Left with no other choice, he offered S a high price to "get rid of" Zhou Luming. S showed no mercy and almost got rid of Zhou Luming at the entrance of the golf club. As a result, S became a wanted criminal, and he had to spend a lot of money and effort to hide S.
Even today, Zhou Luming still shows up at the venue. It's because she was too greedy; she can't blame herself.
Xu Lang wasn't very familiar with advanced networks like the dark web, and he was only able to use it thanks to someone's guidance. In his eyes, Zhou Luming was just an innocent child, completely ignorant of social etiquette and respect for elders. She thought she could boss the Zhou Group around just because she had the inheritance left by Old Master Zhou; she was far too naive and innocent.
Xu Lang tilted his head back and took a sip of whiskey, then casually placed the empty glass on a passing waiter's tray. His gaze was fixed on Zhou Luming, who was mingling with the band, and he grinned maliciously.
Little girl, let me show you what it means to be a seasoned pro.
The waiter who took Xu Lang's empty wine glass turned and left, taking the glass to a small room in the corridor and instructing the person inside, "Sister Anjing, this is for you. It contains Xu Lang's DNA and fingerprint information."
"Okay, leave it to me." The person inside was Wang Anjing. As a rising star in the Hai City business community, she had also been invited to Zhou Luming's birthday banquet.
The waiter who handed the glass to Wang Anjing was, of course, Xu Yan in disguise. After entering the small room, she quickly loosened her tie, took off her vest and shirt, and changed her clothes behind Wang Anjing. She abandoned her usual suit style, donning a black backless long dress, pulled her long hair up, securing it with a hairpin, and tilted her head as she put on silver earrings. She then leaned close to Wang Anjing's back, looking at her computer screen, and asked, "How's it going? Is it in time?"
When Wang Anjing turned around, she saw that Xu Yan had transformed from a waitress into an imposing noble lady. After a moment of surprise, she said, "There's still time. We'll make the fingerprints right away and have someone unlock Xu Lang's account. You need to keep Xu Lang occupied at the venue and buy time for the people over there."
"We'll do our best."
“Zhou Luming has definitely been seen by Xu Lang. Aren’t you going to go find her?” Wang Anjing asked.
"I'll be there soon. Once you've finished your business here, you can go out too. There are a lot of people from Shanghai Investment Bank and other banks outside," Xu Yan said.
"Okay, thank you for giving me the opportunity to practice." Wang Anjing smiled.
Xu Yan said, "Mutual assistance and mutual benefit, pleasant cooperation."
Back in the banquet hall, Xu Yan, who had suddenly appeared, became the center of attention. Sun Ren exclaimed, "OMG!" and then walked towards Xu Yan without hesitation.
Xu Yi saw it too, but he knew Xu Yan looked down on him. After being dumped by Lin Xiaowan, he was filled with hatred for women. So he sneered at the men surrounding Xu Yan at this moment, thinking them vulgar.
Unlike Zhou Luming, Xu Yan quickly sensed the coldness of the men who gathered around her. No matter what they said, Xu Yan would only reply indifferently, and never more than ten words.
"I'm sorry, I have a boyfriend." She showed off her left hand, the glittering platinum ring on her ring finger making people hesitate.
"So you're already taken. I wonder which lucky person has won your favor?" a man persisted in asking.
Xu Yan glanced at him and said, "This is my private matter, it's none of your business."
The man met with a rebuff and walked away dejectedly.
Xu Lang finally came over. "Miss Xu, you're engaged?"
"Not yet, it's just a gift." Xu Yan glanced at the ring on her hand. Was this a proposal?
Xu Lang smiled. "Is Miss Zhou aware of this?"
"Know."
"Then best of luck." Xu Lang raised his glass and clinked it against Xu Yan's. "It's almost time. Isn't it time to introduce the heir to the Zhou Group?"
Xu Yan: "You seem particularly looking forward to this?"
"Of course I'm looking forward to it, after all, I'm about to witness the birth of a new business empire."
“When she blows out the candles on the cake at 12 o’clock, I will go up on stage to read the will and transfer the shares I am in charge of to her.”
Xu Lang smiled and said, "I'm really looking forward to it."
There was a large antique clock in the banquet hall, with the hour and minute hands moving steadily. The invited guests were all prominent business figures in Shanghai, and they were already familiar with each other. They drank wine, ate snacks, and gathered in twos and threes to chat and discuss business.
