Cen Wangyue paused mid-gesture with her wine glass, following Fang Yinian’s gaze toward the stage.
The pianist performing wore a pure white satin gown, her long hair swept up, slender fingers dancing across the black and white keys, flowing like a gentle stream—soft and melodious.
That pianist was none other than Cen Wangyue’s old rival from high school—Si Qi.
The tale of their love-hate relationship could go on for three days and three nights, but at the root of it all was the famously renowned school heartthrob.
The two had actually gotten along quite well when they first entered high school, until she and Xie Huaijin were selected as the image ambassadors of Mingli High School for their striking looks.
Though she still couldn’t figure out why a high school needed image ambassadors in the first place.
Even to this day, her and Xie Huaijin’s photos still hung on the school website’s banner.
As two campus celebrities, they were constantly teased and joked about back in high school, often rumored to be the campus’s power couple. Even if they merely exchanged a glance while passing by, someone would already be coming up with names for their future children.
But in reality, Cen Wangyue didn’t like Xie Huaijin—that single-minded fool devoted entirely to the piano. Only that silly girl Si Qi treated her as a romantic rival.
Her high school years, thanks to Si Qi’s one-sided provocations, gained an extra layer of mysterious color, with people fabricating an entire melodramatic love triangle.
No matter how good Xie Huaijin was, he was still just a blockhead who could only play the piano. Only Si Qi regarded that blockhead as her moonlight.
They had been rivals for so many years, until the day Cen Wangyue got married, when the one-sided rivalry finally came to an end.
Probably because Si Qi figured her chances of winning over Xie Huaijin had increased.
She quite disliked Si Qi, purely because she thought the girl had no brains at all.
She even wondered at one point how Si Qi had managed to become Xie Huaijin’s junior apprentice under the same master.
Didn’t piano masters test their disciples’ IQs?
The piano music on stage gradually faded, and Cen Wangyue was still lost in her memories until Si Qi stepped off the stage and walked straight into her line of sight.
Cen Wangyue snapped back to reality belatedly.
The moment Si Qi saw her, her eyes lit up a few degrees brighter. “Wangyue, you’re here?”
Fang Yinian was automatically overlooked by her, and he let out a cold tsk.
Cen Wangyue slightly lifted her chin and gave a soft “Mm” in response, her tone indifferent. “When did you come back to the country?”
Si Qi came over with her wine glass to chat with her—a habit she’d developed since high school. Amid a crowd, she could always pinpoint Cen Wangyue with uncanny accuracy.
Those eyes worked better than a tracking device.
Si Qi smiled. “I just finished my world tour. This time I’m back in the capital and can rest for a long while. Today, Uncle Liang specially invited me over.”
Cen Wangyue was quite impressed by her performance just now.
She gave a faint smile. “The piece you played just now was very good.”
After all, Si Qi and Xie Huaijin studied under the same master. Setting aside her lovesick tendencies, her professional skill was top-notch.
Being praised by Cen Wangyue like that, Si Qi felt a little secretly pleased and accepted the compliment graciously.
She tossed her hair. “Thanks for the compliment.”
When Cen Wangyue got married, she had been abroad, so she’d naturally missed that grand wedding, and she had no idea what the rumored “Cen Wangyue’s husband” looked like.
They hadn’t seen each other in years, and Cen Wangyue really didn’t know what old times she was supposed to catch up on with Si Qi, so she didn’t respond to her words.
Si Qi wasn’t willing to give up, sweeping her gaze around before asking with feigned casualness, “Doesn’t your husband accompany you to banquets?”
Cen Wangyue was stunned. When she had just been showing off her affection with Sheng Tangzhou, had Si Qi not been there?
Who had Sheng Tangzhou been socializing with just now? She hadn’t gotten a clear look.
Cen Wangyue froze for a few seconds, instinctively taking a sip of her wine—only to have it intercepted mid-motion before it reached her lips.
What came into view was a hand with clearly defined knuckles, as lustrous as white jade.
