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Shi Yaoguang faced a barrage of intense stares and calmly spoke, "Hello everyone, let me introduce myself, my name is Shi Yaoguang."
"You can call me Miss Shi, or Mrs. Quan."
As soon as her voice fell, the crowd erupted into commotion.
Shi Yaoguang?
Wasn't she the leading lady of today's engagement party?
The Shi Family and the Quan Family were joining together, with the engaged couple being Shi Yaoguang and Quan Sicheng.
The fiancee of the Young Master Quan, how did she suddenly become Mrs. Quan ...
While everyone was still pondering, Shi Yaoguang spoke up again.
"Everyone must have seen Quan Sicheng being taken away by the police just now, right? That's because he admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with my sister, Shi Yiqing."
"I don't need a fiancé who cheats on me with my sister, so our engagement is hereby annulled."
As she said this, she took Quan Jinbei's hand in front of everyone, her smile radiant, "From now on, I will be Mrs. Quan."
"Mrs. Quan, who belongs solely to Quan Jinbei."
With the marriage announcement made, Shi Yaoguang and her husband made a grand exit.
...
The engagement banquet of the Shi and Quan families became a heated topic of conversation.
Quan Sicheng, who was temporarily detained, naturally also received the news.
He immediately had someone call the butler, "Did that woman really marry my dad?"
The butler respectfully replied, "Yes, young master."
"Miss Shi is now Mrs. Quan, which means, you should respectfully call her mother."
Quan Sicheng: "..." What the hell, mother!
Even after confirming with the butler, he still refused to believe it.
After being released from detention, he went straight to Quan Mansion.
As soon as he returned, he heard Quan Jinbei saying to Shi Yaoguang, "I had someone tidy up the third floor; you can stay there when you come over."
Quan Jinbei was someone with a strong sense of territory, and aside from the butler who always followed him, few people were allowed to stay by his side.
Even Quan Sicheng, his stepson, had never been granted the right to live in Quan Mansion.
So, when Quan Sicheng heard Quan Jinbei offer Shi Yaoguang a place to stay, he was stunned on the spot.
Quan Jinbei glanced at him, "What are you standing around for?"
"Dad..."
Quan Sicheng called out.
Shi Yaoguang pointed to herself, "And me."
Quan Sicheng moved his mouth, about to say something, when he heard her say, "Dear son, ever heard of respecting your elders?"
Quan Sicheng's face turned the color of iron, "What the hell makes you old?"
After all, he was a year older than Shi Yaoguang!
Addressing Quan Jinbei, who was only six years his senior, as dad was something he could endure since he had been used to calling him that since he was young.
But calling Shi Yaoguang mother, this... he couldn't accept!
Quan Jinbei glanced at him lightly, and with just one look, a chill ran down his spine.
"I married her; she is now your elder."
Quan Sicheng protested, "But she clearly..."
"Hmm?" Quan Jinbei's eyes narrowed slightly, and displeasure radiated from him.
The butler quietly urged him on, and Quan Sicheng could only reluctantly mutter under his breath.
Shi Yaoguang rolled her eyes, "You're calling so quietly, are you calling for mosquitos?"
Quan Sicheng glared at her and huffily retorted, "Mother!"
"Eh~ good son." Shi Yaoguang replied gleefully and then pulled a small gift box from her pocket and handed it to him, "Here, a greeting gift from mommy; take it."
```
Quan Sicheng didn't want to answer, but Quan Jinbei gazed at him with a deathly stare, so he had no choice but to take the call.
He held the light gift box in his hand, subconsciously guessing what was inside.
Shi Yaoguang said humbly, "It's just a small token, not worth much. Don't hold it against me, kid."
Quan Sicheng no longer wanted to speak.
After confirming that Shi Yaoguang really hooked up with his dad, he couldn't wait to leave.
After he left, Quan Jinbei asked, "What did you give him?"
"A lucky amulet."
"You're so kind?" Quan Jinbei obviously didn't believe it.
Shi Yaoguang smirked slyly, "It really is a lucky amulet, it's just more likely to attract romantic entanglements."
And not the good kind.
Quan Jinbei grasped the implications and felt a second of sympathy for his cheap son.
Quan Sicheng couldn't wait to open the small gift box as soon as he left the door.
Seeing a jade pendant carved with peach blossoms, he muttered about its tackiness but, inexplicably, he put it on anyway.
At the Shi Family.
Shi Yiqing saw him and couldn't wait to ask, "Brother Sicheng, how did it go?"
Quan Sicheng choked up; he was too embarrassed to mention that he had called out "Mother." He just said coldly, "The rumors are true."
Even though she was prepared, Shi Yiqing was still shocked when she heard this.
Shi Yaoguang was just a country bumpkin, what did she have besides her face? Why did she catch Quan Jinbei's eye?
The thought that she had gone to such lengths to be with Quan Sicheng, while Shi Yaoguang easily captured the head of the Quan Family, the disparity was too great for her to accept!
When it rains, it pours, and the incident at the engagement banquet was soon all over the school forum.
Shi Yiqing received one "consoling" call after another, almost driving her insane.
"Qingqing, are you really together with the Fourth Young Master?"
"Shi Yiqing, I heard you stole Shi Yaoguang's fiancé and got together with Quan Sicheng. Is that true? Some people even witnessed you and Quan Sicheng being detained by the police for having an improper relationship—is that true too?"
Those who had entered the circle of the elite knew Quan Jinbei was exceptionally talented and had been a prodigy from a young age. However, he was plagued by a strange illness, sentenced to an early death, and destined not to live past thirty.
As his only adopted son, Quan Sicheng was practically the default heir.
The status of the future heir to the Quan Family made him a hot commodity wherever he went.
Originally, everyone was envious but accepting of Quan Sicheng's engagement to Shi Yaoguang.
After all, Shi Yaoguang was the daughter of the Shi Family, born into a nobler lineage than most, so most could understand being bested by her family background.
But now, with the real heiress replaced by a fake one, how could people not be envious?
Because of this, even Shi Yaoguang was being harassed.
Quan Jinbei glanced at her messages unintentionally, all her thoughts gathered, "Marrying me, do you have no regrets?"
"What do I have to regret?"
He reminded her in an even tone, "Unless something unexpected happens, Quan Sicheng will be the heir to the Quan Family."
Shi Yaoguang supported her chin languidly, "So what if he's the potential heir? With the real blue-chip stock in hand, why should I go out of my way to groom a blind fool for the position?"
"Besides, with me here, you're destined to live a long life. He won't have a chance to rise to power."
Quan Jinbei's lips curved slightly, "You do have a point."
Tsk, a blind fool, huh?
The assessment was quite accurate.
Shi Yaoguang glanced at him with a hint of smugness, "You'll realize how lucky you are to have met me."
Quan Jinbei's fated early death was nothing more than the will of the Heavenly Dao, or perhaps it was just a plot device to give the male lead an advantage.
After the old man Quan and so-called true love had a child out of wedlock, they fostered him under his third son's name, forcibly changing brothers into father and son. All they had to do was wait for Quan Jinbei to die at thirty, and Quan Sicheng would seamlessly take over everything from the Quan Family.
At that time, not only would Quan Sicheng be free from the stigma of being a bastard, but he would also inherit the family fortune, including taking control of Quan Jinbei's maternal inheritance, stepping on Quan Jinbei to become a winner in life.
With her intervention in this lifetime, it wouldn't be so easy for Quan Sicheng to ascend to power!