XinYun’s Birthday Ball
And that was how Sun Mei was KO'd by Fang JunRong. She was left dazzled by Fang JunRong's sparkling status as a wealthy person.
Fang JunRong didn't get these people. Why did they all think she'd be sad after her divorce from Li WangJin? She had so much money and her precious daughter by her side. What was there to be upset about?
She should buy herself another outfit. She should start getting involved in the corporate business after XinYun's birthday. She couldn't keep on slacking like she was. At the very minimum, she needed to do better than Ayron. All things aside, her BBQ-Pork son was still competent at his work. Jiang YaGe was only part of the reason he increased their corporate assets; a lot of it was his ability.
Both the mother and daughter felt pretty happy after their shopping spree.
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Time flew by till August 16th, Li XinYun's birthday.
Instead of their place, Fang JunRong reserved a hotel downtown and even hired a few famous singers to perform for them. Surrounded by the music, Li XinYun wore the dress designed by Yang Xi, Fang JunRong's sister-in-law. The dress was pale yellow and had a round collar with no sleeves. The hem of the dress was adorned by many diamonds, making it look fluffy and full of life. Glowing with health and vigor, she looked like a princess.
Even though she didn't have a tiara, the giant ruby around her neck attracted lots of attention and gave her an additional sense of elegance. She had only invited her dad's business associates to her birthday banquets in the past. So this was the first time she was able to bring her schoolmates.
Li XinYun's schoolmates had always known she was from a wealthy family, as designer brand products usually surrounded her. Today was the first time they glimpsed at how well-off her family was. The cost of the hotel alone would be enough to cover several years of their families' expenditure. Not to mention, her party had singers they had only seen on TV before. They were mesmerized by the scale of the event.
However, they were boys and girls who had just graduated high school and had yet to be affected by the real world. As surprised as they were, their mannerism did not change too drastically. Li XinYun spent much of her time greeting guests, both her schoolmates and the older generations.
Fang JunRong brought Zhong Yi with her to have her appear in public. Zhong Yi had been taking etiquette classes lately, and she was presentable now, unlike how timid she had been in the past. She was delicate-looking. Now that she was more at ease, she looked like a blooming rose: vibrant and enthusiastic, making a pleasant view.
Everybody else had heard that Li WangJin had adopted a daughter, as did Fang JunRong. Were the two of them in some sort of competition?
What surprised them even more was that Fang JunRong was already in her forties, but her attractiveness rivaled Zhong Yi in every way when they stood side by side. Fang JunRong's look was flawless, as though time had no effects on her. Many of the guests gathered around her and asked for skincare secrets. After all, who didn't want to look pretty?
"I have been taking Beautifying Pills made by my own company. They will be available for purchase next month."
Most of the ingredients for the Beautify Pills could be found in the real world. The only must-have ingredient was the spring water from the jade dimension. Each pill required 10 mL of it. Without the spring water, the pills would lose their effectiveness. So, it wasn't difficult for her to supply the spring water, gather all the other ingredients, and have them produced in a factory in the real world.
Even though that spring looked plentiful and limitless, Fang JunRong, leaning on the safe side, experimented with it. She diluted the spring water with ten times the amount of water and used it to create the pills. Beautify Pills version 2.0, as much as they weren't as effective as the non-diluted version, it was still more effective than any other products currently on the market in minimizing pores, lightening dark spots, etc.
She planned on putting the diluted version on the market.
Fang JunRong had already produced a batch of this version and would be able to give some away as gifts tonight. Fang JunRong had prepared for this moment and immediately promised them she would provide them with a round of treatment. That made the other madams very happy, and they added sincerity when congratulating Li XinYun. Several women even removed their bracelets and gifted them to Li XinYun.
Once one of them had started, many others followed suit and gave her additional gifts. Anyone who wasn't blind could tell that Fang JunRong wasn't so close with her son anymore but was very doting to her daughter.
So, on top of her birthday presents, Li XinYun received their jewelry; she was happy with her additional monetary gain. Even though most of the jewelry wasn't the style she liked, they were valuable, and nobody would turn that down.
Even though most of those there had no reason to offend Li XinYun, the way she was the center of attention still rubbed a few of the ones her age the wrong way. Deng Lan was one of them. Dang Lan's family wealth can rival Li XinYun's; her family was in the snack business.
She also had an older brother at home, but unlike Li XinYun, her parents believed boys were better than girls. Her older brother was treated like a king at home, where she didn't get much attention. She may not have to worry about money, but her parents were reluctant to spend too much time on her. Her purse was an outdated one from two years ago. She was different from Li XinYun, who had everything that she wanted handed to her.
