The entire banquet hall erupted in thunderous, sustained applause.
Everyone was looking around, their faces alight with excitement…
All the lights in the grand hall dimmed, leaving only a single spotlight that fell upon Lin Xingwan and the man beside her.
Lin Xingwan was a little dazed, unsure of what was happening.
She looked at the man beside her, and at that moment, he lowered his head to look at her.
His gaze was like the vast ocean, all-encompassing, calm, and unfathomably deep.
It seemed to soothe her fear and bewilderment…
Then, under Lin Xingwan's gaze, he slowly walked towards the stage.
Lin Xingwan’s eyes remained fixed on the man’s retreating back.
The spotlight followed him, never leaving his side.
The crowd parted automatically, as if a path paved with starlight had opened, welcoming a new king.
Liu Mengqin gripped Lin Xingwan’s arm tightly, her emotions overflowing.
“Ahhhhh… Don’t tell me this man is the new CEO of Dongfang Corporation. How can he be so young and so handsome? And more importantly… he’s so gentlemanly, his voice is so pleasant, his skin, ahaha! I mean… how can this man be so perfect?”
Liu Mengqin spoke incoherently, while Lin Xingwan was deeply shocked.
The man she had always thought to be in his forties was actually twenty-eight?
Fat and ugly?
No!
Even though he wore a mask, she could still feel his undeniable handsomeness and charisma!
In this world, could such a formidable and exceptionally outstanding person truly exist?
“Xingwan, he just danced with you! The CEO of Dongfang Corporation danced with you! If I had known, I would have gone instead! Ahhh, the super-boss is too low-key! I once had the chance to hold hands with a super-boss and didn’t cherish it, now I wish I could slap myself ten thousand times.”
“He danced with you, does he like you? Xingwan, your luck with romance is exploding! If we prosper, don’t forget me. I’ll carry your shoes for you from now on. I’ve got my eye on a unit in Tangchen Yipin, my dear, can you buy it for me?”
“This overwhelming fortune makes me so jealous I’m splitting at the seams.”
Lin Xingwan looked at Liu Mengqin, who was like a runaway horse beside her, patted her shoulder, and whispered in her ear, “Qin Jie, didn’t we just say that the new CEO of Dongfang Corporation was old and ugly? Not only ugly, but impotent! Not only impotent, but also with questionable sexual orientation…”
Liu Mengqin’s excited mood came to an abrupt halt, and her face turned pale. “Is it too late for us to run now?”
“Even if we hide to the ends of the earth, it won’t help,” Lin Xingwan made a throat-slitting gesture. Liu Mengqin, at this moment, only wanted to weep.
Heaven and hell were separated by a single instant.
Of course, their moods were even worse than Lin Xingwan and Liu Mengqin’s, were Lin Shirou and Zhong Jingjing.
Both of them were stunned, their eyeballs almost popping out.
Wasn’t the new CEO of Dongfang Corporation the man beside them?
Why was it another man?
Was there some misunderstanding here?
Their gazes were fixed on the man in the black suit, whose back alone was stunning.
Disbelief!
Unwillingness to believe!
It couldn’t be true!
The man walked with elegant and steady steps to Chen Yuchu’s side.
The lights in the banquet hall returned to normal.
Even with the mask, standing next to Chen Yuchu, they formed a handsome couple, a feast for the eyes.
Chen Yuchu respectfully handed the microphone to the man. He spoke in a deep, magnetic voice, “Distinguished guests, hello everyone. I am Dongfang Junze, the global CEO of Dongfang Corporation. I thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend this banquet. On behalf of Dongfang Corporation, I thank you. I will lead Dongfang Corporation to another era of glory.”
Another deafening round of applause, and every guest was incredibly excited.
“So young, truly too young. The younger generation of the Dongfang family is so outstanding.”
“So handsome! The CEO is even more handsome than movie stars. I wonder if he has a girlfriend. I really want to marry him.”
“There really are rich and handsome men in this world. I regret getting married early.”
…
The scions and noble ladies of wealthy families marveled, lamenting the vast difference between themselves and him at the same age.
Lin Shirou forcefully shook off the hand of the fat man beside her and roughly tore off his mask.
This man had narrow eyes, a bulbous nose, and his skin was pitted with various white acne scars. He was utterly disgusting.
