On the very day Xue Yanxin arrived in this world, Huo Zhiyuan had already gone bankrupt.
Without the status of the future heir’s wife to support her, and with the original owner’s notoriously unpleasant reputation, she ran into obstacles everywhere she went.
When she arrived at Qi Junlin’s company, she was immediately stopped by the receptionist downstairs.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Huo… Miss Xue, but no one is allowed upstairs without an appointment.”
“Oh, I don’t have an appointment, but Qi Junlin called and asked me to come.”
Xue Yanxin told a small lie. She planned to explain everything after meeting Qi Junlin.
“I see. Then I’ll make a call to confirm. Please wait a moment.”
The receptionist was a beautiful woman, but she was far more than a pretty face. A flash of shrewd contempt flickered across her eyes, making it obvious that she didn’t believe a single word Xue Yanxin had said.
After all, when news of Huo Zhiyuan’s bankruptcy had first spread, the original Xue Yanxin had stormed into the company to make a scene. Since then, the company had issued strict orders that no outsiders without appointments were to be allowed inside.
Moreover, Huo Zhiyuan and Qi Junlin were now considered bitter enemies.
Rumor had it that Huo Zhiyuan had been framed by Qi Junlin, causing his bankruptcy and eventual expulsion from the Huo family. Under such circumstances, no one in the company with even a little common sense would show any respect to the fallen Mrs. Huo.
As the receptionist dialed the number, Xue Yanxin hurriedly reminded her, “Tell him I’m his older sister, System Sister. Once he hears that, he’ll definitely see me.”
The receptionist glanced at her while continuing the call.
She was clearly President Qi’s sister-in-law, yet she insisted on calling herself his older sister. The receptionist assumed this was merely another trick to stir up trouble. If she actually let Xue Yanxin in and something happened, she would certainly be held responsible.
They weren’t relatives, nor were they friends. Why should she risk losing her job for her?
Even if Xue Yanxin were telling the truth, there would be nothing in it for her.
So the receptionist ignored her request and honestly reported that Huo Zhiyuan’s wife had come to see President Qi.
Just as expected, the response from upstairs was immediate.
President Qi had never invited Xue Yanxin over, and under no circumstances was she to be allowed inside.
After receiving those instructions, the receptionist looked even more disdainfully at Xue Yanxin.
If she really was President Qi’s older sister, wouldn’t she already have his phone number? Couldn’t she simply arrange a meeting privately?
The truth was that Xue Yanxin really didn’t have Qi Junlin’s number.
Not only that, apart from Huo Zhiyuan, she had no contact information for anyone important in the Huo family.
The marriage Huo Zhiyuan had given her had been little more than a display meant to satisfy Xue Yanxin’s vanity. He had never truly accepted her, nor had he ever intended to introduce her to the family.
Seeing her lie exposed, Xue Yanxin gritted her teeth and attempted to force her way inside.
Instead, security guards summoned by the receptionist promptly threw her out.
During the following days, she tried everything she could think of to meet Qi Junlin.
She blocked his car.
She lurked outside the residential compound where he lived.
She even disguised herself as a food delivery worker.
Every single attempt ended in failure.
Not only did she fail to exchange a single word with him, but she nearly ended up in a police station.
In the end, she had no choice but to be patient and wait for another opportunity.
At long last, that opportunity had finally arrived.
Huo Zhiyuan had left early that morning, giving her plenty of time to get ready.
Opening the wardrobe, she was relieved to find that a few of her formal dresses had not yet been sold.
After putting one on, slipping into a pair of elegant high heels, and carefully applying her makeup, she once again became the dazzling and glamorous Mrs. Huo everyone remembered.
The guests attending Qi Junlin’s celebration banquet were either senior executives from his company or members of high society.
Before entering this world, the original Xue Yanxin had accompanied Huo Zhiyuan to countless upper-class gatherings. Naturally, many people there knew her, and she recognized many of them as well.
Yet after the banquet began, not a single person approached to greet her.
Some stared at her curiously.
Others looked surprised.
Some regarded her with open disdain.
Many simply avoided her altogether.
Xue Yanxin neither felt hurt nor became angry.
After all, she herself had never treated these people sincerely.
Besides, this was Qi Junlin’s territory.
Seeking advantages and avoiding trouble was simply human nature.
Near the center of the hall stood a raised platform.
Qi Junlin was standing on it, impeccably dressed and delivering his speech with great confidence.
Watching him, Xue Yanxin could not help admitting that he had truly grown up.
He was no longer the sniffling little boy who used to get bullied.
As she looked at him standing there in all his glory, her emotions became incredibly complicated.
She felt proud of him.
At the same time, she wanted to throw a rotten egg right at his face.
What a wonderful child he had once been.
How had he turned into such a beast in human clothing?
She still remembered how, back when she had guided him as a system, he had earned his very first fortune.
He had been unwilling to spend even a single cent of it.
Instead, he had carefully saved every bit.
He had said that once System Sister completed her mission and became human, he would give all the money to her so that she could afford medical treatment whenever she fell ill.
When he learned that they would never meet again, even if she became human, he had remained miserable for a long time.
How much things had changed.
Xue Yanxin clearly remembered that although Qi Junlin had eventually witnessed all kinds of darkness and endured countless hardships, he had still been an upright and kind young man when she left.
How, then, had he changed so drastically in less than three years?
It was true that Huo Zhiyuan had deliberately made things difficult for Qi Junlin in the beginning.
However, Xue Yanxin had always understood that every challenge was meant to teach him something.
In fact, even the old master, who had been the first to welcome Qi Junlin back into the family, had not cared for him as attentively as Huo Zhiyuan had.
Perhaps Qi Junlin himself had never realized it, but Huo Zhiyuan had never once resorted to underhanded tactics against him.
Moreover, he had been the first member of the Huo family, aside from the old master himself, to truly accept him.
No matter how one looked at it, Qi Junlin should never have destroyed Huo Zhiyuan’s reputation, ruined his career, and forced him out of the family.
Based on what Xue Yanxin knew of him, he simply wasn’t that kind of person.
Could it be that he had hidden his true nature so well that even she had failed to notice it?
Qi Junlin’s speech was drawing to a close.
As his eyes swept across the crowd several times, he failed to spot his brother.
Instead, he noticed an unwelcome guest.
Xue Yanxin.
How had she gotten in?
Had his brother given her the invitation?
Impossible.
His brother knew perfectly well that he and this woman could hardly stand each other.
Then there was only one possibility.
She had secretly taken the invitation he had intended for his brother.
That had to be it.
This gold-digging woman was stringing his brother along while shamelessly trying to attach herself to the rich and powerful.
Qi Junlin couldn’t help feeling indignant on his brother’s behalf.
His brother was so intelligent and perceptive, so how could he fail to see through a woman like her?
As soon as the speech ended, Qi Junlin strode toward her, fury hidden behind his expression.
He intended to humiliate her thoroughly, force her to recognize reality, and make her retreat of her own accord.
If things went well, she might lose all hope of Huo Zhiyuan ever rising again and leave him for good.
But before he could even get close enough to speak, Xue Yanxin suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs, completely unconcerned about her image.
“Tiedan! Tiedan! Over here! Come quickly!”
The guests in the hall all turned toward him in unison.
Everyone stared directly at the man named “Tiedan.”
Damn it.
Qi Junlin felt thoroughly humiliated.
At the same time, however, an overwhelming sense of familiarity surged through him.
He stopped dead in his tracks.