This should have been a niche pursuit

Liu Muyan was busy taking Shen Zhiyi to find cake, while Shan Yirou and the others were busy looking for Liu Muyan.

This floor of the hotel was so large that a moment's inattention was enough to turn around and lose sight of someone. But none of them had expected to end up meeting at An Qian's side.

Liu Muyan had thought looking for food should have been a niche pursuit, yet as she asked around, she discovered that all the desserts were gone.

She wondered who had such an enormous appetite. Had they come for the banquet or for a meal? Following the trail, she arrived to find everyone standing there dumbfounded, looking at one another.

The people gathered around An Qian were so frightened that they all backed away a few steps, wanting to explain that they had nothing to do with her.

At the sight of An Qian, undisguisable disgust and jealousy surfaced in Shan Yirou's eyes, only to vanish quickly as she smiled and asked the others.

"I was just saying things seemed a little quiet. So you were all here? Keeping the newcomer company?"

She could no longer hold herself back. Liu Muyan should have been the one to question them, but when it came to An Qian, she simply could not restrain herself.

Liu Muyan did not care why they were here. Her gaze merely landed on the table. All the desserts they had been looking for were here!

No wonder they had not been able to find them. Someone else had moved them all away.

As the others explained themselves to Shan Yirou, she looked at Liu Muyan and could not help calling out.

"Mu Mu, look how awful they're being! We're the ones who grew up together, but today they're keeping some stranger company. They really don't care about us at all, do they?"

Her attempt to stir up trouble was far too obvious. Liu Muyan sneered inwardly, but all she did was look at them and ask,

"Did you bring these cakes over?"

"No, no!" They hurriedly shook their heads.

"Well, Yannan had someone bring them over. He said he wanted Miss An to try them."

Liu Muyan's mood immediately darkened, and she was visibly on the verge of losing her temper. It was Yan Qing's birthday. Bringing someone along was one thing.

But Chu Yannan had even taken the few pastries the master had made to play the generous host with someone else's gifts. He really had some nerve!

Seeing how furious she was, the boys assumed she was angry about An Qian's presence and hurried to try to soothe her.

An Qian rose from her seat somewhat awkwardly and pushed the cakes forward, saying apologetically,

"I'm sorry. I didn't know Yannan had brought all the desserts over. Why don't we all share them?"

Liu Muyan was truly angry now. It was bad enough that Chu Yannan had no sense, but An Qian had none either. These two really made her want to slap each of them.

"How ridiculous. Who do you think you are, eating the same things as us? Didn't Yannan tell you what this occasion was?"

Shan Yirou's mocking voice rang out. She simply could not stand An Qian acting like this. She could accept losing to Liu Muyan, whose family background was a suitable match.

But losing to An Qian? Who the hell was she!

An Qian loosely curled her hands and looked at Shan Yirou.

"Yannan told me it was his older brother's birthday. I just wanted to come wish his brother a happy birthday. I didn't mean anything else."

Shen Zhiyi's gaze fell on the cakes. There were no chocolate cakes left. An Qian had eaten quite a few, because the cakes were not large, each coming in just a tiny paper cup.

An Qian had already eaten five or six, and the other guests who had arrived earlier had tried them too. Shen Zhiyi had only eaten one.

Her gaze rested on the cakes, a trace of regret flashing through her eyes.

This was another battlefield of romantic conflict. As time went on, the male and female leads' relationship would grow closer. Strangely, though, in the current timeline, apart from the leads diligently following the plot,

everyone else seemed different from how the book had described them. Some were busy with their careers, some were nursing secret crushes, and, oh, there was also the villain who kept chattering away and was turning into a total chatterbox.

How interesting, she thought. The plot is still here, held up entirely by the male and female leads.

"Tsk, Shan Yirou, that was pretty nasty. Miss An is Yannan's guest, after all. Keep treating her like this, and watch out-Yannan might come settle the score with you."

Someone Chu Yannan had asked to look after An Qian could not help speaking up in protest. Shan Yirou was nearly beside herself with anger. These people were siding with an outsider. Who did An Qian think she was, imagining she could enter their circle? In her dreams!

So she sneered.

"Mu Mu is still right here, and you're already speaking up for this Miss An. Don't forget, Yannan and Mu Mu are still involved. Being so nice to Miss An is just humiliating Mu Mu!"

She had to drag Liu Muyan into this and have her deal with that bitch.

The others fell silent, not daring to speak as they all looked at Liu Muyan. Then their gazes shifted slightly, and they noticed Shen Zhiyi standing beside her.

Their eyes lit up. Faced with the unfamiliar Shen Zhiyi, their curiosity was obvious.

Disgusted by what Shan Yirou had said, Liu Muyan shot her an impatient glare before looking at An Qian.

"I'm no saint, but I don't think you qualify as one either, Miss An. I don't want to make things too ugly right now. This is Yan Qing's birthday banquet. Since you enjoy eating so much, help yourself."

Then she turned to Shen Zhiyi somewhat apologetically and said,

"Zhiyi, there's none of the chocolate cake you like left. How about I ask Yan Qing to have the master make some more?"

Shen Zhiyi had no intention of insisting, but taking every last dessert was simply too obnoxious. The behavior was all too much like those insufferable male and female posers at school.

An Qian stubbornly bit her lip, staring straight at Liu Muyan with tears shimmering in her eyes.

She choked up, holding her neck stiff. "M-Miss Liu, how could you say that about me? You've gone too far."

Her voice sounded both strong and pitiful, not to mention her face, which looked ready to burst into tears. She was the very image of a wronged female lead.

That was when Chu Yannan arrived. Having just finished greeting everyone, he had been eager to come find An Qian, afraid someone might slight her. The thought that she might be bullied somewhere he could not see made him anxious.

As luck would have it, he arrived just in time to hear those words from An Qian. Furious, he pushed through the crowd, rushed inside, and planted himself in front of her before loudly berating Liu Muyan.

"Mu Mu, why are you bullying Qian again!"

His failure to distinguish right from wrong made Liu Muyan even angrier. She told herself over and over that this was Yan Qing's birthday. She could not get angry. She could not ruin it.

She still had to sing Yan Qing a birthday song and blow out the candles. It would not be good if he found out she had beaten up his younger brother.

Once the birthday was over, she would drive a forklift over tomorrow and skewer Chu Yannan to death.

Shen Zhiyi pulled Liu Muyan behind her, fixed Chu Yannan with a cold look, and spoke in a low voice.

"What did you say? Say it again."

Chu Yannan's expression instantly froze. W-why was Shen Zhiyi here too? Not only his face but his movements went stiff, and even his words began to stumble.

"M-Miss Shen, you're here too."

He did not dare offend Shen Zhiyi. Last time, Chi Ye had taught him a lesson, landing several solid punches on him. All the injuries were in places no one could see, too. Chi Ye had told him not to provoke Shen Zhiyi. If it happened again, he could not guarantee he would go so easy on him.

Remembering the sensation of those punches landing on his head made him shudder.

"I told you to repeat what you just said." Ignoring his greeting, Shen Zhiyi once again told him to repeat himself.

Chu Yannan's change in attitude was far too obvious. Even those who did not know Shen Zhiyi could tell from the situation that she was not someone to mess with, so they all settled in to watch.

"It was all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. I-I-I was wrong," Chu Yannan said through gritted teeth.