At 7 PM, Su Mei drove her eight-digit sports car to the Shengyuan Hotel.

She wasn’t sure if it was her eye-catching outfit that made her look like she had spending power, but when she reached the entrance of the venue, she didn’t even need to show her ticket. Two staff members warmly ushered her in.

If the staff had known Su Mei’s thoughts, they would have definitely said, “Mrs. Gu, you’re overthinking it.”

Everyone attending the auction was dressed to impress, and quite a few internet celebrities were even wearing knockoff dresses from a certain online store just to sneak in.

Their enthusiasm towards Su Mei was because they recognized her.

Today, the name ‘Su Mei’ has caused quite a stir online.

And by now, anyone who wasn’t behind on their internet bills knew who Su Mei was.

Moreover, the official account of the Gu Group clearly stated that Su Mei was the company’s second-largest shareholder.

If all went as expected, the Gu Group would become the largest investor in the next project of the Shengyuan Group.

……

As soon as Su Mei entered the venue, she unsurprisingly attracted a lot of attention.

“Oh, Mrs. Gu, long time no see! You’re getting more and more beautiful. I almost didn’t recognize you. I was just about to go outside to greet you, but here you are already.”

“Uh……” It took Su Mei a moment to recognize the glittering middle-aged woman in front of her.

“Mrs. Yu, long time no see. You seem to have lost weight recently.”

“Oh, really? I hadn’t noticed until you mentioned it. But I have been drinking a wellness tea recently, and it seems to be working.” As she spoke, Mrs. Yu linked her arm with Su Mei’s.

“The main auction won’t start for a while. It’s exhibition time now. Let’s go have a look around.”

“Sure.” Su Mei’s eyes lit up at the thought of all the blingbling.

“Susu.”

Just as Su Mei responded, someone suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Susu, why haven’t you replied to my texts?”

Probably because I blocked you.

Su Mei silently retorted as she looked at Lin Manman, who appeared before her with a face that said, ‘You and I are really close’.

Was this the legendary cannon fodder effect? All the antagonistic side characters were flocking together.

In the novel, if Su Mei hadn’t become ‘Mrs. Gu’ and Lin Manman her best friend, Lin Manman would have just been an ordinary company employee. How did she manage to get an invitation to this kind of auction?

Su Mei was puzzled when she saw a woman gracefully approaching them with a glass of champagne.

“Ms. Su, Manman, is there some misunderstanding between you two?” The woman asked with a concerned expression.

Upon seeing her, Lin Manman looked excited, as if she had found an ally.

“Jiaying, you’re here!”

Jiaying? As in Shen Jiaying?

Wasn’t she the female antagonist in 《Contract Lover》, whose role was second only to the female protagonist?

As Su Mei was trying to recall the novel’s plot, she heard Mrs. Yu beside her greeting Shen Jiaying enthusiastically.

“Ms. Shen, long time no see! You’re as beautiful as ever. Are you here to look at the jewelry as well?”

“Just browsing.” Shen Jiaying replied, appearing polite but actually quite indifferent. It was clear she didn’t even remember who Mrs. Yu was.

“Oh, right, aren’t you quite close with Mrs. Yang?” Shen Jiaying asked, turning to Mrs. Yu.

“Ah, Mrs. Yang?” Which Mrs. Yang?

“Yes, I saw Mrs. Yang over there. Would you like to go over and say hello?” Shen Jiaying asked with a smile.

Although the Yu family’s company was insignificant compared to the Gu and Shen families, Mrs. Yu had been in this circle long enough to have some insight.

“Oh, ah, yes, it’s been a long time since I last saw her. I’ll go say hi. You all chat.” Mrs. Yu said, sensibly making her exit.

Don’t go!

Su Mei almost reached out to stop her.

“Well, I’ll go say hi to Mrs. Yang as well.” Su Mei said, forcing a smile.

Although in the story, her role as the fake stepmother didn’t conflict with the female antagonists, Su Mei still didn’t want to stay with Shen Jiaying.

With her fair skin, stunning beauty, and an A+ rating in every aspect, she perfectly fits the typical female antagonist in novels.

However, unlike other female antagonists, this one didn’t need any external triggers to turn dark because she was inherently antagonistic from the start.

It seemed that because the two families lived close to each other for a year and a half during their childhood and because Shen Jiaying believed she had saved the male protagonist’s life and was his ‘white moonlight^[1]unforgettable first love’, she seemed to have an intense possessiveness towards Gu Yancheng.

The female protagonist, Bai Xinyu, hadn’t even appeared yet, but Shen Jiaying had already done a number of bizarre things, both openly and covertly.

