Establishing Authority

Su Xiao's first reaction was that this guy was playing a prank.

What boy attending a banquet wouldn't know how to eat Rock Cake?

So she got annoyed. She had come to her good friend Christine's birthday party today, only for the carefully chosen outfit she had prepared to run into trouble. When she entered, one of her high heels had started causing obvious discomfort, and she could only endure it. After finding an excuse to send the others away, she had planned to keep a low profile and find Christine's maid to ask whether there were replacement shoes.

Yes, her original intention had been to keep a low profile. Though she did not care much about what others thought, she still represented her family's dignity.

News that the daughter of Deep Blue Heavy Industries had crossed an entire banquet hall barefoot at a friend's party might not have been major, but it would still be easy for others to seize upon—especially certain petty people in the family who were deeply jealous of her background and would relish any scrap they could use to mock her.

She could originally have slipped through the hall easily amid the chaos at the start of the party.

Yet the man before her had ruined her low-profile plan with a complete lack of gentlemanly manners.

And with such a clumsy prank at that!

Having seen all manner of pickup attempts, Miss Su hardened her resolve. She was considering how to strike back fiercely with suitably refined words, while also probing the background of this unfamiliar man who claimed to be from Yi Lin Manor.

Yet in the next second, something deep within her wavered.

Because Ronan was looking directly at her, with no trace of teasing in his eyes.

Those fairly handsome eyes held nothing but sincerity.

"Ronan? An unfamiliar face? Yi Lin Manor?"

The girl holding her high heels was quick-witted, and almost instantly recalled the rumor that had been circulating through noble circles these past few days.

It was said that he might be Earl Will's illegitimate son—the person many believed to be Tri-Alliance Group's true future heir.

However, Su Xiao did not think highly of the boy in those rumors.

Someone who had supposedly grown up on a farm and never received any formal education—what could he possibly accomplish in this age of interstellar civilization?

No matter how old-fashioned Earl Will was, he would not make a mistake over such a crucial matter.

The only explanation was that this pitiful youth before her was merely a decoy Yi Lin Manor had put forward to draw attention. His role might be significant, but he would definitely never become the head of the Brinton Family.

Given the Earl's doting affection for Wei Wei, how could he possibly allow his precious daughter to marry some country boy?

In the end, this slightly handsome but ignorant boy was nothing more than a pitiful person being used by others.

At that thought, some part deep in Su Xiao's heart seemed to be stirred.

Speaking of being used, wasn't she herself, born into a wealthy family, also a bird trapped in a cage?

Ronan was speechless.

What was wrong with this girl?

She was blushing one moment and spacing out the next. He had only asked a question—did she really need to think so much?

And what was with that inexplicable pity in her eyes when she looked at him?

So he could only say regretfully, "So you don't know either! Noble food really is troublesome. Should I try eating it directly?"

Su Xiao suddenly snapped out of it, a flush sweeping across her cheeks.

What was this boy talking about? What a joke! What did he mean, she did not know either?

As a young lady of the Su Family, one of Bo Ning District's foremost great families, what exotic delicacies or strange foods had Su Xiao never eaten? Rock Cake was merely a relatively popular pastry among the nobles of the Emerald Star Region.

The faint pity and stirrings she had just felt vanished without a trace.

She merely said softly, "Just sprinkle one drop of red wine on it. Don't add too much—if you use more than three drops, it will burst."

Ronan gave an "Oh" and tried it with great interest.

Moistened by the liquid called red wine, the Rock Cake, originally only the size of a pinky finger, instantly expanded and softened into a palm-sized, fluffy cake.

Ronan picked up a fork and took a bite. It tasted quite good.

So he thanked her sincerely. "Thank you. This tastes pretty good. Would you like one?"

Su Xiao shook her head calmly.

She could feel many nearby gazes assessing both her and Ronan, but since things had already come to this, she no longer cared. Still, remaining barefoot was ultimately inappropriate, so she prepared to leave.

Yet in the next second, her eyes narrowed slightly.

A man was striding rapidly toward them.

His expression was extremely serious.

"What is Sister Su doing!?"

By the bar, a group of beautiful young women had gathered together, a feast for the eyes.

Yet Wei Wei looked somewhat angry.

She waved her fist and said indignantly, "Is she deliberately trying to ruin my plan?"

Christine had just walked over and had clearly seen the scene as well. She smiled and shook her head. "You never told Su Xiao about your plan. Her maid told me that her shoes had broken and she was planning to go to the dressing room to change into another pair. Who would have thought your fiancé would intercept her halfway there?"

At the mention of the word "fiancé," Wei Wei grew even angrier.

"This guy is really disgracing Yi Lin Manor! He doesn't even know how to use Rock Cake, yet he still has the nerve to ask someone else! Don't you think so?"

The other girls merely laughed.

Wang Xiaoman, who was kindhearted by nature, hesitated before saying, "I think he's pretty decent."

