DF Chapter 76
by VolareChapter 76: Well-timed playfulness obviously helps increase the affection value of elders towards younger generations.
The Opter auction was at eight o’clock in the evening, and before it started, there was a banquet from five o’clock in the afternoon to seven o’clock in the evening.
When Sheng Jia got off the plane with Fu Minglang, Hai Yao was in the afternoon when the sun was at its strongest. People were already waiting at the airport, and as soon as the two got off the plane, they got into a private car.
This time, Sheng Jia didn’t tell Song Ji’an the truth. She didn’t come on a regular plane, but on Fu Minglang’s private plane.
Because what the two of them might talk about on the plane must not be heard by others, Fu Minglang made this decision.
“Are you planning to reveal everything today?” This was the first question Fu Minglang asked her after she got on the plane.
At that time, Sheng Jia was eating the delicious breakfast the flight attendant handed her—a perfectly fried poached egg and several butter-baked breads with a fragrant aroma. It took her a long time to answer this question.
“If it’s at the auction, I don’t want to.”
Sheng Jia answered very frankly.
Fu Minglang glanced at her with an inscrutable expression, “Why?”
“How many people will come to the auction, or the banquet before the auction?” Sheng Jia replied, “Celebrities from all walks of life, and countless reporters. Exposing that the Song family’s child has been switched for nearly eighteen years at this kind of banquet is too high-profile.”
Fu Minglang understood what she didn’t say.
This will cause an unparalleled wave of public opinion, and anyone in the center of public opinion will bear unimaginable pressure. Whether it is Sheng Jia or the Song family, it is likely that they do not want to become the object of such discussion. Of course, among these people, there are also many people Sheng Jia cares about, which is another reason why she is unwilling to be exposed in a high-profile manner.
What’s more, this is the Opter auction. According to the information Meng Yeran told her, Sheng Jia had already pieced together the purpose of Opter’s visit to China to hold the auction this time. This is one of the leverage points for their family’s decision to open the Chinese market. It’s not good to steal the show.
It was because she understood that Fu Minglang couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.
She liked Sheng Jia’s thorough view of events. This was indeed not a good occasion to reveal the truth. Fu Minglang chose to bring Sheng Jia, more to create momentum for her possible return in advance. Tonight, she even planned to introduce Sheng Jia to her old friends, in order to accumulate contacts for her in advance.
She could accept Sheng Jia’s hatred and the desire to take back everything that belonged to her, but when she found that even so, Sheng Jia still maintained her calmness and humanity, and was not blinded by hatred, the appreciation almost overflowed from her eyes.
She couldn’t help but pat Sheng Jia’s shoulder and praised, “Good child.”
Sheng Jia lowered her eyes and calmly ate the last bite of croissant on the plane. She said to Fu Minglang, “Dongzhen told me that you rarely praise people like this. It’s my honor.”
After getting in the car, Fu Minglang instructed the driver to make a turn, and the destination changed directly from the hotel where they were about to stay to the local central business district.
Last time on Ansdert Island, Fu Minglang discovered that Sheng Jia was very suitable for wearing women’s suits. She was tall and straight, and even if she had not received etiquette training, she could wear the suit with a sense of style and sharpness.
The two of them turned into a studio at the end of the mall. Its signboard was extremely low-key, but being able to rent such a large store on the top floor of the financial center in a prime location was enough to prove its extraordinaryness.
Ru Ping skillfully opened the door for the two of them. The woman who was lying on the table measuring clothes subconsciously raised her head. Seeing that it was Fu Minglang, her eyes lit up and she hurried forward to greet her, “Ms. Fu, you’re finally here? The clothes you ordered from me some time ago have been waiting for you to pick them up.”
Fu Minglang nodded, “Isn’t this bringing the owner of the clothes?”
Saying that, she gave way to Sheng Jia behind her, “Go try on your dress for tonight.”
The boss couldn’t help but circle around the girl in front of her, “Indeed, a real person has to come. The size you gave me now is estimated to have to be adjusted again after this young lady puts it on.”
After saying that, she pushed Sheng Jia forward and took out a dark red women’s suit from her display case.
Sheng Jia held up the suit, turned her head and raised her eyebrows at Fu Minglang.
