HBWMA -Chapter 160 Choice and Being Chosen

Old Madam Gu looked at the microphone in her hand and fell silent for a moment before glancing at the two speakers tucked around Jiang Huashan’s waist. Her expression was unreadable.

Could it be that the Shen family knew what she was planning and deliberately sent a child here to disrupt things?

Jiang Huashan immediately saw through the old lady’s concern. She turned and pointed at the onlooking Xiao Lanlan.

“Grandma Gu, I’m here at the request of Cousin Xiao from the Xiao family. This game was something we already agreed on earlier this morning. Right, Cousin?”

Xiao Lanlan hadn’t expected to be called out at this moment. Her mouth twitched.

“I did say that… but there’s no need to rush it right now.” She said this, then deliberately put on a well-behaved expression as she looked toward the stage. “Grandma Gu, your matter is more important. We can play later, that’s fine too?”

Jiang Huashan immediately turned up the volume on the speaker.

“What do you mean ‘it’s fine’? Cousin Lanlan, you’re really lacking principles. First come, first served. This isn’t about whether it’s fine or not—this is about principles.”

Ding—

Another sharp, piercing screech echoed out.

“…!”

Xiao Lanlan felt like her ears had gone numb from the shouting.

First it was “conduct,” then “principles”—she made it sound like yelling into a speaker like this was somehow very principled and proper!

Jiang Huashan walked straight onto the stage and looked at Old Madam Gu with a friendly smile.

“Grandma, please wait a little longer. After the game ends, you can say whatever you want.”

Old Madam Gu turned to look at Shen Zhuang. Did the Shen family really think this kind of thing could stop her? How naive.

She shifted her gaze back, letting it linger on Jiang Huashan’s face for a moment before turning and walking down from the stage.

From the very beginning, she had already recognized her. This was the girl her little grandson had taken out of the flower hall.

“Mother.” Gu Cifeng quickly stepped forward to support her.

Old Madam Gu walked past Shen Zhuang without even looking at him and returned to her seat.

It wasn’t that she was giving up. After decades of running the household, she rarely made decisions lightly—but once she did, she never changed them. She was simply curious: what exactly had her youngest grandson prepared to stop her?

Shen E sat among the wealthy ladies with an unpleasant expression.

“Making a fool of herself.”

Shen Jiao was sitting directly across from her, her expression elegant and composed.

“Sister, you’re too rigid. This is called being straightforward and innocent. Besides, even Old Madam Gu didn’t say anything—why are you so worked up?”

Shen E hadn’t expected Shen Jiao to be so disrespectful. Her eyes darkened with warning.

“So you’re protecting her now?”

Shen Jiao smiled.

“Next time I slap your daughter, let’s see if you can still endure it.”

Shen E: “……”

The ladies around them paused, then quickly lowered their heads and pretended they hadn’t heard anything.

The rest of the crowd, seeing that the girl on stage was so young yet could actually make the Gu family’s decision-maker step back, became interested in what she meant by “the game,” especially the younger sons and daughters of wealthy families.

“What game are you talking about? Tell us.”

Jiang Huashan replied, “A game of choosing a princess.”

Choosing a princess?

The crowd’s reaction was lukewarm. It sounded childish.

At that moment, Zhang Ru led dozens of attendants in, pushing glass flower carts into the venue. On the carts were roses and chrysanthemums freshly cut from the garden.

Jiang Huashan continued, “Later, each ‘knight’ present will receive a rose. The knights will give their rose to the ‘princess’ they like most. Within the time of three dances, the princess who receives the most roses will become tonight’s ‘princess’.”

“The winning ‘Princess’ will be granted absolute authority once and may exercise power over any ‘knight’ present. Note that a princess’s power cannot be resisted. Although it’s just a game, we still need to respect the spirit of the game.”

This wasn’t something children play at house—most of the adults didn’t take it seriously. As guests, they followed the host’s lead; since this was the Shen family’s way of entertaining, they might as well play along.

Zhou Guochao patted Zhou Yanheng’s shoulder. “Don’t randomly give your flower away. Give it to A Shan. Don’t let your sister lose too badly.”

Zhou Yanheng smiled. “Got it, Grandpa.”

The game had originally been initiated by Xiao Lanlan, so she was naturally full of confidence. She lifted her chin and swept her gaze over the surrounding girls. All of them were just mediocre—how could any of them compare to her?

She turned her head and, almost casually, glanced toward the central circle.

Zhou Yanheng happened to look up at that moment. Xiao Lanlan immediately put on a shy expression. A hint of interest sparked in Zhou Yanheng’s eyes as he seemingly carelessly shifted his gaze toward a certain corner.

Shen Mianzhi was wearing a pink evening dress, hiding within the crowd. Ever since she entered the banquet, her eyes had been uncontrollably drawn to Zhou Yanheng. All night, she had only dared to steal glances at him from within the crowd.

But when she cautiously looked up again, their eyes unexpectedly met.

It was their first eye contact of the night.

Shen Mianzhi felt a wave of embarrassment, like being caught on the spot. She instinctively wanted to look away, yet couldn’t bear the feeling of being noticed by him.

Zhou Yanheng seemed to understand her shyness. His eyes curved slightly, and he gave her a faint smile.

Shen Mianzhi felt both ears burning as if an alarm was going off. Flustered, she quickly lowered her head.

Xiao Lanlan had been watching Zhou Yanheng the entire time. When she saw him completely ignore her and even smile at someone else, her brows furrowed slightly. She turned to scan the crowd.

But there were too many girls of similar age, packed tightly together; she couldn’t immediately tell who Zhou Yanheng had been smiling at.

Just as she was at a loss, Yu Sheng not far away suddenly smiled.

Xiao Lanlan instinctively looked toward Zhou Yanheng, but by then he had already withdrawn his gaze and was speaking to Shen Guiling beside him.

Suppressing her anger, Xiao Lanlan turned toward the stage and vented her frustration at Jiang Huashan. “Are you done yet? If you are, have the maids start handing out flowers to the boys already.”

Jiang Huashan replied calmly, “Why are you in such a hurry? Don’t we still need to choose the ‘knights’ before selecting the ‘princess’?”

“Choose knights? Is there even a need for that? Aren’t all boys automatically knights?” Xiao Lanlan didn’t quite react at first.

But many in the crowd were quick to understand. Shen Lanxi and Shen Guiling both looked up toward the stage almost at the same time.

Jiang Huashan raised the loudspeaker. “All girls, the initiative of this game is in your hands. Now please raise your hands—those who choose to be knights, raise your left hand; those who choose to be princesses, raise your right hand.”

As soon as she said this, everyone’s expressions froze. The ladies in the social circle even stopped their conversations.

Who decided that girls must be princesses and boys must be knights?

Some people enjoy being adored and chosen. But there are always those who want to hold the power of choice themselves.

The greatest pride is not becoming a princess—it is being able to change the rules, to decide who becomes the princess.

In a world governed by the laws of strength, by the laws of the jungle, isn’t it always like this?

Shen Zhuang, who had been frowning all along, finally revealed a faint smile after hearing the second set of rules. He shook his head helplessly and said, “What a strange game. Please excuse us, everyone. This girl has been spoiled into being mischievous.”

Everyone present laughed it off.

Thunder had already begun to roll in the distance; a storm was approaching. The truly perceptive needed only subtle clues to foresee what was coming—without necessarily saying it aloud.