The young man’s age seemed not much different from Zhou Wang’s, maybe even a bit younger. Ma Yuan seemed to recognize him as well, standing up with a polite smile when he saw the young man.
"Ah, it’s Yisen, long time no see. How did you end up here too?"
"You are..."
But the young man looked at Ma Yuan with confusion, as if he couldn’t remember who he was.
"Last year, I was invited to your brother’s birthday party. You might not remember, Yisen..."
Ma Yuan felt a bit awkward.
The young man still looked clueless, and Xia Xiwei rolled her eyes beside him, "Uncle Ma, don’t mind him. With his brain, it’d be a miracle if he remembered you!"
"Sis-in-law, I’m not okay with that. I have a good memory, okay? It’s just that not everyone is worth the effort to remember."
Saying this, the young man lifted his chin slightly, showing a bit of pride.
"I’ve told you so many times not to call me ’sis-in-law.’ Keep it up, and you’ll be wandering around White City on your own!"
Xia Xiwei threatened the young man with exaggerated gestures.
Zhou Wang chuckled at the scene; this fellow seemed a bit off, but the way he addressed Xia Xiwei made Zhou Wang a bit puzzled.
At this moment, Xia Xiwei had already brought the young man to stand in front of Zhou Wang. She gave Zhou Wang a sweet smile before introducing them, "Zhou Wang, let me introduce you. His name is Jiang Yisen, sort of like a younger brother to me."
"Yisen, say hello. He’s a very good friend of mine, Zhou Wang."
Xia Xiwei addressed the young man behind her.
The young man stepped a bit closer, frowned at Zhou Wang, then suddenly pointed at him in realization, "Oh, I know you. You’re that internet celebrity doing marketing on Douyin, right?"
"Yisen, mind your words. Zhou Wang is not an internet celebrity. He’s a genuine billionaire!"
Xia Xiwei instantly became angry and smacked Jiang Yisen.
"What’s the difference?"
Jiang Yisen spoke disdainfully and added, "Besides, if owning some shares makes you a billionaire, then I am too!"
"Can your shell company compare to Wuyou Media?"
Xia Xiwei first retorted, then looked at Zhou Wang with helplessness, "Sorry, Zhou Wang. Sometimes his brain doesn’t work well. Don’t take it to heart..."
"No problem."
Zhou Wang just smiled.
He could see that this young man named Jiang Yisen seemed a bit immature mentally, not even comparable to Shao Xiaoqi. With his current level of patience, he wouldn’t get upset over such trivial matters.
Hearing Xia Xiwei say he had brain issues, Jiang Yisen wanted to retort, but after a warning glance from Xia Xiwei, he sullenly kept quiet.
"You go over there and find a seat on your own. Weren’t you hungry earlier? Go eat something!"
Xia Xiwei urged Jiang Yisen away and then returned, not being polite, she took the seat Ma Yuan had occupied and sat next to Zhou Wang.
"I ran into him during an event in Magic City. He insisted on tagging along to White City. It just so happened my flight was delayed, so we came together..."
Xia Xiwei continued to explain, fearing Jiang Yisen’s appearance might leave Zhou Wang with a bad impression.
Zhou Wang was actually a bit puzzled about what Xia Xiwei’s flight delay had to do with anything, but he didn’t press further, instead jokingly asking, "I heard him call you sis-in-law. Are you married?"
"Pff, I’m single as anyone can get, never even dated!"
Xia Xiwei first groaned, then explained, "We grew up in the same neighborhood. I was once betrothed to his brother when we were kids, but that was just the elders’ wishful thinking. I never agreed to it..."
Zhou Wang, who had some inkling about Xia Xiwei’s background, suddenly understood.
In that social class, arranged marriages were quite normal.
"Given your family’s situation, how did you convince them to let you enter the entertainment industry?"
Zhou Wang curiously asked.
"They didn’t agree, but I insisted. What could they do, tie me up?"
Xia Xiwei giggled, "My current mom can’t control me, and my dad doesn’t have the time, so there you go... It’s also why my engagement with Jiang Yisen’s brother fell through. It was a blessing in disguise."
Current mom...
Zhou Wang didn’t know what to say. He only knew about Xia Xiwei’s "illegitimate daughter" status through intelligence reports, but from Xia Xiwei’s tone, she didn’t seem to shy away from these topics, or perhaps with Zhou Wang, she didn’t see any need to hide anything.
This made Zhou Wang increasingly puzzled about why Xia Xiwei’s attitude towards him was different from others.
One thing he could be sure of, it might have something to do with Ding Yi, though it was strange that Xia Xiwei never mentioned Ding Yi...
Later, Zhou Wang sent messages to Ding Yi, but clearly, Ding Yi didn’t want to talk much about Xia Xiwei, so Zhou Wang let it go.
Xia Xiwei’s unexpected presence made Shen Yutong, who had initially hoped to chat with Zhou Wang during the meal, stay silent. She watched Xia Xiwei monopolizing Zhou Wang’s attention, talking and laughing with him...
In fact, not only Shen Yutong, but everyone at the table also noticed that Xia Xiwei’s demeanor towards Zhou Wang was unusually attentive.
Even though Xia Xiwei’s public persona was a "sweet girl" with occasional moments of coolness, she was a big star and didn’t usually care much about Zhou Wang’s investor status. However, at that moment, Xia Xiwei was even personally serving Zhou Wang food...
This sight made Chen He blink in disbelief, wondering how many secrets Zhou Wang was hiding from him!
Originally, he had some interest in Xia Xiwei, rumored to have a mysterious background. Well, that’s completely out of the question now.
...
The meal ended with the lingering fragrance of food, and it was already past one in the afternoon. Zhou Wang checked his watch, planning to go back to his room for a short nap and then head to the Moon Palace.
At this moment, Xia Xiwei called after him.
"Zhou Wang..."
"Yeah?"
"Are you busy this afternoon?"
Wearing a sleeveless white T-shirt and a short skirt, Xia Xiwei had a distinctive dimple when she smiled, embodying a neighborly girl’s charm. It was hard to believe she was three years older than Zhou Wang.
"Actually, I am a bit."
"Oh, that’s too bad. I was going to ask if you could join me somewhere if you were free..."
Xia Xiwei looked a bit disappointed.
"Is this an invitation for a date?" Zhou Wang teased.
Xia Xiwei blinked, "Half of it, maybe... It’s to visit a mentor, or rather, an artist I learned dance from for a while."
"Teacher Yang Liping?" Zhou Wang was a bit taken aback.
"Mm-hmm, you know she has a house in White City..."
Xia Xiwei wasn’t surprised Zhou Wang could guess.
"Now that’s a coincidence. The thing I was talking about involves that too. We could go together."
Zhou Wang reckoned Xia Xiwei was also there because of the house sale and smiled.
"That’s great!"
Xia Xiwei’s eyes sparkled, "I’ll go back to my room to change first and meet you in the lobby later!"
With that, Xia Xiwei hummed a tune as she walked off, leaving Zhou Wang with a charming and delightful view.
Zhou Wang shook his head and then glanced at Shen Yutong, who had hurriedly left in another direction to prepare for her next scene, hesitated a bit, and decided to head towards Shen Yutong’s room.