It was noon.
Inside Jun Man Restaurant in Silver Yuan City.
In an elegant private room.
A group of men and women sat around a broad round stone table, upon which several plates of cold dishes and a few opened jars of wine had been laid out. The fragrance of wine permeated the room.
"What's going on with Shen Qiulan? It's already this late, and she still hasn't shown herself?"
A woman dressed in a dazzling red gown spoke in a cutting tone. "Could it be she's afraid of losing face and doesn't dare come?"
A lean man beside her said, "Perhaps something held her up. Sister Shen has never been an unpunctual person."
"Still calling her Sister Shen?" The woman in red spat disdainfully. "What could possibly be holding her up? Could anything be more important than Sister Qing ending her seclusion early and hurrying here on purpose? I'd say she's clearly looking down on us—and looking down on Brother Lei even more. She simply refuses to give Brother Lei any face."
With just a few words, the woman immediately brought a trace of chill to the faces of the man and woman seated in the central places of honor.
On the other side, a sinister-looking man curled his lips into a cold smile and said with some glee, "If you ask me, it's probably because the Shen Family has fallen into decline and destitution. She knows her status no longer matches ours, feels the gap between us, and is too ashamed to come gather with us."
The man seated in the place of honor gave a cold snort. "We studied together once. Would we truly look down on her? What is there to feel ashamed about?"
Though his words sounded courteous, his face openly showed ridicule and mockery.