Fu Minglang, holding the champagne that the studio staff had just handed her, raised it and said with a smile, “Last time I saw you wearing a red suit, I thought it was very good. There is no color that suits you better. Young children should of course dress more beautifully.”
Sheng Jia did not question her words. After she came out, the boss took pins and thread to modify the suit again, and it quickly became more fitting.
Fu Minglang may not be wrong. Young people are always suitable for wearing red and purple. The boss looked at his masterpiece and praised it repeatedly.
The two did not stay here for long. Sheng Jia put on her clothes and got into the car with Fu Minglang.
“Have you lost a little weight recently due to overthinking?” Fu Minglang joked after getting in the car.
“It’s probably because I’m tired from preparing for the college entrance examination,” Sheng Jia replied.
The sizes Fu Minglang gave to the boss were Sheng Jia’s latest sizes, which needed to be ordered a month in advance. Obviously, Sheng Jia had lost weight quickly in the past month, otherwise, according to the boss’s craftsmanship, there would basically be no errors that needed to be corrected.
Fu Minglang’s hand briefly covered the back of her hand and comforted, “Relax.”
Sheng Jia was slightly stunned, and heard Fu Minglang continue, “Anyone would be nervous when encountering this kind of thing. Even if you don’t perform so well, I will still be an elder standing behind you.”
“I know,” Sheng Jia smiled at her for the first time, “It is because I know this that I can prepare for the college entrance examination without distractions.”
“It seems you are very confident in your grades?” Fu Minglang joked.
Sheng Jia’s smile at this moment seemed a bit complacent and proud, “Very confident.”
Fu Minglang laughed loudly.
Well-timed playfulness obviously helps increase the affection value of elders towards younger generations.
Sheng Jia looked at the scenery receding quickly outside the window, and soon they arrived at the hotel.
There were still two hours before the afternoon banquet. After Sheng Jia arrived at her room, she turned on the phone that she had set to airplane mode before getting on the plane.
The signal ball rotated twice, and several messages popped up.
Most of them were from Song Ji’an.
She sent a completed Hai Yao strategy, with a list of attendees attached.
——It seems that our plan to go shopping this afternoon is canceled. Why don’t we wait until after the auction to have a good time here together? You can take a look at the list below. Since Ms. Fu is bringing you tonight, she will definitely introduce you to many elders for introductions. It’s better to be prepared.
Sheng Jia did not open the strategy, nor did she open the attached list.
She closed Song Ji’an’s dialog box and went into the bathroom to wash her face with cold water.
The coolness made her mind clearer. At this moment of no one, she no longer concealed the stubbornness and sharpness in her eyes.
She whispered to herself in the mirror, “Sheng Jia, there is no turning back.”
She stared at herself quietly, and after not too long, she turned around and returned to the room, until 4:30 in the afternoon, Ru Ping knocked on her door to remind her that it was time to go to the auction.
The car in the evening was obviously a higher grade than the car that picked them up at the airport in the afternoon. The S-class Maybach drove slowly. The auction site was not far away, and it took only forty minutes to reach the auction manor in the suburbs.
This is one of the largest auction houses under the Meng family, and it also functions as a winery. At this moment, guests gathered at the entrance of the manor. If Zhang Jing and Zhao Jiayi, who have always loved to read Mary Sue novels, were here, they would probably slap their thighs and say that the novel has come to life.
The Opter auction is a grander event than the auction Fu Minglang held in Luo Ling.
The Meng family’s largest auction house has a high gold content. There are eight underground parking lots alone. Fu Minglang’s car drove directly to the banquet building. The staff who came to greet them respectfully opened the car door for the two of them.
Fu Minglang looked back at Sheng Jia reassuringly and extended her arm to her.
Sheng Jia smoothly took her arm and, in the flashing lights, accompanied Fu Minglang to walk the red carpet outside and enter the banquet hall. Those dazzling cameras were not allowed to enter the hall, and Sheng Jia’s straight back relaxed slightly.
As soon as she entered the door, a familiar voice came from next to her: “Sheng Jia?”
Sheng Jia turned her head and saw Julia holding a small cake, smiling and greeting her.
“Julia?” Sheng Jia released Fu Minglang’s arm and, according to Nordic etiquette, hugged Julia tightly.
