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

Security personnel dragged Zhang Yun away completely, but the onlookers lingered, still whispering amongst themselves.

Butler Uncle Chen stood at the edge of the crowd at the right moment, his posture upright, his body slightly bowed, his tone gentle and proper.

"Distinguished guests, the minor incident in the corridor has been properly handled. The banquet is about to begin. All seats in the main hall are ready. Please follow your attendants to your seats. This corridor is temporarily closed for maintenance. Please use the east corridor instead."

After saying that, he nodded slightly to the head waiter.

The head waiter immediately understood and led the group of waiters to disperse and guide the remaining guests toward the main hall in an orderly manner.

The noisy crowd gradually dispersed, and the bustling corridor finally became completely quiet.

Only a few waiters remained, squatting on the ground, silently cleaning up the small shards of glass and dried wine stains scattered all over the floor.

Mrs. Zhao was surrounded by several other ladies as she went to the dressing room. Before leaving, she turned back to look at Bai Ci with a complicated expression.

Only three people remained in the corridor.

Bai Ci remained standing in the same spot, not moving.

He himself did not realize that, without his knowledge, his fingertips had subconsciously gripped Shen Tinglan's sleeve.

The force was light; it was just a gentle pinch on the dark gray sleeve edge, an instinctive, small gesture seeking security.

Shen Tinglan lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on the cuff of her sleeve that was being gripped, before looking up at Bai Ci beside her.

The boy's face was paler than before, and the faint color in his lips had faded, but his back was still held straight.

"Useless."

Shen Tinglan spoke in a flat tone, with a hint of lazy mockery.

Bai Ci then realized that she was holding onto someone's sleeve, and quickly let go, her ear tips turning red instantly.

He looked down at his clothes; thankfully, they weren't dirty. Only the Ethelie brooch on his chest was slightly askew. He raised his hand to straighten it, but just as his fingertips reached out, Shen Tinglan reached over, pinched the brooch between two fingers, and gently twisted it back into place.

Bai Jiheng tilted his head and glanced at Shen Tinglan: "Who are you calling a loser?"

Shen Tinglan withdrew her hand, her gaze sweeping over Bai Ci: "The one who called for reinforcements wasn't him."

Bai Jiheng gave a light snort, which was taken as tacit agreement, and he was too lazy to argue any further.

But the next second, he saw Shen Tinglan raise her hand and hold Bai Ci's head, and her brows furrowed.

"Let's go." Shen Tinglan led the way slightly forward.

Bai Ci was forced to take two steps forward by his hand before she belatedly realized, "Where are you taking me now?"

"The side hall. Your face is as white as paper. If you stand here any longer, I'm afraid you'll faint right here."

Bai Ci stubbornly pursed her lips: "I'm not that delicate."

"Oh?" Shen Tinglan didn't let go, chuckling softly, "Why didn't you say that when you were gripping my sleeve so tightly just now?"

Bai Ci immediately retorted, "When did I tug at your sleeve!"

"Your ability to deny things has improved quite rapidly these days."

Bai Ci shut her mouth tightly after being rebuked, and protested softly, "Don't push my head down..."

Shen Tinglan remained unmoved, her tone teasing: "Where did your bravado from when you were publicly arguing go?"

"That's different!" Bai Ci argued, her voice tense. "She tried to hit me just now; that was a physical attack! Of course I had to fight back."

"I'm not afraid," Bai Ci declared before he could speak, her voice tense, but unfortunately, her tone trembled slightly at the end, making it unconvincing.

A faint smile appeared in Shen Tinglan's eyes as she coaxed him, "Yes, I'm not scared. I just want to rest in the side hall for a while. Will you come with me?"

Bai Ci was being led around by Shen Tinglan, unable to see his expression clearly, but he could hear a faint smile hidden in Shen Tinglan's usually calm voice.

She was clearly trying to comfort him, but she made it sound like she was stating a fact.

