As Zhang Wenhao fled in a panic, Xiao Hailong happened to come in, followed by his younger sister, Xiao Weiwei, and her fiancé, Wang Yunfei.
Beside Wang Yunfei was a richly dressed young man who bore some resemblance to him.
Xiao Hailong ran into Zhang Wenhao and hurriedly said, "Oh, Wenhao! When I came in, I heard something terrible had happened to your family. Is it true?"
Zhang Wenhao pushed him aside in a daze, muttering, "It's over, it's over, everything's over..."
Xiao Hailong asked with concern, "Young Master Zhang, what's wrong?"
Zhang Wenhao shook his head in terror, not daring to say a word.
He had no doubt that if he said something he shouldn't, he might end up lying dead in the street tomorrow.
With that, Zhang Wenhao pulled free of Xiao Hailong's grip and ran out in a daze.
Xiao Hailong watched him leave and exclaimed, "Looks like the Zhang Family really is finished. Damn, wasn't that a bit too fast? They were fine yesterday, and today they're bankrupt!"
Then Xiao Hailong spotted Ye Chen and Xiao Churan, and another nasty idea occurred to him. He hurriedly called out to her, "Churan, let me introduce you to this distinguished guest. This is Yunfei's cousin, Wang Yunkai, the Wang Family's eldest son and direct heir."
"Yunkai, this is my cousin, Xiao Churan," Xiao Hailong said to Wang Yunkai with a fawning smile.
Wang Yunkai's eyes had been fixed on Xiao Churan ever since he came in. Hearing the introduction, he hurriedly held out his hand. "Hello, Churan. I've long heard that the Xiao Family's daughter had the beauty of a flower and the grace of the moon. Now that I've met you, I can see your reputation was well deserved."
A trace of displeasure flashed in Ye Chen's eyes. There was no helping it when his wife was beautiful. He drove away one fly after another, and it was enough to drive him mad.
So he reached out first and shook Wang Yunkai's hand. "Hello, I'm Churan's husband," he said coldly.
"You?" Wang Yunkai looked Ye Chen up and down, his contempt plain to see. He withdrew his hand before saying indifferently, "I didn't expect Churan to be married already. What a fresh flower stuck in a pile of cow dung..."
Xiao Weiwei hurriedly explained from the side, "Yunkai, this good-for-nothing married into our Xiao Family. He has no job and no ability!"
Then she deliberately gave Wang Yunkai a meaningful look. "Yunkai, once Yunfei and I are married, we'll be one family. We should all see more of each other then..."
Wang Yunkai naturally understood what she meant: she was encouraging him to pursue Xiao Churan. He smiled and said, "Miss Churan is as beautiful as a heavenly fairy. I couldn't ask for anything better than to see more of her."
Just then, Ye Chen saw his mother-in-law, Ma Lan, and his father-in-law, Xiao Changkun, walking over.
As soon as Ma Lan came over, she hurriedly said to Xiao Churan, "Ranran, have you heard? The Zhang Family has gone bankrupt!"
"Huh?" Xiao Churan asked in surprise. "When did that happen?"
"Just now!" Ma Lan exclaimed. "I thought that after you divorced Ye Chen, you could be with Zhang Wenhao. Now it looks like that's out of the question..."
Ye Chen was thoroughly annoyed. Was his mother-in-law an idiot? Didn't she know her current son-in-law was the real golden catch?
When Wang Yunkai saw Ma Lan, he hurried over and introduced himself. "You must be Churan's mother. Hello, Auntie. I'm Yunfei's cousin, Wang Yunkai. You're so beautiful. No wonder you have such a beautiful daughter."
When Ma Lan heard that Wang Yunkai was Wang Yunfei's cousin, the Wang Family's eldest son and direct heir, and a young master from a wealthy family, her eyes lit up. She said with great enthusiasm, "Yes, yes, I'm Churan's mother. Are you and Churan friends?"
Wang Yunkai nodded and smiled. "We are, though we only met today!"
