Family banquet
Xiao Heng tried to get up, but suddenly felt a splitting headache.
He immediately sat down and covered his head with his hands.
Seeing this, the assistant quickly stepped forward, "Mr. Xiao, what's wrong?"
Large beads of sweat streamed down Xiao Heng's forehead. His brain felt like it had been split open; in his hazy state, an image that didn't belong to this world seemed to appear in his mind:
He was shirtless, kneeling before the bed, while a woman whipped him. His back was covered in welts.
As the woman whipped him, her smile twisted, and her face became clearer and clearer—it was Ye Wanqing!
After suffering from a headache for about 10 minutes, Xiao Heng finally came to his senses.
Seeing this, the assistant got up and went over to shake him, "Mr. Xiao, are you alright?"
Xiao Heng patted his forehead. "It's nothing."
What's wrong with him? Why is he hallucinating? Is it about Ye Wanqing?
Am I just too tired lately? But those hallucinations were so vivid, so unforgettable. It felt like they had actually happened.
"Then, Mr. Xiao, let's go."
So the two of them got up and left.
His assistant opened the car door for him; it was a limited-edition Rolls-Royce imported from abroad.
In the 1980s, there were no more than three cars in the entire country.
This is a symbol of status in the Dragon Kingdom, especially for Xiao Heng, one of the Four Young Masters of the Capital.
The Rolls-Royce drove slowly down the road. At that time, Beijing was the most prosperous city in the entire Dragon Kingdom.
Even in such a city, there are very few vehicles on the road.
Every time a car occasionally drives by, passersby will stop, glance at the departing vehicle, and sigh.
"It's so nice to have a car."
As the Rolls-Royce sped past on the road, passersby all turned to look.
"Look, that's Xiao Heng's car, one of the Four Young Masters of Beijing."
The Rolls-Royce slowly drove up to a courtyard house, behind which was the Daming Palace.
This courtyard house was originally a prince's mansion. After liberation, it was divided into 20 households. Later, the Xiao family bought the property rights from those 20 households. Now, the property rights of this courtyard house belong entirely to the Xiao family.
Besides this courtyard house, the Xiao family also had a large old manor house in the suburbs where his grandparents lived.
This time, he was going back to the old manor house in the suburbs. After all, his grandparents had doted on him since he was a child, and he was raised by his grandmother.
Grandma Xiao was delighted to see him. "Grandson, come here, let me introduce you to a girl—Jiang Linlin. She's the daughter of the Jiang family. You two knew each other when you were little. You could say you were childhood sweethearts."
Xiao Heng then noticed that there was a tall, stylishly dressed girl at the family dinner.
He remembered playing with her when he was a child, but after he grew up and went abroad to study, he almost never saw her again.
When Jiang Linlin saw Xiao Heng, her eyes lit up. "Xiao Heng, hello. It's a pleasure to meet you."
She reached out her hand to shake his, but a minute passed and Xiao Heng still hadn't extended his hand.
She had no choice but to awkwardly withdraw her hand.
Xiao Heng's father, Xiao Jinshan, stepped forward and reprimanded him, "Xiao Heng, what are you doing? You can't be so rude to girls."
Xiao Heng's stepmother, Fan Meili, chimed in, "Xiao Heng, at least say hello to Linlin."
Xiao Heng's gaze fell on his stepmother, Fan Meili, and he felt disgusted by her tacky and vulgar appearance today.
Fan Meili was Xiao Heng's stepmother. Xiao Heng's mother, Yao Chunxue, fell ill shortly after giving birth to him and was bedridden for many years. Xiao Jinshan disliked her and kept Fan Meili as a mistress. Later, after Fan Meili gave birth to their son, Xiao Che, he divorced Yao Chunxue, gave her alimony, and married Fan Meili. Unfortunately, Yao Chunxue died soon after, consumed by grief.
As a child, Xiao Heng saw his mother always in tears but was powerless to help. Over the years, Xiao Heng has endured humiliation and hardship, built up his family business, and made it bigger and stronger, all for the sake of avenging his mother one day.
He immediately frowned. "Isn't this supposed to be a family dinner? Are you trying to set me up with someone?"
The Xiao family members looked at each other in bewilderment.
Grandmother spoke up, "Eldest grandson, you're not young anymore, it's time for you to settle down. Linlin is a good match. We know her well, and if our two families unite in marriage, we're sure to make our business bigger and stronger."
Xiao Heng sneered, then turned around, "Grandfather and Grandmother, but I already have someone I like."
"What? Someone you like?" Jiang Linlin was immediately embarrassed upon hearing this.
"Uncle and Aunt, I have some things to take care of at home. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."
After saying that, she turned and left.
After Jiang Linlin left, Xiao Jinshan was a little angry. "Xiao Heng, you unfilial son! I didn't hear anything about you having someone you liked. Why didn't you tell me beforehand? You made Jiang Linlin come all this way for nothing. Wasn't that intentional?"
"You didn't even tell me when you married Yao Meili?"
Xiao Heng directly retorted.
"You!" Xiao Jinshan was furious, but he still said, "Then which family's daughter is the girl you like? Bring her back when you have time, so we can see if we're satisfied."
"My woman is fine with me. What's it to you?"
Xiao Heng sat down on the sofa and crossed his legs.
"Brother, how dare you talk to Dad like that?" Xiao Che also came over to scold him.
Xiao Heng narrowed his dark eyes and looked at him coldly, "What right do you, a bastard child, have to reprimand me?"
"You!" Xiao Che was furious and quickly complained to his mother, "Mom, look at Xiao Heng."
Fan Meili was furious. "Xiao Heng, I'll say it again, Xiao Che is not an illegitimate child. I am your father's lawfully wedded wife."
"Heh. A lawful marriage? My mom and dad weren't divorced when you gave birth to him. He's an illegitimate child!"
"Enough!"
Xiao Jinshan couldn't stand it anymore and immediately came over, slapping Xiao Heng across the face. "How dare you speak to your stepmother like that?"
Xiao Heng clenched his fists tightly, glared at him fiercely, and sneered, "Heh. As expected, all you care about is that mother and son. If it weren't for my grandmother, I wouldn't have come to this family banquet."
After saying that, Xiao Heng got up and strode away.
Grandma Xiao quickly called to him, "Grandson, eat before you leave."
But Xiao Heng did not answer and quickly drove away into the night.
^
On the day of the fashion design competition, the area around Mingzhu Garment Factory was packed with people, and the atmosphere was bustling with noise. The professional catwalk for the competition was set up near the gate of the garment factory.
The gold lettering of "The First Pearl Fashion Design Competition" on the red silk curtain shimmered in the sunlight.
Because Shanghai had never held a fashion design competition before, television stations even came to interview them.
At that moment, Zhou Zhiyuan was also among the crowd. He had come because Ye Wanqing was also attending the fashion competition.
He was indeed very curious, wondering what surprise Ye Wanqing had come up with that led to the idea of a fashion competition, or what other surprise he didn't know about.
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