Shen Chen picked up a solid black bottle from the glass table, poured half a glass, and dropped two ice cubes into the golden liquid. He handed it to Xu Su, then, as if remembering something, poured another glass and placed it in front of Huang Feng. "Try it," he said with a smile. "It’s not bad."

Xu Su took the glass and downed it in one go. A sharp bitterness was followed by a lingering sweetness with a hint of fruit.

Licking her lips, Xu Su nodded in satisfaction. "It really is pretty good."

Shen Chen took her empty glass and, while grabbing another bottle to refill it, reminded her, "It’s pretty strong. Don’t drink so fast."

"I know." ’It wasn’t like she hadn’t had this wine before.’ Xu Su turned to remind Huang Feng, "Fengfeng, just take a small sip to see how you like it. I can hold my liquor, so don’t copy me."

In her past life, she had loved tasting all sorts of alcohol. She had basically polished off Zhou Mochen’s entire collection. Whether a vintage was available on the market or not, if it was even slightly famous, she had to have a taste.

Several wineries, both in China and abroad, crafted all kinds of fruit wines just for her.

Upon hearing this, Huang Feng took a careful sip. Her brow instantly furrowed. She couldn’t fathom how anyone could arrive at the conclusion that this "tasted good."

"If you don’t like it, we don’t have to drink it." Seeing this, Xu Su grabbed the nearby green tea and poured a glass for Huang Feng.

Nearby, Jiang Peng and the others just watched as Shen Chen solicitously poured wine for Xu Su, who in turn casually took care of her friend as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"What are you all looking at?" Shen Chen handed a half-full glass of deep red liquid to Xu Su and jerked his chin at the others. "Get back to your own conversation."

’This is one of the top hotels in Chang City, for crying out loud, and he didn’t arrange any entertainment? We’re just supposed to sit here and make small talk? What is there to talk about...’ Jiang Peng and his friends were suffering in silence.

’How is this any different from a business meeting? Since when did Shen Chen become such a gentleman?’

’If we’d known it would be like this, we might as well have stayed in Beijing...’

After two glasses, Xu Su set down her cup and began to size up the others in the private room. She had met Jiang Peng a few times in her past life. He tended to follow Shen Chen around a lot; Zhou Mochen hadn’t liked to associate with rich playboys like him.

She didn’t know the other two. Perhaps she had seen them before, but she had no real memory of them.

Seeing that she seemed interested, Shen Chen began to introduce them one by one. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

He pointed to the young man on the far left with a full head of bright red hair. "Little Hou."

Then he gestured to another man in a white shirt. "Little Zhu."

Finally, looking at Jiang Peng, Shen Chen smiled. "You two have met, so I won’t bother with another introduction."

’He didn’t even give their full names,’ she thought. ’How casual.’

’Little Hou, Little Zhu...’

The nicknames were pretty ordinary, but for some reason, Xu Su found them amusingly festive.

Hou Yiming and Zhu Yuxuan nodded politely to Xu Su. They were very clear on their own status; they ran with Shen Chen, and while they were on good terms, they were ultimately his underlings. What else would they be called but Little Hou? It’s not like they could be called Mr. Hou.

Hanging out and joking around was one thing, but it was obvious that Young Master Shen’s intentions toward this Xu Su were serious. All they had to do was follow his lead and be respectful.

If you couldn’t even read the room, you wouldn’t last long in the circle of these ’crown princes’.

After the brief introductions, Jiang Peng raised his glass. "Miss Xu, if I offended you in any way before, please don’t take it to heart. I’ll drink this as a penalty and an apology."

He downed the drink in one clean gulp and added with a grin, "A few of us brothers have long suspected Brother Chen was running off to Chang City so often for a reason. We knew something was up, but he wouldn’t admit it. If we hadn’t insisted on tagging along this time, you’d still be hiding this great beauty from us."

As he said the words "great beauty," he gave her a deliberately waggish, conspiratorial grin.

Knowing Jiang Peng had the wrong idea, Xu Su felt the corner of her mouth twitch. Just as she was about to speak, Shen Chen cut in irritably, "Oh, shut up. Stop using me for your jokes."

After the retort, he checked the time and turned to Xu Su. "It’s a little after six. Are you hungry? Should I order some food for you?"

The general manager of the Junyue Hotel, who had been sitting with them, heard the Crown Prince and immediately stood up. "What would you like to eat, sir? We offer a wide variety of cuisines."

"No, thank you. I’ll be leaving soon." Xu Su shook her head. "I’ve been drinking since this morning. I couldn’t possibly eat anything."

Suddenly, she felt a grip on her arm. Huang Feng, who had been quiet until now, linked arms with her and leaned in to whisper, "Susu, look over there. Isn’t that Fei Qiao?"

’Fei Qiao?’

’Who’s that?’

Xu Su followed her gaze. Sitting next to Jiang Peng was a pretty girl in a miniskirt. It looked to be made of high-quality fabric, its style a mix of sweet and sexy that hugged her exquisite figure.

The moment Jiang Peng finished his drink, the girl leaned forward slightly, took the bottle, and refilled his glass. The loose neckline of her top revealed the soft curve of a breast, and her pale, smooth legs were crossed, looking fresh and tempting.

Her every gesture carried an air of shy, innocent charm—absolutely not the disposition one would expect from a hired hostess in a place like this.

’A very pretty girl. How had I not noticed her before?’

’But that name, Fei Qiao, does sound a little familiar.’

Perhaps because Xu Su had been staring for a while, Shen Chen followed her line of sight, his expression flickering slightly. "You know her?"

"Of course I know her! Susu, she looks just like Fei Qiao! You know, the tragic supporting actress from *Fall in Love with Candy House*!"

Seeing a real-life celebrity in the flesh, Huang Feng was so excited that her buzz from the alcohol completely vanished. She turned to the girl next to Jiang Peng and asked, "Are you Fei Qiao?"

"Well, well. I didn’t realize our Ah Qiao was so famous," Jiang Peng said, wrapping an arm around Fei Qiao’s waist. He grinned at Huang Feng. "Don’t tell me she’s your idol. Want a picture with her? An autograph?"

He gave his companion a little push on the small of her back. "Babe, go have a nice chat with Miss Xu’s friend."

His tone and gesture made Huang Feng, who had been so thrilled to see a real celebrity, freeze in place. Even if she was still naive and not yet worldly enough to read social cues perfectly, she could tell how dismissive Jiang Peng’s attitude was.

Huang Feng had initially assumed Fei Qiao was Jiang Peng’s girlfriend and thought she’d stumbled upon some secret celebrity gossip. Now, her expression froze.

She remembered what Xu Su had said earlier: Shen Chen only kept lovers, he didn’t do girlfriends...

’Then... his friends are probably the same way...’

’So...’

Huang Feng’s words finally made it click for Xu Su!

That was why the name Fei Qiao had sounded so familiar! In her past life, she’d heard Shi Lin go on about her more than once.

According to Shi Lin, this Fei Qiao had been Shen Chen’s woman. She’d been with him for several months, and even after Shen Chen and Shi Lin got together, Fei Qiao had come back to bother him...

But according to Shi Lin, Shen Chen had no intention of taking her back. Shi Lin had sounded incredibly smug when she told that story. After all, besting a beautiful actress was a huge boost to anyone’s ego.

Having been with Shen Chen for a few months, Fei Qiao naturally had no shortage of industry resources. Over the next two years, she landed lead roles in several major dramas. Shi Lin had been secretly jealous for a while, but she finally dropped the subject when she confirmed that Shen Chen was no longer in contact with the actress.

’In that case...’