Inside a photography studio.
The newly popular young actor Shen Zui was shooting the October double-issue, three-cover fashion magazine for “Fashion Oni.”
“Alright, thank you, Teacher Shen.” The photographer finished the last shot and showed a satisfied smile.
Shen Zui nodded slightly and politely thanked all the staff.
“Thank you, Teacher Shen. Teacher Shen, you’ve worked hard.”
The staff in the studio were very respectful toward Shen Zui. Shen Zui had only risen to fame in the past year, all because of one movie—a controversial big IP, but also a poisoned chalice.
The film achieved box office numbers that made industry insiders green with envy, ending at 2.95 billion. Although the box office fell just short of 3 billion, it was still an impressive figure.
Soon after, Shen Zui went from being a newly popular young actor to one of the top-tier male celebrities. Unfortunately, right at the peak of his fame, he announced his fiancée!
On the day of the announcement, he lost nearly over a million followers. Currently, his fan count stands at just over 41 million.
Seeing the studio staff treat Shen Zui with such respect, his manager Wang Shan felt a sense of relief. She had been managing Shen Zui for almost a year now. On the surface, Shen Zui seemed gentle, but in reality, he was quite aloof.
Thinking about how this guy had secretly posted the Weibo announcing his fiancée behind her back, she was so angry she couldn’t even eat. The high-end luxury endorsement she had just secured fell through overnight, and losing over a million followers made it perfectly normal for brands to cancel contracts.
Shen Zui’s fanbase was too diverse. To this day, she still couldn’t figure out which age group made up the majority of his fans. The ones he lost recently were mostly girlfriend fans, and most girlfriend fans couldn’t accept their idol having a fiancée.
There was a saying circulating online: “All you do is call him ‘brother’ all day, not knowing that your ‘brother’ is sleeping with your ‘sister-in-law’ behind your back!”
In truth, Shen Zui had another little-known secret: if he didn’t make it in the entertainment industry, he was destined to go back home and become the heir to a conglomerate.
Outside the car, the streetlights were as bright as day.
The neon lights shone on the man’s chiseled, handsome features. His long, narrow peach-blossom eyes were cold and indifferent, the brown irises gradually losing focus.
World-weary—that was Wang Shan’s first impression of Shen Zui when she first met him.
“Announcing your relationship cost you nearly a million followers. Was it worth it?” Wang Shan opened Weibo and browsed through the trending topics as usual.
Shen Zui pursed his thin lips, his deep brown eyes darkening. He didn’t know if it was worth it; he only knew it was something he had to do.
To him, marrying anyone was the same. As long as they were happy, that was enough.
“A Zui, it’s time to post a fan benefit.”
“Should we post a selfie this time?”
Seeing that Shen Zui didn’t respond, Wang Shan took it as his silent agreement. Shen Zui was very devoted to his fans. To him, his fans were like friends who had silently supported and accompanied him along the way.
The next day, City People’s Hospital.
After lunch, Jiang Wanting took out the original owner’s phone, unlocked it with facial recognition, and immediately opened WeChat Wallet.
When she saw the balance in the wallet, she froze, unable to resist counting silently in her heart: ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands, hundred-thousands…
The wallet had a full seven digits, with the last digit being 1. It was actually over a million! What kind of wealthy family was this?
She had only seen such amounts in videos posted by others. Jiang Wanting pinched her own thigh. “Ouch…”
It was real. With trembling fingertips, she tapped into the change account, which contained over three million. Jiang Wanting suppressed the excitement in her heart. Holy shit! She had struck it rich!
She had become a millionaire!
Lin Xinya came out of the bathroom and saw Jiang Wanting tossing and turning on the hospital bed. She asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Wanting froze for a moment before replying sheepishly, “It’s nothing.”
“That’s good,” Lin Xinya said, sitting down on the bed and affectionately stroking her hair. “Pack your things—we can leave the hospital now.”
Jiang Wanting was slightly taken aback. They could leave already? She had thought she would have to stay for a few more days.
The Jiang family home was quite a distance from the city center, relatively remote compared to downtown. Instead of the grand mansion she had imagined, it was a retro-style courtyard.
Jiang Wanting returned to her room and looked around. There was a standard pink princess bed, and paintings by the original owner hung on the walls. Now she was certain the original owner truly was a wealthy heiress.
“Ding dong…”
Jiang Wanting’s phone suddenly vibrated. She unlocked it with her fingerprint and opened WeChat. On the chat page, there were two pinned conversations.
The first was with a man named “Lin Zhongye.” Jiang Wanting furrowed her brows. Could this be the original owner’s boyfriend?
