Stepdaughter of a wealthy family? The little darling of a Beijing tycoon

A subtle silence fell over the scene.

Li Beichen's casual defense not only shattered Shen Xinyi's feigned thoughtfulness in public, but also clearly revealed the gap between the two of them.

Shen Xinyi's luxurious attire was a gift from her mother out of favoritism.

Shen Jingshu's integrity and dignity were bestowed upon her by the Li family with utmost respect and sincerity.

High judgment.

Lin Wanqing stood aside, her face turning pale and then red. She felt sorry for her youngest daughter being embarrassed in public, but at the same time, she looked at her eldest daughter who was shining brightly. Her heart was filled with guilt, but she didn't dare to say a word.

Shen Xinyi could hardly hide the grievance and jealousy in her eyes, but she still forced a weak and obedient appearance on her face, biting her lip and lowering her head, looking pitiful as if she had been embarrassed by her sister in public.

The surrounding guests saw this and understood, but no one dared to say anything more.

With the second young master of the Li family personally backing her up, everyone understands that this eldest daughter, abandoned by the Shen family, is no longer the little girl who was neglected by everyone.

After a moment, Shen Xinyi barely suppressed her anger, raised her head again, and smiled innocently with a wet look in her eyes. She deliberately changed the subject and said softly to Shen Jingshu, "Sister, since you're here, come with me to greet all the elders, uncles, and aunts. There are many guests today, so I'll show you around."

These words, seemingly warm and encouraging, actually conceal a hidden agenda.

Most of those present today are business partners and relatives of the Shen family. Everyone knows that the Shen family has only doted on Shen Xinyi for many years, and almost no one knows of Shen Jingshu's existence.

She wanted to take the usually low-key Shen Jingshu to social events, deliberately exposing her lack of social skills and poor interpersonal skills to everyone, so that everyone could see that Shen Jingshu was all show and no substance, and was actually unsophisticated and unpresentable.

She wants to take back everything she just lost, bit by bit.

Before Shen Jingshu could respond, Shen Xinyi reached out to take her arm. The action seemed intimate, but her fingertips held a hidden force, as if she wanted to pinch Shen Jingshu and force her to lose her composure.

But as soon as her hand approached, Shen Jingshu subtly shifted her body and avoided her touch.

Shen Jingshu's expression was calm, her tone gentle yet distant: "No need. Today is your day, I'm just accompanying you, it's inappropriate for me to overshadow you. You just need to take good care of the guests."

Ignore her words, avoid her schemes, and calmly avoid all deliberate attempts to make things difficult for me.

Shen Xinyi's hand froze in mid-air, missing its target again, and her anger grew even stronger.

All her scheming was rendered a joke in the face of Shen Jingshu's composure and calmness.

Lu Manman, who was standing to the side, sensed something was wrong. She tugged at Shen Xinyi's sleeve and gently tried to smooth things over: "Xinyi, it's your birthday today, so you should be in charge of entertaining the guests. It's fine for Jing Shu to sit quietly and rest."

Helpless, Shen Xinyi could only swallow all her resentment and force a smile as she nodded, "Okay, then do as you please, sister."

After speaking, she turned to entertain the guests, but the smile in her eyes completely faded. She was absent-minded throughout, and her gaze would occasionally drift sinisterly towards Shen Jingshu.

The praise, attention, and favor that originally belonged to her were all forcibly taken away by Shen Jingshu, and even more of them.

On the other side, Li Beichen led Shen Jingshu to the VIP seats, his attitude extremely doting, personally serving her exquisite desserts and drinks.

"Don't be shy, take whatever you want to eat. No one will make you uncomfortable, your second brother will back you up."

Shen Jingshu nodded slightly and sat quietly in her seat. Her posture was upright and her temperament was aloof and refined. Even though she was sitting alone in a corner, she was still the most eye-catching person in the room.

Not far away, Lu Ze slowly walked through the crowd, his gaze fixed on her the entire time.

He was tall and upright, with a calm and aloof demeanor. He was the most watched heir of the Lu family. As soon as he entered, countless socialites secretly glanced at him, but none of them could attract his attention.

Seeing her brother approaching, Lu Manman immediately waved, "Brother, you're here!"

Lu Ze nodded in response, but did not stop walking. He walked straight through the crowd to Shen Jingshu's seat.

The entire venue fell silent for a moment as countless eyes turned to look at them.

Everyone assumed that Lu Ze came today to support Shen Xinyi, because he valued their friendship.

But right now, he ignored the entire room, ignored the protagonist Shen Xinyi, and walked straight towards Shen Jingshu.

Shen Xinyi had just finished entertaining a group of guests when she turned around and saw this scene. Her heart clenched suddenly, and her face turned deathly pale.

How could this be...?

Why would Lu Ze take the initiative to seek out Shen Jingshu?!

Lu Ze looked down at the seated girl, a hint of surprise and inquiry flashing in his eyes. His voice was deep and clear, polite and gentle: "Hello, I am Lu Ze."

He had heard his sister Lu Manman mention the Shen sisters before, but he thought they were just ordinary heiresses from wealthy families and never paid them any attention.

But seeing it today, the stunning spectacle that everyone admired and marveled at just now truly lived up to its name.

Compared to Shen Xinyi, who is deliberately ingratiating and full of self-interest, this Miss Shen's aloofness, clarity, and relaxed demeanor are truly rare qualities.

Shen Jingshu raised her eyes, her expression calm and composed, and nodded slightly in response: "Hello, Shen Jingshu."

The four simple words conveyed neither arrogance nor servility, showing no trace of deliberate attempt to curry favor with the wealthy, nor any awkwardness of a first meeting.

Looking at her clear and calm eyes, Lu Ze felt a slight stirring in his heart and said, "I just entered and couldn't greet you in time, please forgive me."

Their brief conversation reached everyone's ears, creating a silent ripple.

Everyone in the audience had different thoughts.

It's obvious to everyone—

Lu Ze treated this eldest daughter of the Shen family with special regard.

Not far away, Shen Mobai and Shen Yifan had complicated expressions and were filled with regret.

They spent their entire lives scheming and currying favor with the powerful, going to great lengths to get Shen Xinyi to please the Lu family and curry favor with Lu Ze, risking the Shen family's future just to get a little help from them.

The big shot they had tried so hard to climb up to is now bowing down and greeting their eldest daughter, whom they had discarded like trash.

Not far away, Shen Xinyi clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms, trembling with pain.

Jealousy, embarrassment, resentment, and hatred enveloped her completely.

In this coming-of-age ceremony that she had meticulously planned and was determined to win, she was the complete loser from beginning to end.

Halfway through the banquet, the lights suddenly dimmed.

A beautifully crafted multi-tiered buttercream cake was slowly wheeled onto the stage in the center of the venue. The cake was decorated with pure white frosting and gold trim, layer upon layer, making it luxurious and exquisite. It was a cake specially made by the Shen family for Shen Xinyi's eighteenth birthday celebration.

The host, in a light and cheerful tone, warmed up the atmosphere by saying, "Next, please welcome our birthday girl, Ms. Shen Xinyi, to the stage for the cake-cutting ceremony!"

The audience erupted in applause.

Shen Xinyi took a deep breath, suppressed the jealousy surging in her heart, quickly composed herself, put on a sweet and gentle smile again, and slowly walked to the center of the stage.

Out of the corner of her eye, she stared intently at Shen Jingshu, who was sitting quietly in the audience, a sinister and calculating glint in her eyes.