Under everyone's incredulous gaze, Ye Chen slowly stood up.
Every eye in the banquet hall instantly converged on him.
"Ye Chen, what are you doing? Sit down, now!" Ma Lan hurriedly called out in alarm.
Didn't he see what kind of occasion this was? None of the big shots present dared to stand up, so why was he, a good-for-nothing live-in son-in-law, making a spectacle of himself?
Wang Yunkai and Wang Yunfei exchanged a glance, both thinking, Damn, could he really be the chairman of the Dihao Group?
But the next moment, both of them shook their heads.
Impossible. If he really was Emgrand's chairman, how could Ma Lan have cursed him to a bloody pulp?
"What are you doing, you good-for-nothing? Sit down this instant!" Xiao Hailong shouted from the stage, his face dark.
Ye Chen gave him a cold look, then walked straight over to Wang Dongxue. Paying no attention to the shocked stares around him, he whispered a few words in her ear.
Wang Dongxue nodded slightly as she listened.
At the sight, everyone's hearts instantly clenched.
Wang Dongxue! The vice chairwoman of the Dihao Group and a peerless beauty famous throughout Jinling! How could a good-for-nothing live-in son-in-law like Ye Chen know her? And judging by the look of things, the two of them were on good terms.
After speaking, Ye Chen ignored everyone's stares and walked out of the hall to go after Xiao Churan.
Wang Dongxue, meanwhile, stood up, walked onto the stage, and took the microphone. Under everyone's bewildered gazes, she said, "Hello, everyone. I'm Wang Dongxue. Mr. Ye Chen met our chairman outside earlier, and the chairman asked him to pass a message to me."
Hearing that Ye Chen wasn't Emgrand's chairman, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Wang Yunkai let out a breath and muttered disdainfully, "He just happened to meet him once, and now he's trying so desperately to curry favor with his assistant. What trash."
Wang Yunfei shrugged and smiled. "That's how small fries are."
Onstage, Wang Dongxue glanced at Old Madam Xiao, her expression turning cold. "The chairman has asked me to inform everyone..."
"Effective immediately, the Dihao Group is terminating its cooperation with the Xiao Family. The contract that has already been signed is hereby void!"
Boom!
The crowd erupted. No one had expected Wang Dongxue to say such a thing.
The sudden turn of events left everyone dumbfounded.
Old Madam Xiao's face instantly turned deathly pale, and she asked urgently, "Vice Chairwoman Wang, why is this happening? What has our Xiao Family done wrong?"
She had invited all of Jinling's prominent figures here today in the hope of using the occasion to make a name for herself in the city.
If the partnership fell through in front of everyone, the Xiao Family would likely be trampled under everyone's feet.
Wang Dongxue said, "Our chairman only agreed to cooperate with you on this project because he held Ms. Xiao Churan in high regard. Yet you took it upon yourselves to put some inexplicable person in charge of the project. I'm sorry, but we won't accept that!"
With that, Wang Dongxue put down the microphone and walked out the door without looking back.
Old Madam Xiao's face was deathly pale as she collapsed onto the stage.
Never in her dreams had she imagined that a moment of petty cleverness would destroy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Had she known things would turn out this way, she wouldn't have let Xiao Hailong replace Xiao Churan as director, not even if someone beat her to death.
Xiao Hailong was utterly bewildered too. What was going on? It seemed Wang Dongxue was deliberately targeting him, but he had never offended her!
He couldn't help asking Old Madam Xiao, "Grandma, the director's appointment has already been announced. You're not going to go back on it, are you?"
Old Madam Xiao struggled to her feet and slapped him across the face. "You bastard!" she cursed furiously. "At a time like this, you're still thinking about being director! Hurry up and come with me to beg Churan!"
After chasing outside, Ye Chen found that Xiao Churan hadn't actually gone far. She was crouching in a deserted corner beside the hotel, tears of grievance streaming down her face.
He slowly approached her, took off his suit jacket, and draped it over her shoulders. "Honey, don't be sad. Being a director in the Xiao Family isn't some treasure. You're better off without it..."
"You don't understand. If I became director, my mom and dad could finally hold their heads high in the Xiao Family. How could Grandma go back on her word..." Xiao Churan said indistinctly through her sobs.
Ye Chen continued to comfort her. "Maybe they'll have to come and beg you to be director in a little while. If you cry like this now, you won't look pretty when you go onstage later..."
Xiao Churan choked out, "How could that happen? Grandma has already said it. There's no chance of changing things now. Go back inside and let me be alone for a while..."
Just then, Old Madam Xiao and Xiao Hailong came running out of the banquet hall too.
The old madam was advanced in years and was panting for breath from running. A great crowd had poured out behind her to watch the spectacle.
As soon as Xiao Hailong came out, he spotted Ye Chen and Xiao Churan.
He hurried over, looked down at Xiao Churan's tear-blurred eyes, and blurted out, "Churan, hurry and catch up with Vice Chairwoman Wang! Tell her not to terminate our cooperation!"
Xiao Churan looked bewildered. "Terminate the cooperation? Why?"
Xiao Hailong said angrily, "You're still playing innocent? You must have put Vice Chairwoman Wang up to embarrassing me in public. If you don't settle this, I won't let you off!"
Smack!
Old Madam Xiao, standing beside him, furiously slapped Xiao Hailong again and cursed, "You bastard, how can you speak to your younger sister like that? She's the director of our Xiao Group!"
Xiao Hailong grew anxious. "Grandma... didn't we agree that I'd be director?"
Old Madam Xiao snapped, "If you hadn't fed me a bewitching potion, how would I have changed my mind at the last minute? If you keep making a fuss, get out of the Xiao Family!"
Having been slapped twice by the old madam, Xiao Hailong was furious, but he dared not speak out. He could only swallow his anger for the time being.
Old Madam Xiao then turned to Xiao Churan. "Churan, Grandma is begging you. You're the Xiao Family's director now. Hurry and explain things to Vice Chairwoman Wang, or our Xiao Family will be finished!"
Baffled, Xiao Churan looked at Ye Chen.
Ye Chen shrugged. "I told you they'd have to come and beg you to be director in a little while, but you didn't believe me. Look, you've cried all over your face..."
Xiao Churan blushed with embarrassment and wiped away her tears before saying, "Then I'll try contacting Emgrand."
With that, she dialed Wang Dongxue's number.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on her.
A moment later, the call connected, and Xiao Churan said, "Hello, Vice Chairwoman Wang. Grandma asked me to explain things to you. I'll be the one promoted to director of the Xiao Family and put in charge of the cooperation with Emgrand after all. Could you give us another chance..."
Wang Dongxue chuckled. "If you're the director and can be in charge, then there's no problem. The cooperation can continue, but if it's anyone else, there's nothing to discuss..."
"Vice Chairwoman Wang... thank you so much..."
Xiao Churan had been puzzled by this whole matter. From beginning to end, it seemed as though the Dihao Group had come solely to help her, which was far too unusual.
Wang Dongxue said with a smile, "This is all our chairman's wish. If there's an opportunity in the future, the chairman will explain everything to you in person..."
Xiao Churan was even more puzzled. Who exactly was their chairman? She had never even met him, so why was he helping her at every turn?
"Then, could I ask you to come back to the banquet hall?" Xiao Churan asked nervously.
Wang Dongxue had left in anger, clearly provoked by the Xiao Family. Asking her to return now was asking a bit too much.
But to her surprise, Wang Dongxue readily agreed.
Before long, everyone saw Wang Dongxue's car return to the hotel entrance.
At that, everyone looked at Xiao Churan with shock and awe.