"Wen Xue, why aren't you celebrating your birthday at home with your parents?" Su Yi casually asked as they made their way to the Juyun Tower.
"I'm already sixteen years old. Since today is my birthday, it's up to me to decide," the girl by his side blinked her beautiful eyes and said with a smile. "But later in the evening, I will be with my parents."
Pausing for a moment, she continued, "Moreover, my grandmother will be turning eighty the day after tomorrow. It's a significant birthday celebration, and my parents and other relatives are busy preparing for it. They don't have the time to attend to me."
Su Yi narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded.
Wen Lingxue's grandmother was none other than Lady Liang Wenbi, who held an extremely prestigious position within the Wen family. Even the clan leader, Wen Changjing, didn't dare to disobey her will.
Her eightieth birthday was a grand event that the entire Wen family couldn't afford to neglect.
"Brother-in-law, let's hurry. It's almost noon," Wen Lingxue said eagerly.
"Alright," Su Yi smiled and followed along.
After all, his little sister-in-law was only sixteen years old.
A youthful age filled with beauty and vitality.
Juyun Tower.
It was the highest-ranked and largest restaurant in Guangling City, known as the number one establishment in Guangling.
Those who frequented it were either wealthy or influential.
There was a saying that a single cup of Juyun Tower's wine could equate to ten years of savings for a poor family!
It was not an exaggeration.
When Su Yi and Wen Lingxue arrived, they were warmly and respectfully escorted by the waiters to a tastefully decorated private room on the third floor.
Several figures were already seated in the private room, aside from a young man, all the others were girls, around the ages of fifteen or sixteen.
As soon as Wen Lingxue arrived, she was warmly welcomed.
"Lingxue, you look so beautiful today. This is a gift specially prepared for you. I wish you success in entering the Qinghe Sword Manor as soon as possible!"
"Hehe, if our classmates knew that today is the birthday of the most beautiful girl in our Songyun Sword Manor, they would probably line up to give you gifts."
... The girls presented the prepared gifts while chatting and laughing with Wen Lingxue, their demeanor polite and enthusiastic.
With a sweep of his gaze, Su Yi noticed many things.
Wen Lingxue's classmates were all dressed impeccably, clearly coming from extraordinary backgrounds with prominent families.
Some were lively and outgoing, others were gentle and reserved, and some exuded a bold and elegant aura... Their appearance and temperament were outstanding.
However, it seemed that Wen Lingxue's appearance today was too beautiful and dazzling, catching everyone's attention.
As these female classmates chatted with Wen Lingxue, there was a subtle hint of envy and jealousy in their eyes, albeit well concealed. However, it didn't escape Su Yi's perceptive gaze.
He couldn't help but smile. The friendship between girls may seem close, but each harbored their own thoughts.
Fortunately, none of this was of great consequence.
"Nie Feng, what are you doing here?" Wen Lingxue suddenly turned her gaze towards the only young man in the group, her eyebrows slightly furrowed and her expression turned cold.
The lively atmosphere became somewhat heavy.
The young man, dressed in a jade robe with handsome features, approached with a smile and said, "Lingxue, today is your birthday. This is a small token of my affection. Please accept it."
He opened a golden and jade-inlaid box with both hands.
A light purple hairpin appeared before everyone's eyes.
The hairpin was exquisitely carved, depicting a lifelike phoenix spreading its wings. It was clearly the work of a master craftsman.
"The Purple Phoenix Hairpin! It is the masterpiece of Master Mo from Yunhe County. They say the material used is a piece of natural purple cold spirit jade, worth three hundred gold coins alone!"
"And after being carved by Master Mo's skilled hands, the value of this hairpin has surpassed a thousand gold coins!"
A girl with delicate makeup had her eyes shining as she recognized the origin of the hairpin.
"This... This is too expensive!" Some of the girls from prominent families couldn't help but exclaim, astonished by Nie Feng's extravagance.
Nie Feng was satisfied with this effect. He smiled faintly and spoke in a gentle voice, "Wen Xue, do you like it? I specially prepared it for you."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the surrounding girls subtly changed, unable to suppress their envy towards Wen Lingxue.
Nie Feng.
The legitimate son of Nie Beihu, the commander of the City Lord's Mansion's guards. With outstanding talent and a graceful appearance, he was already a prominent figure in the Songyun Sword Manor at the age of sixteen, admired by many female classmates.
Such a talented and extravagant person, showering affection with a hairpin as a gift, was a matter of great pride for any girl.
Who wouldn't want such a scene to happen to them?
Wen Lingxue's brows furrowed even more deeply, and her expression grew colder. She said, "This gift is too precious. You should take it back."
Nie Feng's expression froze, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across his face.
Before he could say anything, Wen Lingxue invited everyone to take their seats, specifically asking Su Yi to sit beside her.
Throughout the gathering, she completely ignored Nie Feng.
However, seeing Nie Feng in an awkward situation, some of the girls couldn't bear it and warmly invited him to take a seat.
Nie Feng quickly regained his composure, sat down with a smile, as if he had completely forgotten the awkward situation that just happened.
However, when his gaze occasionally swept over Su Yi, who was sitting beside Wen Lingxue, he felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
In fact, both Nie Feng and the other girls were puzzled as to why Wen Lingxue had brought Su Yi to this gathering.
