A god-level beauty system? But I'm already a god-level beauty!

Exclusive lounge on the top floor of the Regent Taipei Hotel.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows is the city skyline, and the setting sun has dyed half the sky orange-red, reflecting the warm indoor light through the glass.

Chu Cihan stood in front of the dressing mirror.

The light blue off-shoulder dress flowed along her figure, the satin shimmering with a watery sheen under the lights.

A small section of her shoulder was exposed, revealing her clean and crisp white shoulder line, which made her look graceful and elegant. The dress's fitted waist accentuated her slender figure, while the skirt was extremely long, cascading down from her waist and trailing a light blue line behind her all the way to the ground.

She moved her feet slightly, and the hem of her skirt rippled across the carpet like a small, quiet lake.

Her hair was loose and hadn't been styled yet.

At this moment, she was sitting with her back to her mother, letting Shen Lan style her smooth, long black hair.

Shen Lan took a jade comb and ran it from the roots of her hair to the ends. Her black hair was smooth and compliant, gleaming with a dark sheen under the lamplight.

She chatted and laughed as she helped her daughter with her hair.

"By the way, will that young man named Shen Ye be coming today?"

"meeting."

Chu Cihan answered crisply, a smile playing on his lips.

"He'll definitely come; I personally gave him the invitation."

I gave it to you myself.

The four words were spoken with extreme pride, as if what was being handed out was not a card, but some extraordinary token.

Seeing her daughter's smiling face, Shen Lan paused in her hand holding the comb and sighed inwardly.

Judging from this, his daughter really liked that boy named Shen Ye.

Can't hide.

She does not object to this.

She had seen Shen Ye in person at many parent-teacher meetings and had even spoken with him several times.

He's a very handsome young man, with excellent posture, a pleasant voice, and impeccable academic performance.

A guy like that will do well wherever he goes in the future.

But just because she has no objection doesn't mean others don't.

"Squeak—"

The door to the lounge was pushed open.

The man who entered was a middle-aged man, dressed in a neat three-piece suit, with gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. He had a refined and scholarly air about him, and a few gray hairs were already visible at his temples.

Chu Bin.

Chu Cihan's father.

He entered the room, glanced at the comb in his wife's hand, then at his daughter's back reflected in his glasses, cleared his throat, and sat down on the single sofa.

Chu Bin pushed up his glasses with one finger and spoke in a deep voice:

"I've heard quite a bit about that kid surnamed Shen."

"But then again, now that he's here, I need to assess him. As his father, I have to keep an eye on things."

Survey.

Chu Bin had never met Shen Ye; all the information he had about the child came from hearsay from his daughter's wife.

By piecing things together, we can roughly piece together a picture: good-looking, outstanding academically, and as for family background...

Parents died early...

But to put it bluntly, this is not a bad thing for them, but a good thing—they only have one daughter, and it would be wonderful if they could find a son-in-law who would live with them.

He couldn't quite accept that his beloved daughter had a crush on a boy.

It's not that I dislike anyone, it's just that I can't bear to part with them.

His daughter, whom he had cherished and raised for eighteen years, was now being "kidnapped" by a young boy.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt I had to meet this kid today.

However, as soon as Chu Bin finished speaking, he noticed that the atmosphere in the lounge had changed.

Shen Lan's hand holding the comb froze in mid-air, her face instantly turning cold.

She glanced at her husband through the mirror.

"Yo."

"Where did you come from? Do you even have the right to speak?"

Chu Bin: "?"

Can't I even say a few words about my own daughter's life-changing event?

"An inspection?"

Shen Lan turned around, placed the jade comb on the dressing table, and started firing off a barrage of questions.

"Do you think I didn't know about your philandering when you were young? You kept me in the dark for so many years, and now you're suddenly thinking about 'checking out' other people's kids?"

"If you ask me, you should first examine yourself and see if you're fit to be a responsible father."

After a long session, the break room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Chu Cihan sat in front of the mirror, his shoulders shrugging as he desperately tried to suppress his laughter.

Chu Bin's momentum instantly vanished.

He adjusted his glasses, stood up awkwardly, went behind his wife, put his hands on her shoulders, and gently massaged them.

"Honey, you're right. It was my fault. Fine, I won't investigate anymore..."

"Are your shoulders sore? Let me massage them for you."

"Today is a big day for our daughter, let's be happy..."

They were putting on a very ingratiating act.

Shen Lan then snorted, acknowledging that he had passed the test.

...........

Banquet hall.

Shen Ye leaned against a pillar in the corner, holding a glass of orange juice in his hand, looking somewhat lonely.

In the vast hall, crystal chandeliers hung from the dome, and a three-tiered champagne tower stood next to the main table where a huge cake was displayed, with silver trays being passed around by waiters.

The guests gathered in twos and threes, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries.

He didn't know anyone here except Qin Xian.

The adults were chatting and laughing, clinking glasses, while he, a child who was not yet an adult, couldn't join in the conversation and had nothing to talk about with them.

But just because he doesn't initiate conversations doesn't mean no one comes to him.

Besides the elders, there were also many young people present today.

A strange yet outstanding young man stood alone in the corner, making it hard for him to go unnoticed.

Shen Ye had been standing there for less than twenty minutes, and six or seven people had already tried to strike up a conversation with him.

"Hello, are you also Cihan's friend? I'm her cousin."

"Hey bro, which school are you from? Can we exchange contact information? Let's play basketball sometime."

"Hey handsome, it must be so boring standing here all by yourself. Come sit over there with us."

Shen Ye always responded politely, and would try to be perfunctory if possible.

The most outrageous one was a little girl.

A chubby little girl, wearing a puffy skirt, whoever brought her, wobbled over to his feet and hugged his leg tightly.

"Brother is so tall!"

"Brother, hug me!"

Shen Ye looked down at her; she was too high for even a small stool to reach.

Unfortunately, Shen Ye is past the age of liking young girls...

He bent down and said a lot of nice things, but the child just wouldn't let go, holding on tightly with both little arms.

In the end, the child's mother, blushing, ran over, apologized repeatedly, and pulled the little devil away.

Shen Ye glanced down at his watch.

It's almost six o'clock.

According to the invitation, the banquet officially starts at six o'clock. Chu Cihan should be arriving soon...

Sure enough, the instant the thought crossed his mind—

The door leading to the backstage area at the front of the banquet hall was pushed open.