Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Yun Zijin’s Identity
Hearing someone suddenly call her name, Yun Zijin turned her head reflexively.
She saw the flamboyantly dressed Xia Jiajiao, along with Guan Xueting.
When Su Mengyao saw the two of them, she rolled her eyes into the next dimension.
"Of course Zijin came because she received an invitation. You don’t actually think the Lu Family would make a mistake on something so trivial, do you?"
Su Mengyao stood in front of Yun Zijin and retorted without holding back in the slightest.
"How is that possible? She’s just an orphan who has to work part-time to cover her living expenses. Why would the Lu Family possibly give her an invitation!
Su Mengyao, don’t tell me you’ve been fooled by her?"
Because of what had happened at school, Guan Xueting still paid close attention to Yun Zijin, so she knew that Yun Zijin worked part-time whenever she didn’t have class.
An orphan who had to rely on part-time work to get by, no matter how you looked at it, was not someone with the status to receive an invitation to a Lu Family banquet.
"Miss Xia should be very clear about my identity. As for whether or not I received an invitation, that’s the Lu Family’s business. There’s no need for the two of you to worry about it."
After saying her piece, Yun Zijin didn’t bother to see their reactions and simply pulled Su Mengyao away.
Guan Xueting looked at Xia Jiajiao. "Yun Zijin said you know her identity best. Don’t you have anything to say?"
The Xia Family was still no match for the Guan Family.
Xia Jiajiao’s expression stiffened. She hadn’t expected Yun Zijin to say that.
Didn’t she always claim she had no interest in returning to the Xia Family? Why bring it up now?
’Is she trying to make a fool out of me?’
’Even if I’m not my parents’ biological daughter, I’m the one living in the Xia home now! Yun Zijin can scheme all she wants, but in the end, she still can’t even step through the Xia Family’s door!’
"It’s nothing... She’s an orphan, you see. My mother wanted to adopt her as her daughter, but she..."
"Adopt Yun Zijin? She’d be incredibly lucky if that happened."
"My mother said she wasn’t very willing, so we dropped the subject."
Xia Jiajiao only said her mother wanted to adopt a daughter; she didn’t mention that Yun Zijin was the true heiress of the Xia Family, and that she herself was the imposter who had been a cuckoo in the nest for twenty-one years.
"Hah... That sounds just like something she would do. So ungrateful!"
Xia Jiajiao pressed her lips together, not wanting to continue the topic.
*
Meanwhile, just as Yun Zijin and Su Mengyao reached the dessert table, they saw Sheng Yang walk over.
"My dear young ladies, long time no see!"
Sheng Yang came right over and sat down beside them without any ceremony.
"What are you doing over here? Shouldn’t you be out there mingling? You might find an investor or two for your bar."
Yun Zijin said jokingly.
"Sister Yun, don’t joke around. In all of Dijing, no one besides you dares to invest in me."
Given the word Sheng Hao put out, no smaller families dared to defy him, with the exception of the other three of the Four Great Families. Yun Zijin was a special case among them.
Yun Zijin had built her wealth by collecting rent, so even if Sheng Hao wanted to impose commercial sanctions, there was nothing he could do.
Besides, Yun Zijin knew all of them. No matter how ruthless Sheng Hao could be, he wouldn’t dare make a move against Yun Zijin.
"So you’re saying I’m the only one you’ve managed to trick onto this ship?"
"Heh heh..."
Sheng Yang gave a dry laugh. "Sister Yun, you have to believe me, I’m serious. I definitely won’t let you lose money."
"So, now that you’ve opened a bar, will your brother still give you an allowance?"
Su Mengyao asked the million-dollar question.
Sheng Hao was so against it, yet Sheng Yang was still insistent. If his allowance got cut off, Sheng Yang would be truly broke before the bar even started making money.
Sheng Yang paused. He hadn’t actually considered that problem.
At that thought, Sheng Yang looked utterly defeated.
"Sister Yun..."
If he really didn’t get his allowance, he’d be eating dirt next month!
"Don’t look at me. I’m not going to be the one giving you an allowance."
As a friend, if he had no money, she could treat him to a meal, but giving him an allowance was absolutely out of the question.
"Giving who an allowance?"
Just as Yun Zijin finished speaking, Lu Yunfeng, who had approached at some point, voiced his question.
"This young lady has plenty of allowance money. Sheng Yang, if your brother cuts you off, I can grudgingly cover your meal expenses.
But let’s be clear, I’m talking about three square meals a day. If you go spending money at bars or clubs, I’m not covering that."
Su Mengyao generously offered her help, but she wasn’t the type to lose her head and offer up her entire allowance.
You can offer a man a helping hand when he’s down on his luck, but you have to know where to draw the line. It should never affect your own life.
"Sheng Yang, since when did you fall so low that you need others to bail you out?"
Lu Yunfeng sat down next to Sheng Yang. Hearing Su Mengyao’s words, he was in disbelief.
"Don’t even mention it. I’m just worried my brother won’t give me my allowance next month!"
Without an allowance, he probably wouldn’t even last a month.
"Brother Hao wouldn’t be that cruel, would he?"
Lu Yunfeng shot Sheng Yang a pitying glance. ’You could have done anything, but you just had to open a bar. If he wasn’t going to cut off your allowance, whose would he cut off?’
"You’d better take care of yourself. My allowance isn’t even as much as yours, so I can’t help you."
Sheng Yang: ...
At that moment, a sudden commotion rippled through the crowd in the villa’s garden. The group of friends all turned to look in the direction of the disturbance.
"It’s Old Sir Lu, and Grandma Xu. Following them are President Xiao Lu and his parents, as well as Lu Yunfeng’s parents."
It was Yun Zijin’s first time attending a Lu Family banquet, so Su Mengyao thoughtfully provided introductions for her.
"The hosts have arrived. Should we go over and pay our respects?"
"I don’t have to. My parents and my older brother will go."
Su Mengyao wasn’t very interested in such pleasantries. Every time she attended a banquet, she would find a quiet corner to slack off.
It wasn’t her turn to worry about socializing.
"My brother can represent our family. It doesn’t matter if I go or not."
"I have to go. If my dad sees me just idling here, he’ll definitely have something to say about it.
Sister Yun, why don’t you come with me?"
Su Mengyao and Sheng Yang didn’t want to join the crowd, but Lu Yunfeng was a child of the main Lu Family branch, so he definitely had to go.
Since Yun Zijin was there by herself, it was a matter of courtesy for her to go and greet them.
Yun Zijin nodded. "Let’s go."
"If you’re going, Sister Yun, I’ll go with you!"
"Count me in!"
The moment Su Mengyao and Sheng Yang heard Yun Zijin was going to pay her respects, they immediately changed their minds.
"You just said you didn’t want to go..."
Lu Yunfeng shot them a look, as if to say, ’Such fickle humans.’
"So what if I changed my mind? Now hurry up and clear a path for us!"
With so many people crowded around the two elders, they would never be able to squeeze through without someone leading the way.
Lu Yunfeng was a Lu Family member, after all. The others couldn’t possibly block the birthday boy’s own grandson from coming to offer his wishes, right?
’You’ve really got it all figured out, haven’t you?’ Lu Yunfeng thought.
But even though Lu Yunfeng was complaining internally, his actions were decisive.
Sure enough, when the others saw Lu Yunfeng, they consciously made way, which benefited the three people following behind him.
"Grandpa, I’m here to wish you a happy birthday!"
In front of Old Sir Lu, Lu Yunfeng was the perfect image of a cheerful grandson.
Upon seeing Lu Yunfeng, the smile on Old Sir Lu’s face clearly deepened.
