novelraw Chapter 717: Luna’s Home
Chapter 717: Luna’s Home
Chapter 717: Luna’s Home
Maxing Out Charisma, Inheriting Game Assets
8:10 a.m.
Yancheng International Airport, the quiet and private FBO for business jets.
Three black Mercedes S-Class sedans slid to a smooth stop beneath the dedicated entrance canopy of the terminal.
The doors opened, and seven people stepped out in turn.
Without exception they wore top-tier tailored suits or skirt suits, exuding professional polish; their shoes gleamed, and every gesture carried the sharp aura of elite finance professionals.
Ground staff who had been waiting snapped forward, respectfully taking suitcases and briefcases from the drivers’ hands.
The VIP reception manager, wearing a perfectly measured warm smile, stepped toward the tall woman at the front: “Ms. Lin, good morning! Your Bombardier Challenger 850 is ready with the crew standing by. The lounge has freshly brewed Blue Mountain coffee and French pastries for everyone.”
“Thank you.”
Lin Muxue nodded lightly; her makeup was flawless in the morning light.
She said nothing extra and strode forward.
Her team members immediately matched her pace, keeping a respectful—not too close, not too distant—distance.
Inside the private VIP lounge, the atmosphere was relaxed but efficient.
A few core members of the project team—analysts and investment managers—clustered in threes and twos, holding coffee cups and quietly discussing final details for the Chang’an trip.
Lin Muxue did not join them. She held a cup of warm black tea and sat with poise on a single-seat sofa,
took out her phone, and opened the pinned chat.
She adjusted the angle, snapped a photo, and shared it.
Then she left a message: “(#^.#) President Tang, I’m already at the airport. I’ll wrap up the Chang’an matters quickly and then come back to accompany you to France. (#playful)”
“Buzz buzz——”
[Tang Song: “Mm, don’t rush. You can take this chance to visit home. Travel safe.”]
Lin Muxue’s mouth twitched into a small, uncontrollable smile and she replied: [Thank you, dear President Tang. Love you~]
Satisfied, she exited the chat and returned to the WeChat main screen.
Her finger paused and then opened a slightly noisy relatives’ group called [A Loving Family].
The latest messages popped up one after another.
[Jiajia: Shangri-La Hotel, Yanta District.map]
[Jiajia: “@everyone, don’t rush. Come around eleven. The registration desk is at the entrance to the private dining area on the second floor—right at the elevator exit. ”]
[Jiajia: registration desk.jpg, banquet hall1.jpg, banquet hall2.jpg...]
[Jiajia: hotel guide video.video]
[Second Aunt: “@Jiajia, we’ve left Zhou County and will stop by your Chaohui brother’s place first, then go to the hotel together.”]
[Cousin Xiang Tong: “Wow! Jiajia, this is such a grand affair! This hotel is so fancy—I’ve never eaten at the Shangri-La before!”]
[Cousin Chaohui: “Of course, it’s the Shangri-La—five stars. It’s one of the best in our Chang’an.”]
[Second Aunt: “That’s right—Jiajia found a good fiancé; Zhao Peng’s family does big business.”]
[Brother: (thumbs-up sticker)]
[Uncle: voice message.mp3]
....
Lin Muxue scrolled through the chat and opened the guide video Jiajia had shot.
The camera wavered, beginning in the hotel’s glittering lobby as Jiajia narrated with a hint of show-off:
“Go in here, turn right and take this observation elevator to the second floor...see, the registration desk is right here...the banquet hall is here; we reserved the Peony Hall...”
The shot lingered on the gorgeously and romantically decorated interior of the banquet hall.
Lin Muxue gave a soft chuckle; a flicker of complicated memory passed through her eyes.
Her mother’s side was a large family: five sibling households, tangled relationships.
Above her mother there were two uncles and two aunts, and Lin Muxue was the youngest daughter.
The extended family included many cousins—many already married with children, some even into a third generation.
She and this cousin, Shi Mengjia, were among the only peers still unmarried.
Though they didn’t live nearby, they had been close in childhood. Because both were relatively pretty, relatives inevitably compared them and rivalries—overt and subtle—had not been uncommon.
As they got older, Lin Muxue grew increasingly outstanding: tall, striking figure, increasingly refined and poised features.
Of course, Aunt’s household had it much better. Jiajia had always studied well, got into a decent university, and landed a good job—reportedly in the finance department of a Chang’an group company.
Her fiancé Zhao Peng’s father was a minor shareholder in that company.
To the relatives, that counted as an excellent marriage and the best life in their generation so far.
Now that Jiajia was getting engaged, the whole family naturally wanted to show face and flock to the event,
and of course nobody minded attaching themselves to a rising branch of the family.
All this Lin Muxue pieced together from the recent flurry of messages in the relatives’ chat.
