On a luxurious cruise ship by the river, a charity auction banquet was being held. Organized by the Shang Group, the event attracted prominent figures from major corporations in Jiangcheng.
At the end of each year, the Shang Group hosted such a charity auction. Attendees would donate their treasured items for auction, with all proceeds going to charitable causes.
Under the Shang Group’s leadership, many businesses participated in the auction to varying extents, without any mandatory contributions. Shang Jie neither morally coerced anyone nor based business dealings on donation amounts—giving more wouldn’t secure deals, and giving less wouldn’t result in exclusion.
Most businesspeople at the banquet were happy to contribute generously. Charity events like this not only didn’t harm corporate interests but also garnered significant media attention, enhancing the company’s social image—an easy win.
This year’s banquet took place on a cruise ship. A crescent moon reflected on the rippling river, while elegantly dressed guests mingled, raising glasses in celebration.
Reporters pointed their cameras at the host on stage, who unveiled the auction items one by one.
Auctioned items ranged from antique vases to diamond jewelry and collectible calligraphy and paintings.
However, when the final and most anticipated item of the night was revealed, even Shang Jie himself was surprised—it was the “Devil’s Eye” necklace he had gifted to Jiang Xingxing!
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Tl vwadle vs zssj yv vbl osxyd clpkel bkx. Fbl oyp olyakdt y qsax-qkvvkdt lhldkdt tsod, bla pzldela oykpv ynnldvwyvle, bla qyka yde pxssvb pjkd lmrsple cu vbl ellr A-cynj nwv, yde bla elzknyvl cwvvlaqzu-pbyrle pbswzela czyelp pllxkdtzu rskple vs vyjl qzktbv.
Fbl vwadle bla blye pzktbvzu yde tyhl bkx y psqv, plaldl pxkzl.
“Mbkp oyp y tkqv qasx xl vs usw,” Fbydt Kkl xwaxwale kdvs bla lya. “Zsw nyd’v plzz kv.”
“Ohlauvbkdt R sod oyp tkhld vs xl cu usw. Yu rlapsdyz clzsdtkdtp yal fwpv vakhkyz vakdjlvp, yde pkxrzu esdyvkdt xsdlu qllzp kdyrrasrakyvl. Mbkp dlnjzynl kp vbl sdzu vbkdt vbyv pllxp hyzwyczl ldswtb.” Kkydt Dkdtmkdt tldvzu nzwvnble bkp yax yde pyke psqvzu, “Nlv xl xyjl xu sod zkvvzl nsdvakcwvksd.”
Fbydt Kkl zsolale bkp tygl yde zssjle yv bla. “Zsw’al wpkdt xu vbkdtp vs qwzqkzz uswa sod pldpl sq nbyakvu. Zsw’al lhld clvvla yv nyznwzyvksdp vbyd R yx.”
“Jwv usw tyhl kv vs xl, eked’v usw?” Kkydt Dkdtmkdt tkttzle. “Xdnl usw tkhl kv vs xl, kv’p xkdl. Tso R bydezl kv kp xu cwpkdlpp.”
“Ls sdl byp lhla eyale vs tkhl yoyu psxlvbkdt R tkqvle vblx clqsal. Zsw’al iwkvl csze.” Fbydt Kkl rzyuqwzzu rkdnble bla dspl kd xsnj rwdkpbxldv.
Gv vbyv xsxldv, y alrsavla nyrvwale vbl pnldl—y rbsvs sq Fbydt Kkl tygkdt yv Kkydt Dkdtmkdt okvb wdeldkyczl yqqlnvksd.
Compared to other business moguls who attended public events with their wives, maintaining an air of polite detachment, it was clear that many of those couples were merely putting on a show. In high society, loveless marriages were not uncommon. But Shang Jie and Jiang Xingxing’s interactions always seemed to overflow with genuine warmth, catching those around them off guard.
The love in her eyes when she looked at him, and the indulgent tenderness in his gaze—those emotions couldn’t be faked.
To everyone’s surprise, the “Devil’s Eye” necklace was ultimately won by Shen Chuyan.
