Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Six Years, Long Time No See
Jing City Hotel...
The weather today seemed exceptionally good, even past seven in the evening, the endlessly changing, colorful glow of the clouds filled most of the sky.
The Lu Group had grandly booked the entire hotel for Lu Yan, the current head of the Lu Family's second son's hundred-day celebration, where luxury cars gathered at the scene.
Suddenly, a green taxi slowly stopped, which looked very out of place among the fleet of luxury vehicles.
Lu Jing got out of the taxi and couldn't help but take a deep breath:
Six years, it's been a while!
He stood still for a few seconds, then followed the long-waiting Lu Family bodyguards into the hotel, avoiding the banquet hall by taking the service stairs.
Throughout, he never noticed a figure standing in the shadows, a man whose gaze was intently fixed in his direction.
...
Upstairs in the suite, Lu Jing had already changed into a dress and had done up her hair simply. As she came out of the room, she saw the whole family entertaining her little nephew, who was just a hundred days old.
The little boy was very active, kicking forward and then pushing backward, his hands stretching and contracting non-stop, his chubby cheeks and half-closed eyes sometimes forming a silly smile, sometimes sucking on his little fingers. He was extremely cute.
"Come on, Jing, hold your little nephew!"
"Ah? Maybe not, he's too small, I'm scared to hold him."
It wasn't really because she was scared, but seeing the child made something flash through Lu Jing's mind, causing an immediate discomfort, as if millions of ants were gnawing at her.
If...
But then, how many ifs are there in the world?
A deeply buried sorrow seemed to be drawn out from the depths of her soul, swiftly spreading to every corner of her body.
At that moment, Lu Yan appeared at the doorway, smiling as he said:
"It's about time."
"Alright, let's go down then."
"Let's go, let's go."
The large family group moved downstairs en masse, with Lu Jing walking in the back, trying her best to suppress the bitter look on her face, but the turmoil inside seemed to tear her apart.
In the corner downstairs sat several figures, the five major families of Jing City: Jiang, Pei, Zhou, Lu, Zheng, with the Jiang Family as the leader.
The men sitting on the sofa, any of whom would be a prime marriage target for socialites.
Jiang Ye had just stepped out for a while and when he returned, he was completely sullen, his face terrifyingly cold, and he downed three glasses of wine in a row, startling everyone present.
Just as they were about to ask, they saw the Lu Family coming downstairs.
"Hey, isn't that Lu Jing?"
"The Lu girl is back?"
"Wow, it really is Jing!"
What nobody noticed was the man exuding an icy aura, whose eyes suddenly narrowed and whose wine glass was crushed in his hand.
The shards of glass embedded into his flesh went unfelt, as he calmly called a waiter over to replace his glass.
It was when Lu Jing was descending the final steps that she sharply felt a fierce gaze on her.
Immediately, her scalp tingled.
Following the gaze, when she saw Jiang Ye's face, her mind went blank, and her body uncontrollably swayed.
After easing herself slightly, she quickly averted her eyes and no longer looked in that direction.
The people around didn't notice anything unusual, as Jiang Ye's gaze lowered, toying with the wine glass in his hand, his thoughts hiding behind an impenetrable veil.