The twenty-third floor of the Asland Five-Star Grand Hotel.
The entire floor was luxuriously and extravagantly decorated for a birthday banquet, with colorful flowers and meticulously arranged fairy lights, making it feel like a romantic sea of flowers and starlight.
It was still early, but the banquet hall was already bustling with excitement. The guests were all young men and women no older than thirty.
Almost without exception, they were all dressed in expensive designer clothing. The men were handsome and dashing, and the women were beautiful and charming, dressed to the nines.
An Nuo, the birthday girl of the evening, was already dressed like a princess, standing at the entrance to receive her good friends as they arrived.
Beside An Nuo stood another girl.
Unlike many of the men and women dressed in formal attire at the banquet, she wore a simple white casual outfit and her hair was tied into a ponytail. Her role was to receive the gifts from each of her good friends.
Her entire demeanor was like a servant in An Nuo's family.
However, whenever someone entered and saw the girl's exceptionally beautiful and moving face, untouched by makeup, they would instinctively offer a flattering and respectful smile.
"Good evening, Zi Mo!"
"Zi Mo, you're here so early!"
"Zi Mo, long time no see!"
"Zi Mo, come sit with us later when you have time..."
Whenever someone greeted her, Yang Zi Mo would offer a faint smile, take the expensive gifts, and place them into an extra-large storage box beside her.
At this moment, the elevator dinged and stopped on the twenty-third floor. More guests had arrived.
As the hostess, An Nuo habitually raised her head, a bright smile on her face.
She was also dressed beautifully tonight, having discarded her usual sexy and alluring adornments for the image of a dignified and elegant noble lady.
"Oh, it's your brother and Huang Qi!"
An Nuo excitedly told her best friend beside her as she recognized two tall, handsome men striding down the hallway in the distance.
Unexpectedly, she found her best friend's usually calm and composed, refined face showing surprise, staring intently into the distance.
An Nuo felt a pang of doubt and looked back down the hallway. Her pretty face then contorted into an exaggerated expression, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"An Nuo, you look just like a princess tonight!"
By now, the three tall figures in the hallway had reached them. Yang Cong Long, leading the way, offered his congratulations.
"Thank you, Brother Long, for the compliment. You look very handsome tonight too!"
An Nuo chuckled, her charm captivating.
"Happy birthday!"
Yang Cong Long extended the gift in his hand but realized no one was taking it. He couldn't help but look at his sister.
Seeing Yang Zi Mo staring intently at Qin Chuan, who was standing behind them, making Qin Chuan quite uncomfortable, he grinned and said, "Xiao Mo, are you surprised? Qin Chuan is here too!"
"This guy was too afraid to come, but we dragged him here," Huang Qi added.
"As the saying goes, a friend of a friend is also a friend. We're all family, so let's take this opportunity to get to know each other better."
"An Nuo, you won't blame us for taking the liberty of bringing someone you don't know here, will you?"
"Of course not! I'm only happy that Qin Chuan could come to my birthday party!"
An Nuo had recovered from her surprise and immediately said with a radiant smile.
"Besides, who says Qin Chuan and I don't know each other? We've known each other for a long time."
"An Nuo, happy birthday!"
Qin Chuan, who had been standing at the back, stepped forward, a smile on his face as he handed over his gift.
"Thank you!!"
An Nuo's smile bloomed like a flower. She then noticed her best friend still standing there blankly and nudged her arm. Yang Zi Mo finally came back to her senses.
Looking at the young man before her, whose demeanor seemed even more composed and whose appearance was becoming increasingly resolute and handsome, Yang Zi Mo gently bit her red lip. She took the gift and finally asked proactively, "When did you come to the provincial capital?"
"A few days ago. I've been busy with work, and only became free today."
"I heard it was An Nuo's birthday party tonight, so I came uninvited."
Qin Chuan replied with a smile, his eyes shining brightly. This made Yang Zi Mo's heart inexplicably race, and she couldn't help but recall that night more than a month ago.
This audacious fellow had dared to sneak attack her and steal her first kiss. Although she had slapped him back in return...
But compared to a slap, a first kiss was clearly more significant.
Fortunately, at this moment, more people arrived via the elevator. An Nuo immediately said, "Brother Long, Brother Huang Qi, and Qin Chuan, please go in and find seats. We'll join you later."
"Okay, you guys be busy. We'll head in then!"
Huang Qi also handed his gift to Yang Zi Mo, and the three of them walked into the banquet hall.
Watching the tall backs of the three men depart, An Nuo, who had been restraining herself, couldn't help but reveal her true nature. She threw an arm around her best friend's soft waist and slyly said, "Xiao Mo, the guy who stole your first kiss is here!"
"Tell me quickly, how are you feeling right now?"
They were best friends who confided in each other about everything.
After Qin Chuan left the provincial capital last time, An Nuo had noticed something was off with her best friend. She would space out and daydream all day, sometimes wearing a gritted-teeth expression, followed by a complex shyness.
An Nuo immediately sensed her best friend's unusual behavior. After various 'interrogations,' Yang Zi Mo finally confessed and told her everything about losing her first kiss.
An Nuo was so shocked she nearly leaped into outer space. She gnashed her teeth and cursed Qin Chuan for his audacity, even wanting to go to Yongnan County to settle the score.
Of course, it was eventually dropped. What neither of them expected was that the audacious fellow would appear out of the blue just now.
It truly startled the two best friends.
As a best friend, An Nuo was extremely curious about Yang Zi Mo's true feelings at that moment, her face brimming with gossip.
"What feeling? I'm perfectly calm, and I've already forgotten about it!"
Teacher Yang was very composed, but An Nuo completely disbelieved her.
"Tsk tsk! Pretending! Keep pretending!"
Looking at her best friend's forced calmness, An Nuo sighed:
"If people knew that our famous Yang Zi Mo, Fairy Yang, had her first kiss stolen by someone from a backwater place, and that it caused our goddess to lose sleep and lose her appetite, what would they think?"
"You... you wouldn't dare!"
Yang Zi Mo rarely glared at her best friend, her face filled with coldness.
"Heh heh, of course, I'm just kidding!"
An Nuo said with a grin.
"But... since that guy has shown up willingly, I'm definitely not going to miss this chance."
"What are you going to do?"
Yang Zi Mo asked nervously.
"Hehe, you say you've already forgotten, but look at how nervous you are now. Could it be that you've really lost your heart to that guy?"
An Nuo's expression was full of suspicion.