Wei Chi went alone to the rest area. Seeing him arrive, Wei Xingya looked up from her small cake: “Didn’t you say Zhou Lincan was coming? I’ve been looking around but haven’t seen him. Is he still coming?”
Wei Chi suppressed his gloomy expression and sat beside his sister: “There was an emergency at the overseas company, so he flew to California a few days ago to handle it. Yesterday he messaged me saying he’d boarded the flight, so he should make it in time.”
Wei Xingya frowned with dissatisfaction: “Such important news and you’re only telling me now? If he was so close, why did I bother flying back early?”
Wei Chi fell silent. Since when were New York and California considered close? They were practically across the entire United States.
“Zhou Lincan is based in Donghuan but still manages projects in Dong Zhou. Even if you went, you wouldn’t see him.” Wei Chi paused briefly: “Besides, weren’t you the one insisting on coming to see the true and false heiresses?”
“Oh right, I forgot about that.” Wei Xingya’s thoughts jumped from one thing to another: “Why did Xu Chuanjin just drag her sister away? Weren’t you going to introduce me to Xu Mianchuan?”
“They have some matters to discuss.” Thinking of Miss Xu’s guarded expression, Wei Chi felt irritated.
Just because Xu Chuanjin didn’t like Zheng Jingyuan, did she have to choose Zhou Lincan? Zhou Lincan didn’t have feelings for Xu Mianchuan either. Miss Xu never even considered asking how others felt.
Could it be that Xu Mianchuan had taken a liking to Zhou Lincan?
After a moment of silence, Wei Chi suddenly asked: “Sis, do you believe in love at first sight?”
Wei Xingya poked at her cake: “Of course I do.”
“You?”
“What about me? I may be marriage-free, but that doesn’t mean I don’t believe in love. It’s often portrayed in TV dramas—whether the ending is sweet or tragic, the ratings are always high. Love at first sight, to put it simply, means the one being admired leaves an excellent first impression, and the admirer has an eye for recognizing beauty. As long as neither has character flaws, they’re both good people. If they love each other, they’ll surely be happy.”
Hesitating slightly, Wei Chi asked: “Do you think it’s possible for me?”
Wei Xingya tilted her head to look at him: “You’ve fallen for someone at first sight?”
Wei Chi: “Yes.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds before Wei Xingya turned back to poking her cake.
“Forget I said anything.”
“…”
“Xiao Jin, why did you pull me over here?”
Chuan Jin only released Xu Mianchuan after leading her to the second-floor terrace, smiling innocently: “Nothing much, I was just bored and wanted to receive your gift.”
Xu Mianchuan straightened her disheveled dress and gestured toward the banquet hall downstairs, slightly annoyed: “With so many guests here, how can the host receive gifts while neglecting them? Mr. Wei helped us that night, and I haven’t properly thanked him yet before you dragged me away. That was rude.”
Chuan Jin perked up: “You go attend to the other guests. I’ll thank him for you.”
Xu Mianchuan chuckled lightly: “How could your thanks be the same as mine?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? We sisters are of one heart. My words are yours. Besides, I was there that night too. Alright, sister, you go prepare the surprise. I’ll make sure to take good care of them.”
Xu Mianchuan had no choice but to relent, sighing: “Fine, I’ll go handle things first. I’ll thank Mr. Wei separately later.”
Thank him separately?!
Wei Chi’s gaze toward her sister in front of everyone was already ambiguous enough—wouldn’t he try something if they were alone together??
“Then you can’t be alone with him. It has to be in a crowded place.” Chuan Jin said sternly.
Xu Mianchuan looked puzzled: “Why?”
“That violent maniac Wei Chi—what if you say one wrong word and he flies into a rage and hurts you? With more people around, we can at least hold him back.”
“Violent maniac? You mean Wei Chi?” Xu Mianchuan grew even more puzzled. “Since when did he become a violent maniac?”
“Didn’t you say so yourself that day?” Chuan Jin said with a serious expression. “You said Zheng Jingyuan had offended Wei Chi and wouldn’t be able to walk out of Star Blue Clubhouse on his own two feet.”
