Birthday Banquet

He really did not agree with Yi's permissive attitude. If he kept spoiling Jimo like this, it would not be two days before Jimo climbed onto his head and took a dump...

He Zhenglin's mouth moved, but before he could voice his warning, Ke Yueyi interrupted him first. "Hasn't Old Song landed yet?"

He Zhenglin clicked his tongue irritably and glanced at Jimo. In the end, he sat down on the sofa beside Ke Yueyi.

"The weather's bad. His flight was delayed."

He Zhenglin propped his feet up on the table. Although he was talking to Ke Yueyi, his gaze remained fixed lazily on Jimo. "He told us to start without him."

Ke Yueyi said, "That sounds like him. It's your birthday, so you decide."

He Zhenglin's gaze turned playful as he thought of something interesting. "We can go to the banquet and have some appetizers first."

"Let's go."

He Zhenglin stood and led the way out. As he reached the door, he paused, turned back, and stopped beside Jimo.

Then He Zhenglin suddenly bent down and brought his face very, very close to Jimo's. Their noses almost touched.

He Zhenglin had a high nose, deep-set features, and a pair of narrow fox eyes. Whenever he stared at someone, he wore an expression that was almost a smile. Whenever he looked at Jimo like that, Jimo always felt he was ready to scheme up something bad at any moment.

The face that had suddenly loomed before him did not startle Jimo. He calmly met He Zhenglin's gaze, and his voice was equally composed when he spoke.

Jimo tilted his head and blinked. "Brother Zhenglin, was there something else?"

Again, he was pretending nothing was wrong, even though the things he did were infuriating. He had already spoiled things for He Zhenglin several times.

But then He Zhenglin thought of certain performances at the banquet, and the expression on this man's face was sure to be quite a sight.

He Zhenglin stared at him for a moment, then reached out and patted Jimo hard on the shoulder twice. "Mind your own business if you want to live comfortably in Easton. I don't need to teach you that, do I?"

"And go change your clothes." He looked Jimo up and down, making no attempt to hide his distaste. "Dressed like that, you wouldn't even make it through my door."

After he left, Jimo turned around and met a heavy gaze.

He had no idea how long Ke Yueyi had been watching from behind him. Ke Yueyi studied Jimo calmly for a long moment before saying, "Don't provoke him."

Huh?

Was Ke Yueyi blind? Which of his eyes had seen Jimo provoke He Zhenglin?

Perhaps Jimo's dissatisfaction was too obvious, because Ke Yueyi walked over and touched his cheek.

His fingertips were icy as they moved down inch by inch.

The dog-teasing gesture made Jimo pull away.

Ke Yueyi's fingertips paused, then withdrew. Without explaining, he spoke in an unusually cold voice. "Pay less attention to him. Stay by my side at the banquet later. Don't go anywhere or leave my side for a moment."

Jimo was fed up with Ke Yueyi's attitude. Every time he opened his mouth, it was to give an order.

Jimo stood there straight and said nothing.

Remembering the way He Zhenglin had looked at Jimo earlier, Ke Yueyi felt somewhat displeased. He thought that perhaps he should not have brought Jimo to the banquet today.

But all he said was, "Go change your clothes."

A suit for the dinner banquet had already been prepared for him here.

Jimo walked into the dressing room and put it on. To his surprise, it fit him perfectly.

The night was warm and pleasant. When the classical wall clock in the villa pointed to exactly eight,

a burst of brilliant fireworks exploded in the night sky, announcing the start of the banquet.

The villa was brightly lit. The long tables were covered with silk tablecloths and laden with all kinds of expensive ingredients freshly shipped in from abroad. Silver utensils reflected a cold gleam.

The invited guests had been arriving one after another, and professional attendants carried trays as they moved among them.

Everything looked like an ordinary high-end dinner banquet: peaceful and unoriginal.

Someone whispered, "There are so many people here today. It's been so long already. Why hasn't He Zhenglin come yet?"

"Don't worry. I hear there's plenty planned for tonight. It'll probably go on pretty late."

The villa occupied a large area, with a garden in front and a swimming pool behind it. The rooms on the first floor were seldom used, and several secluded ones near the garden had been temporarily converted into dressing rooms.

At the moment, a noisy argument was underway inside.

"Are you kidding me? How are we supposed to fit into these clothes?" The special-class student who spoke had just taken a black stocking out of a box.

"Yeah, this is obviously meant to humiliate us. And these clothes are so short! Why don't they wear them themselves?"

Li Shuangjian picked up a pair of bunny ears and frowned. As though they might burn his hand, he hurriedly tossed them aside. "Whoever wants to wear it can wear it. I'm not wearing it."

