The sickly one in F4 was the group's darling.

After Bai Ci finished getting ready, she pushed open the door to the changing room and bumped into Uncle Chen, who was rushing back.

When Uncle Chen saw that Bai Ci had changed his clothes, a genuine sense of satisfaction appeared in his eyes: "Young Master, you chose a good outfit, neat and smart."

His gaze fell on the pair of dark blue enamel cufflinks on Bai Ci's sleeve. He recognized the cufflinks; they were specially commissioned by the Third Young Master from a legendary craftsman.

Bai Jiheng said at the time that he would "just wear it for fun," but he wore it for a full six months without changing it. Now that it has appeared on the young master's sleeve, the meaning is self-evident.

Uncle Chen saw through it but didn't expose it. He smiled slightly and said gently, "These cufflinks are a good match. They suit you better than the pair I picked."

Bai Ci glanced down at the cufflinks, his tone earnest and sincere: "Uncle Chen picked them well too. This one... was given to me by Third Brother."

"The Third Young Master has always had excellent taste." Uncle Chen readily agreed, his expression as gentle as ever, but in his heart, waves of emotion were already surging.

He knew the Third Young Master's temperament well. Being willing to give away his personal belongings was the biggest gesture he could make. Whether he complained or not was unimportant.

"By the way, Uncle Chen," Bai Ci looked up, "where is Big Brother now?"

After a moment's thought, Uncle Chen replied gently, "The eldest young master went to the helipad on short notice. Young Master Shen Tinglan from the Shen family arrived uninvited, and the eldest young master went to pick him up personally."

"You came uninvited?" Bai Ci looked at Uncle Chen with a puzzled expression.

"Yes." Uncle Chen nodded and explained, "Although tonight is a Bai family banquet, it is quite large and has many guests, but the circle is limited. According to the long-standing tacit understanding among the wealthy families, the direct heirs of the four major families never attend such regular family banquets, but only appear at top-level core private gatherings."

"In ordinary occasions, each family only needs to send a younger member of a collateral branch or an influential uncle or elder to attend, present a gift list, and exchange greetings. That is sufficient to show proper etiquette. Therefore, no invitations were sent to them in advance for this banquet, so Young Master Shen's arrival today is indeed somewhat unexpected."

He paused, then added, "The Bai family and the Shen family are old friends. This is the first time Young Master Shen has come to the Bai family banquet. As the head of the Bai family, it is only right and proper for the eldest young master to personally welcome him."

Bai Ci listened quietly and pursed her lips.

Xiao Qi clicked her tongue in her mind: "Bai Bai, what's Shen Tinglan doing here? He just stole your noodles last night, and today he came straight to your house. Is he doing this on purpose? Or is he just here to freeload?"

Bai Ci silently cheered herself up in her heart.

Stay calm. There won't be another social tragedy like yesterday today. Everything will be alright.

"Bye-bye!" Xiao Qi's voice suddenly became alert. "Your heart is racing!"

"No," Bai Ci quickly denied in her mind.

"You're nervous because Shen Tinglan is coming!"

"Yesterday was just an accident."

"Alright, alright, I won't call you out." Xiao Qi snorted twice, delivering a precise blow, "But, your ears are red!"

Bai Ci subconsciously raised his hand to touch his ear, and then found that Uncle Chen was looking at him, his gaze gentle yet with a hint of inquiry.

Uncle Chen asked casually, "Young Master and Young Master Shen share a dormitory in St. Andrew's. How do you get along?"

Bai Ci paused for a moment, trying to suppress the horrible images in her mind, then raised her head and answered in as calm a tone as possible, "He's alright, he's not a bad person."

Uncle Chen glanced at Bai Ci's expression, which was clearly trying hard to maintain his composure, and merely smiled slightly before gesturing for him to lead the way: "That's good. Young Master, this way please."

The two walked side by side toward the banquet hall, the noisy voices ahead growing clearer.

At this moment, the banquet hall was already rife with undercurrents.

The news that Xu Yan had been humiliated and driven away spread quietly throughout half of the banquet circle.

A group of wealthy young men huddled together, whispering amongst themselves, all completely bewildered.

"What happened? Why was Xu Yan kicked out tonight? Wasn't he the closest to the Third Young Master?"

"I don't know. I heard that something happened in the dressing room, which completely angered the Third Young Master."

"My God, for the Third Young Master to block me and cancel the cooperation, what kind of huge mistake must I have made?"

