In the picture, Jiang Zhen wore a slip dress and held a microphone, appearing to be answering a moderator’s question. She was at a shopping mall today promoting a cosmetics brand, and in her other hand, she held a gift box.
She smiled graciously in the photo, her makeup bright and vivid. The perfect afternoon sunlight spilled over her, making her look like a brilliant flower blooming under the scorching sun, dazzling and radiant.
Jiang Ling, who had accidentally caught a glimpse of Jiang Yin’s phone screen, could not help but speak in a regretful tone. “It is a pity that Zhenzhen cannot make it back. Otherwise, she could have stayed by your side with me today.”
Jiang Yin smiled but did not offer a reply.
The guests invited to this banquet were all friends of Jiang Yunian and Qin Zhu. The group was not large, totaling perhaps twenty to thirty people. They were currently arriving at the Jiang residence one after another, exchanging pleasantries with Xue Hua and Qin Zhu downstairs.
Midway through the makeup session, Jiang Ling stepped out to retrieve something, leaving the bedroom door slightly ajar. Sitting inside, Jiang Yin heard her greeting someone. Her nerves, which had finally begun to settle, instantly shot back up into her throat.
“Sister Jiang Ling, what delicious food have you prepared for tonight? I specifically saved room in my stomach. If the meal is not good, I simply will not leave.” The speaker was a man whose voice did not sound particularly mature, likely around Jiang Yin’s age. His voice was very close, appearing to be right in the hallway.
“Rest assured, we will not mistreat you,” Jiang Ling replied. Her tone was polite but far from warm.
“You sound so cold, Sister. What are you doing? Why haven’t you come down yet? Is there someone else in your bedroom?” The man seemed oblivious to Jiang Ling’s coldness, continuing to fire off questions like a machine gun. “Hey, why are you leaving, Sister? Let us chat for a bit longer.”
Jiang Yin did not hear Jiang Ling respond again. A moment later, Jiang Ling closed the bedroom door behind her and walked back in.
“Who was that… outside the door?” Jiang Yin could not help but ask curiously.
“The youngest son of the Hu family,” Jiang Ling replied. She unscrewed a brow pencil she had borrowed from Qin Zhu and began to shape Jiang Yin’s eyebrows. “He is a year younger than you and just turned eighteen this year. He has been mischievous since he was a child and has caused a lot of trouble. Once, he took a pair of walnuts his father had been conditioning for ten years and smashed them to eat the nuts. Uncle Hu was so angry he nearly kicked him out of the house, but his grandmother stopped him.”
The relationships between these families were complex, and Jiang Yin felt confused. Noticing her blank expression, Jiang Ling continued to explain patiently. “Uncle Hu did not start out in business. Later, he essentially married into his wife’s family, the Xie family. From then on, he gradually gained a say in the Xie family business. Auntie Xie was in poor health and passed away two years ago. Since then, the Xie family business has fallen entirely into Uncle Hu’s hands. Only Grandma Xie can still say a few words to him.”
So, he is a social climber, Jiang Yin thought to herself.
“We outsiders only see the surface of other people’s family matters,” Jiang Ling said. She stepped back to check if the eyebrows were symmetrical, then leaned in to add a few more strokes. “In any case, just remember that Hu Heng—the one outside—is not an easy person to deal with. He will surely come up to ask you all sorts of questions later. Leave him to me.”
“Why would he ask me questions? Is it just curiosity?” Jiang Yin could not quite understand.
Jiang Ling turned to pick up the highlighter from the table and lowered her voice. “Everyone gossips more or less about how Uncle Hu seized his position from the Xie family. The Hu family knows their reputation is not good. Therefore, whenever another family has a scandal or an interesting story, they are desperate to let the whole world know to cover up their own history.”
“If it were not for the fact that the Jiang and Hu families have had many business dealings in the last two years, Mother and Father would not have wanted to invite Hu Heng and his father,” Jiang Ling said, her brow furrowing slightly.
Jiang Yin took note of this, thinking that she must be very careful around Hu Heng later.
Once the styling was finished, Jiang Ling changed her clothes and prepared to lead Jiang Yin downstairs.
“Do not worry. Except for Hu Heng, everyone else is easy to get along with,” Jiang Ling patted Jiang Yin’s shoulder. “Just follow behind me and give your greetings. Do not worry about saying the wrong thing.”
Jiang Yin gave Jiang Ling a grateful look. Because of her nerves, her throat felt tight, and she was already afraid to speak. Looking down from the top of the stairs, her heart began to race even faster.
“If you do not mind, may I lead you down by the hand?” Jiang Ling reached out to her. She hoped this gesture would make her sister feel more relaxed.
Without overthinking it, Jiang Yin took Jiang Ling’s hand.
Two women chatting near the stairs were the first to notice them.
“Oh, Ling Ling is finally down! Is this your little sister who just returned?” One of them greeted Jiang Ling proactively.
“This is my sister,” Jiang Ling replied with a smile. She then introduced the two women. After Jiang Yin greeted them respectively, others in the living room heard the voices and looked over curiously.
Seeing her two daughters descend, Qin Zhu stepped forward to capture everyone’s attention. “I would like to take this opportunity to introduce everyone,” she said, placing an arm around Jiang Yin’s shoulder. “This is my youngest daughter, Jiang Yin. She was in poor health after she was born, so she went to the old residence to recover with the Old Madam. She only returned recently. I brought her out today specifically so everyone could get to know her.”
Jiang Yin forced a stiff smile, managing a somewhat reserved expression.
“Ling’er, take Xiao Yin around for a bit. We will be eating shortly,” Qin Zhu called out to Jiang Ling, signaling her to introduce Jiang Yin to the various guests individually.