Xu Mianchuan explained, “Wei Chi loves his sister dearly. Star Blue Clubhouse was an extravagant gift he built for her. Since Zheng Jingyuan dared to act recklessly on its opening day, of course Wei Chi would be angry.”
Chuan Jin pursed her lips. “Getting angry and resorting to violence—that’s exactly what a violent maniac does.”
Xu Mianchuan chuckled. “You’ve misunderstood, Xiao Jin. Although Wei Chi can be short-tempered at times, he has never laid a hand on innocent people. Even when he does act out, he knows his limits. Besides, his impulsive nature is somewhat understandable.”
“Understandable? How so?”
Xu Mianchuan lowered her gaze, looking toward the corner of the banquet hall where the siblings sat side by side.
Despite being influential figures in high society with vast resources at their disposal, and despite many people coveting collaboration with Huasheng, they all hesitated to approach them due to their wariness of Wei Chi’s temperament.
In the end, the reputation of the Wei siblings had been tarnished by their family’s influence.
Xu Mianchuan continued, “I don’t know much, but I’ve heard that when the Wei family had their incident back then—”
Just as she was speaking, a commotion erupted at the entrance of the banquet hall. The gasps and exclamations of the guests interrupted the sisters’ conversation.
Chuan Jin glanced down and saw two men entering from outside. One was Director Wang of Ruiji Jewelry, while the other was unfamiliar—a man who appeared to be in his thirties.
Xu Mianchuan exclaimed in surprise, “Lu Zhenjun?”
Though she didn’t recognize the person, the name sounded vaguely familiar. Chuan Jin frowned as she observed the elegantly poised man and asked, “Who is he?”
“He’s the second son of Lu Guanghua, a super tycoon from Hong Kong. The Lu family has been in the luxury goods industry for decades. Lu Zhenjun is currently in charge of their jewelry line and is one of the controlling shareholders of the D Family.”
Xu Anguo had already stepped forward to greet him personally. As the still-serving CEO of Xuri Media, whose artists endorsed D Family products, Xu Mianchuan also needed to make an appearance.
“Xiao Jin, I have to attend to this. Feel free to enjoy yourself.”
“Mm.”
Chuan Jin responded absentmindedly, her eyes fixed on Lu Zhenjun at the center of the crowd.
Xu Mianchuan hurried downstairs and soon appeared beside Xu Anguo, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with Lu Zhenjun. As they conversed, their gazes began to wander through the crowd, as if searching for someone.
Chuan Jin knew they were looking for Xia Helu.
She finally remembered what she had forgotten. Lu Zhenjun’s appearance had brought it all back to her. In the original storyline, there was a major turning point in the relationship between Wang Yujiang and Xia Helu, and it was all because of Lu Zhenjun.
After Xia Helu became the spokesperson for the D Family, she had been highly active in online media during that period. Whether it was due to marketing tactics or not, her looks and commercial value were excessively hyped, catching the attention of Lu Zhenjun, the Hong Kong tycoon. Using his position as a controlling shareholder of the D Family, Lu Zhenjun began frequently interacting with Xia Helu. Seeing his interest in her daughter, Pei Lingna sought to arrange a marriage alliance between the Xu and Lu families.
The Lu family was one of Hong Kong’s top wealthy dynasties. If the Xu family could secure this marriage, their future would be virtually worry-free. However, the biggest obstacle to this union was Wang Yujiang, the man Xia Helu deeply loved and trusted as her boyfriend.
In the original novel, Pei Lingna opposed the true heiress being with her boyfriend precisely because Lu Zhenjun had agreed to an arranged marriage with the Xu Family. Due to Pei Lingna’s unauthorized engagement arrangement, Xia Helu hastily married Wang Yujiang against all advice. Wang Yujiang developed a vengeful mindset over this incident and began targeting the Xu Family, secretly diverting resources to himself. During that period, Changxu suffered consecutive losses.
