Among the Zhou family's generation, including Zhou Shaoqiu, Zhou Shaoyuan is the oldest unmarried girl in Shanghai, already twenty-two this year.

The second master was a dutiful man and never went out to have affairs. He also had no concubines. So the second wife gave birth to two daughters and three sons.

Zhou Shaoyuan was the most beautiful of all the girls in the Zhou family. The second wife always felt that it would be a waste for her to marry into an ordinary family with her beauty. So her youngest daughter got married early and now has two children. But the eldest daughter, Zhou Shaoyuan, is too picky and hasn't found a suitable partner yet.

When Zhou Shaoyuan came downstairs, most of the guests had arrived. The second wife had initially said she wasn't feeling well and couldn't come down. But now she said she could barely get up and insisted on coming down to celebrate her aunt's birthday.

Everyone in the room knew perfectly well why she was doing this. Fortunately, Zhou Shaoyuan had been pampered by her parents since childhood and couldn't put on any pretentious act. She didn't feign illness or weakness, saving everyone the trouble of pretending to care about her.

Zhou Shaoyuan entered the house, first greeting the elders, then glancing at the seat next to Zhou Xiangnan. It had already been taken by the second niece of the First Madam's family. She was speaking softly to Zhou Xiangnan.

Having grown up in a large family, Zhou Shaoyuan was no less cunning.

She had someone bring her a chair and sat down directly next to Xu Keke, saying with a smile, "I haven't seen my little sister around lately, so I'll just let her play with me for a bit."

The Zhou family had been living in the north for many years, and half the people in the house were from the south. They laughed and scolded her for mimicking their accented speech. She was already beautiful, and her lively and playful nature made Xu Keke, sitting next to her, seem like a wooden doll.

Although Xu Keke disliked the atmosphere in the room, she maintained proper politeness. She chatted with Zhou Shaoyuan for a few moments with a faint smile. However, it was clear that the other woman's mind was not on her.

Upon hearing the eldest wife's niece mention Zhou Xiangnan's newly opened film company, she looked past Xu Keke and Wang Shujin, and said loudly to Zhou Xiangnan,

“Auntie, you’re so capable! I read in the newspaper that you’ve opened a film company. My mom always tells me to learn from you, but I told her, where am I supposed to learn that? I’m with Madam and the others every day, and besides managing the household, I can only play mahjong faster than others.”

Her voice wasn't quiet, and the hall in the Zhou residence wasn't large, so many people in the room stopped talking and looked over. Xu Keke admired her greatly; it was one thing for her to do it herself, but she also dared to drag Zhou Xiangnan along, offending all the women in the room.

Unlike Xu Keke, who was still polite to her, Zhou Xiangnan interrupted her directly, saying, "This has nothing to do with ability; it's just that everyone has different preferences and specialties."

Zhou Shaoyuan didn't give up. "You're absolutely right. That's what I was thinking too. My mother even said that if I'm interested, I can write the character 'Zhou' in one stroke anyway, so she told me to bring it up with you myself. I want to come and learn from you. If I'm actually talented, that would be great. If not, I won't regret it."

Zhou Xiangnan frowned, making no attempt to hide her distrust. "What would you do?"

"Auntie, I want to be a star. I know I won't, but..."

The second wife got anxious and ran over from the opposite side. She gestured for a long time before gently patting Zhou Shaoyuan's shoulder. "What nonsense are you talking about, child? We asked you to follow your aunt so that you could serve and take care of her. Who asked you to act in any plays?"

“My aunt’s family has servants, why should I serve them? I’m clumsy, they can’t do it as well as I can. So what if I’m acting? It’s better than me staying at home all day. If I do a good job, I can even help my aunt earn money.”

Zhou Shaoyuan was least afraid of the second wife. She glared at her, pouted, and angrily turned her head away, refusing to look at her again.

Zhou Shaoyuan's words just now were a lucky coincidence. If she had really thought what the Second Madam was thinking and told Zhou Xiangnan that she wanted to come and serve her, then Zhou Xiangnan would have actually refused.

"If you really want to do it, come find me some time. You don't need to make money for me, just treat it as a hobby. If it works out, you'll have something to do."

Upon hearing Zhou Xiangnan's words, Zhou Shaoyuan turned around, her eyes sparkling, and smiled charmingly at the group with her red lips pursed.

An old woman came in and said that Mrs. Ji and Miss Tang had arrived.

Before Xu Keke could figure out who it was, Zhou Shaoyuan had already cheerfully gone out to greet them. After what had just happened, the second wife was also worried about her eldest daughter, and without even saying a word, she hurriedly followed.

Seeing that there were no outsiders around, Wang Shujin asked Zhou Xiangnan in a low voice, "Is it okay? That child is not very reliable and will cause you more trouble."

"Hmph, if he wants to cause me trouble, he can do it anywhere. My second brother isn't exactly a good manager either. If she goes to someone else's place, it'll only make things worse. It's better for him to keep an eye on things right in front of me."

Zhou Xiangnan turned to look at Wang Shujin, "Consider it repaying Second Brother's favor."

Wang Shujin understood what she meant and nodded in agreement, "You handle it as you see fit. I don't understand things outside. Just don't make things difficult for yourself."

Almost all the women of the Zhou family came out to welcome the Ji family members in. Only Xu Keke and her group remained in the room, along with a few other guests who were close to the Zhou family.

Mrs. Ji had seen Zhou Xiangnan before, and seeing that he hadn't even moved after she entered, she felt a little uncomfortable. Pretending not to recognize him, she smiled and asked Mrs. Zhou, "These ladies, I've never seen them before. Are they from our household?"

According to etiquette, the eldest wife of the Zhou family shouldn't have gone out to greet them. But that wouldn't have been a problem in itself; at most, she was just being a little too hospitable. However, compared to the three people sitting there calmly and composedly, she seemed a bit too eager.

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