CH 17

Chapter 17: “After all, a pheasant can’t become a phoenix just because they wear one.”

The newcomer wore a pure white suit with silver embellishments. He came over with a glass of champagne, showing the gracefulness of an elegant nobleman.

This person was Shi Yunnan’s twin brother, Wen Yibei.

For outsiders, the two brothers were still very easy to distinguish in appearance, and there was also a big difference in temperament——

Wen Yibei was a noble and graceful childe, with charming and gentle eyebrows. He had an artist’s unique elegance all over his body. Meanwhile, Shi Yunnan’s bones hid wildness and ferocity, even when smiling, he gave people an elusive sense of disobedience.

Wen Yibei stood directly in front of Shi Yunnan, looking at the group of young masters and young ladies opposite, his tone was not serious, but he was obviously covering for Shi Yunnan.

“Yunnan can wear whatever he wants to wear. Do we still need you to be the judge?”

“Beside the fact that he is the rightful second young master of the Shi family, there’s still the Wen family and me, behind him. How can you say that he has no one to dote on and no one to love him!”

Young master Wei, who was caught red-handed, looked a little embarrassed at the moment, but he couldn’t retort because of the other party’s identity.

Wen Yibei and Shi Yunnan were twin brothers, but their situation over the years was very different from their current status achievements——

His older brother went back to Wen’s house with his grandfather and changed his surname to Wen.

The Wen family was an aristocratic musical family. Old master Wen was the country’s leading composer, and his three children were also engaged in the musical performance industry.

The mother of the two brothers, Wen Min, was also a famous pianist before marrying into the Shi family.

Wen Yibei was influenced by the family atmosphere and had shown great musical talent since he was a child.

At the age of seventeen, he surpassed his peers and entered the world’s most famous music school. Later on, he graduated with excellent grades and became a cello player.

He had won numerous awards internationally, and even held his own solo concert tour. He could be regarded as a bigshot in the celebrity circle.

“Young master Wei, you don’t plan to apologize?” Wen Yibei frowned and asked again.

Shi Yunnan silently looked at the protective person in front of him, and smiled silently.

His elder brother’s temperament was more like their late mother. In fact, he was a person whose gentleness was engraved in his bones, he couldn’t even say a single swear word when he was angry.

It was only in the defense of his favorite cello and his younger brother that his stubbornness and temper could be seen.

Of course, for Wen Yibei, his younger brother was always the most important.

If anyone dared to provoke Shi Yunnan, he could carry the cello as a weapon, and hit the opponent’s head to vent anger for his brother.

In this situation, it was obviously not suitable to continue discussing and belittling Shi Yunnan in front of this protective and maniac big brother.

Young master Wei awkwardly raised his wine glass, “W-we just talked casually. I didn’t mean anything else, I’m sorry.”

After saying that, he took the lead to walk away.

These wealthy children looked at each other a few times, and then also left the rest area.

Wen Yibei saw that they didn’t make trouble anymore, then secretly heaved a sigh of relief and turned around, “You don’t know how to refute when someone mocks you? Are you so easy to bully?”

“Who’s bullying me? I was just robbed by you before the attack, otherwise, I can definitely make these people cry for their mothers.”

The coldness at the bottom of Shi Yunnan’s eyes dispersed completely, smiling as he asked, “Big shot musician Wen, why did you come to this kind of banquet?”

“Call me big brother, no big1 no small.” Wen Yibei corrected.

“Just because you were born ten minutes earlier than me?” Shi Yunnan replied casually, but he still acknowledged this title in his heart.

“Big brother, long time no see.”

The two brothers smiled at each other and sat back on the couch.

“We had a charity concert to collect donations before. President Zhao, Zhao Chengru, always donates a huge sum out of compassion. He invited me to be the opening guest…”

Wen Yibei, in order to thank him for his compassion, managed to spare two or three days of his free time, so he agreed.

Shi Yunnan came late, and the opening cello performance was already over. Just now Wen Yibei intended to leave through the main entrance, but happened to bump into the scene in the rest area.

Wen Yibei finished explaining, and suddenly frowned, “Don’t just talk about me, I still want to ask you.”

“My plane just landed last night, and this morning I heard from aunt that the Shi family has run into financial difficulties some time ago? Did they reach out to you?”

“Also, when did you return home, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Weren’t you busy with the orchestra tour some time ago? I’m afraid these trivial things will disturb you.”

Shi Yunnan recalled the bad news when he had just returned to the country, and he made a long story short, “The old man intends to ‘sell’ me to the young master of Luo’s second house for marriage. I refused to do it and ran away from home.”

As for the fake marriage with Luo Lingsheng, Shi Yunnan didn’t mention it for the time being.

“…Marriage?” Wen Yibei shook his head absurdly.

Over the years, Shi family’s attitude towards Shi Yunnan had been seen by him, which was really disappointing.

“Xiao Nan, where do you live now? If you don’t plan to go abroad yet, why don’t you follow me back to Wen’s house?”