"And Zhou Xu! I just saw him leave too. Even the Third Young Master's group got kicked out. That's terrible!"

The entire room was abuzz with discussion and suspicion. No one knew the truth, but they all felt that the Third Young Master of the Bai family was unusually unpredictable tonight.

Many people secretly rejoiced that they hadn't gone to join the fun tonight, otherwise they would have been the ones in trouble.

Uncle Chen stopped in front of the side door of the banquet hall and turned slightly to the side: "Young Master, we've arrived at the banquet hall. The eldest young master's party should be a little longer. Would you like to go in first, or wait here for a moment?"

"I can go in by myself," Bai Ci said. "Uncle Chen, you can go ahead and get back to work."

"Alright, please let me know if you need anything." Uncle Chen nodded and withdrew.

Just as Uncle Chen turned to leave, Zhou Yan emerged from the side corridor and walked straight toward Bai Ci.

"Bai Ci, you changed clothes pretty quickly," Zhou Yan looked her up and down, raising an eyebrow and teasing, "I was just seeing you wearing a tiger costume in the tea room, and now the tiger costume is retired?"

Bai Ci nodded obediently: "Uncle Chen took me to change it."

Zhou Yan hummed in agreement, his gaze sweeping over Bai Ci once more.

Zhao Shuo told him about the incident in the dressing room as soon as he came out.

When Xu Yan was kicked out, his face was ashen. The port cooperation that the Xu family had been preparing for for months was completely canceled, and all access permissions to Qinglu Mountain were revoked. Even Zhou Xu, who had been watching the whole thing, was permanently banned from participating in any of the Third Young Master's private events.

Zhou Yan walked up to Bai Ci, his tone a bit more somber than usual: "I heard about what happened in the dressing room earlier. Xu Yan usually hangs out with your third brother and is used to being arrogant. He's just unlucky to have run into you today."

He stared at Bai Ci and pressed, "Did he touch you?"

"He just tugged at my collar, he didn't grab me," Bai Ci replied truthfully.

A cold glint flashed in Zhou Yan's eyes, but he simply nodded. The Xu family's port cooperation was over, and the days ahead would not be easy.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Order Enforcement happened to have several documents concerning the Xu family's illegal land acquisition in Wanliu District, which had been sitting in the archives waiting for the right opportunity. Now the opportunity had arrived.

"Oh, right," Zhou Yan seemed to remember something, reached into his suit's inner pocket, pulled out a palm-sized dark blue velvet box, and casually handed it over, "This is for you."

Bai Ci took it, opened it, and took a look.

Inside the box lay a silver brooch shaped like a five-petaled flower, with slightly curled edges and simple, flowing lines. A tiny blue gemstone was set in the center of the flower, gleaming softly and subtly under the corridor lamp.

The workmanship is extremely fine, and it can be seen that it was hand-polished. A tiny letter "Y" is engraved on the back of the petal.

Bai Ci looked up at Zhou Yan: "What kind of flower is this?"

Zhou Yan explained softly, "Esther is a wildflower unique to the Southern Continent. It only grows in volcanic ash and rock crevices; it simply cannot survive elsewhere. Its blue-purple petals have silver spots, and it looks very clean."

He looked down at the brooch, a hint of fondness flashing in his eyes: "This is a flower that I personally really like. I bought it by chance at a niche auction in the Southern Continent a while ago. I've kept it with me ever since but never had a chance to wear it. Your outfit is rather plain, and the neckline is bare, so wearing it would be a perfect way to add some decoration."

Bai Ci held the velvet box, hesitating slightly: "It's so valuable, wouldn't it be inappropriate to give it to me?"

Zhou Yan chuckled lightly, his tone relaxed: "This thing has been sitting idle for too long. I'd just keep it as a box. It looks good on you, so it's a good opportunity to put it to good use."

Bai Ci looked down at the small flower brooch in the box and said, "It's very pretty."

Zhou Yan took the box, took out the brooch, and leaned slightly forward. His long, slender fingers were steady, and his movements were gentle and neat. The brooch passed through the knitted fabric with almost no sensation. After firmly pinning the brooch to Bai Ci's clothes, he took a half step back, examined it, and nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, it suits your outfit."

Bai Ci looked down at Ethervie on her chest, then looked up at Zhou Yan: "Thank you, Brother Zhou Yan."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Come on, I'll take you inside."