Volume 3 – The Place Where My Heart Feels At Peace, Chapter 25: Attracting Hatred
This was the second time Qianye faced a Champion rank elite directly. While William only caused him alarm, but gave off no clues for him to cling onto, Yuan Zeyu’s casual gaze had some sort of penetrative power that seemed to expose even the fine details of his innards in full.
Qianye bowed slightly and performed a salute. Then, he withdrew his gaze and did not move.
When he walked down the car, he was showered with attention by many eyes. Therefore to be safe, he had already activated the concealment ability in his bloodline beforehand. The multi colored blood energies in his body also seemed to sense the danger of a terrible enemy and scurried back into his heart; this included the ability rune. Right now, Daybreak origin power filled the insides of Qianye’s body, covering his heart in a layer of faint, gold light. At a glance, it looked like a fifth ignited origin node.
Yuan Zeyu nodded and said with slight praise, “An impressive young man. His foundation is extremely solid, and this is something rarely seen. He is…?”
Qiqi smiled faintly and held onto Qianye’s arm, going so far as to press half her body on him before saying, “This is Qianye. He is my new assistant and aide.”
A hint of oddness appeared on Yuan Zeyu’s face, but it faded immediately as he smiled, “Then come in! Since you are already here, the dinner feast can start now. There are a lot of people who purposely came over from other large cities to catch a glimpse of my Niece Qiqi’s peerless beauty!”
With all smiles, Qiqi released Qianye’s arm and gifted him a smile of unknown meaning. Then, she gracefully walked beside Yaun Zeyu and entered the hall of the feast together at the front. For tonight’s feast, Yuan Zeyu would be the master, and Qiqi the main guest.
Meanwhile, Qianye fell back a few steps and moved himself to the center of the crowd who had escorted Yuan Zeyu’s exit earlier. While he was pondering the meaning behind Yuan Zeyu’s odd smile, he immediately sensed the abnormality around him. There were now a lot more killing intent and hostility in the gazes that befell on him.
Alright, perhaps this was the meaning behind Qiqi’s smile. Qianye still had not figured out how Qiqi had done it, but he had to admit that the Miss’ first stage of tonight’s mission, which was to attract hatred, had been completed smoothly.
Qianye did not know that Yin Qiqi’s action of holding onto Qianye intimately and introducing him at a socializing feast that was specifically held for Qiqi in the presence of her family elder was in fact, a covert declaration that Qianye was her official lover. Therefore, Qianye had immediately became the target of many youths around him.
The main banquet hall was just as grand as the mayor’s mansion. The frame and structure of the building were all metal beneath the decors of stone and wood. The several thousand square meter wide banquet hall was twenty meters tall, and right now it was completely alit in splendid lights. Several musician groups were performing a relaxing and lively music at the veranda at the two sides. Long tables were placed at two sides of the banquet hall, and the top of the tables were filled with dazzling lineups of all kinds of exquisite food. Several dozens of waiters went back and forth to add wine for the guests or serve up meals on plates.
The buffet style feast originated from the dark races, and it was a custom especially loved by vampires. Later on, this free and casual way of dining were gradually accepted by the aristocratic families of the Empire and became popular. By now, it had become the unofficial but mainstream way of setting up feasts for grand occasions.
When Qiqi arrived, the feast officially began. Qiqi and Yuan Zeyu went up the second floor. There was a small hall here that enabled one to look through the guardrail and watch most of the corners at the bottom floor. There was no one who stood on this floor who wasn’t a person of true, prominent status.
Naturally, Qianye wasn’t qualified to walk up the second floor as an assistant and aide. Therefore, he could only hang out at the main hall. Very soon, people began to walk up and talk to him. In the blink of an eye, a circle of people had surrounded Qianye.
Since Qiqi had set tonight’s mission as a show off, Qianye decided to fully display the results of his intensive training during the morning. Therefore, he had maintained a graceful bearing and socialized with the people who came to talk with him without being overly friendly or estranged, or servile or overbearing.
A while later, these people began to notice that everything Qianye said was useless. He had not revealed even a single bit of useful information. Despite talking for half the day, he had not even said which family he might belong to or how he came to know Qiqi. Because of this, the people who were either curious of Qianye’s identity or came to talk with him bearing ill intentions actually felt that he was mysterious instead.