She hadn’t been home in so long that she didn’t even know what Zhao Peng looked like.
“Buzz buzz——” Her phone vibrated.
[Cousin Xiang Tong: “@Luna, I heard from Muchuan you’re coming back to Chang’an today? Where are you now?”]
[Second Aunt: “Oh, haven’t seen Luna for almost two years, right? She didn’t come home for the New Year last year. Muchuan says you work in Yancheng in finance?”]
[Cousin Chaohui: “It’s not ordinary finance—she’s in the financial industry.”]
Seeing them discuss her, Lin Muxue tapped out a reply: “I’m heading back today, still on the way.”
[Aunt (Jiajia’s mom): “Will you make it? It starts at 11:30—don’t be late.”]
At that moment
“Clack clack clack”—a crisp sound of high heels approached.
“Ms. Lin.” Emily, the administrative officer accompanying them, reminded her in a low voice, “The FBO ground services are confirmed. The business jet is ready for boarding; we can depart anytime.”
Lin Muxue put away her phone, rose, her voice cool and decisive: “Let’s go. Board the plane.”
Her team, who had been speaking softly, immediately stopped, rose, and picked up their briefcases and carry-ons.
They followed behind her in orderly fashion.
The group passed through the dedicated security channel, took the waiting VIP shuttle, and soon boarded the Bombardier Challenger 850.
The plane’s interior luxury and comfort far outshone a commercial first-class cabin.
Spacious areas were wrapped in top-grade maple and soft beige leather, with private work areas, lounges, and a bar.
Guided by the flight attendants, everyone settled into their seats.
The jet accelerated smoothly down the runway, climbed, and pierced the thin winter mist of Yancheng’s morning into a cloudless stratosphere.
Warm sunlight poured through the windows and made the maple and leather glow with a gentle sheen.
Lin Muxue sat upright in a window leather seat, pleasantly stretching her long legs.
Her personal flight attendant, dressed in an elegant royal-blue uniform, knelt slightly beside her and asked in an extremely gentle voice what she would like.
“One hot Americano. No sugar, no milk.”
“Certainly, Ms. Lin. Please wait a moment.”
This Challenger 850 had been heavily modified and included a small office area equipped with a satellite phone and high-speed Wi-Fi.
Once flight reached steady cruising, the team gathered in the office area.
They opened laptops and resumed intense work discussions.
“...Based on the current PPA model, the subsidy offered by Shan Province is the largest among the five northwest provinces, which is very favorable for our project IRR calculation.”
“But I’m concerned about curtailment and transmission constraints; the construction cycle for UHV lines and local absorption capacity are the biggest uncertainties...”
Hearing these technical terms and acronyms she sometimes barely understood,
Lin Muxue kept her face composed, held her coffee cup, and even nodded in agreement at key points to present the image of listening seriously and being fully in control.
In truth, much of her energy went into maintaining that calm, unflappable leadership persona—
after all, Empress Muxue lived and breathed her reputation; her aura could not slip.
Just then, the phone on the small table lit up again.
[Brother (Lin Muchuan): “Luna, where are you now? When will you arrive? Should I drive to the train station to pick you up?”]
Lin Muxue smiled at the words “train station.”
She replied: “No need, Brother. I’m flying back. There will be a car at the airport to pick me up. Don’t worry—I’ll get to the hotel on time.”
[Brother: “Oh, flying! That should be faster. Okay, travel safe.”]
[Brother: “By the way, you saw the group chat, right? Aunt and the others asked about you—remember to reply or it’ll seem impolite.”]
Lin Muxue sent a short reply and opened the [A Loving Family] group again.
Sure enough, while she hadn’t been looking, the chat had added more discussions about her.
[Cousin Xiang Tong: “Luna’s in Yancheng developing, right? I think she should come back to Chang’an—both cities are developing similarly now.”]
[Aunt: “@Luna, ask Jiajia if Zhao Peng’s company needs people. Anything related to finance will do.”]
[Jiajia: “Mom, I told you Luna isn’t in basic accounting—she’s in finance. Our company’s degree requirements are strict.”]
[Aunt: “But she’s your sister! Why can’t you help her?”]
[Cousin Chaohui: “Big sis, companies don’t answer to Jiajia. They’re just engaged; you’re putting them in an awkward spot.”]
[Cousin Xiang Tong: “@Luna, where are you exactly? Why aren’t you replying?”]
[Brother: “Luna’s on the way—maybe the signal’s poor. She told me she’ll make it on time.”]
.......
Reading these regionally flavored, generational group messages, Lin Muxue felt a pang of emotion but did not reply.
She had never told her family the truth about her current life.
Before, because of the “fake socialite” situation, she feared relatives who knew her background would ridicule her.
