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In the two days since the couple announced their relationship, they have practically dominated all the trending headlines online. Their song "Love Signals" has been brought up again, with the couple scrutinizing every detail to see if their romance is even starting.
Most netizens offer their blessings to their relationship. After all, neither of them has any scandals, and Ling Shuangjiang never engages in hype, resulting in a high level of public goodwill.
However, there is still a small group of haters who jump around every day, spreading rumors online. There is even one person named "Did Xie Wang and Ling Shuangjiang break up today?" who fantasizes every day that Ling Shuangjiang is not liked by the Xie family, spends her days in tears, and is eventually abandoned.
While others may not be as extreme, this "watching the drama unfold" attitude still exists. After all, in the public eye, very few celebrities actually manage to marry into wealthy families.
[I don't know if you know Ye Wangshu. But she seems very shrewd and doesn't look like someone to be trifled with. I wonder what her attitude is towards her son's boyfriend.]
[Didn't Bai XX also publicly announce her relationship with her boyfriend a while ago? Her boyfriend's family is worlds apart from the Xie family. Even so, his family couldn't accept her.]
[Why did Shuangjiang (the character from the novel "Frost's Descent") enter the entertainment industry? Actually, wealthy families tend to discriminate against celebrities. Basically, after marriage, they are not allowed to act anymore.]
[You're all making these premature predictions. Whether Ling Shuangjiang and Xie Wang will actually marry is still unknown. They might just be caught up in the initial excitement of their relationship on the reality show. Once things cool down, they'll break up.]
[After such a high-profile announcement, who would dare to be with him after they break up?]
[Oh, relax. She's got the skills and looks; hooking up with a fake rich man is a piece of cake for her, isn't it?]
Faced with the comments from haters, Ling Shuangjiang's fans couldn't help but argue with them online almost every day.
Unfortunately, the haters kept targeting Ling Shuangjiang, and the more they paid attention to her, the more excited they became. They even fabricated dirt on her and launched malicious attacks.
Just seven days after the couple made their high-profile announcement, Ling Shuangjiang and Xie Wang attended Xie's father's birthday party and Hengtai's anniversary celebration.
The Xie family is a long-established enterprise in Bintan and has contributed to the development of Bintan over the years.
On its birthday, countless celebrities and dignitaries naturally come to attend.
In an instant, the brightly lit hall was filled with guests, and toasts were exchanged.
Ling Shuangjiang came with Xie Wang.
The two walked hand in hand, attracting the attention of hundreds of eyes from the moment they entered.
Xie Wang's suit was made by Ling Shuangjiang herself, and it was completed the day before yesterday. If Ling Shuangjiang hadn't stopped him, he would have even planned to wear another suit underneath to avoid getting it dirty.
Xiang Ming and Chen Siqi spotted Xie Wang immediately and nodded to him as a greeting.
"Are you hungry? If you are, I'll take you to get something to eat first."
Ling Shuangjiang shook her head: "Let's go say hello to your uncle and aunt first."
Approaching Xie's father, Ling Shuangjiang nodded: "Happy birthday, Uncle."
Father Xie smiled gently: "Thank you, Frost's Descent."
Xie Wang took the gift out of his coat pocket. "I spent a long time picking out this for you for Shuangjiang."
Mr. Xie accepted it, saying, "Thank you for your kindness."
Ye Wangshu's friends were also present; they had already heard about Xie Wangshu's sensational love affair some time ago.
Although they dared not say anything to Ye Wangshu, they looked down on celebrities from the bottom of their hearts.
Xie Wang's aunt, Xie Suixin, was also there, complaining to her friends, "I don't know what's so charming about this Mr. Ling that he's so infatuated with our little Wang."
A friend chimed in, "Celebrities have plenty of tricks up their sleeves. They'll come back to you once Xie Wang gets tired of him."
This time, Xie's father's birthday banquet was not particularly formal; it was also an opportunity to chat with friends.
Ye Wangshu had been staring at Xie Wang's suit for quite some time.
"Xiao Wang, where did you buy your clothes?"
Xie Wang: "Shuangjiang made this for me by hand."
Ye Wangshu looked at Ling Shuangjiang: "Just keep spoiling him."
Ling Shuangjiang smiled and tightened her grip on Xie Wang's hand.
Halfway through the banquet, Xie Wang was called over by Xiang Ming.
Xiang Ming whispered a reminder: "You'd better keep an eye on your aunt. She was spreading rumors over there just now, complaining about the Frost's Descent solar term. My dad heard it and even came over to ask me about it."
Xie Wang scoffed dismissively: "She's not my aunt. We've severed ties."
"So ruthless?" Xiang Ming clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Why sever ties?"
Xie Wang: "That's all there is to it."
Xiang Ming realized that he should never provoke Ling Shuangjiang again.
Otherwise, Xie Wang would really go crazy.
Xiang Ming repeated Xie Suixin's words to Xie Wang, patted him on the shoulder, and left.
Xie Wang casually picked up a glass of wine, his gaze towards Xie Suixin now filled with disgust and indifference.
He tilted his head back and downed the red wine in one gulp.
Ling Shuangjiang was chatting with Ye Wangshu when she saw Xie Wang drink so much, so she went over to him.
"What happened?"
Xie Wang smiled and said, "It's nothing."
Ling Shuangjiang looked at him and said, "I always feel like you're unhappy."