Ma Lan beamed and nodded eagerly. "Everyone, hurry and find a place to sit. Don't just stand there. Young Master Wang, our Churan is beautiful and as pure as ice and clean as jade. You young people should spend more time together from now on..."
"Mom!" Xiao Churan called out in displeasure, stopping her from saying any more.
Ma Lan was about to say something when Xiao Churan tugged at her, reminding everyone to pay attention to the stage.
By then, Old Madam Xiao was already standing in the spotlight!
She looked around excitedly before standing at the microphone and saying with a smile, "First, on behalf of the Xiao Family, I would like to welcome all our good friends and business partners to our banquet."
"Next, let us welcome the vice chairman of Dihao Group, Ms. Wang Dongxue, who has honored us with her presence."
The spotlight moved at once, casting its beam on a seat in the front row.
Wang Dongxue wore a black evening gown that fully revealed the perfect curves of her figure. Under the lights, she was as dazzling as a fairy, and every man in the room involuntarily turned his gaze toward her.
The vice chairman of Dihao Group! A beauty rarely seen in the world! Either distinction was enough to draw everyone's attention.
After standing, Wang Dongxue merely nodded to the crowd. When she saw Ye Chen, her gaze lingered on him for a moment before moving away.
Old Madam Xiao continued, "Today, I would first like to thank Dihao Group for entrusting such an important project to our Xiao Family. We will give it our all and live up to Emgrand's trust."
"Secondly, we would like to introduce an outstanding member of the younger generation of our Xiao Family. Without him, we could not have reached an agreement with Emgrand. Furthermore, after a collective discussion within our group, we have decided to appoint her as a director of Xiao Group, with full responsibility for our cooperation with Dihao Group!"
His mother-in-law, Ma Lan, said excitedly, "Oh, Ranran! It's your turn to go on stage!"
Although Xiao Churan had prepared herself to go on stage, she couldn't help feeling nervous.
Ye Chen immediately gave her an encouraging look.
Xiao Hailong looked at the excited Xiao Churan, and a mocking smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Old Madam Xiao also turned her gaze toward their table and spoke with a smile.
"Let us welcome Xiao Group's newly appointed director, Xiao Hailong!"
Xiao Churan froze on the spot...
She looked to the side in disbelief, only to see Xiao Hailong stepping onto the stage with a smug expression.
Ye Chen's gaze turned cold in an instant.
What a way to tear down the bridge after crossing the river!
After using Xiao Churan, the Xiao Family had cast her aside at once, without the slightest regard for her feelings!
Xiao Churan's eyes reddened instantly, and tears welled up in them.
The next moment, she stood up and ran toward the door without looking back.
However happy she had been when she arrived, she was now just as devastated!
Ye Chen watched her leave, his expression growing even colder.
Bullying my wife? Are you looking for death?
At that moment, Xiao Hailong stood on stage and said proudly, "Thank you for the company's trust. I will work hard to be a good director! I will also complete the project entrusted to us by Dihao Group to perfection!"
Old Madam Xiao nodded with satisfaction and took over. "There is one more matter of the greatest importance at this banquet. We have had the honor of inviting Mr. Ye, the new chairman of Dihao Group! Please give Chairman Ye the warmest round of applause!"
Thunderous applause erupted from the audience!
All the guests tonight had come for the new chairman of Dihao Group!
Everyone was waiting to catch a glimpse of him!
Everyone watched discreetly, eager to see who would stand up at this moment!
Someone even said, "I suspect this mysterious chairman of Dihao Group is the same person as that super-rich tycoon who caused such a stir at the Jade Pavilion online!"
"I think that's very likely too! That super-rich tycoon didn't look familiar from behind. He probably isn't from Jinling's social circles!"
"Heavens! If that's true, wouldn't the chairman of Dihao Group be the most powerful super-rich tycoon in Jinling right now?"
"I can't wait to see what he really looks like!"
Amid the thunderous applause, under the eager gazes of countless people, Ye Chen suddenly rose slowly to his feet, his face cold...