Chapter 41

Since it was a formal business banquet, the attendees were naturally all prominent figures. Since Shen Yu had volunteered to be Shen Xiao’s plus-one, she couldn’t be too casual about it. She needed to prepare a gown, jewelry, shoes, and a handbag, all of a certain standard.
She did have jewelry. Back when she first transmigrated, Shen Xiao had given her a wooden box filled with jewelry. At the time, he had handed it over as casually as if it were a lollipop.
That simple wooden box was actually packed full of jewelry, but since everything was jumbled together, it looked like cheap trinkets you’d buy for ten yuan a piece.
Later, during her free time, Shen Yu patiently sorted and organized them. To her surprise, she discovered three full sets of diamonds and two full sets of jadeite, each set complete with necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings…
Aside from the full sets, there were other individual pieces: necklaces, bracelets, bangles, rings, and other miscellaneous items…
Shen Yu wasn’t a professional jewelry appraiser, so she couldn’t estimate the exact value of that box of jewels, but she knew they had to be extremely valuable. As a result, she couldn’t find a place to hide the box that felt secure enough. Eventually, she went to ask Uncle Li where the box had been kept before.
Uncle Li told her not to be too nervous, explaining that the box had previously been kept on the bookshelf in the study. Shen Xiao thought it was useless, so he never touched it, and it had never been stolen.
Later, Shen Yu put it in a shoebox and hid it in the wardrobe, reassuring herself that this was very safe.
Now that she was going to attend a banquet, these jewels could finally be put to good use!
With the jewels secured, she still needed to buy a new dress and shoes. Shen Yu felt that since she was working so hard to prevent Shen Xiao from developing an affair with Bai Muqing, with the ultimate goal of saving Shen Xiao, all the additional expenses incurred in the process should be covered by him.
She couldn’t possibly contribute both effort and money, that would be such a loss!
With this reasoning, Shen Yu felt fully justified in negotiating terms with Shen Xiao.
After dinner that day, Shen Yu lay sprawled on the sofa, legs crossed, jotting down plans in a notebook with serious concentration.
The room was warm, and she wore only thin loungewear, her pants cropped at mid-calf. With her legs crossed, her fair calves and feet were exposed.
Shen Xiao walked over with a plate of fruit salad and immediately noticed those cute little feet.
He narrowed his eyes, thinking irritably, It’s freezing outside, and she’s wearing such short pants, is she trying to flirt with me? Hmph, how childish!
Uncle Li was still hiding in his room, so if Shen Xiao wanted to feed the kid some fruit, he had to prepare it himself. He ended up cutting the apples and cantaloupe into uneven, shapeless pieces, so ugly that even he was disgusted. To cover up his terrible knife skills, he dumped a generous amount of salad dressing on top.
So when Shen Yu saw the fruit salad he brought over, all she noticed were clumps of white dressing with very little fruit visible.
Since she was taking up most of the sofa, leaving no room for Shen Xiao to sit, he roughly grabbed her and pulled her upright, making her sit properly before taking a seat beside her.
Jerked by his pull, Shen Yu nearly choked on her own clothes and couldn’t help glaring at him secretly.
Shen Xiao raised an eyebrow, stirred the salad dressing with a spoon, making it look even more unappetizingly gooey, and said, “Eat. If you complain again, I’ll feed you the whole jar of dressing.”
Shen Yu: “…”
Knowing there was no reasoning with a lunatic, Shen Yu resigned herself and opened her mouth to eat. After all, she still needed him to pay for her dress.
But she took too big a bite, and some of the dressing ended up smeared at the corner of her mouth and on her lips, sticky and uncomfortable.
Shen Xiao watched her awkward state and had the audacity to laugh at her mockingly!
Shen Yu couldn't be bothered with him. She stuck out her tongue to lick her lips, then the corners of her mouth, quickly cleaning off the salad dressing. When she looked up at Shen Xiao again, she noticed his subtle expression and complicated gaze, as if he had witnessed something he found hard to put into words.
Here we go again. This lunatic had been acting strangely these past couple of days, occasionally showing this odd expression, sometimes looking astonished, sometimes disgusted, but more often than not, his expression was simply indescribable.
Shen Yu had pressed him a few times, but he always brushed her off with vague answers. Eventually, she stopped asking, simply attributing it to another one of his crazy episodes.
Shen Yu’s guess was right, Shen Xiao was feeling deeply disgusted at that moment. The kid couldn’t even eat a fruit salad properly, deliberately licking here and there. It was clearly an attempt to seduce him. How had he never noticed such obvious little tricks before?
After being fed a few more bites of fruit, Shen Yu struggled to push his hand away and said, “Stop feeding me. I have something serious to discuss with you.”
Shen Xiao set the bowl on the table, leaned back comfortably on the sofa, and rested his arms on the backrest. “What serious matter could you possibly have? Go on.”
“I want to buy a gown, shoes, and get my hair and makeup done. Can I get reimbursed for these expenses?” she asked bluntly.
Shen Xiao chuckled. “What if I say no? Would you not go then?”
Shen Yu frowned, thought for a moment, and replied, “Then I’ll just wear the dress I bought last time. After all, I’m your plus-one. If I embarrass myself, it’ll reflect poorly on you.”
Shen Xiao tilted his head and looked at her. “So eager to be my date?”
His words sounded strange. “I just want to broaden my horizons!” she said.
