Shang Lu looked at Yan Ranran sitting in a wheelchair, dressed in a white long skirt—a classic “green tea” white moonlight style—and couldn’t help but smile. “Indeed, your sister dresses like she’s in mourning all day, looking more like a schoolgirl.”
In mourning? Wasn’t that cursing Yan Ranran’s parents?
Yan Ranran’s expression changed, tears welling up in her eyes. “Big brother, I’m not… I didn’t mean to curse Mom and Dad. It’s just… this dress was a gift from you.” At this point, Yan Ranran seemed unable to continue.
Yan Yunjiang was furious.
“Shang Lu! How could you say such a thing? A child should not speak of their parents’ faults, let alone curse them!”
“Hold on, I have no relation to the Yan family. They’re not my parents, and we’re practically enemies now, so there’s no need to claim any ties. Besides, who are you to lecture me? Is this how the Yan family teaches you to curse people in public?”
Shang Lu smoothed her hair and immediately fired back.
“And you know, those in the know understand you’re half-siblings, but those who don’t might think you’re lovers. With you giving her dresses and her crying all the time, you two should be careful. If the Yan family ends up in an incest scandal, people will laugh their heads off.”
Shang Lu knew that Yan Yunjiang was still struggling with his feelings at this time, while Yan Ranran pretended not to know but kept stringing him along. This was precisely the ambiguous phase of their relationship.
But by publicly exposing this, Shang Lu had trampled their pride into the ground, making Yan Yunjiang—who had been the golden child since childhood—even more humiliated!
“What nonsense are you talking about! Ranran is adopted; we’re not related by blood!”
With this statement, Yan Yunjiang had fallen right into the trap.
After all, they were standing at the school gate, and the three of them together had already attracted the attention of many students.
Yan Yunjiang hadn’t controlled his volume, and nearly everyone around them heard.
So, Yan Ranran wasn’t a real member of the Yan family?
A few people whispered among themselves, spinning a series of speculations. After all, Yan Ranran had previously been a prominent figure at school, a wealthy and beautiful girl who naturally became the campus belle.
But now, a member of the Yan family had personally revealed that Yan Ranran was adopted?
With the “wealthy and beautiful” image shattered, would Yan Ranran still have so many admirers?
Shang Lu paid no attention to the onlookers’ reactions and instead looked mockingly at Yan Yunjiang. “Oh, you’re not related by blood? That’s not what I heard. Why don’t you take a DNA test to see if I’m lying?”
She suddenly stroked her chin, as if having a sudden realization.
“Oh~ I get it. By deceiving yourself like this, you ease your conscience, right? After all, liking an adopted sister is completely different from liking a half-sister.”
The public loves gossip, especially scandalous stories about the wealthy. Whether true or false, such rumors spread quickly and are the hardest to dispel.
Seeing Yan Yunjiang’s face turn livid with anger but unable to think of a rebuttal, Shang Lu finally felt satisfied.
“I have things to attend to, so I’ll be on my way. You two can continue your little lovey-dovey act. Don’t worry, I won’t disturb you.”
She turned and walked through the school gate, ignoring the two restless figures behind her.
Both Yan Yunjiang and Yan Ranran felt too embarrassed to stay at the entrance after being spoken to like that. Yan Yunjiang took a deep breath and didn’t dare hold his sister’s hand anymore. “Don’t take her words to heart. I see you as my sister, nothing more.”
At this point, Yan Yunjiang felt a pang of heartache. “I have to go now—something came up at the company. Stay at school and don’t worry. I’ve arranged for someone to look after you.”
Without waiting for Yan Ranran to respond, Yan Yunjiang drove off, leaving her alone at the entrance to face the whispers and gossip of others.
She couldn’t understand how things had suddenly turned out this way.
Seeing the hushed conversations and malicious glances around her, Yan Ranran felt as if she were sitting on pins and needles. She pulled out her phone and called someone.
As soon as the call connected, tears streamed down Yan Ranran’s face. “I… I’m at the school gate. Can you come pick me up?”
After hearing the response on the other end, Yan Ranran nodded, her tears gradually stopping. “Okay, I’ll wait here for you.”
After hanging up, she clutched her phone, head bowed, lost in thought until a car slowly pulled up. A man in a suit stepped out, helped Yan Ranran into the car, and drove away.
Someone nearby secretly took a photo and posted it on the school forum, asking curiously, “The campus belle was picked up by a man—not one of her two brothers. Never seen him before. Does anyone know who he is?”
Yan Ranran had always been a hot topic of discussion, so the post quickly gained responses. However, no one seemed to recognize the man.
Shang Lu arrived at Pang Wei’s office, finding no one else inside. “Auntie, you called me here in such a hurry. What’s going on?”
Pang Wei rarely summoned her so urgently, so there must be something important. Yet, judging by her expression, she seemed excited—perhaps it was good news?
“Lulu, you’ve stumbled upon a great opportunity this time. Do you remember Xin Yan, who came by a while ago?”
Shang Lu was taken aback. Who was that? “The name sounds familiar, but I can’t quite recall.”
Pang Wei looked at her disapprovingly. “You even complimented his looks last time, and now you don’t remember?”
Oh, it was that handsome guy from before! Shang Lu finally remembered, though she wasn’t particularly interested. “You said he was a big shot who wouldn’t act in dramas. For men who aren’t useful to me, I tend to forget them easily.”
“Of course he wouldn’t act, but he can invest.”
Pang Wei pulled out a document.
“Take a look. Xin Yan just launched a new video platform focused on supporting long-form content—though he calls it web dramas. I remember you’ve worked with short videos before, so it’s somewhat similar. If you think you can handle it, I’ll recommend you.”
Web dramas? Shang Lu hadn’t expected Xin Yan to have such sharp business acumen.
Perhaps because this was a fictional world, the entertainment industry developed slowly and erratically. Television dramas were mostly broadcast on TV stations, and the concept of web dramas didn’t exist yet.
She never imagined Xin Yan would spot this business opportunity. Could he also be a transmigrator?
Shang Lu skimmed through the document and noticed the platform was named “Huasheng Video.” She was startled. “Is Xin Yan from Huasheng Group?”
Huasheng Group is practically the most renowned conglomerate in China, with ventures spanning finance, real estate, internet industries, and now even making strides into the entertainment sector. It stands as the leading private enterprise in the country.
Coincidentally, the male lead of this story, Xin Zhuo, is also affiliated with Huasheng Group.
Initially, when Shang Lu heard the name Xin Yan, she didn’t pay much attention—sharing a surname with the male lead wasn’t a big deal. But now that both were connected to Huasheng, could they be relatives?
Yet, she distinctly remembered from the novel that Xin Zhuo was an only child, with no other siblings.
So where did this Xin Yan come from?
“Auntie, who is Xin Yan in relation to Huasheng Group?” Shang Lu was curious. How could such a deeply hidden big shot come looking for Aunt Pang Wei?