Chapter 63: Replaced? Part 1
Ning Yunyi looked over Eustace’s shoulder at Marshal Zong, who was walking toward them.
He wondered why the Marshal wasn’t busy picking out his own future wife and was instead heading over here.
Before Marshal Zong could get close, someone else darted out first.
“Mr. Bai!”
Ning Yunyi turned his head and met Clydeās angry green eyes. A fire was burning in their depths as he looked back and forth between Ning Yunyi and Eustace, looking exactly like a man interrogating a heartbreaker.
Ning Yunyi: “??”
Zong Hao also paused in his tracks. Another one popped up?
How many people had this man been flirting with outside? He hadn’t even been back on the Capital Star for that long, had he?
The onlookers gasped in unison. Good heavens, even Duke Clyde is getting involved?
They remembered nowāat the Prince’s previous engagement banquet, Mr. Bai had arrived with Duke Clyde.
Back then, Mr. Bai didn’t even know Young Head Eustace.
How many days had it been? And the person by Mr. Bai’s side had already been swapped for Eustace?
Clyde clutched his chest, looking heartbroken. “You… you, you… you two…” He was clearly the one who had met Mr. Bai first, so why did Eustace and Mr. Bai end up together in the blink of an eye?
Ning Yunyi remembered his previous words when he had intentionally teased Clydeās male companion. Feeling a bit guilty, he rubbed his nose. “Oh, you’re here too?”
He hadn’t heard anything about Clyde coming. Had he known, it wouldn’t have been impossible to ask Clyde to help with the act, though the effect wouldn’t have been as good as Eustaceās.
“How am I here? Why wouldn’t I be here? What is your relationship with him? Didn’t you say before that our relationship was… profound?” Then, in a turn of the head, the relationship had faded?
Even a rocket didn’t move this fast, did it?
The crowd continued to feast on the gossip: Whoa, who knew the first person Mr. Bai laid hands on was Duke Clyde?
Then it made sense why he could charm Eustace so quickly.
Since Clyde had become so attached so fast, did this Mr. Bai possess some unknown charm? Were they just too blind to see it?
Ning Yunyi quickly regained his composure. “I did say that, but you didn’t agree, did you?”
Clyde: “…And so you switched targets that quickly?”
Ning Yunyi delivered a classic “scumbag” line: “Otherwise?”
Clyde: I treated you as a friend, but you treated me as a stepping stone.
Clyde suddenly glared at Eustace. “I was here first!”
Eustaceās lips twitched. Big brother, I didn’t want to fight you for him either. But thinking about the three Ancient Blue Star delicacies Ning Yunyi had promised, he tilted his chin slightly and said provocatively, “And so?”
Clyde stepped forward to stand beside Ning Yunyi. “Go wait in line.” Even if they were just friends, he had to be the first and closest best friend; Eustace could only count as a general, ordinary friend.
Eustace was so angry he laughed. He stood firmly on Ning Yunyi’s other side. “I won’t.”
The crowd looked at Mr. Bai, who was sandwiched between the two. They wondered if they should even try to jump into the fray.
The noble families wanted to win Mr. Bai over, but his status wasn’t that high, after all.
Plus, he preferred men.
The ones sent here today were mostly the unfavored members of their respective families.
Before coming, they thought they could make a play based on their youth and outstanding appearance. But as it turned out, the people standing next to him were a Young Head and a Duke.
They had absolutely no basis for comparison, alright?
It was at this moment that Marshal Zong stood before the three of them.
The crowd: Are we about to witness three men fighting over one man?
Are matchmaking banquets this exciting nowadays?
A Marshal, a Duke, and a Young Head.
This Mr. Bai really had something going for him.
The others who were originally just spectators looked at each other and suddenly began to approach Ning Yunyiās group in a surrounding formation.
At first, they felt it didn’t matter if Mr. Bai took an interest in them or not.
