The most beautiful space

The identity of 73 beauties

Xie Mingyuan's gaze had been fixed on Su Tong, unwilling to look away, but as soon as Hu Jingfang arrived, he immediately became overly restrained, not even glancing at Su Tong out of the corner of his eye. He even gave Xie Mingxin, who was staring at Su Tong with utter amazement, a warning look, telling him to shut up. Xie Mingxin rubbed his nose unhappily, but out of respect for his older brother Mingyuan, he glanced at Su Tong a couple of times before leaving the area and going off to play with his friends of similar age.

Su Tong noticed Xie Mingyuan's change before and after Hu Jingfang's arrival. He was acting this way because he didn't want Hu Jingfang to notice his feelings for Su Tong or cause her any trouble. In the end, Su Tong was somewhat touched by his intentions.

As they spoke, another couple arrived, a rather young man and woman. They were initially taken aback by Xie Chengjing and Su Tong's striking appearance, but then their attention shifted to the two protagonists of the engagement ball. The man's gaze lingered on Su Tong's stunning face, while the woman waved and greeted Jiang Wenjun with great familiarity: "Wenjun!" Her face wore a bright, sincere smile tinged with a hint of teasing, her eyes constantly glancing playfully at Xie Mingyuan, as if she were delighted that Jiang Wenjun had found such a handsome husband.

Jiang Wenjun, who had just been on high alert and practically baring her teeth at Su Tong, immediately revealed the excited look that a girl her age should have. She smiled and pulled Xie Mingyuan to greet the guests, saying, "Mother, Second Uncle, my good friend has arrived. I'll go and entertain him."

Xie Mingyuan finally turned around and glanced at Su Tong. Their eyes met for a moment, and he gave a forced, faint smile before Jiang Wenjun pulled him away.

Then Su Tong saw Hu Jingfang's smile, a flawless, broad, and loving smile befitting a leader. Hu Jingfang extended her hand as well. People say hands are a woman's second face, and hers was exceptionally well-maintained—fair and slightly plump, with a crystal-clear green jade bracelet on her wrist. She gently clasped Su Tong's hand, which was already as white as jade. Her gaze lingered on Su Tong's hand for a moment before she said, "I'm also very happy to meet you. Chengjing mentioned you before, and you are indeed a beautiful girl. I hope you and Chengjing will get along well in the future."

Her words were rather meaningful. Su Tong was still surprised that Xie Chengjing had mentioned her to the Xie family at some point. Before she could answer, Xie Chengjing's voice, still cold towards his elder sister-in-law, rang out, "Thank you for your trouble, sister-in-law. We will." He then asked, "Where is my elder brother? Isn't he coming tonight?"

With just Xie Chengjing's interjection, Su Tong could tell that his relationship with his imposing and commanding sister-in-law was definitely not good; otherwise, he would never have interrupted Hu Jingfang and Su Tong's conversation like that.

Hu Jingfang seemed completely unconcerned about Xie Chengjing's interruption, and said calmly, "Well, you know your older brother is very busy with work. He attended the engagement ceremony this morning, so he won't be coming tonight. Actually, I was surprised that you could come. You and your older brother are always equally busy day and night. Although it's Mingyuan's engagement, I'm glad you took the time to attend such a ball. But even though work is important, you still need to pay attention to leisure, Chengjing."

The brothers Xie Chengjing and Xie Chengsheng were far apart in age, and Hu Jingfang was also much older than Xie Chengjing. As the saying goes, an elder sister-in-law is like a mother. Regardless of her relationship with Xie Chengjing, she had to maintain a perfect facade. When she spoke to Xie Chengjing, she naturally adopted the attitude of an elder. Xie Chengjing, however, was cold despite his impeccable respect. He simply replied, "Thank you for your concern, sister-in-law. I will be careful."

Hu Jingfang then chatted with Su Tong in a friendly manner about a few common questions, such as what her hobbies were, what her parents did, and what her favorite leisure activities were.

Su Tong answered truthfully one by one. Her usual hobbies are cooking and dancing. Her father is a teacher and her mother is a chef. Her favorite leisure activity is simply taking a walk in a scenic place.

Then other people came to greet Hu Jingfang and Xie Chengjing, and Su Tong and Xie Chengjing parted ways with Hu Jingfang. Su Tong didn't know what impression Hu Jingfang had of her; perhaps a woman who had risen to a high position had already seen through her. But her impression of Hu Jingfang was that she was a woman who, while being friendly, also had a touch of assertiveness.

Many people exchanged pleasantries with Xie Chengjing. Anyone who stood next to Xie Chengjing would attract attention, let alone someone with Su Tong's looks and temperament. So almost everyone would scrutinize Su Tong.

However, what Su Tong had to do was very simple. Xie Chengjing bluntly divided the people who came to greet him into two categories. For one category, Su Tong only needed to nod in greeting. For the other, Xie Chengjing would briefly introduce their names and positions, which Su Tong would remember and then simply greet back. After going around the room, Su Tong had experienced all sorts of gazes, some friendly and some malicious. The guests were all outstanding individuals, but less than ten people had been introduced by Xie Chengjing. Another point was that Su Tong also discovered Xie Chengjing's high seniority in the capital's aristocratic circles. His peers basically had to call him Uncle, and most of his generation were over fifty. If Su Tong hadn't looked quite young, he probably would have been elevated in seniority by a few of the more obsequious ones.

