The next day, Madam Wei went out with Wei Mingzheng and Shu Ning in a grand fashion. They went to several luxury stores and went on a shopping spree. She even bought a beautiful Omega Seamaster for Wei Mingzheng.

Wei Mingzheng also bought one for Shu Ning right then and there. Shu Ning quickly declined. 

Madam Wei thought that Wei Mingzheng was implying that she would also buy a watch for Shu Ning, so she hurriedly paid for it. Wei Mingzheng thought about it for a while. In the end, he didn’t refuse and let her pay.

Shu Ning: “…”

He couldn’t help but feel like he was freeloading.

He didn’t want to accept it, but both the mother and the son were urging him to take it. Shu Ning had no choice but to accept it. He planned on putting it away in a safe place. 

To be honest, he didn’t like wearing watches. It was uncomfortable for him to wear something so expensive. He would always be afraid of breaking it.

It wasn’t really useful for anything other than showing off.

However, in upper class society, showing off was an important and necessary part of everyday life. He couldn’t afford to embarrass the villain.

In addition to the two watches, Madam Wei also took them to the mall to buy clothes. The villain had a lot of money, but he didn’t really like shopping nor did he like luxury goods. He wasn’t any different from an ordinary student. Shu Ning never really got the impression of a rich person from him. He only knew that the villain was rich because of the numbers in his bank account.

Now, he was finally experiencing the joy of being a rich man.

It turned out that there were actually people who would say, “I don’t want this, this, and this. I’ll take everything else!”

It turned out that there actually were people who didn’t look at the price tags when shopping at a luxury store.

It turned out that, when they were buying shoes, the attendant would actually kneel down to help. 

It turned out that those soap operas were actually real.

Even so, Madam Wei was still dissatisfied. “We should have one of Arbar’s designers make a house visit to take your measurements. Then, we can get some clothes custom made.”

Shu Ning said with difficulty, “You can do that for Mingzheng. I don’t need it…”

If the Wei family were to ever ask him to return the money, he definitely wouldn’t be able to pay it back. Besides, Madam Wei doted on the villain because he was her son. However, what about Shu Ning? 

He was just a little follower. How could he possibly enjoy the same treatment!?

Madam Wei already had a good impression of Shu Ning. Now, she had an even better impression of him because of the things he said during the banquet. She could see how protective Shu Ning was of Wei Mingzheng, and she could tell that he truly cared about him.

If she was still partial towards Wei Ximing, Shu Ning’s attitude would have made her uncomfortable. However, her heart was now leaning towards Wei Mingzheng, so Shu Ning’s protectiveness was just right.

Before, she had only cared about Shu Ning because Shu Ning was the son of Wei Mingzheng’s adoptive parents. She could treat Shu Ning well, but she would never treat him better than her own son. 

Unexpectedly, Wei Mingzheng explicitly stated that he wanted to buy the same watch for Shu Ning. Madam Wei was surprised. She immediately understood that Shu Ning wasn’t just an ordinary friend to Wei Mingzheng.

Since that was the case, she would just treat them both equally. Whatever Wei Mingzheng got, Shu Ning would also get.

While they were shopping for clothes and shoes, she secretly observed the two of them. She once again confirmed just how important Shu Ning was to Wei Mingzheng. So, she put down all reservations and treated Shu Ning as best as she could.

Shu Ning didn’t understand what Madam Wei was thinking. When he received something from her, he felt completely at a loss. 

Madam Wei took the two of them shopping. In the afternoon, she personally drove them around Beijing to go sightseeing.

Wei Ximing, who was waiting at home, received a shirt worth tens of thousands of yuan that Madam Wei brought back for him. Instantly, his heart was flooded with all kinds of bitter emotions.

When he saw all the stuff Shu Ning and Wei Mingzheng brought back, Wei Ximing’s eyes went red.

He could tell with a single glance that these things were worth millions. He had only just returned, yet she was giving him all of this stuff. Who knows how much more stuff she’d give him in the future. She must’ve given him a lot of gifts while she was in Chuzhou as well. 

