HBWMA -Chapter 376 The Group’s Little Treasure

The hotel had arranged a private courtyard for the young masters and ladies of the Shen family. It followed a traditional siheyuan layout: the east and west wings served as shared living and entertainment areas, while along the north–south axis there were exactly six rooms—no more, no less.

The courtyard was elegantly designed, filled with blooming pear trees. Although the peak flowering season had already passed, the lingering fragrance of pear blossoms still gave the entire place a soft, lasting charm.

The girls chose the south wing rooms closer to the lake. Originally, Jiang Huashan’s room was in the middle, and Fu Sui’er’s was on the left side of the corridor. However, due to a mix-up by the staff handling their luggage, the rooms were swapped. Neither of them minded, so they simply went along with the change.

Jiang Huashan disliked sticky, uncomfortable sensations. As soon as she returned to her room, she took a hot shower. She had just changed into clean clothes when the doorbell rang.

Thinking it was Fu Sui’er, she didn’t pay much attention. Wrapping her damp hair in a towel and shuffling over in her turtle slippers, she walked to the door.

“What is it—”

Lan Dai was just about to knock again when the door suddenly opened. She was caught off guard by the sight of a breathtaking bare face and froze, momentarily unable to react.

Jiang Huashan also paused briefly, her lazy tone fading as she straightened slightly. “Do you need something?”

Lan Dai stared at her face, momentarily dazed. “Miss Jiang, you’re as beautiful as a celestial being. Truly stunning.”

No girl disliked being praised for her beauty—especially when the admiration seemed so genuine. But that only held true if the person praising you hadn’t once stepped over you with a look of pity.

Jiang Huashan gave a polite smile. “Thank you.”

Lan Dai waited, but when nothing more followed, her smile stiffened slightly.

Quickly realizing the awkwardness, she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and spoke up on her own initiative. “Miss Jiang, it’s like this—the hotel is planning to organize a social gathering tonight. We’re discussing what theme to go with, and now we’re just missing you.”

Jiang Huashan tilted her head toward the east wing. “We?”

“Yes. Brother Qingyu and Zhizhi are all there.” Lan Dai tested the waters cautiously. “Miss Jiang, since everyone came out to have fun together, happiness is what matters most, don’t you think?”

Jiang Huashan nodded. “That makes sense.”

Lan Dai smiled and stepped back, her attitude friendly. “Then let’s head over now? Everyone’s been waiting for quite a while.”

“…”

Seeing that Jiang Huashan didn’t respond, Lan Dai looked slightly embarrassed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything else. I came to find you half an hour ago, but you didn’t answer, so we went to the main hall first.”

“…”

If she still couldn’t see through Lan Dai’s “green tea” act at this point, then all her past lessons would have been for nothing.

Jiang Huashan curled her lips into a faint smile. When she looked up again, there was a trace of sharp arrogance in her eyes. “Got it. You go ahead. My hair isn’t dry yet—I’ll come after I finish drying it.”

Lan Dai hesitated. “But we—”

“Then please tell them I need to dry my hair. If they can wait, they can wait. If not, no need to.”

Lan Dai forced a smile. “Alright, I understand.”

“Wait.” Jiang Huashan suddenly thought of something, her tone carrying a hint of playful warning. “Make sure you repeat it exactly—no embellishments.”

With that, she lowered her eyelids and shut the door.

The smile on Lan Dai’s lips instantly froze. Her gaze darkened slightly as she turned and walked down the corridor.

In the main hall, Gu Yuzhu was clinging to Shen Qingyu. Shen Lanxi sat by the window, resting his chin on one hand as he gazed at the pear blossoms outside. Shen Guiling sat quietly on the sofa, looking at his phone. Shen Mianzhi was chatting with Su Yun, while Fu Sui’er stood near the entrance, peering out expectantly.

Lan Dai entered from the north corridor, and everyone looked over at once.

Gu Yuzhu stood up. Seeing no one behind her, she blurted out bluntly, “Where’s Jiang Huashan? Still not done washing? What’s taking her so long?”

Lan Dai walked in with a smile. “Miss Jiang said her hair isn’t dry yet—she’ll come after she finishes drying it.”

She had expected Gu Yuzhu to get annoyed, but instead, Gu Yuzhu didn’t mind at all. She waved her hand and looked at everyone. “Well, if she needs to dry her hair, that can’t be helped. Why don’t we just not wait? Majority rules anyway—we can just tell her the result later.”

