When Shang Xinglu looked at the young woman who seemed to be wearing the same outfit, she was still a bit confused, not fully understanding the high-society concept of “dress collision.”

But when she turned around to face Shi Rui and the others, she immediately switched to an expression of righteous indignation.

She silently performed a look of outrage.

She didn’t speak for now because she hadn’t figured out what to say.

Her logic was simple: since this circle belonged to Mrs. Lin’s sisterhood, it meant that Mrs. Lin’s values were similar to theirs.

It wasn’t a case of them clashing with outfits, but one or two of them glaring at the girl, almost as if they wanted to shoot holes into her.

If Mrs. Lin herself were here, she would probably tear the girl apart.

Shi Rui said, “She’s wearing Elie Saab haute couture, but does she even deserve it?”

Someone immediately added, “She’s just a mistress. Is she proud of being the other woman? How arrogant.”

In the end, Xue Shaoying patted Shang Xinglu’s hand comfortingly and said, “Whoever is ugly is embarrassed in this dress collision. Don’t worry, I know for sure you’re not the one who’s embarrassed.”

Shang Xinglu quickly nodded.

Wow, this sister is not only impressive in terms of her chest, but her emotional intelligence is also making me want to say “wow”!

She quickly summed it up.

“Right, it’s not my embarrassment. Don’t look at her anymore, it’ll ruin the mood.”

The others looked at her strangely, as if an alien had possessed Shang Xinglu.

“Is that all?”

“Isn’t she that cheap woman?”

Shang Xinglu remained silent.

Honestly, she didn’t just not understand the fashion world’s rules for dress collisions, she didn’t understand their rules for tearing each other apart either.

…What else could she do about this? Was she supposed to force the girl to the restroom to strip?

The girl had a pretty good figure; such “bullying” actually had Shang Xinglu feeling oddly… hopeful.

At that moment, Xue Shaoying said, “It can’t just end like this. You ordered this gown for Fashion Week, and everyone knows she deliberately wore something similar today. If it wasn’t intentional, then what else could it be?”

Shi Rui added, “And remember, back in college, she stole Annabell’s boyfriend and shamelessly flaunted it in front of Annabell. We confronted her, and she acted innocent. It still makes me mad to think about it!”

Shang Xinglu stared at the sky helplessly.

College…

How long ago was that?

According to the original text, the author briefly mentioned that Mrs. Lin and Yin Yao were acquainted. Mrs. Lin had always been jealous of Yin Yao, so when she found out that Lin Heng liked Yin Yao, she felt even more shaken and uneasy.

She now had a clearer understanding of the situation.

Mrs. Lin and the female lead were no longer just acquaintances. It seemed that the two groups—the seductive, low-class clique and the fresh, pure one—had been feuding and creating drama since their school days.

She suddenly wanted to say, “Amitabha, please lay down the butcher’s knife and become a Buddha.”

But she figured that if she actually said that, she’d end up becoming the one who was metaphorically beheaded by this group of sisters, her soul ascending to become a Buddha.

As they talked about the college boyfriend-stealing incident, it triggered a gossip switch in the former rich girls, now high-society women.

They got more and more excited, and their gossip became more explosive.

From their words, Shang Xinglu gathered that the girl who had the same outfit was called Lu Xiaotao, a younger schoolmate from high school and college.

Her family had a small trading company that went bankrupt when she graduated from university.

However, that wasn’t a huge problem, as she soon hooked up with Ye Songtao, the chairman of Kaihua International, and became his mistress.

Shang Xinglu looked up at the sky in resignation.

It’s 9102 now…

A mistress…

Poverty truly limits her imagination.

Her head was empty as she focused on absorbing the gossip, unable to contribute any herself.

Her silence was interpreted by the sisterhood as being angry—very angry, about to explode at any moment.

They thought for a moment that there was nothing Shang Xinglu couldn’t do when it came to tearing someone apart.

…The consequences would be severe.

Xue Shaoying was someone with a strong voice in this circle, and she was the closest to Shang Xinglu.

She asked Shi Rui to unlock her phone and showed Shang Xinglu a video.

In the video, a man and woman entered a hotel together, took an elevator, and as the elevator neared their floor, they couldn’t hold back any longer.

Their actions became intimate and excessive.

The footage came from the elevator’s security camera, and the woman’s face was clearly Lu Xiaotao’s.

The man…

Though the video was somewhat blurry, his handsome side profile and stylish clothing were evident.

It didn’t look like he was some chairman of a company.

In other words, the mistress was using her sugar daddy’s money to keep a little boy toy.

Shang Xinglu was stunned, as if struck by lightning!

How could this Lu Xiaotao be so… so… so…

Ambitious!

Honestly, if she weren’t such a well-behaved woman and had more freedom, she’d also like to use Lin Heng’s money to keep a little boy toy!

Although she’d need one more handsome and refined than Lin Heng, which would be difficult…

But it didn’t matter, she had (Lin Heng’s) money!

