"Are you sure the person you want to get engaged to is me?"
As everyone looked on in astonishment, Shen Yannian calmly turned to Su Cimu and asked him.
Su Cimu nodded firmly.
"This young master is absolutely sure."
Shen Yannian chuckled softly, finding this quite interesting.
Su Huaiyuan, Liang Zhen, and Su Yunchao, meanwhile, looked horrified.
"Xiao Ci, marriage isn't a game. Don't be rash!"
"That's right, Xiao Ci. Listen to Dad. I'll definitely find you someone better. A spur-of-the-moment decision doesn't count."
Su Yunchao hurried to persuade him too, afraid his younger brother would do something irreversible on impulse.
But Su Cimu seemed to have made up his mind. No matter what his family said, he kept staring steadily at Shen Yannian, as though waiting for his answer.
"Does Young Master Su know who I am?" Shen Yannian looked at Su Cimu teasingly.
"I don't care who you are. This young master has taken a liking to you, so just tell me whether you want to get engaged. If you don't, I'll find someone else. Don't waste my time." Su Cimu folded his arms, unconcerned about the identity or background of the man he wanted to get engaged to.
What mattered was that he, Su Cimu, had taken a liking to him.
At those words, Shen Yannian's lips curled into a faint smile, and he strode toward Su Cimu.
"Oh no, oh no. Is Second Master Shen going to hit him?"
"Young Master Su is really done for this time. Of all the people he could provoke, why did he have to pick Shen Yannian?"
Just as everyone thought Shen Yannian would lose his temper, he walked up beside Su Cimu and offered him his arm.
"We have so many guests. We should go entertain them, fiancé-"
At that, Su Cimu raised an eyebrow, then took Shen Yannian's arm with a thoroughly defiant air and proceeded to toast the guests as originally planned.
Shen Kezhou was already dumbfounded!
Could someone tell him why his uncle had appeared here and become the fiancé of the person he was about to get engaged to?
"Right, I forgot to ask your name earlier. We're already engaged, and you know my name, but I still don't know yours. That's a little unfair."
"Isn't it a little late to ask my name now?"
"It's not."
"Shen Yannian. That's my name. Make sure you remember it, because from today onward, we're fiancés."
The smile on Shen Yannian's face gradually spread until he couldn't hide it.
Su Cimu, meanwhile, murmured his fiancé's name.
"Shen Yannian? Why does that name sound familiar? Why is your surname Shen too..."
Seeing that Su Cimu still hadn't realized who he was, Shen Yannian gave a slightly helpless smile.
This fiancé of his seemed rather slow on the uptake. They had met before, but Young Master Su appeared to have forgotten him long ago.
Su Cimu didn't know who Shen Yannian was, but Su Huaiyuan and Su Yunchao knew perfectly well!
Father and son exchanged looks.
How had his son (younger brother) managed to get involved with the most untouchable member of the Shen family?
More importantly, Shen Yannian was actually playing along with Xiao Ci's antics. He had even accepted this spur-of-the-moment "proposal." This was far too ridiculous!
When he began toasting the guests with his arm linked through Shen Yannian's, Su Cimu finally realized who Shen Yannian was.
"You're that scumbag's uncle?"
Seeing that Su Cimu had finally recognized him, Shen Yannian's expression relaxed considerably.
"Recognized me? So does this engagement still count?" Shen Yannian asked jokingly.
"Of course it counts. I'm just a little surprised. Since you're Shen Kezhou's uncle, you must know me. So why did you agree to get engaged to me?"
Su Cimu lowered his voice and spoke close to Shen Yannian's ear.
Feeling the warm breath brushing his ear, Shen Yannian's heart stirred.
"Perhaps it was an impulse. Or perhaps Young Master Su looked so pitiful that I agreed."
Su Cimu could tell immediately that Shen Yannian wasn't telling the truth and couldn't help rolling his eyes.
Shen Yannian froze, then demanded, "Did you just roll your eyes at me?"
"Huh? Was it that obvious?"
Su Cimu looked at Shen Yannian with an expression that said, "What are you going to do about it?" certain that he wouldn't dare do anything to him.
Shen Yannian couldn't help laughing. That had been quite an eye roll. Young Master Su certainly lived up to his nickname of "little drama queen."
Shen Yannian decided not to hold all this against Su Cimu for now. Later, he would let Su Cimu learn the price of rolling his eyes at him.
As they made their toasts, Su Cimu noticed that the guests treated Shen Yannian with reverence, even a little fear.
Su Cimu belatedly realized that he seemed to have gotten involved with someone he shouldn't have.
But it was already too late for regrets. Once Young Master Su had said something, he had no intention of taking it back.
So what if he was the head of the Shen family? He was only barely good enough for me. Getting engaged to me was a bargain for an old man like Shen Yannian!
After the engagement banquet ended, Shen Yannian, his assistant Wan Ke, and the Su family sat in the lounge, looking at one another in silence.
"Mom, Dad, big brother, say something. I think this fiancé is much better than the last one. It's a marriage alliance with the Shen family either way. Shen Kezhou or Shen Yannian, it's all pretty much the same," Su Cimu said nonchalantly.
"How could that possibly be the same!"
"How is it the same?"
Su Huaiyuan and Su Yunchao demanded in unison.
There was simply no comparison between Shen Kezhou and Shen Yannian!
Given Xiao Ci's temperament, wrapping Shen Kezhou around his finger would be easy, but with Shen Yannian, he would only end up being schemed against and bullied! Even they wouldn't be able to protect Xiao Ci!
"How is it different? They both have two eyes and a nose. Oh, right, the only difference is that Shen Yannian is a little more handsome than Shen Kezhou, and he's a better match for me," Su Cimu said proudly.
Su Huaiyuan and Su Yunchao both pressed their hands to their foreheads, wondering when Su Cimu would ever change this narcissistic habit of his.
"Xiao Ci is right. We are better suited to each other. Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, Brother-in-law, there's no need to worry. Now that Xiao Ci and I are engaged, I'll take good care of him and won't let him suffer any mistreatment."
Shen Yannian smiled as he answered the Su family's doubts and made his promise.
At Shen Yannian's words, every member of the Su family looked as though they had seen a ghost.
"Ahem, well, Second Master Shen, we've spoiled Xiao Ci. You don't have to take today's engagement banquet to heart. There's no need to treat it as real..."
Before Su Huaiyuan could finish, Shen Yannian interrupted him.
"Are you questioning what I just said, Father-in-law? If it were only a joke, I wouldn't have agreed in the first place. The Shen Family and Su families' joint venture is already underway, and the project is worth ten billion. Without a solid marriage alliance to support it, neither of us could feel entirely at ease about the other, could we?"
With those casually spoken words, Shen Yannian left Su Huaiyuan with nothing to say.
The Su family had only participated in this joint venture in the first place because Su Cimu and Shen Kezhou were getting engaged.
At this, Su Cimu stared at the two of them, his eyes wide.
"What joint venture? Why didn't I know about it? Old Su, did you sell your own son???"