You're my wife, don't doubt it!

Regardless of gender, they all possessed an extraordinary "style".

Finally, Shen Jie arrived late and officially announced the start of the birthday party.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm late."

Shen Jie wore a light-colored long dress, barefoot in low-heeled sandals, with a necklace around her neck, carrying a small bag, and seemingly wearing light makeup.

As she put down her bag and sat down, she looked around for Xiao Yao and Zhang Zhengkai's seats—and when she saw the two of them sitting together, chatting and laughing intimately, she was taken aback.

Xiao Yao and Zhang Zhengkai looked up together, casually greeted Shen Jie, and then started chatting amongst themselves again.

What the heck are these two people...?

Fortunately, Xiao Yao's look today was quite satisfactory to her.

With a new haircut, new clothes, and his glasses off, he actually looks kind of handsome at first glance?

“I’ve read ‘The Knight of Armand’,” Zhang Zhengkai said casually. “Also a work by Alexandre Dumas, I think it’s better than ‘The Three Musketeers’.”

"My favorite is Henryk Sienkiewicz's 'The Knights of the Cross'."

“Praise Jesus Christ!” Zhang Zhengkai smiled and raised his right hand.

"Forever and ever!" Xiao Yao immediately followed with the "secret," and the two then high-fived.

Could these two be drafting some kind of unfair treaty, planning to divide me up? Shen Jie couldn't hear the specifics of their conversation, so she just shook her head, dismissing the absurd thought.

A distinguished-looking, overweight man stood up—he was Zhou Xiaoying's current boyfriend, the birthday girl at the party—and announced the official start of the luncheon.

Cold dishes, hot dishes, soups, and desserts—everything proceeded smoothly and efficiently.

Xiao Nan Guo specializes in local Shanghai cuisine. I don't know why, but recently, local Shanghai cuisine has become popular again, and Xiao Nan Guo has become increasingly famous. It has a very good reputation in the Shanghai catering industry, and it seems that it has opened a branch in Dongzhu.

The dishes were all authentic Shanghainese cuisine, and each dish was cooked to perfection: the braised pork hock was fatty but not greasy, and even Yu Luying, who doesn't usually eat fatty meat, said in a text message that she could accept it; the crystal shrimp were tender and bouncy, with a fresh taste and beautiful appearance; the crispy pigeon was both crispy and nutritious...

The only drawback was that each dish was only enough for one person's chopsticks at most. Before coming, Shen Jie had repeatedly reminded him to be mindful of his eating manners, so when Xiao Yao saw the popular dishes being served, he basically acted as if he didn't care.

During the meal, everyone presented birthday gifts to the birthday girl, Zhou Xiaoying. Shen Jie's gift was Santa Maria Novella rose wax tablets, which clearly pleased Zhou Xiaoying.

Zhang Zhengkai's gift made Zhou Xiaoying's smile awkward yet polite.

It was a knight's shield brooch, quite exquisite in design, and judging from its condition, it might even be a genuine artifact preserved from an old era—Xiao Yao worried that perhaps a gem had been wasted.

He felt a little guilty and secretly resented Shen Jie for not reminding him to prepare a gift—but even if she had reminded him, he probably wouldn't have the money to buy one.

"Where were we?" Zhang Zhengkai sat down again, interrupting Xiao Yao's hesitation.

"The fall of the Byzantine Empire?" Xiao Yao thought for a moment. "And modern poetry?"

“I don’t read much modern poetry,” Zhang Zhengkai said, stroking his chin.

“I can show you the research I did on ‘The Death of the Poet’ in my elective course group last semester.”

"You absolutely have to show it to me." Zhang Zhengkai patted Xiao Yao's arm. "And that 99 bound volume of 'Science Fiction Emperor' you just mentioned, I've been looking for it for a long time..."

"I'll lend it to you."

"By the way, you'll participate in the essay competition with me next time. I'll guarantee you a spot in the preliminary round; my dad has a very good relationship with the director of the Education Bureau." Zhang Zhengkai patted his chest.

"Great, that's wonderful."

During the meal, toasts were exchanged, but Xiao Yao didn't understand most of the topics discussed. Fortunately, no one asked for his opinion. He pretended to listen with great interest, laughing along when others laughed, feeling that he hadn't made a fool of himself.

Fortunately, Zhang Zhengkai was there to chat with him.

"You mean, your family has a real suit of armor in their collection?" Xiao Yao's eyes lit up.

“A full suit of Milanese armor from the Renaissance period,” Zhang Zhengkai said, “Next time you come to my house, I’ll lend it to you to wear?”

"Really?" Xiao Yao was genuinely envious. "I can only enjoy it in games. The real thing must be very expensive, right?"

"It's alright, not expensive," Zhang Zhengkai said. "Chain armor usually costs around three thousand, a set of full armor usually costs ten to twenty thousand, and a helmet and shield can be made for a few hundred. As for swords, there are currently only two companies in China, Hanwei and Longquan. I think Hanwei is more professional..."

"It's not that expensive," Xiao Yao said with an awkward smile. "Is your sword sharpened?"

“I did secretly have a few blades sharpened,” Zhang Zhengkai said in a low voice. “But sharpening them is actually a bad thing. What do you want to do with them? They’re too big and too conspicuous, so they’re not practical at all. If you don’t want to do anything with them, you’ll be breaking the law if you have them.”