For the next half hour, Jiang Yin followed behind Jiang Ling like a robot, greeting every person attending the small banquet. By the time they finished the circuit, she felt as if her face had frozen from smiling.
Finally, after the introductions were complete, Jiang Yunian led the group toward the Jiang family’s banquet hall.
The dinner tonight was sumptuous, far higher in quality than the high-society gatherings Jiang Yin had seen on television. She could not even name many of the rare ingredients laid out before her.
Jiang Ling stayed by her side, occasionally sharing a drink with those who came to say hello. She had prepared a low-alcohol fruit wine for Jiang Yin, the kind one could drink many glasses of without becoming intoxicated.
After eating some food to line her stomach, Jiang Ling suddenly turned and asked, “Xiao Yin, do you want to learn to dance?”
“Me?” Jiang Yin turned to look at several pairs of young people dancing nearby, feeling hesitant.
“I can teach you,” Jiang Ling said. “It is nothing much. Remember Hu Heng, whom I mentioned? He does not know how to dance either.” Following the direction of Jiang Ling’s gaze, Jiang Yin finally saw Hu Heng. When they were in the living room earlier, Hu Heng had been nowhere to be found, so they had not met.
Hu Heng looked even younger than Jiang Yin had imagined. His features were not particularly handsome, merely presentable at best. He lacked the typical “wealthy” aura; he looked as ordinary as any of the many boys in Jiang Yin’s high school classes.
She did not let her gaze linger for long and quickly looked away.
“I would like to try. Sister, please teach—”
“Ling’er!” Not far away, Qin Zhu suddenly waved to Jiang Ling, signaling her to come over.
“Stay right here; I will be back in a moment.” Jiang Ling led Jiang Yin to a relatively secluded corner and told her to sit for a while. Then, Jiang Ling walked toward Qin Zhu. Jiang Yin saw the mother and daughter whisper a few words, and then the thing Jiang Yin feared most happened: Jiang Ling cast a worried glance in her direction and then quickly left the banquet hall.
Jiang Yin instantly became tense.
Qin Zhu and Jiang Yunian, who were talking to friends nearby, were clearly unable to look after her. Her brother, Jiang Yanzhi, whom she was not close to, was currently alone. Jiang Yin could have gone to “seek refuge” with him, but since their relationship was not intimate, she did not want to make the situation awkward.
If only Jiang Zhen were here with me right now. In her moment of dejection, she suddenly thought of her.
Her mood turned gloomy, and she stood up to walk around, trying to find something to do. She did not want to be too close to the crowd because she might be pulled into a conversation by her parents’ friends. Rather than socializing, Jiang Yin preferred to wander on her own.
She walked a few steps along a row of chairs set out for guests to rest and stopped in front of an oil painting hanging on the wall.
In an elective course during the first semester of her sophomore year, she had chosen Classical Art Appreciation. However, because the professor was a kind old lady who never took attendance and did not require a final exam, Jiang Yin had used the class time to study her major subjects. She had even skipped class several times to work part-time, so she clearly had not listened well.
She tilted her head and looked at the painting. Aside from being able to tell that it depicted a sunset, she could not see anything deeper.
“When Old Madam Xue was young, she studied at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Floren. Since you grew up by her side, your artistic accomplishments must be quite profound, right?”
A sudden male voice reached Jiang Yin’s ears.
She turned and saw Hu Heng holding a glass of wine, walking over slowly with an ambiguous smile on his face.
Before Jiang Yin could respond, he asked another question on his own. “May I ask you for guidance: who is the artist of this painting?”
He stopped, his gaze focusing on Jiang Yin as he waited for her answer.
Jiang Yin opened her mouth, but for a moment, she did not know how to respond. After all, she knew nothing about it. If she showed weakness now, it would not only expose the lie that she had grown up with her grandmother but also give this “malicious” man something to use against her.
“Why are you not answering my question? Little Jiang—you seem to be a year older than me; I should call you ‘Sister’ instead.” Hu Heng beckoned a waiter, took a glass of wine from the tray, and handed it to Jiang Yin.
They were standing in a corner, so this conversation did not attract anyone else’s attention. Jiang Yin had no choice but to take the glass of red wine, which had a high alcohol content for her.
“Perhaps you are not very familiar with the artist of this work,” Hu Heng said, seemingly offering her an out while actually adding a layer of mockery. “But how do I recall that what Old Madam Xue studied back then was precisely this person’s painting style? Is it possible that you lived under Old Madam Xue’s care for over ten years and know nothing at all?”
Hearing the provocation in his words, Jiang Yin realized that whether she could answer the question was not important; Hu Heng simply wanted to use the opportunity to mock her.
As expected, seeing that Jiang Yin remained silent, Hu Heng sneered and continued. “The Jiang family never mentioned having another daughter for over ten years. Everyone knows that Jiang Zhen is the youngest daughter of the Jiang family. Whether it is Mr. Jiang and Mrs. Qin, or the Old Madam Xue Hua, they all treasure her as a precious gem. So you—”
“From where did an illegitimate daughter like you pop up? It turns out Mr. Jiang is not as high-minded as the outside world says. Men having a few extra children and women is no big deal, but being so secretive about it makes people laugh instead. Do you not agree, Sister?”
Knowing he was intentionally looking for trouble, Jiang Yin took a deep breath, her frustration reaching a breaking point. She tilted her head and took a sip of the wine, opening her mouth to speak.
“Since you already know who the artist is, why bother asking a redundant question?”
Someone suddenly joined their conversation.
A familiar voice reached her ears. Jiang Yin turned her head in disbelief and saw Jiang Zhen walking toward her.