Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

  Huang Xinyi was Ning’s uncle’s only child. She was the apple of his eye. She had not been exposed to any of the harsh realities of life, since she was very little, because of which she was very gullible.

  Shangguan Ning was never really fond of Huang Xinyi and the two cousins hardly ever got along, thanks to Huang Xinyi’s temper tantrums. It was one thing to have conflicts with one’s cousin, but to allow an outsider to ruin her cousin’s reputation, was something else. She would not allow that to happen, no matter what.

  She didn’t want her cousin to fall into any trouble, otherwise Shanguan Ning would owe her Uncle an explanation.

  Her uncle had already chosen to separate from his wife. He was living in solitude and his daughter was his only ray of hope. She mustn’t allow anything to happen to her, thereby adding to her uncle’s grief.

  When the time was right, she might ask her uncle what were the qualities that he was looking for, in a partner, so that she could set him up with someone suitable.

  Although Uncle was in his 50s and his hair was greying rapidly, he was still tall and strong. He was quite the looker, when he was younger and had a lot of girls vying for his attention. Now after he had gone through so much, wrinkles were clearly visible all over his face.He was still mature and confident along with being a successful entrepreneur. He could easily pass off for a man in his 40s, if he could clean himself up a bit.

  Shangguan Ning made up her mind to protect his daughter, because Uncle protected her when she was little. Now it was time for her to return the favor.

  Shangguan Ning left home when it was almost 8 o’clock. She didn’t even put on a dinner gown. Instead, she wore a set of casual clothes with a pair of sneakers.

  She wasn’t going to attend Ji Lili’s fancy dinner party anyway, so there was no need to dress up formally. It wasn’t an important occasion for her and she wasn’t going there for the sake of Ji Lili.

  Shangguan Ning didn’t know which devious plan had Ji Lili devised. For her own safety, she called Lee Duo and told him that a security issue might arise later that evening, and to have a contingency plan ready, in case the need arose.

  When Shangguan Ning arrived at the Royal Crown, Ji Lili’s birthday party had already started. She had booked out the entire Royal Crown and it was quite lively, even though it was just 8 p.m. The resplendent banquet hall shone in all its glory.

  The celebration had started at 7:30 p.m., Shangguan Ning was told. She wondered why would Ji Lili tell her to be here at 8. With her smirk, she answered her own question. Ji Lili did it so that Shangguan Ning could lose her face by walking in late, when all the other guests had taken the effort to show up on time.

  A waitress guided Shangguan Ning to the third floor.

  The moment the doors of the banquet hall opened, a gush of cool air greeted her face. The crystal chandeliers were shining brightly and the hall was a heady mix of perfume and smoke.

  Everyone present at the banquet was dressed to the nines. Most of them wore outfits that were designed by the country’s most popular designers.The crowd were at their elegant best, hoping to catch the eye of the opposite sex. After all, the city’s social crème de la crème were present at this dinner.

  Four men dressed in black tuxedos were playing their violins attentively on the stage, churning out a mix of retro and catchy melodies for everyone to enjoy.

  Shangguan Ning, who was dressed in casual clothes that didn’t fit the occasion, attracted a great deal of attention, the moment she entered the banquet hall.

  She turned a blind eye to all the strange looks that she got. Instead, she was busy seeking out her cousin Huang Xinyi, amongst all these people.

  Before she could find her cousin, a woman appeared in front of her, blocking her sight. It was Shangguan Rouxue.

  “Ning, here you are! Lili said that you were definitely attending this party tonight, but I didn’t believe her. You aren’t dressed in the right outfit, but at least you showed up.”


  Shangguan Ning didn’t want to say anything to her and was about to turn away when she saw Xie Zhuojun walk towards her, holding a glass of wine.

  “Ning, it’s you! Xue said that you were to come but I chose not to believe that. Why are you so casually dressed?”


  Shangguan Ning sneered. What a disgusting couple. They even talked about the same things, as if they had rehearsed the same lines.

  Shangguan Rouxue was a well known personality in A City. The moment Rouxue approached Ning, many people at the dinner, turned to look at her.

  Those who were invited to Ji Lili’s banquet were people who were very rich or very popular or both. They didn’t need to work too hard on a daily basis, because their families had ensured that everything was handed to them on a platter. They had a lot of time on their hands and had only come here for some social networking. Of course, no one would mind if someone added a dash of drama to the evening.

  Shangguan Ning didn’t like the feel of this place or the party. She barely attended dinners of this kind. Besides, she had never visited China, over the last four years anyway, so she hardly knew any people.

  Everyone noticed Shangguan Ning wherever she went. After all, she was the only one who wasn’t dressed for the occasion. Clearly, she didn’t have any dressing sense, thought a lot of onlookers. Because of her casual attire, Ning stood out in the crowd. This made it impossible for her to gauge what Ji Lili was upto, on the sly.

  Ji Lili was all about looks. She felt that if someone didn’t look good, they did not deserve her time or attention. She enjoyed hosting parties and inviting her friends and acquaintances, but she wouldn’t think twice before disconnecting from someone who didn’t look good or didn’t take the effort to dress well.

  Shangguan Ning didn’t want to waste any time interacting with Xie or Ji Lili. She was worried that any further delay in finding Huang Xinyi, may cause irreparable damage. She politely excused herself and moved away from Rouxue and Xie Zhuojun ”


  A flash of hatred shone in Shangguan Rouxue’s eyes. She purposely bumped against Shangguan Ning, with her elbow. Xie Zhuojun saw this and wondered if he was imagining things. He knew somehow that this was clearly intentional on Shangguan Rouxue’s part.

  Shangguan Ning had years of experience when its came to Shangguan Rouxue. She had expected her to behave in this way. She deftly moved to the side and successfully dodged her step sister.

  It was a good thing that Shangguan Ning was wearing a pair of sneakers and casual clothes, so she could be swift footed.

  Shangguan Rouxue, who was dressed in a long pink prom gown coupled with a pair of high heels, didn’t have such good luck.

  The moment Shangguan Ning dodged her, Rouxue lost her balance and fell onto the ground. The red wine in her wine glass spilled all over her outfit, staining it permanently.

  This time Xie Zhuojun was witness to the whole episode. He was aware of exactly what had just happened. He realised that Shangguan Rouxue was shocked because she had expected Shangguan Ning to make a fool of herself by tripping over. Instead, Rouxue was the one who had the fall.

  Xie Zhuojun was livid. He was still holding onto his glass of wine. After this incident, he was so angry that the wine glass broke into pieces because he clenched onto it so tightly. It fell to the ground.

  He looked at his fiancée who was still lying on the ground in disbelief.

  Shangguan Rouxue, who had all the while claimed to be innocent, was indeed innocent. Her heart was pure. Why was Shangguan Rouxue behaving this way?

  If Shangguan Ning had taken a step slower, she would have had a fall. This reminded him of something similar that had happened on the evening of his engagement with Shangguan Rouxue. The blame for the entire incident had fallen on Ning, when she was the one who had been wronged.

  Even now, Shangguan Rouxue was very capable of blaming Ning for staining her dress and behaving like she was the victim, when clearly, she was the perpetrator.

  Xie Zhuojun’s mind went blank. It felt as though the entire world were spinning, and he had a sinking feeling in his heart. He had been lied to, innumerable times over and he felt like such a fool.