Shen Guiling set down his phone, his expression gentle. “Miss Lan, did you tell Shanshan that we’re all waiting for her?”

Lan Dai was momentarily stunned. Originally, she had been waiting for Gu Yuzhu to ask questions so she could subtly bring up Jiang Huashan’s words. But Gu Yuzhu brushed it off so casually. Just as she was wondering how to steer the topic back to Jiang Huashan, one of the Shen family’s young masters unexpectedly extended an olive branch himself.

After hesitating for a moment, she nodded. “I did ask. Miss Jiang said that those willing to wait could wait, and those who weren’t could discuss things first.”

As she spoke, she was careful to reproduce Jiang Huashan’s words as accurately as possible.

It wasn’t that Lan Dai truly wanted to go against Jiang Huashan. It was just that the Lan family had finally secured a ticket into this circle of wealth and privilege—there was no room for mistakes.

With how awkward things looked now, the Gu family might start doubting whether the Lan family was even qualified to be part of this circle. So her family had instructed her to find someone to take the blame.

By chance, something Gu Yuzhu had said earlier gave her an idea. Jiang Huashan had the old master of the Shen family backing her—even Zhou Yanheng couldn’t do anything to her.

Moreover, after careful observation, Jiang Huashan acted entirely on her own whims. Among the elite ladies, she was known as the most arrogant and domineering person in Jinggang. If she were the one to stir up conflict, the families behind these young masters and ladies would likely swallow their anger rather than take it out on the Lan family.

Originally, Lan Dai had considered herself clever—confident she could guide Jiang Huashan into helping her plan without offending her. But Jiang Huashan’s veiled sarcasm earlier made her suddenly realize that this young lady was not someone to be trifled with.

On the way back, the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. Jiang Huashan was not like Gu Yuzhu. Despite being merely an adopted daughter, she was so highly valued by the old master—her scheming mind must be far from simple. Lan Dai realized she had underestimated her.

If Gu Yuzhu hadn’t picked up the conversation, Lan Dai wouldn’t have forced it. But since someone had handed her a ladder, she had to try again.

As soon as Lan Dai finished speaking, all eyes from the Shen family fell on her. Even Shen Lanxi turned his head to look.

“What’s wrong?”

She instantly felt an invisible pressure, forcing a strained smile as she looked at everyone.

Su Yun also sensed that something was off and lowered her head slightly, puzzled.

Gu Yuzhu, the slowest to react, didn’t notice anything strange at all. She casually took out her phone and said, “Yusheng and the others have already picked a few themes—pool party, night run carnival, and team battle. Any thoughts?”

“No ideas? Brother Qingyu?”

Shen Qingyu hooked a finger at his ear. “Not interested.”

The only reason he had come to this ridiculous gathering in the first place was out of respect for the old madam. He had no intention of cooperating any further.

Gu Yuzhu turned to Shen Mianzhi and gave her a subtle look. “Zhizhi, what do you think?”

Shen Mianzhi smiled faintly. “Since we’re here on vacation, we should just relax. With so many people, it’s hard to coordinate anyway, so I won’t be joining.”

“But…”

Gu Yuzhu wanted to persuade her further, but Su Yun stood up and pulled her along, her gaze briefly sweeping toward Shen Lanxi. “Zhizhi’s right. Since we already have some ideas, why don’t we go discuss them with Yu Sheng and the others first?”

Lan Dai chimed in, “Actually, this works out well. What matters most is that everyone has fun.”

Gu Yuzhu had originally wanted to drag Shen Qingyu and Shen Mianzhi along, but seeing their lack of interest, she had no choice but to give up.

The three of them had just stepped out of the pear garden when Jiang Huashan walked into the main hall. Everyone inside instinctively turned to look at her.

Jiang Huashan paused, glancing around. “Huh? They all left?”

Fu Sui’er ran up and linked arms with her. “Yep, all the annoying people are gone. Now we can finally have fun our own way.”

Jiang Huashan thought for a moment. “I just saw a huge lawn behind the pear garden. How about we go camping there tonight and watch the stars?”

Fu Sui’er immediately clapped her hands in agreement. “Now that you mention it, I think there’s supposed to be a meteor shower tonight!”

Shen Mianzhi smiled and looked at Shen Lanxi. “Brother Lanxi?”

Shen Lanxi glanced at Jiang Huashan. “Gao Zhi will make the arrangements.”

Shen Qingyu stroked his chin. Watching the stars? Let’s see just how boring that turns out to be.

Shen Guiling curled his lips slightly and continued looking down at his phone.