Chapter 18: The Newbie Meets the Max-Level Player

After tidying up, Li Fan walked out of the room.

While she was going downstairs to take a break, the system shared some gossip with her.

006: “During your lunch break, Liang Kang went into Gu Lan’s room.”

Li Fan: “……”

“Wasn’t she just with Bai Xiaoxian yesterday morning?”

006: “Didn’t I tell you? She likes excitement. Bai Xiaoxian is like plain water to her, while Liang Kang has a violent streak in his bones. Otherwise, he wouldn’t do such perverted things. Those two hit it off perfectly — it’s like dry wood meeting fire!”

Hearing this, Li Fan felt uncomfortable holding it in and wanted to share it with someone.

So she sent the gossip to the best candidate she could think of.

After all, Chen Ji was once a prime gossip figure himself.

Chen Ji originally planned to ignore Li Fan, but the gossip she sent was so shocking that he couldn’t.

What shocked him even more was how Li Fan knew all this.

He hesitated whether to reply to her, but then he heard Han Xuzhou throw down his pen.

The click shattered the silence of the office and made the hairs on Chen Ji’s neck stand on end.

He was doomed.

“Assistant Chen.”

Chen Ji almost instinctively put down his phone and immediately stood up.

“Yes, Fourth Master.”

Han Xuzhou leaned back leisurely in his leather chair and scoffed.

“Your phone.”

Chen Ji reluctantly handed over his phone.

Han Xuzhou unlocked it, and the chat window with Li Fan popped up.

Fan Fan not annoyed: “Do you know who that person is?”

Fan Fan not annoyed: “Gu Lan! On the first day of the show, she’s already slept with two men!”

Fan Fan not annoyed: “Can’t tell? Your Fourth Master’s head is even greener than yours. You’re basically a newbie meeting a max-level player in front of him!”

Han Xuzhou sneered coldly, his narrow eyes full of sarcasm.

“You two are pretty close?”

Chen Ji felt hopeless and thought to himself how Li Fan knew he was being cuckolded, all while explaining to Han Xuzhou.

“Madam is probably bored and wanted someone to chat with.”

But if news about Gu Lan leaked, it would definitely blow up on trending searches.

Last time when Gu Lan and Han Xuzhou had dinner together, he was there too and couldn’t tell she had this tendency.

Han Xuzhou lazily raised an eyebrow. “Bored? Let her add me.”

Chen Ji: “?”

Was that what he meant?

“Didn’t you say before…”

Han Xuzhou looked up, “Say what?”

Chen Ji imitated Han Xuzhou’s tone at that time: “Don’t bother me with useless gossip like this in the future.”

“Heh.”

Chen Ji backed down and hurriedly said, “I’ll send your WeChat to Madam now.”

He sent Han Xuzhou’s personal WeChat contact to Li Fan.

Chen Ji: “Madam, add Fourth Master on WeChat.”

So it would be convenient for her to share gossip with him.

Fan Fan not annoyed: “.”

Li Fan thought Chen Ji was annoyed and didn’t want to hear more gossip.

After thinking it over, she stopped bothering him.

But add Han Xuzhou on WeChat?

No way. Absolutely not.

The six guests gathered downstairs. The guests who would be staying here for the next two days came inside.

Li Fan didn’t know who it was in advance and was curious.

But when she saw Shen Yuwan, she couldn’t smile anymore.

“Why is she here?”

006: “Shen Yuwan started her own jewelry brand and serves as the chief designer. She’s on this show to promote her brand.”

Hearing that, Li Fan wasn’t surprised.

Shen Yuwan and she both studied jewelry design.

Starting one’s own jewelry brand is probably the dream of every jewelry design student.

Li Fan lowered her gaze, thinking that the word ‘dream’ was too extravagant.

When she came back to her senses, Shen Yuwan and another national medicine master, Li Lisheng, had finished greeting everyone.

Shen Yuwan even took the initiative to approach Li Fan, looking down at her from above.

“Li Fan, long time no see. Didn’t expect you’d be here too.”

Li Fan didn’t respond, her expression cold compared to Shen Yuwan’s smile.

Bai Xiaoxian, worried about the awkwardness, stepped in to smooth things over: “You two know each other?”

Shen Yuwan smiled and nodded, “Li Fan is my sister.”

“Sister? But you don’t have the same last name…” Bai Xiaoxian was surprised.

Shen Yuwan’s expression was frank: “She’s a child adopted by my family and grew up with me since she was little.”

Li Fan wasn’t surprised by this anymore.

No matter the occasion, Shen Yuwan never pretended not to know Li Fan.

On the contrary, she wanted the whole world to know about their relationship.

To tell everyone that she was the legitimate daughter, while Li Fan was just a foster daughter brought back from the welfare home.

She repeatedly emphasized the ‘fostering grace’ the Shen family showed Li Fan.

Those words ‘fostering grace’ were deeply engraved in Li Fan’s bones.

Before Li Fan learned the truth from the system, she had endured many things Shen Yuwan did to her.

Because she had received the Shen family’s kindness, that inferiority complex of being ‘less than’ had been with her since childhood.

Liang Kang sneered, “Yuwan, she clearly doesn’t want to deal with you. After so many years, she’s probably tamed a dog by now.”

Seeing Li Fan silent, Shen Yuwan looked somewhat awkward.

Then she forced a smile and ‘considerately’ explained, “Li Fan might not be feeling well and isn’t ignoring me on purpose.”

Li Fan still didn’t respond, refusing to engage with her.

Even 006 urged her to pretend at least, so she wouldn’t get criticized.

But Li Fan just didn’t want to acknowledge her.

Her whole life, she had been understanding and tolerant — the obedient foster daughter, the substitute, the contract wife.

Because no one supported her, she had no room to be willful.

But she didn’t want to endure it anymore.

“Is Li Fan sick or what?”

“So rude. Even if it’s a stranger, she’d at least respond.”

“Just a pretty face without substance, can’t compare to the real rich daughter. Totally Bai Xiaoxian, the rich and beautiful.”

Ruan Li suddenly spoke up: “Ah, I remember you. When you graduated, you even won the Outstanding Graduation Design Award, and your graduation project was bought by Vans, a jewelry brand under Changyong Group, for a high price. I heard the first set was gifted to Master Gu by Fourth Master.”

Ruan Li just stated facts, but it made Shen Yuwan overjoyed and made Gu Lanyi slightly overshadowed.

Gu Lan shot a sharp glance at Gu Lanyi, scoffing rudely, tension rising.

Shen Yuwan covered her mouth slightly and smiled: “Thanks for the love, but it’s just luck. Li Fan is also a jewelry design major. Her designs are much more inspired than mine. Too bad she got married after graduating, or she’d definitely be better than me.”

Everyone looked at Li Fan in surprise.

Ruan Li immediately asked: “Li Fan, have you really gotten married?”

Li Fan smiled and nodded, admitting it frankly.

“Graduated and married, didn’t pursue jewelry design, but is active as an 18th-tier star in the entertainment industry. Then what was the point of going to college?”

“I checked the official website of the art academy. Shen Yuwan really has high emotional intelligence. Li Fan’s designs are dull, no inspiration at all.”

“Not professional, not making it in the entertainment industry either. It proves Li Fan’s abilities are just so-so. She can only use her youth to find a man to marry and at least make use of her looks.”

“With such poor living conditions, it’s clear how important the family background is in raising a girl.”