“Fine, go ahead and buy what you want,” he sneered, thinking to himself that she clearly just wanted to go shopping with him but had to make up such a roundabout excuse. Women were so annoying.
But since he was in a good mood lately, he decided not to argue with her. If the kid wanted to go shopping, he’d take her. It wasn’t a big deal anyway.
So, the day before the banquet, Shen Xiao specifically cleared his afternoon schedule to accompany his kid sister shopping for clothes and shoes.
Truth be told, Shen Yu was a bit flustered by his unexpected kindness. Her original intention was to ask Shen Xiao for money so she could shop on her own. But not only did he give her the money, he also personally accompanied her to pick things out. His enthusiastic attitude made her uneasy, she was more accustomed to his erratic, crazy behavior than this model big brother act!
While trying on dresses, a small incident occurred. The siblings nearly got into an argument over which style to choose.
Shen Yu had her eye on a red dress with deep V-necks at the front and back. It was elegantly cut and exuded a sexy, mature vibe. However, the V-neck at the back was even lower than the front, exposing almost her entire back.
As soon as Shen Yu stepped out of the fitting room wearing it, Shen Xiao nearly lost his temper. Without even giving her a second glance, he ordered her to change immediately, his domineering attitude utterly infuriating.
Shen Yu pouted, took the black dress he handed her, and went back into the fitting room.
A nearby sales assistant, watching their interaction, smiled discreetly and said to Shen Xiao, “Don’t want anyone else to see your beautiful girlfriend?”
Shen Xiao shot her a glance and replied, “It’s freezing outside. I’m just worried she’ll catch her death!”
The sales assistant laughed again. “You’re such a thoughtful boyfriend.”
Shen Xiao then realized the other party had misunderstood the relationship between him and his sister. He wasn’t particularly angry, but he still corrected, “She’s not my girlfriend; she’s my sister.”
The shop assistant covered her mouth in surprise, then smiled awkwardly. “Sorry, I didn’t realize at first. You two look really good together.”
Shen Xiao, being quite cunning, wondered if the shop assistant’s words had been pre-taught by Shen Yu. Earlier, he had seen the two of them standing in front of the fitting room, whispering for quite a while.
Well done, she even dared to play tricks right in front of him. He was curious to see what other tactics she would use later.
Sitting on the sofa with a cigarette in his mouth, Shen Xiao felt a bit excited. Life like this wasn’t so bad, at least it wouldn’t be too boring.
On the day of the banquet, Shen Yu went early to get her hair and makeup done. When she returned, she put on her evening gown and high heels, adorned herself with jewelry, and stood in front of the mirror, almost failing to recognize herself.
In the mirror, she was fiery and seductive, with bold red lips.
No one would ever guess she was just a 20-year-old college student.
It seemed a bit too mature.
Shen Xiao was waiting for her downstairs, but his patience was wearing thin. He paced back and forth in the living room, with Xiaobai and Er Gaozi following closely behind him, a rather amusing sight.
Shen Yu descended the stairs and, upon seeing him, asked somewhat coquettishly, “Brother, do I look good?”
Shen Xiao looked up and froze for a moment, his heart uncontrollably racing a few beats. He took a deep breath, suppressing the strange feeling in his chest. Without offering any comment, he simply urged, “Let’s go.”
Not receiving any praise, Shen Yu pouted slightly, then lifted the hem of her dress and followed him.
Once in the car, she couldn’t resist complaining, “You were the one who picked this dress. Don’t you have anything to say about it?”
Shen Xiao, driving the car, let out a cold snort at her whiny accusation. “It’s passable. Not too bad to look at.”
Shen Yu: “…”
Annoying psycho. Would it kill him to compliment her just once??
This banquet was hosted by a highly respected figure in the business circle. Those in attendance were all prominent, influential people in the industry.
As Shen Yu followed Shen Xiao into the hall, she noticed that not only were business tycoons present, but there were also some well-known celebrities and actors.
Scanning the crowd, she quickly spotted Yuan Yue and Situ Yi, who were chatting with others. Yuan Yue stood beside Situ Yi, wearing a pale yellow gown and a graceful smile on her face.
It seemed she had already adapted to this kind of lifestyle.
Shen Yu, led by Shen Xiao, made her way further inside to greet the host first. The elderly man seemed to hold Shen Xiao in high regard, holding him in conversation for a while and even wanting to introduce him to someone. Shen Yu, feeling somewhat out of place, let go of Shen Xiao’s hand and turned to find Yuan Yue.
Yuan Yue had already spotted her and was making her way through the crowd with a smile. It had been quite some time since their last meeting, and Shen Yu felt that Yuan Yue probably had a lot to say to her.
And Shen Yu, too, had something she needed Yuan Yue to help her with. This meeting was the perfect opportunity to bring it up.
However, reality was not as simple as she had imagined.
As soon as Situ Yi saw Yuan Yue approaching, he quickly followed suit.
On her side, Shen Xiao, noticing Situ Yi’s arrival, immediately excused himself from the group of influential figures and hurried over to her, looking as though he was ready to roll up his sleeves and start a fight.
The moment Yuan Yue saw Shen Xiao, she began trembling nervously. "What should we do? Are they going to fight?"
Shen Yu sighed helplessly. Were these two truly incompatible? Why did they always seem ready to clash whenever they laid eyes on each other? Couldn’t they consider how others felt?
Was this the inevitable law between a villain and the protagonist?