The Banquet

The woman cast a disdainful look at the old lady in front of her. The man beside her couldn’t bear to see her like that. “Qiu Rurong, stop making things difficult for the old lady.”

Qiu Rurong shook off his hand. “What do you mean? Are you implying I’m malicious? You’re always the kind one, aren’t you?”

Zhao Jianyu was annoyed by her unreasonable behavior, but because his family needed her family’s support, he couldn’t afford to offend her at the moment. He swallowed his anger.

“I was wrong, but how can this old lady afford such expensive costs?” Zhao Jianyu’s voice softened a bit, perhaps to avoid attracting attention. After all, there were too many important figures at this banquet, and he couldn’t afford to lose face.

Qiu Rurong snorted coldly, “Since you can’t afford it, then kowtow to me and consider it your bad luck.”

Zhao Jianyu was truly annoyed with her but couldn’t argue further. He reluctantly accepted this approach.

The elderly woman’s eyes welled up with tears. Though poor, she had her dignity. She simply couldn’t afford to pay the money.

Slowly, the elderly woman began to kneel down, but just as she was about to, a pair of delicate, fair hands gently lifted her up.

The elderly woman was stunned, looking at Ruan Yuexi. Ruan Yuexi showed no expression and said, “How much is it? I’ll pay for the old lady.”

The elderly woman had indeed been in the wrong for dirtying the dress, but given her frail condition, her instability was understandable.

Qiu Rurong, initially arrogant and defiant, suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable anger upon seeing someone who seemed far more beautiful than her.

Zhao Jianyu, who was standing next to her, couldn’t help but stare. This woman was stunningly beautiful. Whose family did she belong to? If only the other family was not as strong as his, then he could secretly take her away.

“This is a limited edition, you know how much it costs?” Qiu Rurong assumed Ruan Yuexi had used her beauty to climb up to wealthy people.

“Girl, just let me kowtow to her. Her dress is too expensive, so I don’t want to implicate you.” the elderly woman pleaded, wanting to kneel down again.

Ruan Yuexi insisted on helping the elderly woman up, not responding to her words but addressing Qiu Rurong directly.

“You just need to say how much is your dress,” Ruan Yuexi said, unwilling to engage in further argument.

Qiu Rurong was taken aback by her calm demeanor. Could she really be the daughter of some big shot? Despite her appearance, it was impossible that she had not heard of her.

“Ten million,” Qiu Rurong asserted confidently, certain that Ruan Yuexi couldn’t come up with the money and waited to see her panic.

However, Ruan Yuexi disappointed her. “Ten million?” Ruan Yuexi looked over her dress.

“It doesn’t look like it’s worth that much,” Ruan Yuexi murmured after inspecting it.

Qiu Rurong couldn’t contain her anger. “What do you mean? Do you know what brand this is?”

Ruan Yuexi didn’t answer her question. “Maybe I misspoke.”

Qiu Rurong thought she was backing down, arrogantly waiting for her apology.

“The dress may be expensive, but on you, it’s like ‘flowers on cow dung,'” Ruan Yuexi commented, touching her chin.

Qiu Rurong couldn’t believe she was being spoken to like this. “How dare you speak to me like that? Apologize to me right now!”

Ruan Yuexi refused to apologize. If money was what she wanted, she would pay, but judging people by their outward appearances was something she found rather contemptible.

The elderly woman quickly pulled Ruan Yuexi away, attempting to apologize to Qiu Rurong, but Ruan Yuexi interrupted her.

“Want me to apologize to you? Dream on,” Ruan Yuexi retorted firmly.

Qiu Rurong was so angry, “Don’t you want to pay the compensation? Where’s the money?” It seemed like she couldn’t afford the 10 million.

“Secretary Fang, give her 10 million.” Shang Yao’s low voice sounded behind Ruan Yuexi.

When Qiu Rurong saw Shang Yao, it was as if she had seen a ghost, “Shang…Shang Yao!!”

Zhao Jianyu’s face instantly turned pale. Shang Yao, the Yama! He couldn’t believe it, taking a step back involuntarily.

Ruan Yuexi looked at the male protagonist Shang Yao behind her in confusion, “Brother Yao, didn’t you go in?”

Shang Yao remained silent but took Ruan Yuexi’s hand and walked away quickly.

Qiu Rurong watched them leave in horror, unable to imagine what she had done wrong.

“Miss Qiu, ten million,” Secretary Fang said expressionlessly, holding out a check to Qiu Rurong.

