HBWMA -Chapter 161 Refusing to Choose the Best Option

If it were you, would you rather be the one who makes choices, or the one who is chosen?

Left hand? Or right hand?

Xiao Lanlan tightened her fingers. “What kind of game rule is this? The princess-selection game isn’t played like this.”

Jiang Huashan glanced at her sideways. “My grandfather asked me to organize it, so I set the rules. Hurry up and choose. If you don’t, you’re disqualified.”

“You!”

Xiao Lanlan was furious. Jiang Huashan had a loudspeaker strapped to her back—one sentence from her was worth ten from anyone else. No matter how justified she was, she couldn’t win an argument. In frustration, she could only vent her anger at the people around her.

“What are you all standing there for? Don’t tell me you’ve really been led by her pace! What’s there to hesitate about? Of course we girls should be princesses!”

Under the pressure of Xiao Lanlan’s influence, the girls reluctantly raised their right hands.

Fu Sui’er didn’t even hesitate. The moment Jiang Huashan announced the rules, she raised her left hand. Knights could slay dragons—cool!

Su Miao couldn’t stand Jiang Huashan stealing the spotlight and sneered coldly. “She’s never been normal in the head.”

Zhou Qishan smiled and shook her head, raising her left hand. “Sorry, Miao Miao. I might disagree with you this time—I actually like her rules.”

Su Miao turned her head away and silently raised her left hand anyway. “I was talking about her brain, not the rules.”

Before this, Yu Sheng had thought the social games of Jinggang’s upper circle were just boring entertainment for the rich. She hadn’t expected such a twist. Although she also liked the absolute authority of being a princess, she longed more to be a knight who could choose freely.

Without much hesitation, she raised her left hand.

Shen Mianzhi looked down at her own hands, momentarily unable to decide.

Her instinct told her to choose the left—but it seemed like she could only choose the right.

The younger girls exchanged glances, hesitating. Fu Sui’er blinked at them. “Choose left. There are so many girls, but there’s only one ‘princess.’ That means we’d be forced to compete against each other. But as knights, there’s no such problem—we can support the same princess and choose whoever we like.”

It made sense.

The girls’ eyes lit up, and they all raised their left hands.

Despicable! She was actually campaigning!

Whether by coincidence or calculation, the two sides ended up evenly split.

Xiao Lanlan raised her eyebrows and looked smugly at Jiang Huashan in the center of the stage. A clown—let’s see how you handle this.

Jiang Huashan swept her gaze across the hall and finally locked onto the only woman in the center group.

“Grandma Gu, it’s more fun when everyone plays together. Since you still have to wait anyway, why not join us?”

How bold—to have just offended Madam Gu’s grandmother and now immediately invite her to play the game? What was she thinking?

Old Madam Gu was over sixty. She had seen all kinds of unruly youngsters in her life, but never one quite like this.

She was the only woman in the central circle. Jiang Huashan calling on her at this moment was clearly meaningful—anyone with insight could tell there was more to it.

Shen Lanxi turned his head slightly, his indifferent gaze brushing over those smiling peach-blossom eyes. Back then… he had also acted so recklessly in front of him.

Shen Guiling stood quietly to the side, glancing at Shen Lanxi before looking away as if nothing had happened.

After a moment of thought, the old lady slightly lifted her head. Her eyes swept over the youthful crowd.

Something seemed to cross her mind, and she suddenly smiled.

“I’m old. I can’t keep up with young people’s thinking anymore.”

Jiang Huashan smoothly followed her lead. “Then make an ‘old person’s decision.’”

“…This girl,” the old lady thought, almost choking. “She really slips like an eel.”

She coughed lightly, her gaze softening. In the end, she slowly raised her left hand.

“Everyone here is already a princess by birth. Occasionally experiencing a different role isn’t a bad thing.”

Subtle yet clear—she had said what needed to be said. As for who would understand it, that depended on their own insight.

With her vote, the game rules were overturned.

