Chapter 63

Chapter 63: Young Master Si, Pleased to Meet You.

“I’ve made Miss Qiao suffer,” Xu Zhong Qin said, forcing the edges of his expression back into place. “It’s my fault.”

He turned slightly, and an attendant approached with two glasses of champagne. Xu Zhong Qin took one and handed it to her.

“Let me apologize to you here.”

Qiao Qing Yan accepted the glass. The crystal caught the light like a blade.

Xu Zhong Qin lifted his own. “In a moment, if Miss Qiao likes anything, just tell me. Consider it my way of settling your nerves.”

Qiao Qing Yan tapped her glass lightly against his. “Then I’ll trouble President Xu to spend.”

Xu Shu Jing stood beside them, ignored so thoroughly she might as well have been air. Watching them speak and smile as if she didn’t exist, the hatred in her chest grew heavier, darker, until it almost made her dizzy.

Especially when she remembered the way Xu Zhong Qin had looked at Qiao Qing Yan earlier—how close he’d been to reaching out.

Jealousy clawed at her throat.

Qiao Qing Yan raised her glass toward the two of them, her smile composed and distant. “Then I won’t disturb President Xu and Miss Xu.”

Her gaze swept over Xu Shu Jing, cool as frost. “Have fun, you two.”

Then she turned and walked away, her steps unhurried, her back straight—an easy swagger that made it look like she carried the entire room behind her.

As that graceful figure disappeared into the crowd, the people nearby exchanged looks.

Subtle. Complicated.

As if they’d only just realized that whatever relationship existed between Xu Zhong Qin and Xu Shu Jing, it wasn’t as clean as it looked from afar.

But everyone here knew how to watch a show without stepping on stage. Since the lead role had left, they scattered.

Xu Shu Jing, however, felt it—felt the shift in the air, the shift in eyes.

A young master from a prominent Cloud City family strolled over, grin sharp. “President Xu, is this your new favorite?”

His gaze made a slow circle over Xu Shu Jing, as if appraising a commodity. Then he laughed. “So you like this type. No wonder you didn’t like hanging out with us back then.”

When Xu Zhong Qin first came to Cloud City, plenty of wealthy young masters had tried to befriend him. He’d always refused politely. He never joined their nights of indulgence.

Xu Shu Jing’s heart leapt when she heard the misunderstanding. For a split second, she almost welcomed it.

Then the young master spoke again, and her face froze.

“President Xu’s taste is really unique,” he said with a lazy smirk. “But how can the flower at home compare to wildflowers, right…?”

He stopped there, as if he’d already said enough. With a broad, mocking smile, he stepped back and offered an exaggerated nod.

“Have a pleasant night, you two.”

Then he sauntered off into the crowd.

Xu Shu Jing’s face drained of color.

Xu Zhong Qin glanced at her—at the way she’d been glowing a moment ago, and the way she now looked like she’d been dropped into ice water.

He didn’t feel a trace of pity.

“You’ve been out this long,” he said quietly, “and it seems you still haven’t learned how to live properly.”

His voice was gentle enough to be mistaken for kindness. The words themselves were a knife.

Xu Shu Jing’s breath caught. It felt like she’d sunk into deep water, pressure crushing her ribs.

“I’ll have Little Liu take you back first,” Xu Zhong Qin continued, already turning away. “Go back early and rest.”

With a single sentence, he decided whether she stayed or left.

Xu Shu Jing opened her mouth—desperate to fight, to salvage something—

But Xu Zhong Qin had already walked into the crowd, his steps elegant, his expression composed, talking to others as if she’d never existed.

—

Qiao Qing Yan stood at the edge of the hall, one hand holding a wine glass, the other resting lightly on the railing. From here, she could watch everything without being swallowed by it.

Her peripheral vision slid to the shadow behind her.

“Had enough?” she asked without turning. “Was the show good?”

A soft chuckle came from behind the Roman pillar. “Heh. Miss Qiao really makes me see you in a new light.”

A man stepped out slowly.

He wore a sapphire-blue suit tailored to perfection. His shirt was buttoned all the way to the top, neat to the point of severity. Even his stride was steady, controlled, calm.

It was hard to connect him to the arrogant Young Master Si who’d argued with the police at the hotel entrance earlier.

And yet—perhaps this, too, was what a Si family Eldest Young Master was supposed to look like when he chose to.

“You saw me like this,” he said, amusement flickering at the corner of his mouth, “and you don’t seem surprised.”

Qiao Qing Yan lifted her glass in a small toasting gesture. “Young Master Si, pleased to meet you…”