Lin Heng wasn’t one to be nosy, but he couldn’t help himself.

His curiosity wasn’t out of concern for Jian Xi, but rather for Shang Xinglu.

Oh no, to be more precise, it was driven by his own curiosity.

To Lin Heng, Jian Xi seemed almost like any random passerby.

This person’s actions were too easy to understand, her thoughts practically written on her face. So, she was just another face in the crowd, with whom he had no real connection.

But as adults, we all take responsibility for the meaning behind our actions.

Shang Xinglu understood the significance of her being here today, and Lin Heng did too. But it didn’t matter; she was free to act as she wished.

Lin Heng was simply curious about Shang Xinglu’s recent behavior.

Some said she had changed a lot—spending money recklessly for her own pleasure, living a completely hedonistic lifestyle, yet that hadn’t changed her core personality.

Others felt that she hadn’t changed, but her actions seemed… strange.

For example, her attitude toward Jian Xi.

Jian Xi was now Shang Xinglu’s younger brother’s girlfriend, and Lin Heng figured it out as soon as he saw her.

Later, he learned that Jian Xi was a small internet influencer.

As a proper young lady from a prestigious family, it was completely normal for Shang Xinglu to be dissatisfied with her younger brother’s choice of girlfriend.

After all, even though Lin Heng hadn’t been around much, he knew what Shang Xinglu was doing through his sources.

In the past, Shang Xinglu would probably have said to Jian Xi: “I don’t like you, so get lost.”

Then, she would turn to her younger brother, Shang Xingyu, and say, “If you dare see her again, I’ll have our parents cut off your allowance.”

A few days later, she would employ a soft approach on the rebellious Shang Xingyu, and just like that, the matter would be forgotten.

As for her brother’s love life, when had any of his relationships ever lasted? She couldn’t be bothered to care about it, let alone go through all the drama.

Lin Heng calmly said, “I can’t control her, but I can control you.”

Shang Xinglu raised her eyes to look at him.

Her teeth almost ground together in frustration.

What she was doing with Jian Xi was really simple.

Jian Xi clearly didn’t have the ability to steal Lin Heng from her, but Lin Heng’s role was just to give Jian Xi a little eye-opener.

Look, not all rich people are like her useless younger brother; some, like Lin Heng, are far more impressive.

By comparison, Shang Xingyu didn’t seem so special after all.

Now, if she planted this seed in warm, fertile soil…

Shang Xinglu didn’t believe it wouldn’t sprout.

That was all.

Of course, she only said all of this to Lin Heng because she was stretched thin.

She curled her lips casually and said, “Just bored.”

She couldn’t even be bothered to lie to Lin Heng. She was so indifferent.

Who would have thought Lin Heng would nod in understanding?

Doing even more boring things when you’re bored—indeed, it did seem to match Shang Xinglu’s typical behavior.

Lin Heng said, “Mm, that makes sense.”

Shang Xinglu shot him a look.

What logic? What makes sense?

My goodness! What kind of hopeless, unlearned woman was Lin Heng’s wife before?

This was… too much!

Too… enviable!

Shang Xinglu wiped away a tear of jealousy.

At that moment, any faint good impression she had of Lin Heng vanished in an instant.

It wasn’t that he was soft-hearted. He was just a pure control freak.

He wanted to have total control over the thoughts of everyone around him, and that was all.

Although they had only exchanged a few words, both of them had plenty on their minds, and it felt like their conversation lasted much longer than it actually did.

Lin Heng’s assistant came to fetch him. The banquet was also, in a sense, part of his work, so Mr. Lin snapped back into business mode and was about to leave.

Shang Xinglu calmly waved him off, but inside, she was beating her chest and gnashing her teeth.

Before she could even light a firecracker, Lin Heng stopped in his tracks and turned around.

His face, usually deep and wise, now looked a little confused, as though he had just remembered something.

Lin Heng asked, “What is Huanlongshi?”

Assistant Yuan: …

Shang Xinglu: …

Assistant Yuan, standing behind Lin Heng, winked at Shang Xinglu. Afraid she didn’t catch the signal, he winked again.

At the sound of “Huanlongshi,” Shang Xinglu’s heart skipped a beat. Then, it started racing, and she broke out in a cold sweat, feeling guilty and anxious.

The air conditioning blew, and her sweat turned from hot to cold, making her feel even more uneasy.

Assistant Yuan winked again.

Shang Xinglu couldn’t stop herself from wondering.

Was he winking because he had told the truth or because he hadn’t?

Though she was the one holding the script, it was the heroine’s script! She didn’t even have a name anymore. What could the wink of some insignificant assistant mean? How could she know for sure?!

This trashy novel ruined my youth, and they didn’t even write it in detail!

She felt uneasy for just a moment.

Then she remembered: Lin Heng wasn’t without a phone. A quick search would answer his question.

So why didn’t he just look it up himself?

Shang Xinglu glanced at Assistant Yuan again and had an epiphany.

… Because he has many, many assistants.

In other words, General Manager Lin, who is busy with a thousand tasks every day, is a damn handout type!

Once she understood this, Shang Xinglu became calm.

She smiled, a particularly bright smile, perhaps the brightest smile she’d had since coming into this world over a week ago, trying to achieve an honest and sincere tone that would deceive no one.

Shang Xinglu said, “Oh, this place, well, I don’t really know how to define it. You know, there are so many stores now where you can get your hair done and also do beauty treatments. So, is it a barbershop or a beauty salon?”

