"What are you doing?" Xiong Jingfei asked, walking in on Yin Yuan, playing with something in his hands.
Yin Yuan stood up from where he was sitting and walked towards her. In her face, he held an eight by eight thick paper with gold ink printing. "Debating if I should toss this out or let you decide on what to do with it?"
Xiong Jingfei didn't need to look at what was on the card. She was already familiar with this invitation design. She was the person who snatched it away when Wen Yingyue wanted to give it to Yang Zheyan.
"I didn't know you were famous enough to be invited by the Wen princess." Xiong Jingfei said sarcastically.
Yin Yuan went back and laid down on the couch like an old man. He was changing the channels to find something interesting to watch. "I wasn't invited as Wu Yuan, the actor, but as Yin Yuan, the head of the Yin household."
"Make sense." Xiong Jingfei sat down in the empty spot next to him. Yin Yuan was still a rising star under the name Wu Yuan, so it was too early for him to be invited by the Wen family.
"So… Did you decide on what you wanted to do?" Yin Yuan lazily said.
Although he was the person who pointed her to Xu Suying to find her answer, she would find her answers through the one person she still cared about, past and present.
"Yes, I did." Xiong Jingfei answered with darkness brewing in her eyes. She will make sure to keep her promise from her past since Xu Suying is working hard towards her.
"Good. Then what should I do with all these ignored calls?" Yin Yuan immediately sat up and showed her the many missed calls made to his phone.
Xiong Jingfei grinned as she slowly scrolled through the list. "Tell him…"
She tossed the phone back to Yin Yuan and held up the invitation to his face. "We will be attending."
"We? As is us?" Yin Yuan pointed to Xiong Jingfei and himself. He frowned at the idea and grudgingly mumbled. "My life as Wu Yuan is about to come to an end."
"Yes, so get ready for your debut as the Yin head household." Xiong Jingfei replied as if it wasn't a big deal.
"Hey!" Yin Yuan shouted. "Do you realize how hard I worked to cover my track!?"
Xiong Jingfei leaned back and put her legs on the coffee table. "Did you really work that hard to cover up your identity?"
"I did!"
She shook her head.
Yin Yuan intentionally went under the name Wu Yuan to get the freedom he wanted. No one knows him; more precisely, no one knows him as the head of the Yin household. Surprisingly, he was able to get away with it for a long time. Meanwhile, he was able to raise the social status and wealth of the Yin household at the same time.
The Yin household with Yin Yuan in charge became on equal standing with the Yang and Lu household. It was what Xiong Jingfei wanted and needed.
"Yuan."
"Yes?" Yin Yuan immediately answered with uncertainty. Xiong Jingfei's playful tone suddenly made a change, and he wasn't sure what he was in for next.
"Are you scared of me?" Xiong Jingfei made another change in her tone again. It became warm and fluffy as she innocently blinked at him.
"M-me? Never!" Yin Yuan vehemently denied it although he was fidgeting as though chills were running up and down his spine. "Do you know who I am? I am your uncle! How can I be afraid of my niece and someone two years younger than me?"
Truthfully, Yin Yuan is a bit scared of Xiong Jingfei. He wanted to see the real Xiong Jingfei in his past life, but she never showed that side of herself to him. However, in this lifetime, she wasn't holding herself back by being the real her.
The merciless Xiong Jingfei.
Yin Yuan suspected she had this side all along, even without her past memories. Just that, no one was aware of it.
"Uncle, I need you to tell me everything you remembered from your past life. Events, people, and what took place after I was gone." Xiong Jingfei smacked the invitation on the table. "Afterall, how can a general daughter go into a war unprepared?"
Yin Yuan's shoulders and spine relaxed. That was it? She didn't have to make it sound like she was planning out a murder spree.
"I don't remember everything, but I can tell you what I recalled…"
****
The day of Wen Yingyue's welcome back party finally arrived.
