"Xin'er…" Chairman Sun felt helpless with this granddaughter of his. Out of his grandchildren, Lu Xinyi was the only one who suffered outside and lived without his family's help. The account he bestowed her years ago was left untouched by her. Lu Xinyi refused a single cent she received from him.
Lu Xinyi stayed silent, not knowing how to respond. In truth, she didn't think she was worthy to become his successor. What would he do if he knew that she only came back to destroy the family he was so proud of?
Sun Qiyan's expression turned ugly when she heard that Lu Xinyi was to inherit everything.
She was actually hoping that Lu Xinyi would continue to decline the old man's request and let Sun Feiyan step up as his successor before she would make a move against Feiyan. She really hated these two cousins of hers. One was being too smart for her own good, and the other was being the true heiress of the Sun family.
Since she was young, she was always compared to Sun Feiyan; and that irked her to death. On the other hand, Lu Xinyi—in spite of repeatedly arguing with the old man— was still favored than the rest. Her disgust toward Lu Xinyi intensified when her little sister, Qiushan, chose to follow Lu Xinyi outside the Sun Estate.
Throughout these years, Sun Qiyan worked hard to gather resources and to prove that she can be as good as Sun Feiyan, but it seemed that Lu Xinyi only needed to appear on the scene to crush all her hopes.
How could she tolerate this?! She would never accept Lu Xinyi as the next head of the family.
"Dad, you have to think this over. While it's true that Lu Xinyi is Meixiu's daughter, she doesn't bear the name Sun. How could an outsider lead the family? Even if you have to choose, at least let Feiyan take over everything." Sun Ruying also couldn't stand seeing Meixiu's daughter stepping over her own daughters.
For her, if Lu Xinyi indeed came back to the Sun family, it would be disastrous. She would surely mess up and screw Sun Corporation if she joined it.
---
At the same time, Shen Yi was conversing with Tang Shui about his wife's reaction.
"This isn't the way I imagine revealing our relation," Tang Shui grumbled. He was still pissed off that someone dared to insult Lu Xinyi in public. It must have been hard for her these years to hear people talk about her mother behind her back.
It was a big scandal back then when Sun Meixiu canceled her engagement and married the young popular chef Lu Sibai instead. With the Tang family's support, the couple fled away from the capital to hide the pregnant Sun Meixiu from Sun family and the public's opinion.
When she gave birth to a baby girl, all the troubles were forgotten; and the Tang family celebrated. All their hard work to clean the mess for Sun Meixiu was paid off when Lu Xinyi was born.
"I'll try to convince Xinxin to meet Lady Tang. However, whatever my wife decides to do after knowing the truth, I'll support her," Shen Yi replied.
Tang Lilou, who was standing beside her father with a worried expression, couldn't stop herself to ask Shen Yi a question bugging her since she spotted Lu Xinyi earlier.
"President Shen, what happened to Xin Jie? She seems… I don't know… sad?" she asked. She'd noticed that the glint of mischievousness on her Xin Jie was missing. Although she was still the same cousin she knew, there was a sudden change in Lu Xinyi that she couldn't quite point out.
Shen Yi looked around them and led the Tangs at the vacant balcony where they could converse privately.
"Miss Tang, sad is an understatement to describe what she's suffering from."
As her husband, how could Shen Yi not to notice the effect of Sun Qiushan's death to his wife? It pained him to see his wife's suffering for her loss. If only he could take away the pain from her, he would have done so.
"What happened to her?" Tang Shui asked confusedly.
In a low voice, Shen Yi relayed to them how Lu Xinyi rescued her cousin from Xi Yunchuan, only to spend a day before Sun Qiushan passed away.
Tang Shui couldn't believe how vicious Sun Qiyan was to her younger sister. He knew who Sun Qiushan was, for she was quite a popular name in the music industry; but Sun Qiyan... no wonder Sun Meixiu and Lu Xinyi refused to associate themselves with this family.
How could they plot against their own kin?
"The Xi family… I didn't know they could be like this," Tang Shui said, "So what Xin'er is planning to do now?"
It wouldn't be easy for Lu Xinyi to destroy the Sun and Xi family at the same time. In her current state, she could only rely on Shen Yi's protection.
"She hasn't told me what she's planning to do, but… I think she'll deal with Sun Qiyan first before Xi Yunchuan."
Their conversation came to an end when the Sun family appeared and descended one by one on the stairs, with Lu Xinyi appearing last. She was standing at the top of the stairs before descending gradually, her eyes meeting her husband's.
Shen Yi strode forward and stopped in front of her. She sighed in relief when she wrapped her arm along his forearm, and he led her back to the ballroom.
"How is it?" he asked, but with the deep frown etched on his wife's face, Shen Yi knew that Chairman Sun had decided to welcome her back in the family.
While Chairman Sun and his daughters greeted their guests, the couple sat at a table assigned for the Shen family, facing the podium and stage that had obviously set up for the occasion. The stage was huge and well-decorated which most guests appreciated.
Tables were scattered around the huge ballroom, leaving the orchestra on the one side of the room. A few couples were already on the dance floor with women giggling and flirting with their partners, but most of the guests were already seated, waiting for the event to start.
Several guests glanced their way as Shen Yi pulled the seat for his wife before settling down beside her. Lu Xinyi held her husband's hand and refused to acknowledge anyone. She wasn't sure how she would handle small talks about her being a Sun miss or anything related to Silver Leaf Academy.
Shen Yi still occasionally received greetings from other guests but hadn't said a word about the purpose of their attendance.
An hour later, the party started and was already in full swing. Food and wine were being served to guests. Chairman Sun stood in the podium and grabbed the microphone, smiling proudly into the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we—the Sun family—thank everyone for joining us to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Sun Corporation. It seems like it's yesterday when I inherited this company from my father, and now, it's almost time for me to step down and pass the obligation to lead the family to the younger generation.
"However, I could say that today is one of the best days of my life. Not only I'm able to reach this old age to see Sun Corporation celebrates its 75th year but to be also able to welcome my rightful heiress… the one who holds the future of the Sun family…"
The audience gasped. This wasn't what they were expecting to hear from Chairman Sun. Behind the old man stood both of his daughters with a sour expression on their faces. Shen Yi narrowed his eyes; this old man didn't even dare to seek his approval. Tang Shui, who was sitting near their table, scowled at Chairman Sun's announcement.
On the other table, Sun Feiyan sat, sipping her wine calmly. Those who were around her couldn't understand how could she able to keep her composure when everything was about to be taken from her.
"My esteemed guests, let me introduce to you. The third miss of our family…" Chairman Sun cleared his throat as his eyes sought Lu Xinyi in the crowd, "Xin'er, would you do us the honor to join us on stage?"
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