Translated by Eve

Thank you Maria Jean Shanks for the kofi

Jiang Deyi could no longer keep up his smile. Never in a million years would he have expected that the cuff links on Song Xuanhe's cuffs today were McPhail's.

When he recalled Song Xuanhe's insincere smile, Jiang Deyi tightened his hold around the napkin on his lap. Song Xuanhe had probably been laughing at him for not recognizing those cufflinks despite the fact he had said that they were very important to him.

Xiao Shenglin didn't know about the covert happenings that had taken place prior to his arrival. He walked over to his spot. When he didn't hear anyone speak, he felt a bit awkward. With a gentle smile, he asked, “Was I wrong?”

Jiang Deyi's expression changed. He cast his gaze over to Song Xuanhe at once.

Song Xuanhe knew what Jiang Deyi was thinking just by looking at his expression. Actually, he hadn't thought of anything when he had first seen Jiang Deyi. After all, regardless of whether it was in his original world or this world, there were many people who didn't like him, as well as people he didn't like. He'd end up wasting a lot of time and energy if he were to pay attention to every single one of them.

It had just been that, even if he hadn't had any plans on provoking Jiang Deyi, Jiang Deyi had taken the initiative to provoke him.

When he heard Jiang Deyi's covert challenge, Song Xuanhe's first reaction was to laugh. He had then wanted to see when the other would notice his cufflinks. He hadn't expected for the other to ignore it the whole time. He had only reacted when Xiao Shenglin had spoken up. What was even funnier was that, when Xiao Shenglin suspected he had been mistaken, Jiang Deyi had really believed him. He hoped that this pair of cufflinks weren't the one by McPhail so that he would be able to break free of this embarra.s.sing predicament.

It was just unfortunate that he was fated to be disappointed.

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Chin still propped up on his hand, Song Xuanhe smiled. “You're right. It's this pair.”

Upon hearing Song Xuanhe's admission, everyone turned to look at Jiang Deyi. 'Important' to him? Yeah right. It was one thing for him not to recognize it despite it being waved right in front of his eyes, but he had actually tried to deride Song Xuanhe for collecting it. Everyone now understood why he had said what he had just now.

When Feng Tong looked at Song Xuanhe's cufflinks, he smiled and complimented him. “These cufflinks suit your s.h.i.+rt very well.”

Song Xuanhe raised a brow. “Are you complimenting yourself?”

The s.h.i.+rt he was wearing today was from the brand under Feng Tong's teacher's name. But everyone here knew that the s.h.i.+rt's cut and innovative design were done by Feng Tong on his own. Feng Tong's teacher had never tried to keep this a secret. That was why Feng Tong was rising so quickly in the design world.

“Of course not,” Feng Tong said with a smile, “I'm grateful to you for giving me inspiration.”

“I had also been inspired when I had first laid eyes on these cufflinks. That's why I had bought them.” Song Xuanhe stroked the cufflinks and smiled. “Master McPhail's designs are unique and creative. If I ever get the chance, I'd like to visit him. I'd probably be blessed with inspiration if I were to have a chance to converse with him.”

The male designer who had spoken to Song Xuanhe as soon as he had arrived looked at him weirdly when he heard this. Seeing this, Song Xuanhe asked, “What's wrong?”

That person didn't respond. Instead, he asked, “Do you not know?”

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If that person hadn't been looking at him, Song Xuanhe wouldn't have known that he was talking to him. This question had come out-of-the-blue. Even if he knew that the question was addressed to him, he had no idea what the male designer was referring to.

The confusion was blatant on Song Xuanhe's face. “Know about what?”

“Those cufflinks,” The male designer said while pointing at Song Xuanhe's sleeve, “Were designed by Master McPhail in celebration of his twentieth anniversary. Not just that, they also hold a special meaning to him. He has privately said before that whoever ends up with them will be allowed to partic.i.p.ate in one of his tea parties.”

“Everyone knows that although Master McPhail is a jewellery designer, people from all areas of the design world partic.i.p.ate in his tea parties, from architects to landscape designers. Experts from all fields gather together at Master McPhail's annual tea party and socialize, in hopes of finding inspiration. Naturally, great fas.h.i.+on designers will also be present.” After saying this, the male designer looked at Jiang Deyi, whose expression had taken a turn for the worse.

With a mocking tone, he said, “It's obvious as to why these cuff links are important to Mr. Jiang Deyi.”

“Master McPhail's tea party?”

Song Xuanhe hadn't expected to be given such a pleasant surprise. But after reflecting on it, he realized that he should have seen this coming.

Back then, when he had been partic.i.p.ating in that auction, he had wondered why the price had been climbing so high. However, he didn't lack money. And secondly, you could not put a price on a designer's inspiration. These cufflinks had given him inspiration. Therefore, he had continued to raise the price until he had won them. That had also been why he had been unwilling to sell the cufflinks no matter how high a price Jiang Deyi had offered.

For him to gain a ticket to a gathering of great masters for just five hundred thousand was a great deal.

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It wasn't just Song Xuanhe. The other people in this room who weren't jewellery designers also hadn't heard of this before. If they had known, they would have paid any price to get their hands on those cufflinks. What one could learn at a tea party where the world's top designers gathered could not be bought with money.

Nonetheless, these cufflinks already had an owner. No matter how much they wanted this chance, they would not try to buy it from him now.

It was just that everyone now had a different opinion of Jiang Deyi. Song Xuanhe's shocked expression hadn't been faked. It was obvious that he really hadn't known about this. Actually, although it wasn't necessarily bad of Jiang Deyi to withhold this information while trying to benefit from Song Xuanhe's ignorance, it was despicable for him to try to slander Song Xuanhe after he had failed.

