"He called our village chief to coordinate between Hexing Rice and the village affairs. Our village chief is a good person, but the conditions in the village are poor; his clothes seemed out of place in the Imperial Capital, unsuitable for business negotiations. So I took him shopping for clothes," Lu Youxi explained how she was photographed at the mall with the village chief and how Lin Jingshen and Lu Youbang had slandered her.
"I don’t know why Lin Jingshen hates me so much. I can understand Lu Youbang, though, since he’s my cousin and we have always had conflicts. He spent all our family’s money and lied boasting at school. After I called him out, he was like a rat crossing the street at school. But Lin Jingshen, I never offended him, and I don’t know why he bears such a grudge against me."
"Later it wasn’t just him, even his father, Lin Zhenghao, started causing trouble for me," Lu Youxi added about Lin Zhenghao collaborating with the construction team to strike.
"I just took it as competition from my peers," Lu Youxi shrugged, "although he didn’t know about my relationship with Zhou Shuyan at the time. Youshu Real Estate seemed like a small company with no competitive power in their eyes, and I don’t know why he’d be hostile. If he had known about my relationship with Zhou Shuyan, he probably wouldn’t have dared to do anything."
"What happened next, guess what?" Lu Youxi said to Jiang Zilin.
Jiang Zilin was drawn into the story and immediately asked with anticipation, "What happened?"
"About Lin Jingshen and Lu Youzhen’s engagement being called off because you found out?" Lu Youxi sneered, "In your circle, no one is willing to marry into Lin Jingshen’s family anymore."
Jiang Zilin reminded from the side, "Actually, we are part of the same circle."
Lu Youxi waved her hand, "Honestly, I have never felt like I belong to that circle."
"Maybe it’s because I grew up in Hexing Village, I have never been in contact with these matters. Even doing business in the Imperial Capital, I hardly socialized with people in these circles. It was just business," explained Lu Youxi.
"Plus, truth be told, now everyone knows Zhou Shuyan is my husband. Before they knew, they just saw me as a country bumpkin running a small business, and they weren’t willing to see me in their circles," Lu Youxi continued, "Different circles, we can’t forcefully blend, and I understand that."
Jiang Zilin thought about it, and it made sense.
She knew very well the mentality of people in these circles.
For a newcomer like Lu Youxi, those established wealthy families would not recognize her.
Especially since Lu Youxi came from a rural background and made her own way, it was admirable.
Yet, most people in the circle, proud of their family backgrounds, looked down on those who changed their fortunes through hard work.
She understood these people’s mindsets because she had grown up in such an environment.
Yet Lu Youxi, who had never interacted with them, understood their mindsets so clearly. It was admirable.
No wonder Lu Youxi was successful.
Her insights and thoughts were extremely accurate.
Lu Youxi continued with a smile, "Since no one in the circle is willing to deal with Lin Jingshen, it’s impossible for him to marry someone socially and financially his equal," Lu Youxi stated, "But for them to consider someone from an ordinary background, neither Lin Jingshen nor his parents are willing, and they look down upon such people."
"Guess what? They actually set their sights on me," Lu Youxi scoffed.
"How did it fall on you? You...you’re already married, and after all their previous hostility and the multiple obstacles they threw at you, how could they still have the nerve to target you?"
"That’s exactly it, isn’t it? Any sensible person would think like you. Just goes to show how shameless they are," Lu Youxi stated, "They didn’t know about my relationship with Zhou Shuyan, and just assumed my husband was an ordinary office worker, less competent than me, essentially living off me."
Jiang Zilin: "..."
She really couldn’t imagine Zhou Shuyan being financially supported by someone else.
"They look down on ordinary people, so they naturally assumed that once I had money, I would look down on my ’ordinary’ husband, too," Lu Youxi stated, "Lin Jingshen was very confident, thinking that if he approached me, willing to marry me, I would be absolutely eager to divorce my husband and marry him, to become the Young Madam of the Lin family."
"He...where did he get that confidence from?" Jiang Zilin said perplexed, "Not to mention all the previous bad things he did to you, just considering his own scandals that you are fully aware of. Additionally, being married and having a good relationship with your husband, how could you possibly be willing to divorce and marry him?"
"That’s exactly it. So that’s why I say their family is shameless and presumptuous, thinking too highly of themselves," Lu Youxi stated, "Plus, do you know what their idea was?"
"They thought, by showing goodwill towards me, willing to marry ’down’ to me, I would definitely rush to marry into their family. Then, before any of this came to fruition, they planned to wait for me to marry into their family, and take over the companies I hold. I have three companies, Hexing Rice, Little Pink Book, and Youshu Real Estate. They want all of them," Lu Youxi explained.
"And these three companies are the real reason they wanted me to marry into the Lin family. They look down on ordinary people, see my humble origins as a detriment, yet recognize that I’m capable and own companies, fitting their requirements perfectly," Lu Youxi said coldly.
"They...they really have no shame!" Jiang Zilin exclaimed angrily.
"I’m telling you all this so you would know, it’s not just Lin Jingshen who’s shameless, the whole Lin family are bad people," Lu Youxi stated, "Which is why it’s good you realized in time that Lin Jingshen was up to no good, and that Mr. Jiang and Mrs. Jiang care about you, decisively calling off the engagement to prevent you from falling into a trap."
"Otherwise, if you really married Lin Jingshen, it would’ve been a disaster," Lu Youxi remarked.
Mrs. Jiang happened to come over and heard Lu Youxi, laughing in response.
"Although I don’t socialize in these circles, I can imagine that there are many families who would sacrifice their children’s happiness for the benefit of their companies. Even if they know the other party is not a good person, but just to grow their company, they still insist on their children marrying into such families," Lu Youxi said.
"But Mr. Jiang and Mrs. Jiang didn’t do that. They prioritize your happiness first. In introducing you both for the arranged meeting, it was also because Lin Jingshen’s publicly displayed qualities seemed really promising. After all, before Lu Youzhen’s scand...