But Su Qingran, having reached the peak of her pain, finally laughed. “You never planned to tell me in advance. You waited deliberately for this moment, didn’t you?”

Jiang Chenlin said nothing.

But Xu Yin, in his arms, quickly interjected, “Su Qingran, this isn’t exactly what you think. That night at the hotel, nothing happened between us—”

“I wasn’t asking you!” Su Qingran sharply cut her off.

It was the first time Xu Yin had seen Su Qingran like this. The normally arrogant young lady had, for the first time, shouted her into silence.

Having been Su Qingran’s rival for years, Xu Yin had always anticipated the moment she could finally humiliate her. But now that the moment had come, she only wanted to escape.

Yet Jiang Chenlin didn’t give her the chance.

He grabbed Xu Yin’s arm and turned to Su Qingran, saying, “Yes, I’ve been waiting for this moment all along.”

All of Jiang Chenlin’s inner struggle and turmoil over the past few days finally came to an end at that moment.

He swayed slightly, almost unable to stand, relying on Xu Yin’s strength to maintain his composure.

“Alright, I understand,” Su Qingran nodded.

Just when everyone thought she would turn and run away in tears, she raised her hand, using every ounce of her strength, and slapped Jiang Chenlin hard.

“From now on, we are done!”

Her palm stung fiercely, and the force had left her trembling hand numb, hanging by her side, shivering uncontrollably.

The slap rang out clearly, and a bright red handprint quickly appeared on Jiang Chenlin’s face.

As Su Qingran turned away, Lu Ruolan and Su Zhen supported her.

Then Su Qiantang, the usually timid and socially anxious girl who had never spoken in front of strangers, rushed up to Jiang Chenlin. She raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face, even though he towered over her.

“Bastard!” It was the only insult she knew.

Jiang Chenlin stood there, his ears ringing, unable to feel the pain on his face, which was dulled by other emotions.

He maintained a stiff smile, his eyes locked onto Su Qingran, not saying a word.

Jiang Ruo and Wen Yue approached. Seeing the handprints on both sides of Jiang Chenlin’s face, Jiang Ruo, feeling there was nothing left to do, raised her foot and kicked him hard.

Wen Yue, though heartbroken for his son, understood the absurdity of the situation and didn’t stop Jiang Ruo. Instead, he turned to Su Zhen to explain.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Su. I don’t know what’s gotten into Chenlin. He’s made a huge mistake and hurt Xiaoran. I apologize on his behalf. I’m deeply sorry!”

Su Zhen, supporting Su Qingran, was trembling with rage. This man, who had fought his way from a small grocery store owner to his current position, had always wanted to shield his wife and daughters from hardship. But now, he was forced to witness this storm firsthand.

“This has nothing to do with you. The one who hurt my daughter is Jiang Chenlin. Whatever his reasons, our Su family will never forgive him!”

Wen Yue knew that, no matter what, the relationship between the two families was beyond repair. At best, they could hope not to become enemies.

“Jiang Chenlin, get over here and apologize to Xiaoran! Apologize to all the guests today!” Wen Yue shouted.

Jiang Chenlin, who had been knocked to the ground by Jiang Ruo’s kick, was now disheveled, his once impeccably tailored suit covered in footprints and dirt, far from his former polished appearance.

He stood up, step by step, and walked toward Su Qingran.

But he did not apologize.

Su Zhen wanted to hit him, but Su Qingran stopped him.

She said, “We’re no longer connected. Let the Jiang family handle their own education from now on.”

Jiang Chenlin’s vacant eyes suddenly focused on her face when he heard this.

Jiang Ruo, still furious, twisted Jiang Chenlin’s arm. “You’re still sticking with this, aren’t you? All for Xu Yin?!”

Jiang Chenlin didn’t answer, as if he couldn’t feel the pain.

As for Xu Yin, she had long since disappeared, and no one cared.

Su Zhen concluded, “Alright, Mr. Jiang, our cooperation ends here. You know, I only have Xiaoran and Qiandang, my two precious daughters. I’ve worked hard all these years just to keep them happy and healthy. But what Jiang Chenlin did today is something we cannot tolerate. This ends now.”

Jiang Ruo nodded, “Alright, we apologize for what our son has done.”

She then bowed deeply to Su Qingran in front of everyone. Wen Yue followed suit, bowing as well.

Afterward, they turned to apologize to the guests.

At this point, the guests finally began to process what had happened.

The room fell into silence as everyone exchanged awkward glances, unsure of how to smooth over the tension.

Some, reacting quickly, rose to comfort the Su family.

Su Qingran’s classmates gathered around her, trying to console her with disjointed words, attempting to lighten her mood.

The room became lively again.

In the midst of the commotion, Jiang Chenlin was escorted out of the banquet hall.

The Wen family, too ashamed to stay, left. Jiang Ruo wanted to remain to handle the aftermath, but Su Zhen refused.

The hall was suddenly half-empty.

Su Qingran sat in a chair, drinking warm water.

The warmth slowly spread through her body, but she couldn’t shake the trembling.

She could feel the many pairs of eyes glancing at her, filled with sympathy and pity.

She thought to herself, she had finally reached solid ground. It may be an abyss, but at least it wasn’t the unstable castle in the air she had been suspended in before.

How ironic. In the chaos, someone had accidentally bumped the computer mouse, and the slideshow reappeared on the screen, showing the last photo.

The scenes from an hour ago, like a slap to her face, brought back all those sweet memories she had cherished alone, now piercing her heart like needles.

Slowly, she finally began to feel the pain.

In that pain, she walked to the front of the room, picked up the microphone, and said to everyone, “I’m sorry for ruining the mood today. The engagement between Jiang Chenlin and me is officially canceled. From now on, we will be strangers.”

With that, she bowed deeply, a full ninety degrees, to the crowd.

When she stood back up, her tear ducts seemed to remember their function, and tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision.