Wang Luan’s experience with banquets amounted to only one occasion, and that time she had followed Yan Qiongyu the whole way, barely doing anything.
This engagement banquet, however, she was one of the protagonists, and could no longer slack off.
No matter when, getting married was always a troublesome affair. Starting from the morning, the ever-busy Chief Steward Wang followed at Wang Luan’s side, presenting her with the identity information of several important guests and requiring her to memorize them.
“These few have always had a good relationship with our Wang family and many collaborations as well—do not offend them. And these two are both members of the imperial nobility; you must display appropriate humility…”
Wang Luan listened to the steward’s introduction by her ear, extending her arms and standing there like a Christmas tree, letting the stylists hang all kinds of clothes and ornaments onto her body.
The gown she was wearing now was a large-skirted dress, said to be a noble retro style that had been popular in recent years.
The dress had a wide hoop skirt; once the round hoop was set on her body, she immediately felt as though she occupied at least six square meters.
Long ago, Alphas liked outfits that looked more powerful, but nowadays nobles grew up in peaceful and luxurious environments, and what they pursued had changed as well—expensiveness and splendor were their most honorable façade.
As for this dress, Wang Luan was still satisfied with it—not because of its costly sparkle, but because this thing could keep others at bay. It was a blessing for people with fear of intimate contact.
No one could cross this wide hoop skirt to get close to her. It truly was a perfect tool for maintaining social distance. Precisely because of this function, even though the gemstones adorning the dress made her feel extremely heavy, she could silently endure it.
Before the engagement banquet began, Wang Luan once again met her perpetually busy father, the Wang Family Head.
When facing her, the Wang Family Head’s eyes always held scrutiny and dissatisfaction; this time, however, he was much calmer.
The two of them took a hovercar together to the Wang family estate, to the hall specially used for receiving guests and holding banquets.
Night had only just fallen. Inside the Wang family’s banquet hall, brilliant light overflowed. The illumination inside radiated through the semi-transparent dome, while the cut surfaces of the exterior refracted the light, making the entire hall resemble a dazzling diamond under a spotlight.
Hovercars arrived one after another, delivering guests from the entrance of the Wang family estate to this place. Seeing the scale of it, Wang Luan felt it was no fewer than the number of people at the Seventh Princess’s banquet last time, and she immediately felt a wave of pressure.
She admitted she was a little stage-shy. Just then, her teammate Yan Qiongyu arrived at her side.
In front of the Wang Family Head, Yan Qiongyu lightly took her hand in a gesture of intimacy as etiquette required, and in an instant, Wang Luan’s physiological stress response scattered her psychological nervousness.
Fortunately, Yan Qiongyu knew his limits and quickly released her; only then did Wang Luan avoid losing control and flipping him away right in front of the Wang Family Head.
Yan Qiongyu was also dressed grandly today, though not as exaggerated as Wang Luan. Standing beside her, he was like a perfect ornament that set her off. He was also very clear about his positioning today and would absolutely not steal the spotlight.
After the engagement banquet officially began, it was soon time for the ceremony in which the engaged couple exchanged rings.
This process was the same as at a wedding—it required them to personally put the ring on each other’s finger, which inevitably involved contact. Before the ceremony began, Yan Qiongyu walked over to her side and, as if performing a magic trick, produced two pairs of thin decorative gloves.
He put one pair on himself and asked her with a smile, “Perhaps if we wear gloves, you’ll feel a little better?”
Both of them wore gloves. The effect was probably negligible, but it was better than nothing.
Under the gaze of countless people, Yan Qiongyu put the ring on her finger. His movements were extremely swift and light; he lightly supported her palm, and in almost the blink of an eye, the ring was slipped onto her finger.
Wang Luan’s movements were much more awkward. She was inexplicably nervous; perhaps there were too many gazes pricking at her like needles. When she withdrew her hand, she could still clearly feel a layer of goosebumps rise along her arm.
Fortunately, this evening gown did not reveal too much skin, and did not expose her goosebumps to the public.
Wang Luan’s gaze swept across the guests below. Looking out, she saw only smiling masks, with applause of congratulations ringing incessantly.
She guessed that many of them were cursing furiously in their hearts at this very moment. Wang Luan also saw the Seventh Princess’s figure; this time she was putting on quite a convincing act, as if she had never before tried to forcibly snatch her teammate.
At first she was still somewhat nervous, but Wang Luan quickly grew numb.
The Wang Family Head had already gone elsewhere to speak with several highly distinguished bigwigs. And she had no choice but to stand here together with Yan Qiongyu, receiving and conversing with the strangers who came up to them one after another.
The steward stood at her side, dutifully introducing every person who came over to strike up a conversation, but after looking around once, Wang Luan did not remember a single one.
She felt like a rare animal locked in a zoo for people to take photos of, and also felt like a tourist attraction, checked in by countless people.
The wide skirt blocked strangers from getting too close to her, yet there were still some overly enthusiastic guests who wanted to shake her hand. At times like this, her considerate teammate would take over those troublesome guests and dismiss them with just a few words.