Time slipped by unnoticed. Scarlett, having already dealt with several art world investors, felt utterly exhausted. She finally managed to find a chair to sit down and looked at her watch. She wondered if it was just her imagination, but the second hand of her watch seemed to have stopped moving for a long time, while the minute and hour hands were still ticking.
Scarlett felt something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Logically speaking, Patek Philippe watches shouldn't be of such poor quality, so she decided to take some time to talk to the store manager.
Time flew by, and the moment everyone had been waiting for finally arrived. The enormous five-tiered cake was pushed to the center of the banquet hall, and the candles were lit.
A male host, who appeared out of nowhere, happily announced, "Now, please welcome our protagonist tonight—Ms. Zhou Luming. Band, please play Happy Birthday, and all the guests here, please join us in celebrating with Ms. Zhou."
Apart from a few people who already knew that Zhou Luming had disguised himself as a band member and was already at the scene, the other guests held their breath, looking at the main entrance or the side door, anticipating the grand entrance of the rumored group heir.
However, a woman emerged from the band, dressed in a white gown, and slowly walked towards the birthday cake.
Someone in the crowd exclaimed, "Could she be Zhou Luming?"
"So she'd been hiding here all along. I was just watching her over at the band area. Could she have spotted me?"
“I saw her too. I thought the girl who was playing the triangle was really strange. I wondered if she had gotten in through connections.”
"So she is Zhou Luming. Miss Zhou is indeed unconventional and unpredictable."
Amidst the bustling crowd, Zhou Luming stood in front of the cake and said, "Hello everyone, I am Zhou Luming from the Zhou Group. Tonight is my birthday, and I thank you all for coming to my birthday party."
She bowed to everyone, then closed her eyes, made a wish, and blew out the candles.
A round of applause erupted from the audience.
Zhou Luming said, "Next, let my good friend Xu Yan read out my grandfather's will."
Xu Yan stood beside her and announced, "I hereby declare that 30% of the Zhou Group's shares, as part of her estate, are to be transferred to Ms. Zhou Luming, effective immediately..."
"Wait—" a deep voice came from the crowd in front of him.
Xu Lang stepped forward and looked up: "I have a question."
Xu Yan asked, "What's the problem, Chairman Xu?"
Xu Lang said, "I have no problem with the old chairman's will, but I have a problem with her." He pointed at Zhou Luming's face and said coldly, "She is not Zhou Luming, she is an imposter."
The crowd immediately erupted in uproar.
"What? Zhou Luming is an imposter? Is that even possible?"
"It is indeed possible. Zhou Luming has never appeared in public. She grew up abroad and no one has ever seen her. So if someone takes the opportunity to impersonate her to inherit the estate, they will not be discovered."
"But we can test DNA and conduct background checks. Zhou Luming is a person, not a ghost, so he will always leave some information."
"I don't know either, but Chairman Xu must have evidence to support his claim."
Xu Yan said, "Chairman Xu, Ms. Zhou's identity has been verified through DNA comparison and her background information has been confirmed with the Zhou family. Information such as her school enrollment records and her family address abroad can be verified. She is indeed Zhou Luming."
Xu Lang: "That's because someone is helping her, which is why she's been able to get by until now."
Who is helping her?
"Who else could it be but you, the estate administrator, helping her? Without your help, how could she have successfully impersonated Zhou Luming?"
"Chairman Xu, you'd better have evidence for your accusations against me, otherwise it's slander, and I have the right to sue you for defamation," Xu Yan said calmly.
Xu Lang changed his tune: "I do not have evidence of your assistance at the moment, but I do have evidence to prove that she is a fraud."
Xu Yan remained expressionless: "Please produce your evidence."
Xu Lang said in a deep voice, "Come out, you must be tired from your long journey. Come see your daughter."
Chapter 89
===================
It's unclear where Xu Lang found these two people—the man had black hair, was tall and bulky, with a large belly, and walked like a big bear. Judging from his skin color and facial features, he was clearly Caucasian. The woman was probably in her forties, with blonde hair and blue eyes, dark circles under her eyes, and cloudy eyes, like a drunkard. She was also Caucasian.
As soon as they appeared, Xu Yan knew their identities—they were Li Ruo's adoptive parents.
Glancing at Li Ruo's expression, Xu Yan wasn't worried about whether her identity had been exposed, but rather about whether Li Ruo would experience any psychological fluctuations after seeing these two people.
These two people were like chains that bound Li Ruo since childhood. Even after she grew up and became strong and independent, she was still influenced by them. This was caused by the stimulation she received since childhood, which is called "post-traumatic stress disorder" in psychology.
