Chapter 381: Chapter 381 High-Energy Alert!
So it turns out Shi Chengyun’s family doesn’t live in the Shi family’s old estate?
Lu Sheng had originally thought that going to the Shi family this ti would an eting Shi Yuwei directly.
But since Shi Erya had deliberately concealed information about her, it seed unlikely that they would et.
Lu Sheng paused.
She could sense that Shi Erya was genuinely kind to her, so she changed the subject and asked, “Auntie, are you married? Do you have children?”
Shi Erya imdiately shook her head at the question. “No, the work in our industry is too busy. I expend all my energy on my job every day; where would I find the ti to date?”
“Actually, the only person in the family who’s married with kids is my older brother. His ex-wife gave him three sons, and his current wife has given him a daughter and two more sons, so you could say the family is thriving.”
“Other than him, my elder sister, myself, and Wenjing are all single and childless.”
Lu Sheng was a little surprised.
With Shi Erya and Shi Wenjing being young, single, and childless, Lu Sheng could still understand. But her eldest aunt was single too?
She asked, “Isn’t Auntie already 45? She’s never been married?”
“Not exactly. My older sister is single because she’s been married and divorced. She’s divorced three tis, actually.”
Shi Erya sighed helplessly, “My elder sister’s personality is too domineering, and her temper isn’t great, so none of her marriages worked out smoothly.”
“Her last marriage was particularly ugly—she abused her ex-husband so badly that he ended up in the hospital and even called the police on her. Later, my sister gave him a large sum of money to settle things, and they divorced after that.”
It was clear that Shi Erya truly didn’t see Lu Sheng as an outsider.
She didn’t hesitate to share even such unseemly stories about their wealthy family, not worrying in the slightest that Li Muchen was sitting behind them.
After about an hour, the plane landed.
The Shi family’s old estate had a dedicated private airport, and the pilot landed the plane firmly on the ground.
Li Muchen was the first to step off the plane, his long legs moving swiftly. He then turned his focus to gently lifting Lu Sheng off and even thoughtfully adjusted her hair.
Yesterday, when Shi Erya saw Li Muchen at the Lu family ho, she had been quite surprised.
Although Li Group’s headquarters were in Jiang City, its business empire spanned across China, and Li Muchen himself topped the country’s wealth rankings.
Even if she didn’t greet him deferentially, she had to be polite and respectful to this young master of the Li Group, who was younger than herself.
What’s more, Li Muchen’s grandparents had shared a strong friendship with her grandfather in their younger days, so he wasn’t entirely an outsider either.
But primarily, Shi Erya hadn’t expected that Li Muchen would be involved with her recently recovered niece in such a relationship.
Initially, she had worried that Li Muchen’s dominant presence in their relationship would leave Lu Sheng at a disadvantage. Yet, after observing him yesterday and today, it was clear that the man harbored deeper affection.
Though his words were sparse, his gaze had never left the girl, and every action brimd with tenderness as though he were cherishing her.
And so, Shi Erya disembarked from the plane and said, “Shengsheng, let’s head inside.”
The Shi family’s old estate was vast, with the landscaped courtyards alone spanning over a thousand square ters. The main residence was an extravagantly elegant Chinese-style building, steeped in tradition.
The imposing redwood doors to the main house were opened by the aging butler, who hurriedly approached.
He first addressed Shi Erya as “Third Miss,” then looked at Lu Sheng with tearful eyes and called her “Young Miss” in a quivering voice.
It was evident the butler knew Lu Sheng’s identity.
This elderly butler must have served in the Shi family for many years. He had raised Du Ran and lived through the events of the past.
To think the Second Miss who had left ho so long ago had a daughter this grown-up, only for her to pass away herself. So mories stung, and gazing at the poised girl in front of him stirred complex emotions.
Impatiently wanting to introduce Lu Sheng to Shi Mingxiu, Shi Erya nodded and took Lu Sheng’s hand, preparing to head toward the inner quarters.
But before she could take a step forward, the butler stopped her: “Wait… Third Miss.”
Shi Erya frowned, puzzled: “What’s the matter, Uncle Li? Why are you blocking ?”
“Well… Third Miss, the Eldest Miss heard about the master’s deteriorating health and returned from abroad last night. She’s currently in his room,” managed the hesitant butler.
Shi Erya froze, her eyes wide in shock as she sucked in a sharp breath, “What? You an Elder Sister is back and she’s in Dad’s room right now?”
The butler took a deep breath. “Yes…”
Unaware of the reason behind Shi Erya’s sudden change of expression, Lu Sheng asked, “Auntie, is there a problem with Auntie (the eldest) coming ho?”
