CFRFGC Chapter 26

⌈Mr. Ji! It is a great honor for us to have you here.”⌋

Ding Wei felt a bit embarrassed at that moment.

Then he started to get a little angry.

It was one thing for him not to tell Lu Ran he had received an invitation, but how dare Lu Ran not inform him?

“What kind of job are you doing?” Ding Wei asked.

Lu Ran leisurely ate a bit of food.

He glanced at Madam Shen, who was staring at him from a distance, afraid he might “say something foolish”, and smiled.

“I’m a taste tester; they want me to eat everything.”

It was obvious that this was nonsense.

Ding Wei felt angry but didn’t dare to express it in such an occasion.

In the end, he made up an excuse and awkwardly left.

After walking a few steps, Ding Wei felt he might have acted too rashly.

He would still need Lu Ran for future experiments.

Plus, he wasn’t sure what relationship Lu Ran had with the Shen family, so it seemed unwise to fall out with him now.

After wandering around the banquet for a while, Ding Wei decided to go back and say a few soft words to Lu Ran.

But just as he took a few steps, someone called out to him.

Turning around, he saw a young man.

He had just heard others call him Young Master Zhang, apparently an heir from a prominent family.

They had seen him at school and even heard him talk to Shen Xingran.

Ding Wei immediately felt a bit nervous.

He responded enthusiastically, “Young Master Zhang, what can I do for you?”

Zhang Lin didn’t look at him.

He continued to fixate on Lu Ran, who was still eating.

How long had he been at it?

Zhang Lin had been watching Lu Ran for a while now.

He wanted to find an opportunity to carry out his plan, but Lu Ran hadn’t moved an inch.

He could just walk straight up to Lu Ran…

But he didn’t have the guts to do that.

“You know him, right?” Zhang Lin asked, pointing at Lu Ran.

Ding Wei was taken aback for a moment and nodded, “Uh… yeah, we’re classmates.”

“Perfect,” Zhang Lin said, handing the drink he had been holding for over ten minutes to Ding Wei, and lowering his voice, he instructed, “Have Lu Ran drink this glass of wine then take him back to his room.”

“His room? You mean to have him leave?” Ding Wei didn’t understand at once.

“Leave what?” Zhang Lin looked at him in confusion. “He lives at the Shen house.”

Ding Wei was startled.

He glanced at the drink in his hand and, hesitantly looking at Zhang Lin, gradually pieced together what it meant.

Zhang Lin fixed his gaze on him.

“You know what to do, right?” He expertly pulled Ding Wei aside and patted him on the shoulder. “I heard it’s tough to get research spots at your school?”

In an instant, Ding Wei understood the implication behind Zhang Lin’s words.

Acting faster than he could think, he immediately replied, “Don’t worry, Young Master Zhang, Lu Ran and I are pretty close.”

Zhang Lin nodded in satisfaction and left.

Finally relieved that he didn’t have to confront the “demon” Lu Ran directly, Ding Wei felt a weight lift off his chest.

He wandered around the venue with the drink in hand.

His mind was a whirlpool of thoughts.

Lu Ran actually lived in the Shen house; what was his relationship with them?

What was in this drink, and what was Young Master Zhang planning to do with Lu Ran?

Could it be that Young Master Zhang had taken a liking to Lu Ran?

As these thoughts crossed his mind, his hesitation faded away, and Ding Wei even felt a twinge of jealousy.

Why was Young Master Zhang interested in Lu Ran?

Was he really willing to go that far?

After pondering for a moment, he picked up another glass of wine.

He approached Lu Ran and said, “Lu Ran, are you mad at me lately?”

Having finished most of his food, Lu Ran looked up at him.

Ding Wei continued, “We’ve been good friends for so long; it’s not worth falling out over something trivial. I’m raising this glass to you as a gesture of goodwill.”

With that, Ding Wei lifted the drink and downed it in one go.

He forced himself to suppress the tension inside and placed the glass that Zhang Lin had handed him in front of Lu Ran. “Help yourself.”

