Chapter 123 Party On Fire (3)

Guests were still pouring from the huge double doors of the hall. They were all elegantly dressed. Unfortunately, the birthday girl decided to wear a shorter and thinner dress; the kind of dress one would usually wear on their way to a club. Ran Xueyi thought as she lifted the glass in her hand to her lips. She let the liquid wet her lips, the flavor exploding, but not overwhelming her sense of taste.

Looking around, there were some prominent figures from the city, even the Mayor of the city attended the party. Not to mention, the number of celebrities and idols, directors and producers who all came to relax and have fun. Ran Xueyi recognized most of their faces as she had met and worked with them.

Some of them seemed to have taken notice of her. They originally didn't recognize her face, but they were still captivated by her innate and stunning beauty that took over everyone's attention. Hence, they all couldn't help but take a few more glances in her way.

Ran Xueyi saw two of those people who recognized her slowly walking towards her table. Chang Xin also perceived their intention to go to their table and showed an irritated look on his face.

But it didn't stop these two from approaching.

With big smiles on their faces, the two greeted her but only one spoke.

"It's been a while, Ran Xueyi."

The one who spoke first was a producer whom she had worked with in a movie in the past. His name is Tao <anno data-annotation-id="1a8de89d-84cb-9971-85dd-c2282bd2d2ae">Bojing</anno>, a second-tier producer who produced several A-class movies in several cinemas in the country. Most of his movies were highly regarded because of the beautiful pictures it showed and meaningful acting. Not only that, his most prized work was an SS-class movie that Ran Xueyi starred in before.

Ran Xueyi wasn't unfamiliar with this man and she also smiled. "Jing <anno data-annotation-id="def2dbfe-3702-d5bb-20ab-79856b57d6d8">ge</anno>, it did take a while for us to meet again. But I see that you're smiling more than ever!"

Tao Bojing smiled even more genuinely seeing that she was still acting familiar with him despite the years that made Ran Xueyi lost all her contacts to the entertainment circle.

"Well, of course. This guy over here got himself a wife and a baby girl. I'm sure no one will be happier than a man who got married to his first love," commented the other who came with him. It was Deng Zhenzhen, who was also an actress.

"That's right. I think my body is filled with joy after having my own family."

Tao Bojing flashed a smug smile, as if he was so proud of his accomplishment. If one didn't know, they would even assume that he was even happier than when he received the certification of his movie turning from a B-class to an SS-class movie.

Ran Xueyi wasn't that familiar with Deng Zhenzhen. But since the latter came with Tao Bojing and wanted to keep an amicable relationship with her... Naturally, Ran Xueyi wouldn't reject it.

"It's good to know that you're finally married. I thought you're still chasing after your first love." Ran Xueyi laughed and the other two followed suit. The three of them laughed, knowing that what Ran Xueyi said was shy away from being true since Tao Bojing really spent years chasing after his love.

Nove l B(in).C OM

After speaking and laughing, the two finally left with bright smiles on their faces. The people who were silently observing them while standing at their table were somewhat surprised. Since the Tao Bojing and Deng Zhenzhen entered through that door, they never took initiative to approach anybody. They only kept their small group of two and only politely greeted other people when they were being greeted.

Ran Xueyi indifferently took a sip from her glass once again. Feeling a bit uncomfortable after drinking a whole glass, she excused herself from the twin and slipped through the backdoor that would lead her to the staircase that the family used to go back to their private rooms.

Soon after she closed the door behind her, the loud music, the voices of the people inside the halls, and the noises of glasses and silverwares clinking were drowned and came to a cease. Only the muffled noise was heard, but Ran Xueyi thought that it was enough.

It was too noisy outside and also a bit too suffocating because of the mixing of perfumes and musk.

Taking a deep breath, Ran Xueyi leaned her back against the wall and sighed. She wondered what was going on with her? She was doing okay earlier, but as time ticked by, she seemed to find everything frustrating.

After calming down and keeping herself away from the noisy crowd, Ran Xueyi finally started to walk up the stairs. As she reached the end of the stairs and finally stood in the corridor she was overly familiar with, she continued walking. However, she paused when she heard someone arguing in one of the rooms.

