"Take Xiaoxue with you. She likes these kinds of occasions. Just make sure she doesn't cause any trouble." Lin Xiaoxue desperately wanted to fit into the circle of socialites and heiresses, but she was struggling to find an opportunity to get close to them.

"That works too. I reckon in a few days she'll be even more popular than Gu Yan, with tons of friends in the industry." Lin Xiaoxue is a shrewd person. With the Bai family as her backing, she'll definitely be able to leverage that to develop a powerful network of connections.

"She likes this kind of life, so let her have her chance." Lin Xiazhu shrugged. Once Lin Xiaoxue graduates from university, she won't interfere anymore. She figured she wouldn't be able to control her then anyway.

The banquet lasted for a full three hours before it ended. Lin Xiazhu left an hour early and took Lin Taozi back to their room to shower and sleep.

The villa where the banquet was held was separated from the old house by a small garden. When Grandpa Bai was still alive, he didn't like living in a noisy place, so he used the villa next door specifically for banquets, and it was usually empty.

The neighbors next door were quite lively, but it didn't affect Lin Xiazhu's sleep. The Bai family's house was big with many rooms, and they managed to arrange a room for both her and Lin Taozi, so she slept in a room by herself.

She didn't know how long she had been asleep when she heard a knocking on the door. At first, she thought she had misheard and buried her head under the covers to ignore it, but the knocking became louder and more frequent.

"Who is it?" She was a bit grumpy in bed; she was sleeping soundly when she was woken up, so who would be in a good mood?

"Xiaozhu, it's me." A calm voice came from outside the door, not deliberately lowered, just an ordinary yet self-righteous knock on the door in the middle of the night.

Lin Xiazhu was stunned for a moment before she realized what was happening. She grabbed the pager on the bedside table and checked the time: midnight. The banquet should have ended before 2 a.m. So this guy came over after taking a shower?

"Xiao An, what's wrong so late? If you don't have anything to do, go to sleep early. If you do, we can talk about it tomorrow." Lin Xiazhu walked to the door but didn't open it, speaking in a low voice.

The person outside the door was silent for a moment before speaking, in a calm tone, "Xiaozhu, open the door, I want to come in."

Lin Xiazhu: "..." What are you doing coming in the middle of the night? A lone man and a lone woman, what if she pounces on him?

"Xiao Zhu..." The person outside the door was still tempting her.

With a "bang," Lin Xiazhu pulled and tugged, instantly dragging the person outside the door into the room. Bai Ruan leaned against the door, her heart suddenly racing, completely losing the calm and composure she had shown outside.

Lin Xiazhu fumbled for the light switch, but couldn't find it after a while. "Where's the switch? I can't find it." She was tense, unsure whether she was nervous or not.

"Don't turn on the light," Xiao An grabbed her hand, pulled her into her arms, buried her head in her neck, and whispered, "Just for a little while."

How could she come downstairs in a bathrobe? She had just taken a shower and her body smelled of fresh shower gel, which was very pleasant. Lin Xiazhu couldn't help but take a deep breath and secretly put her hands behind someone's back, then tightened them.

Hehe, now I can hug you openly and legitimately.

Half an hour later, Lin Xiazhu pushed the person out the door and said, "I'm sleepy, you should go back to your room and sleep early too." If she lingered any longer, she would have to throw the person on the bed and rub them.

Bai Ru'an staggered a few steps, his hair was a little messy, and his fair and delicate face was flushed. The belt of his bathrobe was loose and the collar was open, making him look a little disheveled. However, he pursed his lips, quickly regained his composure, chuckled, and started to go upstairs.

The stairs were on the other side of the guest room. To get back to the second floor, one had to go through the living room. As soon as Bai Ru'an walked into the living room, someone overheard her jokingly saying, "Why are you going to the guest room in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? You look like you've been ravaged."

Bai Ruan paused, glanced at Bai Junbai, and said calmly, "Second Uncle, as far as I know, in the twenty years from when you were sixteen to now, you have dated at least three hundred and sixty-five girlfriends, but you have never dared to bring any of them home. Grandpa is very worried about you."

"What the hell? Are you implying that I should get married?" Bai Junbai held a wine glass in one hand, gently swirling the red wine inside, and squinted at his nephew.

"Drink less. I'm not implying anything, but you're almost forty. If you don't get married soon, you'll lower the birth rate. Do you want to be childless?" Bai Ru'an said these words in a serious tone, making it hard to tell whether he was being sarcastic or not.

"So you're so eager to get married and have children so you can inherit all of the Bai family's wealth?" Bai Junbai scoffed. He wouldn't get married and have children for the sake of the family fortune; he hadn't had enough fun yet.

Bai Ru'an, who was about to go upstairs, turned around and sat down next to him. She said earnestly, "Second Uncle, I am very lucky to have met someone I like early on, so I want to be with her as soon as possible. Unlike you, who has been searching for so many years and still can't find someone you truly like. This is fate, there's no comparison."

"Pfft," Bai Junbai laughed in exasperation. "You brat, wait until you're married before you start showing off. Whether you'll make it to the end is still uncertain. How old are you now? Twenty-four? If you can marry Lin Xiazhu within three years, I'll take your surname."

"Let's forget it. We all share the same surname, Bai. It's pointless to say something like that." Bai Ru'an gave a slight smirk, assuming he was just talking nonsense.

"Okay, if you get married within three years, I'll give you five percent of the Songbai Group shares and my niece-in-law. But you can't marry anyone else. I'll see if you can bring home the first woman you like."

Bai Junbai snorted. He couldn't even remember who his first love was, what she looked like, or whether she was round or flat.

"It must be her," Bai Ru'an said firmly.

After the living room lights were turned off and the two went upstairs, Gu Qiao'er walked out from a corner of the guest room corridor, biting her lip. She had seen Bai Ru'an come out of Lin Xiazhu's room and had been hiding there listening to him and Bai Junbai talk.

Unexpectedly, Bai Ruan really intends to marry Lin Xiazhu. Lin Xiazhu is too lucky. She just picked him up and raised him for a few years and got such a big reward. It's really unfair.

It's all because of her two stupid parents. Why did they sell Bai Ru'an back then? No matter how poor the family was, they could have raised one child. If they had gritted their teeth and persevered for a few years, their situation would be completely different now. Maybe the person Bai Ru'an wanted to marry was Gu Yan, or maybe it was her.

"We've lost a lot of money," Gu Qiao'er couldn't help but say.

"Where did we lose out?" Lin Xiaoxue suddenly asked, startling the eavesdropper.

"When did you start standing behind me? You don't even make a sound when you walk!" Gu Qiao'er asked, annoyed, wondering how long this person had been there.

As if answering her question, Lin Xiaoxue said with a half-smile, "I've been standing behind you since you started standing here. I didn't expect you to be this kind of person, liking to eavesdrop on other people's conversations. You're so rude and have no manners."

"Ridiculous, isn't that also an insult to yourself? You were eavesdropping just the same way." Gu Qiao'er glared at her resentfully.

"No, I just wanted to see what you were up to, and then I accidentally overheard them talking. You're the one to blame," Lin Xiaoxue retorted shamelessly.

Faced with her unreasonable arguments, Gu Qiao'er was speechless with anger and could only turn around and go back to her room in a huff.