At a manor in North River.

Shen Xi followed her mother to attend a party hosted by relatives. Speaking of parties, it was actually a reception held by the host to show off their newly acquired manor.

She had already attended countless such parties and couldn't help but wonder where the Shen family got so many relatives who loved to show off...

Such a manor would be completely unremarkable compared to the Jing Family's properties! After all, she was someone who had seen the world!

As Shen Xi was wandering around the manor, secretly evaluating its interior structure, she bumped into a group of people standing in the middle of the path.

"Don't you have eyes?"

A girl wearing a Chanel-style dress looked at Shen Xi with some displeasure and contempt.

But at that moment, Shen Xi was thinking: Next time, she must tell Jing Yiyi that not just in all of North River, but even just within the Shen family, it's easy to encounter these typical novel cannon fodder characters!

You know, the kind that has "I look down on you, go ahead and hit me!" written all over their face, and usually don't appear a second time.

Shen Xi maintained a polite smile, "I'm sorry, I accidentally bumped into you." This wasn't the first time Shen Xi had encountered such people, and usually, as long as she 'admitted defeat,' things would blow over quite smoothly.

But today seemed different. The girl opposite her didn't look like she was going to let it go easily. "Is sorry all you have to say?!"

Shen Xi was confused. What else? She barely even bumped into her, it was just a slight touch. What more did she want?

The girl looked at her disdainfully and pointed at her own clothes, "This is Chanel's latest collection. How can I wear it after you've touched it?!"

Shen Xi wore an expression of utter disbelief, like an elderly person on the subway staring at their phone.

"Miss, I did touch it, but I'm not a water-based pen. How could it become unwearable?" Besides, after hanging out with Jing Yiyi for so long, it had been a while since she'd heard anyone brag about wearing the latest fashion.

Moreover, everyone here was from families considered 'well-off' in North River. Was she implying that Shen Xi couldn't afford to compensate for a Chanel dress? She wasn't some Cinderella...

While Shen Xi was internally ranting, the girl beside her seemed to have been provoked by Shen Xi's words and was about to say something when laughter from the side interrupted their conversation.

Shen Xi turned to look and saw Gu Lin, along with a sunny-looking handsome guy!

The girl also recognized the young master of the Gu family, who was being specially entertained by the manor's owner. She immediately changed her attitude and greeted Gu Lin with a smile.

Shen Xi watched her behavior intently, really wanting to take a video to show Jing Yiyi, to prove that she wasn't exaggerating.

Gu Lin ignored her and turned to look at Shen Xi, "Little niece, I didn't know you had water-based pen properties. One touch and clothes become unwearable?"

Shen Xi looked at the girl beside her, whose face had turned somewhat pale. Wow, she never thought she'd have a day to become the protagonist of such a classic scene.

Shen Xi deliberately asked, "So what should we do?" It felt so good to have someone to back her up!

The girl's face was full of panic, "I was just joking with this young lady, just joking..."

Shen Xi snorted, "It's not funny at all." She deliberately looked the other person up and down, "And Chanel's latest collection? You're showing off last season's clothes?"

She hadn't said anything earlier, but as it happened, Jing Yiyi had also sent her some of Chanel's new collection!

Seeing that the girl had been rendered speechless by Shen Xi's retort, Gu Lin's lips curled into a smile. "Let's go, or we'll start leaking ink."

Shen Xi quickly followed behind the two, occasionally glancing at the handsome guy beside Gu Lin.

He noticed her! And even smiled at her! She wondered if he would think she was too fierce?

Gu Lin had originally just wanted to help Shen Xi out of the situation, but this girl followed them and kept stealing glances at his friend, her actions so obvious that he found it hard to ignore. Searᴄh the NôvelFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

He waved his hand in front of her, saying helplessly, "Little niece, restrain yourself a bit, you're being too boy-crazy." This girl seemed to like handsome guys so much, last time he saw her she was like this too, but then abandoned the guy a minute later...

Shen Xi quickly withdrew her gaze and secretly glared at Gu Lin. How could he describe her like that in front of a handsome guy?!

The person beside Gu Lin didn't seem to mind, though. He actually found this round-faced girl quite cute, especially her "water-based pen" comment.

He had naturally noticed her glances along the way, and he curved his lips into a smile. She really was an interesting girl.

Gu Lin asked Shen Xi, "Did you come with Mrs. Shen?" Shen Xi nodded, otherwise she wouldn't have come at all.

"I want to ask you something." Shen Xi looked up at him curiously, and Gu Lin continued, "Will Jing Yiyi participate in this North River car race?"

Shen Xi looked at him, her eyes full of wariness, "Little Uncle, why are you asking this?"

Gu Lin found it amusing. Of course, he only thought to ask because he saw Shen Xi here.

"You even call me Little Uncle, how could I be a bad person?" Shen Xi didn't say anything, but the disbelief in her eyes had already answered the question.

They had only met a few times, and there was only a tiny bit of family relation between them.

Gu Lin smiled helplessly, "I'm just asking if she's participating. Maybe we'll happen to be in the same group for the race." Shen Xi's eyes widened, "Little Uncle, are you participating in the car race?"

Gu Lin nodded, "Yes." Although he didn't pursue the path of a professional racer, he had participated in quite a few races.

He had noticed Jing Yiyi's interest in racing last time and was quite curious about her skill level.

"Yiyi is indeed planning to participate." She would also go to cheer for Jing Yiyi.

Shen Xi looked at Gu Lin's thoughtful expression, "Little Uncle, how good are you at racing?" She had to scout out the competition for Jing Yiyi in advance.

Gu Lin glanced at her, putting on an air of superiority, "Very good." Shen Xi pouted, not believing him in her heart.

Usually, people who boast about being very good aren't actually that great. It's the low-key ones like Jing Yiyi who are truly the best!

The expressions on this girl's face were really too vivid, Gu Lin raised an eyebrow, "Why don't you believe me?" Shen Xi smiled fakely, "No! Little Uncle must be very good!"

Sigh, she still needed to rely on Gu Lin for support. Next time, she'd bring Jing Yiyi!

Gu Lin crossed his arms, "Is that so? Then who do you think is better, me or Jing Yiyi?" Shen Xi answered without hesitation, "Of course it's Yiyi!"

Shen Xi had never seen Gu Lin race, but she had seen Jing Yiyi race. She firmly believed that Jing Yiyi was the best!

Gu Lin was stumped. He had just helped this girl, but couldn't even get a single nice word out of her.

The person beside him watched their interaction, amusement flashing in his eyes.

Shen Xi finally paid attention to the handsome guy beside Gu Lin again. She felt a bit nervous and smiled, "Hello, I'm Shen Xi." The sunny guy's lips curved upward as he said, "Hello, I'm Chen Yisi."

Shen Xi's eyes sparkled, "What an interesting name!"

Sunny guy: ...

Gu Lin, speechless: Little niece, who on earth taught you to flirt like this?