“Who is he?” Lin Heng instinctively feared Shang Xu but felt no restraint around Lin Ranran.
“My boss.” Exhausted in body and mind, Lin Ranran had to work during the day and care for her mother at the hospital at night. It was graduation season, and she still had things to handle at school. She had not expected her younger brother to cause her trouble too. “Don’t you understand our family’s situation? Can’t you stop causing trouble?”
“You’re yelling at me?” Lin Heng refused to back down. “They’re my friends. I can’t stand by and do nothing.”
“What kind of worthless friends would take you to do something like this? If a fight had broken out, you might have gone to prison. Do you understand?”
“We’re not adults.” Lin Heng spoke righteously. “Besides, they promised to give me money.”
“You do something this impulsive because they offered you money? I told you not to worry about the family’s financial problems. You have me.”
“What, you can go earn money in a filthy place like a bar, but I can’t lessen the family’s burden this way? I’m the man of the family…”
“Smack!” Before he could finish, Lin Ranran slapped him across the face.
Afterward, Lin Ranran’s hand trembled, and her eyes reddened with anger. “What did you say? Do you think the money I earn is dirty?”
Lin Heng turned his head away and pressed his lips together without saying a word.
“Yunqi is a legitimate establishment. Every penny I earn is clean!”
“Just because you say so, that makes it true? Other people don’t see it that way. The neighbors are laughing at our family. Do you know how awful the rumors sound?”
“As the owner of Yunqi, how could I not know if anything dirty were happening inside?” Seeing Lin Ranran’s distress, Shang Xu spoke up to defend her. “Besides, the Shang Corporation’s subsidies for employees’ families in difficulty already cover everyone. Lin Ranran is now an official employee of the Shang Corporation, so she shouldn’t be working at Yunqi anymore, right?”
Lin Ranran shook her head. “That was a part-time job. It’s already ended.”
“You’re the owner of both the Shang Corporation and Yunqi?” Lin Heng looked at him suspiciously. “Why are you helping us?”
“A boss looking after an employee. It was nothing.”
Seeing them standing side by side, close to each other, he snorted and asked, “Do you like my sister?”
Lin Ranran panicked at once. “Lin Heng, what nonsense are you talking about?”
“How am I talking nonsense? You’re a minor employee, while he’s the major boss. I’ve never seen a major boss have the time or patience to personally help a minor employee handle family matters late at night.”
As he spoke, he warned him, “Although the Lin family is only a small household, my sister is an innocent and respectable person. If you’re only playing around, I won’t let you off.”
Shang Xu paused, then curled his lips. “You’re young, but your tone is quite bold.”
With her cheeks flushed, Lin Ranran said urgently, “Lin Heng, apologize!”
She turned to Shang Xu. “President Shang, I’m sorry. My younger brother is a child spouting nonsense. Please don’t take it to heart.”
Shang Xu said nothing more and turned around. “Let’s go. We’ll go to the Police Station first and explain everything to the officers. Then I’ll take you home.”
“I’m really troubling you.”
The three of them returned to the car without noticing the person watching them from a corner. Ji Yan shook his head and put away his phone.
As expected, there was a special attraction between the male and female protagonist. Shang Xu, who had always been cold and indifferent toward everyone, displayed far more emotion when facing Lin Ranran. Even when Lin Ranran’s younger brother was so rude, he had not become angry.
Anyone who had spoken rudely to him in the past had met an unfortunate end.
Someone sent the videos and photos to Su Xiang’s phone. From Su Xiang’s furious expression, He Chan guessed what had happened.
“News about Shang Xu?”
“It’s nothing.” Su Xiang wanted to hide it, but her attempts at lying were clumsy.
“Xiangxiang, let me see.” He Chan’s expression was calm as she reached out her hand.
The two of them remained locked in a stalemate. In the end, Su Xiang still gave in. “Don’t get angry after you see it.”
He Chan smiled bitterly. “What right do I have to be angry now?”
Yet when she saw his lively expression in the video, bitterness still welled up inside her. “Something so serious happened to me today, and he had no time to care about me. But he had time to personally help Lin Ranran deal with her family matters.”
“Chanchan…”
“Where exactly did I lose to her? Appearance? Education? Family background… That’s right. I’m no longer father’s daughter. I have no value to him now, so he isn’t even willing to keep pretending.”
“Shang Xu is only especially interested in this Lin Ranran. It has nothing to do with family background.” Su Xiang spoke cautiously. “Chanchan, can we let him go?”
“What right do I have to be unable to let go?”
Concern filled Su Xiang’s eyes. She would rather He Chan burst into tears than remain this “calm.”
“Xiangxiang, I’m fine. Don’t worry. I won’t do anything foolish. I’m going to sleep now. You should rest early too. Tell Ji Yan I appreciate his hard work, coming all this way so late at night.”
After He Chan went inside, Su Xiang called Ji Yan in secret. “Are we being too cruel? Chanchan looks like she’s in a bad state.”
Everything matched Ji Yan’s expectations. “Wasn’t our purpose to make her face reality? Things are progressing well.”
“I feel like He Ting is unnecessary. Shang Xu seems to have fallen for this Lin Ranran.”
Ji Yan tapped the steering wheel. “She isn’t unnecessary. I have a feeling that even more exciting drama is about to unfold.”
Lin Ranran’s family background was too poor. Shang Xu’s parents would never agree to their being together, so He Ting’s existence would become important. If Shang Xu’s parents, and Shang Xu himself, treated He Ting warmly, He Chan would see even more clearly that Shang Xu had used her from beginning to end.
He Zheng had not publicly announced that The He Family had found their biological daughter, but families with connections in The Entertainment Industry already knew.
The most obvious change for He Chan was that the people who had once fawned over her disappeared. Important evening events stopped inviting her. The occasional banquets she attended were hosted by people who wanted to see her make a fool of herself. Two of The Four Young Masters, Fu Jia and Jiang Yi, whom she had once been close to, were among them; they had even developed ulterior motives toward He Chan.
“Since Shang Xu doesn’t want you, why not be with me? He Chan, at least we’re friends. I won’t mistreat you.”
He Chan was so furious that her nails dug into her palms. Her eyes blazed like fire. “Get lost!”
Jiang Yi sneered. “You used to tell us to get lost, and we would. But now that The He Family is no longer your support, you’re still acting like a young miss? He Chan, stop pretending to be pure. You shamelessly clung to Shang Xu before. Aren’t you cheap?”
Fu Jia said, “Exactly. If Shang Xu were here, you’d be eager to take off all your clothes, wouldn’t you? What a pity. He should be accompanying He Ting now.”
“You used to spend money to have your fun, and that was that. Whatever happened between you and those people was mutually willing, but He Chan is our friend!” Ji Yan entered with Su Xiang and overturned the table.
Su Xiang stepped in front of He Chan. “No matter how down-and-out she is, she still has me as her friend. Get lost!”
Fu Jia and Jiang Yi spat. “Fine, you two are loyal and righteous, making us look filthy. If you’re capable, protect her forever. More than the two of us covet her now. Shang Xu hasn’t stated his position. Ji Yan, how much ability do you think you have?”
Ji Yan said, “Then let’s see.”
✦✦✦