Lu Xue slowly walked down the stairs in full view of everyone. Along the way, her gaze accidentally met Mu Yuze's in the crowd.
Mu Yuze stood at the outermost periphery of the banquet crowd, quietly holding a glass of red wine in his hand. His eyes met hers from afar.
The entire first - floor was in darkness. Everyone's figures were submerged in the dim light, yet Lu Xue could accurately sense Mu Yuze's position.
Although it was his birthday banquet today, he didn't seem to be very high - profile. From start to finish, he just sat far away at the outermost periphery of the crowd.
Mu Yuze was wearing a very formal suit today. The pure - black collar set off the section of his neck that was exposed, making it look long and elegant.
One of his hands was in his pocket, while the other gently swirled the red wine. His eyes pierced through the darkness, filled with a brilliant sense of surprise.
For some reason, Lu Xue found it hard to tear her gaze away once it met Mu Yuze's.
Obviously, there were still many people in the banquet hall downstairs, but it seemed as if Mu Yuze was the only one left in her world.
Her eyes shone brightly as she stared directly into his. When their eyes met, it seemed that even time and space became extremely distant. The hustle and bustle of the carriages, lights, and people around all flowed more slowly.
Only the little bit of air between her and Mu Yuze seemed to pass as slowly as a century.
Finally, Lu Xue walked down the stairs step by step and came in front of everyone.
At this time, the lights in the first - floor banquet hall suddenly brightened. Everyone squinted their eyes and began to adjust to the light in front of them.
The elegant music stopped, and the aqua - blue light beam was retracted. Lu Xue appeared in front of everyone openly and formally.
Everyone hadn't recovered from the momentary sense of surprise in the dark just now. They kept sizing up Lu Xue, and no one could say a word.
Ding Muyun was already full of reluctance in her heart. She knew that everyone had been amazed by Lu Xue, but she just wanted to make Lu Xue look bad today.
In such an important occasion of meeting the elders, bringing a fake item to show off was simply a laughingstock.
Ding Muyun composed herself. She was about to step forward and expose that Lu Xue was wearing a fake, but for some reason, she stopped in her tracks.
Ding Muyun's pupils constricted as she noticed that the handbag Lu Xue was holding was not the one she had sent over.
Ding Muyun stood in the crowd, staring at the small handbag in Lu Xue's hand in disbelief for several minutes and couldn't come to her senses.
Wasn't it she who had prepared the bag for Lu Xue in the dressing room just now? Why was the one in her hand completely different from what she had prepared?
Ding Muyun instinctively wanted to look for Mu Ziyue in the crowd to confirm if Mu Ziyue had prepared this bag for Lu Xue.
At this time, the other young ladies had swarmed up and began to look Lu Xue up and down.
Because of Ding Muyun's earlier reminder, everyone attached great importance to Lu Xue's fashion taste.
They secretly sized up all of Lu Xue's accessories, including the headdress on her head, the dress on her body, the high - heels on her feet, and the handbag in her hand.
One of them suddenly exclaimed, "This bag is the latest work of a famous designer. It's said to be a special limited - edition! I asked my friends to grab one for me for a long time but couldn't get it! How did Lu Xue get this bag?"
Several other girls swarmed up to take a look and found that it was really a very niche but extremely hard - to - buy bag.
Although the other items on Lu Xue were also valuable, they were more or less available in the market. Only this bag stood out among all the items and immediately caught the attention of all the girls.
Everyone started to chatter about this bag, and their looks at Lu Xue also changed completely.
Ding Muyun beside them looked a bit ugly. She found Mu Ziyue.
"Mu Ziyue, did you give Lu Xue that handbag?"
Mu Ziyue shook her head, equally confused. "I'm not sure about this. I thought it was you who prepared it for Lu Xue."
The two looked at each other without saying a word, and their doubts deepened.
This banquet soon came to an end. At the banquet, Mu Yuze came to Lu Xue's side, took her hand, and introduced her identity to everyone, officially acknowledging Lu Xue's status in this family in this way.
Many people below clapped and cheered. Mu Ziyue took the lead and clapped the most vigorously.
In the second half of the banquet, the focus was on Mu Yuze. Everyone presented the birthday gifts they had prepared and surrounded Mu Yuze in a large circle.
They toasted and chatted merrily. By the end of the banquet, Mu Yuze had drunk quite a bit of wine. There was a faint smell of alcohol on him, but his mind was still relatively clear.
He put down the glass of wine in his hand and pierced through the crowd with his eyes, looking for Lu Xue's position.
He thought that Lu Xue might feel uncomfortable during the banquet or had secretly left early.
But when he found Lu Xue, he was surprised to find that she had mingled well with the circle of socialites.
Several young ladies were chattering around Lu Xue, discussing something with her. Lu Xue answered them quite readily, looking very natural and graceful.
Mu Ziyue walked over. Seeing this scene, she was also a bit surprised.