Chapter 1531: Not A Simple Banquet (2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After a while, Qi Lei finally retracted his gaze in silence.
“After knowing you for so long, this is the first time I feel that you’re actually different from the usual you that I know, and this surprises me,” Qi Lei said.
“Everything’s fine as long as you don’t feel trampled by the changes you see in me. It takes a long time for a person to truly know another person. Neither am I a saint nor am I the fabulous and perfect Dongfang Liuyun that I was known to be. Just like you, the only person who will truly know you is always yourself. The persona that you exhibit might not be the real you too, so many people are living beneath a mask these days and I’m just one of them, another ordinary human being.”
There was a hint of coldness in Dongfang Liuyun’s tone, and it was not difficult to sense the self-deprecation in her words. “However, no matter what, one must always be held accountable for their own life. That’s why I’ve already gotten used to it now.”
“I heard that you plan to return to the Dongfang Group.” Qi Lei was naturally able to obtain some information regarding this.
Dongfang Liuyun closed her eyes, then opened them after some time. “I’m the only daughter of my father, so it’s only natural that I pick up the responsibility.”
Having heard her explanation, Qi Lei was absorbed deep into his own thoughts while he stole a glimpse at her and did not say another word.
After that, the two stood silently in the breeze in a tacit understanding. They just waited until it was time for Qi Lei to leave late in the night, and Dongfang Liuyun sent him off.
Standing at the doorsteps, Dongfang Liuyun uttered politely, “Thank you.”
“Don’t say those words again if you still take me as a friend. I’m going now, so off you go. Remember to take your medicine, and also maintain a healthier eating habit and diet,” he reminded her while she nodded in silence.
The car quickly drove off into the twilight ahead and disappeared after a while. Dongfang Liuyun stood there for a while more before turning around and going back in…
After resting for several days, Dongfang Liuyun felt better.
In the blink of an eye, it was a weekend again, it was Dongfang Ren’s 60th birthday. Dongfang Rouer and the others planned to celebrate it on a large scale for him, so it would be very boisterous at the Dongfang mansion today.
Dongfang Ren and Dongfang Yi had been staying in the Dongfang mansion. Of course, Dongfang Xue returned there very often too. The mansion was huge, and the siblings of Old Master Dongfang were also living nearby, so the Dongfang mansion was always very lively. As for Dongfang Gan, because Song Siting was unwilling to stay with these complicated people, and the unpleasant incident that had happened to Dongfang Liuyun a while back, he had immediately moved out of the place. However, the people living in the mansion still retained their original residence.
As usual, Dongfang Liuyun woke up early today. She did some simple cleaning in the house and went through some files. After having a light lunch, she packed her gift for the party and went straight out.
Specifically speaking, the Dongfang mansion should be a large manor with many independent and beautiful villas in it. There were also a few traditional ancestral shrines and courtyards in the old manor. The members of the Dongfang family lived together in this place, and they were obviously just like a big family that had existed for hundreds of years ago.
Rumor had it that the relationship between Old Master Dongfang and his ex-wife had never been very good. His ex-wife was a very well-known person in the uppertendom that many people pursued before her marriage. Even so, she was still surrounded by t.i.tbits of scandals with other men even after her marriage with Old Master Dongfang. That was why Old Master Dongfang doubted whether Dongfang Ren and Dongfang Yi were his biological sons, and he could only rest a.s.sured after a DNA verification. However, he still preferred Dongfang Shuman anyway.
Dongfang Gan was Old Master Dongfang’s favorite son to whom the latter handed the company directly over when he pa.s.sed away because he admired his extraordinary capability and means. As a legend in the business community at that time, Dongfang Shuman was definitely a ruthless person. However, she had not been feeling too well in recent years, so she could only pa.s.s the company to Dongfang Gan while she recuperated abroad.
As the only daughter of Dongfang Gan, Dongfang Liuyun was theoretically the first heir to the family business. However, because she was a woman, and based on the family nature of the Dongfang family, many people in the family did not feel very optimistic about her. They did not think that she was capable of taking over such a huge family business.
With that thought in mind, some people in the family were already putting their best foot forward, ready to make a move. The whole situation seemed a lot like a battle for an ancient throne.
Dongfang Liuyun despised such feelings. However, she could not help but fight for it because of her ident.i.ty, to say nothing of the promise that she made to Old Master Dongfang before he breathed his last.
With great power came great responsibility! That was how she felt deep down all this while.
For more than twenty years, Dongfang Liuyun had always been very aware of the various schemes and plots that were attracted by the vortex in the family, and because of that, she had gotten the chance to see all the dimensions of all sorts of people. That was why she could always keep things cool and under control during such times. She had always known very well that attending such occasions was like going into a battlefield. Furthermore, the battlefield that she was about to walk into might have been specially set up just for her.
When the car drove steadily into the compound of the Dongfang mansion, the guards in the front gate were in awe when they discovered that the driver was actually Dongfang Liuyun. As soon as the car stopped, a bodyguard in black came forward to help her with the door.
“Fourth Lady, you’re back!” His tone sounded very respectful.
Dongfang Liuyun got out of her car slowly and handed her car keys to the bodyguard. She subconsciously looked at the small square to the side of the mansion where the plaza was already densely packed with vehicles. Standing at the doorstep, she could already hear the faint sounds of congratulations and rejoice from the courtyard ahead.
“The fourth lady is here!” A shriek of surprise sounded. It was the housekeeper!
“Mr. Xavier,” Dongfang Liuyun greeted him indifferently, “Are my parents here already?”
“Madam Song called earlier, claiming that she has urgent matters to attend to in Singapore. President Gan said that he has a meeting with Yu Heng Corporation’s President Sun at four in the afternoon, and he won’t be back until around five, but I guess he should be here anytime soon,” Mr. Xavier replied.
“You’re finally back. The fifth lady told everybody that you’ve returned here, but we found it hard to believe. If I’m not mistaken, you haven’t been back for many years, have you?”
“What’s the situation inside?” Dongfang Liuyun asked while being greeted by a servant who handed her a wet towel. She then strode into the mansion while taking the towel to wipe her hands and giving it back casually.
“Almost all the guests are already here. Elder Madam also asked someone to bring back a gift for President Ren from abroad. We also heard that an important announcement will be made during this birthday banquet, so we were guessing that it might be about the marriage between the fifth lady and the young master of the Jin family.” The butler monitored Dongfang Liuyun’s expression and lowered his voice while reporting.