Chapter 18
Ye Nanxun recognized He Lanxue at first glance.
The tall, radiant girl was as passionate and beautiful as a blooming red rose.
Yet in his previous life, she had shared the same tragic fate as him.
She was clearly a privileged young lady, with He Yiming—the outstanding figure among the younger generation—as her brother, and an imperial general of immense power as her father.
After being framed by Xu Wenyan, she had been forced to marry an alpha she did not love.
The proud, radiant red rose had been trapped in a golden cage forged from pure gold, withering by the day. In order to continuously bear exceptional heirs, even her right to die had been taken from her.
Ye Nanxun nodded at her in greeting. "Hello, Miss He."
The young man carried a cool, detached air, but he did not make people dislike him.
It simply felt as though this was Ye Nanxun's natural disposition, rather than him deliberately treating others coldly.
He Lanxue asked, "Young Master Ye, are you here to watch Teacher Jiang rehearse too?"
There were no public performances at Dream Star Opera House during this period. Recalling Ye Nanxun's piano solo at the coming-of-age ceremony, He Lanxue immediately thought of Jiang Yuenian, who had recently been rehearsing at the opera house.
Ye Nanxun nodded, which counted as an answer to He Lanxue's question.
"What a coincidence. So are we. Young Master Ye, let's go in together."
He Lanxue was delighted. She had recently been worrying over how to get acquainted with Ye Nanxun, yet they had unexpectedly run into each other.
"Hey, you still haven't told me, He Lanxue. Is this guy related to that bastard Ye Zhineng?" The person who had been ignored the whole time pressed his horn in displeasure.
He Lanxue turned around and glared at the alpha. "Zhu Shixin, are you sick? Nan Xun is my friend. Stop picking fights for no reason!"
"Don't mind him, Young Master Ye. Let's go in first!"
He Lanxue called for Ye Nanxun to walk with her.
Ye Nanxun smiled faintly and replied, "All right." He turned with He Lanxue and entered through a nearby side door, treating Zhu Shixin like air without even sparing him a glance.
Zhu Shixin was almost angered into laughter.
Even Ye Zhineng did not have the nerve to give him such an attitude. Did this omega think he was so great that he could look down on everyone?
"Fuck! He's just an SS-class omega. Does he really think he's somebody?"
He Lanxue's enthusiasm was a little difficult for the socially awkward Ye Nanxun to handle. Fortunately, though she was enthusiastic, she knew how to respect boundaries in conversation.
They chatted about many things along the way. Although He Lanxue did most of the talking, she never made things feel awkward or uncomfortable.
As they neared the opera house lobby, He Lanxue glanced back at the empty corridor. "Zhu Shixin has a terrible temper. He doesn't get along with your cousin Ye Zhineng, so don't mind him!"
Like He Yiming and Ye Zhineng, Zhu Shixin was one of the people behind Xu Wenyan.
Within that chaotic mess of relationships, there was some subtle balance among the alphas.
He Lanxue's brother, He Yiming, was one of the most prominent figures among Dream Star's young elite.
Logically, as long as He Yiming was willing, and as long as he did not want anyone else around Xu Wenyan, the other alphas would have no way of approaching Xu Wenyan.
He Yiming had a secret, peculiar fetish. Not only did he enjoy doing it himself, he also enjoyed watching others do it.
Suppressing the nausea that abruptly surged up within him, Ye Nanxun casually asked, "You know my cousin?"
A flicker of disgust passed through He Lanxue's bright eyes. She had no favorable impression of Xu Wenyan or those people around him.
Unfortunately, one was her brother, and the other was Zhu Shixin, who had grown up with her.
"He... he's sort of my brother's friend."
As He Lanxue finished speaking, the two of them arrived at the lobby entrance.
On the opera house stage, the orchestra performed under Jiang Yuenian's direction.
Ye Nanxun and He Lanxue tacitly stopped talking and found seats near the entrance.
Before long, heavy footsteps approached from afar.
They paused briefly near Ye Nanxun and He Lanxue before taking two more steps forward.
With a cold expression, Zhu Shixin sat down without expression across the aisle, to the right and slightly in front of Ye Nanxun and He Lanxue.
After the orchestra performed two pieces, it dispersed, leaving only a few people seated onstage to rest.
Jiang Yuenian spotted Ye Nanxun and the others at a glance. "Did you come together?"
He Lanxue, who had been especially enthusiastic around Ye Nanxun, now behaved like a well-mannered junior. She answered honestly, "Teacher Jiang, we ran into each other outside."
Zhu Shixin, who had looked so arrogantly cocky just moments ago, also wore an obedient smile. "Brother Jiang."
Jiang Yuenian gave a slight nod. His gentle gaze shifted to Ye Nanxun, and just as he was about to say something, he caught sight of the black-and-gray scarf wrapped around Ye Nanxun's neck. His gaze paused for a moment.
Ye Nanxun did not notice Jiang Yuenian's gaze. Like the others, he greeted him. "Teacher Jiang."
The smile in Jiang Yuenian's eyes deepened. "Nanxun, come with me. Lan Xue, Shixin, wait for me a moment."
Jiang Yuenian and Ye Nanxun walked away.
Watching their retreating figures, He Lanxue's eyes shone with excitement. "Ye Nanxun actually knows Teacher Jiang. It must be because he played so beautifully that day that he caught Teacher Jiang's attention."
When she glanced to the side, Zhu Shixin had returned to his punchable expression now that Jiang Yuenian was gone.
Two little knots formed between her brows as He Lanxue said unhappily, "Zhu Shixin, what's with that expression? If you hate Ye Zhineng, then hate him. Why are you giving Ye Nanxun such a sour face?"
With both hands in his pockets, Zhu Shixin curled his lips in distaste. "Everyone with the surname Ye is annoying."
Ye Nanxun followed Jiang Yuenian up onto the stage from the side.
The musicians who had remained were all the performers who would be playing live with him at Zhu Yucheng's birthday banquet.
Jiang Yuenian introduced them to one another, then left the opera house with He Lanxue and Zhu Shixin.
Although Ye Nanxun was not a professional pianist, the process of performing with the teachers went very smoothly.
Two hours later, practice ended.
The teachers politely greeted Ye Nanxun and said their goodbyes.
Working with polite, well-bred people, Ye Nanxun suddenly felt that socializing was not actually so difficult.
The wonderful music and friendly partners made Ye Nanxun's heart feel as though it had been soaked in warm water, content and warm.
A faint flush rose on his fair face, and as he came down from the stage, the corners of Ye Nanxun's lips remained lifted.
Jiang Yuenian had sent him a message half an hour earlier, saying that he had something to do and had left ahead of time.
Ye Nanxun replied to Jiang Yuenian's message, then called his father.
While waiting for his father to pick him up, Ye Nanxun took a casual stroll near the opera house entrance, the music from the ensemble still echoing in his mind.
The beauty of the day came to an abrupt end when someone violently rammed into him from behind.
A sharp pain shot through his right shoulder. It was no accident; it had clearly been deliberate.
Frowning, Ye Nanxun turned his head and met a pair of malicious eyes filled with contempt and mockery.
"Hmph—"
Making no effort to hide his disgust for Ye Nanxun, Zhu Shixin glanced at the omega youth, who had nearly been knocked over, and smugly curled up the corners of his mouth.
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