Chapter 47

At 8 o’clock, in front of the Shengyi Golden Tower.

The red carpet stretched all the way to the entrance, with luxury cars stopping one after another along the carpet. Almost everyone stepping out of the cars was dressed in formal attire, either rich or noble.

Inside the brightly lit hall, glasses clinked, and the scene was as extravagant as a fairy tale ball, dazzling with luxury.

Uncle Zheng parked the car at the entrance, and immediately a waiter came to open the door and greet the person getting out of the car.

Yan Ning, wearing a black sheer strap evening gown, gently lifted the hem of her dress as she elegantly stepped out of the car.

Today, she wore stilettos, and her ankles were delicate, white, and smooth like fine jade. Moving up her dress, which was shorter in the front and longer in the back, her arms were slender, her collarbones were graceful, and her neck was pale and slender.

She walked slowly, like a mysterious and graceful black swan.

Tang Chengtian was speaking to someone, but when he caught a glimpse of Yan Ning entering through the door, he smiled and excused himself from the conversation, walking toward the entrance to greet her.

As the host of this banquet and the boss of Shengyi, his every move was closely watched by many.

People’s gazes followed his steps, landing on Yan Ning, who had just entered the banquet hall. They couldn’t help but be dazzled by her beauty. While amazed, they secretly speculated about her identity.

After all, it was always others who bowed to Mr. Tang, but they had never seen him take the initiative to accommodate anyone before.

Tang Chengtian walked up to Yan Ning and, with his usual shrewd and insightful eyes, he smiled warmly: “You’re right on time.”

Yan Ning sensed the familiarity in his tone and, unsure of what this big boss had in mind, gently pursed her lips: “Hello, Mr. Tang.”

“Ah, so formal. It seems like your mother really didn’t mention me to you.”

A waiter passed by with a tray holding five or six glasses of different drinks. Tang Chengtian reached for one, then ordered, “Give this young lady a glass of juice.”

“Do you know my mother?” Yan Ning wasn’t too surprised inside, since both the Tang and Yan families were wealthy, and it wasn’t unusual for people in the same circle to know each other.

However, with both Tang Minrou and Tang Chengtian having the same surname, it couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Could it be that you…”

“Although we don’t share the same mother, I’m still your uncle in a way, so you should call me ‘uncle’,” Tang Chengtian said, taking a sip of his drink, looking relaxed.

“Ah?” She had suspected that there might be some family connection between the two, but she hadn’t guessed it would be so close.

“Come with me, I’ll introduce you to some people.” Tang Chengtian’s intentions were clear. Since Tang Minrou and her husband didn’t want to publicly reveal the niece’s identity, he would take care of it for them.

Yan Ning nodded, took the glass of juice the waiter had brought her, and followed behind Tang Chengtian.

She wasn’t unfamiliar with such events. Although the form was slightly different, in the M20 star system, she would occasionally attend palace banquets.

The interstellar banquets she had attended before were far more extravagant and lively than the one in front of her, so she didn’t feel out of place.

At first, she had thought Tang Chengtian had some ulterior motive, but he led her through the crowd, mostly greeting various ladies, introducing her as his niece, as if he simply wanted to introduce her to these people.

“Ningning!”

As Yan Ning was being led by Tang Chengtian toward another group of people, a familiar voice sounded from behind.

She turned around and saw Qiao Yingxue, dressed in a snow-white princess gown, standing behind her, her eyes full of surprise.

“Yingxue, what are you doing here?” Yan Ning turned around and walked a couple of steps toward Qiao Yingxue.

Just then, a poised and elegant lady walked up beside Qiao Yingxue. She glanced at Yan Ning, then lowered her head to look at Qiao Yingxue. “Little girl, don’t run off.”

Qiao Yingxue pointed at Yan Ning, smiling as she introduced her to the lady beside her, “Aunt, this is Ningning, the daughter of Uncle Yan.”

Zhang Qing looked up at Yan Ning when she heard the introduction. Her gaze scanned Yan Ning up and down like a detector before she asked, “You’re… Minrou’s daughter?”

Before Yan Ning could answer, Tang Chengtian walked up behind her, stood next to her, and with a smile full of meaning, said, “It’s obvious, isn’t it? She’s inherited the excellent genes of the Tang family.”

Zhang Qing didn’t expect that Tang Chengtian would actually acknowledge it. The relationship between the Tang and Yan families, which had been warming up in recent years due to some unknown reason, had suddenly frozen again.

She had thought that there had been some internal discord between the two families and that reconciliation would not happen anytime soon.

But now that the current head of the Tang family had acknowledged Yan Ning, it meant that the entire Tang family had accepted this girl. Yan Wan and her could no longer be compared.

Zhang Qing’s mind was full of thoughts, but her face showed a polite smile as she dealt with Tang Chengtian, her eyes subtly scanning the banquet hall.

Tang Chengtian naturally noticed her movements. He elegantly took a sip of his drink, then lightly laughed, “Don’t bother looking, I didn’t invite Miss Yan Wan. How could the Tang family’s door be open to an outsider?”

Zhang Qing’s actions were seen through, but she didn’t show any embarrassment. Instead, she smiled and shifted her gaze back to Yan Ning’s face.

Tang Chengtian, however, took her away to another area. “I’ll take my little niece to meet some more people, we’ll chat later.”

Zhang Qing watched Yan Ning’s back, her expression unreadable.

Qiao Yingxue glanced at her a couple of times, then slightly lowered her eyes, speaking in a voice that Zhang Qing could hear, “Aunt, Ningning just returned to the Yan family recently. She’s really impressive.”

