Sheng Yun took a curious look. The man was exceptionally handsome, with smooth, well-defined features and deep-set brows and eyes. He looked as though he might be of mixed heritage.
He was tall, with an imposing presence. Surrounded by a group of people, he carried himself with an air of aloof nobility.
The man saw Sheng Yun as well and gave her a slight nod before walking inside amid the crowd around him.
“…”
Sheng Yun was a little puzzled.
She didn’t think she knew that man, so why had he nodded to her?
Several of the people surrounding him looked familiar. She had seen them in business circles.
Judging by the looks of it, he was a businessman too. Anyone surrounded by so many other businessmen had to hold a very high position.
But when had B City[1]The city where the Sheng and Lu families reside. The Chinese original uses “B城” as its name rather than specifying an actual city. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3706842_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3706842_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });produced such a dazzling heir apparent? Why had she never heard of him?
Sheng Yun sent her friend back to the private room while she went to the front desk to pay the bill.
This restaurant operated on a private-membership basis, and everyone who came and went was either rich or influential.
The pretty receptionist greeted her with a smile. “Miss Sheng.”
Sheng Yun nodded and asked, “Who was that just now?”
The receptionist smiled. “Are you asking about Mr. Xie?”
Sheng Yun: “Xie?”
“Yes. He’s a young master of the Gangcheng Xie family. He’s been here twice, and our boss specifically instructed us to take good care of him.”
Sheng Yun nodded. She knew of the Gangcheng Xie family, an extremely wealthy and influential family in Gangcheng.
For the past two years, there had been constant rumors that the Xie family intended to relocate part of its business to the mainland. Local governments in various places had been doing everything they could to attract them.
After investigating the situation, the Xie family ultimately decided to move part of its business to B City. In order to secure the Xie family’s long-term commitment, the government had even come up with the idea of a marriage alliance.
The Xie family’s representative in B City was the second son of the family, who was still unmarried. The government had therefore selected suitable heiresses and young ladies in B City for a marriage alliance with the Xie family.
She had been on the government’s list as well, but she had been dating Lu Zili, so the Sheng family had refused.
The man she had just seen should have been the Xie family’s second son—Xie Buyu.
She had heard his name before, but this was the first time she had seen him.
She had been away on a business trip for some time and had only returned in the past two days.
As a result, she had missed the welcome banquet the government had held for the Xie family.
Sheng Yun didn’t give it much thought. She paid the bill and left.
When her friend returned to the private room, Lu Zili saw that he had come back alone.
His expression grew even darker.
He wore a gloomy expression throughout the entire meal, while Su Xiangwan sat beside him cautiously, hardly daring to breathe too loudly.
When Sheng Yun returned to the Sheng family home, both Mr. and Mrs. Sheng happened to be there. Neither had any work-related engagements that evening.
She told them that she and Lu Zili had broken up.
Based on her understanding of Lu Zili, he would definitely assume that she was merely angry and that everything would be fine after a few days.
That was how things had always been before.
But she was truly tired.
When Mr. and Mrs. Sheng heard this, they frowned and looked at Sheng Yun.
“Are you really sure about this?”
“Yes.” Sheng Yun nodded. “Lu Zili has been acting more and more recklessly. If this continues, it’ll only make things even more embarrassing for both our families.”
In truth, over the years, she had gradually lowered her boundaries. Until today, she had thought that no matter how much Lu Zili fooled around outside, as long as he didn’t flaunt it in front of her or either the Sheng or Lu family, she could turn a blind eye.
For families like theirs, nothing mattered more than their reputation and dignity.
But Lu Zili had apparently lost his mind today and deliberately humiliated her like this.
He was already behaving this arrogantly before they were even married. If they did get married, who knew how outrageous and overbearing he would become?
Mr. Sheng nodded.
The Lu family was indeed the wealthiest family in B City, but the Sheng family was no ordinary family either. If their families had not been well matched, why would the Lu family have taken a liking to Sheng Yun?
Lu Zili was B City’s Crown Prince[2]A figurative title for Lu Zili, the privileged heir of B City’s wealthiest family. It indicates his social standing and influence, not actual royalty. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3706842_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3706842_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, while Sheng Yun was the eldest daughter whom the Sheng family had devoted considerable effort to raising.
