Feng Wan and her three friends were watching the evening news on TV inside her mansion. They just ate a fine French-inspired dinner cooked by a private chef. Now they were relaxing in the living area while sipping rosé champagne in sparkling crystal flutes.
The news were currently covering the recent scandals surrounding the young socialites and the newly infamous hacker who exposed them, KeymonSTER.
Although the four posh ladies disapproved of the hacker's cruel method, they didn't have any sympathy for the socialites either. After all, they wrote such hateful and abusive comments about Iris Long on the internet. For that alone, the ladies already thought badly of them.
"We know many of these children," Feng Wan's first friend commented, shaking her head. "I can't believe that they can be so despicable!"
The second friend nodded. "I'm even friends with some of their parents. Now I have to re-evaluate my relationship with them. I'm so aghast!"
"Hmm… I always see this group of children together," the third friend who was also the wife of the Police Chief said. "They're all friends, but I think they're missing someone. I can't remember who…"
"It's the Fan girl," Feng Wan replied after sipping her champagne. "If I remember correctly, she's the leader of this group. How odd that she's not included."
First friend: "Oh! You're right! Now I remember."
Second friend: "I wonder why she's not included in this disgraced group. Perhaps she's a real good girl and has no scandal that can be exposed."
The Chief of Police's wife scoffed. "Good girl? I doubt it. It's an open secret that the Fans are slimy opportunists who keep on using their connection to the Jins to raise their status."
First friend: "Yes, I also know this story. The Jins were already at the top of the business world by that time along with the Lus. If we really think about it, if she didn't reconnect with Madam Jin, the Fans would probably still be in their province running their little pawnshop. But look at them now."
"Indeed," the Chief of Police's wife agreed. "They've expanded their business big time and even crossed over to several other fields, using their connection to the Jins. My husband tells me that the Fans are involved in some corruption but since nobody has exposed or reported them yet, the police can't do anything. Besides, their connection to the Jins is something to be wary of."
Second friend: "But I heard that the two families aren't on good terms anymore. I'm sure all of you heard about Jin Corporation rejecting all of the Fans' proposals to participate in the corporation's business projects. There are also rumours that the Fan girl and the Jin's second son have broken up."
First friend: "Those are just rumours. The Jin's Second Master is a big celebrity, even more famous than our dear Iris. If he really broke up with the Fan girl, I'm sure that it'll be all over the news."
The ladies nodded.
"If they're still engaged and have not broken up, then why would Jin Corporation suddenly stop wanting to work with the Fans?" The Chief of Police's wife was puzzled.
Feng Wan set her champagne flute on the accent table beside her. "You just said that your husband knows that the Fans are involved in some kind of corruption. Perhaps Jin Liwei also became aware of it. That boy is smart and knows his priorities. Although he hasn't been able to take Jin Corporation to a new higher level, he's doing an excellent job in maintaining the company's top position in the country's business world. That alone already shows his topnotch abilities. The Fans may be a family friend but it's not worth it to be dragged in the mud with them when their dirty laundry is aired to the public. That boy will prioritize his family and Jin Corporation over others."
Second friend: "You seem to know a lot about Jin Liwei."
Feng Wan shrugged. "Not really. This is just my own conjecture. Who knows? Perhaps the Fans' business proposals just sucked very badly that the boy had no choice but to reject them. Maybe that's the real reason why he's suddenly distancing Jin Corporation from the Fans."
Afterwards, the first friend returned to the earlier topic they were discussing. "So do you think the Fan girl is also involved in these young socialites' hate campaign against our dear Iris?"
Second friend: "Yes."
The wife of the Police Chief nodded.
"It's possible," Feng Wan said. "If I remember correctly, there were rumours about an affair between our dear Iris and that Jin Chonglin boy. There also seems to be an incident when the Fan girl denounced our dear Iris as the 'other woman'. Just with these alone, I'm sure that the Fan girl has bad feelings for our dear Iris."
Her friends all agreed with her.
"If she really has something to do with this hate campaign, then she's really crafty," Feng Wan continued. "I don't believe that KeymonSTER hacker will exclude her if he found about her, so she must've directed her friends on the hate campaign without doing the dirty deeds herself. But who knows? Perhaps the Fan girl is really innocent in this matter and we're just overthinking."
Her friends scoffed. Innocent? Someone spawned by the Fans?
The four posh ladies continued to gossip over champagne well into the night.