Lu Ran quietly watched him finish the drink.

Then he turned his gaze to the glass Ding Wei had set down, picked it up to inspect, but didn’t drink.

“I know you’re still upset. Let’s talk things over,” Ding Wei said, glancing around as if searching for an appropriate spot. “There are too many people here; let’s find a quiet place to chat.”

Lu Ran looked at him and suddenly smiled. “Sure.”

He lifted the glass and led Ding Wei forward. “How about we go to my room?”

Ding Wei felt a wave of relief wash over him.

He had been incredibly nervous, afraid that Lu Ran wouldn’t fall for his trick.

To his surprise, it had turned out to be that easy.

Following behind Lu Ran, Ding Wei even found the time to observe the surroundings.

He had assumed Lu Ran’s room would be on the second floor, but when he saw Lu Ran walking down the corridor on the first floor toward the back where the servants’ quarters were, he couldn’t help but purse his lips.

He was probably really working here.

Otherwise, why would he be living with the servants?

Lu Ran said nothing as he brought Ding Wei into the room.

He gestured for Da Huang, who was sleeping curled up, to go outside and play.

Da Huang immediately took the opportunity to slip out through the crack of the door.

Lu Ran spoke up, “Hey, my dog ran out. Can you keep an eye on him?”

“Oh, okay.” Ding Wei instinctively replied and leaned out to call for the dog.

While Ding Wei wasn’t paying attention, Lu Ran discreetly poured half the drink in his hand into the trash can.

“He dashed out to the backyard,” Ding Wei reported upon returning.

Lu Ran glanced out the window.

Seeing that Da Huang had merely gone to the backyard to relieve himself, and since he could see him the whole time, he didn’t bother to call him back.

Something frightening was likely to happen in this room later; it was better for the old dog not to witness it.

Noticing that Lu Ran’s glass was now half-empty, Ding Wei felt a weight lift off his heart.

With the task nearly accomplished, he wasn’t in the mood for any heart-to-heart talk with Lu Ran.

After exchanging a few simple words, he said, “The few people who came with me are lost; I need to go check on them.”

With that, he dashed out of Lu Ran’s room.

Once back in the hall, he subtly gestured to Zhang Lin, who was standing nearby.

Lu Ran sat alone in the room, staring at the half-empty glass on the table.

He was feeling a bit down.

Today is Shen Hongyuan’s fiftieth birthday.

In his past life, he had meticulously prepared a gift but was informed that he could not attend the banquet.

This was because the Shen family wasn’t ready to publicly announce his true identity.

Shen Xingran, just like now, had invited Ding Wei.

The moment Lu Ran saw Ding Wei, he was pleasantly surprised, thinking that Shen Xingran was looking for someone to comfort him.

Then Ding Wei made an excuse to pull him back to the room and handed him a glass of wine.

Eventually, Zhang Lin walked in.

In his previous life, Lu Ran hadn’t done anything to offend Zhang Lin, and he had no idea when he had provoked this young master.

Just as Zhang Lin was stripping him of his clothes, Shen Xingran conveniently brought his classmates to find him.

As a result, everyone at the banquet witnessed this embarrassing spectacle.

Shen Hongyuan slapped him twice in front of everyone, cursing him as a shameless person who seduced Young Master Zhang.

As Zhang Lin’s fiancée, Lin Yi began to harbor resentment toward him from that moment on.

After the storm passed, Ding Wei approached him in confusion, crying and apologizing, claiming he didn’t know who had tampered with the wine.

And he actually believed it.

Lu Ran reminisced about the ridiculous events of his past life while absentmindedly squeezing a walnut in his hand.

The most laughable part was how inexplicably Zhang Lin targeted him.

Lin Yi chose to go after him.

Yet later, Zhang Lin kept insisting that he liked Shen Xingran.

Lin Yi merely huffed, saying he wanted to compete fairly with Shen Xingran?

The more Lu Ran thought about it, the more he felt like a victim of injustice.

Outside, the birthday star Shen Hongyuan stood in the center, giving a speech as the guest of honor.