What kind of man couldn’t she find?

At that point, Shi Rui said, “I remember that today is Shen Wang’s niece’s birthday, and there’s a birthday greeting video to be played later. What if we swapped the video…”

Shang Xinglu said, “Isn’t that bad? It’ll leave a big shadow on the little girl’s birthday.”

Shi Rui replied, “She’s only two years old; what kind of shadow could it leave? She won’t remember when she grows up.”

Seeing Shang Xinglu remain silent, Shi Rui immediately said, “If you’re not going, I’ll go.”

And then she turned to leave.

After she left, Xue Shaoying said to Shang Xinglu, “Lu Xiaotao used to seduce men everywhere. Shi Rui’s boyfriend cheated on her with her. Otherwise, how do you think the video ended up in Shi Rui’s hands?”

Shang Xinglu: …

Alright then.

The high society really is chaotic.

She originally planned to let Shi Rui handle it, since it wasn’t her problem, and she usually maintained an “I don’t care” attitude. But then she remembered that the actual organizer behind today’s banquet was the Lin family.

It wasn’t easy for President Lin to host a reception, and he still had to work hard once he was there. She couldn’t just sit back while he worked to earn the money for her to keep a little boy toy. At the key moment, she had to help him, or it wouldn’t make sense.

Shang Xinglu quickly made up an excuse to go to the bathroom and hurried to stop Shi Rui.

The person in charge of the video was actually in the control room outside the venue.

Shang Xinglu hurried there in her high heels, knocked on the door, pushed it open, and froze in shock.

Inside wasn’t Shi Rui, but Lu Xiaotao—the girl they’d been gossiping about for so long.

She was handing a stack of bills to the staff in the control room.

The money seemed to be wrapped around a USB drive.

Though she couldn’t see what was on the USB drive, Shang Xinglu was sure that both parties had similar thought processes.

Looking at the stack of money…

Wow!

There was quite a lot!

If she were the staff, she’d take money from both sides and play both their videos, because it wouldn’t embarrass her.

Lu Xiaotao was caught red-handed.

At first, she froze, but then quickly masked her embarrassment with a polite smile.

She pushed the USB back into her palm, tightly gripping it, while the money was left on the desk, ignored.

With an indifferent expression, Lu Xiaotao said, “What a coincidence.”

Shang Xinglu glanced at her tightly clenched fist.

In her heart, she made a decision.

She had learned Lin Heng’s calm yet powerful tone of speaking.

“Unfortunately, I came here to find you.” Shang Xinglu blocked the exit and said, “Give me the thing in your hand.”

A brief look of panic flashed across Lu Xiaotao’s face.

She quickly pretended to be clueless: “What are you talking about?”

Shang Xinglu quickly stepped forward, grabbing her wrist.

Lu Xiaotao had once learned self-defense techniques, but of course, they were useless because she had never encountered a wolf.

Now, with a quick twist, she applied just enough pressure on Lu Xiaotao’s wrist.

The delicate woman, who was used to living in a mansion, couldn’t withstand the pain.

She cried out in pain, and her hand loosened.

Clink.

Something dropped to the floor. Shang Xinglu took a closer look—it was a USB drive.

Lu Xiaotao was reluctant but quickly bent down to pick it up. However, Shang Xinglu not only refused to let go, but also kicked the USB drive away with her foot.

Lu Xiaotao glared at her angrily.

Shang Xinglu was irritated by the glare.

What were these things?

She abruptly let go of Lu Xiaotao’s wrist and stopped the struggle.

With a bit too much force, the woman in high heels, already unsteady, stumbled and crashed into the work table.

The staff hurried to help her, trying to persuade her as they did: “Miss Lu, please don’t make things difficult for us.

The organizer behind this event is Mr. Lin. You playing Mrs. Lin’s video here is inappropriate. No matter how much more money you offer, I won’t do it.”

Shang Xinglu: “!”

So she had unintentionally saved herself?!

Lu Xiaotao was embarrassed and hastily pushed the staff away, quickly leaving.

She had only taken two steps when she heard Shang Xinglu say, “Wait.”

Since she was facing away from Shang Xinglu, Lu Xiaotao couldn’t see her expression, but from the voice, it was calm and collected, without the usual straightforward, impulsive air that Louise had.

It was… unsettling to Lu Xiaotao.

Click-clack, click-clack.

The sound of high heels tapping on the floor.

Shang Xinglu walked slowly toward Lu Xiaotao.

She stared directly into Lu Xiaotao’s eyes, but the latter averted her gaze.

“How’s your little white face? Enjoying it?” Shang Xinglu asked.

“!”

Lu Xiaotao’s eyes widened in shock.

Shang Xinglu’s face, as flawless as ever, lacked the usual arrogance, only calm.

She crossed her arms and said, “As long as you’re not perfect, I can always get a video of you doing something you don’t want anyone to see. If my video were swapped with yours, don’t you think you’d feel embarrassed?”

