I'm back in 1990

Chapter 823: Fading Out of the Social Media Circle

Zeng Xia isn't stupid. Having gone through what happened before, and with her younger brother instilling certain ideas in her, she now understands the purpose behind this enthusiasm better than anyone else.

Looking at these fawning smiles and listening to their insincere praise, Zeng Xia found it somewhat amusing.

A few days later, Zeng Xia was invited to a dinner hosted by a top Italian jewelry brand, where she unexpectedly met Ren Jing and Qian Meiqi.

These two went to great lengths to find someone to get the invitation to this dinner party, which is completely incomparable to Zeng Xia's efforts.

The two women searched for Zeng Xia as soon as they arrived at the scene. Finally, they spotted her among a group of wealthy women, dressed simply and elegantly, chatting with them.

The ladies treated Zeng Xia with obvious respect and courtesy, which made Qian Meiqi and Ren Jing exchange a glance before they quickly walked towards Zeng Xia.

They struggled through the crowd to reach Zeng Xia. Qian Meiqi exclaimed, "Mrs. Xia, your outfit today is absolutely gorgeous! You have such great style!"

Ren Jing stood behind Qian Meiqi, nodding obsequiously and agreeing, "Yes! Yes! Only Xia Tai can pull off this kind of style."

When Zeng Xia saw her two former sisters and good friends, she maintained a faint smile, but her tone carried a hint of detachment: "Thank you!"

She treated the group of noblewomen around her just as she had treated them, neither showing excessive intimacy nor revealing her dislike, but merely responding politely—a skill she had only recently learned.

Zeng Xia's attitude made Ren Jing even more uneasy. She had prepared a lot of flattering words before coming here, but she found that she had no chance to say them at all. She realized that Mrs. Xia was no longer the Mrs. Xia she used to be, and she could no longer climb up to her.

She had just noticed that the wives of several chairmen of large corporations were fawning over Zeng Xia, and these corporations were the bread and butter of her husbands! They were usually the ones she needed to curry favor with, but now she was seeing these wealthy women fawning over Zeng Xia, and the contrast was too great.

Huo Miao's furniture factory also became bustling. Not only did the number of customers increase several times over, but many people also came to him to curry favor and become sworn brothers, wanting to deepen their cooperation with him, and each of them placed orders of considerable value.

Some business owners also visited him, not to discuss business or order furniture, but to try to get to know Mr. Huang through Huo Miao, even if it was just to offer a friendly greeting.

Huo Miao naturally gave perfunctory replies to each one. He knew how busy his brother-in-law was usually, and he wouldn't want to cause him trouble. Besides, these people were all outsiders, while his brother-in-law was family. Huo Miao could distinguish between insiders and outsiders.

So he welcomes those who come to discuss business, but if they want to get close to his brother-in-law through him, then sorry, he can't help them.

After experiencing numerous social events, Zeng Xia gradually saw through the intricacies of the situation and became increasingly adept at navigating them. However, she subsequently reduced her attendance at such social events.

Zeng Xia began to shift her focus to her family, which was what she valued most, so the family of three decided to go to Hong Kong Disneyland for New Year's Day.

Zeng Xia herself felt somewhat ashamed. As a mother, she had been to Hong Kong countless times, but had never taken her daughter, Liu Jin, to Disneyland.

The latest update is now available on Cola Novels; we await your interpretation.

As Zeng Xia gradually reduced her activities in Shanghai's social circles, discussions about her reappeared in various circles in Shanghai.

But almost all of them were compliments, which is really interesting.

"The richest man's sister is different. She used to be low-key, but now she knows how to behave and is polite."

"That's what you call a smart person! Knowing what you need and what you don't need gives you the confidence to back it up, right?"

"Just look at it on your fingers, everyone else is begging Kasumi. Kasumi doesn't need to beg anyone at all. I know that Kasumi and her siblings have an amazing relationship!"

Curious onlookers immediately expressed their interest: "How did you know? Tell us quickly!"

Those who knew some inside information started to show off: "Xia Tai is from Suzhou. My husband is also from Suzhou, in the town next to Xia Tai's. We also have many relatives from the same town as Xia Tai's family. Actually, Huang Xiaochuan is not Xia Tai's biological brother. Xia Tai only has one sister, she is the second oldest, and she has an older sister, but she hardly ever goes out."

To be precise, Huang Xiaochuan is her cousin, the youngest son of Xia Tai's great-aunt. However, Huang Xiaochuan grew up with Xia Tai and her older sister, and they had a very close relationship since childhood, like real siblings. Huang Xiaochuan genuinely treats Xia Tai and her older sister like his own sisters; otherwise, would Xia Tai be the way she is now?

"Oh, I see!" the listener exclaimed in sudden realization.

Meanwhile, Qian Meiqi, Ren Jing, Sun Yue, and other "plastic besties" of Zeng Xia are becoming increasingly distant from Zeng Xia.

The current Zeng Xia is not the same as the old Mrs. Xia. Now she attends top-tier banquets and parties, where the attendees are basically Shanghai's top celebrities and business tycoons. Invitations to these gatherings cannot be obtained by asking around or spending money. Naturally, Qian Meiqi and Ren Jing have no chance to attend such gatherings, but that doesn't stop them from envying, being jealous of, and hating Zeng Xia.

They realized that they were no longer friends with Zeng Xia in the same circle. In the past, they could go to shopping malls, restaurants and hotels together, but now, the places Zeng Xia frequented were places that they could not reach even if they stood on tiptoe and stretched their necks and arms.

They used to share all sorts of gossip, such as whose husband cheated on them, which brand released a new product, or which spa therapist had the best technique.

Now, all the news about Zeng Xia they can get is from other people or from wealthy women of higher social class than themselves.

"Did you know? I heard that Xia Tai went to Hong Kong last week and was invited by the Ho family to a private dinner at No. 1 Repulse Bay." This was told by the wife of a chairman who had business dealings with Qian Meiqi's husband; she had only heard it from someone else.

Ren Jing tried hard to maintain a smile: "Really! Xia Tai seems to be quite busy lately!"

Sun Yue looked on with envy and longing. The He family? They were an upper-class family that could only be seen on TV news and in newspapers and magazines. Yet Zeng Xia and her mother were treated like honored guests and invited to the family home.

These former sisters of Xia Tai did try to repair their relationship with Xia Tai, but Xia Tai would only give them the standard social phrase "there will be another opportunity next time." They all understood that this sentence was equivalent to rejection.

And so, these former "plastic besties" gradually disappeared from Zeng Xia's circle of friends.