Since Lu Zili had gone too far, they certainly weren’t going to eagerly send their daughter over to be humiliated by him.
“If it’s over, then let it be over,” Mr. Sheng said.
Lu Zili and Sheng Yun had chosen each other of their own free will and had gotten together when they were young. After all these years, they had never become engaged, so there was no engagement to break off now.
Sheng Yun nodded.
She went back to her room to wash up.
She had originally thought that giving up a relationship of more than a decade would leave her unable to sleep, but unexpectedly, she fell asleep very quickly.
She slept until dawn and didn’t even dream.
Three days passed.
By then, quite a few people in their social circle knew that she and Lu Zili had broken up.
They all came to sound her out.
Some were simply there to watch the drama unfold. Some were curious and wanted the gossip. Others had ulterior motives.
Sheng Yun gave them all the same answer: They had really broken up.
She didn’t say anything else.
Over the past few days, she had also learned about Lu Zili from the people who came asking questions. He had been taking Su Xiangwan around to all kinds of bars and nightclubs every day, spending hundreds of thousands or even millions in one night on drinks and entertainment, and so on…
In the past, Sheng Yun would definitely have advised Lu Zili to be mindful of the impact on his reputation and his health.
But now, when she heard about it, she merely smiled before returning to work.
Just before the end of the workday, Mr. Sheng came to Sheng Yun’s office to find her.
“Go on a blind date tonight,” he said.
Sheng Yun looked at her father in surprise, speechless for a moment.
Seeing her expression, Mr. Sheng raised his brows. “What? You’re not going? Don’t tell me you’re still waiting for Lu Zili?”
Sheng Yun tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Dad… That provocation is too obvious.”
“Regardless, you have to go on tonight’s blind date.”
Sheng Yun nodded. “All right.”
“If you don’t go, then…” Mr. Sheng began, before suddenly stopping. “What?”
He froze for a moment and looked at Sheng Yun.
Sheng Yun smiled. “I said all right, Dad. I’ll go on the blind date.”
Mr. Sheng stared at Sheng Yun.
He had assumed that she would use excuses such as “I’ve just ended a relationship and don’t want to start a new one” or “I only want to focus on work and making money right now” to refuse the blind date.
But she had agreed.
“What is it, Dad?” Sheng Yun asked.
Mr. Sheng shook his head. “Nothing. You’re really going?”
Sheng Yun smiled. “Weren’t you the one who wanted me to go?”
Mr. Sheng nodded. “Yes.”
He was the one who wanted her to go.
But she hadn’t resisted in the slightest, which left him feeling a little… [3]Translator’s Note: The sentence trails off in the original Chinese text as well. This is an intentional narrative pause, not missing or mistranslated content. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3706842_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3706842_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });
Did she really no longer love Lu Zili? Had she truly let go?
It had been a relationship of more than a decade.
“Dad, can I know who my blind date is?” Sheng Yun asked.
Mr. Sheng said, “The Second Young Master of the Gangcheng Xie Family, Xie Buyu.”
“…”
Sheng Yun froze for a moment.
Xie Buyu?
“Didn’t we reject the Xie family before?” Sheng Yun asked.
Mr. Sheng said, “We rejected Secretary Wang directly. He was in charge of the matter at the time, so he probably never passed our answer on to the Xie family… Now that Secretary Wang has heard you and Lu Zili broke up, he’s once again thinking of bringing you and Xie Buyu together.”
More accurately, he was thinking of bringing the two families together.
Sheng Yun asked, “Are there no other candidates besides me?”
She remembered her father saying that the government had selected several young ladies from suitable families.
Mr. Sheng said, “According to Secretary Wang, the Xie family… didn’t seem particularly satisfied with any of them.”
Sheng Yun: “…”
She understood.
They had gone on blind dates, but none of them had worked out.
Now, she was the only one left among the candidates the government had selected.
Marriage ties were a relatively reliable way of binding two families together. The government wanted to use a marriage alliance to ensure that the Xie family maintained a long-term presence in B City.
Perhaps they even wanted the family to move more of its business to B City in the future.
Sheng Yun nodded.
After telling Sheng Yun the time and place, Mr. Sheng left.
Once he was gone, Sheng Yun no longer felt like working. Instead, she thought about Xie Buyu, whom she had run into on the day she broke up with Lu Zili…
References[+]