Shen Yi packed her schoolbag, said goodbye to her parents, and returned to the Shen residence. There, she put on the outfit assigned for this mission.
A white shirt, black trousers, and a narrow black tie.
She faced the mirror, pushed the knot of the tie to the top of her collar, then loosened it slightly to make it look like it had been tied in a hurry.
Iris stood beside her, also dressed in black and white, though her skirt was a bit shorter than Shen Yi’s, and her hair was tied in a low ponytail, revealing the clean lines of her neck.
The two of them gathered in front of the mirror, checking each other for any obvious flaws.
Iris reached out to adjust Shen Yi’s tie knot a little. “I’m doing you this favor, so remember to treat us to a meal when this is over.”
Shen Yi helped straighten Iris’s clothes as well. “Of course, of course.”
They were both too young to pass as escorts.
A waiter’s role, on the other hand, was a convenient identity to hide behind—carrying a tray and moving around wouldn’t draw attention, and it gave them relatively free access to different areas.
Wisteria stood by the door, waiting for them.
She had changed into a deep purple evening gown, sharply cut, with a high slit reaching ten centimeters above the knee.
A small handgun was securely strapped to her thigh. The holster was custom-made, with anti-slip texture on the side touching her skin, so it wouldn’t shift at all when she walked.
The young woman lightly tapped her high heels, tilted her head to glance at the three men in the living room who were still fussing with their outfits, and lowered her voice to ask Shen Yi:
“Xiao Yi, are all these men your brothers?”
Shen Yi followed her gaze and paused for two seconds.
The scene in the living room was practically a disaster.
Shen Zhizhao, as the main guest, was wearing a mink coat over a black turtleneck.
Shen Xun and Shen Ruxu were huddled together, trying to zip up their dresses.
Shen Xun managed to pull his own zipper up first, then frowned as he helped the second brother with his.
The two of them looked like they were defusing a bomb.
“Yeah, they all are.”
Wisteria’s gaze shifted away from the two cross-dressing men.
Her eyes swept over Shen Zhizhao’s mink coat twice, and the corner of her mouth twitched.
She’d seen plenty of flashy rich people, but the way this eldest Shen son wore his mink made him look like he’d just stepped off the set of an eighties Hong Kong crime drama.
Shen Xun finally managed to yank Shen Ruxu’s zipper all the way up. He took a step back, gave him a thorough once-over, and delivered a single, expressionless verdict:
“Not bad.”
Shen Yi clapped her hands, the sharp sound drawing everyone’s attention. “Alright, alright, everyone ready? Time to get to work.”
She turned to Iris, her tone shifting into mission mode. “Iris and I will go first and try to blend in. For the waiter identity, we need to time it right to slip in through the staff entrance. There’s a check-in system and a uniform pickup window there. If everything goes smoothly, we’ll meet up with you inside the banquet hall.”
Iris nodded, tugged at her tie knot again, and slipped a micro earpiece into her ear.
Shen Yi put hers in as well, and the two confirmed their communication channel was working before heading off first.
Shen Zhizhao watched them leave, then turned his attention back to his own fur coat.
He felt inexplicably drained.
Or rather, he often found himself baffled by this group’s bizarre thought processes.
Wisteria lagged a couple steps behind and cautiously sized up Shen Ruxu.
Of all these men, she had only met Shen Ruxu before, during the Heguang operation. At the time, he had been wearing normal clothes and seemed like a talkative but reliable young man.
Seeing his cross-dressing look today, Wisteria’s overall impression of the Shen family had taken a subtle skew.
Maybe, just maybe, the legendary underworld family wasn’t as terrifyingly solemn as she had imagined.
As Wisteria pulled open the car door, she asked, “Can we get in? Won’t we get caught?”
Shen Zhizhao sat down in the back seat and replied calmly, “Unlikely. They won’t check too thoroughly. The guest list for the banquet is long, and the security at the gate only has a paper roster. Checking is slow. As long as we don’t make a big mistake, blending in won’t be hard.”
“But,” he paused, glancing at the passenger seat and the back row, “I’m bringing quite a few people. They might question it.”
Wisteria nodded and got into the passenger seat.
When they reached the checkpoint, the banquet’s rules didn’t allow too many bodyguards. Most of the guests were women with male companions or men with female companions—a one-on-one arrangement was the norm.
Everyone looked natural.
Only Shen Zhizhao’s group stood out.
Behind him were Shen Ruxu and Shen Xun, one on each side—left in wine red, right in pristine white.
Plus Wisteria holding his arm, that made three “female companions.”
The guard flipped through his roster, looked up at them, then at the two strikingly conspicuous figures behind him, and hesitated before speaking. “Sir, you brought three?”
Shen Zhizhao stopped, his sunglasses covering most of his face, only a slight twitch of his lips visible.
Wisteria, holding his arm, could feel his arm stiffen for a moment, but he quickly recovered.
“Is there a problem?” he countered.
The sunglasses hid the slight unease in Shen Zhizhao’s eyes. He turned his head slightly, scanning the guard’s expression from the corner of his eye.
The guard still hesitated. “That’s quite a few... Our boss requested as few as possible. Could you perhaps...”
“Why bring so many companions?” another, slightly older guard leaned in, his tone polite.
Shen Zhizhao paused for a beat.
In about half a second, he rifled through the impromptu scripts Shen Yi had cheerfully drilled into him.
Quickly, he decided to use one that Shen Yi had taught him with a grin.
“You wouldn’t understand,” he said, simultaneously draping an arm around Shen Ruxu and Shen Xun’s shoulders, pulling them close in a show of affection, his tone carrying the easy confidence of a seasoned artist.
The man tilted his head slightly, wearing a knowing smile that suggested he had everything under control.
“The more lovers, the more impressive.”
