The Real Heiress Has an Appraisal System

He had been putting off the acquisition of the Lu Family precisely because he still hadn’t figured out how to tell Shengsheng the truth about his identity.

At first, he truly felt there was no need to come clean, but as time went on, it became harder to bring up, and his fears grew.

But they had to meet eventually.

After his impulsive confession that day, he suddenly didn’t know how to face her anymore. He was afraid... afraid that Shengsheng would reject him, so he’d simply stopped contacting her.

It was as if he could fool himself that way.

Now, he wanted to arrange a time to meet with Gu Shengsheng, to at least gauge her feelings and then find the right moment to come clean.

With that thought, he said as much, but a long silence followed on Gu Shengsheng’s end.

"Shengsheng?"

"I’m here," Gu Shengsheng said. "Let’s do tomorrow afternoon, then. I’m not busy anyway."

"Okay." Hearing her voice, he felt the gloom and anxiety of the past few days dissipate.

He remembered his grandmother saying that Shengsheng liked salted egg yolk pastries. He decided he would spend the evening figuring out how to make them and bring them to her the next day.

While he was at home, wearing an apron and studying a recipe, Jin Ran knocked and let himself in.

He saw Lu Shijing beating eggs and froze on the spot, utterly petrified.

"Lu Shijing, what are you doing? Did you switch careers to become a househusband? You know, you even have a bit of a stay-at-home dad vibe going on," Jin Ran said, his face a mask of disgust.

Lu Shijing thought about his future married life with Shengsheng and found that he actually didn’t mind the idea.

"Shengsheng isn’t a very good cook," he said. "I can definitely be in charge of this in the future. It’s not hard."

Jin Ran rolled his eyes at him. "Pfft. You have the nerve to think that far ahead? The moment your identity is exposed, you’re guaranteed a divorce."

"Your grandmother and mother are both perfectly happy to let Shengsheng find someone new. When the time comes and she wants a divorce, no one will stop her but you."

"..." The words were harsh, but they were the truth.

Lu Shijing let out a breath. "I haven’t figured out what to do either."

"Then why did you go and take down the Lu Group today? I thought you’d at least drag it out for a few more months to give your relationship time to develop. You’ll definitely have to attend the press conference. After all those years you were stranded abroad, this was the day you were waiting for from the very beginning."

Jin Ran sighed with emotion as he said this.

Lu Shijing’s journey had been anything but easy. He had fallen into the sea, been rescued by a large ship, and was left with nothing. Then he discovered the betrayal of his so-called "family," forcing him to start over from scratch.

Abroad, he’d worked as a waiter, washed dishes—he’d done it all. In the beginning, he had nowhere to live and even slept alongside homeless people.

By the time Jin Ran found him, he had already achieved some success with his own business.

Jin Ran only learned about these things later. So... he knew better than anyone what that bunch of garbage from the Lu Family meant to Lu Shijing.

For a person like Lu Shijing to get to where he was today, it would have been absolutely impossible if he hadn’t been sustained by hatred.

Lu Shijing was still mulling over his relationship with Shengsheng. Looking at Jin Ran, he figured that with so many ex-girlfriends, he ought to be able to offer some constructive advice.

He asked, "You have an idea?"

"Of course!" Jin Ran’s chin shot up, his already arrogant posture on full display. His charming eyes gleamed with self-satisfaction.

"Lu Shijing, I’m really here to save you."

This time, Lu Shijing didn’t look at him with disdain. Instead, he sat there, looking ready to learn.

"Go on," he said.

Jin Ran put on an air. "Alright, look. You haven’t been around many women. You’re also very old-fashioned. A guy like you, if you were just standing there, I’d think you had a problem with me."

"..." Lu Shijing shot him a look, his eyes full of threat.

"But your Shengsheng is... hard to describe. She’s pretty wild, unpredictable, and awesome for it. When you’re dealing with her, sincerity is the most important thing. Of course, I think you could also pull off a grand romantic gesture."

Lu Shijing said, "Explain in detail." ’This is starting to make sense,’ he thought.

"Don’t bother preparing anything in advance. Aren’t you revealing your identity in three days? When the time comes, the first thing you do is announce your wife’s identity. Apologize to her on camera, prepare a shopping mall’s worth of roses, and then invite her to the press conference. If she wants to divorce you then and there, you propose!"

Jin Ran spoke with overflowing confidence. "My method will definitely work. It’s a killer move on any girl."

Lu Shijing nodded and said, "In that case, I’ll bring the ring I prepared as well."

"Yes, yes, good," Jin Ran volunteered enthusiastically. "With me planning for you, it’s foolproof."

"Mm."

Lu Shijing had more or less agreed.

Just then, Lin Kai walked into the room to deliver some documents. Seeing his boss making pastries, he was instantly thrilled. ’The boss must be making these for the Young Madam.’

He lived for this ship.

Then, seeing Jin Ran’s animated, smug expression, Lin Kai had a bad feeling. This was his boss’s good-for-nothing friend, after all.

But since Jin Ran wasn’t talking and his boss wasn’t either, he didn’t press the issue. ’It’s fine,’ he thought. ’The boss should have everything under control.’

Then Lu Shijing asked, "Has Shengsheng left the old residence yet?"

"She has. Miss Gu should be live-streaming by now. Zhao Dehai went to see her before I came over. He said something about having her do a joint live stream with some couple from abroad."

"It’s all very secretive; I feel like something isn’t right. Oh, right! Miss Gu left in a Lamborghini driven by a very handsome delivery boy."

This was the main point Lin Kai had been waiting to make, and he was getting anxious. What if the Young Madam fell for someone else? What would his boss do?

Jin Ran was also surprised. "Is that kid better-looking than your boss?"

Lin Kai paused. "Hard to say. They each have their own appeal. But he’s probably younger than the boss."

"A lot of girls these days like younger guys."

Lu Shijing clenched his fists, his composure shattering. He pressed his lips together, his voice icy. "Find out everything."

Lin Kai said, "Yes, he’s the young master of the Zhao family. His life is so comfortable he has nothing better to do than work as a delivery driver. He crossed paths with Miss Gu, helped her several times, and has even gone appraising antiques with her."

Holding the bottle of vinegar, Lu Shijing kept pouring it into the bowl of eggs.

’I haven’t even been to the market with her, or gone with her to appraise antiques...’

Seeing the look on Lu Shijing’s face, Jin Ran quickly stopped Lin Kai from talking. He coughed twice and said, "The live stream is starting! We’ll talk later, we’ll talk later!"

As he spoke, the three of them pulled out their phones at the same time to watch Gu Shengsheng’s live stream.

---

On Gu Shengsheng’s end, while she was arranging a time with Mr. Ryan, she got a message from Zhao Dehai.

He said he needed to talk to her about something urgent.

Shengsheng called him right back, and Zhao Dehai explained, "There’s a famous pair of overseas Chinese antique appraisal experts, a husband and wife team. They have a very high standing and have been in touch with me for a while. They specifically requested to do a live stream with you."

Gu Shengsheng also felt that something was off. She immediately asked, "Why?"

Zhao Dehai sounded helpless on his end. "You’re the most popular streamer in the country. It’s perfectly understandable that they’d seek you out."