These were all supposed to be his! Now, he was only able to get a measly shirt worth tens of thousands of yuan!

It wasn’t even as good as the stuff Shu Ning got!

Wei Ximing had tried to prepare himself for this. He was a fake young master. His life was going to get harder from now on. He would have to learn how to deal with it calmly. However, whenever he saw Wei Mingzheng being doted on, he simply couldn’t control himself. His jealousy was like a poisonous snake slithering around in his chest.

Madam Wei was so cruel. She had raised him for more than ten years, yet she immediately changed her tune once her biological son returned. She was so cold-hearted! 

Wei Ximing touched the five million yuan Patek Phillipe watch on his wrist. He grabbed the shirt Madam Wei bought for him and walked into the luxurious room that Madam Wei had helped him decorate. Then, he opened a bottle of 1982 Château Lafite and started drinking.

He wasn’t able to shake off the sadness that he felt in his heart. He really wanted to find someone to talk to.

Wei Ximing opened his phone and dialed a familiar number.

After a while, the call went through. A sweet voice rang out from the speaker. “Ximing?” 

Wei Ximing grasped his phone and said hoarsely, “Yao Yao.”

His voice was dripping with sorrow.

A sweet and pleasant voice rang out once more. She asked, concerned, “What’s the matter, Ximing?”

Wei Ximing was lying on a soft and luxurious bed. His handsome eyes were full of pain. He thought about what to say, but he didn’t know where to start. In the end, he asked, “Yao Yao, are you going to leave me?” 

The girl on the other end of the phone was his future fiancee and current girlfriend, Jiang Yao. She asked, “Of course not! Ximing, why are you asking this all of a sudden? What happened?”

When he heard her definite reply, Wei Ximing felt a little more at ease. “Everyone else has abandoned me. Yao Yao, I only have you now.”

His voice was low and hoarse. Jiang Yao was full of love and pity, and her heart instantly softened. “Ximing, what happened?”

Wei Ximing didn’t explain anything. He simply said, “So long as I have you, I can endure anything, no matter how painful it is.” 

Once he finished speaking, he hung up the phone.

Coafg j ktlif, Aljcu Tjb tegglfvis mjiifv tlw yjmx, Qfl Wlwlcu uijcmfv ja atf qtbcf, yea tf vlvc’a qlmx eq. Lf kjr lc j yjv wbbv jcv vlvc’a kjca ab ajix.

Qfl Zlcuhtfcu, Vte Rlcu, jcv Zjvjw Qfl qijsfv obg jc fcalgf joafgcbbc yfobgf gfaegclcu ab atf nliij lc atf fnfclcu. Ktf atgff bo atfw erfv ab tjcu bea boafc yjmx lc Jtehtbe, rb atfs kfgf jigfjvs ojwliljg klat fjmt batfg. Rbk atja atfs kfgf lc atf mjqlaji, atfs delmxis ofii yjmx lcab atflg biv ugbbnf jcv yfmjwf fnfc mibrfg atjc yfobgf.

Soon, they returned to the villa. Just as they were getting off the car, the well-dressed butler greeted him. He paid his respects and said to Madam Wei, “Madam, Miss Jiang is here.” 

When Madam Wei heard that it was Miss Jiang, a surprised expression brushed across her face. “Yao Yao? When did she arrive?”

The butler replied respectfully, “She arrived at around three in the afternoon. Miss Jiang came to see Young Master Ximing.”

Madam Wei’s expression changed.

She had wanted to talk with Wei Yuanning about the marriage agreement since yesterday. Before she even had the chance to act, Jiang Yao had already come. 

Madam Wei thought for a moment. Then, she turned to Wei Mingzheng and Shu Ning. She said, “I have something to tell you.”

Wei Mingzheng was helping Shu Ning press down a tuft of hair. When he heard her say this, he looked up, his eyes clear. “Mom, what is it?”