"Right, I'm not wearing it either! I've had enough. Last time they tricked us into going to the riding grounds for no reason, and this time they just tied us up and brought us here."

Just then, someone knocked hard twice on the dressing-room door. Huang Zhenghao looked impatient. "What's taking so long? It takes you forever to change clothes. Are you all so important that you need someone to invite you? If you don't want to change, turn right when you leave. No one's stopping you."

He paused, then added, "As long as you can bear the consequences."

The blatant threat made the special-class students exchange glances. Someone protested quietly, "We're men. How can we wear women's clothes, especially this kind...?"

Huang Zhenghao gave them a somewhat odd look. His eyes shifted, and he realized what was going on. "So that's why you've been dragging your feet. Those clothes aren't for you."

"Look there!"

He pointed at the wardrobe against the wall. The attendant uniforms hanging on it were somewhat revealing, with bare chests and backs, but they were much better than the bunny-girl outfit.

Several special-class students followed his gesture and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Huang Zhenghao looked at Jiang Wangshu, who stood in the corner and had not said a word this whole time.

Then he added, "That's for him!"

The special-class students' expressions were complicated. Along with their sympathy came a trace of relief that they were not the one singled out.

Li Shuangjian frowned and was the first to speak. "Why? We all came together."

The person beside him immediately tugged at him, signaling him not to stick his neck out.

Huang Zhenghao glanced at Li Shuangjian and sneered. "Why don't you ask him yourself? Hurry up and change! Keep dawdling and you'll pay for it."

After he left, the special-class students hesitated. "What do we do? Do we put them on or not?"

Their gazes lingered on Jiang Wangshu, and they could not make up their minds.

Just then, they watched in surprise as Jiang Wangshu walked over to the box and took out a complete, brand-new bunny-girl outfit.

Bunny ears, a top, a skirt, stockings, and high heels.

Then, expressionless, he walked into a cubicle.

The special-class students were left looking at one another.

Someone asked quietly, "Why has he suddenly changed?"

In the past, he had put up the fiercest resistance against that group from the student council. Now even Li Shuangjian had dared to speak up, but Jiang Wangshu was unusually quiet.

Had the bullying scared him into submission?

At the thought, the special-class students fell silent.

"Let's change. If Jiang Wangshu doesn't mind, what are we afraid of? Besides, we can earn a month's living expenses for one day as attendants. It's a pretty good deal."

It was true that F4 did not treat the special-class students like human beings, but it was also true that they were generous with money.

After playing a game at the riding grounds last time, they had gone back full of resentment. But then an extra month's living expenses had suddenly appeared in the account of every special-class student who had taken part. They had fallen silent at once, their feelings becoming very complicated.

Some special-class students who had not gone were even envious when they heard how much money the others had received for simply playing a game.

Someone took the initiative, taking clothes off the rack and distributing them. "Everyone, check the sizes..."

By the time they arrived, the banquet had been underway for quite a while.

As soon as Ke Yueyi entered the hall, he caused a stir. Some people were even eager to approach him with their wineglasses and strike up a conversation, but before they could act, Jimo, who followed behind him, also came into view.

This...

Everyone's gazes grew somewhat peculiar, and for a moment, no one went up to talk to him.

Jimo's expression did not change. He did not spare a glance for the men and women in their fine clothes as he followed Ke Yueyi all the way to a private room on the second floor.

The view was excellent. Once the floor-length curtains were drawn back, they could see everything happening in the hall.

"Sit!"

Jimo was just about to sit down across from Ke Yueyi.

Ke Yueyi patted the spot beside him, making his meaning clear.

Jimo paused, pretended not to see, and sat down opposite him. Looking perfectly at ease, he asked, "Aren't we going down?"

He could not understand why they had gone to such trouble arranging a birthday banquet, only to hide up here like spectators, watching other people have fun instead of joining in.

Ke Yueyi looked at him for a moment before saying, "I like quiet."

White steam curled up from the teapot on the table. Jimo poured a cup and pushed it in front of Ke Yueyi.

The host stood on the newly built stage with a microphone. The soothing background music stopped, and his booming voice reached the private room.

"Welcome, fellow students, to Desen Villa for Young Master He's birthday banquet. I'm Huang Zhenghao, your host for tonight. Let me guess: now that you've all had your fill of food and drink, some of you must be getting bored."

"Yes!"

Someone below shouted in agreement.

Huang Zhenghao smiled. "Don't worry, we won't keep you waiting long."

He paused and looked up at the stairs to the second floor. "Young Master He, would you like to say a few words?"

