Shine on Me

The appearance of Old Master Sheng immediately drew all eyes. I deliberately hid in Lin Yusen's blind spot, not wanting to be noticed by him first.

Many guests stepped forward to greet Old Master Sheng. One middle-aged man's voice was particularly loud, "Our birthday star has arrived."

The old master, beaming with joy, replied with a smile, "We're not using the word 'old' today."

The middle-aged man quickly apologized, "My mistake, I deserve to be punished."

The scene was lively, so my uncle wasn't in a hurry to go up and greet him.

At that moment, Manager Zhang came over to us again. My uncle asked him quietly, "Old Master Sheng has always been low-key, and this isn't a milestone birthday. Why such a grand occasion? Quite a few from your company are here too, right?"

"All the top executives are here," Manager Zhang whispered. "The old master was hospitalized for a while recently."

My uncle looked understanding. "Passing the torch? And that young man beside him is...?"

"Sheng Xingjie, the eldest grandson."

So this was Sheng Xingjie? I couldn't help but take a closer look at the young man next to Old Master Sheng. He was decent-looking but had an air of smug self-satisfaction.

"Directly to the third generation, huh? Makes sense—he's about thirty, in his prime. It's the younger generation's world now."

As he spoke, my uncle glanced at me and suddenly pointed into the crowd. "That young man—if I'm not mistaken, he's Old Master Sheng's grandson, right?"

Manager Zhang looked over and nodded, his voice dropping even lower. "His abilities are far... He used to be a doctor. When a major problem arose in a project recently, he took over and actually resolved it."

"Was it the Landmark project? You handled that quite well."

Manager Zhang nodded again. "It was a bit risky, but the outcome was good. He rose quickly. In similar events before, the old master always had him and Sheng Xingjie by his side. We thought..." He sighed. "But it's always been like this. Twenty-some years ago, that previous Manager Lin, wasn't it also..."

Previous Manager Lin? I looked at him in confusion.

Manager Zhang realized he'd said too much and didn't continue. But he couldn't resist adding one last cryptic remark, "Family businesses... with an 'outsider' label, you'll inevitably have to live under someone else's thumb."

My uncle's gaze flicked to me again.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

Sheng Yuan was founded by Old Master Sheng himself—of course, he could give it to whomever he pleased. Knowing Mr. Lin as I did, he wouldn't care about this at all.

However, many of Sheng Yuan's top executives were present at this banquet, likely sharing Manager Zhang's views. After Old Master Sheng and Sheng Xingjie appeared, their eyes kept darting between Sheng Xingjie and Lin Yusen. Sheng Xingjie seemed to sense the unusual atmosphere and suddenly raised his glass from afar in Lin Yusen's direction.

Lin Yusen raised his glass in return.

But Sheng Xingjie snorted, didn't drink, and placed his glass on a server's tray, exchanging it for another.

His actions instantly drew the attention of the entire room. Countless eyes turned to Lin Yusen—probing, sympathetic, triumphant, eager for drama...

I was stunned by Sheng Xingjie's series of actions, practically fuming with anger.

I should have realized earlier. At the boss's wedding banquet last time, Rongrong—merely Sheng Xingjie's second secretary—had dared to mock Lin Yusen openly. Where did her attitude come from? It had to be a trickle-down effect, learned from the top.I glanced toward Lin Yusen. The crowd that had been chatting around him earlier had dispersed, leaving him standing alone with a wine glass in hand, a faint smile playing on his lips as if oblivious to the judgmental gazes at the banquet.

My eyes lingered on his slender fingers.

A sudden pang of heartache struck me.

If not for the car accident, he would still be that brilliant surgeon, full of ambition—not standing here, subjected to everyone’s pity and speculation.

As if he needed to rely on reading people’s expressions to get by!

I turned to my uncle and asked, “Uncle, shouldn’t we go greet the elders with our congratulations?”

My uncle led me toward Old Master Sheng.

Lin Yusen finally noticed me then. His expression froze for a moment before he immediately set down his glass and strode toward us.

I tugged at my uncle, quickening our pace to reach Old Master Sheng before Lin Yusen could intercept us. Politely, I greeted him, “Grandpa Sheng, wishing you boundless happiness and longevity like the mountains.”

Old Master Sheng chuckled warmly. “Good, good.” Then, turning to my uncle, he asked, “Director Jiang, I thought you only had a son. Who is this?”

My uncle replied, “This is my niece, Xiguang. She’s the daughter of my younger sister and Cheng Yuan.”

Old Master Sheng studied me. “Ah, I remember now. We met a few years ago in Wuxi. You’ve grown even more beautiful.”

My uncle laughed. “A girl changes eighteen times before adulthood.”

I deliberately tugged at my uncle’s sleeve with exaggerated movements. “Uncle, ask for me, won’t you?”

At first, he looked puzzled, but then I subtly gestured toward Lin Yusen, who was weaving his way through the crowd toward us.

My uncle’s expression instantly shifted, and he hurriedly tried to dissuade me. “We’ll talk about it later, later.”

“Ask now. Strike while the iron is hot—what if someone else takes a liking to him later?” I kept my voice low, not wanting to draw too much attention, but just loud enough for Old Master Sheng to hear.

Old Master Sheng grew curious. “Ask what? Who’s taken a liking to whom?”

My uncle nearly stumbled over his words. “It’s just her, she’s, well, young people these days want to make more friends. Uh, how old is your grandson?”

The moment the last question left his lips, my uncle clamped his mouth shut, looking as if he wanted to punch himself in frustration.

The surrounding guests fell silent. I struggled to suppress my laughter, while Lin Yusen—he abruptly halted mid-step. After a brief look of surprise, his face broke into a wide grin.