Xie Wang took his hand and gently stroked it with her fingertips: "I'm not unhappy."
Although she knew Xie Wang was deliberately hiding something, Ling Shuangjiang didn't ask any further questions. "Uncle is chatting with his friends. You don't need to stay with me. Go and keep Uncle company. After all, you'll be the one dealing with them in the future."
Xie Wang said lazily, "I don't want to go. My dad's generation doesn't think like me, and I'm too lazy to maintain the relationship."
Xie Wang had the same idea in his early years. So when he first took over his father's position, he was too ambitious and his business was not going well. He suffered a great loss because many of his collaborations with companies were suspended.
When this reached Xie's father's ears, he was furious and gave Xie Wang a severe dressing-down.
Ling Shuangjiang lowered her eyes and reached out to wipe away the tiny wine stains from the corner of Xie Wang's lips. "It's normal to have different ideas. As long as they don't trip you up in business, I'm not worried about anything else."
Xie Wang looked at him seriously: "Okay, it's been a long time since we've seen each other. I'll go say hello to them."
Ling Shuangjiang smiled faintly: "Okay."
Back beside Ye Wangshu, Ye Wangshu's expression softened: "Shuangjiang, I saw Xiaowang go and greet those uncles he dislikes. Did you say something to him just now?"
Ling Shuangjiang handed Ye Wangshu a glass of orange juice: "He didn't say anything. He's probably becoming more mature."
Ye Wangshu smiled meaningfully, seemingly having gained a new understanding of Ling Shuangjiang.
“I know my son best. He’s been very stubborn since he was a child. He will never give a nice look to people he doesn’t like, not even pretending. His father often beats him for these things. But he stands tall and is very arrogant. He directly said that he can develop Hengtai well without relying on those people.”
Ling Shuangjiang frowned slightly: "Uncle, are you really going to beat him up?"
Ye Wangshu: "Yes, that stick is still sitting in the living room at home."
Ling Shuangjiang said thoughtfully, "His personality is very different from Xie Lin's."
"Yes. That's why I still don't understand why our sons, who grew up together, have such different personalities."
With a hint of helplessness in his voice, Ye Wangshu continued, "Your uncle isn't actually that old, but he retired at 46 due to health reasons. Xie Lin's personality is really not suitable for being a chairman, so he's stricter with Xiao Wang."
Ling Shuangjiang said sincerely, "You and Uncle have both worked hard."
Ye Wangshu placed his hand on Ling Shuangjiang's knee and said gently, "So I don't care whether Xiao Wang's future partner is male or female. As long as he truly likes this person and can make him more responsible, have a sense of the big picture, and become more mature and stable, I will be satisfied."
She glanced at Ling Shuangjiang and teased him with a smile, "That's why I'm especially afraid that you won't be able to stand his personality and will secretly run away."
Ling Shuangjiang smiled and said, "I like him very much."
"I can see that," Ye Wangshu said with satisfaction.
At this moment, several people walked onto the stage at the front of the banquet hall and adjusted the microphones.
Ye Wangshu asked curiously, "Old Xie said he doesn't plan to speak today."
Ling Shuangjiang also looked over there and saw Xie Wang and Xie's father standing together: "I guess Uncle and Xie Wang have something to talk about."
Ten minutes later, Xie's father went up on stage, picked up the microphone, and began to speak.
At this moment, all the guests' eyes were focused on that spot, including Ling Shuangjiang and Ye Wangshu.
Xie's father's eyebrows and eyes were very similar to Xie Wang's, but he had a more gentle look and was not as aggressive as Xie Wang.
He first greeted the friends present, expressed his gratitude, and then talked about the company's development in recent years and his affirmation of Xie Wang.
These heartfelt words drew spontaneous applause from everyone.
"Today is also a milestone for Xie's. I am grateful for the contributions of tens of thousands of employees and my family for their hard work for the company."
A giant ice sculpture bearing the words "60th Anniversary" was pushed onto the stage, followed by thirty employee representatives who came up one after another to witness the breaking of the ice.
Mr. Xie held up the microphone: "Please also invite my family to come up on stage and wish Hengtai a happy birthday."
Ye Wangshu stood up: "Let's go, Frostfall."
Ling Shuangjiang smiled and declined, "You should go ahead, I—"
“Wang Shu, Shuangjiang, come here quickly.”
Mr. Xie stood on the stage and waved to the two of them.
At this moment, all eyes were on Ling Shuangjiang and Ye Wangshu.
Hearing her name called, Ling Shuangjiang was somewhat surprised. She gripped the sofa armrest slightly with her fingertips, still hesitant about whether to go up.
Xie Wang seemed to have anticipated his reaction and walked towards him: "Let's go, Frostfall."
Ling Shuangjiang slowly stood up and reached out her hand to him.
The three walked slowly, attracting hundreds of gazes and various comments.
"Frost's Descent".
Xie Wang suddenly called out to Ling Shuangjiang, "Your shoelaces are untied."
Ling Shuangjiang lowered his head slightly, about to squat down to tie his shoelaces, but Xie Wang had already taken the lead, squatting down beside him and bending down to tie his shoelaces.
He felt awkward for a moment and subconsciously looked at Ye Wangshu.
"Thanks."
Xie Wang stood up: "It's nothing."
This little incident also caught everyone's attention.