The Villain's Wife

128

"You are not going to drink that?" the Old Man said when he saw Jennie only offered a toast but did not drink the champagne. He gave Jennie a stern look, a direct response to her rudeness.

"I don't do alcohol." Jennie smiled. "I used to... but not anymore."

The Old Man grunted until her gaze fell into Jennie's stomach. Then a tinge of understanding flashed in his eyes. "I see." He nodded. "My apologies then."

"I will drink that." A voice interrupted them and before anyone could say anything, Lanying already got the glass and drank its contents. She held the empty glass and gave both Jennie and the old man a smile. "I hope you don't mind."

"You-"

"Oh... please... Miss Jennie here is a good friend." Lanying's sudden declaration instantly caused some murmurs from the people who heard them. "I mean... I considered her as one. After we met in Paris... In one of my recitals. Ah... was that two years ago?"

Jennie lifted an eyebrow before she nodded. "Almost three years. Actually." She gave them a sweet smile. "How have you been?" The turn of events was unexpected. Even Jennie did not think that Lanying would do something like this. However, she still went with the flow.

"Good. Everything is good." Lanying gave her a sweet smile. She then shifted her gaze at the Old Man. "I was looking forward to seeing you tonight, Miss Jennie. When I heard that you are coming, I totally got excited."

Lanying's face was full of smiles as she talked to Jennie like an old friend, creating a barrier between Jennie and Old Man Dongfang. It was as if, she does not want Jennie to talk to the Old Man at all.

"I didn't know that Miss Manoban is actually very well informed." Dongfang Lu joined the conversation after Lanying started talking about stocks.

"I love music and everything about it. However, I also majored in business administration and management when I was in Paris. I got a lot of experience when it comes to managing the... family business too." Lanying answered. The confidence in her voice was unmistakable.

Jennie only smiled as she listened. According to her files, Lanying was smart. Smarter than her two younger brothers. She graduated college before her twenty-first birthday and started working in the Zhou Co., immediately. But a few years ago, she just stopped.

She stopped working and started doing drugs. She also decided that music was her calling, so she started playing Piano more. This made the current patriarch furious. Some say that he almost disowned Lanying after her first concert. While some say, he had slapped Lanying so hard, she lost a tooth.

These were all rumors. However, the Dongfang family knew that some of these rumors were true. It was true that Lanying received a slap from her grandfather. It was also true that he almost disowned her. However, her two brothers begged their grandfather to give her a chance. They convinced him that there is still a chance that their sister will change for the better.

Sadly, this did not happen. In fact, Lanying's reputation became worse as months passed by. She started drinking too much. She slept around with various men, second generation heirs and people that she just met.

This made it hard for the old man to find a husband for her. Jennie knew that the purpose of this gala was to make people think that everything about Lanying were all rumors. She also knew that the old man found a possible husband for Lanying. Someone that would not care about her reputation at all. The old man thought that they could use this gala to at least show that Lanying is not as scandalous as the rumors say. But... Jennie knew this won't change a thing.

Not after she drank the champagne from Old Man Dongfang.

Jennie watched as more and more people joined them. Men and women started to gather around, joining in the conversation with smiles all over their faces. While everyone in this room already knew of the Zhou family's motive, many people still pretended that they were unaware. Some of them chose to get close to Lanying. They smiled and gave compliments as they chuckled, making sure that they let the world know that they were acquainted. After all, she was a Zhou. She was someone whose family could easily crush most people from this room. Moreover, her future husband is another influential person who was born in Korea but grew up in the west.