The banquet was about to start, and the annoying person still had to scramble to change her clothes and put on makeup. As the winner, Gou An only had to tell He Yuan some twenty minutes in advance that she was going to touch up her makeup.

He Yuan wanted to accompany her, but Gou An refused.

The result was that when she came out of the lounge, she was blocked by someone: it was none other than Gou Xun, who hasn’t spoken a word to her tonight.

Gou Xun was wearing a white shirt and a dark blue suit. The boy, who rarely wore formal clothes, finally looked mature in this outfit. If they weren’t arguing, Gou An would probably have complimented him, telling him he looked good.

But now she passed him by with an expressionless face; even her eyes did not change.

It was Gou Xun who reached out and grabbed her elbow.

The boy, like He Ran and the others, spent every day on the basketball court. His hands were always hot. Gou An frowned slightly, stopped and turned back, “Is there something wrong?”

The voice was cold and distant.

Gou Xun’s pupils shrank for no reason. He lowered his head slightly and looked at the person who was about to leave. He tugged at her again, a bit like the usual action he made when they quarreled and he wanted to apologize but couldn’t say it.

“Are you going to dance the opening dance with that He Yuan guy tonight?”

His voice was a little low, and it sounded like he was in a bad mood.

“What else?” Gou An raised her eyebrows, “Dance it with you?”

“Mm.”

“…” Gou An slapped his hand away and frowned, “Are you sick?”

“Don’t you know what harsh words some people are saying? They’re saying you just accepted whatever scraps the He family gave you, and that He Yuan is a clear step down from He Ran,” Gou Xun said, frowning. “You even publicly messed with Xu Ke for him. Now everyone thinks you’ve inexplicably fallen in love with this He Yuan guy at first sight, and you’re completely hooked.”

“Who said he’s not as good as He Ran?” Gou An interrupted him, her tone baffled. “Did you guys give him scores as referees?”

She was very good at grasping the key points, even skipping the part that attacked her and focusing only on He Yuan’s reputation…

This subconscious behavior of protecting one’s own child made people feel uncomfortable.

Gou Xun moved his lips, frowning even more. “Why do you care about all this nonsense? Can’t you just take care of your own reputation? Anyway, don’t dance the opening dance with him. If you want to dance, do it with me—”

Gou An retreated back a pace where she could not be grabbed again and shook her head.

“What’s so special about the opening dance? Who told you I came here just to dance that? Besides, He Yuan is pretty good. What do you mean I can just dance with you if I want? Is there anything about him that can’t compare to you?”

“…”

“He Yuan has a lovely personality and isn’t some sleazy person. You guys should stop being so mean and nagging about this. Is the coming-of-age ceremony just a formality? Shouldn’t you be more mature after tonight?”

Gou Xun opened his mouth, looking at the cold-eyed girl in front of him, and thought of how she had patiently adjusted He Yuan’s tie. At that time, she clearly didn’t have the same expression she had on now…

Then he accidentally thought of the time when he had to wear formal clothes for speeches or important events. The first time he tied a necktie, his parents were not present and he was flustered backstage. It turned out that Gou An came to watch his speech, and she taught him how to do it.

He still used this simplest tie style until now.

His throat was choked and he had an indescribable feeling, as if his things had been stolen. He had kept these things there and thought they would never be lost.

“Jiejie.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Are you still angry about Lu Wan?”

“When you brought Lu Wan home that time, at most I thought you were stupid, believing someone else’s words of apology and bringing her home. But when you spoke so recklessly to me because of an outsider, my biggest feeling wasn’t anger but disappointment… 

“Family is meant to be trusted unconditionally, not to be hurt without limits—you trusted her, but not me.”

The last six words were enough to make Gou Xun’s face turn pale.

Gou An added calmly, “If you really know you were wrong, you shouldn’t have brought her here tonight. If she hadn’t shown up, I might have rejected the He family and danced that opening dance with you.”

Gou An paused, a look of weariness on her face, and turned away.

