light and melodious music began to play, the champagne tower was reduced in size, and gentlemen and ladies chatted and laughed in small groups, their glasses clinking together with a crisp sound.

Wen Yan, arm in arm with Su Jibai, hurried through the crowd. Young men and women cast amused glances their way, all seemingly drawn to them.

With her hair flowing in silver and gold, Liu Xirou wore a long, flowing silver dress, her long, black hair cascading down naturally. Long Chen stood tall and straight, his sharp suit outlining his smooth lines. The beautiful woman and the gentleman were a sight to behold.

But their expressions were somewhat subtle.

The people around them seemed to be talking, but their attention was actually focused on them: one was the host of the banquet, and the other was an unknown beauty. After the boring socializing, they all wanted to see an interesting show.

Long Chen frowned slightly. "Xi Rou, what brings you here?"

Liu Xirou was taken aback. "Why can't I come to your birthday celebration?"

After a brief silence, Long Chen spoke again, "That's not what I meant..."

"Achen, Xirou!" Wenyan walked over arm in arm with Su Jibai, beaming with joy. He even slowed down his pace as he approached the male and female leads.

Liu Xirou relaxed her expression. "Ayan, Su classmate." Su Jibai smiled at her, and the two looked at each other in silence.

"Achen, where's Zhongyi? She came all the way back from abroad just for you. Why didn't you two talk for a while?" Wenyan's smile deepened. "Or did Zhongyi go to change her clothes? Are you going on a date later?"

Liu Xirou's face turned pale instantly. Her mouth opened and closed but she couldn't utter a single word. Finally, she said in a trembling voice, "No wonder you didn't want me to come. It turns out I'm the one who disturbed you." After she finished speaking, she turned around and left the banquet hall quickly.

"Wenyan, watch your mouth. If there's a next time, I'll make sure you can never speak again." Long Chen's eyes were cold and ruthless, like a beast that had been lying dormant for a long time and was about to erupt, his aura sharp and fierce. After uttering these harsh words, he chased after her.

Wen Yan's heart trembled, and she silently lowered her head. This Long Aotian was too terrifying. Was he going to poison him and make him mute? With the Wen family around, no matter how arrogant Long Aotian was, he couldn't do anything to him. After all, in the finale, the original owner who had committed many evils was only sent abroad.

Wen Yan's anxious heart was finally at ease.

He looked up at Su Jibai and asked curiously, "Aren't you going to chase after her?" The female lead had already left in a huff, so logically, since the male lead couldn't find her, the second male lead should step in and offer some gentle comfort to increase the female lead's affection for him.

Su Jibai: ?