In the end, the girls became “knights,” and the boys became “princesses.”

Jiang Huashan immediately signaled Zhang Ru. Zhang Ru understood and led the attendants through the crowd, distributing roses to the girls.

Xiao Lanlan never expected that all her carefully prepared efforts would end up making wedding clothes for someone else.

Unwilling to accept it, she rushed forward the moment Jiang Huashan stepped down from the stage and dragged her into a corner by the wrist.

“Did you do it on purpose?”

Jiang Huashan rubbed her sore wrist. “Do what on purpose?”

Xiao Lanlan was furious. “You knew you couldn’t beat me, so you simply stopped the girls from participating.”

Jiang Huashan couldn’t help laughing at her. “So your vision only goes that far? Then there’s nothing to be done. I already did my best.”

Xiao Lanlan sneered. “Stop pretending. Maybe others fall for your act, but I don’t. Jiang Huashan, I’m warning you—you’ve offended me. Watch yourself.”

Jiang Huashan just shrugged.

Grinding her teeth, Xiao Lanlan gave a cold laugh, shoved Jiang Huashan hard, and turned to walk back into the crowd.

Zhang Ru just happened to pass by and casually handed her a red rose. Xiao Lanlan didn’t even look at it before swatting it away and heading straight toward the circle of ladies.

“She can’t be woken up, nothing I can do.” Jiang Huashan bent down and picked up the rose from the floor.

At that moment, someone walked past her. Jiang Huashan casually grabbed the girl’s arm.

Shen Mianzhi sharply inhaled. Earlier at noon, she had been pushed down the stairs by Xiao Lanlan, and the scrape on her arm hadn’t healed yet. Jiang Huashan had just touched her wound.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it.” Jiang Huashan handed her the rose, looking innocent. “Here, this is for you.”

Shen Mianzhi looked at her with slight caution, then lowered her head and took the rose. “Thank you.” After speaking, she quickly slipped back into the crowd.

Jiang Huashan smiled and stood on her toes to glance into the crowd. She wasn’t sure what Shen Mianzhi was hiding from—there was such a conspicuous green label above her head; she couldn’t possibly hide.

Oh.

And that changed label.

【Disguise】

Impressive—someone could actually change a label.

No wonder she was marked as “on the run.”

Jiang Huashan turned her gaze to the other two labels. Zhou Qishan and Su Miao were whispering in the crowd, seemingly discussing who to give their flowers to.

Those two labels hadn’t changed.

“Miss Jiang.”

Zhang Ru handed her a pink rose. Jiang Huashan took it and toyed with it in her hand.

Fu Sui’er came running over after scanning the room. “Shanshan, what do we do? There’s only one rose—who should I give it to?”

Jiang Huashan asked, “Who do you want to give it to?”

Fu Sui’er thought for a moment. “Brother Lanxi. Today is his main event, so it should naturally go to him. But about what happened last time, Brother A-Ling and Brother Qingyu also helped us—I feel like we can’t be unfair. Besides, a lot of people will definitely choose Brother Lanxi anyway, so he won’t be short of my one rose.”

Just as she finished speaking, the stage lights suddenly dimmed.

In the faintly lit banquet hall, only a single spotlight remained. Shen Lanxi stood within the circle of light, his long eyelashes glowing softly, giving him an air of refined nobility.

Soft music began to play.

Three dances’ worth of time.

The first dance was Shen Lanxi’s solo moment.

Fu Sui’er leaned in quietly. “It looks like it’s going to benefit Xiao Lanlan. This morning in the main hall, Auntie already discussed with Brother Lanxi that he would choose Cousin Lanlan as his dance partner.”

Jiang Huashan said calmly, “Xiao Lanlan and Shen Lanxi are about the same age, and she has a dance background. Choosing her is indeed the best option right now.”

Just as she finished speaking, a beam of light suddenly fell.

Shen Lanxi appeared right in front of her.

“……”