The Infatuated Cannon Fodder Has Completely Moved On - Chapter 3

“You still have the nerve to ask?”

Lu Wenqi was nearly moved to tears of joy. “That is wonderful; you have finally returned to your former vicious self.”

Jin Yuzhen was perplexed by this comment. “I admit my character is flawed, but as for being poisonous, how am I poisonous? Feng Hui says the same thing behind my back.”

Lu Wenqi grew angry. “It is fine for me to say you are vicious, but what right does that Feng woman have to say it? Look, this is your so-called good friend. You practically carve your heart out for her, yet she curses you behind your back.”

Her words made Jin Yuzhen quite angry as well. She poked the jackfruit in her bowl with a fork and said hatefully, “I really was blind. But then again, how exactly am I poisonous?” It was a total slander.

“Maybe it is the vibe,” Lu Wenqi explained. “Back in high school, when you said your dream was to go to another planet, everyone whispered that if you went there, you would probably abuse the aliens.”

Setting the bowl down, Jin Yuzhen reflected for three seconds and said, “Then all of you have very dark minds.”

Lu Wenqi studied her for a moment to ensure she was not actually sad before advising, “People with cold faces just look sharp. Plus, you were a bit cold and detached in high school, so everyone misunderstood you. Thinking about it now, it would have been better to stay cold-hearted rather than being played like a toy by someone like Cen Shu.”

That was true.

“Eat first to build up your energy. Tonight’s celebration banquet will surely be a bloodbath. You have to help me out then.”

“Fine. If anyone gives you a hard time, I will use my fists and feet to beat them until they are looking for their teeth on the floor.” Though she spoke boldly, Lu Wenqi was actually worried. The matter of the second Miss Jin obsessively pursuing Cen Shu was known by everyone in their social circle. Since Jin Yuzhen had changed her female companion tonight, she was bound to be treated as a joke.

Jin Yuzhen took a sip of soup. “No, I am afraid I might take a knife and hack everyone to death. You must stop me; I do not want to go to prison.”

Lu Wenqi: “…”

Soon after dinner, the pre-arranged styling team arrived.

They brought seven outfits in total. Jin Yuzhen chose a light blue silk satin gown paired with sapphire and diamond earrings. She did not even have her long hair curled. As they went downstairs, Lu Wenqi complained, “This is too plain. You should make a grand appearance draped in jewels to blind those people.”

Jin Yuzhen reassured her, “If I wear too much jewelry, it will be inconvenient for fighting. If things get chipped or bumped, that is all money.”

Lu Wenqi immediately agreed and took off her own wristwatch to store it away.

Upon entering the garage and seeing the silver MPV, Jin Yuzhen froze. “Did you not say we were switching to a Rolls-Royce Phantom?”

Lu Wenqi sighed, “Do you want a Rolls-Royce Illusion instead? If I actually bought a luxury car, there is no way I could afford the maintenance.”

It made sense. Buying the car was just the down payment; the maintenance of a luxury vehicle was no different from burning money.

Jin Yuzhen pulled her shawl tight, gathered her long hair in the crook of her arm, and leaned back in her seat to rest with her eyes closed. After Lu Wenqi gave the driver the address, she joined her in the back seat.

As the double-layered soundproof glass rose, Jin Yuzhen suddenly understood why she was so resistant to this type of vehicle. Years ago, while working for the finance channel, she and her team went to a county in the southwest to film a program. The local tourism bureau had borrowed a vehicle from the court to pick them up, so the whole group had traveled to the hotel in a prison van.

With these two layers of glass rising, it really looked exactly like a prison van.

The celebration banquet was held at a Jin family hotel. They were celebrating the Jin Corporation’s successful entry into the high-end hotel market. Aside from the hosts, the most prominent family at the event was the Cui family.

The Jin family’s hotels and the Cui family winery had reached a deep cooperation agreement. Every suite’s wine cabinet featured wines from the Cui winery. In just six months, the Cui family had secured a place in Taozhou City. Who would have thought that six months ago, the Cui family’s products could not even make it into the Central Food Exhibition?