Julia was wearing a laser silver top and flared pants today. She did not choose high heels, but soft-soled Martin boots that were convenient for walking, a clean and neat dress, but also particularly eye-catching due to the color of the clothes.
“I came with my mother,” Julia said, “The Opter family sent the invitation to our house across the Baltic Sea. It just so happened that my mother also took a fancy to one of the auction items, so she brought me over.”
“I knew you would come when I saw the guest list the day before yesterday. In the blink of an eye, it’s been half a year since I saw you, and I haven’t seen you send me a message.”
Sheng Jia smiled slightly, “Because I was afraid of disturbing you.”
“Come on, you just simply don’t want to contact me,” Julia bluntly broke her routine, her dark eyes blinked, “Dongzhen told me that you occasionally discuss some novels with her, you are not afraid of disturbing her, a busy person, but you are afraid of disturbing me?”
“Okay, if there is a chance in the future, I will bother you more,” Sheng Jia immediately responded, not intending to be caught by her pigtails.
Fu Minglang, who was standing aside, gently pushed Sheng Jia’s back and warmly instructed, “Anyway, it’s still early, you go play with Julia, it won’t be too late for me to call you later.”
Obviously, there were still some private words to be talked about between Fu Minglang and the person in charge of the Opter Consortium. It was not appropriate to bring Sheng Jia along. It was great to have an acquaintance like Julia to accompany her.
But how many acquaintances were there at this banquet besides Julia?
Meng Yeran and Song Ji’an also left their respective parents and came to the banquet hall after a while, and quickly locked the two’s location through Julia’s eye-catching suit.
This was not a commercial dinner where cooperation could be discussed. What’s more, their families were already absolute clients in their respective fields. Under the premise that they did not have any intention to seek cooperation, most of them were other companies or individuals who came to please this group of attention-grabbing rich second generations in order to seek some development opportunities.
For Song Ji’an and others, they did not particularly like such occasions, but because they had good friends on the scene, they could treat this banquet as a small gathering.
The four found an inconspicuous corner to stay in. They chose sofas wrapped in rounded corners, sitting full, without any gaps for strangers to insert.
They found a few glasses of newly poured champagne and cakes spread out on the table.
Song Ji’an was full after eating two pieces. She complained, “This is why I don’t like attending this kind of dinner. I can’t get enough to eat at all.”
The cakes produced by the Meng family were definitely expensive and exquisite, but no matter how exquisite they were, they would get tired of eating too much cream.
“I suggest that Meng and her grandmother raise our protest. Next time the Meng family contracts for a dinner, they can put other Chinese cuisines on the menu.” Julia also said lazily, obviously not very satisfied with this matter.
“I mentioned it,” Meng Yeran smiled, “I even added Peking duck and dumplings before, but none of the funders of the auction were willing to order these dishes with strong smells. Most of them chose cakes and desserts.”
“Then next time I do it, I have to add some of my favorites,” Julia muttered. Her family has a rich heritage, and her ancestors liked to collect ancient objects from Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, and even opened several private museums to store these things. Her muttering was not just talk.
“Even if you add them, others may not be willing to eat them, especially on occasions where there may be follow-up tracking and shooting,” Song Ji’an looked around. More and more people were entering the banquet hall, and those stars and celebrities who often appeared on the Internet also gradually appeared in the venue.
Exquisite makeup and gorgeous dresses of different brands are the biggest labels for the entertainment industry at the dinner.
Most of the stars who come to participate are more like a means for Opter to enhance their visibility. After all, the starting price of the cheapest auction items chosen by their family today is more than 70 million, which is a top-level expensive item, and most of the invited stars, even if some are popular, are difficult to participate in.
But this is a win-win situation, so no one will raise any questions.
“If you want me to say that the next time you host a dinner, you should make some innovations,” Meng Yeran glanced at the venue and said with a playful smile, “You should remind the ladies that they don’t have to wear high heels, and they don’t have to wear overly formal dresses. Comfort and convenience are good. After all, for us, as long as the auction items at the auction sell for excellent prices, even if the other party is wearing slippers and shorts, I will think she is particularly cute. Why?”
She lengthened her voice and looked at Sheng Jia, who was sitting aside and hadn’t said much tonight. Sheng Jia raised her eyebrows at her, and in the end didn’t spoil her fun, and continued, “Because you capitalists only look at money and results, and don’t care about the other party’s heels and dresses, and you will never feel rude.”