The car had been driven away. There were only four people in the hallway: Wei Mingzheng, Shu Ning, the butler, and Madam Wei. Madam Wei hesitated for a moment and said, “Miss Jiang is Jiang Yao, the Jiang family’s precious granddaughter. Their family is pretty similar to the Wei family. We cooperate with them a lot, and there are even some areas where we need to depend on them. The Jiang family and the Wei family have always been on good terms, so the two families entered a sort of semi-formal marriage agreement.”

“At that time, it was supposed to be between the son of the Wei family’s main line and the youngest daughter of the Jiang family’s main line.” Madam Wei rubbed her temples. “That is, Ximing and Jiang Yao. The two of them are childhood sweethearts, and they have a good relationship with each other…” 

When Shu Ning heard Jiang Yao’s name, he already knew what she was going to say. This wasn’t surprising to him at all.

He had known about this marriage agreement for a long time.

He was thinking about something else. In the novel, Jiang Yao was definitely the novel’s female lead. Everyone loved her. The male lead, Wei Ximing, and the villain, Wei Mingzheng, fought to the death over her.

In order to win over the female lead, Wei Mingzheng and Wei Ximing fought with each other, both secretly and openly. In the end, the villain fell off a tall building and died horribly. 

According to the book, Wei Mingzheng fell in love with Jiang Yao at first sight. After discovering that she was supposed to be his fiancee, a strong sense of desire welled up within him. He felt that Jiang Yao should’ve been his, and he was unable to let this go.

Whenever he had thought about this in the past, Shu Ning only felt worried about the villain’s future. However, when he heard Jiang Yao’s name today, a strange sense of suffocation rose up in his heart—the villain wouldn’t happen to fall in love with Jiang Yao, would he??

If it was before, he would have sincerely wished them well. He would’ve even been willing to play matchmaker, but now… he didn’t want to anymore.

Maybe the reason was because it would be too dangerous for the villain to fall in love with the female lead? 

Wei Mingzheng blinked and said, “Then?”

Madam Wei and Shu Ning were both stunned.

“What do you mean ‘then’?” Madam Wei asked.

“You said that the Wei family has a marriage agreement with the Jiang family. Jiang Yao and Wei Ximing are together. Then what? How is it related to me?” Wei Mingzheng asked curiously. 

Shu Ning: “…”

Madam Wei was speechless for a moment. Then, she said, “Jiang Yao was supposed to be your fiancee.”

Wei Mingzheng expressed understanding. “So it’s like that. You want me to be Jiang Yao’s fiance?”

Madam Wei said, “It isn’t an issue of what I want. Her fiance was supposed to be you.” 

Wei Mingzheng was just about to say something when a voice rang out.

“Sorry, I don’t want anyone else as my fiance.”

A girl’s voice made everyone turn their heads. Not too far away stood a beautiful girl in a white dress. She had black hair and black eyes. Her skin was as white as snow, and her lips were like cherry blossom petals.

She looked sweet and cute, and her eyes were big and round. 

The novel had described the female lead’s eyes. They were clear and pure, like the eyes of the purest deer. They simply aroused a desire to protect. A single glance was enough to look into her clean and pure heart.

Shu Ning was never able to imagine what eyes like that would look like. Now that he was actually seeing them, he was suddenly starting to understand.

The female lead really was as sweet and lovely as a fairy. Even he was dumbfounded!

No wonder the villain fell in love with Jiang Yao at first sight. 

He sized the female lead up for a while. Then, he turned towards the villain to see his reaction. However, as soon as he turned his head, he was met with the little villain’s cold stare.

There wasn’t a hint of surprise or fascination in his eyes. Rather, his eyes were full of anger.

…Hold on, why are you looking at me and not the female lead?

And why are you mad at me? 

When Shu Ning thought about how he was going to fall in love with the female lead, he turned his head and ignored him.

Madam Wei hadn’t expected the person she was currently talking about to suddenly appear. When she heard Jiang Yao’s refusal, she awkwardly said, “Yao Yao.”

Jiang Yao gracefully walked towards them in her white skirt. Her eyes darted between Wei Mingzheng and Shu Ning, a surprised look on her face.

