The hairstylist carefully took the hair clip and sighed, "Oh my God! Is this the hair clip from the Vacation auction?"
Gu Qimiao was stunned, obviously unaware of the hair clip’s origin.
Judging by the hairstylist’s reaction, it wasn’t cheap, and it was from an auction, wasn’t it? Aren’t the items at auctions usually astronomical in price?
Fang Shaobei saw Gu Qimiao’s dazed look and said to the hairstylist, "We’re in a hurry."
The hairstylist quickly stopped his exclamation and fastened the hair clip to the back of her head, in the direction the braid extended.
Fang Shaobei took out a necklace from another box and placed it on her. He looked at her in the mirror and was very satisfied.
After half an hour, the car still hadn’t stopped. Gu Qimiao, feeling a bit nervous, asked, "What kind of gathering is it? Are there many people? What kind of people will be there?"
He only replied, "You’ll know when we get there."
"How much longer until we arrive?"
He joked, "We’ll be there in no time."
Gu Qimiao was about to accuse him of lying when the car gradually slowed down and then found a spot to park.
Getting out of the car, Gu Qimiao looked at the building in front of her. It was magnificent in the dark night, like a European palace.
Gu Qimiao, with her mouth agape in astonishment, lifted her foot to walk towards the building.
Fang Shaobei reminded her, "Your coat."
"Oh, right!" She took off her coat and was immediately shivering in the cold wind. Fang Shaobei put the coat back in the car, closed the door, and half-embraced her as they hurried into the palace.
As soon as they reached the front pavilion extending out from the main entrance, they could already see a variety of men and women inside.
"There are so many people?" Gu Qimiao shivered as she tightly clung to Fang Shaobei’s sleeve.
Once they stepped into the hall, it instantly became much warmer.
Walking from the edge to the deeper area, no one noticed them.
It wasn’t until they were further inside that someone came over to greet them.
"Isn’t this Young Master Fang? I heard you’ve been overseas all this time. When did you come back?"
Fang Shaobei smiled politely, "I just came back yesterday. Uncle Zhang, you still look so young."
"Haha, you always know what to say. Where’s your father? Why didn’t he come?"
"Father has a slight cold. I’m here today to send Old Master Zhang his regards on behalf of my father."
Gu Qimiao didn’t know anyone, so she just stood quietly beside Fang Shaobei, secretly observing the people around her.
It was warm inside, making her dress feel just right.
The man looked at Gu Qimiao and asked with a laugh, "Did you come back this time to get married?"
Fang Shaobei didn’t explain his relationship with Gu Qimiao and simply said, "It’s still early for that. When we do get married, we will definitely invite you. Don’t worry about us, there are many guests, you should attend to them."
"Alright, make yourselves at home, feel free."
The reason they arrived so early was because Gu Qimiao was hungry. Now that they had some free time, he took her to the food area and had some desserts.
Gradually, more and more people filled the hall. This was a great opportunity for high society to network, and everyone was mingling in small groups.
People like Gu Qimiao and Fang Shaobei, who weren’t interested in business affairs, were rare.
Gu Qimiao sat in a corner, not standing on ceremony, wanting to try a bit of everything.
While she was eating, she suddenly heard some commotion in the hall. Curiously, she turned her head to look and found that the people who had been chatting were now almost all directing their attention outside, whispering among themselves as if some important figure had arrived.
Gu Qimiao continued eating while watching, completely like an outsider enjoying the spectacle.
Slowly, the crowd began to move. Gu Qimiao saw a man who was taller than the crowd by half a head and felt he looked somewhat familiar, but thought she must be seeing things. Why would he be here?
But at that moment, she heard people in the crowd muttering words like "President Shen," "Young Master Shen," and "Shen Yanchen." Gu Qimiao put down the cake in her hand, forgetting to chew what was in her mouth, stood up on tiptoes, and looked in that direction...