Chapter 43: The Banquet on the Other Side

Standing at the edge of the hall, He Ranran mentally rated the banquet’s quality.

Beside her, Li Ruoxi was growing impatient from waiting.

“Xiao Xi, don’t you want some? The food here is really good too~”

He Ranran held a small cake in her hands.

It was layered in black and white, shaped like a black mountain covered in a layer of snow.

“Xiao Ran, how can you have such a good appetite?”

Li Ruoxi couldn’t help but admire He Ranran’s appetite.

“Here, take a little bite~”

He Ranran’s eyes curved into crescent moons.

Using her fork, she picked off a small piece of the white part and held it out to Li Ruoxi.

The aroma wafted into Li Ruoxi’s nose—a light, sweet cream scent mixed with a special vanilla fragrance, emanating from the tiny cake.

Li Ruoxi didn’t mind that it was the fork He Ranran had used.

She opened her mouth slightly, and the cake filled it with sweetness and softness.

Before she could even chew properly, the food had already melted away.

“It’s good, right~”

He Ranran said with a light smile.

“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm!”

Li Ruoxi nodded, as if she had discovered a new world.

Delicious, soft, and well-layered.

“Is this a mille-feuille cake?”

“Yeah, it’s only available at banquets. You don’t see it often.”

He Ranran used her fork to take small bites, savoring it slowly.

“It’s been so long—”

Li Ruoxi’s words didn’t quite connect.

She looked at the stage, where the host was still introducing this year’s school situation while inviting wealthier parents to come up and speak in turn.

“We’re only halfway through. Usually, there should be some school instructors too, but I didn’t see any tonight.”

After finishing the cake, He Ranran stood quietly beside Li Ruoxi.

“But this is the parents’ banquet hall. The other students are…”

He Ranran pointed toward the second floor of the re-examination hall.

The hall was spacious and resplendent, bathed in countless soft, pale yellow lights.

When He Ranran pointed, Li Ruoxi didn’t catch what she meant.

“Silly Xiao Xi~ Over there. See that big door upstairs?”

Seeing that Li Ruoxi still couldn’t spot it after several tries, He Ranran found it both annoying and amusing.

She used her hand to adjust Li Ruoxi’s line of sight.

“See it now?”

This time, Li Ruoxi saw it. She was quite surprised.

That place… it seemed to be the open-air hall of the opera house, also known as the Sky Garden’s emergency exit.

“Why is it there?”

“Actually, no. The students’ banquet is in a different venue.”

He Ranran hesitated as if she wanted to say more.

“What’s wrong?”

Li Ruoxi stood beside her, tilting her head slightly with concern.

“If you want to go over there, I’ll go with you.”

Li Ruoxi didn’t have much time left to stay here.

But since Ouyang Xue was still speaking on stage, Li Ruoxi couldn’t just interrupt to take back the necklace the woman was wearing.

The only thing she hadn’t expected was that Vivian cared so much about that necklace.

Now, having said that to He Ranran, Li Ruoxi suddenly regretted it.

“Or… if you don’t want to go, it’s fine if we stay here.”

At the end, Li Ruoxi added that.

“Great! It’s best if you come with me, Xiao Xi.”

He Ranran happily shook Li Ruoxi’s wrist.

“I didn’t know how to explain it to Senior Brother Wei Ziyuan and his roommates tonight anyway. Now that Xiao Xi is here, you have to help me… If they ask if I’m single, just say I have a boyfriend…”

He Ranran hesitated.

“As for specific questions, if they ask, you don’t have to answer.”

Li Ruoxi nodded obediently, then changed the subject.

“I wonder how long Sister Xue will take.”

“Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time. It’s only around eight o’clock.”

He Ranran shook the small black-and-gold minimalist women’s watch on her wrist.

“Besides, we’ll go over there for a bit and come back soon.”

“Alright then.”

After Li Ruoxi agreed, He Ranran took her hand and led her past many doorways.

Along the bright corridors and the spiraling staircase, He Ranran kept laughing and talking.

“Xiao Ran, slow down.”

Li Ruoxi said in exasperation.

He Ranran was hopping along ahead, pulling Li Ruoxi by the wrist.

“Xiao Xi, if you walk so slowly, something might catch up to you from behind~”

The closer they got to the passageway, the dimmer the surrounding light became.

The two walked on the mezzanine level.

Only then did Li Ruoxi realize she had already moved far away from the hall.

Looking down from above, one person in particular caught her attention.

“The person next to him…”

Li Ruoxi saw a short, stout middle-aged man take off his hat.

His bald head shone brightly, completely hairless.

Beside him was a woman with a seductive figure, wearing a thin red body-hugging dress with a slanted neckline that revealed a large expanse of fair skin.

The combination of red and white was extremely visually striking.

“What are you looking at?”

He Ranran asked curiously.

Li Ruoxi was dazed for a moment.

He Ranran also looked in that direction but didn’t notice anything special.

“Nothing… nothing.”

Was that Hu Xi?

She had seen her once before in Lanling.

Li Ruoxi had a vague memory of her.

“Let’s go.”

He Ranran struggled to push open the safety door and let Li Ruoxi go in first.

Li Ruoxi held the door to support it.

She applied a little force, but the door didn’t budge.

“Xiao Xi, hurry up~”

He Ranran urged.

For a girl, this door was really hard to open.

He Ranran looked a bit flustered.

She let go of the door, and just as it was about to swing back, she jumped away dramatically.

“Whew… Next time, we’ll go through the main entrance. It’s not far from here anyway.”

He Ranran caught her breath while leaning on her knees, then looked up at Li Ruoxi.

“Wait.”

He Ranran stepped forward and took out a hair tie with a white butterfly ornament from her pocket.

She tidied Li Ruoxi’s hair slightly, then nodded in satisfaction at the adorable, girl-next-door look she had created.

“Let’s go.”