So she partitioned her social circles and registered Douyin with a new number; none of these relatives knew.
Her cover story was that she did fashion shoots and made decent money.
Even so, her mother liked to boast about her to relatives.
Later, after her brother bought a house and got married, and she had a public humiliation involving Wen Qiuyue that led to a family rift, contact was basically cut off for nearly two years.
She skipped New Year and her brother’s wedding.
She only told her father she no longer did photoshoots and had gone into a finance company.
In their eyes she remained that low-profile vocational college graduate from the flight attendant program, surviving in Yancheng but not doing particularly well, the one who hadn’t come home for years.
Her fingers tapped lightly on the laptop in front of her. She looked past the employees still passionately discussing work and out over the magnificent expanse of clouds.
It felt like another world.
Her lips slowly curved.
Tang Song. Tang Song.
Meeting you was truly the best arrangement fate ever made for me.
.......
9:45 a.m.
Chang’an, southern suburbs, Ruixiang Jiayuan residential complex
In this 89-square-meter, two-bedroom apartment just outside the Third Ring Road, a flurry of frantic, nervous activity filled the air.
Lin Muchuan wore a slightly-new business suit and stood in front of the mirror, fussing over his tie again and again.
His father, Lin Baoshan, paced the living room with a furrowed brow, glancing at the wall clock now and then.
His mother, Wang Suxia, sat on the sofa and gently patted the six-month-old grandson sleeping in her arms.
Today was an unusual day for the household.
Not only were they attending their niece’s engagement banquet—a family social event—
but more importantly, their daughter Lin Muxue was coming home for the first time in two years.
“Xiaochuan.” Lin Baoshan stopped pacing and asked anxiously, “Where is Xiaoxue? Why isn’t she in Chang’an yet?”
Wang Suxia, who was carefully tucking the baby’s blanket, looked up with a mixture of hope and worry: “It’s almost ten o’clock. Will she make it? Is she coming or not?”
“She’s flying over—she’ll be fast. It’ll take a little over an hour.” Lin Muchuan pulled out his phone and checked. “She said she’ll definitely be on time.”
At that reassurance, a smile finally appeared on Wang Suxia’s face, her voice warm with newfound closeness: “That stinky girl finally knows how to come home once in a while!”
Lin Baoshan nudged his wife’s arm and lowered his voice with a reminder: “When you see her, be gentle. Say something soft. Don’t start arguing with her again.”
Before Wang Suxia could reply, the master bedroom door opened with a small squeal.
Lin Muchuan’s wife Peng Xiaomeng emerged, rubbing serum on her face.
“Dad, you’re being biased. It’s not Mom’s fault—Xiaoxue never comes home. Is that how a daughter should behave?”
Lin Baoshan’s expression stiffened; he looked embarrassed.
“Xiaomeng, don’t say that.” Lin Muchuan shot his wife a look.
“What? You don’t like me saying something about your sister?” Peng Xiaomeng set the serum down on the coffee table and raised her voice. “She didn’t come to our wedding; she didn’t even show her face when Dudu was born. Does that make sense?”
“She sent a red envelope!”
“A red envelope isn’t the same as showing up. If word gets out, what will people think of our family? They’re still angry over there!”
Seeing the couple about to argue again, Wang Suxia quickly intervened:
“Okay, okay! Xiaochuan, be good and go see your wife. Xiaomeng, don’t say more—Dudu is asleep.”
She patted the sleeping baby.
Lin Muchuan sighed heavily, guilt written across his face. “Sigh...I feel like we owe Xiaoxue a lot. When you see her, Mom, be careful what you say—be nice to her.”
Peng Xiaomeng sneered at her husband’s weak posture and snapped: “Come in here with me and help me pick which dress to wear.”
Lin Muchuan nodded and followed her into the master bedroom.
The door had barely closed when Peng Xiaomeng grabbed his arm, lowered her voice, and warned sharply with a hard look: “Let me make this clear: anything else is fine, but if your parents give money to your sister, that’s it—we get divorced immediately!”
Lin Muchuan’s face changed instantly: “Xiaomeng! That’s my parents’ money. They can do what they want. Mind your own business!”
“You think I don’t know our family’s situation?” Peng Xiaomeng sneered. “Your company hasn’t paid salaries for two months—it’s about to collapse! Mortgage, Dudu’s formula, diapers—it all costs money. If your parents don’t help, are we going to watch our own grandson go hungry?”
“You—” Lin Muchuan’s breathing quickened. “Don’t you have money? I give my salary to you every month!”
“Don’t play that game with me. Your seven or eight thousand a month barely covers mortgage and living expenses. I quit my job because of pregnancy. Who else’s gonna take care of this big family? If you even think about taking my child’s gift money for the bride, don’t even think about it—that’s the money I’m saving for Dudu.”
