Mother-in-Law's Birthday Banquet

"Get lost. Stop bothering my queen," Zhang Yang snapped, glaring at the man. His temper was plain to see, and the man knew better than to provoke him. He backed off.

"Who are you calling your queen?" Lin Xiaofei demanded, cheeks puffed out. She could not help pressing the accelerator harder.

"Are you ever going to get married?" Zhang Yang asked.

"None of your damn business. I'll think about it when I'm done having fun!" Lin Xiaofei turned and gave him a lingering look that made his heart go numb.

Zhang Yang grinned wickedly as he gazed at Lin Xiaofei. There was so much about her that made him forget everything else: her lips, her shoulders, her slender hands, her delicate feet, and her...

With a body that wonderful, and an experience that felt like the first time every time, why not make her part of his harem?

The light suddenly turned red. Lin Xiaofei slammed on the brakes, but the car had already rolled over the line.

"Get out. I'm driving!" Zhang Yang could not take her driving anymore. Riding with her was too hair-raising, so he opened the door at once.

"Fine, I'll get out. If you can drive, you do it." Whenever Lin Xiaofei drove with someone in the passenger seat, she got chewed out. She was furious now.

Zhang Yang opened the door. Lin Xiaofei climbed out, went around, and settled into the passenger seat.

"Driving is like, you know... If you're no good at it, just enjoy yourself and let someone else take control." Zhang Yang's words carried another meaning as he stepped on the gas and the car shot forward.

"Ah—"

Lin Xiaofei shrieked. They were going so fast it was thrilling.

Zhang Yang's words made Lin Xiaofei blush. What she had experienced with him still felt new to her. Every time time reset, she forgot the past, but Zhang Yang did not.

"Feel good?" Zhang Yang asked as he drove hard onto the Ring Expressway.

"Yes! When are you taking me out on a mountain road so this car can really show what it can do?" Lin Xiaofei was flustered, her hands searching for something to hold on to.

"Sure. Tell me when you're free, and I'll take you. Night would be best." Zhang Yang sounded delighted.

"Night? Why at night?" Lin Xiaofei lived at Cheng Dongxue's house, so their story always unfolded there. Zhang Yang wanted to try somewhere else and pick up where they had left off.

"Because it's twice as thrilling at night." Zhang Yang slowed down as they approached the exit.

The little sports car screeched to a stop outside Wangda Hotel.

His wife, Cheng Dongxue, was standing at the hotel entrance. She watched Zhang Yang race up and then stop abruptly.

"Zhang Yang, are you trying to get yourself killed? Why were you driving so fast?" Zhang Yang got out and tossed the keys to a valet.

Grinning, Zhang Yang opened Lin Xiaofei's door and offered her his arm. She hesitated, then took it. He waited for Cheng Dongxue to take his other arm.

Zhang Yang looked rather good today in the suit Cheng Dongxue had bought him. His tie was carelessly knotted, though; he never dressed so formally.

"Wait..." Instead of taking his arm, Cheng Dongxue straightened his tie and complained to Lin Xiaofei, "Xiao Fei, his tie's crooked. Why didn't you help him fix it?"

"Cheng Dongxue, what are you saying? He's your husband. Why should I be the one looking after him?" Lin Xiaofei pouted playfully.

Cheng Dongxue gave Lin Xiaofei a chilly look and kept working on the tie. "Zhang Yang, don't say anything reckless in there. Whatever people say, just listen. Don't be like last time, when you nearly got into a fight."

At his mother-in-law's previous birthday banquets, relatives and friends had liked to make Zhang Yang the butt of their jokes. He could never stand it and would lash out, sometimes coming close to blows. Many of them did not want him there, yet still hoped he would show up and embarrass himself.

"Okay, I'll listen to my wife. But if someone goes too far, I can't promise anything. I'm a man, after all. A man has to stand tall." Zhang Yang puffed out his chest and thumped it.

"Heh..." Lin Xiaofei could not help laughing at the sight of him.

Cheng Dongxue looked at him in disgust and tugged hard on his tie. "You think you're so tough."

Once she had finished with his tie, Cheng Dongxue took his other arm. With a beautiful woman on each side, Zhang Yang strode into the hotel, head held high. The greeters and security guards on either side could only watch enviously.

Yang Su's birthday banquet was on the fifth floor of Wangda Hotel. The elevator doors opened, and Zhang Yang made his entrance with the two beauties.

The banquet hall was already bustling with conversation.

Zhang Yang disliked occasions like this, especially when there was no one there he could relate to. He felt painfully awkward and out of place.

Everyone here wore a mask and looked at others through tinted glasses.

This was a place ruled by status and self-interest.

The vast hall was filled with dining tables. At a glance, Zhang Yang estimated there were at least fifty, though they would not all be needed.

Every year, his mother-in-law sent birthday invitations to everyone she knew, but that did not mean they would all come.

A third of the banquet tables went to waste every year. Today would likely be no different.

Yang Su, the birthday celebrant, was already seated at the center of the hall, accepting congratulations and gifts from the guests.

"Zhang Yang, let's wish Mom a happy birthday and give her the present first." Cheng Dongxue shook his arm.

Zhang Yang was carrying the birthday present, ready to hand it over at any moment. But now he was suddenly worried his mother-in-law would not recognize its worth.

What kind of person was Yang Su?

Zhang Yang knew all too well. She worshipped money, fawned over the rich, scorned the poor, and cared only about status. For someone like her, an antique jade hairpin might not go over as well as a plain gold bracelet.

So Zhang Yang steeled himself for everyone's mockery.

"All right," Zhang Yang said. There was no escaping it. Sooner or later, they would have to face her.

Zhang Yang walked toward Yang Su with Cheng Dongxue and Lin Xiaofei. Whatever her faults of character, Yang Su was undeniably attractive; otherwise, she could hardly have had a daughter as beautiful as Cheng Dongxue. Today she wore new clothes: a sheer, alluring blouse through which her dark undergarments showed, and loose trousers that still revealed her well-kept figure with every movement.

When Zhang Yang appeared, every guest at the banquet turned to look at him.

"Oh..."

Some murmured in surprise. Zhang Yang looked nothing like he usually did, and he had a beauty on each arm. The two women were the loveliest sight at the banquet, stirring envy all around.

The short walk suddenly felt long. Under everyone's gaze, Zhang Yang was deeply uncomfortable.

Then someone stepped into their path.

A man and woman approached arm in arm. The man was tall and handsome in a well-fitted suit. The woman had delicate features somewhat like Cheng Dongxue's and was tastefully dressed.

The woman was Cheng Dongyu, Cheng Dongxue's eldest sister. The man was Xia Shiying, Cheng Dongxue's brother-in-law.

Arm in arm, they walked gracefully toward the three of them.

"Big Sis, Brother-in-law!" Cheng Dongxue greeted them at once.