"Tastes good"

When Xun Yuan entered the private dining room, quite a few people were already seated inside. Jiang Yulin, Lou Jing, and the others were all there, along with a crowd of second- and third-generation heirs from Harbor City. The young masters were neither smoking nor drinking alcohol, nursing a pot of tea instead.

Jiang Yulin spotted her at once and called out, "Xunxun, what took you so long?"

Xun Yuan said, "I went to the restroom."

"Speaking of which, why hasn't Yun Tang come back yet? Where did she get lost?"

Remembering Yun Tang had gone out earlier, Jiang Yulin asked casually.

Xun Yuan raised her brows slightly and covered for her with an air of indifference. "Just worry about yourself. Watch out, or Tangtang will come back and give you trouble."

"What trouble would she give me?"

Jiang Yulin drank a cup of tea, entirely at ease.

Lou Jing watched in amusement from the side.

Their crowd could be as reckless as they pleased outside, but in front of the older and younger daughters of family friends, they all had to rein it in.

Yun Tang's voice came from the doorway. "Talking about me behind my back again."

Yun Tang walked in on her high heels, alone. Xun Yuan looked at her without giving anything away; Yun Tang's expression was normal.

"We wouldn't dare, Second Miss Yun. We were worried about your safety."

Jiang Yulin answered with a smile, pouring a cup of tea each for her and Xun Yuan.

Yun Tang sat beside Xun Yuan and took a sip of tea, saying nothing more to joke around with Jiang Yulin.

Xun Yuan did not ask, either. She couldn't-how could she ask? If Yun Tang couldn't make up her mind, she would naturally come to her.

Xun Yuan took a sip of tea and asked Yun Tang, "Does it taste good?"

Yun Tang glanced at Xun Yuan, looking puzzled. "It's just tea."

Xun Yuan smiled. "Mm."

It was a rare, top-grade Da Hong Pao. It didn't seem like complimentary tea from the restaurant, but rather something they had brought themselves.

Hearing her ask about the tea, Lou Jing said, "Yulin stole the tea leaves from his dad. Collector's edition."

Yun Tang nearly spat out the tea she had just drunk. This tea was a little too scalding for her mouth.

Xun Yuan smiled. "It's wasted on a crowd like us. Isn't he afraid his dad will cut him off afterward?"

"I'm still listening, you know. The old man's tea leaves would just be sitting there anyway. Better to drink them. Drinking them isn't wasting them; leaving them sitting there is."

Jiang Yulin spoke with absolute conviction as he slowly refilled his cup.

"When are we eating?"

Yun Tang was hungry. All she wanted to know was when they could eat.

Jiang Yulin said, "We're waiting for someone. Not everyone's here yet."

"Who could make this many people wait for him?"

Yun Tang countered.

"Who else but Tingyue?" Lou Jing said with a smile.

True enough. Across all of Harbor City, Zuo Tingyue was the only person with enough clout to make all its second- and third-generation heirs wait for him.

Yun Tang gave up on talking. She really didn't quite dare provoke this man.

Xun Yuan sipped her tea with her eyes lowered. Steam curled up, concealing all her emotions in its hazy mist.

A little while later, the door opened again. Zuo Tingyue was dressed in a black suit, relaxed and unhurried, an air of aloof nobility surrounding him.

He approached without looking aside, calmly removed his jacket, draped it over the wooden coat stand, and went straight to the seat of honor.

It was an unspoken understanding born of convention. The seat of honor had remained empty since they came in, no one taking it, clearly reserved for him. Knowing he was coming, there was no question who would sit there.

Xun Yuan looked at the clear tea before her, her gaze calm and mild.

With everyone present, the food could finally be served. Yun Tang had been hungry for ages; she really just wanted to eat.

Xun Yuan found the dishes being brought out somewhat familiar. Their presentation and appearance were indeed those of the Capital's cuisine.

The dishes arrived quickly. Xun Yuan tasted the chicken soup. It was delicious, rich without being greasy-a flavor she knew.