Based on Li Ruo's background check, Xu Yan deduced that she likely had some kind of obstacle. However, after learning of Li Ruo's escape, her adoptive parents spent some time searching for her, but gave up after losing all contact. Xu Yan had secretly investigated her adoptive parents' whereabouts after selecting Li Ruo, learning that one had been imprisoned for three years and the other was wandering around with another man. Finding this not too troublesome, she allowed Li Ruo to impersonate them and come to China.
Unexpectedly, Xu Lang had already found Li Ruo and even her former adoptive parents. Just when his plan was about to succeed, he exposed Li Ruo's true identity in public.
Xu Lang can truly be considered shrewd and calculating.
Xu Yan clenched her fist, and facing the noisy guests, she patted Li Ruo's shoulder and said, "It's okay, I'm still here, I'll face this with you."
Li Ruo said, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect Xu Lang to find them at this time. I may not be able to help you anymore."
Xu Yan said, "I should be the one apologizing. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have seen those two scumbags again."
Li Ruo smiled and said, "I've accomplished something great by getting the refined Miss Xu to swear for me."
"You still have the leisure to joke at a time like this, you seem to be doing well."
"I'm alright. So many years have passed, and I'm no longer that helpless little girl I used to be," Li Ruo said firmly, her gaze like a sharp blade piercing the couple.
“You don’t need to consider my feelings. It’s just a drunkard and a gambler; I’m not afraid of them.” After saying that, Li Ruo was a little worried about Xu Yan. “But now that my identity is about to be exposed, what are you going to do?”
Xu Yan: "I will personally take on the responsibilities that belong to Zhou Luming."
Xu Lang saw the two talking quietly on the stage, but couldn't hear them, so he stepped forward and pointed at his adoptive parents, saying, "Li Ruo, you should know them, right? You're not Zhou Luming, your real name is Li Ruo, and you're an orphan."
He tilted his head and pointed at the two men: "Aren't you going to acknowledge your daughter yet?"
The adoptive parents had a translator with them who relayed Xu Lang's words. They had been living a nomadic life abroad, but one day they were found by someone who said that someone would help them pay off their gambling debts and other debts, and would give them a generous reward on the condition that they come and identify someone.
So they came, their minds still hazy and confused, to this magnificent and luxurious banquet, and there they saw that familiar, beautiful face standing on the stage.
Although many years have passed, they haven't forgotten her face. They originally intended to sell her for a good price, but unexpectedly, she escaped.
The white man stepped forward, stared at the girl on the stage, and said firmly in English, "She is the girl I adopted back then, Leeruo."
Li Ruo on the stage sneered and replied in English, "Sir, are you sure?"
The white woman squinted and observed for a while, then said loudly, "Yes, that's the tone and expression, exactly the same as when she was a child. She's that girl, Lee!"
Li Ruo glanced at her dismissively: "But I don't know you."
Xu Lang chuckled and gestured for someone to bring out a stack of documents: "I knew you would deny it, so I collected information about the orphanage and their adoption papers for you. The photos aren't very clear, but your features and expressions are exactly the same as yours. You haven't changed much since you were a child. Are you still going to deny it?"
Xu Yan calmly said, "People can look alike, and things can have similarities. There are many people who look alike. You can't identify Miss Zhou Luming as Li Ruo just because of a drunkard, a gambler, and an old photo of a little girl."
The guests were thrilled.
They were very interested in the gossip surrounding the Zhou Group. They didn't care whether the person on stage was Zhou Luming or not; they even preferred that he wasn't, because only in this way would the drama surrounding the Zhou Group become more and more exciting and interesting.
While Xu Lang found witnesses and evidence to show that the Zhou Luming in front of him was not the real Zhou Luming, the Zhou family's own thoughts were also racing.
Especially the eldest aunt, Zhou Jiayi, who has always wanted to acquire the Zhou Group, but was thwarted by the sudden appearance of Zhou Luming, forcing her to change her strategy and try to get closer to him. Now that this niece might be an imposter, does that mean the will is invalid because no heir has been found? And if so, could she, as the legal heir, inherit the Zhou family's estate?
The more she thought about it, the more excited she became, so Zhou Jiayi stood on Xu Lang's side without hesitation, convinced that Zhou Luming was a fake.
"Lu Ming, it's not that your aunt doesn't want to help you, but Chairman Xu has already provided evidence. What evidence do you have to prove that you're telling the truth?"