“How do you know her?” Zhang Qing lowered her head, looking at Qiao Yingxue with a gentle gaze.

Zhang Qing, the aunt of Qiao Yingxue, was also the mother of Qiao Siyue, her older cousin.

Qiao Yingxue pulled Zhang Qing to a corner and told her some important matters, especially highlighting the incident in the game where Yan Wan had been harsh with Yan Ning. She explained it in a way that Zhang Qing could understand, and at the end, subtly expressed her great fondness for Yan Ning.

She didn’t need to put much effort into this, as long as her aunt knew that the real daughter of the Yan family had returned, the engagement between her older cousin and Yan Wan would likely be affected.

But she really couldn’t stand Yan Wan’s behavior. If such a crazy woman were to marry into their family, even if it were the uncle’s family, just seeing her would be enough to cause frustration.

Zhang Qing didn’t say anything after hearing this. She casually took a glass of wine and returned to the conversation with the other ladies, her expression unchanged.

But tonight, it was destined that most people’s attention would be on the young woman Tang Chengtian brought with him, his acknowledged niece from the Tang family, the true daughter of the Yan family, a thousand times more valuable than Yan Wan, who couldn’t even enter the Tang family’s gates.

After introducing Yan Ning to a few people, Tang Chengtian patted her on the shoulder. “Alright, go enjoy yourself. When the event ends later, I’ll have someone call you, and then we’ll talk about our matter.”

Yan Ning looked up at Tang Chengtian, her mind filled with more and more confusion. She couldn’t figure out what this suddenly appeared “uncle” was really up to.

It didn’t seem like he had any bad intentions, but his enthusiasm was overwhelming. Even if they were close relatives, they had never had any prior interaction, and someone with Tang Chengtian’s status really didn’t need to be so kind to her.

Used to independence, she just couldn’t understand her uncle’s behavior.

“Ningning.”

A sweet, soft voice sounded from behind. Yan Ning turned around to see Gu Han and Gu Tian smiling at her.

The world really was small. She thought she was just attending a small event, like a celebration party, but unexpectedly, she kept running into familiar faces.

“Are you alright?” Gu Tian let go of Gu Han’s hand and walked up to Yan Ning.

“Mm, Uncle told me to have fun on my own. Do you want to join me?”

Gu Tian nodded, and Gu Han came over, pointing to a figure not far away. “Your little admirer is over there. After the competition, you’ve really gained quite a bit of popularity with him.”

Yan Ning followed his gaze and saw Lu Fengfeng, dressed in a black suit, standing at the center of a crowd.

Earlier that afternoon, she had asked him if he would be attending the banquet, and he said he had some business but would be coming later.

However, they hadn’t planned to come together, and as soon as she entered, she was intercepted by Tang Chengtian, only then remembering about him.

“What kind of people are gathered around him?” Yan Ning asked.

Tang Chengtian hadn’t introduced her to any of the men. He mainly chatted with the ladies. He knew that this alone was enough, and by tomorrow, everyone who needed to know would know Yan Ning’s true identity.

Gu Han looked up and glanced twice. “Some people from the entertainment industry. The man standing next to Lu Fengfeng is the well-known director Gu Nansheng. He’s probably looking to collaborate with him.”

“Collaborate?”

“Maybe in a TV drama or a movie? His looks are outstanding. If he debuts, he might become an instant sensation,” Gu Han lowered his gaze to look at Yan Ning, trying to read her emotions from her face.

Yan Ning nodded. “Sounds impressive. I didn’t expect that the competition could bring such opportunities.”

“Otherwise, do you think someone like your uncle would go through all this trouble with the live broadcast? Because your fantastic performance this month has set a new record for Shengyi’s performance. The previously overlooked 3D modeling technology is now starting to attract attention from many big shots. Old Tang’s been walking with a swagger these days. He doesn’t have many hobbies, but he loves making money, the extremely obsessive kind.”

Yan Ning’s gaze drifted past Gu Han, looking beyond him, as if she wasn’t really listening to what he said.

Gu Han turned around and saw Lu Fengfeng adjusting his sleeves as he walked toward them.

As he approached, many rich young women were sneaking glances at him, but he seemed unaware.

Gu Han guessed the area was about to turn into a ^[1]“Dog-eat-dog” refers to a highly competitive or ruthless environment where people are willing to harm or outdo each other in order to gain an advantage or succeed. It describes situations … Continue reading“dog-eat-dog” scene, so he quickly pulled Gu Tian away to leave.

When Lu Fengfeng was two steps away from Yan Ning, he stopped.

His gaze locked on her, his eyes narrowing, and a smile slowly spread from the depths of his pupils as he extended his hand toward her. “May I ask you for a dance?”

Yan Ning smiled, gladly placing her hand in his, and the two of them entered the dance floor, swaying slowly to the music.

Lu Fengfeng lowered his gaze, and Yan Ning tilted her head up. Their eyes met, and in the space between them, they both clearly saw their reflections in each other’s eyes.

“What were you talking about over there?” Yan Ning asked, genuinely curious.

“Just some business. The man standing next to me was a director. He has a project and wants to work with me,” Lu Fengfeng didn’t hide anything, and inside, he felt a little sweetness from the attention.

“Did you agree?”

Lu Fengfeng shook his head. “I’m still considering it.”

Zhang Qing stood among the crowd, holding a wine glass, her gaze fixed on the young man and woman in the dance floor, oblivious to their surroundings. Her eyes narrowed, and her lips pursed slightly.