A week later, Su Yanxi and Gu Yanze accompanied Old Master Gu to a banquet at the Fu residence.
The banquet hall blazed with light, bustling and lavish. Celebrities and nobles filled the room, where wealth and power mingled on that brilliant night.
Su Yanxi wore a lake-blue qipao with a double rounded collar, paired with an ivory shawl.
White pearl earrings adorned her ears, and a matching pearl bracelet circled her wrist.
Her long, tea-black hair, smooth as satin, was swept into an elegant bun and secured with a translucent white jade hairpin.
Her starry eyes were clear as autumn waters; her complexion was as lovely as blossoms beneath the moon, set against raven hair and snow-white skin.
Her slender waist flowed into a graceful, undulating curve at her hips, her soft beauty so alluring it made the heart flutter.
The moment Su Yanxi entered the banquet, she caught the attention of a group of young masters.
“Well, look who it is! I was wondering which great beauty had arrived. Isn’t this our Little Sister Yanxi?”
Shen Hebai came over in a white suit and white dress shoes, with a white bow tie at his throat. Set into the bow was a pink diamond weighing twenty carats.
Since Young Master Fu was the host tonight, Shen Hebai, as one of his good friends, knew better than to steal the spotlight. So he dressed relatively modestly: instead of wearing huge diamond rings on all ten fingers, he wore only nine dazzling pink diamond rings.
Liang Jihei and three other young masters came over as well.
They were all older brothers who had grown up with Su Yanxi in the Military Compound.
Su Yanxi greeted them politely.
Shen Hebai’s gaze swept over her. “It’s been a year, and our Yanyan has become more and more…”
He had meant to say she was becoming more womanly, but that sounded a little too suggestive between a man and a woman, so he changed course. “More and more beautiful.”
Su Yanxi returned the compliment politely. “Big Brother Hebai, you’re getting more and more handsome too.”
Gu Yanze said, “Compared to a pig, he is pretty handsome.”
The people nearby couldn’t hold back their laughter.
“Brother Gu, what kind of thing is that to say?” Shen Hebai protested. “I can accept you saying my brain is as stupid as a pig’s, but I absolutely won’t accept you saying I look like one. I’m a bona fide idol type.”
Old Master Gu wasn’t interested in this bunch of frivolous second-generation heirs. He looked around the banquet and asked, “Where’s that boy Young Master Fu?”
“As the star of the banquet, Young Master Fu will naturally make a grand entrance at the end,” Liang Jihei said. “He’s still sitting in a private room right now.”
Shen Hebai had a habit of speaking without thinking. Usually, his mouth went flying ahead while his brain scrambled to catch up.
“Young Master Fu’s a lousy friend. He’s been back for a week, and I haven’t even seen one hair on his—”
Old Master Gu cleared his throat.
“I mean one of the feathers on the eagle Young Master Fu keeps,” Shen Hebai hurriedly clarified. “Not… that other hair on him.”
“Yanxi, come with Grandpa,” Old Master Gu said. “I’ll take you to see Comrade Fu.”
Su Yanxi supported Gu Nanchu as they headed toward the private room.
After the two had left, Gu Yanze bent his index finger and rapped Shen Hebai on the head.
“Watch what you say. My little sister’s still here. What’s all this talk about those hairs? Stop polluting my sister’s ears every day.”
“I know I was wrong.” Shen Hebai had grown up with Su Yanxi and cared about her too. Smack! He slapped himself hard across the face. “What a filthy mouth I have!”
“From now on, I’ll watch what I say whenever our little sister’s around.”
Liang Jihei gazed after Su Yanxi’s alluring figure, his eyes lingering on her. The dazzling lights filling the room seemed not even a fraction as bright as she was.
He asked, puzzled, “Gu Yanze, do you really not like Yanyan?” Why don’t you like her? How happy it would be to have her like you.
Gu Yanze’s handsome brows drew together slightly. “I…”
“Of course he doesn’t like Yanyan,” Shen Hebai cut in. “If he did, would he have said that outrageous crap to her about having an open relationship and each doing whatever they wanted?”
