Besides, with Lin Xiwen around, she felt this was nothing she needed to worry about. Once Su Chenglan came to her senses, Hou Yuanwu's day of reckoning would arrive.
Unexpectedly, however, news suddenly broke afterward that Su Chenglan and Hou Yuanwu were getting engaged.
Ye Jin was utterly baffled. Even if Su Chenglan remained a hopeless love-brain, Lin Xiwen should never have agreed.
Her intuition told her something was amiss, but she was also afraid Su Chenglan really had succumbed to her love-brain. After some thought, she went to find Lin Xiwen, only to see her calmly drinking tea.
At once, half her anxiety eased. "Mom, what are you and Xiaolan planning?"
Lin Xiwen smiled and replied, "Just wait and enjoy the show. Fortunately, that daughter of mine hasn't lost all her sense."
Hearing this, Ye Jin finally let go of the rest of her worries.
The engagement banquet was scheduled in great haste, taking place only a week after the news broke. Once again, it was held in the banquet hall of a luxury hotel that regularly worked with the Su Family.
The banquet hall was packed with guests, but after looking around carefully, Ye Jin noticed that there were particularly many reporters present today, while few members of the wealthy families that genuinely enjoyed good working relationships with the Su Family had attended.
Ye Jin doubted the other wealthy families were snubbing the Su Family. More likely, the Su Family had arranged it this way on purpose. This ought to be a trap they had laid for Hou Yuanwu.
While she was thinking, Hou Yuanwu appeared in the banquet hall, brimming with confidence.
He wore a custom-made black suit from a designer brand, his hair carefully styled into immaculate order. He looked vigorous and full of swagger.
Since Su Chenglan was still having her makeup done and getting dressed, he was entertaining the guests alone.
Yet when he spotted a group of relatively plainly dressed young people, the smile suddenly vanished from his face. He changed direction and walked toward them.
He gave a contemptuous smile, his face full of arrogance. "Actually, none of you would normally qualify to attend this engagement banquet. But considering that we did work together for quite a while, even though we probably won't have the chance to work together again, I still made a point of having you invited. An opportunity like today doesn't come often, so make some connections. You won't get such a good chance again."
Ye Jin's mouth twitched at the sight. She did not even need to investigate to guess that the people Hou Yuanwu was showing off to were most likely his colleagues at the Su Group.
What a petty, rotten man, flaunting himself the moment he had anything worth showing off. Unfortunately for him, he would most likely regret inviting his colleagues today.
Chapter 22
Hou Yuanwu's colleagues had clearly learned to keep themselves out of trouble in the workplace. Even though the disdain in their eyes was almost spilling over, they remained polite on the surface, without going so far as to fawn over him.
Seemingly dissatisfied with his colleagues' reactions, Hou Yuanwu spoke for a while before excusing himself to entertain other guests. He then threw himself back into making connections with the rich and powerful who had come.
Only once he was far away did the young people begin muttering quietly.
"What a petty man getting his moment in the sun. Hou Yuanwu's useless at everything. Who knows what the second young lady of the Su Family sees in him?"
"He even made a point of inviting us to the engagement banquet. Wasn't that just to show off? If I didn't still have to work at the Su Group, I wouldn't have come."
"And his character really is questionable. He already had such a wonderful girlfriend as the second young lady of the Su Family, yet he still tried to hook up with several of us girls before. But he was so sleazy that none of us paid him any attention. Miss Su must be far too naive to fall for him."
"All right, stop talking about it. Who can say when it comes to feelings? Those two just took a liking to each other."
"Still, once he becomes the Su Family's prized son-in-law, we probably won't have much to do with him anyway. We can all just keep our distance from him."
Listening to the young people's muttering, Ye Jin could thoroughly understand their resentment. If someone like Hou Yuanwu could rise above everyone else, then Heaven truly was blind.
But once the big show began in a little while, they probably would not regret accepting the invitation to come.
Hou Yuanwu basked in his success, as though he had reached the pinnacle of his life. Yet the moment a slender woman in a long white dress entered the banquet hall, the smile froze on his face.
Ye Jin had been watching Hou Yuanwu the whole time so she could enjoy his humiliation, and naturally did not miss this.
She immediately followed his gaze. Ye Jin had always had an excellent memory, and she quickly realized that this woman had appeared in the investigation report. She was Hou Yuanwu's white moonlight, Lu Shilan!
Just then, another commotion broke out. Another door to the banquet hall opened, and Su Chenglan, the bride-to-be at today's engagement, finally appeared.
But a closer look told everyone that something was wrong. Su Chenglan wore an ordinary dress rather than an engagement gown, and behind her followed a middle-aged woman in her thirties.
At this sight, Hou Yuanwu's expression changed completely, his eyes filled with disbelief.
How could this be? Did Su Chenglan know everything? How had she found them?!
But as the male lead of a live-in son-in-law novel, he naturally had very thick skin. He quickly composed himself and strode over to Su Chenglan, saying quietly, "Xiaolan, whatever it is, let's discuss it in private. If you don't want to get engaged yet, we can postpone today's banquet. Don't let other people make a laughingstock of us."
Su Chenglan merely sneered. "But today's banquet was prepared just for you."
With that, she ignored Hou Yuanwu and stepped onto the stage in the center.
Hou Yuanwu could no longer keep the savage look off his face. He reached out to grab Su Chenglan.
But before he could get close, the bodyguards who rushed over restrained him. No matter how hard he struggled, he could no longer move.
By now, even the least perceptive guests had realized that today's engagement banquet would probably offer quite a spectacle. They all turned to look at Su Chenglan on the stage.