C48

Finally, it was the day of the engagement ceremony.

The atmosphere in the capital was festive, especially in the Yang and the Tang families. The ceremony would be held in the evening at the Lincoln Resort.

Lincoln Resort was one of the poshest hotels in the country. It was owned by the Wang family.

The media was buzzing with excitement. All eyes were on the upcoming event.

For the past few weeks, tabloids and magazines had been printing articles about the couple and their engagement on a daily basis.

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Tang Family Home-

The Patriarch of the Tang family, Tang Jin was sitting in his room in the Tang Ancestral home.

The Tang family- one of the five great families was a hegemon of the entertainment industry.

Tang Jin, the current patriarch, founded Galaxy Entertainment-GE. Presently, all A-listed actors, actresses, and models were signed with GE. Furthermore, of the top 10 idol groups, 6 were from Galaxy and more than half of the top singers were also signed with GE.

Tang Jin was a very astute businessman with a strong work ethic. He had two sons and a daughter.

His elder son Tang Yi was the husband of Song Yu and the father of Tang Mo and Tang Xue. He was the current Chairman of GE- and its largest shareholder.

He had a very amiable personality and loved to host parties. The Tang couple was quite relaxed and liberal in their parenting.

The younger son Tang Fantian was the CEO of GalaxyM- a subsidiary of GE. He was married to Zhu Meilan and had a son, Tang Juhan.

Tang Juhan was the same age as Tang Mo. He had average looks and loved to read books. He was a professor and a published author. His books were not popular. Apart from that, not much was known about him to the general public.

Finally, there was Tang Wen, Tang Jin's only daughter. She was an Economics professor and was married to the Han family's eldest son, Han Xiaolong. She had been distant from her family since her marriage.

Han Xiaolong was Tang Wen's husband and father of Han Xi. He was a professor at National Law University. He was taciturn and strict. Although they had a love marriage, he was not fond of the entertainment industry. Therefore, he kept his distance from the Tang family. Their daughter Han Xi was 30 this year. She did her post-graduation in biotechnology from GVSU. She had been working in Uruk and recently came back home.

Currently, all the siblings with their spouses had gathered in their father's room.

Tang Jin looked at them and said in a dignified tone, "Today is a great event for our Tang Family. I expect everything to go smoothly. There should be no lapses on our end. This union will mark the beginning of a new era. It will form an alliance amongst the three great families."

"Many foreign dignitaries are invited. So, all of you should ensure that all arrangements are perfect."

Then he looked at Tang Yi with a smile and said,

"Son, today your daughter is going to be engaged. It's a joyful occasion! Although I know she likes that lad, Yang Tian she would still be nervous. You should have a talk with her before the engagement."

Tang Yi replied in a respectful manner, "Yes father I will do that."

Tang Jin then looked at others and said, "That's all, I just wanted to have a small family meet to emphasize the importance of today's event. You all can go now and continue with your duties."

Everyone except Tang Yi and Tang Fantian left the room.

Tang Jin looked at his sons and said, "Both of you are going to receive the foreign dignitaries. There are certain forces who are not happy with this union and may try to intervene. Make sure they are not successful."

Both his sons nodded and left the room.

The Tang Patriarch sat down with a sigh and thought, 'I hope everything turns out fine.'

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Yang Family-

A similar meeting was taking place in the Yang family as well. The patriarch Yang WuYa had gathered the entire family and was giving them strict instructions for the upcoming event.

After he dismissed everyone, only his son Yang Xiong remained behind.

Yang WuYa said, "What is the matter? Do you have something on your mind?"

Yang Xiong said, "Father what about elder brother?"

WuYa said, "What about him??"

Yang Xiong, "Will brother not attend such an important occasion?"

Yang WuYa replied, "No he will not. I have sent him on a mission. I don't want any questions being raised today. Now you should head back and continue with your duties."

After he heard his father's words, he sighed and exited the room.

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Somewhere on the outskirts of Cinea, a man was lying naked with one girl on either side. The girls were fast asleep as they were exhausted by the ruthless torment they had been subjected to. Their bodies were covered with hickeys and belt marks.

They were currently in a secret base of the Xi family. After the fall of the Mo family 2 years ago, Xi family had become the most powerful underground family.

The man was none other than Xi Fan. Xi Fan had a sturdy build with a height of 187cm. He had black hair, black eyes, and a knife scar on his right cheek which made him look ferocious. He was known to be ruthless and bloodthirsty. He was also famous for playing with different girls every few weeks.

Suddenly, he got a call. When he saw the name on his screen he smirked.

He picked up the call and said, "What's the matter Wang Lei?"

Lei said, "Brother Fan, are you going to the engagement ceremony?"