She had been taken advantage of by such a disgusting man, and had even served him in the restroom, letting him have his fill without any protection.
A wave of revulsion swept through her, as if countless maggots were wriggling all over her body.
“You’re not Dongfang Junze, who are you? Why did you deceive me?”
Lin Shirou trembled with anger, her voice hysterical, quickly drawing the attention of other guests.
Zhong Jingjing was also furious. The information she had paid for was false.
This time, they had lost everything, even their initial investment!
“When did I ever say I was Dongfang Junze? So you approached me first, deliberately rubbed against me with your chest, and then went to the restroom for a quick fling because you mistook me for Dongfang Junze?”
The man showed no remorse; instead, he looked at Lin Shirou with increasing disgust.
Lin Shirou was provoked by his contemptuous and mocking gaze.
Losing both money and reputation was one thing, but when did such a man start to look down on her?
She wouldn’t even want him to lick her feet, finding him too dirty.
“You liar, you’re a liar.”
Lin Shirou glared fiercely at the man, her expression contorted.
“Madam, please watch your words. I did not force you to do anything. Even this, you gave me as a welcome gift!” The man then took a thong from his pocket, threw it at Lin Shirou, and pressed play on his phone’s recording.
Lin Shirou’s shamelessly suggestive voice emanated from the speaker.
“Husband, how are you so amazing? I love it, I love it so much.”
“Naughty, do you like it when I don’t wear anything? It would be bad if someone found out. But since you said so, I’ll give it to you.”
“You’re the first man who has made me so happy. Gu Shaoting is a good-for-nothing. I want to die beneath you.”
…
The subsequent words were even more explicit.
Lin Shirou and Zhong Jingjing’s faces turned paler than people dead for three days. They hadn’t expected this man to have recorded everything.
Zhong Jingjing grabbed Lin Shirou, intending to leave dejectedly. If they continued to argue, she couldn’t imagine the consequences.
But the fat man was not pleased. He directly pulled Lin Shirou to his side and ripped off her mask.
“Everyone, please judge. Is it my fault or this woman’s fault?”
Lin Shirou lowered her head and covered her face, but she was still recognized.
“Isn’t that Lin Shirou? That eighteen-line ‘wild chicken’ artist who always spends money to buy trending searches? I’ve seen her several times, acting like a green tea bitch while thinking she’s a celestial being. Looking at her now, she’s even uglier in person than in her photos.”
“How dare a mere actress attend such a banquet?”
“Of course, she bought an invitation for tens of millions online, hoping to catch a rich man at the banquet. She didn’t expect to mistake someone and then eagerly have sex in the restroom.”
“This woman is truly slutty. So casual, she probably has multiple diseases? I remember she has a boyfriend, doesn’t she? Poor boyfriend, being cuckolded.”
“Does this woman have a fetish for ugly people? She could even go for a man like this?”
Soon, the guests surrounded Lin Shirou and Zhong Jingjing.
Lin Xingwan and Liu Mengqin also pushed their way through the crowd to join the spectacle.
“Xingwan, look! It’s Lin Shirou!” Liu Mengqin immediately asked other guests gossipingly, “Excuse me, beautiful lady, what’s going on here?”
As the saying goes, ‘one doesn’t strike a smiling person,’ and moreover, being praised as beautiful, the lady began to explain, “This woman spent tens of millions on an invitation and came to the banquet to catch a rich man. She naively thought this fat man was the new CEO of Dongfang Corporation. Without even confirming his identity, she had sex with him, and now she’s discovered she mistook him for someone else…”
With this explanation, Lin Xingwan and Liu Mengqin immediately understood.
“It’s true that evil deeds have evil consequences. Serves her right.” Liu Mengqin felt a surge of satisfaction watching the scene unfold, it was truly gratifying.
Although Lin Xingwan said nothing, it wasn’t out of mercy. The other guests’ sharp tongues had already said everything she might have wanted to say.
Lin Shirou and Zhong Jingjing were so embarrassed they wished they could dig a hole and disappear forever.
Especially Zhong Jingjing, her mental state had completely collapsed.
The golden phoenix of the Lin family had died before it could even take flight.
The Lin family would forever be a laughingstock.