“Don’t bluff here…” Lu Xiaotao tried to dismiss her.

“Is it at the Peninsula Hotel?” Shang Xinglu didn’t raise her voice, but Lu Xiaotao’s face turned pale. “Heh, taking your little white face there, spending quite a bit, huh?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t do that.” Cutting off Lu Xiaotao’s panicked protests, Shang Xinglu said indifferently, “I won’t do it because of the setting. It’s a nice girl’s birthday video; causing such a scandal would be inappropriate.”

“…”

“But let me give you a little reminder. I don’t care about any grudges we’ve had before or now. I’m not interested in that. Just one thing: if you ever see me again, stay away. I don’t want to share the same venue with you.”

“This is unrealistic!” Lu Xiaotao almost said.

But she couldn’t get another word out, because when she saw the calm expression on Shang Xinglu’s face and the coldness in her eyes, she immediately felt silenced. Shang Xinglu spoke with serious intent, every word pronounced clearly: “I don’t want to. So, you, get, lost.”

…

Lu Xiaotao really did slink away in defeat.

Even the staff in the control room, who had been trying to smooth things over, dared not speak anymore and quietly kept their heads down.

After Lu Xiaotao left, the room temperature seemed to rise again.

Shang Xinglu smiled and handed the stack of money to the staff.

“Hey, since Miss Lu forgot to take this, you can keep it.”

“Don’t, don’t…” The staff quickly tried to push it away.

Shang Xinglu raised an eyebrow. “Should I just take it?”

The staff remained silent.

Shang Xinglu laughed, “I’m just kidding. I’ll leave it here. Just don’t tell anyone else about this.”

She then walked over and picked up Lu Xiaotao’s USB drive.

She asked the staff, “Was Miss Shi here earlier? The one in a black dress, looking really beautiful?”

The staff nodded and silently took out another USB drive.

Shang Xinglu: “…”

So it was true.

The thought process of these rich ladies seemed so predictable—what are the chances of this happening?

She took Shi Rui’s USB drive too.

Curious, Shang Xinglu wondered what kind of video was on Lu Xiaotao’s USB. Was it something like her own? Did Lu Xiaotao, just like her, visit a gigolo bar and actually keep a little white face?

…Or maybe more than one?

Given Mrs. Lin’s character, she could totally do something like that.

Shang Xinglu was very curious, so she quickly borrowed a computer from Assistant Yuan and went to a quiet corner to watch.

There was only one video on the USB.

She clicked to open it.

The protagonist was indeed her.

However, it wasn’t as intense as Lu Xiaotao’s video. It was just a collection of clips of her drinking and chatting with the male hosts at Huanylong, being a bit too carefree and wild.

…Embarrassing, at most.

She didn’t even bother watching it to the end, dragging the progress bar all the way to the final part. After seeing the champagne tower, she froze.

A surge of anger rose inside her.

Everything before this was still Mrs. Lin’s doing.

But this champagne tower, surrounded by champagne calls and the ridiculous behavior of grinning like an idiot—wasn’t that exactly her doing?!

She knew this part had been secretly filmed.

But Xiao Zai had said he had it deleted, right?

Wasn’t it only Xiao Zai’s phone that had a backup?

Didn’t he promise her that as long as she kept visiting him, he wouldn’t let the video leak?

But now…

This! A pretty boy with a big mouth!!!

Shang Xinglu gritted her teeth in anger.

Just as she was about to confront Xiao Zai with the USB, someone spoke behind her.

“I see.”

The footsteps grew closer, and a long finger pointed to the inconspicuous corner of the video.

Shang Xinglu widened her eyes and looked again…

She vaguely saw the Huanylong sign.

She turned around.

Looking up at Lin Heng.

Perhaps it was the angle, but she felt Lin Heng’s expression was especially stern at this moment.

Lin Heng stared at her, his gaze chilling. “Is this the elegant establishment you mentioned where everyone enjoys wine, chats, and talks heart-to-heart?”

Shang Xinglu: “!”

She slammed the laptop shut, pulled out the USB drive, and made the motion smooth and swift.

While she vacillated between “you saw it wrong” and “you really saw it wrong,” seeing Lin Heng fold his arms, raise his eyebrows, and sigh, she realized that even with a hundred more chances, she couldn’t say Lin Heng had made a mistake.

Although Lin Heng was nearsighted, his glasses corrected his vision beyond belief!

If he could see this blurry sign, who was he?!

Maybe he should switch careers and become Detective Conan!

Shang Xinglu took a deep breath, then another.

Then she said, “Yes.”

“…”

“That’s right, an establishment where everyone enjoys wine, chats, and talks heart-to-heart.”

“…”

“My definition, is there something wrong with it?”

Yes, even with a hundred more chances, she wouldn’t dare say Lin Heng saw it wrong.

But right now, with the courage she had, she would say her definition was definitely NOT wrong!

Assistant Yuan, who was standing by, couldn’t help but feel a chill, only to get even more chills after thinking about it carefully.