He approached me with effortless grace. “I’m twenty-nine. And you, Miss Jiang?”

I frowned, feigning disappointment. “Almost thirty? That’s a bit old… Oh, I’m not a Jiang.”

“My apologies, I assumed you were Director Jiang’s daughter. May I ask your surname, then?”

“It’s Nie,” I told him brightly.

“Miss Nie.” He repeated it, his eyes gleaming as they met mine. “Miss Nie seems dissatisfied with my age?”

“Not exactly.” I sighed. “It’s just that at your age, most people already have girlfriends. Sigh… do you?”

“Yes.”

I nodded. “Then never mind. Uncle, let’s go.” I looped my arm through my uncle’s, pretending to walk away.

My uncle, thoroughly bewildered, let me steer him around—only for Lin Yusen’s voice to ring out behind us.

“Her surname is also Nie.”

I ducked my head to hide my laughter. Finally catching on, my uncle whirled around, his eyes darting between Lin Yusen and me in shock and suspicion.

Lin Yusen turned serious then. Stepping up to my thoroughly bewildered uncle, he greeted him politely. “Uncle Jiang, hello. I’m Lin Yusen—Xiguang’s boyfriend.”Uncle's expression had never been so animated before, making me suddenly worry about what would happen to me after the banquet ended.

Uncle stood there dumbfounded and shook hands with Lin Yusen.

"Uncle Jiang, may I take Xiguang to greet Grandpa?"

Uncle nodded blankly.

And so, Lin Yusen took my hand and led me to Old Master Sheng.

"Grandpa, Xiguang is my girlfriend. We were just fooling around earlier."

The old master, a seasoned veteran, reacted much faster than my uncle. He quickly concealed the surprise in his eyes, gave me another once-over, and nodded approvingly. "Good, good. Finally found a girlfriend at almost thirty. Now I can rest easy."

The surroundings finally stirred from absolute silence, with whispers breaking out.

"Who is she?"

"I heard she's Nie Chengyuan's daughter."

"His family only has one daughter, right?"

"Yes, just one daughter. This is quite interesting."

With many guests to attend to, the old master said a few more words before moving on to the next group. But before leaving, he dropped a line: "There's a small family dinner at home tomorrow. Xiguang should come too."

I nodded instinctively, only realizing what it meant after he had already left.

Me attending a family dinner... Was that appropriate?

I looked at Lin Yusen, then at my uncle, who had finally snapped out of it and rushed over to take charge. Uncle seemed about to say something but, seeing Lin Yusen there, settled for glaring at me instead.

At me ==

Mr. Zhang looked rather awkward beside us and gave Uncle a pat on the shoulder. "So you've already roped in our President Lin? Keeping it a secret is one thing, but pretending not to know him?"

Uncle couldn't very well say he had no idea, so he fumbled through an explanation: "Well, I just didn't know what he looked like."

Mr. Zhang laughed heartily. "We'll be even closer from now on. Don't hold any grudges over past misunderstandings."

The last part was directed at me, likely referring to his earlier comments about Lin Yusen. But since he was just stating facts, there was nothing to take offense at, so I smiled at him.

Mr. Zhang immediately relaxed and teased us, "You two stole half the spotlight today with that little act."

Only then did I realize we had become another focal point of the event. All sorts of glances drifted our way, and at one point, I even locked eyes with Sheng Xingjie.

I quietly averted my gaze.

Lin Yusen seized the moment to speak up. "Uncle Jiang, may I take Xiguang outside for some fresh air?"

I nodded eagerly, looking pleadingly at Uncle.

Perhaps sensing the odd atmosphere around us, Uncle reluctantly agreed. "Go ahead, but be back before the formal banquet starts."

Lin Yusen held my hand as we walked out of the hall. The banquet was a dazzling affair, filled with elegantly dressed guests. Being led through the crowd by such a strikingly handsome man gave me an inexplicable sense of ceremony...

Uh, I quickly dismissed that strange thought and whispered, "So many people are watching us."

"Hmm."

"How are you so calm?"

"Envious gazes—why wouldn't I be calm?"

...Conversation over.

Once outside the hall, the air felt lighter.

"Are we going outside? It's freezing."

"No, follow me."

He led me down the corridor outside the banquet hall.After turning two corners, the corridor unexpectedly opened up to a viewing platform with floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides. One side overlooked the venue, while the front faced the Huangpu River under the night sky, its dazzling lights creating a breathtaking view.

Drawn by the night scenery, I ran to the floor-to-ceiling window.

"So beautiful."

Lin Yusen walked up beside me. "Same view as the banquet hall."

"Oh, there were too many people there—I didn't really notice. Ugh..." Mentioning the banquet hall made me sigh. "I don't even want to go back. I've never been so much in the spotlight before."

Surprisingly, Lin Yusen sighed along with me. "Who isn't?"

...

Are you seriously complaining?

I glared at him. He chuckled, pulling me close and lowering his head. Thinking he was about to kiss me, I instinctively gripped his sleeve, but he only gently pressed his forehead against mine.

Our breaths mingled.

"Why did you do that?"

"Huh?"

"Just now, in front of my grandfather, in front of all those people—you said you were my girlfriend."

"Wasn't that what you said? I was being very reserved."

"Oh... so 'reservedly' asking me if I had a girlfriend?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "You are my boyfriend, after all. With so many beautiful girls at the party, of course I had to stake my claim."

Lin Yusen let out a soft laugh and firmly clasped my hand in his.

"Don't worry about me," he said.

I looked at him.

"That place." He gave a faint smile, his gaze drifting toward the brilliantly lit venue in the distance before turning back to me, his eyes brimming with confidence.

"Once, I was determined to have it. Now, it no longer holds my ambition."