Recognition

No one understood what Zhou Yan was saying to Han Qingshan. It was clear that they were talking about something or someone, but who could be so important that both Zhou Yan and Han Qingshan wanted him?

Wang Feihong could not help but glance at Jiang Yingyue, wondering if this person had something to do with it, but he shook his head quickly. She was just a commoner, so knowing Han Qingshan was already a stretch; getting to know Zhou Yan was even more unlikely.

Jiang Yingyue looked at Zhou Yan and Lin Qiang, wondering who these two newly arrived people were, and why they were so familiar to her. She frowned slightly.

"This is?" Zhou Yan looked at Jiang Yingyue with a smile on his face. The smile was like spring bringing warmth, melting away the ice.

Those who observed were all stunned. Zhou Yan was never before seen smiling like this. He was a cold person who, unlike Han Qingshan, was never really smiling. He was cold and unapproachable, but now he was actually smiling genuinely to a small commoner.

The words that he had just said echoed in the ears of the people who were present. He had said that he would take someone back, could this someone really be Jiang Yingyue?

"Oh, this is my good friend, Jiang Fengmian," Han Qingshan answered, pretending that Zhou Yan did not know her, and introduced her as if they were strangers, stunning many of those who had a theory about the two men fighting over Jiang Yingyue.

"Oh, it is a pleasure to meet you," Zhou Yan said as he reached out his hand to shake it with Jiang Yingyue.

"I am Zhou Yan, and this is my assistant Lin Qiang." The moment they introduced themselves, Jiang Yingyue felt a boom explode in her mind.

Zhou Yan? Lin Qiang? If it was just one of them, this could have been a coincidence, but both names together, and the nagging feeling of familiarity told her that these two people were her childhood friends.

Her face paled, and panic flashed in her eyes. Han Qingshan, Zhou Yan, Wang Feihong, and Lin Qiang were the only ones who could see Jiang Yingyue's face from where they were seated and standing, and all of them noticed the fleeting panic in her eyes.

Jiang Yingyue withdrew her hand from the handshake; it was trembling in fear. If it was them, then they were likely to blame her for vanishing as she did back in the day, but maybe they had not recognized her since she lived as a man now.

Looking at Zhou Yan, he seemed friendly, but there were no signs of him recognizing her, so she quickly calmed herself down.

"It is a pleasure to meet such noble people such as yourselves," she said politely before she returned to Han Qingshan's side. She hid by his side, clearly slightly uncomfortable with the attention Zhou Yan was giving her.

Wang Feihong was smart. He had already realized that this Jiang Yingyue actually knew Zhou Yan, and thus, the person that Zhou Yan said he would take back was definitely this one.

The others were all behind them and were incapable of seeing the expressions of Jiang Yingyue, so they did not expect anything special.

Wang Feihong, on the other hand, was so shocked that he did not know what to do. He could not help but glance at Jiang Yingyue, and wonder what this person had to intrigue and capture the hearts of those two young masters.

Han Qingshan exchanged a few pleasantries with Zhou Yan before he led Jiang Yingyue away from Wang Feihong and the other two people.

He found a small booth that was empty and sat down together with Jiang Yingyue. He was feeling incredibly uncomfortable when he thought about the panicked expression on Jiang Yingyue's face when she saw the other man.

Although he knew that they were likely to know one another, he had not wanted to see the recognition in her eyes, but he quickly calmed himself.

Jiang Yingyue had seemed panicked; she had seemed uncomfortable with meeting him, and she had hidden behind Han Qingshan, so it was likely that she was not willing to socialize with him at the current point in time.

While Han Qingshan felt relieved, Zhou Yan and Lin Qiang were both uncomfortable.

It was obvious that she had recognized them, but she had ignored their connection, and even hid behind Han Qingshan in an attempt at not being noticed or recognized.

Zhou Yan had been looking for her for nine years, and now that they were finally reunited, she pretended she did not know him. This was making the mood of Zhou Yan turn volatile and aggressive; the temperature around him dropped, and Lin Qiang could feel that his master's mood was so terrible that it was impossible to even say anything to improve it.

Lin Qiang nodded to Wang Feihong, and quickly followed behind Zhou Yan towards the booth that was next to the one Han Qingshan had sat down in.

The music was so loud that it was impossible to hear what was said from one booth to another, but when they walked past Han Qingshan and Jiang Yingyue; Zhou Yan could not help but look inside, and what he saw made his teeth itch in anger.

Jiang Yingyue was seated casually, leaning against the back of the cushioned benches, while a soft and gentle smile hung on her lips as she was joking with Han Qingshan.

At that exact moment, she was swatting his hand away after it was rustling her hair in an intimate way.