"As expected, extravagant decoration for the pamper Wen princess." Yin Yuan whistled at the overdone decorations.
The party was at the Wen's main residence. Not because it was easier to have a party there, but because they wanted to show the guests their newly renovated exterior and interior.
Xiong Jingfei had her arms hooked around Yin Yuan's arm. He was her escort for tonight.
"Welcome to Miss Wen Yingyue's party. May I see your invitation?" A servant of the Wen family politely asked. He was in charge of checking in guests and their invitation.
Yin Yuan handed the servant his invitation.
The servant flashed a UV light onto the invitation card. On there, stamped in invisible ink, was the crest of the Wen family. He handed the invitation back to Yin Yuan.
"Thank you, sir. Please have a pleasant evening."
Inside the Wen's mansion, a lot of people had already arrived, and they all wore a mask. It was a masquerade party, after all.
It wasn't hard to tell who was who if you stare at them long enough. Even with their faces hidden behind the mask, Xiong Jingfei can point out a few influential people in the crowd.
"Zheyan, wait for me!"
Yin Yuan and Xiong Jingfei stopped their steps at the same time and turned their head to the side. They were staring at the newly arrived guests that weren't far away from them. Guests that both of them had a confrontation with not too long ago.
"Want to go say hello to your ex-beloved Yang Zheyan?" Yin Yuan teased and received a hard elbow jammed into his stomach.
"Not yet."
Xiong Jingfei removed her gaze from Lu Weisheng and Yang Zheyan. She wasn't ready to talk to Yang Zheyan yet.
He was still dashing as ever, except he looked paler than when she was screaming at him. As for Lu Weisheng, he was still his energetic self. That part of him hasn't changed one bit from the past.
Xiong Jingfei wondered how many more people from the past she was going to meet. She encountered most of the main ones already, but is there more to appear in her life?
"There are some people I have to go greet." Yin Yuan tilted his head towards a group of men huddled around each other. He was giving her a choice to follow him or go off on her own.
"As for me, I'll go get something to munch on and observe from a corner." Xiong Jingfei started walking towards the table filled with food. She also made sure to grab a glass of champagne off a tray from a servant passing them.
Yang Zheyan for a second thought he saw Xiong Jingfei in a black long evening dress.
"Feifei?"
He picked up his pace to catch up with the woman drinking a glass of champagne.
"Zheyan, watch where you're going." Lu Weisheng quickly apologized to the guest Yang Zheyan bumped.
Yang Zheyan searched the crowd for the woman in the black dress. However, the more he searched for her, the more he lost sight of her. Everyone was dressed similarly due to the dress code, black with a mask of your choice.
He would have never come to Wen Yingyue's party if not for 'Wu Yuan' ambiguous message.
['I am taking Xiong Jingfei to Wen Yingyue party. Hope to see you there.']
"Did I mistake her for someone else?" Yang Zheyan muttered under his breath. He was sure the person he saw was Xiong Jingfei, and would never mistake her for someone else.
****
"Mn, Wen Yingyue's chef has good taste in food." Xiong Jingfei took a quick look at the food table without picking anything to eat. She didn't want to eat anything that had Wen Yingyue's name written all over it.
When she spun around to find a cozy corner to hide, the hand holding her champagne drink hit someone on the chest. The drink spilled on both of them and ruined their outfit.
"I'm sorry!" Xiong Jingfei immediately apologized, trying to wipe away the alcohol stain on his dark royal suit with her other hand.
"Use this." The person said in a deep icy voice and took out a dark royal blue handkerchief.
It can't be! This cold and arrogant commanding voice. Xiong Jingfei paused her hand from trying to dry his suit like it was doing something. She looked up, and her spirit almost left her body.
Xiong Jingfei mentioned how many more people from her past life would show up, and one did show up! She just didn't expect to run into this person this early.
Accidentally, Xiong Jingfei blurted, "Crown prince!"