Li Yundong, long accustomed to his playful antics with the little fox, had his mouth stuffed full, laughing and mumbling around the food, "Nonsense. Having so many people watch me eat—does that count as stealing?"

Su Chan snatched an entire roasted chicken and took a huge bite, only to see Li Yundong stomping his foot beside her, sounding disappointed, "Are you a pig? Didn't I tell you it has to be on a plate? Look around you, so many people are watching. Aren't you embarrassed?"

Su Chan, with the chicken's belly still in her mouth, rolled her eyes and glanced around. Indeed, many people were staring at her, jaws agape.

Su Chan's delicate face flushed red. With an "Oh," she returned the half-eaten chicken to the dining table, utterly mortified.

Li Yundong nearly fainted. He struggled to swallow the food in his mouth, patted his chest, and said with a wry smile, "Come on, you’ve already taken a bite! Are other people supposed to eat it now?"

Su Chan was caught between eating it and not eating it, completely at a loss. Just then, she saw Li Yundong pick up the tongs, his expression earnest, and place the entire chicken she had bitten back onto the platter, wearing the guise of a benevolent soul saving the world: "It’s fine, I won’t mind!"

At first, Su Chan truly thought Li Yundong was helping her and looked at him with eyes full of gratitude, like a devotee gazing upon a messianic savior. But after a moment, she noticed Li Yundong secretly chuckling as he ate. A growing suspicion surfaced, yet she couldn't quite place what felt wrong.

It wasn't until Li Yundong rapidly devoured a chicken leg and tossed the bone to the side of the plate that Su Chan finally realized. She lunged at him, flailing her arms, "You’re mean! You're stealing my food!"

Li Yundong just kept laughing as he ate, turning his back to Su Chan and nudging her encroaching body with his backside, simultaneously guarding his food and speeding up his consumption. "Who told you to steal my stuff before!"

These two youths carried on their unrestrained banter and roughhousing at the banquet, leaving everyone around them stunned. These were all elite figures accustomed to high society; just moments ago, they had been speculating if this pair were some golden boy and jade girl, a prince and princess. Who would have thought they’d be acting like mere children?

Feng Na covered her eyes, feigning distress, and lamented to Cheng Cheng, "Please don't say you know them!"

Cheng Cheng, however, watched them with admiration. "Now that’s genuine spirit. They are so much more charming than those who put on airs all the time! I’m starting to think how wonderful it must be to have a boyfriend like that!"

Feng Na pointed at her and laughed, "Are you infatuated? Truly, love is blind."

Cheng Cheng looked at Feng Na strangely and countered, "Nana, if you had a boyfriend like that, even if you couldn't marry him and have children, when your beauty fades, when you are lonely, when you recall all those moments of happiness together—even if those moments were superficial, silly, and childish—wouldn't your heart flutter and a knowing smile grace your lips?"

Cheng Cheng turned her head and looked at Su Chan and Li Yundong with longing. "I don't believe in eternal love. So, I think 'caring only for the present possession, not everlasting union' is the true meaning of love. If you have experienced a genuinely heartfelt relationship, no matter how brief, you are far happier than those who spend a lifetime together with polished appearances but hidden resentments!"

Cheng Cheng's words left Feng Na frozen. Feng Na managed a bitter smile. "This world has so many home-wreckers—they are nurtured by your kind of thinking!"

Cheng Cheng threw her head back, proudly declaring, "I am not obsessed with money! Therefore, I can stand tall and despise them!"

Feng Na shook her head and smiled, though a thoughtful expression flickered in her eyes. She murmured softly, "But what if one day you lose that genuine affection? When you look back then, what will you do about that soul-tearing pain and hurt?"

Cheng Cheng laughed. "Is anyone immortal? Does any love truly never end? It will end and be lost sooner or later, so what difference does 'sooner' or 'later' make?"

Feng Na smiled faintly. "I only realize today that you are a philosopher of love."

Cheng Cheng’s smile held a hint of wistfulness. "It’s only after watching them that I feel this way."

Saying this, both women turned their gazes back to Li Yundong and Su Chan.

Su Chan wrestled with Li Yundong for a while over the roast duck, realizing she couldn't win and that he had managed to get plenty of 'benefits' from her. Both annoyed and hungry, she turned to grab another roasted chicken, only to realize with sadness that there were no more on the long table—that had been the last one!

In reality, the roasted chickens on the tables at such banquets served mostly as decorative elements. There was only one, and indeed, most of the dishes were just for show. Only a very few who were genuinely hungry would take a little something; it wasn't like Li Yundong and Su Chan, who treated the spread as a proper meal.

Seeing the chicken gone, Su Chan pouted. She felt Li Yundong had bullied her terribly and her eyes immediately began to well up.

Li Yundong was laughing so hard his stomach felt like it would tear. He quickly coaxed her, "Silly girl, besides the roasted chicken, there are so many things here that taste much better! Take a plate and serve yourself whatever you want, I promise I won't fight you for it again!"

Su Chan looked at Li Yundong skeptically, adopting the posture of someone determined to guard all the food on the table from others: "Really?"

Li Yundong held out his pinky finger. "Pinky swear?"

Su Chan didn't understand, but she mirrored his action, extending her own little finger. "What's a pinky swear?"

Li Yundong laughed, hooking his pinky around hers. "Pinky swear, hang on a hundred years, don't change!"

Then Li Yundong laughed again. "Alright, go eat!"

Seeing that Li Yundong truly wasn't going to fight her, Su Chan burst into smiles, forgetting how he had teased her. She giggled, "You're so nice, giving me all this food!"

Li Yundong watched Su Chan joyfully charge toward the dining table, shaking his head with an amused smile. "She’s like a five or six-year-old kid! I bought this whole outfit for nothing; I thought she might have grown up a little by now!"