Shen Chuyan attended the charity banquet on behalf of his father, Shen Sushan. With full sincerity, he placed a winning bid of 30 million, ensuring that the money, under Jiang Xingxing’s name, would be donated to support underprivileged children in mountainous areas.
At the banquet’s conclusion, Shang Jie took the stage to announce the establishment of a charity foundation dedicated to helping orphans—supporting both children separated from their families and parents who had lost their children.
Very few were willing to set up such a foundation, as it involved many complex and sensitive issues—abandoned baby girls, children who had been lost and later adopted by new families…
Compared to straightforward charity donations, founding this type of organization was far more challenging and thankless. However, Shang Jie went ahead with it anyway. Under proper legal guidance, his goal was to provide the best possible support to orphans and grieving families. This was his original intent and a gift for Jiang Xingxing.
Through the crowd, Shang Jie’s gaze locked onto Jiang Xingxing’s. He could see the flickering emotion in her clear eyes.
Finally, the corners of her lips lifted in a faint smile.
As thunderous applause filled the room, Shang Jie stepped down from the stage and returned to Jiang Xingxing’s side. She stood on her tiptoes, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, “Can I kiss you?”
Shang Jie glanced around and frowned. “There are a lot of people here. And reporters.”
“Alright, then.”
Before she could finish speaking, Shang Jie tilted her chin up with his long fingers. “Anytime—you can kiss me anytime.”
With that, he took the initiative and kissed her.
Jiang Xingxing was caught off guard, her entire body stiffening. But Shang Jie closed his eyes and gently pressed against her soft lips.
Gasps of surprise rippled through the crowd. No one had expected the usually composed and reserved Shang Jie to kiss his wife in public.
Jiang Xingxing’s face turned bright red as she shyly pushed him away.
Shang Jie’s lips bore traces of her lipstick, the lighting making them look almost sinfully seductive, which in turn made his fair complexion appear even more striking.
The reporters eagerly snapped their cameras, capturing the moment. In the end, it seemed that the biggest highlight of the charity banquet wasn’t the auction itself but the public display of affection between the Shang Group’s CEO and his wife.
During the latter half of the banquet, Shang Jie engaged in conversations with other business leaders, never letting go of Jiang Xingxing’s hand—as if leading his daughter around.
But Jiang Xingxing had little interest in discussions about the stock market. She was more inclined to grab a snack at the buffet table. She had hardly eaten all night.
After promising not to wander far, she made her way to the first-floor dining area, picked up a small cake, and stepped onto the deck. Leaning against the railing, she enjoyed the sea breeze as she ate.
Just then, a pungent mix of alcohol and cigarette smoke hit her nostrils.
A man stood before her in a gray suit. His shirt was tightly tucked into his trousers, revealing a slight beer belly. He appeared to be in his early thirties, tall and burly, his sharp features carrying a menacing air.
Jiang Xingxing politely nodded and was about to leave when the man suddenly blocked her path.
“Trying to trick me, huh?”
Jiang Xingxing frowned. “Excuse me?”
“Shang Jie, you dare mess with me? I’ll kill your woman!”
With that, the man grabbed Jiang Xingxing by the throat and shoved her against the railing, her upper body nearly tipping over the edge.
Below them, the raging river churned. Even a strong swimmer would be swept away in an instant.
As the man’s grip tightened, his greasy face twisted with rage, bloodshot eyes glaring wildly.
Screams erupted from nearby women.
At that moment, Lin Chuan arrived, grabbing the man’s shoulder and hurling him back before landing a punch on his face, knocking him down within seconds.
Shang Jie strode through the crowd and immediately shielded Jiang Xingxing, cupping her face in concern. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
Shang Jie turned, his dark eyes gleaming with an icy menace, as if ready to rip the man apart.
There was no need for Shang Jie to get involved personally—Lin Chuan had already given a good beating to the man known as “President Lu.”
Those who attend this charity gala are certainly not just ordinary folks.
“He’s named Lu Wusheng, the chairman of the Lu Group,” Shang Jie explained quietly to Jiang Xingxing.
Jiang Xingxing looked at Lu Wusheng in astonishment. The man awkwardly stood up, with traces of blood still at the corner of his mouth, glaring fiercely at Lin Chuan.
“He’s… Lin Chuan’s…”
Shang Jie hushed her with a shushing gesture.
