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

Before the three could delve deeper into the Bai family's inner workings, two more figures walked in through the door, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

The man was dressed in a well-tailored black suit, and the woman beside him was wearing a bright red dress; they were Lu Ze and Shen Xinyi.

Shen Xinyi affectionately linked arms with Lu Ze, gracefully ascending the steps. Her gaze immediately locked onto Shen Jingshu, standing between Li Hanting and Li Beichen, and a surge of intense jealousy welled up within her.

She gritted her teeth inwardly.

What exactly makes Shen Jingshu so highly regarded by the two young masters of the Li family?

Recalling her past life, she had gone to great lengths to please Li Hanting and Li Beichen, yet they remained cold and distant, unmoved by her. Could it be that these two truly lacked discernment?

In the blink of an eye, Shen Xinyi had already put on a gentle and polite fake smile.

Li Beichen smiled politely and spoke first: "So it's Young Master Lu. It's an honor for the Li family to have you grace our banquet with your presence."

Shen Xinyi followed softly and said, "Brother Li, Second Brother."

This address caused both Li Hanting and Li Beichen to pause slightly.

Before the two could respond, Shen Xinyi explained with a smile, "Although I didn't marry into the Li family with my mother, considering the relationship between the two families, it shouldn't be considered presumptuous of me to address you both as 'elder brother' and 'second brother,' right?"

Li Beichen, adept at social maneuvering and well aware that it's inappropriate to break ties at a banquet, nodded slightly and said, "Of course, it's fine."

Shen Xinyi immediately turned to Shen Jingshu, her tone deliberately affectionate: "Sister, why don't you lead me and Brother Aze inside? I don't come to the Li family often, and I'm afraid we'll get lost later."

The villa already had servants assigned to guide guests throughout, and all guests were greeted and escorted upon arrival.

Shen Xinyi deliberately asked Shen Jingshu to lead the way, clearly intending to place Shen Jingshu in the position of a servant and intentionally belittle her status.

Li Hanting's eyes turned cold as he bluntly refused, "There are servants to guide you from the side. Jing Shu has to stay and help us greet the guests, so I'm afraid there's no time to take you inside. Besides, didn't you just visit the Li family a few days ago, Miss Shen? You're so young, your memory shouldn't be that bad."

His words were blunt and sharp, showing no mercy whatsoever.

Shen Xinyi's smile froze instantly, her face turned pale, and she felt secretly annoyed.

Just like in his previous life, Li Hanting was cold and hard-hearted, never knew how to speak tactfully, and had no regard for the situation!

The atmosphere became somewhat tense for a moment. Seeing this, Lu Ze, who was standing beside him, quickly stepped forward to gently defuse the situation.

"No need to trouble Miss Shen, we'll just follow the servants inside. I've heard the banquet tonight is exquisitely decorated, so we can take a look around."

He glanced indifferently at Shen Jingshu, then turned to the Li Hanting brothers, exchanged a few polite words, and then tugged at Shen Xinyi's arm, signaling her not to say anything more.

Despite her resentment, Shen Xinyi could only suppress her emotions and force a smile as she followed the maid into the banquet hall.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Li Beichen chuckled softly, "Quite ambitious, and still so clueless."

Li Hanting said indifferently, "Ignore her. Just don't let her find any opportunities to make things difficult for Jing Shu."

Shen Jingshu stood quietly to the side, her expression calm and composed.

Shen Xinyi's little schemes were crystal clear to her, but not worth the effort to deal with.

A warm feeling welled up in Shen Jingshu's heart.

The fact that Li Hanting and Li Beichen protected her so unconditionally made her truly feel the taste of being favored.

Recalling her time in the Shen family, whenever Shen Xinyi made a request, Shen Yifan and his brothers would always force her to give in. For a long time, Shen Xinyi frequently ordered her around at will, completely disregarding her status as her sister and never showing her the slightest respect. The contrast was stark.

As soon as Lu Ze and Shen Xinyi entered the hall, guests from the Shen family arrived one after another.