After the pleasantries finally came to an end, Xie Chengjing and Su Tong each held a drink and stood on one side of the hall, quietly enjoying the tranquil moment amidst the noisy gathering. Xie Chengjing spoke frankly about the guests at the ball: "Those who are truly of high status have basically only attended the engagement ceremony this morning. Among the people who have come now, apart from those who are of slightly lower status, most of them are from the younger generation."

Su Tong thought to herself that Xie Chengjing must have come with her on purpose, so she smiled at him to express her gratitude.

Seeing Su Tong smiling faintly with gratitude, but with a hint of weariness between her brows, Xie Chengjing finally whispered in her ear, "Whether it's my sister-in-law or my elder brother Xie Chengsheng, whom you may meet in the future, you don't need to be too reserved. As I said, I can't control my elder brother's family affairs, but they can't control me either."

Did he notice how nervous she was? It's always comforting to have someone care. Su Tong sipped her wine and gave him a cocky, arrogant smile: "It's okay, don't think of me as useless. I used to have a lot of social engagements when I was working. You probably didn't like these kinds of events, right? I've probably attended more parties, dances, and networking events than you. And back then, I'd sometimes run into difficult people. Unlike now, following Young Master Xie, I can ignore whoever I want."

This was the first time Su Tong had called him Second Young Master since Xie Chengjing told her to call him by his name, but this time it sounded casual and affectionate.

Su Tong and Xie Chengjing were already very close. When Xie Chengjing leaned in to talk to her so innocently, it looked as if Su Tong was snuggling in Xie Chengjing's arms and being affectionate with him. After Su Tong finished speaking with a smile, she looked up and saw Xie Mingyuan and Jiang Wenjun standing not far away.

Xie Mingyuan finally couldn't suppress his emotions. Looking at the two people who were so close, his eyes revealed a deep sorrow. Jiang Wenjun, who was holding his arm, stared intently at Su Tong with her beautiful eyes. Although she was still smiling, her expression was anything but pleasant.

Although Su Tong didn't think she had done anything wrong, she still hoped that Xie Mingyuan, who liked her and had invited her to his engagement party just to see her one last time, would have a good start to his marriage with Jiang Wenjun. Not wanting to upset Jiang Wenjun further by standing in front of them, she nodded and smiled at them, then exchanged a glance with Xie Chengjing before heading to the other side.

However, a young woman next to Jiang Wenjun pointed at Su Tong and exclaimed in apparent confusion, "Huh!?"

Her voice was quite loud, as if she was afraid Su Tong would hear it, so Su Tong had no choice but to stop and ask, "Excuse me, miss, is there something you need?"

The woman had a pretty, short haircut, dyed a stylish yet understated chestnut brown. She was also quite pretty and delicate-looking. When Su Tong asked her question, she actually showed a shy expression, as if saying, "Oh, you actually heard me!" After hesitating for a moment, she said, "Um, this might be a bit presumptuous, Miss Su, are you filming a movie? A distant relative of mine is in this business, and I just happen to know that a movie recently discovered a beautiful actress who really looks a bit like you, (*^__^*) hehe..."

Her movements and expressions were a mix of shyness and coquettishness, and everyone around her could hear her words clearly. Everyone was astonished to learn that the stunning beauty beside Xie Ershao was actually a new starlet he was keeping! However, none of them had ever seen this starlet before; Xie Chengjing, who appeared aloof and indifferent to women, had managed to snatch her up first. With such beauty, it was no wonder that the notoriously cold Xie Chengjing had even brought her to this kind of ball.

The commotion was noticed by Hu Jingfang, who was some distance away. She turned her calm gaze over and stared directly at Su Tong's face.

Many men secretly thought that if Xie Chengjing ever got tired of this actress, it wouldn't be bad to keep her as a mistress. However, judging from Xie Chengjing's attitude, they wondered when that day would come. For a moment, although these self-proclaimed people didn't say anything, their eyes clearly reflected their contempt or covetousness.

Xie Mingyuan knew that Su Tong was filming a movie. After he gave in to his father and agreed to the engagement, he had actually wanted to see Su Tong for a while. However, because Su Tong was mostly driven around by Wang Hai or Xie Chengjing, only going between the film set and Xie Chengjing's residence, and even when she went out shopping or for a walk, she was always accompanied by Xie Chengjing or Wang Hai, he had never had a chance to see her. So he simply sent Su Tong an invitation to his engagement ball, thinking that meeting her in a crowded place would prevent him from doing anything impulsive.

In a family like the Xie family, being a celebrity is certainly not considered a respectable profession, but for someone like Xie Mingyuan to go into business is also a step down from his station. Besides, Xie Mingyuan is infatuated with Su Tong, so he naturally wouldn't think it's wrong for Su Tong to appear in public and act. He couldn't help but feel disgusted by the person who brought it up. He knew the short-haired woman was Jiang Wenjun's friend, and although he wasn't angry enough to directly shake off Jiang Wenjun's hand, he secretly gave Jiang Wenjun a look of disgust.