This Lu Wusheng was one of the two elder brothers who had bullied Lin Chuan back in the day.
The Lu family had three sons: the eldest, Lu Wuchuan; the second, Lu Wusheng; and the youngest, Lu Wuqie. And of course, if you count Lin Chuan as the illegitimate son… that made four in total.
“You little prick, who the hell do you think you are to dare lay a hand on me?” Lu Wusheng slurred as he waved a shaking finger at Lin Chuan. “You’re nothing but a damn lapdog at Shang Jie’s side!”
Lin Chuan’s eyes twitched at those words.
Years ago, these very same men had humiliated him, fed him dog food. But now, Lin Chuan’s fists delivered payback.
The first punch was for the boss lady. He then punched Lu Wusheng again and again, exacting long-overdue revenge for himself.
The other Lu Group’s directors rushed over and saw Lin Chuan beating their CEO. They quickly stopped him and said, “Stop it! Where are the security guards? Come quickly!”
Lin Chuan ignored them. With a flame burning in his body, he remembered all the humiliation he suffered in his childhood, and his fists became much heavier.
The directors pleaded with Shang Jie anxiously: “Mr. Shang, that’s enough! Someone will die if the beating continues!”
“Die?” Shang Jie’s voice was ice-cold. “He hurt my wife. Even a hundred deaths wouldn’t be enough.”
“President Lu is drunk! It wasn’t intentional.”
“Drunk?” Shang Jie raised his eyebrows and looked at Lin Chuan. “Lin Chuan, did you do that on purpose?”
“No,” Lin Chuan replied, and then he landed several more solid punches on Lu Wusheng.
It wasn’t until Jiang Xingxing reached out and tugged at his sleeve that Shang Jie murmured coolly, “Enough.”
Lin Chuan released Lu Wusheng and stepped over to stand beside Shang Jie.
The board members hurriedly helped the inebriated Lu Wusheng to his feet and began checking his injuries.
Lin Chuan had trained in martial arts before, so his punches were skillful—he specifically targeted the painful spots without causing lasting damage.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Lu Wusheng glared bitterly at Shang Jie, “You fcking raised a vicious dog!”
Shang Jie replied calmly, “President Lu, laying a hand on a woman is utterly uncivilized, and now you’re spouting arrogant insults. You’ve lost all decorum. I do not welcome you here—please leave.”
“Shang Jie, you colluded with that good-for-nothing Lu Wuchuan to snatch away half of the Lu Group’s assets from me. So what if I hit your woman? I’m gonna beat you up too!”
Fueled by his drunkenness, he charged at Shang Jie again, only to be restrained by the surrounding board members. “President Lu, please, don’t be impulsive—you can’t beat her.”
Shang Jie’s eyes flickered slightly as he said flatly, “My Shang Group acquired the assets of the Lu Group with real money—legally and legitimately. Where does this ‘snatching’ come from?”
The Lu Group has now splintered into pieces. The two brothers, Lu Wuchuan and Lu Wusheng, have divided the family fortune. Shang Jie openly supports the elder brother, Lu Wuchuan, and helped him defeat Lu Wusheng—simply because Lu Wuchuan is indeed a mediocre man and much easier to control than the hot-headed, impulsive Lu Wusheng.”
In the end, neither brother was capable. That’s why Lu Group had fallen to this state.
Lu Wusheng’s drunken outburst at the gala, nearly harming Shang Jie’s wife, became a widely publicized scandal. The very next day, Lu Group’s stock plummeted by several percentage points.
This incident accelerated Shang Jie’s plans to fully absorb Lu Group. Initially, out of respect for their family ties, he had considered leaving Lu Wusheng a small piece of the business.
But now, after daring to lay hands on his woman, Shang Jie decided—he wouldn’t leave him a single blade of grass.
As an innocent victim, Jiang Xingxing—after her husband proudly established a charity foundation in her name—ended up being pinned down on the deck and nearly thrown overboard to feed the fish, all within half an hour.
Her pitiful state was photographed and posted online. While her fans expressed concern for her, they couldn’t resist making a few jokes at her expense.