Then, Zhang Zhengkai began to boast to Xiao Yao about the horse named "Fiery" that his family kept at the horse farm.

"Have you all had enough dessert?" The chubby guy who looked like a homebody stood up, put his arm around Zhou Xiaoying with one arm and carried a huge cake with the other, and invited everyone to go to "Qian Gui" KTV to continue the second half of the party.

Shen Jie glanced at Xiao Yao and Zhang Zhengkai again, feeling that the two were practically ready to become sworn brothers on the spot, and couldn't help but feel a little apologetic.

I don't want to destroy the friendship between men, I really don't, I'm a victim too.

Two boys stood up and walked towards him together.

This guy Zhang Zhengkai not only showed up uninvited, but also acted as if it were his right to extend his arm to me, indicating that I should take his arm.

As usual, he was not only shameless but also thought he was a gentleman.

I'm sorry, male friendship.

Shen Jie smiled and reached out to take Xiao Yao's arm, causing the latter to shudder.

"Let me introduce you," Shen Jie said confidently, glancing around at her friends. "This is Xiao Yao."

Friends exclaimed and chattered, some offering congratulations, some complimenting Xiao Yao on his "good manners," some gossiping and asking questions, and others expressing disbelief.

"St. Francis Secondary School, what a great school!" Zhou Xiaoying's boyfriend gave a thumbs up: "It's a key school in the district."

"What a good student, a top student," said a thin boy with a somewhat effeminate voice.

"Where, where."

Xiao Yao was holding Shen Jie's arm and chatting with her friends when she saw Zhang Zhengkai walk to the very edge of the crowd with his arms crossed.

The boy pursed his lips, but didn't actually cry.

what happened to him?

Just as Xiao Yao was about to ask Zhang Zhengkai what was going on, Shen Jie dragged him away.

"What's wrong with Zhang Zhengkai? He's acting strange all of a sudden?" Xiao Yao asked Shen Jie in a low voice on the way to Qian Gui KTV.

“I should be asking you what’s wrong,” Shen Jie whispered in his ear, “Why are you getting so close to the district chief’s son?”

Xiao Yao glanced back at the sullen Zhang Zhengkai: "The district chief's son? I just feel like I get along really well with him..."

“I don’t like him,” Shen Jie said decisively. “And I don’t think he’ll like you either.”

"Why?" Xiao Yao asked, puzzled.

"Are you stupid?" Shen Jie flung Xiao Yao's arm away.

"?"

As we were talking, we arrived at the "Qian Gui" KTV.

Xiao Yao had been to KTVs when he was a child. Back then, they were called "Karaoke," but he didn't know when they gradually became "KTVs."

Xiao Yao never understood why, if you can't sing anywhere, you have to spend a lot of money to have a group of people sing around the TV.

Stepping into the "Qian Gui" is like stepping into another world.

The air here seems to be blue, as if the whole world has been filtered through a deep blue lens.

Although the surrounding area was full of smooth, shiny mirrors, the visibility was still not high, which took Xiao Yao's eyes a while to adjust to.

The polite waiter led them through a maze-like corridor, from which came various heart-wrenching, ghostly howls, and terrifying sounds.

Xiao Yao stood on tiptoe and peered through the glass panel of the door, wanting to see what kind of people were so lacking in self-awareness.

"We've arrived. Watch out for the glass." The waiter reached out to push the door open, but found nothing.

"I thought there was glass here," he muttered awkwardly.

A dozen or so teenagers rushed in. Some sat down and started playing on their phones, some rushed over to request songs, and others unscrewed the caps of soda bottles.

"This is the VIP party room reserved by Ms. Shen, a 12-hour luxury package for karaoke. Fruit platters, drinks and snacks will be served shortly."

"Did you order Qingniao Pure Draft Beer? Bring me a pitcher." A boy with a somewhat roguish and rebellious air called out.

"I'm sorry, according to regulations we cannot serve alcoholic beverages to minors..." the waiter explained.

"Tch, Lao Shen, what kind of lousy place did you pick? You might as well go to my dad's place..." Afei leaned back strategically and crossed his legs.

The prelude to "Jiangbei" begins at this moment.

“This is a legitimate KTV. If we go to your dad’s place, will he give everyone a… singing companion?” Shen Jie tapped his head, making a “thump” sound.

“Sure,” Afei said with a smile, leaning back on the sofa. “It’s all on me.”

"Do any of us girls have any boys to keep us company?" a tall girl with heavy makeup and a boss-like demeanor asked with a smile.

Shen Jie frowned, a flash of disdain crossing her face: "Shut up, sing your songs. Come on, the first one is yours—"

As he spoke, he shoved the microphone into the girl's hand.

"The wind becomes sticky here, clinging to the thoughts of passersby; the rain weaves into threads here..."

Xiao Yao sat upright, his hands on his thighs, while Zhang Zhengkai sat beside him, playing his handheld game console.

"Relax a bit." Shen Jie shouted into Xiao Yao's ear, "What do you want to sing? I'll pick one for you!"

"Thank you, I can do it myself." Xiao Yao smiled shyly.

At that moment, the door to the private room was pushed open, and a person wearing the same waiter uniform walked in, followed by seven or eight sexy, heavily made-up young women.