Originally, she was furious when she heard about what happened to Wei Ximing. She wanted to righteously reject Wei Mingzheng and tell him that he could forget about it. However, she was completely shocked by their good looks. She was so surprised that she forgot to relay the speech that she had prepared. 

She was especially shocked by Wei Mingzheng. His cool and elegant countenance was like a prince from a fairytale. Every single part of him was exactly her type.

Jiang Yao opened her mouth, but the harsh words she had prepared never came.

When Wei Ximing described Wei Mingzheng to her, she thought that he would be a rude and incompetent good-for-nothing. She didn’t expect him to be such a cool and dignified person!

For a moment, her unswerving love almost started shaking. Fortunately, she managed to hold onto her resolve at the last moment. 

She secretly warned herself, “You can’t like someone just because of their appearance. Wei Ximing’s also very handsome! Plus, he knows how to care for someone. When I was harassed by those gangsters last year, Wei Ximing was the one to save me.”

Their friendship of several years wasn’t going to change because of this!

She turned her head and said to Madam Wei, “Aunt, a marriage agreement isn’t the same as a business agreement. You can’t just cancel it whenever you like or switch out the people involved. There are real feelings involved here.”

“It’s natural to get attached to someone you’ve known for a long time. Do you think that feelings are something that can be canceled at any time? I don’t want a different fiance.” 

So what if Wei Mingzheng was good-looking? He grew up in a horrible environment, and there’s no doubt that it would have left an influence on him. He would definitely have a lot of bad habits. She would not marry such a person!

Madam Wei’s expression darkened when she heard what Jiang Yao said.

Originally, she planned to have Wei Yuanning talk to the Jiang family. Maybe there was a possibility of turning things around. However, Jiang Yao had now personally refused. She was determined to stick with Wei Ximing. If kept forcing it, she would just be inviting trouble upon herself.

She didn’t know what to say. Wei Mingzheng’s voice piped up from beside her, “Miss Jiang is right. The marriage agreement isn’t something that can be changed on a whim. Plus, I’ve never considered marrying Miss Jiang.” 

Jiang Yao was stunned. Her fair face slowly flushed red.

It was one thing for her to stick with her fiance, but it was another thing entirely to be rejected by Wei Mingzheng!

After hearing this, Madam Wei couldn’t help but rub her forehead. It’s over. Her own son must’ve been provoked by Jiang Yao. He actually ended up saying such a thing.

“You don’t want to marry me?” Jiang Yao asked in disbelief. 

Wei Mingzheng nodded. “That’s right. Miss Jiang can continue dating Wei Ximing and marry him. I won’t ask for the marriage agreement to be changed.”

His expression was very indifferent, and his eyes were cold. There was no trace of wonder or infatuation on his face.

Wei Ximing, who was eavesdropping from the second floor balcony, couldn’t help but smile when he heard Wei Mingzheng’s words.

He could already tell from the welcoming banquet that Wei Mingzheng was impatient and short-tempered. Otherwise, why else would Wei Mingzheng have acted so disrespectfully towards him? Anyone with a little more brains would have known to show some more generosity. As soon as Wei Mingzheng returned, he embarrassed him, and he even tried to make things difficult for him during the welcoming banquet. This would only leave the impression that he was petty and narrow-minded. 

It would only serve to prove that children raised in bad homes were narrow-minded and uneducated.

At the very least, Grandma didn’t particularly like Wei Mingzheng.

Now, Wei Mingzheng actually said that he didn’t want the marriage agreement to Jiang Yao’s face.

Ha! He must be both brainless and naive! 

If it was Wei Ximing in his position, he would definitely definitely try to get along with everyone, please everyone. He would be polite and kind to the fake young master on the surface, but he would secretly set up a trap in order to drive him out of the house. If Jiang Yao wanted to break off the marriage agreement with him, he would gracefully back off. Then, he would continue to pursue her, please her, leave a good impression. Finally, he would get her to change her mind.

Wei Mingzheng, on the other hand, outright rejected Jiang Yao. He wasn’t leaving himself any room to retreat at all.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Someone as stupid as Wei Mingzheng wants to duke it out with him?

