Ning Zhu greeted Dou Changxiao. He saw the other man glance his way, but Dou Changxiao quickly averted his gaze and walked straight ahead without looking sideways.

Ning Zhu: “…”

Being ignored, he strangely felt a bit hurt.

He pondered in confusion: Had their last conversation ended on such an unpleasant note?

Unable to figure it out, Ning Zhu watched Dou Changxiao take a seat across the room. Another question surfaced: How did this guy even end up here?

Ren Hongyuan’s invitations were mostly extended to business elites and influential figures—it was unlikely he’d bother inviting a powerless Alpha.

However, many guests at the birthday banquet attended with companions. Could Dou Changxiao have been brought along by someone?

…That made sense.

After all, that was his line of work. Last time he’d nearly agreed to a deal with him, but when the deal fell through, he naturally had to seek other business opportunities.

With that thought, Ning Zhu decided not to get up and disturb him again, silently sipping the coconut juice in his arms.

Meanwhile, Ren Shaokun, having endured a stern scolding from his father, finally emerged from his room.

Brother Lei spotted him in the banquet hall and immediately approached, greeting him warmly: “Shaokun!”

Ren Shaokun nodded. “By the way, I heard you got into trouble recently? How careless of you.”

“…” Brother Lei’s face darkened as he explained the whole situation to him.

When he mentioned “that Ning guy,” Ren Shaokun cut him off: “You mean Ning Zhu?” He shot Brother Lei a glance, then looked toward Ning Zhu, seated near the banquet hall entrance.

“It’s him! Do you know what that Ning guy’s background is?”

Ren Shaokun gave a cold laugh. “Of course I know. Part of the reason my father kicked me out of the country back then was because of that Ning guy.”

He didn’t explain the details to Brother Lei, who sensed the incident must be a source of shame for Ren Shaokun and tactfully refrained from prying.

Brother Lei: “But why would he attend Uncle Ren’s birthday banquet? Could it be some business dealings with your family?”

“Business dealings, my ass,” Ren Shaokun scowled, frowning in annoyance. “Who knows what my father was thinking, actually sending invitations to the two bosses of Qisheng. He’s gone senile.”

Brother Lei’s heart skipped a beat. He’d certainly heard of Qisheng’s reputation, but only knew the second boss was Ji Chi. Since the latter was the Ji family’s illegitimate son, the old families of North City inevitably overlapped. Rumors spread like wildfire in these circles, and Brother Lei had picked up bits and pieces about him.

But for a self-made businessman like Ning Zhu, someone without any background, Brother Lei—a good-for-nothing playboy—naturally wouldn’t bother to learn about him.

Even if he was the most brainless drunkard imaginable, he now understood that Ning Zhu was someone he couldn’t afford to offend.

Resentment simmered within him, and he tried to stir up Ren Shaokun: “Since that Ning fellow has wronged you, are you really going to swallow your pride and let it slide?”

Ren Shaokun’s expression darkened, but he remained silent.

His father had just ordered him not to provoke the Ning family. Moreover, Ren Hongyuan was currently deliberating over the matter of succession. He certainly didn’t want his stepmother and stepbrother to gain an advantage, so for the time being, he truly couldn’t do anything to Ning Zhu.

Seeing his silence, Brother Lei knew he couldn’t count on Ren Shaokun to take revenge on his own.

Ren Shaokun’s inability to act against Ning Zhu was one thing, but that didn’t mean he was willing to lose face in front of Brother Lei. He sneered, “So what if I can’t swallow it? I’m not going to stoop to his level.”

His smile suddenly turned oddly twisted. “He’s just a short-lived ghost. Earns money but won’t live to spend it. Leave him be—he won’t be jumping around for much longer.”

Brother Lei froze, unable to grasp the meaning behind “short-lived ghost.” But since Ren Shaokun had spoken so bluntly, he didn’t press for further explanation.

Unable to touch Brother Ning Zhu, Brother Lei turned his attention to another target for revenge. Wary of hitting another dead end, he quietly probed Ren Shaokun about Dou Changxiao’s background.

Irritated by the questioning, Ren Shaokun frowned and glanced in Dou Changxiao’s direction, instantly feeling an uncomfortable sense of inferiority.

Among Alphas, the innate drive to compete and assert dominance surpasses that of other genders, making them more acutely sensitive to threats from their own kind. Even though Dou Changxiao was far away, Ren Shaokun instantly sensed the overwhelming aura of a top Alpha. He frowned in annoyance and said, “I haven’t been back in the country long. How would I know all that? That kid looks pretty young. I don’t recall anyone like him in Beicheng.”

Brother Lei relaxed inwardly, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The birthday banquet wouldn’t start until midnight, and with nothing new happening nearby to pass the time, Ning Zhu grew restless.

Occasionally, guests would recognize him and strike up conversations. Though Ning Zhu maintained a polite and affable facade, he privately disliked such insincere small talk.

Whenever a pause occurred in the conversation, he would steal a glance toward Dou Changxiao, discreetly monitoring the other man’s movements.

Having interacted with Dou Changxiao several times now, Ning Zhu had gained a rough understanding of his temperament.