The victim decided to lie low at home for a few days to recover from the shock and to temporarily refuse any invitations to Shang Jie’s dance parties, cocktail parties, or annual banquets…
In the past, Shang Jie always enjoyed taking her to public events. Now she had plenty of reasons to flatly refuse.
Shang Jie felt guilty toward Jiang Xingxing—after all, this whole affair was his fault.
During this period at home, Shang Jie’s status had plummeted, a fact even the servants had noticed. So whenever the two of them disagreed, no matter how red-faced Mr. Shang became, everyone would simply listen to the lady of the house.
Shang Jie felt that, at home, he had completely lost his status and dignity as the head of the family—even the family’s clueless, constantly grinning golden retriever seemed to have a higher status than him.
Shang Jie thought to himself: This situation needs to be changed.
That evening, he carried Jiang Xingxing to his desk and carefully placed her there.
He himself leaned back in his chair, as if presiding over a grand conference, and said in a serious tone, “I no longer feel any dignity or love in this household.”
Jiang Xingxing’s gaze lifted from her script as she looked at him and blinked, “Huh?”
He stared at her solemnly, “As the head of this family, I feel it’s necessary to set things in order.”
Curiously, Jiang Xingxing asked, “How do you plan to set things in order?”
“First, no talking while eating and no speaking in bed—when you eat, you’re not allowed to play with your phone, and you’re not allowed to carry your bowl into the living room to watch TV. If you can manage that first rule, then I’ll tell you the second.”
Jiang Xingxing replied calmly, “I can’t do that.”
Shang Jie: …
He looked at Jiang Xingxing’s innocent face and, compromising, cleared his throat lightly, “Then let’s move on to the second rule: After dinner, you must come with me for a half-hour walk—no more lounging on the sofa playing video games with Lin Chuan.”
Jiang Xingxing looked at him innocently, “That sounds a bit difficult, too.”
After thinking it over, Shang Jie compromised further, “Forget it, here’s the third rule: Every morning when you leave for work, you should still…”
“Mm?”
Blushing, Shang Jie averted his gaze, “You should, just like before, give me a kiss.”
Jiang Xingxing readily agreed, “That one’s doable.”
“Really?”
“Mm.”
That was enough—since you agreed to that, the rest was just trivial.
“But why do you feel this way?” Jiang Xingxing asked Shang Jie. “Why do you think you no longer feel any dignity or love?”
“Because…”
He didn’t know how to explain; it was, of course, an exaggerated way of putting it.
Handling relationships between people and mediating conflicts among subordinates were the things Shang Jie excelled at as a leader and decision-maker, but those same tactics couldn’t be applied at home. At home, everyone was so close to him that he couldn’t use any manipulative strategies or schemes.
Shang Jie said with difficulty, “You are the highest-ranking person in our family, always outdoing me, always above me.”
Jiang Xingxing replied innocently, “But isn’t it always you who wants me to be on top? I don’t even want to be on top—it’s exhausting.”
Shang Jie: …
This damn thing… doesn’t seem to add up.
“In front of the servants, you should at least leave me some face.”
Jiang Xingxing said, “It’s always unclear who takes the initiative to give me a massage or do my nail polish. It seems they especially love to serve people. The servants, watching all this, know as clear as day who the real ‘father’ of this house is.”
“You seem rather pleased with yourself, huh.” Shang Jie tousled her hair.
Jiang Xingxing lowered her head and smiled softly, then held his hand. “Alright, alright, I’ll try to control myself. At worst, from now on I won’t bicker with you in front of others. Is that okay?”
Shang Jie thought for a moment and felt that this arrangement seemed rather dull. After all, this is his home—shouldn’t the home be lively and bustling?
At the company, every decision he made was to be unconditionally and efficiently carried out. But at home, he was happy to let Jiang Xingxing call the shots.
Because this is the home I gave you.
Once he realized that, Shang Jie felt much more at ease. The entire Wangjiang Villa began to take on the warmth of everyday life; the servants naturally gravitated toward the lady of the house, while on Shang Jie’s side, only Lin Chuan still listened to him, besides the one neutral big dog that just grinned foolishly.
Every stroke of life sketched out the true flavor of home.
Sansukini: The lady of the house holds the real power. ( ◜◒◝ )♡
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