The group of young boys and girls were as young as twelve or thirteen, with the oldest just over twenty.
Rows of candles flickered like fireflies in the darkness on the beach. A barbeque grill was set up nearby, with a spread of delicacies lain out on a long wooden table, where a group was gathered, grilling and enjoying a meal together.
Most of these people were juniors from the Du Family, with some being friends from the circle; each one of them came from wealthy families, extremely rich kids.
"Hey, Sister Ruoxi, why did you bring a boy along? Is he your boyfriend?" a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl dressed in a Lolita fashion giggled behind her hand.
Du Ruoxi laughed and lightly tapped her on the head, saying, "You should focus more on studying every day. This is your Sister Shanshan's brother, Lin Mo."
Lin Mo nodded to the little girl.
"So you're Sister Shanshan's brother. She often talks about you to us, saying that you were the top scorer in the college entrance exam, really impressive," the young girl chattered, and then slapped her forehead, saying, "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Du Xueqi, just started my first year of high school."
It was apparent that this Du Xueqi was close with Du Ruoxi and Shanshan. The others kept a cold expression on their faces, but upon hearing that Shanshan's brother had come, many turned their gaze toward Lin Mo.
Upon seeing Lin Mo dressed in unbranded casual clothes and with his ordinary looks, a cluster of girls quickly lost interest. Many boys also showed a look of contempt in their eyes.
After all, Xiazhou is a near-first-tier city, far surpassing the small places where Lin Mo came from in terms of economy, development, and resources.
As for the young masters, upon learning that Lin Mo was Shanshan's relative from Hong City, they deemed it akin to a rural area. A young master from a small rural family was nothing more than a local tycoon's son, utterly unimpressive.
"So, you're Shanshan's cousin, nice to meet you. I'm Du Feiyu," a young man in his twenties with an extraordinary bearing and a confident smile on his face stepped out from the crowd.
"Nice to meet you," Lin Mo nodded slightly.
Du Feiyu sized him up and said, "Being the top scorer in college entrance exams is quite an achievement. I heard you attend Imperial Tian Nan University, a future high-flyer after graduation."
His words sounded like a compliment, but his eyes were filled with disdain.
The Du Family is one of the Three Great Families in Fu Province; the listed company's assets nearly reach a hundred billion. With a personal asset of thirty billion, Family Head Du Li ranked ninety-eighth on the Forbes Huaxia rich list and was a powerful figure in Fu Province, with even Sealing Border Officials showing him a degree of courtesy.
The offsprings of such significant families hardly cared about academic achievers. After all, those with good grades would end up working for them after university.
While others at twenty were still hanging out in internet cafes, bars, and dating, these young heirs were already in control of tens of millions in assets, forging ahead in the business world, not on the same level at all.
"Being academically talented is also decent. After coming out, you can manage some of your family's small businesses," another young man with dyed yellow hair sneered.
This young man had his forehead streaked with yellow hair, looking somewhat unruly, the son of the Du Family's third eldest, Du Jie.
Their words were laced with thorns, and even the naive Shanshan could feel it. She frowned slightly, pulling on Lin Mo's clothes and looking apologetic.
Initially, she had planned to bring Brother Xiao Mo along for a good time, not anticipating ridicule from a few people.
"It's okay," Lin Mo patted Shanshan's head, his eyes filled with affection.
These were Shanshan's relatives and friends, so Lin Mo certainly couldn't erupt in anger and chase them away; that would make things difficult for Shanshan.
Seeing that Lin Mo couldn't utter a word, contempt in the eyes of the crowd deepened. Only those without a solid foundation could feel at a loss at a high-level gathering like this.
It's just like when a country boy suddenly walks into a high-end store and finds that the price tag on just about any piece of clothing runs into tens of thousands of dollars, a sense of inferiority and embarrassment rises in his face and heart.
"Honey, what are you guys doing, hurry up and help me with the BBQ," suddenly a woman with permed wavy hair, wearing a cool outfit came over, clinging to Du Feiyu's arm, cooing.
"Bella, Shanshan brought a cousin over, we just came to say hi," Du Feiyu said indifferently.
"Oh, is he a relative from Hong City?" Bella looked at Lin Mo, disappointment flashing in her eyes, he was too plain-looking. Shaking her head, she pulled on Du Feiyu's arm, "Let's go BBQ."
"Sure."
Immediately, Du Feiyu, Du Jie, and the others stopped paying attention to Lin Mo and returned to the BBQ, chatting and laughing by the grill.
"What a 'be', isn't she just a green tea bitch?" Du Xueqi curled her lips, seemingly in disdain for the sexy woman.
"Xueqi, she's your sister-in-law after all, don't speak recklessly," Du Ruoxi chided with furrowed brows.
"I got it," Du Xueqi pouted.
Then, Du Ruoxi said to Lin Mo, "Right, you and Shanshan haven't seen each other for a long time, I'll leave you two to catch up."
After speaking, Du Ruoxi, pulling Du Xueqi, walked towards the crowd. Lin Mo and Lin Shanshan found a rock by the shore to sit and chat.
"Are you not happy living with the Du family?" Lin Mo suddenly asked Lin Shanshan.
"No, Sister Ruoxi and Xueqi are quite good to me. Although I'm not that close with the others, they haven't bullied me. Brother Mo, you don't need to worry about me," Lin Shanshan said, her gaze seemingly evasive.
A hint of cold light flickered in Lin Mo's eyes, then returned to normal as he sighed and said,
"Don't I know your character? Too kindhearted; even if you have troubles, you're not willing to tell others and let them worry for you."
"Du Li is the Family Head of the Du Family, you are his daughter, and yet those branch family juniors still treat you so poorly; it seems the people of the Du Family haven't accepted you."
Hearing Lin Mo's words, a flicker of panic crossed Lin Shanshan's eyes, as she quickly looked down and said, "Brother Mo, I really am fine, don't worry about me."
"If anyone dares to bully you, just tell Brother Mo, and I will definitely help you," Lin Mo said calmly as he gazed at the deep, dark sea.
"Hey, Shanshan, go to the hotel on the island and bring back some charcoal for us, oh, and bring your cousin with you."
Suddenly, a commanding voice sounded from behind them, Lin Mo turned his head to see the woman referred to as 'be' standing there.
"It's fine, I can go by myself," Lin Shanshan nodded, about to leave, but Lin Mo grabbed her wrist.
"Don't you have hands and feet yourself? Why are you sending Shanshan?" Lin Mo frowned, a chill in his eyes.
Be frowned and retorted, "She goes if I ask her to, what's it to you, a poor relative sticking his nose where it doesn't belong?"
"Shanshan is Du Li's daughter, and you branch family members dare to bully her?" Lin Mo said coldly.
"Hehe, she's just the daughter of some whore Mr. Du found outside, a bastard at that, does she really think she's some precious young miss?" Be crossed her arms and laughed disdainfully as if she had heard a ludicrous joke.
"Slap!" Suddenly, a crisp slap echoed along with the sea breeze, as be fell on the sofa with a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth, looking up in fury at the youth before her.