A Scandal Among the Elite

"This is..." Bai Yanyun paused and looked at Su Rui, her tone somewhat teasing. "Don't tell me he's Sister Ruobing's boyfriend?"

"Su Rui." Su Rui stood up, smiling as he nodded. "Miss Bai, you have a sharp eye!"

A flicker passed through Bai Yanyun's eyes at Su Rui's response.

"May I ask which distinguished family Mr. Su comes from?" Bai Yanyun's smile remained gentle, but her words carried a pressuring edge. "To have caught Sister Ruobing's eye, you must possess some truly exceptional qualities."

Su Rui smiled faintly. How could he not understand the implication behind Bai Yanyun's words?

The man beside her came from an astonishingly influential family and was exceptionally accomplished. Clearly, she had brought him here to show off. If Su Rui showed any weakness, Li Ruobing would naturally be trampled beneath them as well.

"I come from a working-class family," Su Rui replied without hiding anything. "At present, I serve as vice president of Mingzhu Company."

Bai Yanyun's pupils widened slightly at his words. She was somewhat surprised.

The Li and Bai families were both among the top elite families. Their children's marriages and socializing had long been arranged, and political and business marriage alliances were the norm. Just like Deng Hao beside her, whose family wielded considerable influence in the south.

Among elite families, strong alliances were the mainstream.

Yet Li Ruobing had found herself a boyfriend from a working-class family...

The corners of Deng Hao's lips curled up ever so slightly. After hearing Su Rui's words, a trace of barely perceptible contempt appeared on his face.

"Mr. Su is quite impressive! Rising from the working class into high society takes real skill..." Deng Hao narrowed his eyes and smiled kindly as he patted Su Rui on the shoulder. "My family's companies have a few executives like Mr. Su too, promoted from migrant-worker positions! Those country bumpkins are really good at sucking up... I'll introduce you sometime, and you can exchange tips on getting promoted... Hahaha... Just joking, just joking!"

Deng Hao's words were blunt, filled with undisguised mockery.

He was mocking Su Rui's lowly origins, mocking the vast difference between him and people like them, elite heirs born with golden spoons in their mouths!

Bai Yanyun put on an act, tugging at Deng Hao's sleeve and pretending to be angry as she reproached him coquettishly, "Deng Hao, don't talk nonsense! Sister Ruobing is right here!"

Li Ruobing held her wine glass, calm and indifferent.

But she was already considering splashing the wine in her glass onto Deng Hao's face.

Su Rui had come with her. Mocking him was the same as mocking Li Ruobing, and Li Ruobing had a forceful personality. She would not care what kind of background Deng Hao's family had or how much influence he possessed.

If he truly enraged her, she might even take a knife and hack someone.

"Sister Ruobing, don't misunderstand... Deng Hao just likes joking around..." Bai Yanyun appeared deeply apologetic as she explained, but her brows and eyes were full of amusement.

Su Rui sat with his crossed legs, smiling without replying. Instead, he looked up and asked, "Where is Mr. Deng from?"

"My ancestral home is in Chunhui City, but we have companies in Donglin, Huining, and Nanping as well. We also know quite a few provincial officials!" Deng Hao very modestly showed off, casually revealing his family background...

"Oh... Chunhui..." Su Rui raised his eyebrows.

"Mingzhu Company intends to develop in Chunhui? But in my opinion, with Mingzhu's current scale, expanding into other cities would be quite difficult..." Deng Hao licked his lips, his smile carrying a meaningful undertone.

"No, no, Mr. Deng, you misunderstand." Su Rui waved his hand and said with a smile, "It's just that I once had a friend settle down in Chunhui. He told me a little Chunhui gossip, that's all."

Gossip?

Deng Hao instinctively followed up, "What gossip?"

"Heh... I don't know whether it was true or not... I heard from my friend that a Rich Second Generation in Chunhui got involved with his own stepmother while his father was away on a business trip, and she even got pregnant. Later, when that Rich Second Generation's father found out, he nearly beat him to death with a whip. The pregnant stepmother was also dealt with privately and buried alive."

"The story spread throughout the city back then, and there were all kinds of versions. I was just curious... Mr. Deng, your family is a deeply rooted great elite family in Chunhui. Surely you know more inside information than ordinary people?"

Su Rui's tone was relaxed, as if he were casually discussing gossip. He stared at Deng Hao with eyes full of curiosity. "Could you satisfy my curiosity and tell me whether it was true or not?"

Li Ruobing frowned.

Scandals often emerged among elite families. It was nothing unusual, though they tended to conceal them well for the sake of their reputations.

Bai Yanyun also could not understand what Su Rui was getting at. Still, she had been drawn in by his story and looked at Deng Hao with an innocent expression, wanting him to confirm whether it was true.

"Gulp..."

Deng Hao's body stiffened. His Adam's apple bobbed, and a bead of sweat the size of a soybean slid down his cheek.

It was as though he had been struck by lightning!

He could even hear his own heart pounding. The heart in his chest nearly leaped into his throat.

Three years later, Deng Hao had never imagined that he would hear this story again in Tongzhou, over a thousand kilometers away from Chunhui!

"Deng Hao!" Bai Yanyun noticed that something was wrong with him and gently shook his arm. "What's wrong with you?"

"Ah... nothing! Nothing!" Deng Hao snapped back to his senses. Realizing how strange he had acted, he gave two dry laughs. "What Mr. Su mentioned... I thought about it for a long time just now, but I don't remember anything like that happening in Chunhui... It was probably just a ridiculous rumor. You know how it is, people love elite-family scandals. Even the slightest rumor can be fabricated to sound real!"

"Hehe... I see! Then my friend must have heard it wrong!" Su Rui smiled and nodded. "He made it sound so real, even the burial site was described quite clearly..."

Thump!

Deng Hao's heart pounded wildly again.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore..." Su Rui looked meaningfully at Deng Hao's face, as though deliberately changing the subject. "What hobbies does Mr. Deng usually have?"

The moment Su Rui took the initiative to bring up this subject, Bai Yanyun immediately smiled and deliberately stroked her slender, fair fingers.

"Oh..." Deng Hao had strong mental fortitude. In an instant, he regained his former calm composure, a smile on his lips. "Yan Yun and I studied at the same art academy. We have some grounding in the appreciation of music and the arts!"

"That's right!" Bai Yanyun chuckled. "Deng Hao often says that once people reach a certain social class, money is no longer important! What they need more is spiritual fulfillment, like attending concerts or playing the piano. Otherwise, no matter how much money they make, they are merely uncouth bosses and miserly hoarders. Don't you agree, Sister Ruobing?"