When Jin Yuzhen stepped into the hotel and saw the place filled with Cui family wine, she was almost dizzy with anger. She was the one who had made the introductions; she had paved the road for others for nothing.

Fortunately, her grandmother had foresight. Before the cooperation, she found a way to make the Cui family give up some shares and placed her own people within their company. Otherwise, Jin Yuzhen truly would have been fooled into idiocy by Cui Man.

When she and Lu Wenqi arrived, Cui Man was surrounded by a crowd, smiling like a blooming flower. Within a minute of them sitting down, Cui Man brought people over, smiling brightly. “Zhenzhen, did you not come with Cen Shu?”

She intentionally sat down next to Jin Yuzhen to appear close. Ning Fang came along with her. Before Jin Yuzhen could even speak, Ning Fang said, “Cen Shu did not show up at the family banquet last week either. Zhenzhen, is there a problem between you two?”

Lu Wenqi almost jumped up to smash the table, but Jin Yuzhen held her down by the shoulder.

Jin Yuzhen looked at Ning Fang. “Third Aunt, you care about me so much. If you have the time, you should look after your son. He is so obscure it is like he never even debuted. Even I am more famous than him.”

Ning Fang’s face immediately darkened. “What are you saying? Jin Ke works hard on his own and refuses to use family resources. He just does not have a benefactor as generous as Zhenzhen.”

Jin Yuzhen nodded. “He must be quite hardworking. Those bed photos leaked a few days ago gave me quite a shock. He looked so drained lying on those white sheets that at first glance, I thought it was a Waterdrop Fundraising campaign.”

Ning Fang’s eyelid twitched. “He was framed!”

Jin Yuzhen clicked her tongue. “Do not be so anxious. He is not famous anyway. Even if it were true, what harm could he possibly do to society?”

Ning Fang’s heart skipped a beat in frustration. She glared coldly at her. “He has a new movie coming out recently, so naturally some people cannot sit still. It is one thing for others to misunderstand, but you are his cousin. Do you not understand his character?”

Jin Yuzhen gave a half-smile. “Is Aunt referring to that movie with a box office measured in the tens of thousands? I watched it too. How should I put it? It was as ugly as Jin Ke’s face. Tell me the truth, was your son’s role given to him as a joke?”

Ning Fang slammed her glass onto the table, her anger rising. She said stiffly, “I have things to do. Enjoy your chat.”

After she left, the entire table fell silent. Lu Wenqi was stunned; she had not expected Jin Yuzhen to be so biting and sarcastic, but it finally made her feel a bit more at ease.

After some hesitation, Cui Man spoke up. “Zhenzhen, did you and Cen Shu really have a falling out?”

It should not be possible. Previously, when Cen Shu did not reply to messages for an entire week, Jin Yuzhen would convince herself it was because Cen Shu was a Taurus and a person of few words.

Jin Yuzhen’s gaze landed on her. “You still have the nerve to ask?”

Cui Man’s breath hitched, not reacting in time. “What did I do?”

“Do you not have any idea in your heart?” Jin Yuzhen spoke slowly, but her ears were perked up.

Perhaps she could hear Cui Man’s inner thoughts. But there was nothing. This skill was intermittent.

Cui Man looked at her nervously. “Did I do something to make you unhappy? Just say it, and I will definitely change.”

The people nearby all showed expressions of sympathy. Accompanying Zhen is indeed like accompanying a tiger. Even someone as outstanding as the eldest Miss Cui had to be humble before Jin Yuzhen. This only made them want to work harder to become a figure like Miss Jin.

Jin Yuzhen vaguely understood why she was rumored to be vicious. Cui Man was “killing her with praise,” acting as if Jin Yuzhen held the power of life and death. She really put a lot of effort into it.