Christine, meanwhile, commented coolly, "No one is born knowing everything. If you don't understand something, you can learn. I thought a country bumpkin like him would be too proud to ask anyone, even if he chipped his teeth. After all, he barely has any friends here."

"Yet he actually had the courage to ask a passerby and openly admit his ignorance. That part, I rather admire."

Christine had always been the unspoken leader among the girls. After just a few words from her, their impression of Ronan immediately improved considerably. Wang Xiaoman nodded vigorously as well.

Wei Wei instantly felt betrayed, her watery eyes nearly squeezing out tears.

Christine affectionately rubbed Wei Wei's head.

"Why are you getting worked up again? Since you want to give him a show of strength, we'll definitely help you."

"I was only speaking objectively just now."

Wei Wei said unhappily, "But our first plan failed!"

Christine curled her lips into a smile. "That was because we never expected Ronan to be willing to lower his head and ask someone. Based on how you described him, I thought he was the type of man who would rather die than bow his head, someone instinctively hostile toward our noble class."

"But even if Su Xiao helped him out, so what?"

"You should know that Su Xiao herself is a huge problem!"

She smiled with absolute confidence, and the few young men beside her were nearly entranced.

At the center of the banquet, a tall young man strode toward where Ronan and Su Xiao stood.

Wei Wei's eyes lit up. "It's him!"

Whispers rose from the crowd.

Without anyone noticing, the place where Ronan stood had faintly become the center of everyone's attention.

And the arrival of that tall man in military uniform secretly ignited the flames that were about to erupt.

"It's Xiang Feihu! That elite who just retired from the Second Star Region Mech Infantry Legion."

"He's the Li Family's adopted son. I heard he was quite formidable in the military too. Before retiring, he'd already attained the rank of junior officer, but he returned to the Emerald Star Region to assist Young Master Li."

"I heard Su Xiao and Li Nanbei's engagement is about to be finalized. As Li Nanbei's close brother, Xiang Feihu probably won't allow any man to get close to her, right?"

"This is interesting..."

Everyone kept their voices low, but what they didn't know was that, for certain special reasons, Ronan's hearing was astonishingly sharp. He might not have been able to hear those farther away, but he could hear every word from the people nearby.

"What a bunch of boring people..."

It was the second time that night he had made a similar complaint deep in his heart.

After thinking it over, he prepared to turn and leave, but unfortunately, the Military Uniform Man gave him no chance.

He simply blocked Ronan's path.

Ronan frowned.

Su Xiao's heart began pounding.

Of course, she knew what Xiang Feihu wanted to do.

She did not have much of a favorable impression of Ronan, but neither did she dislike him. For some inexplicable reason, she even felt a slight sense of shared misery with him.

Xiang Feihu's methods were ruthless. Ever since returning to the Emerald Star Region, he had been assigned by the Li Family to Su Xiao's side under the guise of being her bodyguard. On the surface, he was a bodyguard; in reality, he was there to monitor her.

A surveillance that infiltrated every gap.

His control over Su Xiao had reached an almost pathological level. Everyone knew how devoted Xiang Feihu was to that brother of his. In his eyes, Li Nanbei's woman was not allowed to have contact with any other man.

At least, before they were married, that was his duty.

After they got married, it would become his brother's business. It would no longer be his concern.

Xiang Feihu was a typical soldier.

He disliked those smooth-talking noblemen who were rotten to the core approaching Su Xiao. To keep those flies from endlessly buzzing around her, he had long wanted to make an example of someone.

And now, he had found what seemed to be a perfect opportunity.

This man looked unfamiliar. He probably was not a major noble from Bo Ning District.

His clothes were fairly proper, but neither fashionable nor extravagant, so he was likely not the descendant of some powerful family.

Someone like this was the perfect target to establish his authority.

"Miss, you said you were going to the dressing room. You didn't say you would be gone for so long. And being this close to a man in public... he won't be happy."

Xiang Feihu directly ignored Ronan and stared intensely at Su Xiao.

The venue instantly fell silent.

Everyone knew that "he" referred to Young Master Li Nanbei of the Red Hat Snake Family, the dazzling man known as a mech prodigy.

Su Xiao felt intensely uncomfortable under his gaze, as though she were being lit up by two glaring headlights.

Deep within her heart, the resentment she had bottled up for so long finally surged to the surface.

She wanted to resist. This was not the life she wanted.

Yet when she saw the emblem on Xiang Feihu's body representing the Red Hat Snake Family, she immediately shook her head with a self-mocking smile. Perhaps her fate had been decided from the day she was born.

The Su Family was powerful, and the Red Hat Snake Family was even more powerful. To remain powerful, they had to sacrifice her.

That was only natural.

She had no reason to resist.

"I'll escort you to the changing room," Xiang Feihu said calmly.

He directly ignored Ronan and stepped past him.

But at that moment, a hand suddenly grabbed his arm.

Xiang Feihu laughed inwardly.

This was exactly the effect he wanted.

That kid really couldn't keep his cool.