Chapter 54: The Person She Was Waiting For Wasn't Me

"You have a good eye, Jinhuai." Gu Yuezhao smiled, glanced in Wen Jinhuai's direction, and then nodded slightly with a smile as she placed her handbag behind her.

Jiang Mian blinked. With such an affectionate form of address, their relationship must be out of the ordinary, right?

They always said Gu Yuezhao had remained single all this time waiting for someone. Could that someone be Wen Jinhuai?

As soon as this thought popped into her head, Jiang Mian felt it was terribly realistic, especially since Wen Jinhuai was such an exceptional person and remained single to this day.

Following her own train of thought, she turned her head slightly, offering a subtle glance.

He was lowering his head slightly, pushing the tableware in front of him forward just a bit. He rested his elbows on the table with his fingers interlocked, looking as though he were waiting for something.

As more and more people entered, the entire banquet venue grew lively.

When Jiang Zhixuan walked over to the neighboring table accompanied by Wen Yan, she cast a glance at Jiang Mian and clenched her fists with a sense of grievance.

Why should someone like her, who had hardly any connection to the Wen family, be allowed to sit at Elder Wen's table?

Clearly, she had lost everything—why were there still so many people favoring her?

Jiang Zhixuan sat down and lowered her eyes, not wanting the emotions in her gaze to be seen by others.

When Wen Yan called out to her, she snapped out of her daze and looked back with a smile, "A-Yan."

"What's wrong with you? So absent-minded?"

Shaking her head, Jiang Zhixuan glanced sideways at the nail marks on her palms.

"It's nothing, just zoned out for a moment. I probably haven't been sleeping very well lately."

Since she said so, Wen Yan believed her. Looking at her with some concern, he took her hand in his, "Don't work so hard. Just leave the studio matters to the people underneath you."

She did not refute, only nodding obediently.

Unlike Jiang Zhixuan, Jiang Zhouyi didn't even get to sit at this secondary table and could only find a seat with others at the tables in the second row.

Perhaps because Jiang Mian's gaze had lingered a bit too long, Wen Jinhuai turned his head, leaned slightly toward her direction, and lowered his head.

"What is it?"

"Nothing!" She straightened her back and hastily waved her hands, "Nothing at all, I was just spacing out for a second, that's all."

She couldn't possibly tell him she had been speculating about his relationship with Gu Yuezhao, could she?

Yet, even without her speaking those words, Wen Jinhuai simply observed her for two seconds before his gaze swept past Gu Yuezhao, who was chatting with Elder Wen.

A low chuckle escaped his lips, "Jiang Mian, Gu Yuezhao and I have no relation whatsoever, and the person she is waiting for isn't me either."

He used her full name, soft and lingering, as if he were explaining things to someone very close to him.

She felt slightly dazed for a moment before regaining her senses, left only with embarrassment.

Her little inner thoughts had been seen through by him so quickly, making her feel as though she were judging a noble heart with a petty mind.

Pressing her lips together, Jiang Mian said no more. She sat up straight obediently, wishing to be nothing more than a quiet, transparent person.

"Elder Wen, apologies for the late arrival." As this steady voice faded, a brisk, youthful voice immediately followed from behind, "Elder Wen, happy birthday!"

Jiang Mian turned to look and saw that the man in front was dressed in a black suit, standing straight with a remarkably upright bearing.

Walking behind him was Shen Yize, who sat down in the seat right next to Gu Yuezhao's—right beside Shen Xietao—as soon as he finished exchanging greetings.

Shen Yize had arrived a bit later because he still had some coursework to finish that day.

Based on his appearance and the Wen family's network, Jiang Mian guessed the person sitting down in the chair next to hers was likely the eldest young master of the He family, He Qi.

The ancestors of the He family had all been government officials, and this eldest young master had entered the military very early on, working there ever since.

"Xiao Qi, it's been quite a while. You must have been very busy lately, right?"

Elder Wen looked at He Qi. This young man had been fiercely ambitious in his early years; when his father called him good-for-nothing, he relied entirely on himself to carve out his own territory, climbing all the way to his current position.

Most people in the military had to greet him respectfully upon seeing him.

"Not too bad, not much different from usual. I've gotten used to it." He Qi spoke, nodding slightly with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

Gu Yuezhao, seated nearby, turned her head with a flirtatious expression in her eyes, "Oh! If it weren't for Elder Wen's birthday banquet, I probably wouldn't see Young Master He at all. Such a busy man."

Her tone carried a touch of sarcasm, her red lips curving upward as she half-closed her eyes with an inexplicable grievance.

With just one glance, Jiang Mian believed what Wen Jinhuai had said earlier: Gu Yuezhao truly had no romantic intentions toward him.

After all, she could call him Jinhuai so gently, but compared to He Qi, she addressed him somewhat distantly and sarcastically as the eldest young master of the He family.

Usually, interactions like this meant there was definitely some history between them.

He Qi was not angered by the remark; he simply looked at her and gave her an indifferent, sweeping glance.

"Hasn't Eldest Miss Gu also been quite busy lately? I heard a newcomer stayed at your company for a whole day just to catch a glimpse of you."

His words sounded mild enough, but Jiang Mian, sitting right beside them, somehow managed to detect a hint of—well, how should she put it?—subtle mockery?

Perhaps that wasn't quite right either, but judging purely by his words, he seemed somewhat displeased.

Gu Yuezhao smiled and turned her head away without looking at him, "Eldest Young Master He is so busy, yet still has time to pay attention to the entertainment industry. You really know how to balance work and leisure."

"I wouldn't dare. After all, Eldest Miss Gu's reputation precedes her; the wind only has to blow slightly for people to talk about her."

As the two of them traded barbs, Elder Wen merely smiled and said nothing.

The waitstaff had begun serving the dishes. Jiang Mian turned her head back, sat properly, and stopped watching.

Suddenly, however, He Qi turned his head toward her, "This is Miss Jiang Mian, am I right?"

"It is." She nodded, baffled as to why the two people who had just been bickering suddenly shifted their attention to her.

Still, since He Qi had taken the initiative to speak with her, she couldn't simply ignore him.

He smiled very gently at her and tilted his head slightly, "Allow me to ask a presumptuous question: what is your relationship with Jinhuai right now? Are you two dating?"

"Huh?" Jiang Mian usually considered herself quite composed—provided, of course, that no one asked her a question so impossible to answer.

How was she supposed to respond? Tell him she wasn't dating Wen Jinhuai, but that the man had directly proposed marriage instead?

That sounded a bit absurd.

She chuckled awkwardly, instinctively licking her lips, her gaze dropping downward as her fingers gripped the hem of her clothes.

"Brother Qi, are you that concerned about me?" Wen Jinhuai leaned forward to look at He Qi, surveying him and Gu Yuezhao with a trace of a smile.

"Could it be that you just didn't want to talk to Zhaozhao, so you used this as an excuse?"

Actually, Gu Yuezhao was two months older than Wen Jinhuai, but having grown up together since childhood, he had never called her older sister.

Gu Yuezhao's face darkened as she glared at He Qi.

He raised an eyebrow and let out a soft breath. Sometimes Wen Jinhuai was just like this, completely sparing no one's feelings.

Still, he had only himself to blame; after asking such a presumptuous question, he couldn't really fault Wen Jinhuai for being annoyed.