In the gap before the next group of guests came over to exchange pleasantries, Wang Luan quietly leaned sideways and asked Yan Qiongyu, “Are you tired?”
Yan Qiongyu, who had been silently observing the guests and searching for certain figures among them, spared a little attention to respond to Wang Luan and said to her gently, “Thank you for your concern, Miss Wang Luan. I’m not tired.”
Wang Luan said, “But I’m very tired.”
Yan Qiongyu: “………………”
“With so many guests, how many did you remember?” Yan Qiongyu asked.
Wang Luan hesitated. “Is that something I’m supposed to remember?”
The engaged couple looked at each other, then tacitly looked away, feeling that the topic was not easy to continue.
With great difficulty, the first half finally ended, and Christmas-tree Wang Luan gained a moment to catch her breath. Seeing the completely drained expression on her face, Yan Qiongyu led her out of the crowded main hall to another, quieter resting area.
“How is it, are you okay?”
Wang Lan no longer even wanted to speak. She sat there with her legs splayed, utterly without decorum, and waved her hand.
Wearing this dress, she could not even sit steadily. Beneath her were scattered small gemstones digging into her. Only the phrase “sitting on pins and needles” could accurately describe her current situation.
Yan Qiongyu was likewise adorned in pearls and jewels, yet he could sit down with elegant posture, smiling as he watched her restless appearance.
Before her ears could have three minutes of peace, several young men and women came up to Wang Luan.
One was a fair-skinned, red-lipped, white-toothed youth. Judging by the neck ring he wore, he was an unmarried Omega. There was also one woman and two men, who should be Betas.
People in this world were born able to distinguish six genders, but this was a bit difficult for Wang Luan. She was still a novice who often guessed other people’s genders wrong.
“I’m Wang Siyu, your elder sister’s half-brother,” the Omega youth who looked the friendliest spoke first, glancing covertly at Yan Qiongyu.
Wang Luan thought to herself: so these were the illegitimate children of the Wang Family Head that Yan Qiongyu had mentioned before.
The other two male Betas had fairly mild attitudes. Not only were they Betas, their ranks were also particularly low. They themselves had no real prospects, so they carried a fawning attitude toward the legitimate heir.
Only the female Beta, Wang Huan, looked at Wang Luan with an unfriendly expression.
Wang Huan had A-rank aptitude, but unfortunately she was a Beta. In the eyes of proud Alphas, even the lowest-ranked Alpha was superior to the most outstanding Beta. In the eyes of the Wang Family Head, the class gap between Alpha and Beta was even greater than that between nobility and commoners.
There was deep unwillingness in Wang Huan’s heart. Relying on her own abilities, she had tested into the best school for Betas and had also made connections with many Alphas.
She looked down on Wang Luan, but what was laughable was that no matter how hard she tried, she could not transcend gender. Wang Luan still became the official heir of the Wang family by virtue of her Alpha identity.
And she herself, having been born for seventeen years, was only able to come to the Wang family estate today, and even that was because of Wang Luan’s engagement.
The other three left quickly after introducing themselves. Wang Huan sat opposite Wang Luan, unwilling to leave, and under Wang Luan’s puzzled gaze, she spoke: “They informed me that when I come of age next year, they will choose a male Alpha for me. If I can give birth to an Alpha with decent aptitude, then I will be able to obtain the status of an official member of the Wang family.”
But everyone knew how low the probability was for a Beta to give birth to a high-aptitude Alpha.
Wang Luan understood. The Wang Family Head was trying to salvage the main account while not giving up on the possibility of a secondary one.
But still—why was this younger sister, who was not familiar with her, coming to tell her all this? Was she seeking help?
Seeing that her expression remained calm, Wang Huan gave a self-mocking smile. Everyone said this eldest young lady was a good-for-nothing; now it seemed she was at least steadier than Wang Huan had imagined, able to remain unmoved even when facing provocation from her father’s illegitimate daughter.
Wang Huan stood up and looked deeply at Wang Luan, saying, “You have no idea how jealous I am that you’re an Alpha.”
At those words, Wang Luan’s gaze finally wavered. Her lips trembled slightly. “……You’re the one who doesn’t know how much I envy you for not having oo.”
After coming to this world, she had suffered for so long over the structure of this body—who could possibly understand that? In her heart, among these six genders, only Betas were the most normal, because they had no pheromones and didn’t need to deal with any strange marking.
Female Betas, whose bodies were most similar to her previous one, made her feel the greatest sense of closeness. If she could, how she wished she could become a female Beta.
Wang Huan’s expression went blank. She was a little unsure what she had just heard—she said she envied her for not having what?
With a face full of disbelief, Wang Huan left.
Yan Qiongyu, who had been playing the role of a wallflower at the side for a long time, finally couldn’t hold back and let out a snort of laughter.
The smile on his face was very genuine, different from the gentle, courteous, elegant smile he usually wore—bright and unrestrained, with a hint of schadenfreude. He didn’t look like a good person at all.
Seeing Wang Luan glance over dejectedly, he raised a hand to cover the lower half of his face, leaving only a pair of curved eyes showing.