Deng Lan estimated that the birthday banquet itself cost over 5 million yuan. Li XinYun's 17-year-old birthday banquet was on the same scale as Li ShiZe when he turned 18. She and Li XinYun were the family's younger daughters, but their statuses were two extremes. On top of that, Deng Lan was somewhat interested in Li ShiZe. In their circle, Li ShiZe was considered a good catch. He was incredibly handsome and not promiscuous like many other Second Generation Rich.
From that point of view, everything spent on Li XinYun was the equivalent of resources taken away from Li ShiZe. She had pleaded with her parents for a long time before they agreed to take her to this banquet. She wanted to have some face time with Li ShiZe and leave a good impression on him, but he wasn't there. All of the reasons combined made her like Li XinYun even less.
She walked over to Li XinYun with a glass of wine and asked casually, "How come I didn't see your brother and father today?"
Li XinYun gave her a look and didn't know who she was right away, but she replied politely, "Oh, I didn't want to see them today." Even though she told her mother to uninvite them, Li XinYun was still upset that they didn't come. Plus, she didn't want others to gossip about her mother, so she took on the blame herself. She was only 17 years old and the birthday girl today. She could afford to be a little bit temperamental.
Deng Lan paused for a little bit then. Putting on the look of a very understanding older sister, she said, "Oh. But you're already 17 years old. You shouldn't be so capricious anymore. You are a family, after all, and you will be able to resolve any misunderstandings you may have with them." Then she put on a sympathetic look, "Oh, I forgot. Your parents are divorced. No wonder."
Remembering that made Deng Lan feel better. At least she has that over Li XinYun. Her parents didn't exactly get along well, but at least they did not have a divorce. Aunty Fang's temperament could be better.
Li XinYun asked bluntly, "No wonder what?"
She hated it when others were suggestive and intentionally vague.
Deng Lan said, "Your days must not be as good as before the divorce." Without the love from her father and older brother, Li XinYun's current life was naturally worse than it once was.
Li XinYun cocked her head a little and said, "You are right. My life is certainly different than it was before. In the past, I only had 100,000 yuan of pocket money a month. Now my mom gives me 500,000 yuan a month because she loves me so much."
As much as Li XinYun was not good at nonverbal communication, she could still tell that Deng Lan's intention was malicious. Seriously. What was wrong with this person, trying to pick on her at her birthday banquet?
Deng Lan's look froze for a little – her pocket money was only 10,000 yuan a month. She even needed to save up if she wanted to buy any luxurious items. Compared to Li XinYun, her status was like that of a maid.
Li XinYun said straight to her face, "I don't like you much. Don't show up in front of me too often."
She was, after all, a spoiled child and would do or say whatever she wanted to.
Li XinYun turned and walked away, leaving Deng Lan angry and embarrassed. She hadn't expected Li XinYun to have such a bad temperament and no subtlety. No wonder her father and brother didn't like her and wouldn't even come to her birthday banquet. She felt pity for Li ShiZe for having such a rude sister.
She took a deep breath and walked back to where she was as though nothing had happened, only to notice that the girls she had been chatting with kept a distance from her when she walked toward them. They didn't wish to talk to her again.
That had embarrassed Deng Lan even more. Being ostracized by everyone made her feel that everybody was making fun of her.
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Idiots like Deng Lan were in the minority. Li XinYun quickly forgot about the exchange and continued to enjoy her birthday banquet.
After the end of the banquet and having seen all the guests off with her mother, Li XinYun started going through all the gifts she had received. The one she liked the most was a set of topaz jewelry from her mother. Its craftsmanship was marvelous, and the way they sparkled was dazzling.
"Eh?" She suddenly found a gift box with Li WangJin's name on the outside. Even though he didn't come in person, he had someone send over a gift.
Li XinYun felt a bit complicated. She thought her father had already forgotten about her, but he still sent over a gift. As upset as she was with him, she still unwrapped the gift. It was a painting inside, and she could tell right away that it was the work of Xu FangWeng.
As her father was a big fan of this artist, she, too, had learned quite a bit about the artist's style. It was a painting of an orchid. She recalled that her father had spent a million yuan on it. Perhaps she wasn't entirely worthless in her father's mind.
Feeling a little touched, she went to show her mother the gift.
To her surprise, when Fang JunRong saw the painting, her smiling face dropped. "That good ol' Li WangJin!"
How dare he give her daughter a useless piece of paper for her birthday!
Li XinYun's mouth opened a little. She asked, perplexed, "Mom, do you not like this painting?" She might not have much appreciation for it herself, but she knew that Xu FangWeng's paintings were valuable.
Fang JunRong snickered and said sarcastically. "This painting is fake! He gave a fake to his daughter. Not even I thought he'd do that."
She had no intention of maintaining his image in his child's mind after he had pulled such a stunt. Li XinYun was soft-hearted; she didn't want her to fall for his tricks later on.
"Huh?" Li XinYun thought she must have heard wrong.