The Stand-In Alpha Goes Viral on a Dating Show - Chapter 70

“This is the Chi family’s banquet. Not just anyone can waltz in here!”

Several heiresses, adorned in glittering jewels, strolled gracefully toward the program’s invited guests. Their eyes swept over the group with open disdain, their lips curling in mocking sneers.

“We were invited. Here’s the invitation.”

Chu Rou unfolded the embossed card. The golden script gleamed under the light, right before the eyes of the jeering socialites.

“So they really were invited…”

The young ladies whispered among themselves, their voices dripping with disapproval.

“Still, couldn’t you at least dress decently? Showing up like this—you’re just asking to be misunderstood!”

“Exactly. You’re dragging down the tone of the entire event!”

“Standing next to you makes us feel embarrassed!”

Every biting word landed clearly in the ears of the program guests. Their polite smiles stiffened, unable to hide their discomfort.

“Oh! I see someone I know—that looks like Miss Mingyu, eldest daughter of the Ming family!”

At that moment, Mingyu appeared, dazzling in her evening gown, gliding toward them. Her eyes met directly with one of the heiresses.

“I spotted someone too! Isn’t that Mo Wei of the Mo family?”

Another girl’s eyes lit up—she’d seen Mo Wei at other banquets before.

“Wait… so are you all daughters of prominent families as well?”

Now that Mingyu and Mo Wei had been recognized, the guests turned curious eyes toward Chi Wan and the others, speculating about their identities.

Especially Chi Wan—her extraordinary bearing drew stares. Yet, even after Lu Xin and Su Yao had been identified, no one could place Chi Wan.

The heiress who had recognized Mingyu leaned close to her for confirmation. A moment later, she straightened with a scornful laugh.

“Ha! Don’t bother guessing. This young lady here is no society heiress—she’s just a washed-up influencer with a blackened reputation!”

“What? An influencer? At this level of banquet? How could someone like that get in?”

A few business elites frowned in disapproval.

“Well, the Chi family head invited the entire production team. She just happens to be one of the guests by association.”

The heiress’ phoenix-shaped eyes glinted with ridicule.

“Shameless! Instead of declining, she rushed over here like a stray dog. What an eyesore!”

One businessman, utterly contemptuous, added, “She must be desperate for attention. People like her have no shame—only chasing quick money.”

Whispers rippled through the hall.

“Did you hear that? Little influencer—if you know what’s good for you, you’d better leave now. This isn’t a place for the likes of you.”

One heiress even raised a manicured finger and pointed toward Chi Wan’s chest, then flicked her chin toward the door—her meaning obvious.

“The Chi family didn’t throw me out. What right do you have to?”

Instead of anger, Chi Wan only laughed. She genuinely found their arrogance absurd.

“You—!”

The heiress stamped her foot, flustered. “Forget it! I won’t waste breath on someone so shameless!”

A few others, who had just uncovered An Ran’s identity, were about to direct their barbs at her. But before they could, Chi Wan took An Ran’s hand and led her away.

Spotting Chi Tian, Chi Wan approached with a smile.

At that moment, Chi Tian was happily nibbling on desserts. Seeing Chi Wan, she brightened in surprise, quickly swallowing her cake in one bite. She patted her stomach, caught her breath, and said, “Honestly, I didn’t expect the family head to take this so seriously—inviting all of you.”

She grabbed a glass of juice and drank it down noisily.

Within moments, Chi Tian had eaten plenty, leaving Chi Wan staring in speechless amazement.

“Haha, don’t mind me! I’ve given up on keeping up appearances. The heir position has nothing to do with me anymore.”

Hearing this, Chi Wan noticed a faint loneliness flicker in her eyes—just a trace, but undeniable.

“What happened?” she asked gently.

“Inside news.” Chi Tian lowered her voice. “Word is, Great-Grandmother favors male Alphas.”

“Great-Grandmother?”

Chi Wan was startled by the blatant preference, then caught on to the title.

“Yes—the family head’s mother. He’s always followed her word. So any candidate who isn’t male is probably fighting a losing battle.”

Chi Tian sighed, waving her hand. “I don’t really mind. I never had much hope anyway. My abilities are mediocre.”

But for others, the blow was devastating.

She couldn’t even bring herself to gloat. Instead, she felt a faint sense of shared misfortune.

Chi Wan listened quietly, offering An Ran a small cake while Chi Tian vented. Then she asked casually, “I heard the Chi family head is gravely ill?”

“That’s right. Such a brilliant man, too. If I was ten years older, he would’ve been my dream husband—without question.”

She counted off his virtues one by one on her fingers before sighing.

“Sadly, Heaven is cruel. To think someone so exceptional would fall ill with an incurable disease so young.”

Under his leadership, the Chi family’s empire had multiplied several times over. Yet he left no heirs of his own blood, only to hand over the vast business kingdom to collateral relatives.

It was a tragedy indeed.

“He… has no children?”