Behind her, Gou Xun only had time to say the first two words of his sentence, “I’m sorry—” I won’t dance with her, and you don’t have to dance with anyone else…

Because at this time, He Yuan appeared with his hands in his pockets.

He just happened to bump into Gou An who was about to leave, a sullen look on her face. Gou An looked up at him and asked, “Why are you here?”

Miss Gou’s tone was somewhat stiff since she still hasn’t calmed her temper down. He Yuan looked down at her and didn’t care about it at all; he said with a smile, “I came to pick you up.”

This one sentence made Gou Xun’s face change again.

But she seemed not to notice it at all.

“I thought my jiejie was going to run away.”

It seemed like he was actually relieved.

“Why would I run away?”

Ignoring the scorching gaze behind her that could spit fire, Gou An expressionlessly took He Yuan’s arm to express her firm determination.

There was now a weight on his bent arm, and He Yuan chuckled. 

Just like that, this ‘scrap’ of the He family took his jiejie away right under Gou Xun’s nose.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

Back at the banquet hall, the little lamb’s eyes curved into crescents again, and he looked to be in a good mood. “Thank you, jiejie.”

“Thanking me for what?”

“You spoke for me and even fought for me,” the little lamb answered without hesitation. “Just now, Gou Xun looked at me with murderous eyes. Before that, I heard him pestering He Ran and asking if our He family didn’t have a sister—”

Gou An was originally feeling depressed, but when she heard him say that, she couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

He Yuan said slowly, “Well, I really don’t have one, so I have always wanted to have a jiejie.”

Gou An patted his arm.

“Some people have a sister but they don’t know how to cherish her,” He Yuan said. “I was just thinking, if you waver, I will rush out and drag you away. I don’t want to return my jiejie to him.”

“Young man, it would be very perverted if you become possessive right after meeting someone.”

“Young people are like this. If you don’t like it, you may end up marrying an older man.”

“… No, older men are scarier.”

… …

The first part of the banquet was the opening dance, in which all the stars in Jiangcheng who came of age that year appeared on stage one after another.

The order of appearance was somewhat particular. For example, in the year Gou An came of age, there was no one from a more powerful family who was also having their coming-of-age ceremony, so she was the first to appear on stage the moment the music started, and she danced through the entire song.

This year she came with He Yuan, and this cruise was sponsored by Hejin’s, so naturally they were first to step out on stage once again.

—Even in the eyes of others, He Yuan, this nephew, was not as prominent as He Ran in the He family. He was a slightly better-off person than originally expected, but he was not particularly amazing either.

He Yuan, a character with very low prestige and influence in factory mode, seemed quite suitable to be the male protagonist in a cool novel where the female supporting character counterattacks and ends up with the villain…

Unfortunately, this didn’t seem to be that kind of novel.

No villain would say with a sweet smile, “I’m sorry, I heard that many people are laughing at you for accepting scraps from the He family after you broke off your engagement with my cousin.”

His dance steps were steady and his back was flexible.

She fell into the boy’s arms with the beat of the music and separated again the next second with the beat.

She hasn’t danced for a long time. She thought she only had to please some unknown person sent by the He family, so she didn’t practice at all… But because she had trained hard when she was a child, some things were now engraved in her bones, and such movements could be revived the moment the music started, so she was not afraid of making a fool of herself at all.

She may not be able to amaze everyone like Lu Wan, but at least she was decent enough.

“I’m sorry too,” Gou An said in response, “People in Jiangcheng are just so idle. I’m sorry to have embarrassed you.”

This time, He Yuan actually laughed.

From the Day the Engagement was Broken translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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Chapter 40.3 — People in Jiangcheng are Just so Idle
Chapter 41.1 —Let’s Play the Borrowing Game!
Chapter 41.2 —Let’s Play the Borrowing Game!
Chapter 41.3 —Let’s Play the Borrowing Game!
Chapter 42.1 — The Bow at Her Waist
Chapter 42.2 — The Bow at Her Waist
Chapter 42.3 — The Bow at Her Waist
Chapter 43.1 — Missing Button
Chapter 43.2 — Missing Button