It was as if everything had suddenly been paused.

That brief half-minute felt endlessly long to Su Qingran, stretching time as if pulled by an invisible hand. One moment, she was trying hard to stay calm, and the next, she could barely stand.

Perhaps the shock was too great, and all her senses and emotions seemed to have left her, leaving her numb, unable to feel anything at all.

In her line of sight was Jiang Chenlin, dressed in the same engagement suit he had worn an hour ago, just like the last photo she had shown in the slideshow—handsome and completely unscathed.

There had been no car accident. His appearance was immaculate, without a hint of disarray or wrinkles. He looked like any other guest at the engagement banquet, simply arriving late with a female companion.

Yes, a female companion.

His posture was casual, almost lazy, as he draped his arm over the shoulder of the woman beside him, gently holding her.

Su Qingran slowly shifted her gaze from Jiang Chenlin to the woman beside him.

She knew this woman.

They had been rivals for years, although calling her a “rival” seemed almost humorous now—after all, their conflict had begun over a cat, competing for attention.

But their years of silent competition were real.

They had never gotten along, and Jiang Chenlin knew that.

Yet here he was, holding Xu Yin’s shoulder, his posture relaxed, a faint, mocking smile playing on his lips as his gaze fell casually on Su Qingran.

“Pretty,” he said.

Su Qingran didn’t respond.

She just stared deeply at the man in front of her, but all the pain she should have felt was delayed.

Empty. Numb.

The room went from dead silence to sudden murmuring and then quickly back to an almost eerie quiet.

Countless eyes wandered between the three of them.

Jiang Chenlin still held Xu Yin, and behind him was a life-sized cardboard cutout of him and Su Qingran, both smiling sweetly. In this moment, the contrast seemed like a silent mockery.

The parents quickly reacted, with Jiang Ruo almost rushing forward. The usually composed businesswoman, who had single-handedly supported the Jiang family for years, was now trembling with fury.

Jiang Chenlin didn’t flinch or move away, as if waiting for his mother to either pull him aside or slap him.

But Su Qingran stepped in front of Jiang Chenlin.

Her voice trembled, her whole body shook, but still, she spoke: “Auntie, please wait. I have something to ask him.”

Jiang Ruo was held back by Wen Yue, while Su Zhen, Lu Ruolan, and Su Qiandang stared at Jiang Chenlin with reddened eyes, their gaze sharp.

In contrast, the three at the center of the storm were not as tense.

Su Qingran looked directly into Jiang Chenlin’s eyes and asked, word by word, “Chenlin, why were you late? Do you not want to get engaged to me?”

Jiang Chenlin looked at the tears Su Qingran was trying to hold back. His hand on Xu Yin’s shoulder unconsciously tightened, causing Xu Yin to gasp in pain.

But Jiang Chenlin seemed not to notice.

His expression remained indifferent, the amusement at the corner of his lips deepening.

In a careless tone, he said, “Yes, I don’t want to get engaged to you. Qingran, wake up. I’ve never loved you.”

Su Qingran wasn’t sure what weight these words carried, but she knew that from this moment on, there would be a definitive end between her and the man in front of her.

Yet the scenes from the slideshow still echoed in her mind, and all their shared experiences made it impossible for her to believe that he had never cared for her, not even a little.

She felt like she was trapped in an absurd farce. What had once been a sweet romance had, in the span of 40 minutes, turned into a cruel, illogical nightmare, moving so fast she couldn’t keep up.

But her brain, outside of her emotions, was still working.

“So, on the night I left for Xinjiang, you actually went to meet Xu Yin?” Su Qingran asked.

Jiang Chenlin’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he nodded after a moment, his voice slightly hoarse: “Yes.”

Su Qingran pressed further, “The person with Xu Yin at the hotel that night—was that you?”

Jiang Chenlin nodded again. “Yes.”

Su Qingran tried to force a bitter smile, but found she couldn’t even manage that. Her lips were trembling too much: “The tabloid reporters, you hired them, didn’t you? You wanted me to find out on my own and call off the engagement?”

This time, Jiang Chenlin shook his head. “No.”