Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Old Mrs. Wen, Ning Shuqia and Xia Ruya sat together in the living room for a chat.
Ning Shuqian asked concernedly, “Ruya, it’s going to be your eighteenth birthday very soon. Did the Xia Family mention that they were going to hold a coming-of-age ceremony for you? Do you have any other ideas?”
Old Mrs. Wen was also suddenly reminded of the coming-of-age ceremony and asked concernedly, “The preparations for Wen Xinya’s coming-of-age ceremony begun half a month ago. I almost forgot that you and Wen Xinya share the same birthday.”
Xia Ruya answered, “The Xia Family has agreed to help me hold the coming-of-age ceremony and they’ve handed the arrangements over to Soaring Public Relations company as well.”
The Xia Family had always treated her coldly and harshly. Although their opinion and stand on her scandal and virginity test report was not announced to the media, they chose to treat it with nonchalance. It was indirectly saying that they had already given up on Xia Ruya.
Now that she had become a member of the Zhishan Club, the Xia Family felt that they could use her and hence, did everything they could to get into her good books. They wanted to make it up to her and favor her by throwing a lavish banquet for her coming-of-age ceremony.
“That’s great!” Old Mrs. Wen exclaimed, pleased to hear that Xia Ruya’s coming-of-age ceremony was also handled by Soaring Public Relations company.
Ning Shuqian glanced at Old Mrs. Wen and said, “Mother, the Xia Family may have agreed to organize the coming-of-age ceremony for Ruya, but she’s still their illegitimate daughter at the end of the day. Now that she’s moved in with us, we can’t just sit back and do nothing. The Xia Family is only an average one and if anything goes wrong with the banquet, the Wen Family will be embarrassed too because Ruya is our adopted daughter.”
How lavish of a banquet could the Xia Family throw? When the time came, would the Xia Family or the Wen Family be in charge of inviting guests?
The Xia Family could at most invite other small and less wealthy families and Xia Ruya would only be embarrassed by then, so would the Wen Family.
Finding her words to have made sense, Old Mrs. Wen said, “You’re right. It would be best to let the Xia Family organize the coming-of-age ceremony using the Wen Family’s name.”
Feeling extremely grateful, Xia Ruya answered, “Thank you, Grandma.”
Wen Xinya had already begun preparing for her coming-of-age ceremony one month in advance, unlike Xia Ruya, who had left it to the Xia Family, thus causing a great delay in progress. She finally realized that she could not let the Xia Family handle it anymore.
The Xia Family is just a small family, how grand of a ceremony can they organize? Even if I’m a member of the Zhishan Club, that can’t hide the fact that I was born to such a lowly family.
By then, there would be a stark contrast between me and Wen Xinya!
Hence, she decided to let the Wen Family intervene and help organize her coming-of-age ceremony. She was certain that she would be the star that shone the brightest on the day of her coming-of-age ceremony, especially since she was a member of the Zhishan Club. She was sure that she would be the center of attention and the subject of envy of everyone else.
Even if I’m the lowly, illicit daughter of the Xia Family,
I’m still the noble and prestigious adoptive daughter of the Wen Family!
No one is going to despise me, they’re only going to be envious of me.
Ning Shuqian asked, “How is the Xia Family planning to arrange your coming-of-age ceremony? After all, you share the same birthday as Wen Xinya and any blunders or mistakes would be grave. At the end of the day, you’re a member of the Zhishan Club and every move of yours is subjected to the scrutiny of the public.”
As the heiress of the Wen Family and the successor of the Wen Corporation, she would definitely invite all of the elite members of the upper-class society.
Although Xia Ruya was only the illegitimate daughter of the Xia Family and was inferior to Wen Xinya in terms of status, she was still a member of the Zhishan Club and the adoptive daughter that the Wen Family valued greatly. Lots of socialites and prestigious members of the upper-class society would definitely turn up at her coming-of-age ceremony.
Not only were the two coming-of-age ceremonies held on the same day, but the same guests were also invited as well. Everyone in the circle was well aware of the feud between Wen Xinya and Xia Ruya. Hence, the two ceremonies seemed like a battle of who was stronger. The weaker one would suffer a taint in reputation.
However, Wen Xinya was in a more advantageous situation than Xia Ruya. After all… Wen Xinya had a highly reputable maternal grandfather which gave her more clout than being a member of Zhishan Club would.
Having realized how serious the problem was, Old Mrs. Wen said, “Your Aunt Ning is right. We can’t be casual about this.”
Wen Xinya had always been scheming and Xia Ruya would definitely lose out.
Xia Ruya looked up and said smilingly, “Grandma, Aunt Ning, you don’t have to worry. I’ve postponed my coming-of-age ceremony to three days after Xinya’s. So, it won’t be held on the same day as Xinya’s.”
Not only was Wen Xinya the successor of the Wen Corporation, she even had an esteemed and prestigious maternal grandfather. Xia Ruya was well aware that Wen Xinya ranked higher than her in Zhishan Club and she was far inferior to Wen Xinya in every aspect. Holding her coming-of-age ceremony on the same day would only be an embarrassment to herself. Hence, it was a right choice to lay low.
Needless to say, she wanted to hold it in a day advance, but the Xia Family objected to it because they did not wish to offend the Wen Family and Wen Xinya. She also had thought about the rest carefully… It would be more appropriate to postpone it. After all… it was common to hold birthday parties a few days after the actually birthday. Holding a party in advance was deemed to be inauspicious.
Most importantly, she wanted to see how grand Wen Xinya’s coming-of-age ceremony was so that she could work on the decor of her own. She wanted to surpass Wen Xinya and make Wen Xinya feel embarrassed.
Ning Shuqian patted her hand and said, “What an obedient child. It’s going to be hard on you.”
Noticing the forced smile on Xia Ruya’s pale face, Ning Shuqian’s heart wrenched in pain. It was just a birthday party and yet, Xia Ruya had to avoid Wen Xinya. She could not help but be filled with resentment at the thought of the words that Wen Xinya had said to her that day. Even Ning Shuqian had to avoid Wen Xinya…
Wen Xinya had already driven Xia Ruya and Ning Shuqian into the corner within just three years of reuniting with the Wen Family.
Xia Ruya smiled beautifully and said, “Aunt Ning, I can celebrate my birthday any day. I don’t feel aggrieved at all.”
Xia Ruya’s words made Old Mrs. Wen take much more pity on her. Wen Xinya’s coming-of-age ceremony concerned the reputation of the Wen Family. Hence, she was in no place to intervene. She could not help but feel guilty about it and thus instructed Mother Wang to get some items from the room.
