The Star Luo Imperial Family's Night Banquet

Star Luo Grand Hotel, 6:10 PM.

The lobby was brightly lit with soft light, and the huge crystal chandelier illuminated the entire space.

Xu Xiaoyan leaned back on the sofa armrest, idly scrolling through her communicator screen, while Ye Xinglan beside her held a half-full glass of warm water, sipping it slowly.

"Twenty minutes left."

Xie Xie walked over from the direction of the elevator, wearing a light gray casual suit and having styled his hair with hair wax. For once, he looked presentable.

"Teacher Cai said we'd meet at 6:30. Aren't we too early?"

"You're the last one to arrive." Xu Xiaoyan without even looking up.

"I was giving you time to prepare."

Xie Xie plopped down next to Ye Xinglan, crossed his legs, and said, "Doesn't it take girls at least an hour to put on makeup?"

Ye Xinglan put down the cup, glanced at him, and said, "I didn't put on makeup."

Xie Xie glanced at her face—a white shirt, black trousers, and her hair casually tied in a ponytail; there was indeed no trace of makeup.

He choked for a moment, then turned to look at Xu Xiaoyan: "And you?"

Xu Xiaoyan finally looked up, revealing an innocent smile, "I just put on some lipstick."

"Alright then." Xie Xie gave up on any further discussion about makeup.

Tang Wulin walked in through the door, wearing a dark blue suit jacket over a slightly open white shirt collar, and holding a cup of coffee that he had somehow gotten his hands on.

He sat down opposite Xu Xiaoyan and glanced around. "Where's Jing Heng?"

"They haven't come down yet," Xu Xiaoyan said.

"Still not down?"

Tang Wulin frowned. "What on earth is he doing in his room? It's been three days, he won't answer the door when I knock, and he only replies to my messages with one or two words."

"I brought him food the day before yesterday, and he said to leave it at the door. I did, but when I checked in the evening, the food was still at the door; he hadn't taken it inside at all."

"It's inside."

Xie Xie said, "I went to check yesterday, and the entrance was clean, so it must have been taken later."

"And where is he?"

Xu Xiaoyan turned the communicator screen towards them. "I texted him 'Are you alive?' and he replied with 'Mmm.' What does 'Mmm' mean?"

Yuanen Yehui walked over, wiped her hands on her clothes, and quietly interjected, "It means she's still alive."

"Isn't that obvious?"

Xie Xie rolled his eyes. "I mean, what on earth is he up to in his room? He's been like this ever since we got back from the expo. Did he see something exciting at the expo?"

"Aren't all the exhibits at the expo Soul Tool?"

Xu Xiaoyan tilted her head. "He's a Soul Engineer, it's not like he's never seen Soul Tool before."

"They're different."

Tang Wulin took a sip of coffee, lost in thought. "His expression was off when he came back from the expo that day."

Several people looked at him at the same time.

"What's wrong?" Xu Xiaoyan asked.

Tang Wulin recalled for a moment, "I can't quite put my finger on it, it's just that he usually... but I'm very curious, did something happen that day that I don't know about?"

He looked at Ye Xinglan.

Ye Xinglan thought for a moment, "Hiss... Could it be... that day when he was just about to help you out of that predicament, a passerby bumped into him, and then a book was shoved into his arms?"

"Books? What books?" Wu Siduo wiped her hands with a tissue, glanced at Xie Xie, and said, "Oh, so this street hustler randomly rearranged things here?"

Xie Xie his eyes at her. "Don't interrupt."

Ye Xinglan replied, "How would I know? After returning that day, Jing Heng went straight to his room and locked the door in the middle of the night..."

"How did you know he locked the door?" Xu Xiaoyan stared intently at Ye Xinglan.

Ye Xinglan's fingers, which were holding the water glass, stiffened slightly.

It was a very subtle movement; the water in the cup barely rippled, but she knew that the force of her fingertips had momentarily slipped out of control.

Her gaze shifted from Xu Xiaoyan's face to the half-full glass of water, as if she were studying its color.

"I heard it when I passed by," she said, her voice as calm as ever.

"Go through?"

Xu Xiaoyan tilted her head. "You're separated from him by Wulin, Xie Xie, Yuan En, and me. What are you doing passing by his door?"

The air suddenly became quiet for a moment.

Xie Xie put down his crossed legs, looked at Xu Xiaoyan, then at Ye Xinglan, and slowly a meaningful smile spread across his lips.

There's big news!

But he didn't say anything; it wasn't a good time to interrupt, or he might get arrested and beaten up.

Tang Wulin picked up his coffee cup, trying to hide the upturned corners of his mouth with the rim.

Yuanen Yehui paused in wiping her hands, silently took half a step back, and moved herself out of the front line.

Wu Siduo, however, was not afraid of trouble. She leaned against the armrest of the sofa, looking at Ye Xinglan with great interest, a smile playing on her lips.

