Along with the bank transfer notification came Lu Jing's invitation.
"Lin An, I've booked a place for you young people. Please do me the honor of joining us. My son, Lu Xun, will be hosting you tonight."
Lin An understood Lu Jing's good intentions. He and Lu Xun had just come of age, and he guessed that the other people invited were also second-generation members of prominent families of similar age. Lu Jing was probably worried that with elders present, the young people wouldn't be able to open up and communicate freely.
Lin An bid farewell to Xu Mo and arrived at the agreed location at the appointed time.
The destination was a well-known members-only club in Shanghai.
Lu Jing's reserved private room is on the top floor, where you can not only eat and sing, but also have a huge terrace overlooking the city night view.
As soon as Lin An entered, he saw Lu Xun sitting in the middle, dressed in white. His excellent features were made even more handsome by his flaxen hair. He had changed to such a flamboyant hair color after only a few days. It was indeed Lu Xun's style.
Lu Xun was a little excited to see Lin An, who had stolen his thunder in the examination room. He greeted him with a smile, "Hello, Lin An, we meet again."
"Hello."
"Lin An, do you know Lu Xun?" a familiar female voice asked.
Lin An's gaze followed the sound and found Zhou Ya. It had been almost a month since they last met. Zhou Ya was dressed casually today, wearing light blue jeans with a stylish white shirt, looking youthful and beautiful while maintaining a professional demeanor.
The Lu family is a well-known prominent family in Beijing, with numerous businesses in Shanghai. They have collaborated with the Zhou family on several projects, so it's only natural that they have a good relationship. Lin An wasn't surprised to see Zhou Ya here and replied with a smile:
"We got to know each other after taking the exam together."
"The National Mathematics Competition? I heard. You came in first place. Congratulations, Lin An." A hint of shyness flashed in Zhou Ya's eyes as she spoke.
"Thanks."
As soon as Lin An finished speaking, two people returned to the room from the terrace one after the other. One of them exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, how did you end up here? You need an invitation to enter."
Who else but Lin Zhe with his foul mouth could say such despicable things?
Lin An rolled his eyes. How come there's this idiot everywhere?
Lu Xun frowned when he heard Lin Zhe's teasing question. Lin An was a friend he valued and a distinguished guest personally invited by Lu Jing. Where did this arrogant brat come from, so rude as to come and question him?
Lu Xun said coldly, "Lin An is my friend, and he was personally invited by my father. Who are you? I don't remember inviting you."
The girl behind Lin Zhe walked around to the front and said, "I brought him in. Uncle Lu asked me to bring all my familiar friends. Lin Zhe is about our age, so it's not unreasonable for me to bring him in, is it?"
The speaker was Jiang Mian, Lin An's fiancée, and she was as beautiful as Lin An remembered from his previous life.
To be precise, this was not the first time Lin An and Jiang Mian had met. According to Butler Li's recollection, Lin An met Jiang Mian when he was one year old and she was two years old. At that time, Grandpa Lin was still alive and arranged the marriage with his old friend Grandpa Jiang.
In his past life, Lin An fell in love with Jiang Mian at first sight. With the added filter of his fiancée, he regarded her as a goddess. He forced himself to do everything that Jiang Mian liked and never touched anything that Jiang Mian disliked.
The harder Lin An tried, the more Jiang Mian wanted to escape him. In the end, she couldn't even keep the title of fiancé. It's likely that Lin Zhe's instigation played a significant role in this.
However, none of that matters now. The past is gone, and Lin An now knows who is truly worth cherishing.
The Jiang family has been steadily developing in the capital for decades, and their strength should not be underestimated. Moreover, Jiang Mian came to Haishi this time to inspect the projects that her father was going to cooperate with the Lu family in Haishi. Lu Xun did not want to offend her, so he quickly replied, "She is Mianmian's friend. Then welcome."
"What a coincidence! You and Lin An are brothers? Cousins?" Lu Xun is known for being talkative.
Lin An was annoyed by Lin Zhe and just wanted to distance himself from him. He said coldly, "No, I have nothing to do with him! He probably just likes to claim brothers everywhere. Be careful, or you might end up becoming his brother."
Upon hearing this, Lin Zhe didn't feel ashamed at all. In fact, there was a hint of smugness in his eyes, as if he were showing Jiang Mian that Lin An was just as he had said—uncultured, a deserter from his family, and liked to embarrass his kind and soft-hearted younger brother in public.
The atmosphere became a little awkward for a moment. Jiang Mian spoke up, "Lin An, come here for a second, I have something to tell you."
Lin An frowned. Having been given a second chance at life, he really didn't want to get involved with Jiang Mian anymore.
Zhou Ya keenly sensed the subtle atmosphere between the two. Based on a woman's intuition, she felt that Jiang Mian was different from Lin An, and a sense of hostility arose in her heart.
Jiang Mian stared straight at Lin An, waiting for his answer.
Lin An replied helplessly, "Okay."
He then followed her to the outdoor terrace.
"Say what you want to say now."
Jiang Mian's eyes were firm as she said, "You must know who I am, right? Our grandfather once arranged a marriage between us."
"Yes, I know about that."
“I heard from Lin Zhe that you have severed ties with the Lin family, so you are no longer a member of the Lin family. Our engagement is no longer valid, since my grandfather arranged the engagement for me with the Lin family.” Jiang Mian directly stated that the purpose of her conversation with Lin An was to break off the engagement.
"Okay, I understand, I agree."
Jiang Mian was surprised that Lin An agreed so readily. She had originally planned that if he bothered her, she would just pay him off to avoid trouble.
Jiang Mian continued, "Don't blame me for being heartless. You chose to betray the Lin family, so I have no choice but to break off the engagement. Besides, I prefer someone like Lin Zhe who has gentlemanly manners. Of course, if you are really having financial difficulties, I can consider giving you some compensation."
Lin An's gaze toward Jiang Mian turned fierce. "So what if you broke off the engagement? Nobody wants to marry you anyway. Why are you still making snide remarks about him being uncultured and ungentlemanly? He hates brainless and incompetent women the most right now."
"Are you done talking? I don't need your compensation. If you like Lin Zhe, then hurry up and be with him. I wish you a long and happy marriage. You have nothing to do with me anymore. Are you done talking? I'm going in now."
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