Wei Ximing looked at Madam Wei’s embarrassed expression and Jiang Yao’s angry face with a smile. Then, he happily walked into the room. 

This kind of trash simply wasn’t his opponent at all. How dare Wei Mingzheng claim to not care about him?

Hm?

He would let Wei Mingzheng understand who was actually going to get kicked out!

Wei Ximing decided to let him feel complacent for now. 

Jiang Yao had originally looked down on Wei Mingzheng. She swore before him that the marriage agreement would not be changed. However, Wei Mingzheng cared even less than she did.

That indifferent attitude, those cold eyes, all of it seriously hurt her self-esteem.

This was entirely different from what she had imagined!

Wasn’t he supposed to be upset? 

Even if he’s unhappy, he should still speak to her in a respectful manner.

So uneducated!

The little princess, Jiang Yao, was very angry. She fumed, “Then so be it! Don’t come begging me in the future! Aunt Su, you heard him. Not only do I not want to change it, but Wei Mingzheng doesn’t want to change things either. Don’t bring up the marriage agreement anymore!”

Madam Wei’s face was stiff. She knew that, after today’s incident, Wei Mingzheng and Jiang Yao definitely didn’t have a chance of being together. 

After Jiang Yao finished speaking, she lifted her skirt and walked down the stairs. Wei Ximing arranged a car to send her home.

Jiang Yao got into the car. She could feel Wei Ximing’s care for her, and she felt that she had definitely made the right choice today.

However, Wei Mingzheng’s handsome face, dismissive attitude, and cold eyes left an incredibly deep impression on her.

It was the first time that a man had been so indifferent towards her. She could not see a single trace of surprise, admiration, or adoration. He was completely different from any other man. 

Why doesn’t he care about me?

Jiang Yao felt extremely annoyed.

Shu Ning worriedly watched Jiang Yao leave. Why did the little villain offend the female lead like that?

He was very happy about not having to spend time with her, but he was worried that Jiang Yao would cause trouble for the little villain. 

Princess Jiang Yao’s fans were really fierce. If she shed even a single tear or suffered the slightest grievance, a bunch of her fans would come to stick up for her one after another.

Wei Mingzheng was a stranger to this place. He might end up at a disadvantage.

While he was thinking, a hand grabbed his chin and forced his head to the side. He made eye contact with a dissatisfied Wei Mingzheng.

“They’ve already left. How long are you going to keep looking?” 

Shu Ning brushed his hand aside. “Don’t keep grabbing my chin.”

“I’ll grab it if I want to!” The little villain grabbed his jaw again. “No matter how good-looking she is, she’s still someone else’s girlfriend, someone else’s fiancée! There’s no room for you!”

Shu Ning shot him a look. “What are you going on about? It’s not like that.”

“Then why’re you still staring at her?” 

Shu Ning couldn’t just say that he was worried about Wei Mingzheng getting together with her. After thinking about it, he randomly came up with an excuse. “Because she’s good-looking, I guess.”

The grip in his chin tightened, and Shu Ning hissed in pain. He quickly slapped his hand aside. “What are you doing!”

“Am I good-looking?” The little villain’s beautiful eyes were gloomy.

How was he supposed to compare men with women? 

Shu Ning didn’t know why he was suddenly getting angry. His jaw hurt, so he quickly coaxed the villain, “You’re better looking! You look a hundred times better than her! Happy now!?”

The little villain finally let him go. Satisfied, he said, “You’re almost an adult. You shouldn’t stare at girls all the time. You might be misunderstood to be a pervert.”

Shu Ning: “…”

Shu Ning: “When have I ever stared at girls?” 

He was being wrongly accused!

Wei Mingzheng crossed his arms. “Basically, the older you get, the more you should understand that men and women are different. You got that?”

Shu Ning: “…”

He didn’t want to talk to this unfair and unjust little villain anymore. 

Madam Wei was used to their antics, so she didn’t take it to heart. She suppressed the helplessness in her heart and said, “Let’s head inside.”