Although this scenario was purely hypothetical, just imagining Shen Jiaying, who appeared to be an angel but was actually a twisted and obsessive woman, marrying Gu Yancheng and becoming her ‘daughter-in-law’, made Su Mei shudder uncontrollably.

Compared to her, the strong and inspiring female protagonist was definitely more likable.

Shen Jiaying’s bizarre actions had always been discreet, and if it weren’t for the fact that she had done many things that directly harmed Bai Xinyu after the female protagonist appeared, Gu Yancheng might not even have known her true color, or he might not have taken her seriously at all.

“Ms. Su, please wait a moment.” Seeing Su Mei about to leave, Shen Jiaying called out to her.

Aside from the friends Su Mei knew before her association with Gu Hongguang, who called her Susu, most people would refer to her as ‘Mrs. Gu’.

Shen Jiaying was an exception.

In her view, the title Mrs. Gu was something that belonged solely to her and was not to be claimed by anyone else, even if Su Mei was connected to Gu Hongguang rather than Gu Yancheng.

“You two are good friends. Since there’s been a misunderstanding, I think it’s only fair to give Manman a chance to clear things up.”

“Ms. Shen, you’re overthinking it. There’s no misunderstanding between us, and I’m not upset.” Su Mei replied nonchalantly.

She wasn’t the other Su Mei so there was no way she would be upset over Lin Manman and Wei Jingyi’s issue.

“That’s good to hear. Since there’s no misunderstanding, let’s chat together. I heard a lot about you from Manman, and I’d love to have a conversation with you.”

Before Su Mei could respond, Shen Jiaying continued, “I also heard that you’re now a shareholder of the Gu Group. Congratulations on that. However, 6% seems to fall short of Ms. Su’s expectations, doesn’t it?”

“Oh, I know this might seem abrupt, but……”

Su Mei: “……”

She had a bad feeling and vaguely guessed what Shen Jiaying was about to say next.

“Manman might not have told you, but I know a bit about your previous actions and even provided some assistance.”

Upon hearing Shen Jiaying’s words, Su Mei thought to herself, As expected.

Although Lin Manman always portrayed herself as Su Mei’s close friend, in reality, she had long since used the opportunities provided by the other Su Mei to become a follower of Shen Jiaying.

In the novel, Su Mei got that ‘thing’ from Gu Yancheng, but the reason she didn’t become pregnant afterward was because Lin Manman had sent it to Shen Jiaying as soon as Su Mei brought it to the hospital.

Clearly, these were all part of Shen Jiaying’s initial plan.

Now that Su Mei hadn’t obtained that ‘thing’, Shen Jiaying was clearly unwilling to let it go.

“Manman mentioned that the matter might not have been explained clearly over the phone. I just wanted to know if Miss Su has gotten Gu—”

“Oh, where did my lipstick go?” Su Mei interrupted Shen Jiaying just in time.

This was a novel world, revolving around the male protagonist!

Who knew if there were any of Gu Yancheng’s people at this auction? If Shen Jiaying’s words reached Gu Yancheng, Su Mei could end up with her neck on the chopping block, waiting for the male protagonist to take action.

“Oh, it might have been left in the restroom just now. I’m so forgetful. I’m sorry, but I need to go look for it.” Su Mei said, quickly retreating from the battlefield.

She dashed away in small, hurried steps towards the hallway.

Su Mei now only regretted one thing. Why did she wear high heels, especially ones with a 10-centimeter heel, just for the sake of looking good?!

“Ah!”

“Be careful.”

As Su Mei was running, her feet suddenly slipped.

Stumbling, and seeing the marble floor approaching rapidly, Su Mei braced herself for a potentially disastrous fall. However, just a meter from the ground, she was caught by a strong arm.

Before Su Mei could even regain her composure, a distinctly masculine scent filled her nostrils, and she felt her face blush in an instant.

Even though she had been a complete homebody and felt no pressure while livestreaming before entering the novel world, the truth was she had always been single and inexperienced in romantic matters.

In her over twenty years of life, aside from holding hands with a little boy during a kindergarten performance, this was her first time being so close to a member of the opposite sex.

Gazing down at the meticulously tailored suit sleeve she was still gripping, Su Mei’s expression froze. Steeling herself, she used the support to stand steadily, then quickly withdrew from the other person.

“Err……” The other party helped her, so she needed to express her gratitude. “Thank you—”

As Su Mei looked up at the tall man in front of her, her expression changed dramatically.

“Ma—!”