“The Huanglong Family is like that. I don’t know how to explain it. But overall, it’s a classy place where everyone can come together to enjoy wine, chat, and have deep conversations.”

She said this without any guilt.

Her gaze lengthened, falling on Assistant Yuan’s face, and she noticed Assistant Yuan let out a sigh of relief.

It seemed that Assistant Yuan was hiding something as well.

Very good, very cooperative! If someone meddled in a couple’s impending divorce issues, what kind of assistant would they be?

Lin Heng couldn’t be bothered to verify things himself. First, because when he remembered, he might not have the time; second, even when he did have time, he might forget.

Assistant Yuan said, “It’s like the position of a bar.”

At that moment, Lin Heng wasn’t very convinced, but he didn’t have time to verify it.

But since Shang Xinglu and Assistant Yuan’s stories matched, it seemed that it was the case.

He stopped doubting and walked along with Assistant Yuan.

Shang Xinglu returned to her group of girlfriends.

The busty sister, Xue Shaoying, had already returned.

Shang Xinglu gave her a glance.

Xue Shaoying pointed her slender finger toward the front diagonally…

Looking over.

Jian Xi was talking happily with a man.

Shang Xinglu gave her a slight bow.

Sister, you’re the real expert.

To Xue Shaoying, Jian Xi was just an appetizer before the main course—nothing worth discussing.

The group of girls chatted about clothes and jewelry. Not long after, the flamboyant and cheap-faced Shi Rui grabbed Shang Xinglu’s arm and said, “Look over there.”

Her sharp nails, which seemed like weapons, pinched Shang Xinglu a little.

She just said “over there” without specifying where, so Shang Xinglu looked around in the venue, confused, and said, “Huh? Where?”

Shi Rui rolled her eyes and said, “How can you be so blind today? Of course, it’s that group with Yin Yao!”

Yin Yao?

…

Wait, Yin Yao???

Shang Xinglu’s mind perked up.

Wasn’t that the name of the heroine in “Exclusive Love: The CEO’s Starry-eyed Wife”?

She could remember the long and spicy title of the novel clearly, how could she not remember the heroine’s name!

Shang Xinglu immediately started looking around.

“Where? Where?”

After all, the novel had no illustrations.

But according to the author’s flowery yet exaggerated style, shouldn’t the heroine be shining, emitting an aura that no male creature could tear his gaze away from?

Shang Xinglu looked around and still didn’t notice.

Then she thought the reason might be this.

It was because she didn’t have a little chicken (male interest) to appreciate it, so the “buff” didn’t work on her.

She eagerly tugged on Shi Rui’s arm and asked, “Where? How come I didn’t see her?”

Shi Rui rolled her eyes, “It’s Lin Heng who’s nearsighted, not you. How come you’re so blind today?”

She quietly told Shang Xinglu the direction, “Look at your one o’clock. They’re gathered over there. The one in the white dress is the middle one.”

Then, she snorted disdainfully, “Wearing white like that—does she think it’s a wedding dress? Fake purity!”

The girls nodded in agreement: “Exactly!”

Shang Xinglu looked for a while and finally found the heroine.

At first glance, she was a little disappointed.

Probably because the novel had been written so dreamily, the expectations were too high, so when she saw the real person, she was a bit let down.

But the heroine, Yin Yao, wasn’t pretty—she was really quite square!

It wasn’t fashionable for the delicate, fair-skinned, and gentle-looking female leads anymore.

If Yin Yao wasn’t pretty, that was one less reason for Lin Heng to like her.

What if the plot went sideways?

What was the difference between that and a pile of useless paper? How could she not be square?

She took a second, more careful look.

Yin Yao smiled sweetly at someone beside her.

Shang Xinglu froze for a moment.

Then, Yin Yao smiled again.

Shang Xinglu froze again.

Her heart pounded.

Wow!

How could there be a girl whose smile was so sweet yet not sickening, fresh and not pretentious?

It wasn’t just a little pretty—it was incredibly pretty! So pretty that it was hard to look away!

“How is it?” Xue Shaoying asked.

“She’s a little pretty,” Shang Xinglu said honestly… But it was actually a lot pretty. No wonder she was the heroine!

“Huh? Pretty? What’s so pretty about her?”

Shang Xinglu replied, “Yin Yao.”

Shi Rui sneered, “Where is she pretty? Those white lotus types are so fake… Louise, you didn’t say that before.”

Oh, it was our flamboyant and cheap team who hated the fresh and pure beauties.

Got it.

Shang Xinglu nodded vigorously.

“I’m just blind today!” she joked casually.

Shi Rui continued, “And who asked you to look at Yin Yao? Look at the woman next to her.”

“She’s wearing the same dress as you,” Xue Shaoying said meaningfully, “And she’s been looking at you more than once since earlier.”

Shang Xinglu hurriedly looked toward Yin Yao’s side.

Sure enough, she saw a young woman wearing the same wine-red gown, a designer piece.

However, Shang Xinglu noticed that the design of the other person’s dress actually had a lot of differences from hers. It could only be considered a different piece from the same designer, the same series, and the same color scheme.

Shang Xinglu was dumbfounded.

As far as she knew, “dressing alike” meant wearing exactly the same clothes, so this didn’t count as “dressing alike” at all, right?

Looking at her girlfriends with a sympathetic expression, they looked at her even more sympathetically, and then at the other woman.

Shang Xinglu became even more confused.

She didn’t quite understand the definition of “dressing alike” in the world of rich ladies…