Ran Xueyi glanced at the room where the faint sound of arguing came from. It was from the master's bedroom, her parents' bedroom.

Her feet moved towards the room and she only stopped when she was right in front of the door. Thankfully, the door was slightly opened and using that gap in the door, she saw her father's back facing towards her and he seemed to be angry about something.

"...stand it anymore! Why is that old man trying to stop me from doing what I want? Besides, what is his should be mine!" Ran Mo Zheng exclaimed. His face was red with anger and the veins on his temples appeared.

Ran Xueyi then heard the soft, nasal voice that was oh-so familiar to her.

"Calm done, honey. There's no need for you to panic now. Besides, father will soon realize that you're a better candidate to become the next chairman of Ran Group. You've been in this business and you know how to handle the company more than anyone... And I'm sure all the shareholders and executives think so too." Lu Jing coaxed her husband to calm down. She grabbed a glass of water that was on the table and gave it to him.

His wife was right. There was no need to panic right now. Ran Mo Zheng's mind finally started to get clearer after he drank the water.

After seeing him calm down, Lu Jin pulled his hand and squeezed as she said, "But we can't relax either. For as long as Xueyi isn't in our control, we won't know what will happen. She has contributions to the company and some of the company products's success were all made possible by her. There will surely be some people who will oppose you."

"Then, I will need to gather all, if not, most of the shareholders and executives. I just need to get their votes when the time comes. Anyway, that brat daughter of yours can't enter the company building anymore after I ordered the security to block her from entering the office building."

When Ran Mo Zheng said all these, he was extremely calm. It didn't even look like he was trying to keep his own daughter away from the company that she had some shares in and greatly contributed to their success due to her popularity in the entertainment industry and the country.

Lu Jing looked a little bit insulted as she replied, "That's also your daughter. Don't just lump her with me! If only she was obedient and listened to every word I say and acted like a fool, we wouldn't be this ruthless to her. But father just has to plan and make her into his successor. Even Ran Yue didn't have this privilege! Shouldn't he consider what Yueyue will feel when she sees her older sister become the next chairman?"

Ran Mo Zheng nodded, agreeing with her. The truth was, if only grandpa Ran didn't choose Ran Xueyi as his sole successor and planned to give her everything he owned, Ran Mo Zheng might have already treated Ran Xueyi favorably. And their plan to subdue and control Ran Xueyi failed miserably due to the fact that she found out about their schemes.

Thus, they couldn't use a pawn that wanted to be a Queen. They could only harden their hearts for this daughter that they shared blood with, and let her know that it wasn't proper for a child to take away her parents' belongings without permission.

After talking for a bit longer, the two finally veered off the topic and Ran Mo Zheng said, "Let's stop talking about this. Today is <anno data-annotation-id="4d816404-df9d-6a28-9ffe-484153b079ec">Yue'er's</anno> birthday. Things like this should be discussed after her birthday."

Lu Jing also thought of that and agreed with him.

"That's right." Lu Jing slowly said before frowning. "But I haven't seen Yue'er since earlier. Where do you think did she go?"

Ran Mo Zheng shook his head. "She's probably with her friends. Let's go back to the party and look for her."

Lu Jing interlocked arms with her husband and headed for the door. However, she noticed something wrong with the door and suddenly shouted, "Who's there!"

<annotations style="display: none;"><ol class="tinymce-annotation-container"><li data-annotation-id="1a8de89d-84cb-9971-85dd-c2282bd2d2ae">A/T: Gentle waves</li><li data-annotation-id="4d816404-df9d-6a28-9ffe-484153b079ec">A/T: Yue'er = the 'er' is an endearment term in Chinese. It's the same type of endearment like 'Xiao' (little) Ex: Xiao Xueyi, Yi'er.</li><li data-annotation-id="def2dbfe-3702-d5bb-20ab-79856b57d6d8">A/T: Ge = Brother in English translation. It's the same with 'Oppa' in Korean. </li></ol></annotations>",