"Pfft."
Tan Xuguang seemed to have choked on his drink and coughed for ages. Wen Jincheng and Song Jici hurried to pat his back.
Even as he coughed, though, Tan Xuguang kept sneaking glances at Shen Hui's livid face.
This was one hell of a bombshell.
Tan Xuguang's coughing drew Jiang Nian's attention, and she mocked him mercilessly. "You're a grown man. How do you still choke on a drink?"
Tan Xuguang merely gave Jiang Nian a resentful look.
It's all because of you.
The entire main cast began sneaking glances at Shen Hui after hearing the news, while wondering who Jiang Wenxue, the woman he would be caught with, was.
Only Shen Hui laughed in disbelief at Jiang Nian's prediction.
According to Jiang Nian, I'd drink the spiked wine and have drunken sex with Jiang Wenxue?
At my own grandfather's seventieth birthday celebration, at a banquet packed with high society, I'd end up in bed with my illegitimate younger brother's girlfriend-and get caught?
If that really happened, he would be finished.
Shen Hui stared fixedly at the glass Jiang Nian had just reached for, considering whether to "accidentally" knock it over and shatter it. But her inner voice stopped him just as he was about to step forward.
[Oh, so this isn't the glass that will ruin Shen Hui's reputation.]
The main cast all breathed sighs of relief. Good thing it wasn't. That had given them a fright.
[Turns out it's the glass that will ruin mine.]
The main cast, who had enjoyed exactly one second of relief: ?
They all stared at Jiang Nian.
The glass that would ruin her reputation?
Why would she say that?
Because what 88 had detected was connected to Fu Zhenzhen.
[Host, I detected an arousal buff in this glass. Half an hour after it takes effect, the person affected will lose their senses and be overcome with lust.]
[It appeared right when you were about to pick it up. Fu Zhenzhen probably just exchanged for the buff through her system to target you.]
Remembering Fu Zhenzhen's sinister expression earlier, Jiang Nian understood.
[Turns out it's the glass that will ruin mine.]
That made the drink even more off-limits.
Jiang Nian cast a regretful glance at the tempting fruit wine and was about to find a server to get another glass, but 88 stopped her.
[Host, why not just drink this one?]
Jiang Nian paused. Wasn't I supposed to avoid it?
[If you get another glass, there's no telling whether Fu Zhenzhen will spike that one too.]
[But if you want this glass, Host, I can remove the buff Fu Zhenzhen applied. A low-level system's buffs might work on ordinary people, but they're nothing to me.]
That would also prevent someone else from accidentally drinking the tainted wine.
Jiang Nian was about to agree when something suddenly occurred to her, and her eyes lit up.
[If you can remove the buff, can you reclaim it too? Then throw it onto someone else if we need it later?]
88 paused, apparently thinking it over.
[In theory, yes. I can cut the buff out and store it for now.]
Jiang Nian narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.
Thanks for the cheat, heroine.
If 88 could reclaim every buff, wouldn't anything Fu Zhenzhen exchanged for to use against her just amount to working for her for free?
Free stuff really was the best.
Jiang Nian already had a use in mind for the arousal buff they had reclaimed this time.
In the original novel, Shen Lei planned to drug his girlfriend Jiang Wenxue and Shen Hui, then lock them together to frame them. He wanted Shen Father to feel guilty toward him and disappointed in Shen Hui, so that he would bring him back into the Shen Family.
In the end, he succeeded.
Shen Lei arranged for Shen Hui to be caught in bed with Jiang Wenxue at Old Master Shen's birthday banquet, destroying Shen Hui's reputation and allowing Shen Lei to enter the Shen Family openly and legitimately.
But what if Shen Lei was the one who got drugged?
Once the banquet started, couldn't I just throw away Shen Hui's spiked drink, slap this buff onto Shen Lei, and let him suffer the consequences of his own scheme?
After all, those who brought disaster on themselves deserved what they got.
Jiang Nian wasted no time. She had 88 reclaim the arousal buff, then picked up the fruit wine and took a small sip.
Before the main cast could stop her, she had already drunk the wine that would ruin her reputation. All they could do was fret in silence.
Why did she drink it? Wasn't there something wrong with it?
Shen Hui frowned and asked worriedly, "Does it taste good?"
Jiang Nian savored it for a moment. "It's delicious! It has such a rich fruity aroma!"
Crisp, with a sweet fragrance-anything served by the Shen Family was bound to be top quality.
When Fu Zhenzhen saw Jiang Nian staring at the drink and hesitating for so long, she had thought her efforts would go to waste. Only after Jiang Nian drank it did she breathe a sigh of relief.
She raised her own glass of fruit wine, took a small sip, and let out a discreet chuckle.
Soon, your reputation will be in ruins.
The Jiang Family Heiress going into heat at a banquet would certainly make big news.
Unlike the secretly eager Fu Zhenzhen, Tong Chuhe and the others were deeply worried. But they couldn't question Jiang Nian directly, so they could only resolve to stay as close to her as possible during the banquet, just in case.
Their minds remained on Jiang Nian as they chatted halfheartedly, until Shen Lei, who had been watching from a distance for some time, seized his chance and swaggered over with Jiang Wenxue to greet them.
"Big brother."
Shen Lei called out in a loud, clear voice, then stopped beside Shen Hui. Everyone nearby turned their attention to the two of them.
As though he hadn't noticed Shen Hui's dark expression or Jiang Wenxue's reluctance at all, he proceeded to introduce them.
"Big brother, this is Wenxue, the girl I told you about."
After introducing his girlfriend, he turned to Jiang Wenxue to introduce Shen Hui:
"Wenxue, this is my big brother, Shen Hui."
Seeing Shen Lei shamelessly come over to make his presence known, Tan Xuguang lost patience before Shen Hui could say anything. He launched straight into a sneering attack:
"Well, who's this? Coming out of nowhere to claim family ties? Our Shen Hui is the Shen Family's only son. We can't have every stray dog and cat trying to cozy up to him."
Shen Lei apparently hadn't expected Tan Xuguang to humiliate him so openly. He froze in embarrassment, while Jiang Wenxue glared at Shen Hui and the others.
Song Jici and Wen Jincheng, meanwhile, regarded Shen Lei coldly.
As Shen Hui's closest friends, they had witnessed his despair when Shen Lei and his mother drove Shen Hui's mother to her death. Naturally, they had no kindness to spare for this illegitimate son.
Shen Qifei and Old Master Shen were just as muddleheaded, valuing such a disgusting piece of work and even wanting to bring him into the Shen Family.
If Shen Hui hadn't still been a minor, constrained at every turn by his father and grandfather in name, they would have beaten Shen Lei up long ago.
Jiang Nian didn't think there was anything wrong with Tan Xuguang's mockery. It was the truth, after all. She was merely struck by his manner of speaking:
"Tan Xuguang, you sound like a villain."
If this were one of those webnovels, you'd be the guy getting humiliated when the tables turned-the one taught not to look down on a boy just because he was poor.
The tense atmosphere faltered.
Everyone turned to Jiang Nian with expressionless faces.
You really know all about not looking down on a poor young man.
Before you continue