The antique girlfriend of a chaebol heir

Jiang Duo took Shen Ci's hand and naturally led her over.

"These two are Yin Kuo and Xie Shuheng, both students at Puhua University. They share a dorm room with me, and you saw them at the hot pot restaurant last time."

"This is Yu Xingye, who is also my friend."

The original owner had met all these men before, but this was the first time Jiang Duo had introduced his friends to her in detail, as far as she could remember.

Following his gaze, Shen Ci politely nodded in greeting.

Yin Kuo and Yu Xingye each sat next to a female companion, both with exquisite makeup and intimate postures.

But she was not the same woman she had seen in the hot spring chess and card room when she first came into this world.

Finally, Jiang Duo pointed to the edge of the terrace.

There stood a young woman, her back to them, talking on the phone. She turned around, and the sunlight fell perfectly on her face—her features bore a striking resemblance to Xie Shuheng.

She hung up the phone and looked over with a smile.

"This is Xie Shuheng's twin sister," Jiang Duo introduced, "Xie Shuyun."

Xie Shuyun.

Shen Ci suddenly remembered.

The book mentions this Xie family heiress many times from the perspective of the female protagonist, Su Zijin—a pampered girl in a wealthy family, with a flamboyant personality but not unruly.

Later in the story, Su Zijing serves as Jiang Duo's assistant, occasionally accompanying him to business gatherings. When faced with difficulties from some wealthy heiresses, Xie Shuyun quietly comes to her rescue.

In the book, she is the woman Su Zijin admires the most.

I not only admire her background and beauty, but also her innate confidence and her composure in treating others kindly.

Xie Shuyun walked towards them with light steps. Then she smiled and extended her hand to Shen Ci: "Hello, I'm Xie Shuyun, you can just call me Shuyun."

Shen Ci politely replied with her name, and when she looked up, she met Xie Shuyun's gaze—those eyes were especially similar to Xie Shuheng's phoenix eyes, and at this moment they were openly scrutinizing her.

There's a hint of curiosity and a touch of exploration in it, yet it doesn't feel off-putting. It's like a child examining a new toy—pure and direct.

Xie Shuyun was indeed observing quietly.

When she heard from her brother that Jiang Duo had a girlfriend, she almost dropped her teacup.

That person? That cold, arrogant personality?

And his own brother, they're just like that. These two deserve to be bachelors for life.

She came along today purely out of curiosity.

But her brother told her something else—"using favors to rise to power."

The four words, spoken lightly, carried a hint of contempt.

Xie Shuyun pursed her lips and didn't reply.

She had seen too many of these kinds of dramas: entanglements of gratitude and loyalty, exchanges of interests, outwardly glamorous but inwardly fraught with discord.

She thought she would see a girl today who was eager to curry favor and whose eyes held a calculating edge.

But when she actually saw Jiang Duo's girlfriend, she was momentarily stunned.

This girl is really beautiful.

She had seen the school beauties from their film academy; they were exquisite, dazzling, and impeccable, but standing in a crowd, they always seemed to lack something.

The girl in front of me had something indescribable about her—a calm and serene aura that emanated from her very being, like a lake in late autumn, its surface undisturbed.

She was nothing like a typical merchant's daughter; instead, she exuded a refined, scholarly air and aloofness.

The attraction that emanates from within is so captivating that once you take a look, you can't take your eyes off it.

Xie Shuyun smiled and took Shen Ci's arm, her tone intimate but not abrupt: "Come on, let's sit over there. Don't pay attention to them. A bunch of stinky men just talk about cars and stocks. It's so boring."

Xie Shuyun pulled Shen Ci through a side corridor and into a lounge.

The door closed behind him, and the noise outside suddenly faded away.

The room was softly lit, and outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was a neatly trimmed bamboo grove. Through the gaps in the bamboo leaves, the figures of a group of people could be vaguely seen in the distance.

"Sit here." Xie Shuyun led Shen Ci to sit on the soft couch by the window, while she curled up in the single sofa opposite, her posture as casual as if she were in her own bedroom.

"You also study at Puhua?" she asked, tilting her head, her eyes still filled with the lingering curiosity from before.

Shen Ci nodded: "Freshman, majoring in Chinese Language and Literature."

"Chinese Language and Literature major... I don't really have any other friends studying this! Are the teachers who teach you all old-fashioned scholars?"

"Most of them are, but there are also a few young teachers whose lectures are very interesting."

As Shen Ci spoke, the corners of her lips curved slightly, her smile faint yet rippling with a soft ripple between her cool and aloof brows.

Xie Shuyun was stunned for a moment.

She then went on to talk about herself.

She studies directing at a film school near Puhua University and is currently struggling with video assignments given by her teachers.

She spoke very vividly, and it was clear that she really loved her major.

Shen Ci listened, occasionally chiming in with a word or two. Though his words were few, they always landed perfectly in the gaps between her pauses, like harmonious chords on piano keys.

In less than half an hour.

Xie Shuyun grew to like the girl in front of her more and more.

She had met too many girls in the circle, some bright and flamboyant, others deliberately flattering, but the one in front of her was completely different.

She possesses an extremely contradictory yet harmonious temperament, with an inherent aloofness that keeps strangers at bay, yet her eyes exude the gentleness and grace unique to the water towns of Jiangnan.

Listening to her speak softly is like a gentle breeze blowing through a cool spring day, soothing and comforting.

When they came out of the hall, Xie Shuyun was still holding Shen Ci's hand.

His posture was as natural as that of a longtime friend, with a touch of intimate dependence.

The two walked side by side in the corridor. Xie Shuyun tilted her head and whispered something in Shen Ci's ear. Her eyebrows and eyes curved into crescents, and her laughter was as clear as a wind chime.

Xie Shuheng put down the chess piece and his gaze fell on the clasped hands.

He knows his twin sister too well.

Xie Shuyun has never been one to flatter or fawn.

Born into the Xie family, she grew up pampered and spoiled. She was inherently proud and always disliked those who were obsequious and pretentious.

If she encounters someone she doesn't like, she won't even bother to say a word, let alone hold their hand so intimately.

In her line of sight, Xie Shuyun pulled Shen Ci to sit on a rattan chair at the edge of the terrace, personally poured her a cup of fruit tea and handed it to her, her movements as attentive as a little maid.

Xie Shuheng suddenly felt a headache.

He picked up a white chess piece, twirled it between his fingers, and then tossed it back into the chess box without much effort.

After a long pause, he snorted coldly, "Shuyun, come here and play chess with me."

Xie Shuyun didn't even look up, just glanced at him with undisguised disdain in her eyes: "Me, play chess with you? Isn't that just asking for trouble?"

What she said is true.

Xie Shuheng was exceptionally intelligent from a young age, with a deep and cunning mind like a fox, and he especially loved Go.

Over the years, he has had very few opponents who could hold their own against him. In every game, Xie Shuyun was almost completely crushed by him on the chessboard, with no chance to fight back.

In comparison, Xie Shuyun preferred to be with the gentle girl in front of her.

She turned her head, her eyes sparkling: "Youyou, do you know how to play Go?"

During their casual conversation, Xie Shuyun asked Shen Ci if he had a nickname. Upon learning this, she immediately started calling him that, and now she could say it so naturally, with an air of intimacy.

No sooner had they finished speaking than a shadow fell beside them.

Jiang Duo walked over from the side, his steps were light, but he carried an undeniable presence.

He looked down at them, his brow furrowing slightly.

Who is Youyou?

The sound wasn't loud, but it made the entire terrace seem quiet for a moment.