After that fiasco, the marriage agreement had pretty much gone up in smoke. She just hoped that Wei Ximing would be kind enough to help them out in the future.

She felt very conflicted. It wasn’t that she didn’t have any feelings for Wei Ximing, but she felt uncomfortable whenever she thought about how it was very likely the children were switched on purpose. It was likely that Wei Ximing was placed here for the sake of earning her love and inheriting the family property.

She still hadn’t figured out how to interact with her two children. The only thing she could do right now was spend some more time with her biological son. She can’t go wrong by doing that. 

After a day of shopping, everyone was very tired, so Madam Wei had Shu Ning and Wei Mingzheng to go back to their room to rest.

The two of them returned to Shu Ning’s room. As soon as Shu Ning entered the door, his expression became very grave. “Why did Jiang Yao suddenly show up? Plus, her attitude was really bad.”

Wei Mingzheng had only just returned yesterday. Today, Jiang Yao showed up in a big hurry. It was obvious that she had heard something from someone. Plus, she kept talking about feelings in front of Madam Wei. She was clearly accusing Madam Wei of mistreating Wei Ximing. Plus, she kept insisting that the marriage agreement wouldn’t be changed, and her attitude towards the little villain was extremely poor.

It was clear that someone had incited her to do this! 

Earlier, Madam Wei was still there, so it wasn’t convenient for him to say anything. Now, it was just the two of them, so, naturally, he needed to carefully analyze this.

“Isn’t that obvious?” The little villain poured Shu Ning a glass of water. His expression was light.

Shu Ning took the water glass and frowned. “I think that Wei Ximing was afraid you’d steal the marriage agreement from him, so he made the first move. He smeared your name on purpose in order to cut off any possibility of you and Jiang Yao getting engaged.”

Wei Mingzheng asked, “You care about the marriage agreement?” 

Shu Ning shook his head. “I’m worried that you might suffer. Wei Ximing has already started to make his move. We need to be prepared.”

“You’re absolutely right.” Wei Mingzheng smiled. Then, he raised his hand and rang the bell next to him.

After a while, a servant came and knocked on the door. “Young Master Shu.”

Wei Mingzheng went to open the door. The person standing at the door was caught off guard for a moment. Then, her expression became extremely unnatural. “Young Master Mingzheng.” 

The servant turned out to be Hu Mei.

After being punished, Hu Mei tried her best to avoid Wei Mingzheng. However, she still ended up running into him. Her expression became awkward. She wanted nothing more than to leave.

Wei Mingzheng raised an eyebrow. “You’re still here?”

His words made Hu Mei’s heart tremble. 

After the events of yesterday and today, she had finally become clear about Wei Mingzheng’s position within the family. Her heart was beating like a drum. When she heard Wei Mingzheng’s remark, she understood it to mean, “Oh. You haven’t been fired yet?” She immediately became flustered.

She didn’t want to be fired.

“Young Master Mingzheng.” She gritted her teeth. “It was Young Master Ximing’s idea to embarrass you yesterday. I… I was just following orders.”

By now, the servants all knew that Young Master Mingzheng and Young Master Ximing got into a confrontation at the welcoming banquet. As of right now, Young Master Ximing would continue to stay within the Wei family. However, Madam Wei was obviously a little more partial towards Young Master Mingzheng. 

It was obvious why. Anyone would be partial towards their own son. How could she let a fake take the place of her real son?

It was very likely that Young Master Ximing was done for. Plus, she was punished yesterday, but Young Master Ximing didn’t seem to be concerned for her at all. Hu Mei felt a little bitter in her heart.

Young Master Mingzheng was getting more and more powerful, while Young Master Ximing was becoming less and less so. In addition, Wei Mingzheng had already given her a lesson. She knew that she couldn’t afford to provoke him again, so she naturally had to pick a side.  If she acting stupidly, she might really get kicked out.

“Oh?” Wei Mingzheng hadn’t expected that there would be an unexpected reward. He nodded towards the room and said, “Come in.” 

Hu Mei breathed a sigh of relief and hurried into the room.