This man wasn’t much of a talker, carrying himself with a distinctly cold demeanor. When unoccupied, he’d silently retreat to a corner. Yet his striking appearance was impossible to ignore. Despite his deliberate efforts to fade into the background, he still drew the first glance in any crowd.

Strangely enough, though he wasn’t particularly interesting and hadn’t made any notable moves since entering the banquet hall—merely leaning quietly against his chair, flipping through his phone, almost to the point of being dull— Yet Ning Zhu felt that whenever Dou Changxiao was present, everything around him gained an extra layer of interest. Even this banquet hall, filled with insincere pleasantries, became slightly less unbearable because of his presence.

Dou Changxiao possessed a certain quality, as pure as the scent of his pheromones, that made Ning Zhu quite willing to draw near.

Just then, he noticed a waiter carrying a tray approaching Dou Changxiao.

The tray held several glasses of dark red liquid. The waiter bent down, exchanged a few words with Dou Changxiao, then placed one glass beside him.

Ning Zhu watched for a moment before turning back to the young man he was talking to with an apologetic smile. “Excuse me for a moment.”

The young man nodded understandingly. Ning Zhu rose and walked away briskly.

“Thank you, but I said I don’t need it.”

Dou Changxiao glanced at the glass thrust upon him and refused.

He didn’t drink.

The waiter remained bent over, insisting with a smile that this was a rare wine from the Ren family’s collection.

Dou Changxiao, who had been indifferent, lifted his head at the remark and stared silently at the waiter.

Dou Changxiao’s hair, eyebrows, and eyes were all pure black. His pupils, beyond their deep color, held a sharp, cold glint reminiscent of a canine animal. Under his gaze, the waiter grew tense, his speech stumbling involuntarily.

“Sir…” The waiter steeled himself, pushing the glass forward insistently, determined to get Dou Changxiao to taste it.

Dou Changxiao watched the waiter’s expression, observing where his gaze lingered, as he slowly raised the wine glass, making a motion to bring it to his lips.

Just then, a hand reached out from the side, fingers gently pressing against the rim of the cup, intercepting it mid-air.

Dou Changxiao paused, his gaze following the slender, knobby fingers upward until it met Ning Zhu’s slightly cold expression.

Ning Zhu took the wine glass from Dou Changxiao’s hand, clasping it in his own. He shot the waiter an ambiguous glance. The latter’s heart tightened under his gaze, bowed hastily to both men, and hurried away clutching his tray.

“Don’t drink things given to you by strangers.” Ning Zhu said, setting the cup slightly further away as if Dou Changxiao might reach for it.

Dou Changxiao: “.”

Their seats were right next to the beverage station. Ning Zhu picked up a refreshing-looking drink from the long table and handed it to Dou Changxiao.

“This one, um…” Ning Zhu examined the pale milky liquid inside, trying to identify the flavor. “The lemon juice is pretty good. Have this if you’re thirsty.”

Dou Changxiao took it silently, thinking to himself: …Does that mean what you offer is safe to drink?

Ning Zhu asked him, “Who brought you here? How come they left you alone?”

This kid’s client is way too irresponsible.

Dou Changxiao found Ning Zhu’s words oddly patronizing, as if he were some child brought along by an adult. He replied flatly, “You’re here alone too.”

Ning Zhu smiled, choosing not to pursue the topic further.

He scanned the room, taking in the entire banquet hall’s movements, trying to spot the person who’d instructed the waiter.

That waiter had disappeared quickly—nowhere to be seen in the blink of an eye. But Ning Zhu had a pretty good idea who the mastermind was.

Withdrawing his gaze, he turned his head and saw Dou Changxiao bent over, drinking the beverage he’d offered. Ning Zhu choked slightly.

“……”

Ning Zhu thought, almost resignedly: This kid really has no sense of caution whatsoever. He’d just warned him not to drink things handed to him by strangers…

While he wasn’t exactly a complete stranger, he certainly wasn’t someone trustworthy either, was he?

Brother Lei dared to pull such dirty tricks at Ren Hongyuan’s birthday banquet, and this kid was so completely without guard. Ning Zhu sighed silently in worry.

Suddenly, the fingers casually resting on the table grew icy cold.

Ning Zhu lowered his gaze to see that Dou Changxiao had poured another cup of that pale cream-colored drink and was pushing it toward him.

“Uh… thanks?” Ning Zhu accepted it without quite knowing why. Staring at the refreshing color inside the cup, he hesitated for a moment before graciously lifting it to take a sip.

Then it felt like his tongue had been beaten.

Sour, bitter, salty, astringent—several flavors combined in a bizarre way… Not only was it awful, but it was awfully complex!

Ning Zhu’s tongue stiffened from the shock, taking a while to recover.

He lowered his head, briefly meeting Dou Changxiao’s calm eyes. Suddenly, he remembered the words he’d said when handing this bizarre drink to the other: “The lemon juice is pretty good.”

“…”

Ning Zhu turned his face away, bit down on the straw without flinching, and took another small sip. He silently cursed under his breath: This kid’s got a bigger grudge than I do…