“Why should I go back to Wen’s house?” Shi Yunnan interrupted him with a casual smile, “I didn’t choose to go back when I was a kid, and now it’s even more impossible to go to Wen’s house.”

When mentioning the past, Wen Yibei’s expression dimmed a little, “You know, grandpa and uncle have always cared about you. They originally wanted to take both of us away that year.”

Back then, Wen Min had a heart attack very suddenly. It was a weekday, her husband and two children were not around. She said she was not feeling well after lunch. When he heard it, old mister Shi reprimanded her for being ‘pretentious’ and blocked all of her words.

Wen Min endured the discomfort and went back to her room to rest. It was already too late when the servant found out that something was wrong.

Later, old mister Wen learned that his youngest daughter’s last phone call before she became ill was to her husband, but she was hung up and didn’t get through.

Afterward, they accidentally learned of old mister Shi’s unconcerned sentence calling her ‘pretentious’.

As a result, the two families fell apart completely without any surprise.

It took a lot of effort for old mister Wen to get custody of a child. As a result, the two families began to fight for the guardianship of the two brothers.

The Shi family wanted the more well-behaved and obedient Wen Yibei. The Wen family did not show any obvious intentions, but simply left the choice to the two brothers.

The young Shi Yunnan rushed to make a choice in front of his brother.

Wen Yibei thought that his younger brother was inseparable from his father, so he also assumed the responsibility of being an older brother, and forced himself to return to the Wen family with reluctance.

…

Wen Yibei saw his younger brother not speaking, “Yunnan?”

“Brother, of course I know that grandpa and uncle treat me well, but don’t you understand it? Auntie is the one in charge of the Wen family right now…”

Shi Yunnan smiled as usual, without any dissatisfaction at all.

Their aunt Song Zhiqiu had developed rapidly in the musical instrument manufacturing industry. In recent years, old mister Wen’s body had been getting weaker, and their uncle was busy with his music work, so the power of the household head had fallen into Song Zhiqiu’s hand.

Song Zhiqiu had a son and a daughter of her own, and a mother always favored her children.

Although she didn’t say anything, she obviously didn’t want the children of her relatives to get a share of the Wen family in the future.

When Shi Yunnan was a teenager, he went back to live in the Wen family for a while behind old mister Shi’s back, but he also clearly felt that his cousins were secretly excluding him.

From then on, he was reluctant to get in touch with the Wen family.

Actually, Wen Yibei had also suffered this kind of secret exclusion no less than Shi Yunnan, but he did not put this kind of thing on the surface, after all, grandpa and uncle treated him really well.

Wen Yibei knew his status and didn’t covet the Wen’s property. He had already planned to move out early. Of course, he also included Shi Yunnan in this plan.

“Yunnan, I bought two suites in Imperial Capital some time ago, one of which is for you, if you…”

“Brother, what do you buy a house for me with your money? Why don’t you discuss it with me first?”

Shi Yunnan interrupted him with tears and laughter, “I’m not without hands and feet, Why do I have to rely on you to support me in this life ah?”

It was said that the elder brother was like a father.

Wen Yibei and him were obviously the same age, but he kept this matter in mind, and considered his younger brother in all aspects.

“You really don’t need to worry, I am now…”

Shi Yunnan paused, the figure of Luo Lingsheng and Little goldfish suddenly appeared in his mind, and the corner of his mouth hooked up unconsciously.

“I have a pretty good time now.”

Even though his relationship with Luo Lingsheng would end in divorce one day, he could take advantage of this sudden agreement to let him briefly feel the warmth of ‘home’.

Really, It was quite good.

Wen Yibei was still planning to say something when a female voice rang out in the middle of the hall in front of him, “Mrs. Lou, by coincidence, I didn’t expect our tastes to be so similar?”

What sounded like a normal conversation actually carried a hint of sharpness and meanness.

The conversation between the two brothers was interrupted, and they both cast their sights in unison—

In the center of the banquet hall, a graceful lady wore a black strapless gown.

Opposite her stood a lean woman dressed in the same manner, looking more elegant from her appearance.

There were guests around whispering, “How dare Mrs. Lou wear the same dress as Mrs. Zhao?”

The lady frowned when she heard the words of others, “The same dress? I ordered this evening dress from a foreign designer two months in advance.”

“Mrs. Lou, where did you get this set from?”

Her words alluded to the fact that the dress of the lady opposite was a ‘counterfeit’ .

“Brother, who is that arrogant lady?” Shi Yunnan asked in a low voice.

“That is Zhao Chengru’s wife, the hostess of this banquet.”

Wen Yibei leaned in and whispered, “Their husband and wife have been married for almost 20 years. The cosmetics company currently managed by Mr. Zhao was taken over from his father-in-law. I heard that the current momentum of development is in the lead among other company in the same industry.”

“Mr. Zhao has always pampered his wife. Over the years, Mrs. Zhao has become a rich lady at home, and only attends these occasions from time to time.”