Everyone looked up and only then noticed that He Zhenglin had appeared on the stairs at some point. One hand rested lazily on the railing as he looked this way.

"Wow, look over there! It's Young Master He!"

"Young Master He, say a few words! Come on!"

The mood grew extraordinarily lively, sweeping away the earlier dullness.

He Zhenglin raised a hand and pressed it downward.

The crowd immediately fell quiet.

He Zhenglin raised his glass to the people below. "Everyone, have fun, and let's share some cake."

He had only said a few casual words, but the atmosphere instantly reached its peak. The usually arrogant young masters and young ladies all raised their glasses. "Happy birthday, Young Master He!!"

With that, they clinked glasses from a distance and drained them.

"The cake was originally planned for the middle of the evening, but since Young Master He has said so, we'll celebrate early."

The lights in the hall suddenly dimmed, and a birthday song echoed through the villa.

At the same time, a beam of light came on, aimed at the entrance.

Someone pushed a cake out.

It was a huge three-tiered cake, like a small mountain blocking the person behind it from view. It came to a stop in the center.

Only then did someone notice that something was unusual, and a gasp went up from the crowd.

"Oh my god, no way?"

In the private room upstairs, Jimo was leaning against the window in boredom when he suddenly sensed that the hall had gone quiet. Puzzled, he craned his neck to look down.

Before he could make anything out, Ke Yueyi suddenly raised a hand and knocked on the table.

Jimo turned, questioning him with a look.

Ke Yueyi spoke indifferently. The moment he opened his mouth, he was ordering Jimo around again. He pointed and said, "Close the window. It's noisy."

Jimo paused, then did as he was told.

He also thought it was noisy and had little interest in it, but it was still better than sitting here staring at Ke Yueyi.

Unexpectedly, Ke Yueyi was still not satisfied after Jimo closed the window. "The curtains too."

The soundproofing was good. Once they were closed, the entire room fell quiet, the private room like a small, separate space carved out of the banquet.

Jimo took a sip of tea, mentally planning to find an excuse to slip away later.

The revelry continued downstairs.

The gasps drew more and more attention. When people noticed something unusual about the person behind the cake, their expressions became extremely strange, mocking and contemptuous.

Under the beam of light, the attendant's outfit was on full display from head to toe.

A burgundy patent-leather top, over-the-knee fishnet stockings beneath a short skirt, and black high heels studded with tiny diamonds.

And beneath the bunny-ear headband was a face everyone knew all too well.

Big eyes and fair skin. Apart from his excessively tall build, there was surprisingly little that looked out of place.

Some people in the crowd looked at him differently, their gazes lewd and blatant. How had they never noticed before that this special-class student was so enticing?

Jiang Wangshu stood alone and helpless beneath the beam of light, his head lowered, his fingertips white from the force of his grip.

"Oh my god, this special-class student really put it on."

These people hid in the darkness, talking and pointing. All those gazes seemed to become tangible, turning into sharp swords that pierced him.

After an unknown length of time, the lights suddenly came on.

Jiang Wangshu looked up blankly and saw the people surrounding him clearly. He could see their gazes, expressions, and gestures.

There were also their voices, sounding as though they were very close to him, yet also very, very far away.

Huang Zhenghao gave the guests plenty of time to admire the scene, a cold sneer appearing on his lips as he watched.

He checked his watch. "Since the atten... bunny girl has brought out the cake, we'll skip the wish and go straight to sharing it."

The professionally trained attendants had withdrawn at some point. A group of special-class students in matching uniforms came forward carrying tableware and stood together.

As fellow special-class students, they looked at Jiang Wangshu, unable to bear the sight.

Huang Zhenghao glanced up at the stairs and, sure enough, saw He Zhenglin watching with great interest. So he spoke into the microphone again. "Then we'll trouble this beautiful bunny girl to cut the cake for us."

A special-class student held out a plate, but the bunny girl did not take it. The hall was very quiet now, and everyone around them was staring.

Feeling the pressure, the special-class student reminded him quietly, "Jiang Wangshu."

"Oh?"

Someone spoke up. "This bunny girl doesn't want to? You won't even do Young Master He the honor?"

"That's right. What a strange person. If you won't even do this little job, why come here?"

None of the noise downstairs reached the private room. Jimo was so bored he was almost asleep.

Ke Yueyi had said he was bringing him to a banquet, but what they were doing was no different from what they had done in the lounge. They had merely changed rooms.

This is so stifling!

Jimo drained the tea in his cup, but the moment he stood up, Ke Yueyi looked over at him.