Sun Xiao Mei finished speaking, and without another word, marched straight over to Tang Yuan. Her delicate face remained utterly calm, yet her eyes carried a glint of steel. Then, with no warning at all, her slender foot shot out and landed squarely on Tang Yuan's plump backside.
Thud!
"Stop playing dead!" She commanded coldly, her tone sharp as a blade. "Quickly get up and follow me home. My father wishes to meet you!"
"Ah—!" Tang Yuan let out a shriek worthy of a pig at slaughter. He clutched his round rear, hopping like a startled toad, his face twisted in agony. "Crazy woman! Do you even know how much that hurt?! Don't come near me! Who in their right mind would want to go back with you?! Whatever it is, just leave me out of it!"
But before he could stumble another step backward, Sun Xiao Mei's hand lashed out like lightning. Her snow-white fingers clamped down on his big, fleshy ear with the precision of an eagle snatching its prey. With a single ruthless tug, she hauled the wailing fatty along, half-dragging and half-pulling him toward the door.
"Mercy! Sister, have mercy!" Tang Yuan cried, his curses dissolving into pitiful pleas. His voice grew fainter and fainter as the pair disappeared down the street, until only the faint echoes of his begging lingered inside the restaurant.
Jun Mo Xie chuckled lightly and shook his head. After they left, he lingered with Dugu Xiao Yi for a little while longer.
The young girl's face was flushed as though dyed with crimson. His gaze upon her seemed to burn hotter and hotter, and she dared not raise her head to meet it. Instead, she bowed low, toes tracing circles on the floor while her slender fingers absentmindedly stroked Little White's silky fur.
At that moment, Dugu Xiao Yi felt as though the bustling world had melted away, leaving only the two of them.
She and Jun Mo Xie were floating on a cloud suspended high above the mortal realm.
Little White's sudden sneeze shattered the fragile stillness. Startled, Dugu Xiao Yi raised her face, her eyes shy and luminous like autumn water. Her lips parted softly, and in a voice that trembled like a zither string, she whispered, "Fool... weren't you going to leave? Why are you still here?"
Jun Mo Xie coughed, suddenly aware of how boldly his eyes had lingered. Composing himself, he smiled roguishly and said, "I almost don't want to leave after seeing such a beautiful girl. It feels as though you've awakened the perverted part of me."
Dugu Xiao Yi stole a glance at him, her cheeks blazing scarlet.
"Shut up!" She whispered, though her voice was as soft as cotton. "You think I'm afraid of your shameless words? Hmph... Moreover, you clearly have something urgent to attend to. Go, hurry up!"
She turned her face away in a fluster, but Jun Mo Xie's keen eyes caught sight of her pale neck, glowing pink all the way down to her collar.
He couldn't help but laugh inwardly. 'She's embarrassed... yet the way she scolds me sounds just like a wife sending her husband off to work.'
Dugu Xiao Yi, meanwhile, had just realized the same thing. Her mother often spoke with that exact same gentle tone whenever her father rode off to battle. The thought struck her like a thunderbolt, and her heart turned to chaos. 'What am I saying? Are we... like that? What is he to me...?'
The more she thought about it, the hotter her face burned. Soon, her delicate cheeks were as bright as the glowing clouds at dawn. She lowered her head until her small chin almost touched her chest, utterly unable to look at him again.
Jun Mo Xie's laughter rang out suddenly. "Haha, pretty! Truly pretty!"
Before she could react, his hands reached out and cupped her blushing face. His fingers brushed against her smooth skin, pinching her cheeks lightly as if testing a fine piece of jade.
"Smooth... delicate... fragrant too," He teased, clicking his tongue in mock admiration. Then he burst into laughter, a loud and unrestrained sound, before turning on his heel. His long robe fluttered in the breeze as the sound of his footsteps receded into the distance.
Dugu Xiao Yi stood frozen, her heart thundering in her chest, her face aflame, as though branded by his touch.
Jun Mo Xie's laughter drifted away into the sky. He had acted frivolously, but beneath that mockery was a hidden purpose: to mask his true feelings and to help his silly little friend endure the confusion of first love.
After Jun Mo Xie returned home, the entire Tian Xiang City seemed to ignite overnight.
No, it didn't simply stir; it blazed, as though someone had tossed oil upon a smoldering fire.
And all of it stemmed from a single thing: the invitations.
That day, every household with even a shred of influence found itself holding a peculiar card in trembling hands. From the moment the envelopes appeared, the city could no longer calm itself.
"What is this Aristocratic Hall?"
"Such arrogance! Such audacity!"
"Yet… such magnificence…"
The discussions burst forth like thunder, echoing through tea houses, restaurants, private courtyards, and even the grand halls of noble estates.
The invitation itself was already enough to dazzle the eyes. Forged from scalding silver, the card's surface gleamed like polished frost. But it was the golden plum blossom stamped upon it that left people stunned. Every petal shimmered as if kissed by sunlight, every vein and stamen so vividly drawn it felt alive, ready to bloom from the paper.
Even before opening it, one could already sense that this was not a mere invitation, but an announcement to the heavens.
"What's inside…?"
With cautious reverence, the leaf was opened. At once, two massive rows of characters, carved in gold, blazed across the page.
— [Frustrated, poor, and sick of heart are kindly requested to leave this route.]
— [Those whose family worth is below one million are not to enter these doors.]
The words struck like a whip, slicing pride and exposing status. In one breath, nine out of ten families across Tian Xiang were excluded.
Another leaf revealed itself, gilded with dazzling characters:
— [Things worth discussing aren't free of charge!]
Then came a proclamation that reeked of nobility and disdain in equal measure:
— [The world's greatest noblemen require only the finest. To wear is silk, to read is gold, to hear is immortal music. Tea must be peerless, and wine one in a million. To offer less is an insult; to waste such things on the unworthy is a crime.]
Finally, the last page unfurled like a blade, its flamboyant calligraphy seeming to mock the reader:
— [So far, life has been mundane; why?]
Every noble who laid eyes upon those words felt a ripple in their chest.
The message was clear: only the rich, only the strong, only the true aristocrats had the right to step through the doors of this so-called Aristocratic Hall.
It was outrageous. It was domineering. It was a direct slap across the face of every 'lesser' noble.
And yet no one dared laugh, and no one dared tear the invitation. For at the bottom of the card lay three seals. Three stamps that carried enough weight to suppress an entire empire.
— The personal seal of Jun Family's crippled war-god, Jun Wu Yi.
— The seal of the Tang Family, one of Tian Xiang's wealthiest.
— And most shocking of all was the personal seal of the Empire's sole prince-equivalent.
These three stamps alone were enough to suffocate the city. To decline such an invitation was to spit in the face of one's own life expectancy. Even the great Mu Rong Family and the warlike Dugu Family dared not offend such a monstrous alliance.
In an instant, the city that had thought itself calm and stable descended into chaos. Men ran between estates. Courtyards buzzed with endless speculation. Servants whispered, wives schemed, young masters paled, and old patriarchs stroked their beards in grave silence.
The aristocrats of Tian Xiang fluttered like startled birds, caught between excitement and fear.
The name 'Aristocratic Hall' alone was arrogance incarnate. Yet that arrogance was backed by three powers none could afford to provoke.
And thus, in the space of a single day, Tian Xiang City found itself roaring like a cauldron brought to boil.
--- ✦ ✦ ✦ ---
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