Volume One, Chapter 11: I Heard You Went Abroad to Get Married

In recent days, Wen Li had remained sequestered within the old Wen family estate, rarely venturing out. Her greatest daily pleasure was simply basking in the sunlight.

Since his retirement, Grandpa Wen had taken to playing chess and listening to traditional operas. A stage had been erected at the pavilion in the middle of the lake behind the house, and occasionally opera troupes would perform. Chess games were played alongside the melodious singing, accompanied by several cups of tea.

Zhou Huaijing still came by every day to see Wen Yang and exchanged a few polite nods with Wen Li, but nothing more.

One leisurely afternoon, while snacking on fruit, Wen Li noticed a message from Shen Yuzhi in a group chat they both belonged to.

“Tonight at 8:00 pm, on the second floor of Butterfly Manor, a welcome banquet for Miss Wen. Everyone remember to come and show your support.”

He tagged everyone in the group, which was small, numbering no more than ten.

A grape lodged in her throat, neither swallowed nor spit out.

A big question mark popped up from Ling Dan in response: “You’re throwing a grand welcome banquet under the pretense of Wen Li, then loudly calling for us to attend in the group chat. Does she even know about this?”

Shen Yuzhi replied, “Whether she knows or not, what does it matter? As long as people show up.”

It was a last-minute invitation, and the logic was airtight yet utterly unreasonable.

Ling Dan responded: “I’m not going.”

Shen Yuzhi shot back: “Come if you want, you’re not the star here, so why make a fuss?”

Then he tagged Wen Li directly, saying, “I’ve arranged everything. You can’t possibly reject my goodwill.”

“Old classmate, show some face.”

Aside from Ling Dan and a few silent members, the rest chimed in with encouragement: “Yeah, yeah.”

It resembled a troupe of mindless online boosters hired by Shen Yuzhi.

...

Not long after, Wen Li received a private message from Ling Dan: “Wen Li, are you going tonight?”

From the faint tone of the message, Wen Li sensed Ling Dan’s eagerness and hope that she would attend.

Otherwise, having not voiced an opinion in the group or spoken a word, Ling Dan wouldn’t have bothered to ask. She could have simply ignored it, given Wen Li had been absent for so long.

Wen Li asked, “Have you settled things with Shen Ningyuan?”

Ling Dan replied, “No...” and the situation was becoming increasingly complicated.

Wen Li answered, “Then let’s go together.”

Thus, at eight o’clock that evening, Wen Li and Ling Dan appeared punctually in a private room on the second floor of Butterfly Manor, which Shen Yuzhi had booked in advance.

The room was packed, laughter filling the air. Alongside a few familiar faces from the group, many strangers Wen Li did not recognize were present.

Jiang Chen was there, surrounded by a throng, exuding an air of relaxed prominence as if he were the center of adoration.

Seated on either side of him were two beautiful women: one pure-faced girl peeled grapes for him, feeding them directly to his mouth.

The other, a voluptuous woman with an attentive smile, lit his cigarette and pressed close to him eagerly.

Wen Li saw the disgust barely contained in Jiang Chen’s eyes, yet he unthinkingly accepted their attentions, shooting a resentful glance at the latter woman.

His enjoyment was tinged with a hint of grievance.

The young master of the Jiang family was arrogant and self-absorbed, fastidious to a fault, with a powerful streak of vindictiveness.

Wen Li smiled quietly, avoiding Jiang Chen’s gaze and said nothing.

Grapes and cigarettes might not clash in flavor, but his childish jealousy and paranoia remained unchanged.

Truly immature.

Sharp-eyed Shen Yuzhi noticed and assumed Wen Li was jealous, sensing a chance for reconciliation between the two.

He intended to lead her further inside but glanced at Jiang Chen and sheepishly withdrew his hand. His eyes implored Ling Dan with a silent message: “Hurry and get her to sit by Jiang Chen.”

Ling Dan’s expression said: “Please, where is there any room, big brother?”

Shen Yuzhi then signaled Jiang Chen with his eyes, but Jiang Chen, as if sulking, pretended not to see and ignored all hidden cues.

In the end, a thoughtless onlooker grabbed Wen Li’s hand and warmly engaged her in conversation nearby.

“Wen Li, is that really you? I heard you came back but hadn’t seen you around. I thought it was just a rumor.”

Wasn’t this the welcome banquet Shen Yuzhi organized in her name? So seeing her here was an unexpected surprise.

They were rather taken aback and a bit unsure how to react.

After embracing her, the woman said, “Long time no see. You’re getting more beautiful.”

Wen Li offered a polite smile, “Thank you, so are you.”

Though she did not know the woman’s name, Wen Li accepted the genuine warmth and followed her to sit in another corner.

Among the crowd, she unsurprisingly spotted Qi Min.

This hastily arranged and belated welcome banquet by Shen Yuzhi was less about greeting Wen Li and more a carefully staged class reunion using her as the pretext.

The real intent was not in the wine.

Wen Li calmly watched their performances.

Sure enough, moments later, Jiang Chen’s face darkened, his expression hardening into a straight line as he brusquely pushed away the unidentified woman beside him.

Shen Yuzhi shrugged his shoulders silently saying, “You brought this on yourself for acting up,” and “She’s not falling for your act; handling you is easy.”

Meanwhile, Ling Dan jumped three feet in the air, furious, pulling Shen Yuzhi aside into a quieter corner to roar:

“What’s wrong with you? Can’t you do anything right? Why bring a bunch of women here? When did you become a pimp? Are you getting a cut?”

Shen Yuzhi looked at the flustered Ling Dan, her coarse demeanor making his head ache. Were it not for needing her as a mediator, he wouldn’t bother with her.

He crossed his arms, freeing one hand to stroke his chin, watching the subtle yet ambiguous tension between Wen Li and Jiang Chen like an omniscient bystander.

He confidently remarked, “It’s only been half an hour since it started. Why are you so impatient? The best part might be yet to come.”

Of course, where there were crowds, there was both praise and slander.

Suddenly, the woman sitting opposite Wen Li seized a pause in the background noise to interject loudly, tilting her head.

“I heard you went abroad to marry a super-rich businessman. Is that true?”

Wen Li found the woman familiar after some thought—she was a petty gang follower who often shadowed Qi Min.

Starting a sentence with “I heard” was always a way to spread gossip without accountability.

Wen Li glanced at Qi Min, who sat nearby, also surrounded by admirers like Jiang Chen, swirling her wine glass and smiling as she replied, “Yes, not only is he wealthy, but he has a title too. Maybe one day he’ll inherit the throne.”

Look at your naïve face, spouting nonsense. Who doesn’t make up wild stories?

This juvenile game of using unrealistic rumors as bait, dancing them in front of people, had been played for years—still not enough?

So lowbrow.

The woman went on, “Then why have you come back so quietly? Don’t tell me you want to rekindle old flames.”