After all, even talking bullshit was a kind of skill. In fact, it was a skill that both nobles and politicians must have.
People began to guess that this enviable kid might actually come from an aristocratic family. Otherwise, how could he possibly use such techniques so skillfully? Then, their whispering discussions began to shift towards a different direction. The situation of Qiqi’s engagement was open to public, so did this mean that the engagement would be canceled, or did she simply add another new lover?
Such colorful rumors had always been the most welcomed topic in feasts, but the friends and families of related parties might not enjoy it as much. Very soon, the complexion of several people among the crowd changed.
At the second floor, Qiqi and Yuan Zeyu waved the waiters away and appeared to be talking casually about anything under the sun.
After chatting about some important activities of the main Yin Family of the month, Yuan Zeyu changed the subject and said tactfully, “This place is not as safe as it appears. It seems that some people have arrived.”
Qiqi’s eyes had been trained on Qianye all this time. When she heard the mayor’s words, she said absentmindedly, “So what? What could those three rubbish possibly stir?”
Yuan Zeyu frowned and said, “You should still be careful. The interests involved in this matter is too huge, and there are many people who wish to stick a leg in it. Anything that happens to you, or any mishaps that befall the results of your examinations are nothing to be laughed at.”
Qiqi continued to say faintly, “Relax, uncle Yuan. Be it experts, the army, equipment or military accomplishments, is it not simply a matter of spending money?”
This was Qiqi’s usual view, but as a Champion rank expert Yuan Zeyu found it a little unpleasant to the ear. He could not restrain himself from saying, “Experts are not so easy to buy.”
“That is simply because the price wasn’t good enough.” Qiqi said with a smile.
Yuan Zeyu knew very well about Qiqi’s temper and behavior, and he did not wish to continue further down this topic. Therefore, he turned his gaze to Qianye at the bottom and asked, “Who is this young man?”
Qiqi said a little lazily, “My lover.”
Yuan Zeyu could not help but feel surprised, “He really is your lover?”
“Would I joke about something like this?”
“How do you plan to explain this to the clan? You have an engagement with you. If you act this bombastically, wouldn’t you be throwing all of Gu Famliy’s face away?”
Qiqi smiled coldly, “Like a small landowning household would have much face to throw! If he finds this embarrassing then he can cancel the engagement! I’ll be waiting for it!”
The mayor’s eyebrows locked even deeper, “If this happens, your reputation…”
“As long as I have strength and money, who cares about reputation?”
Suddenly, a pure, cold voice cut in from the side, “Money cannot buy everything!”
Qiqi slowly turned her head and saw a tall, young girl at the entrance leading to the corridor of the small hall that was empty moments earlier. She was very beautiful, and her pure, cool, and proud temperament made her stand out among many other noble girls. Even when standing beside Qiqi, she was not inferior in any aspect.
This was the shared opinion of the majority of the young nobles. In reality, Qiqi was slightly superior be it in terms of her appearance or figure, but since she was overbearing and very dissolute, the hot blooded, proud and high spirited youths would subconsciously rate her a tad lower than she really was.
Qiqi let out a ruminating smile and said, “Ye Mulan, this line should not come out of your mouth.”
This girl’s attire was very meaningful. The style of her clothes was also retro, but it was in the color of a landowning household. Her upper dress was skin tight, and lower dress was an overlapping skirt with powdery jade color and muslin patterns. However, the fabric of the clothing was extraordinary and completely in dark patterns. It would only reflect faint, crystalline blue lines when she moved. It was a dress that was both low-key and luxurious at the same time. This wasn’t a dress that a normal landowning household could afford.
From the fact she dared to walk up the second floor instead of cowering before Qiqi, and actually provoked her while the mayor of Xichang City was right next to Qiqi obviously meant that this girl’s status was not ordinary as well.
The girl said coldly, “Yin Qiqi, you wouldn’t think that every will fawn over you and obey your words just because the Yin Family is behind you, would you?”
Qiqi shrugged and said smilingly, “Of course not! This is especially true for a genius girl like you; a genius girl who had an engagement with the Song Family. Landowning households, right?!”
Anger flashed across Ye Mulan’s face, “What does this have to do with landowning households?”
“Nothing really, but when someone clings onto their engagement and refuses to let go, then there it has a lot to do with it, especially, for a certain genius girl.” Qiqi emphasized heavily on the word “genius”.
