The center of attention

At his words, delight spread across their faces.

"Did you hear that? Brother Yu has spoken! If you've got a sister, don't hold out on us. Introduce her to him!"

Everyone withdrew their gazes and turned their attention back to Qin Yu.

"Brother Yu, what do you think of my sister? The one who danced at the banquet last month. She really likes you. She's been asking for your contact info."

Yu Nian's breathing tightened. He struggled to keep his emotions in check so his expression wouldn't turn too ugly.

Those barely concealed looks of disdain grew more blatant, as though mocking him for being a ridiculous clown.

Yu Nian no longer cared.

He simply stared in Qin Yu's direction, one last glimmer of hope lingering in his eyes.

But as Qin Yu spoke, the light in his eyes dimmed little by little, leaving only sorrow and silence.

"I remember," Qin Yu said, lounging against the back of the sofa. "She's a great dancer."

"Hehe, right? Brother Yu, I've got my sister's WeChat here. I sent you her contact card. Why don't you two chat?"

The Qin Family had an illustrious background, and plenty of people were eager to curry favor with them. Seeing that someone had already shared contact details, the others hurried to make introductions too. "Brother Yu, I've got a cousin who just started college. She doesn't have a boyfriend either. Give her a chance, huh?"

Everyone took out their phones, and the birthday party practically turned into a massive matchmaking market.

A flicker of mockery crossed Yu Nian's eyes. He no longer had the heart to watch.

It felt as though someone had plunged a knife into his heart. Tightening his grip on his wineglass, he gulped down its contents.

The bitter wine flooded his mouth. Yu Nian rarely drank, and it made him feel so sick he wanted to throw up.

The wine he had gulped down clashed with his body's fierce rejection of it. He choked, and wine slipped down his neck and into his collar, its chill making him shudder.

"Cough, cough-"

"Nian Nian, are you okay?"

The commotion finally drew Qin Yu's attention, and everyone else's gaze followed.

From being utterly ignored, he suddenly became the center of attention.

Qin Yu came over to pat his back and asked a servant to bring him a glass of hot water.

Yu Nian pulled out a napkin and gave himself a quick wipe before looking up at him. His eyes were slightly red and damp, perhaps from choking, and his expression held a hint of vulnerability.

He was undeniably good-looking, and seeing him like this made it hard not to feel tender toward him.

Qin Yu's heart softened. "What's wrong?" he asked gently. "Did choking hurt?"

Xie Lingfeng glanced at the empty wineglass in front of him and offered a seemingly well-intentioned reminder. "Ah Yu, your friend probably downed all his red wine in one go and choked by accident."

Quiet laughter rose around them.

Qin Yu felt a little embarrassed too, and told him softly, "Nian Nian, that's not how you drink red wine."

Yu Nian sneered inwardly, his nose stinging with the threat of tears.

He was afraid he might slap Qin Yu in a surge of emotion.

But making a scene in front of so many people was bound to end badly.

Yu Nian merely pushed him away, muffled his coughing, and got up to go to the bathroom.

He shut himself in the bathroom and took a while to calm down, trying to ignore Xie Lingfeng's grating words and all those mocking laughs.

But ultimately, Qin Yu was the reason they acted that way.

These people were actually quite simple: they fawned over the powerful and treated others according to their status.

It was Qin Yu's indifference and neglect that had emboldened them.

It was because Qin Yu hadn't refused, because of those pointed remarks of his, that so many people were scrambling to introduce potential partners to him.

But Qin Yu seemed to have forgotten that he already had a partner.

No, perhaps he remembered. He simply didn't care about Yu Nian's feelings.

Yu Nian washed his face. Some red wine had stained the front of his shirt, standing out starkly against the pale fabric. He couldn't get it clean right away, so he merely dabbed at it with water and left it at that.

Facing the mirror, Yu Nian took a deep breath and pulled himself together, not wanting to look so pathetic.

When he emerged from the bathroom, he felt those gazes sweeping over him again. It was as though needles were pricking his entire body.

He was nowhere near strong enough to withstand that. He couldn't help lowering his eyes and glancing at his shoes.

He had spent ages wiping his white sneakers, but they still weren't clean.

At that moment, he suddenly wanted very badly to go home.

"Hiss..."

As he was lost in thought, a sudden pain struck his forehead.

Yu Nian covered his forehead, realized he had walked into someone, and hurriedly said, "Sorry."

His voice was a little low and hoarse. He lifted his eyes and saw an unfamiliar man.

This man was unlike anyone else who had come today.

He wore a crisp, sharply tailored black business suit, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He bore some resemblance to Qin Yu, but the contours of his face were sharper and more defined, his features colder.

His bearing was completely different from Qin Yu's as well.

He looked down, his gaze at once sharp and seemingly indifferent, carrying an air of distance.

Qin Yu hurried over and pulled Yu Nian aside. "Sorry, bro. My friend's drunk."

Qin Yuheng glanced at Yu Nian, then at Qin Yu's hand holding his, before lowering his eyes and looking away.

"It's fine."

Qin Yu held Yu Nian's hand only briefly. Realizing it was somewhat inappropriate, he switched to patting his shoulder. "Did that hurt?"

Yu Nian gently removed the hand resting on his shoulder. The redness at the corners of his eyes had faded slightly, and he looked as though he had been wronged.

His head buzzed, and he couldn't help glancing at Qin Yuheng again. Only then did he remember the older brother Qin Yu had mentioned, ten years his senior, who often made him feel both proud and jealous.

He hadn't expected the two of them to seem so different...

Yu Nian was a little slow to react and accidentally met Qin Yuheng's icy eyes. Like someone caught doing something wrong, he hastily turned away in guilty unease.

Yu Nian returned to the sofa and sat down by himself. Only then did Qin Yu realize how far away he was, and that he had been sitting alone in the corner all along.

Perhaps his conscience had stirred. Qin Yu sat beside him too and asked, "How are you feeling? Any better?"

Yu Nian didn't want to act out some tragic drama in front of so many people. He only said, "Don't worry about me."

The house suddenly became remarkably quiet. All the earlier noise and boisterous laughter had vanished.

For some reason, Yu Nian felt that this might have something to do with Qin Yuheng.

From the moment Qin Yuheng stepped through the door, it was as though someone had pressed the mute button on the entire villa.

"Bro, thanks for the gift. I'll definitely wear it every day."

Qin Yu waved the watch on his wrist. The dazzling diamonds and exquisitely patterned dial all proclaimed its considerable value.

And by wearing it now, Qin Yu was showing how much he valued and liked it.

"Thanks for taking the trouble to come all the way back from the office for my birthday. Why don't you stay tonight and have some cake with us?"

Qin Yuheng unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat down. The housekeeper poured him a glass of ice water.

"No need. I'll be leaving shortly." His long, slender fingers held the clear, textured glass. The chill seeping through its walls only heightened his sharp air, as though he could handle anyone or anything with effortless ease.

That deep voice slipped into Yu Nian's ears, and his spine instantly straightened.

Qin Yuheng had taken a seat beside him.

Although there was room for two or three people between them, he hadn't forgotten the aura this man exuded, which made him inexplicably uneasy.

He didn't think Qin Yuheng had deliberately chosen to sit near him. After all, every other spot was occupied; only the area around him still had room.

No one wanted to sit with a penniless nobody whom no one valued.

But Yu Nian had no energy to dwell on any of that. He looked at the watch on Qin Yu's wrist and found it painfully glaring.

So it wasn't that Qin Yu didn't notice what other people gave him. He simply didn't care about Yu Nian's gift, or thought it wasn't fit to show off.