Compared with the relatively silent Mrs. Lou, Mrs. Zhao was obviously the central figure of the banquet.

Soon, other rich ladies came forward to fan the flames, “Mrs. Zhao, what does it matter if you wear the same dress? After all, when comparing the jewelry being worn, doesn’t it show the difference?”

“People with low status will always be inferior, how can they compare to you?”

“That’s right, Mrs. Zhao, this necklace of yours today is so beautiful, it brightens up your looks a lot…”

The stream of flattery and high-sounding words made Mrs. Zhao puffed up with pride in an instant.

The exaggerated inverted triangle jewelry necklace she wore radiated brilliant luster under the lights of the banquet hall.

It was gorgeous and lavish, looking like it cost a lot of money.

“It looks good, isn’t it? This is the only one in the world, I only received it last week, someone else gave it…”

Shi Yunnan heard these ostentatious and showy words, his gaze moved towards the necklace, and then withdrew, “It’s weird.”

As soon as the voice fell, a flurried sound of high-heel rang out.

Mrs. Lou, one of the parties involved, pulled away from that awkward situation and walked quickly to the rest area, her eyes slightly red, looking angry and at a loss.

Wen Yibei and Shi Yunnan looked at each other. The former maintained a gentlemanly demeanor, “Mrs. Lou, are you okay?”

Mrs. Lou was stunned for two seconds, then shook her head.

She seemed to be talking to herself, but also poured out her bitterness to these two polite and friendly young people——

“This evening dress is a runway collection that my daughter bought for me as a birthday gift when she was traveling abroad. How can it be a counterfeit?”

Mrs. Lou smiled bitterly, “Forget it, I shouldn’t have come to this kind of occasion of stepping on the low and holding the high…”

If the company’s sales hadn’t been stagnant, she wouldn’t have thought of coming here to meet people.

As a result, she was labeled as ‘low status’ in front of Mrs. Zhao, a leader of the same industry, and was completely ridiculed to the point of not being able to hold up her head.

Wen Yibei didn’t understand the conflicts between these rich wives, he comforted her out of politeness, “Mrs. Lou, in fact, this dress suits you well, very elegant and graceful.”

Mrs. Lou thanked him, and stroked the small but elegant jewelry necklace on her neck, still hiding a trace of loss under her eyes.

Shi Yunnan took a sip of champagne and put her expression in his eyes, “Mrs. Lou doesn’t need to care about the comparison word, just wear something that suits you.”

A diamond-embellished evening dress paired with a large piece of jewelry, yet it was difficult to distinguish between primary and secondary.

“Sometimes, expensive jewelry is not necessarily good.”

As soon as his words fell, the familiar mean voice rang out, “What do you mean by that? Is it possible that this jewelry necklace of mine still has flaws?”

The three raised their heads at the same time.

Mrs. Zhao, who was originally surrounded and flattered by the crowd, came to the side of the rest area without anyone knowing.

She should have heard Shi Yunnan’s remarks, and her eyes full of hidden dissatisfaction fell straight down.

“Mrs. Zhao, I’m sorry, I just mentioned it casually, no malice.”

“This evening dress and jewelry necklace also match you very well. You and Mrs. Lou has different temperaments and naturally gives a different feeling when you wear them.”

Shi Yunnan got up and took the initiative to explain and apologize, giving enough respect to the hostess of the banquet.

Mrs. Zhao did not relax her expression when she heard the words. She glanced at Mrs. Lou on the sofa, her heart’s dissatisfaction persistently bubbling up.

Actually, there was still a hidden relationship between the two——

Mrs. Lou used to be Zhao Chengru’s first love. Although the two eventually broke up, this matter became a thorn in Mrs. Zhao’s heart.

Today’s invitation letter was deliberately sent to Mrs. Lou, just to show off in front of the other party. Unexpectedly, her dress clashed with Mrs. Luo, but fortunately, she wasn’t robbed of the limelight.

“Mrs. Lou is really good at getting someone to speak up for you so quickly? It’s a pity that wearing fakes is always a fake and can never make it to the stage.”

This sentence was really offensive.

Mrs. Lou’s complexion that had just stabilized hung down again.

Mrs. Zhao didn’t give her a chance to refute, and then looked at the unfamiliar Shi Yunnan without any kindness, “Which young master are you? Do you know how much it is worth? Don’t pretend to understand.”

“Jewelry and ornaments really depend on people, after all, a pheasant can’t become a phoenix just because they wear one.”

In the name of preaching to Shi Yunnan, she was still expressing her disparagement of Mrs. Lou.

It was a pity that Shi Yunnan never liked to be used as a ‘gun’ by others, not to mention that he was really innocent today.

Shi Yunnan stared at the jewelry in front of Mrs. Zhao with a subtle hint flooded the bottom of his eyes.

He bent over to pick up the champagne on the table, and asked in a roundabout way with deep meaning, “Oh? How does Mrs. Zhao know I don’t understand?”