The pure, cool and proud temperament of Ye Mulan was completely swept away as a blush appeared on her pale white face. However, the blush was obviously not due to embarrassment as she suppressed her anger and said coldly, “You better clarify what you just said. What do you mean clinging onto an engagement and refusing to let go? The engagement between Zining and I had been determined a long time ago, and it’s not like I want it.”
“If you don’t want it then just cancel it!” Qiqi smiled with curved eyebrows, instantly exuding an astounding amount of charm.
Ye Mulan finally couldn’t endure it any longer as she cried, “Yin Qiqi! You…”
Qiqi’s face darkened. Her smile faded completely as she said coldly, “Who do you think you are to call my name? Who gave you the permission to walk up this floor! Ye Mulan, as long as you haven’t married into the Song Family, you are still just a landowning noble! If you’ve forgotten the laws of the Empire, then I wouldn’t mind sending you to a military police prison to reflect on your actions for several days and remind you the price of offending an upper rank aristocratic family!”
Ye Mulan pointed a finger and shook in anger. She was so angry she couldn’t even speak, “You…” her eyes swept across Yuan Zeyu sitting calmly at the side. The mayor of Xichang city was wearing a benevolent look on his face and was even smiling at the scene. It was as if he was merely watching a scene two kids bickering with each other.
In the end, Ye Mulan said hatefully, “The Yin Family could not cover the whole sky with a hand just yet. Your identity cannot protect your pride forever!”
“You’ll have to marry into the Song Family first before you can say that!” Qiqi said rudely.
In just a few minutes, the beautiful girl who had transformed from a glacier into a volcano stomped her foot on the ground and left.
Yuan Zeyu simply shook his head and let out a sigh.
Qiqi simply smiled without concern and said, “Did she really think that I can’t do anything without relying on the Yin Family? Still, I suppose she’s smart enough to see the signs. If she said anything else I would’ve done something.”
Yuan Zeyu opened his mouth, but wasn’t sure what to say.
Both the surname of Ye and Gu originated from the Yue Continent. The branches of the son of first wife where Ye Mulan and Gu Liyu was in especially had a good relationship with each other for generations. Their friendship was as good as family, and they were cousins of their mother’s side no less. The blood ties they shared were thick. Now that Qiqi had openly brought over her lover and paraded him ostentatiously in such an official setting no less, naturally, Ye Mulan who had always disliked Qiqi would find the chance to attack her.
Yuan Zeyu also wiped himself a handful of sweat when he watched the duo bickering with each other earlier. In reality, Qiqi was almost at the limits of her patience just now, and if Ye Mulan had spoken any further especially on the topic on lovers, Qiqi would have thrown a slap right across her face. When that happened, a myriad of big and small troubles would have come incessantly.
Ye Mulan might be born under a landowning household, but she shared an engagement with the seventh young master of the Song Family. When she married into the Song Family in the future, her status would become different. Rumors said that Song Zining was rather satisfied with his fiance, and Ye Mulan had already officially begun to participate in some of his private activities. Moreover, Song Zining had acted both in the open and in the dark very indulgently towards her.
Even if Yin Qiqi’s mother was also born in the Song Family, Song Zining was this generation’s successor of the Song household. Even if his ranking was only around the middle, he was heavily favored by the great forefather of the Song Family. His status was also comparable to Yin Qiqi, who had not obtained the position of patriarch just yet. Moreover, even far away at the Evernight Continent Yuan Zeyu had heard that Yin Qiqi and Song Zining shared an old grudge with each other.
The affairs between these juniors were practically a tangled skein. For someone like Yuan Zeyu who was used to battling a thousand enemies alone on the battlefield, he just felt helpless and clueless as to how to mediate such matters. In any case, the best course of action for someone his status would be not to get involved.
It was at this moment Qiqi’s gaze landed on Qianye once more, and she said indifferently, “Uncle Yuan, this kid is great in many ways, but unfortunately his temperament is just a little soft. If only he is more like me…”
She hadn’t finished saying this when a change suddenly occurred downstairs. Qianye had actually thrown a fierce punch right into the face of a young noble, causing his opponent to fly several dozen meters away before slamming hard onto the wall. The noble slowly slid down the wall and actually failed to get up on his feet for a time.