As Lin Wanqing's ex-husband, Shen Mobai's position was awkward. If he were to attend this birthday banquet, he would inevitably become the subject of gossip in the industry, so he did not attend.

Shen Yifei, a cardiologist, was too busy with his daily medical duties to attend; Shen Yichen was also unable to attend as he was studying in another city. In the end, only Shen Yifan and Shen Xinyi represented the Shen family at the banquet.

When Shen Yifan saw Shen Jingshu standing side by side with Li Hanting and Li Beichen at the door to greet guests, he was greatly shocked.

He never expected that Shen Jingshu, who had only been living in the Li family for a short time, would be able to establish herself so firmly. The fact that the two young masters of the Li family were willing to bring her along to receive guests was tantamount to announcing to the outside world that Shen Jingshu was already a member of the Li family.

After the initial shock, Shen Yifan felt a deep displeasure and secretly cursed Shen Jingshu as an ingrate. Having been raised in the Shen family for many years, she quickly curried favor with the Li brothers as soon as she entered the Li family, which, in the end, showed that she was a snob who coveted wealth and status.

He walked to the steps, his face gloomy, but unlike Shen Xinyi, he did not deliberately provoke or make things difficult.

Shen Jingshu treated him as an ordinary guest, giving him a slight nod in acknowledgment without any further pleasantries, her expression distant and indifferent.

This coldness stung Shen Yifan. Before stepping into the villa, he turned around and glared fiercely at Shen Jingshu.

In her previous life, Shen Jingshu would most likely have instinctively dodged, fearing that she had done something wrong to anger her older brother.

But things are different now. Shen Jingshu looked calm and composed, raising her eyes to meet his gaze directly, neither humble nor arrogant.

She no longer needed to rely on anyone in the Shen family, and would never again silently endure the unwarranted bullying from the Shen siblings.

A short while later, Li Hanting raised his wrist to glance at his watch and said, "It's almost time. Let's go inside. The remaining guests will be greeted by the butler. Most of the people who are supposed to arrive have arrived."

The three of them didn't linger, turned around together, and walked into the brightly lit banquet hall.

In fact, Lu Jingxing originally planned to attend the Li family banquet in person, but Shen Jingshu dissuaded him from doing so.

She didn't want their relationship to be exposed to the public too soon. Besides, Lu Jingxing rarely participated in these kinds of high-society banquets and always stayed away from various social gatherings. If he suddenly appeared today, it would definitely cause quite a stir, and countless speculations and rumors would follow.

Unable to resist Shen Jingshu's insistence, Lu Jingxing could only compromise for the time being. But secretly, he wondered when he could finally stand proudly beside Shen Jingshu as her boyfriend and declare to everyone that she belonged to him.

Shen Jingshu followed Li Hanting and Li Beichen into the banquet hall.

The hall was already brightly lit and filled with the clinking of glasses. Business partners and dignitaries from all walks of life gathered in twos and threes to chat, many holding champagne and red wine, exchanging information in hushed tones. The air was filled with the scents of perfume and wine, as well as the sounds of small talk and laughter.

Just then, the host's clear voice rang out from above the stage, piercing through the noisy crowd:

"Welcome, distinguished guests, to the birthday banquet of Mrs. Lin Wanqing, the matriarch of the Li family! Now, let us welcome our guests for tonight—Mr. Li Wenqian and Mrs. Lin Wanqing—with a warm round of applause!"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the guests turned around and burst into continuous applause.

At the end of the stairs, two figures slowly appeared.

Lin Wanqing wore a champagne-colored long evening gown, her hair elegantly styled in an updo. A set of imperial green jewelry adorned her neck, shimmering with a lustrous sheen, while matching bracelets complemented her wrists, exuding an air of nobility. Beside her, Li Wenqian wore a well-tailored bespoke suit, impeccably groomed, and radiating composure and authority.

The two walked side by side down the spiral staircase and calmly ascended the central stage.