Chapter 25: Will She Become the World's Richest Person?

Jiang Ke saw that Rong Fan’s expression was dark as he stared at Jiang Xian. Having achieved her goal, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

"Our funding for the impoverished mountain areas has increased once again. On behalf of the elderly and children in those regions, the production team would like to say thank you to everyone."

"Additionally, stylists, makeup artists, and gowns are currently being delivered to your respective residences. You may return to your quarters to freshen up and prepare for tonight’s banquet."

"To the darlings in our livestream room, are you looking forward to our banquet tonight? Stay locked onto our channel; we will go live promptly at 7:00 PM. The broadcast will continue throughout the banquet, and we will switch between feeds so you can watch the guests getting their makeup and styling done."

[I’m actually looking forward to tonight’s banquet. Wait, does this mean we’ll get to see the wealthy gathered together, all wearing high-end gowns, holding wine glasses, and chatting away?]

[Don’t get too excited, though I am too. Usually, we can only imagine this or see it from celebrities, but now we’re really watching the rich.]

[I’m going to eat early tonight so I can stay glued to the livestream.]

To maintain an air of mystery, Liu Shenghai did not intend to reveal everyone’s styling, makeup, or outfits ahead of time. Therefore, he only assigned two cameramen to follow the guests, while the rest were sent to the venue of tonight’s banquet. Sheng Ya, Lai Bingfu, Zheng Jin, and Li Jiale were grouped together with one cameraman, while Jiang Xian, Jiang Ke, and Rong Fan were assigned another.

"Jiang Xian, you’re out of money now, aren't you?" With the cameraman following Jiang Ke, Rong Fan took the opportunity to approach Jiang Xian, though his words were clearly an attempt to probe her financial situation. He was thinking exactly what Jiang Ke and the others were—he wanted to see Jiang Xian humiliate herself.

Knowing exactly what Rong Fan was thinking, she replied, "You guess!" If she revealed her true net worth, it would probably scare him to death.

Feeling mocked, Rong Fan suddenly adopted a distant, icy demeanor. "Jiang Xian, whether you are trying to attract my attention or not, I want to tell you that it is impossible between us."

Jiang Xian had no desire to entertain his words. The man was sick—she had diagnosed him herself—and it was a severe case at that.

"Actually, I can understand your mindset. After all, once you’ve lived the life of the wealthy, how could you ever be willing to return to the life of the poor?"

"You must have spent every last cent you had today, right? This behavior of yours hasn't made me like or care about you. On the contrary, I think you’re very immature. That is why we are truly not a good fit, and I don’t want your behavior to affect me."

"If you run out of money later in the filming and end up destitute, don’t come begging to me. I don’t want people online saying you’re in that state because of me and tying us together, understand?"

Rong Fan rambled on about what he believed would happen next, failing to notice Jiang Xian’s increasingly darkened expression. She was speechless—utterly speechless. How could someone be this narcissistic?

Just as they reached the castle entrance, Jiang Xian interrupted before he could finish. "Have you noticed that you’re incredibly narcissistic?"

Jiang Xian’s sudden remark caught Rong Fan off guard, leaving him to ask blankly, "What?"

"Did I ever personally admit that I liked you? Yes, I used to enjoy chasing after handsome men, but that doesn't mean I’m not picky and that I have to like anyone who happens to be remotely close to 'handsome'!"

"Besides, you look nothing like the handsome men I admire. No, you’re far from it. In my eyes, you aren't handsome at all—you’re just an ugly man." After dropping this, Jiang Xian shot him a look of disdain and turned away.

The castle doors swung open, and Lei appeared with a standard smile. "Welcome home, Miss Jiang."

As the heavy doors closed, leaving a stunned Rong Fan behind, he finally processed the insult. His face turned livid with rage as he glared at the gate. "Jiang Xian, don't act tough. Let’s see what you do later."

Xiao Liu: [Congratulations to the host: by spending one yuan, you have received two yuan in rewards.]

Upon entering the castle, she heard Xiao Liu’s voice and thought of Rong Fan’s status. "I want to know, is the money in my WeChat visible to this world?"

Xiao Liu: [Xiao Liu does not understand what the host means.]

"I mean, can this world track my money and put me on the global rich list?"

Xiao Liu: [It can, but the global rich list has a fixed evaluation time. It has only been a month since the last one, so the next assessment might not happen so soon.]

"Fine, I understand."

Xiao Liu: [If the host does not want people to know your assets, we can mask them.]

Mask them? Absolutely not!

"I don't need my exact assets to be publicized, just let them know I am the wealthiest and rank me as number one in the world. Can you do that?" After all, one shouldn't flaunt wealth. She just needed to be known as the richest person in the world. She hadn't stolen or robbed anyone; what was wrong with being the global leader in wealth?

Xiao Liu: [Understood.]

Hearing that, she felt a sweet satisfaction. She never expected that she would one day become the richest person in the world.

Meanwhile, Rong Fan, who was undergoing his styling, saw a call on his phone. He signaled the stylist to pause and walked alone into the living room.

"Rong Fan, what the hell are you doing? I told you to go there to show off, not to make friends!" The person on the other end of the line was shouting and berating him the moment the call connected.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Today is only the first day of filming." Compared to the urgency on the other end, Rong Fan seemed quite calm. He picked up a glass of red wine from the table, swirled it, and took a slow, leisurely sip.

"One day? That banquet tonight is a prime opportunity, but you haven't made a move all day, spent no money, and haven't trended on search results. By tonight, people probably won't even know who you are; all the attention is on that Jiang Xian. If you can't handle this, come back and let your brother go instead."

Rong Fan had been relatively calm until those last few words. He gripped the wine glass so hard it shattered in his hand. Drops of blood fell onto the gray floor, creating a startling sight. He seemed not to feel the wound, his eyes burning with fury.

After taking several deep breaths to suppress his anger, he replied, "Let him come? Are you sure anyone would look twice at a bastard?"

"A bastard? I can make it so he isn't one."

Rong Fan knew that Rong Zhiquan was not joking. As the head of the Rong family, Rong Zhiquan would discard any pawn he deemed useless, even if that pawn was his own biological son.

"Dad, don't be angry. Brother is definitely trying his best; he’s just a bit powerless at the moment. Give him some time." Another, slightly younger male voice came through the phone.

Hearing this voice, Rong Fan’s brow furrowed so tightly he could have crushed a fly.

The person on the other end seemed to take the phone. "Brother, you need to think about our family's situation. Stop putting on airs. If you keep this up, the glory of the Rong family will be gone."

After saying this, the voice lowered significantly: "Rong Fan, I can't wait to let everyone know that the Rong family doesn't just have one crown prince—there is also me, Rong Sheng." The tone of Rong Sheng’s voice was filled with provocation.