As Chi Wan asked this, she caught An Ran’s sidelong glance, sharp and meaningful. Could An Ran have realized something?

Chi Wan’s heart tightened, but she forced a calm face.

“There was one,” Chi Tian whispered. “An illegitimate daughter. But she went missing.”

Her voice dropped lower. “Her birthday happens to fall within these days. Every year, the night sky here is lit with fireworks for her birthday celebration.”

“It’s been nearly twenty years now. It’s practically become a local tradition.”

Chi Tian smacked her lips, full of envy, but then sighed again. “Still, knowing Great-Grandmother’s temperament, even if that daughter had been raised within the family, her days wouldn’t have been easy. And if she was lost out there somewhere… her life must have been even harsher.”

Just then, the family head’s secretary entered the banquet hall. Ordered to fetch Chi Tian, he froze the instant he caught sight of Chi Wan.

“You are…”

“She’s my friend,” Chi Tian explained quickly, then turned to the secretary. “Is the family head looking for me?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The secretary was still reeling from shock. Chi Wan’s features were strikingly similar to the family head in his youth—and just as similar to the young woman who had once been his fiancée.

No wonder the family head had been staring off in a daze so often lately.

So he had finally found his daughter!

The only question left was… how was Madam doing now?

“Oh! Secretary, it’s you. How has Chairman Chi been recently? I haven’t seen him in quite some time!”

As soon as the secretary appeared, several prominent business leaders hurried over to greet him.

The secretary maintained a polite, formulaic smile. “Thank you all for your concern. Chairman Chi will be attending tonight’s banquet. You’ll be able to see him then.”

With that, he neatly cut off their attempts to fish for news.

The business leaders had no choice but to nod along in agreement.

Meanwhile, Mingyu was skillfully working the room, engaging in conversation with the Chi family’s candidates. But when she learned that the great-grandmother was staunchly biased toward male heirs, her expression faltered for an instant.

In that brief moment, she couldn’t help but wonder—was her mother’s decision to leave back then actually due to the great-grandmother’s pressure?

Male over female… Even though Mingyu herself was an Alpha, the thought weighed heavily on her chest.

Just then, the topic among the candidates turned to the family head’s illegitimate daughter. Mingyu instinctively pricked up her ears to listen.

“Although the family head has always obeyed the great-grandmother, if his illegitimate daughter was really found and the great-grandmother still refused to accept her, he would definitely push back!”

“I think so too. After all, she’s his biological daughter, lost for nearly twenty years.”

“My goodness! What are you even thinking? If that illegitimate daughter is truly found, what happens to our chances of inheriting the vast Chi family fortune?”

“Exactly! Better if she never comes back. Sure, the great-grandmother prefers male Alphas, but there aren’t many outstanding male Alphas in the collateral branches. Our odds are still pretty good.”

“Gender alone doesn’t decide everything. As long as a candidate excels in other areas, inheritance won’t be blocked just because of sex.”

“And by that logic, bloodline shouldn’t either! If we outperform that illegitimate girl by a wide margin, even if she returns, we’d have nothing to fear.”

At that, Mingyu’s heart gave a sharp squeeze, followed by a rapid, pounding beat. Cold sweat beaded in her palms. Thank goodness she was exceptional enough—otherwise, these people would be ready to snatch the inheritance right out from under her!

She hadn’t known the truth of her parentage before, but now that she did, she was determined to claim the inheritance for herself.

The first step was to formally acknowledge her birth father.

With her resolve set, Mingyu began probing for information, trying to find out where the family head was. But the banquet was filled with sharp-witted people—some feigned ignorance, others kept their lips tightly sealed. Before long, despair began to creep in.

“Young lady, you must be from the Ming family, yes? Still too young, too eager to soar to the top in one step. Don’t you know that kind of ambition can end in a terrible fall?”

A rising star of the business world couldn’t resist offering her a cryptic warning.

But Mingyu could only grit her teeth in silence. How could she possibly explain, “I’m not looking for connections—I’m looking for my father”?

If she let that slip here, she might not survive the night. Didn’t she see how the collateral candidates all had their eyes fixed on the inheritance like wolves on prey?

Just as she was about to contact President Ming to discuss her next move, she spotted the Chi family head’s secretary walking through the banquet hall.

Her long-suppressed heart leapt with fresh hope. The secretary must surely know the family head’s whereabouts!

She quietly slipped out after him, only to discover she wasn’t the only one with that idea.

What shocked her even more was catching sight of the Ming family’s patriarch, positioned directly along the secretary’s path.

The two exchanged a few words, then shook hands warmly, as if old friends in pleasant conversation.

Only then did Mingyu recall—among the Ming family elders, there was indeed someone with direct ties to the Chi family.

As it turned out, Old Master Ming was seeking the family head not for inheritance, but to speak on An Ran’s behalf, regarding the false accusations she had once suffered. Mid-conversation, however, he suddenly felt a piercing gaze fixed on him.

Turning slightly, his eyes met Mingyu’s wide, astonished stare.

What was she doing here?