Chapter 9

"Is this your birthday, Wenxue? You’re not spending it at home with your parents?"

On the way to Juxian Tower, Su Yi casually asked.

"I’m sixteen now. Since it’s my birthday today, I should be the one to make the decision."

The girl beside him blinked her beautiful eyes and said with a smile, "But, I will be with my parents in the evening."

She paused and continued, "Besides, the day after tomorrow is my grandmother’s eightieth birthday, a grand celebration. My parents and other clan members are busy preparing for it, so they don’t have the time to worry about me."

Su Yi’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded.

Wen Lingxue’s grandmother was the old matriarch of the Wen family, Liang Wenbi, whose status in the Wen family was extremely exalted, even the clan leader Wen Changjing dared not defy her will.

Her eightieth birthday was a significant event, and the Wen family naturally dared not take it lightly.

"Sister-in-law, let’s hurry, it’s almost noon."

Wen Lingxue clearly couldn’t wait any longer.

"Alright."

Su Yi smiled and followed her.

After all, his little sister-in-law was only sixteen.

A beautiful and vibrant age.

Juxian Tower.

The highest-specification and largest restaurant in Guangling City, known as the first tower of Guangling.

Those who entered were either wealthy or noble.

There was a saying that a cup of wine at Juxian Tower was worth a poor family’s ten years of savings!

It was no exaggeration.

When Su Yi and Wen Lingxue arrived, they were warmly and respectfully led by a waiter to a third-floor private room decorated in an ancient and elegant style.

Inside the private room, there were already seven or eight figures, one of whom was a boy, the rest were girls, all around fifteen or sixteen years old.

When Wen Lingxue arrived, she was warmly welcomed.

"Lingxue, you look so beautiful today. This is a gift I specially prepared for you, wishing you success in entering Qinghe Sword Academy!"

"Hehe, if our classmates knew that today is the birthday of the first beauty of Songyun Sword Academy, they would probably line up to give gifts."

... The girls chattered and handed over their prepared gifts, their manners and enthusiasm were very proper.

Su Yi’s gaze swept over the room, and he saw many things.

Wen Lingxue’s classmates were all dressed very meticulously, clearly from distinguished and prominent families.

Some were lively and outgoing, some were gentle and reserved, some were spirited and graceful... their appearances and auras were all quite remarkable.

However, perhaps because Wen Lingxue’s attire today was too beautiful and dazzling.

When these female classmates talked to Wen Lingxue, they all had a hint of envy and jealousy, though well concealed, it did not escape Su Yi’s keen eyes.

He couldn’t help but find it amusing; the friendship between girls seemed intimate, but each had their own little thoughts.

Fortunately, these were all trivial matters.

"Nie Teng, what are you doing here?"

Wen Lingxue suddenly looked at the only boy in the room, her brows slightly furrowed, and her expression became much colder.

The originally lively atmosphere became somewhat somber.

The boy was dressed in a jade robe, with a sword-like brow and star-like eyes, dignified and handsome.

He smiled, walked forward, and said, "Lingxue, today is your birthday. This is a small token of my heart, please accept it."

He took out a gold-inlaid jade box with both hands and gently opened it.

A light purple jade hairpin was revealed to everyone.

The hairpin was intricately carved into a phoenix about to take flight, lifelike, clearly the work of a master craftsman.

"The Purple Phoenix Hairpin! This is the masterpiece of Master Mo from Yunhe County. It is said that the material is a natural piece of purple cold spirit jade, worth three hundred gold pieces just by itself!"

"And after Master Mo’s skilled hands, the value of this hairpin is worth a thousand gold pieces!"

A girl with exquisite makeup had her eyes shining, recognizing the origin of the hairpin.

"This... This is too expensive!"

Some of the girls from prominent families couldn’t help but be amazed by Nie Teng’s generosity.

Nie Teng was very satisfied with this effect, smiled gently, and said, "Wenxue, do you like it? I specially prepared it for you."

Hearing this, the other girls’ expressions changed subtly, and they couldn’t help but envy Wen Lingxue.

Nie Teng.

The son of Nie Beihu, the commander of the city lord’s guards, talented and handsome.

At sixteen, he was already a prominent figure in Songyun Sword Academy, admired by many female classmates.

Such a talented young man, spending a thousand gold pieces on a hairpin as a gift, expressing his admiration, would be a matter of great honor for any girl.

Who wouldn’t want such a scene to happen to them?

But Wen Lingxue’s brows furrowed even more, and her expression became even colder. "This gift is too expensive, you should take it back."

Nie Teng’s expression froze, a hint of embarrassment flashing in his eyes.

Before he could speak, Wen Lingxue had already invited everyone to sit down, and she deliberately made Su Yi sit next to her.

Throughout the entire time, she completely ignored Nie Teng.

However, seeing Nie Teng’s awkward situation, some of the girls couldn’t bear it and warmly invited him to sit down.