With the failed marriage alliance between the Xu and Lu families and Changxu’s declining fortunes, Pei Lingna frantically demanded that Xu Mianchuan marry into the Zheng Family, hoping to leverage their influence for salvation. However, this only plunged Xu Mianchuan into a living hell while the Xu Family, under Wang Yujiang’s manipulations, continued its downward spiral. By the time Xu Anguo realized Wang Yujiang’s ambitions, half of Changxu Group’s projects were already controlled by this son-in-law—projects Xu Anguo had personally handed over. The Xu Family thus completely lost its power.
Chuan Jin watched Xu Anguo sending people to find Xia Helu, her brow furrowed tightly.
During her time in this transmigrated world, Xu Anguo had openly and covertly supported Wang Yujiang, while Pei Lingna never showed any dissatisfaction toward him, creating a false sense of security that made Chuan Jin forget such a critical matter.
Chuan Jin took a deep breath. Love triangles were acceptable, but ones that jeopardized family assets were absolutely not!!
Although she had no desire to meddle in the true heiress’s affairs, staying out of it would indirectly affect Xu Mianchuan and Xu Longchuan’s futures. She never acted without certainty—no matter what, she had to warn the true heiress.
Downstairs, several maids couldn’t locate the Third Young Miss. Chuan Jin stood at a higher vantage point and scanned the area—there was no sign of Xia Helu on the first floor.
“Where could Third Sister have gone…” Chuan Jin murmured to herself.
“Looking for me?”
A voice suddenly spoke behind her. Chuan Jin whirled around to find Xia Helu standing a few steps away.
Surprised, she asked, “Why are you here?”
Xia Helu wore a white dress, her makeup pure and captivating, but her expression toward Chuan Jin seemed off. “I came to find you, of course, Second Sister.”
Chuan Jin’s mind raced—that look resembled someone seeking revenge. Had Wang Yujiang said something to her?
Chuan Jin smiled. “Today is Third Sister’s special occasion. With so many guests here to celebrate you downstairs, why abandon them to look for me?”
Xia Helu retorted discontentedly, “Second Sister knows it’s my special day, so why did you provoke Zheng Jingyuan? You’re fully aware I’m taking over Xu Ri Media, and Bo Ya collaborates closely with Xuri. Humiliating Zheng Jingyuan in public is clearly targeting me, isn’t it?”
Chuan Jin hadn’t expected this to be Xia Helu’s concern and stammered, “No, that wasn’t my intention.”
“Then what was your intention?” Xia Helu sneered. “If Second Sister wants Xu Ri Media too, you could’ve directly asked Mom and Dad. Too cowardly to ask them, so you resort to schemes against me? Is this how an elder sister should act?”
Faced with such aggressive accusations, Chuan Jin laughed in exasperation. “I might consider taking Changxu, but Xuri? Hardly.”
“Too lofty even for Xu Ri Media? Rained in luxury by the Xu Family all these years—no wonder you’re different.” Xia Helu clapped sarcastically. “This sister endured years of hardship in the Xia Family on your behalf. My aspirations aren’t as grand as yours—I’m content with just Xu Ri Media. So please, dear sister, show some mercy and let me be.”
Chuan Jin tucked the hair behind her ear, curling her lips into a smile, yet her gaze remained piercingly cold. “Is it my fault that you suffered hardship? You lived in luxury for twelve years before the Xia family went bankrupt. Your parents were addicted to gambling, your brother was utterly useless—yet you blame me instead of them? Are you saying the struggles of the following ten years were all my doing?”
“But you took my place in the Xu family all those years—driving luxury cars, picking designer brands at will, with monthly allowances casually amounting to hundreds of thousands. Didn’t you take all of that from me?”
Xia Helu’s beautiful eyes turned icy and gloomy. “And what about me? I scrimped and saved to complete my studies, fought tooth and nail in the entertainment industry, begging left and right just for a chance at an audition! If I hadn’t returned to the Xu family, I wouldn’t have known that securing such an opportunity could be as simple as a single word! And you, Xu Chuanjin, enjoyed these privileges for twenty-two years—didn’t you steal my life?!”