But with three big shots competing like this, they thought… maybe they should join the fray? What if he took a liking to them because they were young and easy to handle?
The Young Head had a bad temper, the Duke was a social butterfly, and the Marshal was cold and hard to serve. They were different.
Ning Yunyi hadn’t expected things to develop this way and was momentarily stunned. He turned to look at Clyde, about to say something, when Zong Hao came to a halt in front of him. “What is the situation with them?”
Ning Yunyi shot him a glance. What does this have to do with you?
Why wasn’t he busy picking his own future family head’s wife instead of coming here to join the excitement?
Couldn’t he see that the few of them had already become the center of attention?
Ning Yunyi said bluntly, “Marshal Zong, this doesn’t seem to have anything to do with you, does it? This is a private matter; we can solve it on our own.”
Zong Hao took in the expressions of the three and thought for a moment. “Who says it doesn’t? Isn’t this a matchmaking banquet?”
Ning Yunyi still hadn’t realized the problem. “Yes, and?”
Zong Hao pointed at himself. “I am a participant, and so are you. So, why can’t I choose you?”
Ning Yunyi, along with everyone else, stared at him in shock. “??” Good heavens, we thought he was watching the show from up close, but he wants to join the fray too?
Ning Yunyi was so angry he laughed. Big brother, is there something wrong with you? Do you think it’s not messy enough already?
Zong Hao: “Is there a problem? Shouldn’t one choose the most popular person for a matchmaking partner? Clearly, Mr. Bai, that is you. Look behind you; they are all making you their target.”
Ning Yunyi turned his head and discovered that at some point, everyone present except for a few ladies watching the drama had started moving toward him. They were already halfway across the banquet hall.
Ning Yunyi: “…” He didn’t know when he had become so popular.
Not only him, but even the Crown Prince was confused.
He had just been watching the show at first, but now he squinted at the scene. “Could it be that this Mr. Bai is actually quite good-looking, and I just haven’t discovered his merits?”
the adjutant behind him had a complex expression. “This subordinate does not know.”
How was he supposed to answer that? To say he was good-looking would be against his conscience, but saying he wasn’t would be odd since Marshal Zong and all the male guests were interested.
It was just absurd.
This matchmaking banquet ended unexpectedly because of this bizarre atmosphere.
With Zong Hao getting involved, Eustace and Clyde were intimidated by his status and truly didn’t dare to compete to his face.
So, in the end, Zong Hao and Ning Yunyi reached a stalemate for ten minutes before the Crown Prince called Zong Hao away.
Ning Yunyi figured the act was mostly done.
His goal in coming was to let outsiders know he had “taken an interest” in Eustace.
Next, after a few more logical dates, the marriage could be put on the agenda.
Before leaving, Eustace shot a wary look at Clyde beside him and gave a subtle reminder: “Don’t forget that matter…” Three dishesānot a single one can be missing.
Whether he could die in peace in this life depended on those bites.
Ning Yunyi’s lips twitched, and he gave him a doting and gentle smile. “I won’t forget. How could I forget our date?”
Clyde, who was drinking nearby, choked and coughed upon hearing this.
Eustaceās fingers tightened inside his robes. For the food, I will endure.
And he might actually have to go on the date for real.
Zong Hao had just reached the Crown Prince when he heard this. He turned his head to look back, and across the banquet hall, the gaze behind his mask was unreadable.
When Ning Yunyi returned to the Ning house, Big Brother Ning and the others came out to meet him.
Big Brother Ning asked worriedly, “Nothing went wrong, did it?”
Ning Yunyi: “Don’t worry, it went smoothly. After going out for a few more dates to put on a show, it should be about done.”
Professor Ning: “Then should we prepare for a wedding next?”
Ning Yunyi: “There’s no need. Even if an engagement is set, as long as we stall for half a year or so, it will be fine.”
The pieces he had placed were almost ready to be pulled in.
Recommended Reads