Song Xuanhe broke the silence. He genuinely thanked the male designer. “I had never heard about this before. This must be insider information. I'm really grateful to you for telling me about this.”

The male designer shook his head. His expression softened. “No need for thanks.”

“Since this matter has been resolved, let's eat.” Feng Tong smiled. “The food's getting cold.”

Aside from Jiang Deyi, who had shamelessly stayed despite being exposed, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. After the meal, Feng Tong and Ren Yi went off on a date. Although everyone was a bit reluctant to part, they exchanged contact information and left.

Song Xuanhe, Zhou Nan and Xiao Shenglin had decided to find a bar to relax at so they hadn't split up. What they hadn't expected was that Jiang Deyi, who had just walked off in the opposite direction, would suddenly turn around and stop them.

Or rather, stop Song Xuanhe.

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Jiang Deyi said, “Song

shaoye

, I want to talk to you,”

Song Xuanhe paused. “About what?”

Jiang Deyi's gaze was on Song Xuanhe's sleeves. “Master McPhail's cufflinks—I'm willing to pay you a million and two hundred thousand yuan for them. This is everything I have saved up. I really need the chance to attend Master McPhail's tea party. I know that you're not a designer so Master McPhail's tea party doesn't mean anything to you. Therefore, I hope that you'll be willing to sell them to me.”

Song Xuanhe had always thought that his skin was thick. He had also thought Zhou Nan and Wei Chen were rather shameless. But it wasn't until he had met Jiang Deyi that he had learned what shamelessness really looked like.

He was nothing compared to Jiang Deyi when it came to shamelessness.

Song Xuanhe asked, “Do you think I'll sell them to you?”

“I think that it's a worthwhile deal to sell something you don't need to someone who does,” Jiang Deyi said, “Although there was that misunderstanding between us in the past, I believe that you're not the type to miss out on a profitable deal.”

Zhou Nan gave him a thumbs up. “Impressive! Trying to talk money with Song Er!”

“Indeed, I'm not the type to miss out on a good deal,” Song Xuanhe said, “But I don't really lack money and it just so happens that I don't like you. Therefore, I don't plan on selling them to you.”

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“You should know that I'm with Hayden Schroder.” Jiang Deyi said in a dark voice, “Although you're in China and the Schroder Family's hands can't reach you here, but….”

“But what?” Song Xuanhe raised a brow, the smile not reaching his eyes. “But they can still threaten me?”

“Are you really not afraid of the Schroder Family's retaliation?”

“He has no reason to worry about that.” Xiao Shenglin's brows furrowed as he cut off Jiang Deyi. He looked displeased. “We're busy. Please move aside.”

Hearing Xiao Shenglin speak up, Jiang Deyi grit his teeth. He still wanted to continue but he still moved to the side in the end.

While walking to the parking lot, Song Xuanhe laughed and then teased, “This is the first time I've seen you angry. I used to think you couldn't get angry.”

“What kind of person would be incapable of getting angry?” Xiao Shenglin laughed in spite of himself. “It's just rare for me”

Song Xuanhe frowned when he saw Xiao Shenglin's expression. “There's something off about you today. This kind of thing wouldn't usually anger you.”

The smile on Xiao Shenglin's face grew fainter. When Zhou Nan heard this, he was about to say something but changed his words when he saw who was coming towards them. He couldn't help but poke Song Xuanhe, who was currently looking at Xiao Shenglin. In a hushed voice he said, “Your man's here.”

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Song Xuanhe was taken aback. He turned to look over and, as expected, he saw Xiao Yuanmu walking towards them.

Xiao Yuanmu's gaze swept over Zhou Nan and Xiao Shenglin, eyes pausing on Xiao Shenglin. He then turned to look at Song Xuanhe. “Do you have time? I have something to discuss with you.”

“What?”

Xiao Shenglin sighed in relief. He smiled gently. “Since you're busy, let's meet up another time. Zhou Nan and I'll head out first.”

After Zhou Nan and Xiao Shenglin left, Song Xuanhe walked towards Xiao Yuanmu. He stopped in front of the other and asked, “How did you know I was here? And aren't you really busy? How do you have time to come looking for me?”

Xiao Yuanmu peered down at him and said in a cool voice, “If I didn't come to see you, would you have come to see me?”

“I didn't want to bother you, ah.” Song Xuanhe walked with him side-by-side. His voice was casual. “You look like you've gotten thinner. Are you staying up all-night again?”

“Mn.”

“Remember to eat your meals on time.” Song Xuanhe reminded him as friends would. “Regardless of anything else, your health is most important.”

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Looking at the snow-covered branches and the ground that had been rendered into a slushy mess by the pedestrians, Xiao Yuanmu grabbed Song Xuanhe's hand and led him down an empty alleyway.

Song Xuanhe let him hold his hand. He didn't ask about the alley and silently followed along. A moment later, he asked, “Are you in a bad mood?”

Xiao Yuanmu stopped walking. He turned to face Song Xuanhe, his gaze pa.s.sing over him to look at the footprints they had left in the snow. The wind seemed to carry his cool voice away, making it difficult to grasp. “Do you even care?”

Eve: I love how you can feel the subtle differences in their interactions. Like SXH had also been perceptive of XYM, but now he's voicing it. He reads him so well. And there's also how SXH seems to have just accepted this level of skins.h.i.+p with XYM.