Ye Xinglan remained silent for two seconds.

"I'll go talk to him about the competition," she finally said.

"11 PM?"

Xu Xiaoyan pressed on, her voice low but relentless, "And how did you know he locked the door? Did you try?"

Ye Xinglan's ears turned red for a moment.

That moment was too fleeting, so fleeting that Xie Xie didn't notice it at all, and so fleeting that Tang Wulin almost thought he had misread it.

But Xu Xiaoyan noticed.

Xu Xiaoyan's gaze remained fixed on Ye Xinglan's face, not missing a single detail.

I didn't try.

Ye Xinglan said, her voice a little lower than before, "I walked to the door and heard him lock it."

"So you went to his door at 11 p. m., heard him lock the door, and then you left?"

Xu Xiaoyan blinked. "You didn't knock?"

"No."

"Why?"

Ye Xinglan finally raised her head and looked directly into Xu Xiaoyan's eyes.

Her expression remained indifferent, but Xu Xiaoyan noticed that her eyelashes trembled faster than usual.

"Because it's already very late."

Ye Xinglan said, "It's not convenient to disturb them."

This reason is perfectly reasonable and irrefutable; it would be flawless in any situation.

But Xu Xiaoyan is clearly not the kind of person who can be persuaded by "reasonable arguments," especially when she already has an answer in her heart.

"Oh~"

Xu Xiaoyan drawled out the last syllable, looked away, and leaned back into the sofa, her tone light and airy, "So you went to talk to him about the competition at 11 pm, didn't knock because it was too late, and knew he locked the door because you heard it being locked. That makes perfect sense."

She smiled, picked up the juice on the table, and took a sip.

Ye Xinglan looked at her profile, her lips moved, but in the end she said nothing.

She lowered her head, placed the water glass on the table, and lingered her fingertips on the glass for half a second before letting go.

Xie Xie finally couldn't hold back any longer and cleared his throat. "Um... I have a small, immature question."

"Then don't ask," Wu Siduo said.

"I just wanted to ask a question," Xie Xie, ignoring Wu Siduo and carefully observing the expressions of the two girls.

"Shouldn't we discuss tonight's dinner party? Like, what color socks to wear or something?"

Nobody paid him any attention.

Xu Xiaoyan put down her juice glass, stood up, and sat down next to Ye Xinglan.

Her movements were natural, as if she had simply moved to a more comfortable position, but the moment she sat down, her shoulder almost touched Ye Xinglan's shoulder.

"Xing Lan," she whispered.

Ye Xinglan didn't move.

"You're not the only one worried about him, I am too..."

Ye Xinglan immediately lowered her voice and gritted her teeth, saying, "Then why did you do it in front of so many people?"

"Hmph~ Who told you to try a night raid?"

"You..."

Xu Xiaoyan opened her mouth, about to say something, when she caught a glimpse of the elevator doors opening out of the corner of her eye.

Her voice caught in her throat, and her expression visibly shifted from "aggressive" to "docile and charming."

Ye Xinglan sensed something almost simultaneously; her shoulders stiffened slightly, and the tips of her ears, which had been slightly red, returned to their normal color within a fraction of a second.

She reached up and brushed a stray hair behind her ear, a gesture she made very naturally.

"Cough cough."

Xie Xie suddenly cleared his throat, put down his crossed legs, leaned forward, crossed his hands on his knees, frowned slightly, and stared intently at the air in front of him, exuding the aura of a philosopher.

Tang Wulin's movements became even more fluid. The corners of his mouth, which had been slightly upturned, instantly flattened. He paused for a moment as he raised his coffee cup, then naturally lowered his head and took a sip, as if a fresh cup of coffee had suddenly been added to the empty one.

Yuanen Yehui was the calmest.

She had already retreated to a safe distance, and was now slightly turned to the side, one hand in her pocket, the other holding a communicator to her ear, her lips moving as if she were talking to someone.

But if someone gets closer to listen, they'll hear her muttering "um... um... okay... I know... um," repeating the same few words over and over.

Wu Siduo's reaction was the most direct. She straightened up from the sofa armrest, crossed her hands in front of her, slightly raised her chin, and completely removed the ambiguous smile from her face, replacing it with a dignified and proper expression, looking like a well-bred young lady waiting for her elders' inspection.

Only one second.

From the moment the elevator doors opened until Yun Jingheng stepped out, only a little over a second elapsed. But within that short time, every micro-expression, micro-movement, and micro-reaction that occurred in this corner of the lobby could be used as a textbook for acting students.

If the acting textbooks had a chapter on "how to pretend nothing happened in front of others."

Yun Jingheng stepped out of the elevator.

"..."

What an eerie atmosphere! You can't be talking bad about me anymore, can you?

"Are they all here?" he asked.

Everyone's waiting for you.

Xu Xiaoyan looked up, her smile so bright it was as if the person who had been relentlessly pressing her for answers was someone else entirely. "If you don't come down soon, we'll have to consider breaking down the door."