To his right stood Madam Shen and to his left was Shen Xingran.

They presented a picture of happiness and harmony.

Zhang Lin noticed Ding Wei’s signal and wanted to take advantage of Shen Hongyuan’s speech to head to Lu Ran’s room.

But he found himself unable to move away.

The banquet had already begun. Outside the Shen family’s gate, there was suddenly a commotion.

Guests in the courtyard and near the entrance, not knowing what they had seen, stopped listening to Shen Hongyuan’s speech and turned to watch the commotion outside.

“Fifty years old, with a caring son by my side and a loving wife supporting me, I am confident that I will lead the Shen family’s business…”

A servant rushed over and whispered something in Shen Hongyuan’s ear as he was speaking.

Shen Hongyuan paused mid-sentence.

He placed the microphone down and, without bothering to say anything, pulled Madam Shen and Shen Xingran outside.

Zhang Lin leaned in to take a look but saw nothing.

He continued walking down the corridor, only to be stopped by Madam Zhang, who grabbed his hand tightly.

There was no chance for Zhang Lin to struggle; Madam Zhang held on firmly while peering ahead, muttering, “This is bad, why is he coming over? Could it be… that he’s planning to switch to the Shen family as his partner this time?”

Zhang Lin wasn’t paying attention to his mother’s chatter and couldn’t make sense of what she was saying.

Madam Zhang continued to ramble to herself: “He and Shen Xingyu are said to have a connection and he’s also linked to that illegitimate son…”

Seeing his mother so flustered, Zhang Lin became a bit puzzled.

He had always thought that the Zhang family could walk through the capital with ease, but now someone had arrived who made his mother so anxious.

Zhang Lin peeked again and quickly got his answer.

He saw an electric wheelchair.

The person in the wheelchair still had that cold, gloomy expression.

With pale skin and broad shoulders, he exuded a strong aura. The lower half of his body was covered by a deep blue cashmere blanket, obscuring any view of his injured leg.

Although he was attending the Shen family head’s fiftieth birthday, he hadn’t dressed up for the occasion.

In fact, he had arrived late and interrupted Shen Hongyuan’s speech.

Yet even so, none of the guests displayed any dissatisfaction.

Shen Hongyuan’s face even showed a hint of surprise.

This was the status of Ji Min.

“Mr. Ji! It’s truly an honor for you to be here.”

Shen Hongyuan’s face practically lit up.

He extended his hand, wanting to shake Ji Min’s hand.

Ji Min’s almost ghastly white fingers rested on the cashmere blanket over his knees, showing no intention of lifting them.

Shen Hongyuan, not sensing any slight, withdrew his hand and continued.

Standing behind Ji Min, Butler Chen timely nodded and presented the gift he had brought.

He smiled and said, “I heard from Young Master Shen about your birthday, but I was delayed a bit on the way here. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” Shen Hongyuan lowered his posture, welcoming Ji Min and the others inside.

Only then did the surrounding guests follow into the hall.

Ji Min’s arrival felt like a stone dropping into a deep pool.

Stirring up a wave of speculation.

The people at the banquet, including Shen Hongyuan himself, were pondering Ji Min’s intentions.

Recently, the Ji family had a significant project and was looking for partners.

Other companies had been vying desperately for the opportunity. The Zhang family had arranged numerous meetings with Ji Min for this purpose.

Now, the typically aloof and unsociable Ji Min had taken the initiative to come to the Shen family.

If he valued the meeting, he certainly wouldn’t have arrived late and treated Shen Hongyuan with indifference.

If he didn’t value it, then why had he even brought a gift?

Everyone couldn’t help but murmur in their hearts.

They hadn’t heard of Ji Min and Shen Xingyu being close to that extent, had they?

President Zhang and Madam Zhang felt increasingly anxious, fearing that the opportunity might slip away.

They tried to gather some information through subtle inquiries around them but found nothing useful.

Eventually, the two exchanged a glance, and an absurd thought struck them.

Could it be that Ji Min… was here for that little illegitimate son?

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