Of course, more importantly, they all tacitly believed that high heels were like torture instruments in the new era. Most women put them on in a social atmosphere and are proud of them, but for them, this is nothing, and they don’t want more women to like the feeling of wearing high heels.
Meng Yeran’s family mainly operates in the entertainment industry, and she knows it better. She has always disliked the reports in newspapers and on the Internet every year about which female stars shined at which banquet wearing which dress. After all, many banquets are held in autumn and winter, and what she saw most was female stars shivering in the cold for this “beautiful” dress, but male stars could wear three-piece suits to maintain their “demeanor”.
Even when Meng Yeran’s sister participated in an entertainment circle dinner incognito for the first time, because she was wearing warm casual clothes and leather shoes, she was secretly ridiculed by a small male star who came from nowhere as “unable to be on stage” and “not abiding by the rules and not dressing like a normal female star”.
This is the root of what she wants to innovate.
Her tone was playful, but what she wanted to do in her heart was not a joke.
The few looked at each other and understood the meaning in each other’s eyes, and tacitly raised the champagne glasses in their hands, everything was unspoken.
Sheng Jia swallowed the wine and suddenly said, “Maybe you can talk to Dongzhen more, maybe what you want to do can be realized faster?”
Meng Yeran’s eyes lit up, and she put her arm around Sheng Jia’s shoulder in a casual manner, “Tell me quickly, what secret did Dongzhen tell you that allows you to make this suggestion to me?”
“Ask yourself,” Sheng Jia pushed her hand away, she slightly curled her lips.
“Okay, okay,” Meng Yeran waved her hand and accused, “You are clearly telling me to ask her even though you know that I don’t get along with Dongzhen, how many benefits did Dongzhen give you?”
“If you know, will you give me double?” Sheng Jia blocked her words with an extremely rogue rhetorical question.
Just as Meng Yeran was about to say something, a strange lady came from the other end of the banquet. After looking around, she accurately found their location, leaned over and said to the girls sitting here, “Ms. Fu Minglang and Ms. Song Ningqiu would like to invite Miss Sheng Jia and Miss Song Ji’an to chat.”
Sheng Jia and Song Ji’an responded with a good voice. The two patted their coats to smooth out the wrinkles and followed.
The chat was interrupted, but Meng Yeran and Julia did not intend to get up. They knew what Sheng Jia and Song Ji’an were called to do with a little thought.
Rather than being dragged to meet the elders and having their faces stiff from smiling, they would rather stay here and eat cakes.
But Julia couldn’t help but keep staring at the direction Sheng Jia and Song Ji’an left, which made Meng Yeran have to break the rudeness of her sight.
“What are you looking at?”
Julia rubbed her chin and said strangely, “Don’t you think they two have a little less communication tonight?”
Meng Yeran frowned, “Really? I don’t feel it.”
Julia continued to say to herself, “And they are not as close as they used to be now. Did they quarrel?”
However, Julia couldn’t imagine how someone like Sheng Jia could quarrel with her.
“Don’t guess, you can just ask them directly when they come back.” Meng Yeran picked up a piece of cake, picked out most of the cream with a fork, and said with a somewhat casual tone, “And why are you so concerned about their relationship?”
“You’re right—” Julia just nodded, wanting to continue to say something, the lights above their heads—or rather the lights in the entire banquet hall suddenly dimmed and then recovered in an instant. She turned the words to her lips and turned into a rhetorical question: “Is this your Meng family’s new light show?”
Meng Yeran’s face next to her had become serious, “No, this is an obvious malfunction.”
In the process of her saying these words, the lights above their heads flickered a few more times.
Meng Yeran had already anxiously taken out her mobile phone to make a call, but in the process of her taking the mobile phone, even more so in a piece of darkness, a huge crisp sound was issued from another hall not far away, cracking, as if something had fallen, followed by a shout they were familiar with:
“—Sheng Jia!”
The two immediately ran towards the source of the sound. The jumping lights actually recovered their stability in the loud noise, which also made the chaotic scene clearer.
—The accident happened in just one minute. The chandelier on the top of the hall fell and hit Sheng Jia.
A pool of blood overflowed on the ground. Song Ji’an knelt down beside her in a disheveled and frightened manner, her face full of tears.