Olivia Wang's face was brimming with malice, clearly intending to bring Terra Su to the banquet inside to embarrass Emma Jiang. It was well-known that the attendees of Miles Ye's welcome feast were the prominent youths of Clear River City, and Terra Su was nothing but a castaway expelled by the Orthodox One Sect for theft. Such a person being Emma's cousin would surely tarnish her reputation among the young elite of Clear River City.
"Terra, don't go in. Just wait outside," Emma Jiang pleaded, beads of sweat forming on her pale forehead as she desperately tried to prevent Terra from entering the private room and causing her embarrassment.
Olivia Wang, however, loudly protested, "Oh, Emma, why be so inhospitable? He's your cousin after all. How can you not let him join the feast?"
Terra Su frowned, surprised to encounter Emma Jiang at Drunk Immortal Residence and even more so by her complete misunderstanding of his reasons for being there, thinking he had followed her secretly.
But at that moment, Terra Su couldn't be bothered to explain and simply watched the two women: "Is there anything else? If not, I'm heading upstairs."
"Upstairs?" Olivia Wang was taken aback, then covered her mouth and snickered, "You're going upstairs?"
"Do you even know what's upstairs? It's the Earth and Heaven private rooms. Are you claiming you're going to dine in one of those? Emma, your cousin is really something, boasting without any shame, hehe…" Olivia Wang laughed, her body shaking with mirth.
Beside her, Emma Jiang's face turned an iron shade of green, cursing Terra Su hundreds of times in her heart for bringing such shame upon her, shamelessly boasting in this place. She knew well that the second floor of Drunk Immortal Residence housed the Earth private rooms and the third floor the Heaven private rooms, reserved only for the likes of Patriarchs and above. What right did an ordinary junior like Terra Su have to even dream of such places?
Yet, the situation being what it was, Emma couldn't just stand by and watch Terra be ridiculed by Olivia Wang.
Suppressing her anger, Emma approached Terra and said with a cold face, "Since you're here, let's go in."
With that, Emma Jiang grabbed Terra Su's sleeve and forcefully dragged him into the private room.
Olivia Wang was momentarily stunned; she had thought Emma would never allow Terra to join the feast for the sake of her own face. But to her surprise, Emma let him in.
Even better, with such an embarrassing cousin and Olivia herself fanning the flames, Emma Jiang was sure to lose face today.
Terra Su hadn't expected Emma to take matters into her own hands and pull him into the private room. Looking up, he saw the room filled with a dozen or so young men and women, all dressed lavishly, chatting and laughing.
A quick glance and Terra Su inwardly sneered, finding it ironic that this small feast included many "old acquaintances" from his past life.
As Emma Jiang pulled Terra into the room, everyone turned to look.
Olivia Wang followed and announced loudly, "Let me introduce a new friend to everyone. This is Emma Jiang's cousin, Terra Su!"
"Terra Su? The one who tried to steal an Elder's Elixir from the Orthodox One Sect and got expelled, only to come to Clear River City to rely on relatives?" a richly dressed youth exclaimed in surprise.
"Emma, so this kind of person is your cousin?"
Laughter erupted as everyone chimed in to tease Terra Su.
Emma Jiang's face flushed with unprecedented embarrassment. She knew allowing Terra into the feast would bring ridicule upon herself as well. But given the circumstances, she couldn't bear to have Terra just stand outside; after all, he was her cousin.
With this thought, Emma glared fiercely at Terra, cursing this disappointing cousin hundreds of times in her heart.
Terra Su, however, was indifferent to Emma's expression. It wasn't his idea to come to this private room; he was waiting to attend a banquet in the Heaven private room. It was Emma who had dragged him here, so who could he blame?
Olivia Wang watched everything, amused, and deliberately poured a cup of tea for Terra: "Young Master Su, have some tea. This is Drunk Immortal Residence's special Snow Mountain Tea, not something you can find just anywhere."
A youth with an arrogant face immediately took over the conversation, looking at Terra with a sneering expression: "Yes, this tea is quite valuable, costing a whole ten silver taels per cup! Such tea, I'm afraid you, a country bumpkin, have never tasted in your life, right?"
His words were blunt and discourteous. After speaking, the youth slapped his forehead in feigned realization: "Look at me, I didn't mean any disrespect to Young Master Su, just stating facts, no offense, no offense, haha…"
The others also looked at Terra with various expressions, all of them the pride of Clear River City, except for Terra, who was merely a sect outcast and had traveled far to seek refuge with relatives, clearly indicating his humble origins.
In their eyes, such a person was just a country bumpkin to be mocked for their amusement.
"I'll pass on the tea," Terra Su said indifferently, recognizing the arrogant-faced youth as Zhou Rong, the son of a minor family Patriarch in Clear River City.
A chill flashed in Terra's eyes as he pushed past Zhou Rong and sat down on the nearest chair.
Zhou Rong was startled, then his face darkened: "Not drinking? Are you looking down on me?"
The atmosphere tensed with Zhou Rong's words.
Terra Su remained unfazed, looking at Zhou Rong without a hint of compromise.
Just then, a cultured voice intervened: "Guests should be welcomed, not confronted. Let's all have a drink and enjoy the meal together; we're all friends here."
The voice wasn't loud, but in the noisy room, it stood out clearly.
Zhou Rong immediately turned and bowed respectfully to the voice's owner: "Yes, Brother Miles Ye!"
With that, Zhou Rong returned to his seat, no longer sparing Terra a glance, as if that voice was an imperial edict to him.
Terra Su looked towards the owner of the voice and saw a young man dressed in a moon-white brocade robe with a purple-gold jade crown, his angular face adorned with handsome, deep-set features, red lips, white teeth, sword-like eyebrows, and starry eyes, exuding an aura of perfection.
Terra Su watched the impeccably dressed young master calmly, his heart surging with waves.
This person was an important figure from Terra's past life memories, the top talent among the young generation of Clear River City, the idol of all the city's youth, recently returned from the imperial Tianyue Academy—Miles Ye.
Proofreader & Editor:Peter Pan
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