Xi Fan got up from the bed and said, "Of course, I am going. I think nobody in Cinea will miss such a grand event." Xi Fan then paused and Wang Lei heard him say in a mocking tone, "It's the engagement of the so-called 'immortal couple'."

Although the elite families appeared to be harmonious on the surface, there was intense rivalry amongst them. Every family would try to strengthen its position and dominate the other.

The Song's and the Tang's were already relatives by marriage. With this engagement, the three great families would become closer and form a nexus. The Sun family never interfered with anything and the Mo family had weakened in the last 2 years. However, this union would pressurize the Wang and the Xi family. The Wang Family and the Xi family were close, especially the younger generation. This engagement would further unite them.

Wang Lei said, "Brother let's go together. We should greet the immortal couple and maybe make some new friends. I heard that many foreign dignitaries from Westphalia are also attending. Maybe we can really find some new friends today."

Xi Fan pause for a moment and said, "Sure let's go together."

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A red Range Rover was parked in front of Wonder World. Two girls came out of the vehicle. They were Yang Mei and Bing Xue. As they had agreed to attend the engagement, they decided to go shopping. They decided to shop at Wonder World Mall. They had already called Song Jue.

As they reached the entrance, they found Song Jue waiting for them. However, she was not alone. There were two other girls talking to her. Both Mei and Xue recognized them instantly. They were Yang Ling and Yang Ruowei.

As Mei and Xue came near Song Jue they were noticed by the Yang cousins. Both of them were surprised. Yang Ling was focused on Yang Mei while Ruowei was focused on Xue.

They greeted each other. However, after the greeting, there was an awkward silence between them. Xue and Mei signaled Song Jue but as they were about to separate, Yang Ling said to Mei, "Sister Mei are you here to buy clothes for the ceremony?"

All of them were surprised when she addressed Yang Mei as sister Mei.

After a pause, Mei gave a warm smile and said, "Yes, we are here to shop for clothes. What about you??"

Ling said, "We are here to pick up some accessories and clothes which were ordered last week."

Mei gave another sweet smile and excused herself by saying, "Ok then, we shall not take your time. See you later."

The Mei turned towards the lift with Xue and Jue. However, as she took a couple of steps,s she heard a voice calling out to her.

"SISTER MEI! Please wait."

It was Yang Ling. Mei paused and turned around. She heard Ling say, "Sister Mei, can we accompany you?"

Everyone present was stunned including Yang Ruowei.

Mei was surprised. She looked at Ling and said, "Won't you be late if you accompany us?"

Yang Ruowei also nodded and said hurriedly, "Yes sister Ling! we have to go back quickly and deliver the accessories. The elders will get angry if we delay anything. We don't have time to accompany them!"

Yang Ling pause for a moment and said, "Let's do this. Yang Ruowei you collect the accessories and go back. I will accompany them."

Again, her words surprised everyone.

Ruowei protested, "But Sister Lin---"

However, Ling interrupted, "Collect the accessories and clothes and go back to the mansion. If the elders ask tell them I am with my friends." Saying that she turned towards the three ladies.

Ruowei on the other hand glared at Xue before she took her leave.

Mei said to Ling, "Won't the elders be angry at you?"

Ling replied, "Who cares? Sister Mei let's go."

The girls were surprised by Yang Ling's reply but they didn't say anything.

They went to the apparel section and started shopping. After two hours all the girls had tried at least 3 dresses each. They had also bought some shoes and accessories.

Even Yang Ling bought a dress. She had surprisingly become comfortable in the company of Yang Mei and others.

When Song Jue and Bing Xue had gone to try on some dresses, she came to Mei and said, "CONGRATS!! sister Mei. I was so surprised to see your photo in the newspaper. Sister Mei how have you been all these years? How is aunty? And how is brother Yang Li?"

Mei was a little surprised by her questions. She looked at her and said in a warm tone, "I have been well. Mother and little brother are also doing well. How are you? I heard that you went to Westphalia after your high school and only returned recently."

Ling replied, "Yes, sister Mei. I only returned recently. I am currently working as a chef. I started a restaurant in Westphalia. Fortunately, it was a success so I expanded. Now, I want to expand the business in Cinea. Therefore, I came back."

Mei said, "Cool, very impressive. So, have you decided where you are going to open your restaurant?"

Ling shook her head and said, "Not yet."

After five minutes Xue and Jue came out of the dressing room. Yang Ling was surprised. She noticed that all their dresses were chic and elegant but none of them were expensive.

After that Mei accompanied Xue to buy clothes for Yang Li. Xue had already gone through his wardrobe. It hardly had any partywear. It was filled with casualwear. As he didn't usually attend any parties, all his dresses were relatively old. She decided to buy some partywear for him.

After they finished their shopping, Yang Ling bade them goodbye and the girls decided to go to Yang Li's penthouse apartment.