He pursed his lips and suddenly realized that he had been so tense just now, which made him seem a little silly.

Bai Ci's voice was muffled: "...You're lying."

"I learned it from you."

"I didn't teach you!"

"Last night in the kitchen, you said the pot wasn't overturned."

"...That's not a lie." Bai Ci was instantly speechless. "The pot really didn't overturn."

The two of them walked forward, bickering as they went, which relieved most of the tension he had felt while standing in the corridor.

His tense emotions completely relaxed, and he felt a bit tired. He muttered softly, "I'm hungry. I haven't finished the strawberries I just ate."

Shen Tinglan looked down at his soft and cuddly appearance, and smiled slightly: "Come on, I'll take you to get the new one."

Bai Jiheng scoffed from behind, "Shen Tinglan, you sure know how to pick up easy opportunities to curry favor. You're quick to take advantage of people from the Bai family."

Shen Tinglan continued walking: "What are you going to do with?"

"You're both pressing the brooch and shoving his head," Bai Jiheng stepped forward, first slapping Shen Tinglan's hand away from Bai Ci's head, then raising his hand to ruffle Bai Ci's disheveled hair, "Anyone who didn't know better would think you're his brother."

Bai Ci was sandwiched between two people. As soon as the hand on his head on the left loosened its grip, another hand on his head on the right started to ruffle his hair. He shrank back, and the redness from his ear tips spread all the way down to the base of his neck. What was wrong with these two people? They both seemed to love touching his head more than the other.

"Could you two please stop touching my head?" he whispered.

No one cares about him.

Bai Jiheng withdrew his hand, put it in his pocket, and turned to Bai Ci, saying, "When we get there later, I'll ask them to make you some truffle cake."

Bai Ci obediently responded with an "Mmm," and just as he took a step, he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. His heart skipped a beat and sank heavily. He instinctively paused, raising his hand to gently press the spot on his chest.

Shen Tinglan stopped in her tracks, her voice slightly somber: "What's wrong?"

Bai Jiheng had already taken half a step forward, but then turned back, frowning as he looked at Bai Ci.

The feeling of oppression came and went quickly. Bai Ci paused for half a second, then gently shook her head: "It's nothing, I just stood there for too long."

Only then did Xiao Qi's voice ring in his mind, tinged with lingering fear and self-reproach: "Bai Bai, are you alright? Your heart rate spiked just now, and the system forcibly switched to autonomous response mode. I didn't dare interrupt, afraid of interfering with your judgment and making things worse. But I've been keeping an eye on things from the backend. If that woman had really hit you, I would have activated my shield even if it meant getting a warning."

"It's okay," Bai Ci replied in her mind.

Shen Tinglan glanced at him, but didn't ask any more questions. She just slowed her pace by half a beat.

Bai Jiheng didn't say anything more, but after taking a few steps, he suddenly reached out from the other side and pulled Bai Ci half a step towards him.

Shen Tinglan turned her head to look at him.

Bai Jiheng met his gaze, raised his eyebrows slightly, and looked so calm that he seemed almost self-righteous.

Shen Tinglan withdrew her gaze, said nothing, and took another step, landing on the other side of Bai Ci.

Bai Ci was sandwiched between two people, Shen Tinglan on his left and Bai Jiheng on his right. Neither of them touched him, but neither of them moved away.

He walked between the two men and suddenly felt that the scene was a bit absurd. Just a moment ago, he was being pointed at and cursed in the corridor, and now, on his left was the heir of the Shen family, and on his right was the third young master of the Bai family, like left and right protectors.

Bai Ci suddenly had a strange feeling. Just a moment ago, the two people who were at each other's throats and wanted to push each other into the wall seemed to have reached some kind of tacit understanding.

He didn't know whether to find it funny or awkward, but one thing was certain.

Being sandwiched between two people is much better than standing alone in the corridor being yelled at and pointed at.

Much better.