“I only think of her as my younger sister,” Gu Yanze said.
His gaze passed through the crowds moving across the hall and settled on Su Yanxi. Even after she disappeared at the far end of the corridor, he still didn’t look away.
At the same time, Liang Jihei, standing behind Gu Yanze, also kept his gaze fixed on her…
Su Yanxi and Gu Nanchu reached the private room. Through the doorway, they saw Old Master Fu, Comrade Fu, seated in the center.
He wore a traditional Chinese suit. His hair was white, his eyes dark, and he looked vigorous and imposing. Even sitting there doing nothing, he radiated a formidable presence.
The old master held a rosewood cane in one hand. His hawk-like eyes were sharp, his expression cold as he discussed something with the person beside him.
The instant Su Yanxi and Gu Nanchu appeared at the door, the stern look on Comrade Fu’s face relaxed.
When he wasn’t smiling, he was frightening; when he did smile, he seemed warm and kindly.
Beaming, Comrade Fu rose from his chair and walked over to Old Master Gu, clasping both his hands tightly.
“Old comrade, you’ve come.”
Fu Jingting and Gu Nanchu had once risked their lives together on the battlefield. They shared a bond forged through life and death.
Fu Jingting was a powerful man of high rank, and Gu Nanchu was one of the few friends with whom he could speak frankly from the heart.
Gu Nanchu gave Fu Jingting a sidelong glance. “If I’d waited any longer, you’d have forgotten your old comrade was still alive, you busy man.”
Fu Jingting laughed. “You’re the only one who knows how to mock me. Even if you hadn’t come, I was planning to visit you in the next few days.”
Su Yanxi looked around—and by sheer chance, met the gaze of Young Master Fu as he emerged from the inner room.
Today he wore a custom-made black suit in a modern Chinese style, crafted from rare, precious fabric. Its simple Zhongshan collar and Chinese knot buttons brought Eastern elegance together with modern style, understated yet luxurious in every detail.
He was born to wear a suit, and dressed so carefully, he looked all the more distinguished and dazzling.
As Su Yanxi looked at Young Master Fu, he was looking at her too.
Young Master Fu’s gaze traveled from her head to her feet, the frank, naked way a man looks at a woman.
Su Yanxi felt as if he had seen right through her clothes.
Her cheeks grew warm. She turned her head to the side and looked at the flowers, the plants, the air—anything but Young Master Fu.
Old Master Fu spoke up. “Yanyan, you and your Brother Linchen haven’t seen each other in five years. Now that you’ve met, why haven’t you said hello? You’re young; you won’t have much in common with the two old men here. Go on, have a proper chat with your Brother Linchen.”
“…All right,” Su Yanxi replied.
She braced herself and walked over to Young Master Fu, calling softly, “Brother Linchen.”
With his hands in his pockets, Young Master Fu stood straight, his steps lazy and unhurried. “Come with me. I’ll take you somewhere fun.”
The word “fun” rolled over his tongue, and he put a suggestive emphasis on it.
Su Yanxi’s mind went blank for a moment. Somehow, she couldn’t help feeling that the way he said “fun” sounded… improper.
Her heart fluttered like banana leaves in the rain, and she was so distracted that she failed to watch her step. Her foot caught on something, and she pitched forward.
Young Master Fu’s strong hand caught her around the waist, his scorching palm against the small of her back.
She fell into his arms, the tip of her small, pert nose striking his hard chest and smarting.
A misty sheen rose in Su Yanxi’s eyes. “Mm. You’re so hard.”
Young Master Fu answered in a languid, casual voice, “Just the way you like it, isn’t it?”
“…”
“I mean your chest.”
“So do I,” Young Master Fu said, a roguish smile on his handsome face. “What were you thinking of?”
“……………”
She was pressed against his chest, their breaths mingling.
The crisp, pleasant scent of pine enveloped her, seeping into her nose and her bloodstream, filling every part of her until it seemed to merge with her.
Su Yanxi’s heart pounded like a deer’s.
The scene from that night in front of the mirror flashed through her mind: his firm, swelling chest, his tight embrace, his burning body, his low, hoarse panting…