The Sheng Family
Today is the sixteenth birthday of Miss Sheng Guanguan, the young lady of the Sheng Family. A large number of dignitaries are present.
The Sheng family has an illustrious lineage and is one of the few prominent families in Haicheng.
It's unfortunately though, the Sheng family had only one heir for three generations, and now in Sheng Can’s generation, he only has one daughter, Sheng GuanGuan.
Sheng Can wants to cultivate Sheng GuanGuan into a powerful woman capable of taking over the vast family business in the future.
Yet, though the sixteen years old Sheng GuanGuan is proficient in all kinds of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, she lacks the innate talent for business.
Whenever Sheng GuanGuan sees numbers, she feels dizzy and can never complete the tasks that Sheng Can sets for her.
With no other option, Sheng Can could only plan ahead for Sheng GuanGuan and the future of the Sheng Family, leading to the birthday banquet being held today.
There are quite a few boys attending the banquet today, all between sixteen and twenty, each one an outstanding prospect.
The couple, Sheng Can and his wife, stand on the second floor, casting an observant glance over the boys attending the banquet below, painstakingly choosing from among them.
After looking over the crowd, Mrs. Sheng points to a young man with stunning looks, "What do you think of him? Among all these children, I think he stands out the most."
Sheng Can looks in the direction his wife is pointing, then muses, "That's the Ling family’s child. The situation in the Ling family is complicated as there has been in-fighting throughout these years. Thus, they may not be a suitable match."
The handsome young man is named Ling Xiao. He stands behind his great aunt with a dispassionate attitude, gazing at the crowd, exhibiting maturity beyond his peers.
The nineteen-year-old boy, particularly tall and strikingly handsome, has an innate air of nobility, making him standout, a crane in a flock of chickens.
Unfortunately, the Ling family's background was complex, and Ling Xiao, at a tender age, was already the target of people's cold stares. Given his cold and taciturn nature, he was not the best choice.
After hearing her husband’s words, Lady Sheng looked regretfully away. It didn’t take long for her to find the person she liked, “How about the child from the Mu family? He has excellent academic performance and looks clean and gentle.”
Sheng Can frowned, “The Mu Family? Which one are you talking about?”
“The one standing under the magnolia tree.”
Lady Sheng pointed again and said, “I think his name is Mu Si.”
At last, Sheng Can saw the boy standing under the white magnolia tree.
The eighteen-year-old looked crisply clean and soft as jade, topped with a magnolia, wearing a smile of red lips and white teeth, his starlit eyes beautiful as a painting, untouched by the world.
“Is it him?”
Sheng Can drew his brows together even tighter.
Lady Sheng looked at Sheng Can expectantly, “What do you think? I heard that he's excellent in his studies, has good character, and excels in everything.”
Despite this, Sheng Can shook his head, “It's not going to work. The situation in the Mu family is even more complicated than the Ling family. Plus, he lost a leg due to a car accident last year.”
Sure enough, Mu Si excelled in everything and was highly valued by the Mu family.
If not for losing a leg in the car accident, causing elder Mu to remove him from the line of succession, he would not be at this birthday banquet today.
“What, he lost a leg in a car accident?”
Lady Sheng looked at the boy's legs in disbelief, “I cannot tell at all!”
Sheng Can said, "Now that you have a prosthetic limb, let's look at other people!"
Mus, excellent as he was, had become somewhat reclusive after the car accident. Losing a leg at such a young age undoubtedly affected his mindset, hence he was not on Sheng Can’s list of potential suitors.
At that moment, a slender girl was also leaning on the window, her eyes glued to the boy standing under the magnolia tree, light dancing in her pretty apricot eyes.
He's here!
Sheng Guan Guan never expected the boy who had made her heart pound and dazzled her for two whole years would actually show up at her birthday banquet.
Her father had said that she could choose any of the boys present at the party to be her future husband.
Her future husband, the man she would marry as she grew up.The man who was to be her husband, and share a life with her.
Did that include him?
Seeing the boy standing under the magnolia tree, Sheng Guan Guan felt her heart about to leap out of her chest.
Surely, this must be what it feels like to fall in love!
This feeling was not unfamiliar to her. Ever since the first day of high school when she saw him sprinting towards her in his white basketball uniform, this feeling had been with her.
Since then, the basketball court became a place she felt compelled to visit daily.
Sadly, the car accident had robbed him of a leg, and she hadn't seen him on the basketball court since. It wasn't until the college entrance exam that he appeared at the school again, this time in a wheelchair.
He was admitted to Ocean University, while she remained in high school. However, she was always up to date with his news.
The guests were there. Mr. and Mrs. Cheng had come to bring Cheng Guanguan downstairs.
"They're here! They're here! Quick, bring your kids to Miss Cheng."
As soon as Guanguan came down the stairs, all the guests would push their kids forward. They wanted them to be seen and become familiar to her.
Speaking of Guanguan, she was quite famous in Ocean City.
It was said that on the morning she was born, all the flowers in the private hospital where she was born bloomed at once and the hospital was covered in a layer of golden light from above, looking like a golden ingot from afar.
At the same time, Tang Xuanwu, a famous fortune-teller in Ocean City, was being treated in that private hospital.
At that time, in front of the visiting guests, he said, "This little girl from the Cheng family came to this world bearing good fortune, the Cheng family is about to rise, who knows which lucky lad will reap the benefit in the future."
The Cheng family, at that time, was nothing more than an unknown little enterprise.
The growth of Cheng family later confirmed Tang Xuanwu's words.
After Guanguan's birth, in just a few years, Cheng Shi became one of the top successful major enterprises in Ocean City from an unknown little company, and the entire Cheng family rose rapidly.
The children who came to the birthday banquet today were all talented young men from various families, but none of them were family heirs.
If the Cheng family took a son-in-law, the chosen boy would be marrying into the family. In other words, he would become a "matrilocal son-in-law".
Mrs. Cheng had mentioned a few boys' names in front of Guanguan, but sadly, Guanguan didn't listen to any of them. None of the names were Muss.
Having introduced Guanguan to the crowd, Mrs. Cheng let her go off and play with her friends.
Sheng Guanguan has always been generous and easy to get along with. She has many friends, with boys seizing the opportunity to court her.
As the daughter of the wealthy Sheng family, not only does she hail from a good background, she is also very beautiful. A good number of these boys would very much like to marry into the Sheng family.
"You should go as well!"
Upon noticing the lack of reaction from the young man beside her, Sun Silan displayed a look of urgency. "Ling Xiao, you should realize that if you're chosen by Miss Sheng, and with the help of Sheng Can, your father might serve fewer years in prison."
Seeing this, a hint of relenting finally emerged on the cold face of the young man.
Sun Silan continued, "Among all the boys here today, you are by far the most outstanding. Miss Sheng will definitely choose you. Do it for your father."
Ling Xiao, looking at the girl praised as a princess by everyone, revealed a faint smirk. Nevertheless, he strode towards her with his long legs.
Watching Ling Xiao's slender and upright figure recede, a satisfied smirk spread across Sun Silan's face.
If Ling Xiao was chosen by Miss Sheng, the entire Ling family would benefit.
