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

Throughout the entire banquet, Shen Xinyi stole the show.

Because of her status as Lu Ze's girlfriend, she was highly sought after and flattered by everyone. Even Shen Yifan, the eldest brother of the Shen family who was with her, also benefited a lot from this and was politely chatted with by a group of scions of prominent families. She was truly enjoying immense prestige.

In Shen Yifan's eyes, Shen Xinyi is now the true glory and source of strength for the Shen family.

As the banquet drew to a close, the guests gradually dispersed, and the noise subsided.

Shen Yifan, however, took the initiative to walk through the crowd and went straight to Shen Jingshu in the corner.

Upon seeing her elder brother approaching, Shen Jingshu frowned slightly, a hint of impatience rising in her heart.

Before she could speak, Shen Yifan launched into a tirade, his tone condescending and disapproving: "Shen Jingshu, you've been a stepdaughter at the Li family for a few days, and you've completely lost your basic manners? Don't you know how to greet your brother?"

Shen Jingshu had no intention of getting entangled in a dispute with him, and too lazy to cause any unnecessary trouble, so she simply spoke up and obediently called out, "Big Brother."

However, her concessions did not stop the other party from going too far.

Shen Yifan glanced at her with obvious superiority in his eyes, his tone full of deliberate boasting and admonition: "You saw it with your own eyes tonight. Xinyi is now Young Master Lu's girlfriend, her future is limitless, and she is the most outstanding person in our Shen family right now."

"You are in the Li family, and although you seem to be living a glamorous life, you are ultimately just a stepdaughter living under someone else's roof. But Xinyi is different. As long as she marries into the Lu family steadily, she will one day be the rightful young mistress of the Lu family and be able to truly lead the Shen family to great heights."

Shen Yifan looked at her with disdain, his tone full of reproach and schadenfreude: "Back then, I told you to stay peacefully in the Shen family, but you stubbornly refused, insisting on currying favor with the Li family. And look at you now, what have you gained in the end?"

He glanced at Shen Xinyi, who was being fawned over not far away, and his tone became increasingly biased: "Xinyi is so sensible, well-behaved, and kind-hearted. No wonder she won Young Master Lu's favor and has a bright future. On the other hand, you are inherently materialistic, vain, and selfish. You're just eager to climb the social ladder because the Li family is better off than the Shen family. In the end, you're nothing more than a stepdaughter living under someone else's roof."

Upon hearing this, Shen Jingshu merely curled her lips slightly, her eyes devoid of any emotion, only displaying a chilling indifference.

"Brother, that's a rather hypocritical statement."

Her words were clear and firm, neither humble nor arrogant, directly exposing his hypocrisy: "Back then, it was Shen Xinyi who made all sorts of excuses and refused to follow her mother into the Li family. She was the one who pushed away that identity; I didn't take it from her."

"Furthermore, you accuse me of being a snob and a gold digger, so how much self-respect does my brother have left?"

Shen Jingshu's gaze turned slightly cold, her words hitting the nail on the head: "Last time your investment failed, creating a huge hole that almost dragged the Shen family down. In the end, wasn't it the Li family's resources and wealth that cleaned up the mess and took care of the aftermath for you?"

"you!"

Shen Yifan's expression changed abruptly, as if his sore spot had been hit, and he looked flustered and angry.

He argued forcefully, his tone sharp but weak: "That was money my mother gave me privately for short-term use; it has absolutely nothing to do with the Li family!"

Whether it matters or not, you know best in your heart.

Shen Jingshu chuckled lightly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes; her words were piercing: "On one hand, you rely on the Li family's influence to clean up the mess, and on the other hand, you mock me for clinging to the Li family. Your brother's hypocritical behavior is hardly that of a gentleman."

In her previous life, she would have still clung to a sliver of familial affection. Faced with Shen Yifan's constant belittling and deliberate favoritism, she would have silently endured and yielded, letting him elevate Shen Xinyi while trampling on her dignity.

In this life, however, she had already seen through the cold-heartedness and selfishness of everyone in the Shen family, and had completely severed all expectations of kinship. Naturally, she no longer needed to compromise or back down step by step.

The rebuttals, each statement true, left Shen Yifan speechless.

All accusations were refuted, but the facts were right in front of him, and he had no way to refute them. He was so choked up that his face turned ashen, his chest heaved violently, and he trembled with anger, but he couldn't utter a single word of rebuttal.

Shen Jingshu, too lazy to waste any more time with him, said calmly, "You specifically sought me out today just to say these things to put me down. Now that you've said your piece, may I leave?"

Without waiting for Shen Yifan's response, she turned around abruptly, her posture upright and aloof, without the slightest trace of lingering affection, and strode away calmly and resolutely.

Looking at that nonchalant, indifferent back view that didn't seem to care about him at all, Shen Yifan stood there, gritting his teeth in anger, his eyes filled with resentment.

He stared intently at Shen Jingshu's retreating figure, and snorted coldly in a low voice:

"Shen Jingshu, don't be so smug! I want to see how long you can keep up your arrogant attitude!"

When Shen Jingshu returned to the banquet hall, the banquet was nearing its end.

Most of the guests had left, and the once bustling hall became much quieter. The remaining people were saying goodbye and leaving one after another.

Shen Xinyi had already left with Lu Ze. Given Lu Ze's current status in the Lu family, he didn't need to stay until the end of the banquet. Just showing up briefly and making an appearance was enough to save face for the Xu family, so there was no need for him to stay any longer.

On the other side, Xu Zhixia saw off the last group of elder guests and returned, but didn't see Shen Jingshu. She quickly asked Song Ran and Lin Miaomiao, but they both shook their heads, saying that they hadn't noticed her just now, and only vaguely remembered that someone had been looking for Shen Jingshu and that she had gone towards the backyard.

"It's alright, it must have just been a last-minute thing." Xu Zhixia breathed a sigh of relief, raised her hand to gently rub her shoulder, and smiled wearily. "Tonight has really worn me out."

She then looked at her two friends and enthusiastically suggested, "It's too late, and it's too much trouble to go back and forth to school. Why don't you stay at my place tonight?"

Song Ran and Lin Miaomiao felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this and quickly waved their hands, saying, "Isn't this too much of a bother?"

"What's there to bother you about!" Xu Zhixia laughed heartily. "I have plenty of empty guest rooms. I'll have the housekeeper prepare them later. It's settled then!"

As the three were chatting and laughing, a cool and aloof figure slowly walked out from the corridor of the back garden. It was Shen Jingshu who had returned.

"Jing Shu, you're finally back!" Xu Zhixia waved immediately. "We were just saying that everyone would stay here tonight and not go back to the dorms."

After a moment's thought, Shen Jingshu nodded in agreement: "Okay."

After the banquet came to a complete end, the noise subsided, and the entire villa gradually returned to tranquility.

Shen Jingshu walked alone into the guest room that Xu Zhixia had specially prepared for her. The room was spacious, elegant, clean, and cozy, with soft and comfortable furnishings. She removed her exquisite makeup and evening gown, and changed into loose and soft home pajamas.

All the colorful lights in the courtyard were turned off, and the evening breeze rustled softly through the branches of the flowers and trees. Inside the house, it was warm, quiet, and peaceful.

Song Ran, Lin Miaomiao, and Xu Zhixia had been busy for days and stayed up all night for the banquet, so they were already fast asleep, and the entire second-floor guest room area was quiet.

Shen Jingshu lay in bed, but did not fall asleep immediately.

Shedding all pretense of social obligations, the image of the Jiang family girl I had met at the banquet resurfaced in my mind.