Sheng Tangzhou looked down at her, a hint of concern in his eyes. “You just recovered from being sick. You shouldn’t drink.”
Cen Wangyue was momentarily dazed, not expecting him to appear at this moment. A pleasant woody fragrance surrounded him.
He stood beside her, his tall, elegant figure like a pine tree. The moment their eyes met, her heart skipped a beat.
The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward. Si Qi spoke up with keen interest, asking, “Wangyue, who is he?”
Fang Yinian, who had been ignored for quite some time, crossed her arms and looked at Si Qi with an expression that said, “Are you a caveman?”
“This is, of course, Wangyue’s husband.”
As long as she could take a jab at Si Qi, she could instantly forget the displeasure of being ignored by her.
“What?”
Si Qi instinctively sprang up from her chair.
She knew that Cen Wangyue’s arranged-marriage husband’s surname was Sheng, but no one had told her that her arch-rival’s husband was this handsome!
After all, the infighting within the Sheng family was well known throughout the entire Beijing circle. He had founded Huajing Group on his own strength, and in less than three years, his power was already on par with that of the Sheng family’s eldest brother’s Hongrui Capital.
Si Qi had naturally assumed that Cen Wangyue’s legendary husband was only heard of but never seen. She had even speculated that maybe he was ugly and that’s why he never showed his face.
After all, with Cen Wangyue’s peacock-like personality, if her husband were presentable, she would have been showing him off to the whole world long ago.
The moment Si Qi saw Sheng Tangzhou today, she instantly felt like she had been slapped in the face.
Fang Yinian rolled her eyes.
Si Qi’s body stiffened, and she forced a smile. “This… what a coincidence.”
“It’s normal that you didn’t know. When I got married, you were on a tour abroad, so I didn’t send you an invitation.” Cen Wangyue knew exactly how to twist the knife in Si Qi’s heart.
She might as well have told Si Qi outright: I just didn’t want to invite you.
She linked her arm through Sheng Tangzhou’s, casually revealing the pigeon-egg-sized diamond ring on the ring finger of her left hand.
Si Qi’s sharp eyes immediately recognized it as a top-grade fancy vivid blue diamond weighing 12 carats from the Cullinan diamond region in South Africa. It was said to have been purchased at auction by a mysterious buyer for 400 million, after which the diamond was renamed.
She had lamented over it for a long time back then, never imagining that the mysterious buyer was actually Cen Wangyue’s husband.
Seeing her arch-rival now living better than her, Si Qi gnashed her teeth, both envious and jealous!
Wuwuwu, this woman was really lucky!
Sheng Tangzhou had no interest in the verbal sparring between the women. He didn’t even spare Si Qi a glance.
He raised his eyes to look at Cen Wangyue and asked in a gentle voice, “Honey, are you tired?”
Cen Wangyue was stunned for a few seconds when she heard him call her that.
Why was this man calling her “honey” in front of her arch-rival?
In private, this man never called her “honey”!
Cen Wangyue looked up at the man beside her, and in an instant, her inner drama queen took over as she launched into a performance.
Her voice softened as she coquettishly said to Sheng Tangzhou, “A little. Let’s say goodbye to Uncle Liang and head home.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Cen Wangyue was startled by her own saccharine voice.
Had she really just acted coy with her sham husband, and in front of her good friend and her arch-rival no less?
Si Qi had a big mouth; she would definitely spread the word.
Fang Yinian and Si Qi nearly lost their composure, both letting out the same exclamation inwardly—since when did she become so good at acting coy?
Sheng Tangzhou smiled gently. “Let’s go.”
The couple was about to leave when Si Qi suddenly snapped back to reality, beaming at Cen Wangyue. “Wangyue, it’s Mingli’s centennial anniversary. Bring your husband along—Brother Huaijin will be coming back too.”
Cen Wangyue had been wondering why a high school anniversary would require bringing a spouse, but the moment she heard Xie Huaijin would be there, her thoughts shifted.
She wasn’t planning some grand NTR scene, was she?