Chapter 304: The Method of Raising a Stranger Princess

After the official business concluded, the atmosphere on the Copper Sparrow Terrace relaxed.

Xia Yubing carried a glass of champagne to the terrace edge; from afar, she could see the giant swimsuit poster and pink curtain at the distant marketplace, drone swarms trailing colorful smoke across the sky above Vivian Harbor, and news helicopters skimming low over the crowd—Forsales’ swimsuit show had already begun.

“If you can’t hold your liquor, drink less.” Ning Zhe joined Xia Yubing’s side, glancing at the flush on her cheeks, then turned to gaze at the distant Vivian Harbor marketplace: “Forsales really knows how to put on a show.”

“I’ll take my leave first, Mr. Dai Ke.” A sound of leather shoes on cobblestones came from behind—Shen Qing departed from beneath the cinnamon tree and headed for the elevator.

“I bid you farewell,” Liu Hongwen said no more, merely nodding slightly: “We’ll meet again later.”

“See you this afternoon,” Ning Zhe replied, offering no further escort.

After Liu Hongwen and Shen Qing left, only the two of them remained on the open-air viewing platform atop the Copper Sparrow Terrace. Xia Yubing drained her champagne and asked: “What do we do next?”

“Forsales just messaged me to come to the Vivian Harbor marketplace.” Ning Zhe smiled. “But I think you should head back to the apartment and sleep off the alcohol first.”

“I’m not that bad at drinking,” Xia Yubing shot him a glare, her tone indignant: “I just blush easily—I’m not drunk.”

Besides, even if she were truly drunk, all she needed was to find a quiet spot, empty her mind for a few seconds, and her body would instantly return to its sober state.

“Alright then, let’s go.”

“Let’s go, let’s go.” Xia Yubing set down her glass and walked toward another elevator on the viewing platform: “I want to see what’s so special about this swimsuit.”

“You’ll probably be disappointed—Forsales didn’t ask me here to watch the swimsuit show.”

“Then what’s it for?” Xia Yubing frowned, puzzled.

“You’ll find out when we get there,” Ning Zhe teased.

Driving away from the Copper Sparrow Terrace, Ning Zhe led Xia Yubing around the dense crowds surrounding the Vivian Harbor marketplace to a Gothic-style building with a pointed spire at its rear.

Handing the car to a receptionist for parking, Ning Zhe stepped onto the red carpet as he spoke: “This is the ‘Sangoria’ Opera House—an old Renaissance-era building, abandoned for decades, then rebuilt.”

“There’s a group of models parading in bikinis at the marketplace, yet Forsales sent you here to listen to opera?” Xia Yubing followed behind him, hands clasped behind her back, glancing left and right with no trace of awkwardness or restraint—after all, she was a lady of refinement, not some ordinary person who’d never seen high society and trembled with fear of misstepping a social rule.

“Opera isn’t worth listening to. Appreciating this art form requires a high threshold. Nobles attend opera houses mostly to appear cultured.”

Ning Zhe smiled: “For example, during the Renaissance, European intellectuals stayed up late writing intensely, drinking coffee like water. Scholars and writers needed coffee daily just to keep their handwriting legible… So gentlemen and ladies who had no need to write late at night began imitating them, drinking coffee to signal they too were learned intellectuals—and thus coffee became a symbol of the upper class.”

European nobles of the Renaissance drank coffee not because they loved it, but to imitate intellectuals and flaunt their erudition. They attended opera not because they truly enjoyed it, but to display their refined taste.

Much of what passed for noble etiquette and refinement held no real meaning—it was merely a tool to distinguish themselves from the lower classes. If ordinary people did it, they’d do the opposite, just to highlight their uniqueness and superiority. That’s all it was. “Um… if not for opera, why come to an opera house?” Xia Yubing was bewildered: “What’s Forsales really up to…”

“Not a remedy,” Ning Zhe shook his head. “A person.”

“A person?” Xia Yubing paused, startled.

“Yes. A person.” Ning Zhe gave a slight nod, and together with Xia Yubing, followed the attendant to a door covered by silk curtains.

Pulling back the curtain, they stepped inside one after the other. Inside was a circular viewing platform connected to a corridor; looking down from its edge revealed an empty auditorium, surrounding a stage paved with crystal glass and a teardrop-shaped orchestra pit.

No audience filled the seats, no performers stood on stage, the orchestra pit lay vacant. Xia Yubing approached the railing and looked down—only a white-dressed girl, seemingly fifteen or sixteen, stood alone in the center of the stage, subjected to the silence of emptiness.

“Let me see… Her name is ‘Constantia,’ daughter of the ‘Nifel’ family. Hmm. Formerly.”

Ning Zhe sat on a plush sofa, one hand propping his chin as he browsed the electronic screen embedded in the table.

“What do you mean ‘formerly’?” Xia Yubing leaned on the railing, peering down curiously. “The girl’s crying—her shoulders are shaking. You said she’s some family’s heiress. How could this happen?”

“‘Formerly’ means she isn’t anymore,” Ning Zhe said casually.

“This girl named Constantia is, in truth, an ordinary girl from the slums. Forsales’ people adopted her when she was young, raised her inside a real ancient castle, constructed a perfect family for her, gave her authentic noble education—taught her every knowledge and etiquette expected of a noble heiress, let her enjoy a life of luxury, and even allowed her to command servants with absolute authority over life and death…”

Not a single detail was false!

“Then, on the day she turned sixteen, her ‘parents’ told her it was all a lie—that they were not her king and queen, but slave traders specializing in training female slaves for the wealthy.”

“You are not noble. You are not an heiress. The Nifel family never existed. You were never born superior. Your entire sixteen-year noble life was a fabricated Truman Show. Everything you experienced, every lesson you learned, every worldview and moral compass you formed in this environment—were all designed to mold you, body and soul, into the perfect aesthetic ideal for wealthy patrons to buy and slowly ‘enjoy’ at home.”

Ning Zhe’s tone was as calm as still water, devoid of any emotion—yet it sent a chill down Xia Yubing’s spine.

Watching the trembling, weeping girl on stage, Xia Yubing’s heart jolted. She wondered: What if I were her? What if my entire twenty-four years were a lie? What if I were never a daughter of the Xia family, but merely an object artificially shaped and prepared for wealthy men to choose?

Merely imagining that terrifying possibility made Xia Yubing clench her teeth.

“A person’s personality, twisted like this—wouldn’t they break?” Xia Yubing’s voice trembled. “If this happened to me, I’d probably kill myself…”

“That’s precisely what the paying patrons want to see,” Ning Zhe chuckled lightly. “A beautiful young girl, ruined to the point of mental collapse and despair—nothing more exquisite.”

"...So perverted." Xia Yubing's eyes filled with contempt.

“Right?” Ning Zhe smiled, glancing toward another viewing platform opposite the stage. “The buyers on the other side have started bidding.”

(End of Chapter)