Mother-in-Law's Birthday Banquet

"Get lost. Stop bothering my lady." Zhang Yang glared and cursed. His temper was plain to see, and the man knew better than to provoke him. He backed off.

"Who's your lady?" Lin Xiaofei demanded, her cheeks puffed out. She stamped her foot again.

"Are you going to get married or not?" Zhang Yang asked.

"None of your damn business. I'll think about it when I'm done having fun!" Lin Xiaofei turned to give him a lingering, affectionate look, and Zhang Yang's heart went numb.

Zhang Yang grinned wickedly at her. There was so much about this woman 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, wouldn't it be perfect to make her his and add her to 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 couldn't take her driving anymore. The ride was far too hair-raising. He opened the door at once.

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

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

"Driving's like that other thing. If you're no good at it, sit back and enjoy yourself. Let someone else take charge." Zhang Yang's meaning was obvious. He pressed the accelerator, and the car shot forward.

"Ah—"

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

Zhang Yang's words made her blush. What she had experienced with him still felt new to her. Every time time reset, she forgot the past. Zhang Yang didn't.

"Feel good?" Zhang Yang drove hard onto the ring expressway.

"Yes! Take me out on a mountain road sometime. Let this car really show what it can do." Lin Xiaofei was in a panic, her hands searching for something to hold on to.

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

"At night? Why at night?" Lin Xiaofei lived at Cheng Dongxue's home, so their story had always unfolded there. Zhang Yang wanted to try somewhere else and continue it.

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

The little sports car came to a screeching halt outside Wangda Hotel.

His wife, Cheng Dongxue, was standing at the hotel entrance. She watched Zhang Yang speed toward her 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 the valet.

Grinning, Zhang Yang opened Lin Xiaofei's door and offered her his arm. She paused, then took it. On his other side, he waited for Cheng Dongxue.

Zhang Yang looked good today in the suit Cheng Dongxue had bought him. His bow tie was a little crooked, though. He never dressed up in a suit and tie.

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

"Dongxue, what are you talking about? He's your husband. Why should I look after him?" Lin Xiaofei said with a playful pout.

Cheng Dongxue gave Lin Xiaofei a cold look and continued fixing the tie. "Zhang Yang, don't say anything reckless in there. Whatever people say, just listen. Don't do what you did before and nearly get into a fight."

At earlier birthday banquets for his mother-in-law, relatives and friends had loved making Zhang Yang the butt of their jokes. Unable to stand it, he would snap back, and several times had nearly come to blows. Many people didn't want him there, yet still hoped he would show up and embarrass himself.

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

"Heh..." Lin Xiaofei couldn't help laughing at the sight of him.

Cheng Dongxue looked at him with disdain and gave the bow tie a sharp tug. "You're the one who can do everything, huh?"

Once she had finished, Cheng Dongxue took Zhang Yang's other arm. Zhang Yang strode into the hotel with a beautiful woman on each side, head held high. The greeters and security guards watched them pass with envy.

Yang Su's birthday banquet was on the fifth floor of Wangda Hotel. When the elevator doors opened, Zhang Yang appeared with the two women on his arms.

The banquet was already bustling with voices.

Zhang Yang disliked gatherings like this, especially when there was no one he had anything in common with. They left him feeling uncomfortable and awkward.

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

It was a place ruled by status, money, and reputation.

He entered the vast hall. Dining tables filled the room, no fewer than fifty by his estimate, though not all of them would be needed.

Every year, his mother-in-law sent out invitations to everyone she knew, but that didn't mean they would all come.

So a third of the tables went to waste each year. Today would probably be no different.

The guest of honor was already seated at the center of the hall, accepting congratulations and gifts.

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

Zhang Yang already had the birthday gift in his hand, ready to give it to her. But he suddenly worried that his mother-in-law might not recognize its value.

What kind of person was Yang Su?

Zhang Yang knew all too well. She worshipped money, favored the rich, looked down on the poor, and was a vulgar, snobbish social climber. To someone like her, an antique jade hairpin might mean less than a gold bracelet.

So Zhang Yang still had to prepare himself to face everyone's mockery.

"All right," Zhang Yang replied. There was no avoiding it; sooner or later, this moment would come.

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 were visible, and loose trousers that showed off her still-graceful figure whenever she moved.

As Zhang Yang entered, every guest at the banquet turned to look at him.

"Oh..."

Some exclaimed in surprise. Zhang Yang looked nothing like his usual self today, and he had a stunning woman on each arm. The two women were the most beautiful there, drawing envious looks from all around.

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

Then someone blocked his path.

A couple came into view, arm in arm. The man was tall and handsome in a well-fitted suit. The woman was beautiful and neatly dressed, with a face that somewhat resembled Cheng Dongxue's.

The woman was Cheng Dongyu, Cheng Dongxue's elder sister. The man was Xia Shiying, her elder sister's husband.

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

"Big Sister, brother-in-law!" Cheng Dongxue greeted them at once.