"Perhaps you can give me a call?" Yun Jingheng said.

Tang Wulin, clutching the empty coffee cup, stood up and patted Yun Jingheng's shoulder forcefully. "Let's go, Teacher Cai is waiting."

Several people breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. Of course, no one uttered the sigh, but the tension did ease a little.

Cai Yue'er walked over from the other end of the lobby, wearing a dark blue dress, her hair up, and a pearl necklace that gleamed warmly under the lights.

She glanced at everyone, her gaze lingering on Yun Jingheng's face for a second.

"Let's go," she said.

Two words, concise and to the point, without a single wasted word.

The group walked towards the door.

Xie Xie walked at the front, his steps light and quick, humming an unknown tune, looking like he was in a good mood.

Tang Wulin followed behind him and threw the empty coffee cup into a passing trash can.

Yuanen Yehui hung up the non-existent phone call and put the communicator in his pocket.

Wu Siduo reverted to her usual unserious demeanor, nudging Xie Xie's back with her elbow and saying something unintelligible.

Xu Xiaoyan and Ye Xinglan walked at the very back.

Xu Xiaoyan took Ye Xinglan's arm.

Ye Xinglan glanced at her.

"What's wrong?" Xu Xiaoyan blinked innocently.

"It's nothing," Ye Xinglan said, without breaking free.

The two walked side by side, their steps remarkably synchronized.

As they reached the door, Xu Xiaoyan suddenly leaned close to Ye Xinglan's ear and whispered something in a voice only the two of them could hear.

He's lost weight.

Ye Xinglan did not answer, but her gaze lingered on Yun Jingheng's retreating figure for a moment longer than usual.

At the entrance, the extended Soul-Guided Bus had already started up; its body was painted black, resembling a silent behemoth in the twilight.

The waiter opened the car door, and several people filed into the car.

Xu Xiaoyan pulled Ye Xinglan to sit together, while Yun Jingheng sat in the last row by the window, with Tang Wulin next to him.

The car started, and the night view of Star Luo City flowed slowly past the car window.

Xu Xiaoyan turned around from the front row, leaned against the seat back, and was about to say something when she caught a glimpse of Ye Xinglan looking in that direction.

Her gaze lingered on Ye Xinglan's face for a moment, then she smiled, her eyes crinkling.

"Jing Heng, you have dark circles under your eyes," she said.

"Didn't you sleep well?"

"What are you thinking about that keeps you awake?"

Yun Jingheng gazed at the flowing lights outside the window, paused for two seconds, and said, "Thinking about a book."

Xu Xiaoyan and Ye Xinglan both looked at him at the same time.

"What book?" Xu Xiaoyan asked.

"A document on Soul Tool."

Soul Tool document? That person handed him a Soul Tool document? Did they want him to be able to build one but didn't want him to be recognized?

Ye Xinglan thought to herself.

Star Luo Imperial Family, Banquet Hall.

His Majesty the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, dressed in magnificent robes, chatted with the Empress and other high-ranking members of the delegation.

The atmosphere was very harmonious, with nobles from the Star Luo Empire and members of the Douluo Continent delegation exchanging pleasantries, creating a peaceful scene.

Yun Jingheng smacked his lips; Star Luo Empire's so-called national liquor was clearly not that good...

Looking at Ye Xinglan and Xu Xiaoyan who were helping him fend off the drinks, he felt a pang of sadness.

Why aren't you toasting Aunt Cai? What are you doing here?

He glanced at Tang Wulin, who was being pestered by a girl, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Is this woman... Dai Yun'er?

"What do you mean by staring at the princess? Aren't the three beauties around you enough for you?" Wu Siduo appeared out of nowhere and said in a sinister tone.

Yun Jingheng turned his head and glanced at her.

Her expression was somewhere between teasing and serious, with a smile playing on her lips that made it hard to tell if she was joking or being sarcastic.

"If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll represent Aunt Cai and give you some pointers on your cultivation."

Wu Siduo retorted confidently, "You're not the class monitor; you can't represent her."

"Damn it, I should have taken the class monitor position back then."

Wu Siduo chuckled, about to say something, when she caught something out of the corner of her eye and suddenly stood up straight.

Her movements were swift; from languidly leaning back to straightening her spine, it took less than half a second.

Yun Jingheng noticed that her fingers tightened slightly as she held the wine glass, causing it to tilt slightly and the champagne inside to almost spill.

I followed her gaze.

A person walked in through the side door of the hall.

A dark red long dress, the hem of which gleamed with a faint, blood-red sheen under the light.

A thin silver belt cinched her waist, and there were no other decorations.

Her hair was long and black, hanging down her back, with only a small hair clip tucked behind her ear.

"Who is this...?"

"Xia Jingcheng, daughter of Duke Star Luo Empire Duke Cangming, belongs to the highest-ranking group of nobles."