Shi Erya clenched her fists, ultimately exhaling deeply as she responded, “Originally, I didn’t ntion this because Elder Sister wasn’t ho. But, in truth, when your mother was here, she and Elder Sister didn’t get along well at all.”
“The main issue was that Elder Sister liked soone who, in turn, was in love with your mother. That caused the two of them to have a falling out, and I was too young at the ti to diate.”
“Like I ntioned earlier, Elder Sister is very domineering and has a bad temper. I’m not sure if she’ll be an to you when she ets you…”
Shi Erya planned to escort Lu Sheng to her room to avoid complications.
However, before she could finish speaking, a voice suddenly rang out from nearby—
“Shi Erya, Dad is sick to that degree and you’re not ho to take care of him? Where were you gallivanting off to? You spent the whole night out!”
The tone was dripping with disapproval and reproach.
Lu Sheng looked up imdiately to see the woman walking out from the inner hall.
She appeared to be in her forties, dressed in a lavish deep purple qipao, her neck adorned with a strikingly green jade necklace, with matching jade bracelets and rings that exuded opulence.
Her deanor was regal, though her features lacked a balanced refinent and couldn’t be called attractive. Despite impeccable grooming, faint signs of aging showed in the fine wrinkles around her eyes and laugh lines.
Shi Erya visibly shrank at the sight of her eldest sister, Shi Suxin.
The mont Shi Suxin appeared, Shi Erya’s shoulders flinched almost reflexively.
She swallowed hard before forcing herself to et her gaze and greeted her nervously, “Elder Sister… You’ve returned ho?”
Shi Suxin’s brows furrowed deeply, her expression growing sharper when her gaze landed on Lu Sheng and Li Muchen.
Arms crossed, her tone turned condescending, “I have indeed, but where have you been? And who are these two that you’ve brought ho?”
Shi Erya inhaled deeply, knowing she had no choice but to answer, starting first with an introduction of Li Muchen.
“This is Li Muchen, President Li, the head of Li Group. Elder Sister, you’ve likely heard of him, haven’t you?”
—Li Muchen?
Shi Suxin’s eyes lit up as soon as she heard the na. She hadn’t anticipated the real-life appearance of the fad sole heir of the Li family empire, much younger and more striking than she imagined.
Building ties with soone like this could only benefit the Shi family imnsely. If Shi Yuwei could marry into the Li family and cent an alliance, their family’s wealth and influence would surely soar.
Before Shi Erya could say much more, Shi Suxin was already daydreaming elaborately, blatantly sizing Li Muchen up from head to toe with obvious satisfaction.
Shi Erya, clueless about her elder sister’s plotting, hesitated before pointing to Lu Sheng, taking another deep breath to explain.
“This one… This one is…”
She faltered, torn over whether she should reveal Lu Sheng’s identity, afraid it might provoke unnecessary drama. But just then, the household’s door suddenly swung open again.
When Shi Erya looked up to see her elder brother Shi Chengyun entering with Shi Muchuan and Shi Yuwei trailing him, she froze completely.
“Elder Brother?! You… you, too…”
Shi Chengyun stopped, slightly taken aback to find guests at ho.
He didn’t recognize Lu Sheng, but when his eyes fell on Li Muchen, his deanor instantly brightened. Mistaking Li Muchen’s visit as being about him, Shi Chengyun appeared delighted.
After all, he had recently invited Li Muchen to Beijing and his ho for a visit.
“…President Li? You’ve co to Beijing—for ?”
“Have you co to the wrong place? I don’t live at the old estate. Why didn’t you let know in advance so I could arrange for soone to pick you up?”
A business smile plastered across his face, Shi Chengyun approached, hand extended to shake Li Muchen’s.
Shi Erya, unsure how to handle the unfolding chaos, stood frozen in bewildernt.
Li Muchen said nothing. He exhaled deeply, shook Shi Chengyun’s hand, then imdiately turned his attention to Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng, however, had locked her eyes on the elegant girl standing behind Shi Chengyun—a vision in a pure white dress trimd with delicate lace.
She, too, seed to be staring fixedly at Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng’s only awareness was the sound of the Death Seeking Bell attached to the Red Jade bracelet gifted to her by You Yi suddenly ringing on her wrist.
To add to the bizarre mont, upon the girl’s entrance, Shi Chengyun’s wife—Lu Sheng’s stepmother—also walked through the doorway.
Saying sothing like, “Yuwei, your phone is still in the car.”
And yet, the mont she stepped inside, the bell on Lu Sheng’s bracelet began to ring again.
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