Chen Yuchu also walked over, followed by a group of bodyguards. Her face was cold. “What I dislike the most are people who don’t know their own worth. For those with status and position, invitations are free; only those with dirty minds and calculating hearts like you will rack their brains to buy invitations. You treat discarded items as treasures, and you truly believe that by buying an invitation, your own value has increased?”
These words utterly belittled Zhong Jingjing and Lin Shirou.
“Throw them out. And anyone who bought an invitation tonight, please leave within one minute, or don’t blame me for being impolite.”
Chen Yuchu was not only beautiful but also had a decisive and elegant way of handling things.
Lin Shirou and Zhong Jingjing were carried away by bodyguards. At this moment, Lin Xingwan also removed her mask.
She looked at Lin Shirou and Zhong Jingjing with extreme sarcasm. It was clear that the two of them had also discovered Lin Xingwan.
They were even more astonished.
Why was Lin Xingwan here?
Wasn’t this woman already kicked out?
Lin Shirou’s eyes blazed with jealousy, while Zhong Jingjing’s head throbbed.
If she remembered correctly, it was this wretched Lin Xingwan who had been dancing the waltz with the new CEO of Dongfang Corporation just now.
Could it be that she was the Lin family’s golden phoenix?
Too many things flashed through her mind. It seemed that when this wretched girl was in the Lin family, the family prospered; when this wretched girl was at Huanyu Company, Huanyu Company immediately revived like a withered tree blooming again; and also at Dingfeng Entertainment…
Overwhelmed by the shock, Zhong Jingjing fainted.
The embarrassing incident of these two women was merely a minor interlude at the banquet.
When everyone came back to their senses, the handsome and tall figure on the stage was long gone.
Liu Mengqin looked regretful. “I can’t believe I missed when the CEO left because I was watching Lin Shirou. What a loss.”
Chen Yuchu returned to the stage, her demeanor as frosty as ever. “Ladies and gentlemen, CEO Junze has an urgent matter and has left. The banquet will continue.”
The guests were all disappointed; they had wanted to chat with Dongfang Junze.
Since the central figure of the banquet was gone, they also removed their masks and mingled, attempting to expand their business empires.
Lin Xingwan did the same. A banquet not aimed at forging partnerships was a waste of time.
Lin Xingwan surveyed the surroundings, spotting influential figures from various industries everywhere.
The familiar faces were all darlings of the financial news channels and magazines.
Even more than a dozen people from the top twenty of China’s rich list could be seen here.
Just as Lin Xingwan was about to withdraw her gaze, a man’s face suddenly appeared in her line of sight.
The man also saw Lin Xingwan. Their eyes met, and the man, startled, dropped the wine glass he was holding and quickly left.
“What are you looking at?” Liu Mengqin noticed that Lin Xingwan hadn’t responded for a long time and couldn’t help but turn her questioning gaze to her.
“That man, do you know who he is?” Lin Xingwan pointed to the young man in the tuxedo. Although he looked incredibly handsome tonight, she recognized him instantly. This was the man she had spent over two hours with in the tent three days ago!
Liu Mengqin glanced over and immediately replied, “Of course I know him, Gao Nanbin. He’s the actor who played the third male lead in ‘Immortal Path.’ I heard he was a candidate for the second male lead, Wang Yuan, but suddenly Ge Xuan Temple snatched the role from him.”
After speaking, Liu Mengqin leaned closer to Lin Xingwan’s ear and gossiped, “Gao Nanbin’s acting and reputation are quite good, but his luck has always been bad. And like Jiang Wenyuan, he debuted as a child star. For over a decade, he was always compared to Jiang Wenyuan, but after more than ten years, Jiang Wenyuan has left him far behind. I also heard that Gao Nanbin’s sugar daddy is Jin Shunzi, the wife of the owner of Jinlin Company.”
“It’s his capability to find a sugar daddy,” Lin Xingwan didn’t look down on Gao Nanbin’s actions. The entertainment industry was too deep, and perhaps the stars who appeared glamorous on the big screen were merely playthings of the chaebols in private.
To remain untainted by the mire while swimming in dark waters, one must possess terrifying strength.
As Lin Xingwan and Liu Mengqin were chatting, a deep and powerful voice sounded from behind them, “Vice President Lin… no, I should call you President Lin now. Do you remember me?”