Nie Teng quickly composed himself, sat down with a smile, as if he had completely forgotten the awkward moment.

But when his gaze occasionally swept over Su Yi, who was sitting next to Wen Lingxue, he felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

In fact, both Nie Teng 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, they all tacitly said nothing.

Throughout the entire time, no one took the initiative to greet Su Yi, let alone chat or make small talk.

If it weren’t for Wen Lingxue, they probably wouldn’t have been willing to sit with Su Yi at all.

Who would want to be associated with a ridiculed son-in-law?

Therefore, although Su Yi was sitting there, he was treated like a transparent person, ignored and overlooked.

"Sister-in-law, if they ignore you, I’ll pay attention to you. Don’t mind it at all."

Taking advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention, Wen Lingxue whispered in Su Yi’s ear.

The girl’s breath was like a fragrant breeze, her eyes clear as water, and her face full of comfort.

Su Yi was speechless.

With his two-lifetime experience, how could he care about such things?

Soon, a group of beautiful waitresses entered, serving a sumptuous feast, all rare delicacies.

Wen Lingxue was puzzled. "I didn’t order this much food."

Nie Teng’s spirits lifted, and he said loudly, "Wenxue, today is your birthday, how can you pay? I’ll cover all the expenses at Juxian Tower today."

He glanced at the other girls and said with great enthusiasm, "Enjoy yourselves today, that’s the best blessing for Wenxue."

The girls all smiled happily.

Although they were from distinguished families, they couldn’t easily enjoy such a luxurious place like Juxian Tower.

But Wen Lingxue was unmoved, her voice cold. "I’ll pay you back the money spent today later."

Nie Teng laughed and said, "Wenxue, don’t be so formal. It’s just a meal. If you really pay me back, I’ll be laughed to death by the male students of Songyun Sword Academy."

Many girls laughed and echoed, urging Wen Lingxue not to take it too seriously.

Wen Lingxue hesitated for a moment but didn’t say anything more.

However, she whispered in Su Yi’s ear, "This guy is always like this, always trying to show off at Songyun Sword Academy. I hate such people, they’re too vain."

"And, I didn’t even invite him to this gathering, but he came on his own. What a thick-skinned person!"

Su Yi smiled.

Vanity was a common flaw among young people, not too despicable.

At this moment, Nie Teng suddenly looked over.

He hadn’t heard what Wen Lingxue said to Su Yi, but he saw her lips close to Su Yi’s ear, whispering intimately.

This made his smile freeze, and a surge of jealousy uncontrollably rose in his heart, making him want to punch Su Yi and make him disappear from his sight.

Suppressing his jealousy, Nie Teng pretended to be relaxed and asked curiously,

"Su Yi, you’re Wenxue’s sister-in-law, and you’re also attending this gathering. What gift did you bring for Wenxue?"

A faint smile appeared on Su Yi’s lips.

He was no ordinary person and immediately saw through the boy’s resentment, clearly trying to provoke him.

Sure enough, the others looked over, their expressions varied, guessing that Nie Teng had a competitive mindset.

He might even use this opportunity to embarrass Su Yi.

After all, what right did a son-in-law have to sit with them?

He was just asking for humiliation without even realizing it!

"This Nie Teng is really annoying!"

Wen Lingxue was a bit angry. She knew Su Yi had almost forgotten her birthday and couldn’t have prepared a gift.

But Nie Teng had to bring up this topic!

Before Wen Lingxue could speak, Su Yi said apologetically,

"I almost forgot Lingxue’s birthday, so I didn’t have time to prepare a gift in advance. But I’ll make it up tonight when I get home."

As he spoke, he looked at Wen Lingxue.

After all, these words were meant for her, and he didn’t care what the others thought.

Wen Lingxue was taken aback, her lips lightly pursed, and a wave of joy welled up in her heart. Sister-in-law... he still cares about my birthday!

Yes, he was just too busy and momentarily forgot.

Thinking this, the smile on her face and in her eyes gradually spread.

"So, you didn’t prepare a gift..."

At this moment, Nie Teng, filled with jealousy, finally had a chance to vent and couldn’t resist mocking, "I didn’t expect you to forget your sister-in-law’s birthday, despite her being so good to you!"

The other girls also shook their heads disapprovingly.

This Su Yi was truly hopeless.

But then again, what could a son-in-law who lived off the Wen family’s support do?

Any gift he brought would be far inferior to Nie Teng’s “Purple Phoenix Hairpin”!

They couldn’t understand why Wen Lingxue cared so much about this son-in-law...

Many girls found this very puzzling and increasingly despised Su Yi.

Seeing all this, Nie Teng felt much more relieved. He was considering whether to take advantage of the situation to further embarrass Su Yi when—

Bang!

The door to the private room was suddenly pushed open forcefully.

—

PS: This chapter is an additional update for Daozhang Mengzhu~

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