Qiu Rurong looked at the check for 10 million in her hand, but stepped back and didn’t dare to get closer.

“Miss Qiu, please take the check, and please remove this dress. The hotel has prepared another dress for you,” Secretary Fang spoke robotically.

The color on Qiu Rurong’s face drained away. “I…I don’t want this money. It doesn’t matter if it’s a little dirty.”

Secretary Fang took a quick look at the barely noticeable stain on the hem of her skirt and said, “No, if it gets dirty you have to compensate for it. Please.”

Qiu Rurong was forcefully taken into the hotel to change her clothes. Zhao Jianyu didn’t intervene. She was truly a foolish woman to have provoked the dreaded Yama, Shang Yao, whose methods were known to all.

The elderly woman was settled by Secretary Fang and taken to the hospital. It was discovered that she hadn’t eaten in a day because she couldn’t afford to. The reason she was so frugal was that her grandson needed to undergo an expensive surgery. She barely made ends meet by collecting scraps of paper. Her grandson’s surgery had been postponed again and again.

Secretary Fang promptly contacted the hospital and had the elderly woman’s grandson taken into surgery. Overwhelmed with gratitude, the elderly woman almost knelt down to thank her.

After helping her up, Secretary Fang threw the bill into the trash, having paid for it herself. She had no intention of letting the president know because she was all too aware of Shang Yao’s ruthlessness and indifference.

Ruan Yuexi, pulled into the banquet by Shang Yao, felt momentarily puzzled. The male lead, Shang Yao, was not a warm-hearted person. Perhaps he didn’t want her to disgrace his face.

Meanwhile, Ning Chen and Feng Yi were at the banquet, along with Lu Yiliang and Tang Qingqing.

Tang Qingqing, dressed in a white evening gown today, looked like a water lily, attracting attention wherever she went.

Lu Yiliang, who had always stood by her side as her guardian, was absent-minded, his gaze occasionally wandering toward the entrance of the banquet.

Tang Qingqing noticed his unusual behavior, seeing him constantly looking towards the door as if expecting something. Though there was no change in her face, her hands were secretly pressing so hard.

A few women who had just returned from abroad nearby were discussing in low voices.

“I heard Shang Yao is coming today.”

“Really? How does my makeup look today?”

“Forget it. How could Shang Yao possibly like you? I’ve never seen him get close to any woman.”

“Why not? I’m not worse looking than Ruan Yuexi.”

“Ruan Yuexi was able to get close to Shang Yao thanks to old Mr. Shang’s blessing. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even have the chance to get close.”

“So what if they’re married? Shang Yao never touched her. I bet within three years, Ruan Yuexi will be left with nothing.”

“Though it’s cruel, I think the same. Ruan Yuexi won’t last long in the Shang family.”

“Who knows, maybe tonight’s banquet will end up in a mess like last time.”

“Last time, Ruan Yuexi really embarrassed herself. Her own husband was protecting another woman. It’s unbelievable.”

“Men, I blame Ruan Yuexi for not being charming enough. Anyway, let’s just wait and see what happens tonight.”

“Ruan Yuexi will definitely pester Shang Yao again in front of so many people.”

Feng Yi was furious listening to all this and was about to step forward to teach them a lesson when Ning Chen stopped her.

“Why are you stopping me? I want to go over and set them straight,” Feng Yi said, trying to shake off Ning Chen’s hand.

He didn’t like Ruan Yuexi, but they had gotten along fine the last couple of times. He thought she was okay. Hearing others talk about her like this made him inexplicably angry.

Ning Chen remained calm. “It’s a banquet now. Aren’t you afraid your grandfather will find out?”

Feng Yi was a bit afraid of his grandfather. So he glared at the women and finally relented.

Ning Chen just smiled. If what they said was true, Ruan Yuexi would soon leave Shang Yao, and he was looking forward to it.

Tang Qingqing was very happy to hear this. Will Brother Shang Yao like her?

Lu Yiliang frowned but was quickly conquered by his inner desires. The enchanting figure of Ruan Yuexi floated through his mind.

Each person had their own thoughts. As they did, two figures slowly appeared at the entrance of the banquet.

As soon as they entered the venue, the spotlight immediately shone on Shang Yao and Ruan Yuexi.

Ruan Yuexi blinked as the light was almost blinding, making it hard for her to open her eyes.

**

Ayalee: Urgh! That while lotus Tang Qingqing really got on my nerves.  (¬ꞈ ¬”)