But out of respect for Wen Lingxue's face, they tacitly remained silent.
Throughout the gathering, no one took the initiative to greet Su Yi, let alone engage in small talk or pleasantries.
If it weren't for Wen Lingxue, they probably wouldn't even be willing to sit with Su Yi.
Who would want to associate themselves with a son-in-law who was ridiculed by everyone?
Therefore, although Su Yi was sitting there, he was ignored and overlooked like a transparent person.
"Brother-in-law, they may ignore you, but as long as I acknowledge you, it's enough. Please don't mind," Wen Lingxue whispered softly in Su Yi's ear when no one was paying attention.
The young girl's breath was fragrant, her eyes were clear like water, and her face was full of soothing colors.
Su Yi was speechless.
With his mindset of experiencing two lifetimes, how could he care about these things?
Soon, a group of beautiful maidservants walked in, presenting a sumptuous feast of rare delicacies that were seldom seen.
Wen Lingxue was puzzled and said, "I didn't order so many dishes."
Nie Feng's spirit rose, and he said loudly, "Wen Xue, today is your birthday. How can I let you pay? I'll cover all the expenses at Ju Xian Tower today."
He glanced at the other girls and spoke passionately, "Let's all enjoy the food and drinks today. It's the greatest blessing for Wen Xue."
Those girls laughed happily.
Although they came from distinguished backgrounds, it wasn't something they could easily afford to enjoy a meal at Ju Xian Tower, a "money-burning place."
However, Wen Lingxue remained unmoved and said coldly, "Whatever the cost is today, I will pay you back another day."
Nie Feng chuckled and said, "Wen Xue, don't be so formal. It's just a meal. If you really pay me back, I'll be scolded to death by our male classmates from the Songyun Sword Manor."
"Nie Feng, don't be like this," many of the girls laughed and echoed, advising Wen Lingxue not to pay too much attention to these things.
Wen Lingxue hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn't say much.
However, she muttered quietly in Su Yi's ear, "This guy is always like this. He loves showing off when he was at the Songyun Sword Manor. I hate this kind of person the most. Too vain."
"And besides, I didn't invite him to this gathering at all, but he came on his own. He's really shameless!"
Su Yi smiled.
It's just vanity, a common flaw in young people. It's not too terrible.
At that moment, Nie Feng suddenly turned his gaze towards them.
He indeed hadn't heard what Wen Lingxue whispered to Su Yi just now.
But he saw Wen Lingxue's rosy lips close to Su Yi's ear, engaging in an intimate whisper!
This made his smile freeze, and an uncontrollable surge of jealousy welled up in his heart. He even wanted to stand up and beat Su Yi to make him disappear from his sight immediately.
Forcing down the envy and hatred in his heart, Nie Feng pretended to be light-hearted and curiously asked, "Su Yi, as Wen Xue's brother-in-law, you also attended this gathering. I wonder what gift you gave to Wen Xue?"
A faint curve appeared at the corner of Su Yi's lips.
As someone of his caliber, he could see at a glance that this guy harbored grievances and was obviously trying to pick a fight with him!
Sure enough, the gazes of the others at the table turned towards them, their expressions varied. They probably guessed that Nie Feng had some ulterior motives.
It was highly likely that he would seize this opportunity to embarrass Su Yi.
It made sense to think about it. A son-in-law like him had no right to sit with them, let alone be ignorant of his own humiliation!
"This Nie Feng is really annoying!"
Wen Lingxue was a bit angry. She knew very well that Su Yi had almost forgotten her birthday, so how could he have prepared a gift?
Unfortunately, Nie Feng just had to bring it up!
However, before Wen Lingxue could say anything, Su Yi spoke apologetically, "I almost forgot Lingxue's birthday this time, so I didn't have time to prepare a gift in advance. But when we get home tonight, I'll make it up to her."
As he said that, he looked at Wen Lingxue.
Because these words were meant for Wen Lingxue, he didn't care at all about what others might think.
Wen Lingxue was momentarily stunned. Her rosy lips pursed lightly, and an indescribable joy surged in her heart. Her brother-in-law... he still cared about my birthday!
Well, he was just too busy and had a momentary oversight.
With such thoughts, a smile gradually spread in her eyes and at the corners of her lips.
"So you didn't prepare a gift," and at this moment, Nie Feng, who was burning with jealousy, finally had the opportunity to vent. He couldn't help but sneer, "It's surprising how well Lingxue treats you, this useless son-in-law. Who would have thought that you would forget her birthday!"
The other girls at the table shook their heads in disapproval as well.
This Su Yi, he was simply useless.
But on the other hand, thinking about it, he was just a son-in-law who lived off the Wen family. Even if he did bring a gift, so what?
He was destined to pale in comparison to Senior Brother Nie Feng's "Purple Phoenix Jade Hairpin"!
They really didn't understand why Wen Lingxue cared so much about this useless son-in-law...
Many of the girls were puzzled and felt even more disdain for Su Yi.
Taking in everything that was happening, Nie Feng felt a lot more relieved. He was considering whether to seize the opportunity and further belittle Su Yi when suddenly--
Bang!
The tightly closed door of the elegant room was forcefully pushed open.