Her gaze swept over Cui Man. Seeing her in a gold tassel gown with a gold rose diamond necklace, she felt even more irritated. All of this was borrowed in the name of the second Miss Jin. Cui Man was good at taking advantage; many times, she used Jin Yuzhen’s name to borrow clothes and jewelry and never returned them on time. The money was deducted from Jin Yuzhen’s account, which only worsened her already precarious reputation.

“It is a celebration banquet after all. With so many people around, why are you dressed like a mangled mango pit?”

The gold tassels fluttered on her arm. Cui Man froze upon hearing this, looking a bit aggrieved. “On the day we tried on clothes, you said I looked good in this.”

“That was just social politeness. Do you not understand that?” Jin Yuzhen said directly.

Cui Man said, “Zhenzhen, what exactly is wrong with you?”

Her face was full of pity, but her eyes held a sharp edge as she tried to find some anomaly in Jin Yuzhen. However, no matter how much she looked, she felt this was just the same arrogant and domineering second Miss. Even though she was dressed plainly, the arrogance in her bones could not be hidden. Nothing had changed.

In fact, Jin Yuzhen had not always been this disliked. When she was still at the television station, her fan base almost rivaled that of minor celebrities. Her looks seemed to perfectly match the aesthetic of modern fans, and every program she appeared in saw a boost in ratings.

The Cui family was originally from Yunyao City and only moved to Taozhou when Cui Man started university to start their winery. She met Jin Yuzhen during college. Their first meeting was during the “Night of Ideals” for Taozhou Media University freshmen, where Jin Yuzhen was the student representative speaking on stage. Cui Man had seen her face clearly on the big screen.

She had round apricot eyes and soft cheeks, yet her brow and lips were very defined. The two qualities of depth and tranquility coexisted peacefully, giving her a graceful, jade-like composure. Back then, who could have guessed that such a person would become her stepping stone? Cui Man felt a sense of pleasure in her heart, like bullying a weak kitten.

Jin Yuzhen could not hear her thoughts at this moment, but she could guess. She knew Cui Man must be plotting something bad, so she gave a cold sneer. “Manman, today is very special. You should enjoy it.”

Because the good days for the Cui family were coming to an end.

Cui Man’s spine stiffened, but before she could say anything, Jin Yuzhen and Lu Wenqi walked over to the elders’ table. Lu Wenqi even made a face at her. Cui Man did not know what had happened for Jin Yuzhen’s attitude to change so quickly.

She adjusted her expression, went to a quiet spot, and called Feng Hui.

Feng Hui’s situation was no better than hers. “What else could it be for? It is definitely because of Cen Shu! I told Cen Shu to apologize properly, but she just would not listen. Now look, she has provoked her, and no one is having a good time. I was planning to ask for the cultural and creative authorization after signing the contract with her, but now the contract is blown too.”

Hearing the anxiety in her voice, Cui Man actually became strangely calm. It seemed she was not the one in the worst position. At least the cooperation between the Cui family and the Jin family was already unchangeable.

“What about Cen Shu?”

“Did she not go to the celebration banquet with Jin Yuzhen today?”

Cui Man said angrily, “If she had come, why would I be asking you? Jin Yuzhen brought Lu Wenqi.”

“Lu Wenqi?” Feng Hui gasped. “Manman, I think Cen Shu is about to lose her game.”

Cui Man was curious. “How so?”

“She wanted to sign for Lu Wenqi’s new drama. Jin Yuzhen said she would handle it for her, but lately, Jin Yuzhen has been out of contact. Not only did she fail to sign the drama, but it also fell into the hands of her rival.” Feng Hui sighed. If you always walk by the riverside, your shoes are bound to get wet eventually.

Cui Man recalled for a moment and said, “Nie Feiyin?”

Feng Hui said, “Yes. I bet Cen Shu is absolutely furious. The fact that Jin Yuzhen brought Lu Wenqi today means their relationship has not cooled down; Jin Yuzhen simply does not want to help Cen Shu anymore.”