He ate a few more bites of the roasted chicken, feeling his hunger subside, then set down his plate and wiped his mouth with a napkin from the corner of the table.

Just as he finished wiping, Zhou Qin approached, looking at him with a broad smile. "Finished eating?"

Li Yundong laughed heartily, feeling no embarrassment. "Finished. I certainly made a scene, sorry for letting you witness it."

A hint of admiration shone in Zhou Qin's eyes. "A true man should possess genuine character. A pure, childlike heart is the most precious thing! Constantly keeping a straight face doesn't necessarily make one any more manly."

Ever since Li Yundong had confessed his feelings to Zhou Qin, in their subsequent interactions, he always found her cold as ice, possessing a terrifying depth of calculation that made her unapproachable.

However, Zhou Qin's words gave Li Yundong a newfound respect for her. He smiled faintly and said, "Are you talking about yourself? Do you know, when you actually smile, you are a thousand times better looking than when you keep that stony expression?"

Zhou Qin froze. Countless people had praised her beauty since childhood; she was utterly tired of it. Yet, at this moment, Li Yundong's praise—which wasn't really praise at all—felt superior to every compliment she had ever received.

Her gaze swept over Li Yundong’s face, and her earlobes flushed slightly. "Really?"

No matter how calculating Zhou Qin was, she was still a nineteen-year-old girl. Her shy, flushed appearance now, with her eyes shifting flirtatiously, momentarily stunned Li Yundong, and his heart skipped a beat.

Zhou Qin tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and pointed toward the balcony adjacent to the banquet hall. "Do you mind if we chat out there for a bit?"

Li Yundong nodded. "Not at all."

They walked out onto the balcony, away from the noise and excitement of the main hall. Zhou Qin leaned against the railing, her posture somewhat languid, the usual barrier of ice and distance gone from her expression. She smiled at Li Yundong and asked, "When you said 'not at all' just now, did you mean you certainly don't mind, or you certainly do mind?"

Li Yundong chuckled. "It means I certainly don't mind. Chatting with a beauty like you is something any man would happily do."

Zhou Qin tilted her head slightly, scrutinizing Li Yundong’s eyes as if trying to discern the truth within him. "Then, even with a girlfriend like Su Chan by your side, are you still eyeing the food in the serving dish while eating from your own bowl?"

Li Yundong let out an amused laugh. "Those are two entirely different things. Just because I have a girlfriend like Su Chan, must I cut off my tongue and gouge out my eyes? Besides, I'm just talking to a beautiful woman, not doing anything with her."

Zhou Qin smiled, then suddenly fell silent. After a moment, perhaps driven by some restless impulse, her ears burning as if blood might drip out, she boldly asked, "So, if you had confessed to me last time, and I had agreed, would you still be with Su Chan?"

Li Yundong looked at Zhou Qin, his expression rare in its seriousness. "Can a person step into the same river twice in their lifetime?"

Zhou Qin’s expression grew unnatural. In that instant, the girl’s composure and pretense were shattered by Li Yundong’s single sentence.

She tried to protect herself with a smile, but her heart felt a deep, sour ache that required all her strength just to keep from cracking into a frown. This was something she was usually exceptionally skilled at, but today, the technique failed.

Li Yundong smiled at Zhou Qin. "You are a very beautiful girl, and you will definitely find someone better than me. But I really think you should smile more."

With that, Li Yundong prepared to leave.

Zhou Qin watched his retreating back and suddenly called out, "What if I only want to smile for you?"

The usually calm and calculating girl had lost her composure. Li Yundong turned back, deeply regarding Zhou Qin, his look a mixture of pity and tenderness. "That smile wouldn't belong to me anyway. My smile... is over there."

Li Yundong pointed toward the direction of the dining area.

Zhou Qin followed the direction of his hand, and the expression on her face became wonderfully complex—she wanted to smile, yet resisted. After holding it in for a long moment, she suddenly let out a burst of laughter and turned her face away.

Seeing her sudden display of joy, Li Yundong felt a private surge of amazement. He turned back too, muttering inwardly, What is Zhou Qin laughing at?

When he looked back, his eyes went wide!

There was Su Chan, balancing a plate piled high with food—it was nearly half her height. With every step, the food wobbled, threatening to topple. The surrounding guests’ faces paled, and they quickly moved aside, fearing collateral damage.

But Su Chan seemed oblivious. She held the plate with both hands, constantly looking left and right, as if searching for a dining table. But such banquets rarely featured proper dining tables! Most people just grabbed a small plate for desserts and ate standing up!

After searching for a while, Su Chan spotted a waiter pushing a trolley laden with various drinks nearby. Overjoyed, she slammed her food platter onto the bottom shelf of the cart, then casually took the trolley from the waiter’s hands, smiling cheerfully, "Thank you, I was just worrying about where to put this!"

The waiter had never encountered anything like this! He stood there dumbfounded, tongue-tied, completely unsure of what to do!

Zhou Qin, on the balcony, watched as an exasperated Li Yundong rushed over to Su Chan, offering a quick smile to the waiter while pulling the little girl aside to whisper a reprimand.

Su Chan was so thoroughly scolded by Li Yundong that she couldn't lift her head, but her eyes darted incessantly toward the nearby trolley, as if terrified someone might steal her bounty.

Zhou Qin found Su Chan's comical expression utterly irresistible and burst into loud laughter. But after laughing for a while, her mirth slowly faded, and her smile grew wistful.

In her sight, Li Yundong said something to Su Chan, and Su Chan responded with a bright, pure, and adorable smile, as if presenting a trophy to him.

Zhou Qin knew that smile belonged only to Li Yundong, while her own radiant beauty belonged only to herself.