"You like soup?"

A low, resonant voice sounded beside her ear. It was Zuo Tingyue.

When they took their seats, the place beside him had been empty. Jiang Yulin had whispered in her ear that it had been specially reserved for her. Xun Yuan had merely smiled it off then, finding it interesting.

It was rather interesting.

Xun Yuan said softly, "It tastes good."

"Try some."

Xun Yuan ladled out a bowl of soup and set it beside his hand, then continued sipping her own, not bothering about whether he drank it.

Zuo Tingyue tasted it. It was good, but only good. It was just soup; how amazing could it be?

"Does it taste good?" Xun Yuan asked casually.

"Hm?" A soft, questioning sound rose from his throat. Then he suddenly chuckled, his tone casual as he formed two words on his lips:

"Tastes good."

Perfunctory.

Xun Yuan saw through him at a glance. Was he humoring a child? Did he think she couldn't tell? He clearly thought it was ordinary.

So Xun Yuan asked him nothing else for the rest of the meal.

Partway through, the restaurant's owner came in. He was also a chef. Xun Yuan was actually somewhat interested in someone who could open a restaurant like this, because its dishes were exactly like the imperial cuisine of the Capital.

It didn't seem like an ordinary person's cooking.

The man who came was no longer young, looking around sixty. The longer Xun Yuan looked at him, the more familiar he seemed.

There was a sense that she had seen him before.

After dinner, the group was going to a club to have fun. Xun Yuan hadn't drunk any alcohol, so she drove Yun Tang over. They passed a bridge spanning the river along the way. The night scenery was beautiful, and the two lingered over it a little longer, arriving at the club late.

As she entered, Xun Yuan immediately saw the girl in a white dress, pure as a sheet of paper untouched by dust, with long, straight black hair, fair skin, and a slender neck.

She was sitting beside Zuo Tingyue, her head tilted as she said something, a gentle, shy smile on her face.

Xun Yuan stopped walking. Her pupils contracted for an instant, something even she did not notice, though her face seemed entirely unruffled.

Behind her, Yun Tang also saw the woman beside the crown prince. She was the innocent, sheltered type; the first impression she gave was purity.

Pure?

If she really were pure, why would she come here?

"Xunxun," she called.

Xun Yuan murmured an acknowledgment and turned to look at her with a faint smile.

Yun Tang's expression paused. She pulled Xun Yuan down onto a sofa and whispered to her, telling her a story from the crown prince's earlier years.

As it turned out, the crown prince hadn't been so steady in his younger days. Youth always came with some reckless spirit. Born into a family at the very pinnacle, surrounded like the moon by stars, and extraordinarily capable, even calling him a favored son of heaven hardly did him justice.

Back then, he had been running a project himself and showed no mercy in how he handled things. Young and reckless, he had driven the other party to leap over the wall like a desperate dog and kidnap his assistant. By a twist of fate, this woman had stumbled across it and lent a hand.

Zuo Tingyue had asked her what she wanted then. She had said she wanted the crown prince to fund the completion of her education.

This wasn't something that could be requested today and completed tomorrow, but a long-term process. As the saying went, affection grew with time. Habit was a frightening thing. Once a man grew accustomed to having a woman around him, the outcome was plain to see.

"So, Xunxun, you see? She isn't really pure white, either."

Yun Tang spoke with a curl of her lip.

Xun Yuan asked with a smile, "You don't like her?"

Yun Tang nodded.

She didn't like this woman. In their circle, she had seen plenty of people trying to climb upward. Most people looked upward. People sought higher ground, while water flowed downward. It was human nature, nothing surprising.

What Yun Tang disliked about her was how much she put on an act. Her ambition lay hidden beneath a mask, her hypocrisy so flawless it was revolting.

Xun Yuan smiled, looking thoughtful. Her red lips curved slightly as she said:

"I actually think she's quite impressive."

Yun Tang immediately turned her gaze toward Xun Yuan.