The second pinned conversation was a group chat named “Jiang Family.” This was likely the family group.
The third conversation was another group chat called “Passionate Female College Students Chat.”
Jiang Wanting: “…”
Lin Zhongye had sent over a hundred unread messages. Jiang Wanting tapped into his chat box. The most recent messages were from yesterday afternoon. She scrolled through the screen—most were voice messages, along with some video calls.
[Lin Zhongye: Wanwan, reply to me! Baby, where have you gone?]
[Lin Zhongye: Baby, if it really doesn’t work out, let’s just elope! I’ll take you somewhere they can’t find us. Don’t worry, I’ll give you a home.]
Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind: Do you want to give every girl a home?
[Lin Zhongye: Wanwan, my grandfather has cut off my finances, but it’s okay. We can endure a little hardship. We’re truly in love, and no one can stop us from being together.]
Jiang Wanting: “…”
[Lin Zhongye: Baby, if you don’t reply to me, I’ll come to your house!]
After reading everything, Jiang Wanting felt a wave of embarrassment.
It was clear this was a devoted man. From the looks of it, the original owner likely wanted to be with this Lin Zhongye, but her family disapproved. So, Lin Zhongye suggested eloping.
Even with his finances cut off, he still wanted to elope? Wouldn’t they starve? Were they planning to survive on the original owner’s savings after eloping?
“Knock, knock…”
“Miss, the master has asked you to come down for lunch.”
A maid’s voice sounded from outside the door. Jiang Wanting put away her phone and responded.
In the dining room.
A round, retro-style redwood rotating table stood in the center. Old Master Jiang sat at the head of the table. To his left were her aunt Ye Lan and another woman she didn’t recognize.
To his right was her mother, Lin Xinya.
Jiang Wanting was the last to arrive. She sat beside Lin Xinya, feeling puzzled. Where were the original owner’s cousin and her father?
Ye Lan noticed her confusion and explained, “Oh, it’s like this—your father and your uncle are at the company and won’t be back for lunch.”
After explaining, she added, “This is your cousin’s wife, Wei Luoqin.”
Jiang Wanting nodded politely to the woman sitting directly across from her. “Hello, Eldest Sister-in-law.”
Wei Luoqin felt somewhat unaccustomed to this version of Jiang Wanting. She had been married into the Jiang family for five years, and she was well aware of her sister-in-law’s temperament—arrogant, domineering, willful, and spoiled, relying on her family’s indulgence to cause countless troubles outside.
“Wanwan, try this.” Ye Lan used serving chopsticks to place a piece of braised pork ribs into Jiang Wanting’s bowl.
Looking at the meat in her bowl, Jiang Wanting felt a warmth in her heart and a slight curve formed at the corner of her lips. “Thank you, Auntie.”
Hearing this, Ye Lan looked at her with feigned reproach. “Silly child! Why be so polite with your auntie?”
Lin Xinya smiled with relief. The amnesiac Jiang Wanting was indeed different from before. Perhaps losing her memory was a good thing after all.
“Master, there’s a man outside who says he’s here to see the young lady.” Aunt Wang hurried in from outside.
Old Master Jiang frowned. A man? Could it be that boy from the Lin family? Was he still not giving up?
Jiang Wanting’s mouth was stuffed full, and she stared blankly at Aunt Wang as she entered, momentarily forgetting to chew. A man? Who could it be? Could it be Lin Zhongye, the one pinned at the top of her WeChat?
“Don’t see him.” Old Master Jiang didn’t even lift his eyelids, his voice cold. “Tell him that Jiang Wanting has been betrothed since childhood. Tell him to give up.”
“Yes, Master.” Aunt Wang respectfully acknowledged and left the dining room.
Betrothed since childhood? Jiang Wan was stunned. She had never even been in a relationship in all her years!
She had wanted to meet this Lin Zhongye, but she hadn’t expected the old master to nip it in the bud with just one sentence.
“Wanwan, you’ve taken a few days off already. Return to school tomorrow and remember—you are already engaged. From now on, stay away from that boy surnamed Lin.” Old Master Jiang picked up a napkin to wipe the corner of his mouth and left a final remark before departing.
Jiang Wanting watched as the old master disappeared down the hallway. “Yes, Grandfather.”
Lin Xinya placed a piece of boiled fish fillet into Jiang Wanting’s bowl and spoke earnestly, “Wanwan, your grandfather may have spoken harshly, but it’s all for your own good. For now, focus on your studies.”
“I understand, Mom.”