Peng Xiaomeng’s face flushed with anger and the room fell into silence; Lin Muchuan’s rebuttals died in his throat and came out only as a weak, defeated: “...Today we’re going to Jiajia’s engagement. I don’t want to argue with you.”
“You should try to build a relationship with your cousin-in-law and see if they can get you a proper job. The family is falling apart and you’re still stuck on old grievances with your sister!”
Peng Xiaomeng withdrew her hand and began picking through clothes.
Lin Muchuan bowed his head, his chest heaving. Without another word, he turned and slammed the bedroom door.
“Xiaochuan, what happened? Are you arguing again?” Wang Suxia asked softly, seeing her son’s unpleasant expression.
Lin Muchuan said nothing. He reached for a cigarette out of habit but, seeing the baby sleeping in his mother’s arms, forced himself to stop.
He leaned close to his mother and whispered, with just the two of them hearing: “Mom, the money for Xiaoxue—give it to her privately. Don’t let Xiaomeng find out. And tell Xiaoxue not to mention it around others.”
Wang Suxia and Lin Baoshan exchanged a glance and instantly understood their son’s predicament.
Their earlier joy faded into heavy helplessness.
A few years ago, to help their son get married, they had emptied their savings and sold the homestead land, using the money as the house down payment.
After the wedding they saved and scraped and managed to gather some funds—ten or so thousand—not a lot, but about forty to fifty thousand in total.
They had planned to give this to Xiaoxue when she returned, to make up for the family’s neglect.
But now that Peng Xiaomeng might explode if she discovered it, the household could be torn apart.
Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, sister-in-law—family dynamics have always been a difficult scripture to read.
Despite everything, they truly felt guilty toward Xiaoxue.
The family owned two homestead plots in the village.
One was the old family house they had lived in most of their lives; the other had been a chicken coop used for raising chickens. When chicken farming stopped making money, that land lay unused.
Xiaoxue had always been stubborn and determined—never one to accept being wronged. A few years ago, during the homestead property registration, she was still in university but called excitedly to claim the unused chicken coop land as hers.
She planned that once she made money outside, she would demolish the old shed and build a beautiful villa, then bring her parents to live comfortably.
But as urban housing prices rose and Muchuan’s marriage and house-buying became urgent, the old couple reluctantly sold the plot that was promised for their daughter for 90,000 yuan.
They even “borrowed” the money the daughter had been saving and sending home over the years to help their son—two sums totaling 120,000 yuan—plus the family’s savings of 200,000 yuan. They had essentially exhausted their funds to support Lin Muchuan’s marriage.
Their daughter out working elsewhere ended up with nothing, and had actually contributed considerably.
At the time Wang Suxia and Lin Baoshan assumed their daughter was thriving in Yancheng as a model and doing very well.
They even went so far as to visit her in Yancheng, hoping to ask for more help to ease their son’s mortgage.
Unexpectedly, Lin Muxue reacted violently and broke off contact.
Wang Suxia had said hurtful things in anger, and mother and daughter had not spoken since.
The daughter blocked her WeChat and phone.
That’s when they discovered Xiaoxue’s life in Yancheng hadn’t been easy: she had wanted to be a flight attendant, but the airline required ten-odd thousand in training fees. Knowing her family had little money, she switched to modeling.
Despite the glossy appearance, she was bossed around, working ten-hour days for a few hundred yuan.
This heavy guilt pressed like a stone on their hearts.
Lin Muchuan, frustrated, ran his fingers through his hair and mumbled, “...I’m going out for a smoke.”
He opened the door and stepped out.
The corridor wind bit cold; he lit a cigarette and took a long drag, his eyes filled with complicated fatigue.
After a moment,
from inside Peng Xiaomeng came an urging voice: “It’s past ten—hurry up and get ready. I prepared the red envelope—two thousand; isn’t that enough?”
“Oh, that’s a lot—too much!” Wang Suxia’s voice came from the living room.
“Give more—appearances matter! They’ll remember us better.” Peng Xiaomeng’s tone was shrewd.
Lin Muchuan stamped out his cigarette on the wall, inhaled the cold air, and returned to the room.
He knew exactly why his wife was so eager to curry favor: their small company was hemorrhaging and might close; Xiaomeng had quit for severe morning sickness and had no income, and the baby still needed feeding.
They hoped to catch some benefit from Jiajia’s influential in-laws.
Back in the living room, Peng Xiaomeng immediately shot a disdainful glare at him.
“Smoking again! All you ever do is smoke! Save that money and buy some good formula for our son, will you? And your hair looks like a bird’s nest—go fix it!”
Lin Muchuan walked silently into the bathroom.
The family finished dressing in a tense, chaotic atmosphere. They bundled the sleeping baby and squeezed into a slightly shabby Nissan Sylphy.