Banquet (III)

"You're imagining things. Even without him, I would never marry you!" Shangguan Mingyue turned her head away in disgust, as though looking at Wang Yu for another second would make her sick!

"You!"

Seeing that he could do nothing about Shangguan Mingyue, Wang Yu suddenly turned his spearhead on Chen Ze.

"You vixen, why did you come between us? It's immoral to ruin someone else's marriage like this. Have you no shame?"

The moment Wang Yu opened his mouth, he cast Chen Ze as the third party, as though he really were the victim, Chen Ze was the homewrecker, and Chen Ze was a man without morals.

Chen Ze rolled his eyes. "Sir, Sister Mingyue and I are truly in love. We pledged ourselves to each other three years ago. You're the third party who came between us! Sister Mingyue has made it clear that she doesn't like you, so why do you keep pestering her?"

After saying this, Chen Ze put on the innocent white lotus act of a victim, immediately stirring a measure of pity in the onlookers who didn't know the truth.

Chen Ze's words infuriated Wang Yu half to death. He stammered "you" for ages without managing a complete sentence.

Wang Fengzhi, the head of the Wang Family, couldn't help feeling sorry for his son when he saw him like that. He chimed in, "Young friend, how old were you three years ago? You probably weren't even fifteen, were you?"

Only then did the onlookers realize it. That was right! How old had he been three years ago? How could he have pledged himself to Shangguan Mingyue?

Chen Ze begged to differ. "What's wrong with being fifteen? Who says a fifteen-year-old can't be in love? I fell in love with Sister Mingyue at first sight. Her beauty and gentleness drew me to her, yet you people want to tear us apart. Why?" Chen Ze stretched out a slender, jade-like finger and pointed it at the members of the Wang Family as he questioned them.

The Wang Family members felt they had lost face and lowered their heads.

"You, you, you... you're shameless!" Wang Yu sputtered incoherently.

"I'm shameless? You're a forty-year-old man, old enough to be Sister Mingyue's father, yet you still dream of having my young and beautiful Sister Mingyue marry you. Who's the shameless one here?" Chen Ze demanded in a loud voice.

"You, you, you..." Wang Yu's head tilted, and he fainted from sheer anger.

Chen Ze secretly curled his lip. That's it? I haven't even tried yet, and you're already down! Useless little trash!

"Yuyu..."

Everyone hurriedly crowded around him, some pressing the point beneath his nose and others patting his chest, all bustling about.

Before long, Wang Yu woke up.

It had all happened so quickly that Shangguan Hong was caught off guard. Today was her birthday banquet, and she hadn't expected it to turn out like this.

She was furious now and roared at Chen Ze, "Chen Ze, I don't care what brought you and Mingyue together, but from this day forward, you are not to go near her again. Otherwise, don't blame me for what I do!"

Hearing this, Chen Ze put on a pitiful face and said with a sob, "Grandma, as the saying goes, better to tear down a temple than break up a couple. How can you be so heartless as to tear Sister Mingyue and me apart? We're truly in love. Making me leave her would be worse than killing me. Boo-hoo~"

But after all that wailing, Chen Ze couldn't squeeze out a single tear, so he had to rub the skin around his eyes red and pretend he had just been crying.

The onlookers all wore complicated expressions when they heard him, lamenting inwardly that this was the helplessness of great families!

At the side, Shangguan Mingyue also showed a woman's sense of responsibility at just the right moment. She gently drew Chen Ze into her arms, then turned to Shangguan Hong and said, "No matter what you say, I will never marry Wang Yu, and I will never give up Chen Ze!"

"You, you, you... you unfilial daughter! Get out! I never want to see you again!" Like an enraged cow, Shangguan Hong raised the cane in her hand and roared furiously. It seemed that if Shangguan Mingyue didn't leave, she would bring it down on her!

"Let's go," Shangguan Mingyue said gently to Chen Ze.

Chen Ze softly murmured his assent and slowly walked downstairs with Shangguan Mingyue, leaving the others at a loss.

What had been a perfectly good banquet ended on a sour note because of Shangguan Mingyue and Chen Ze, and the marriage alliance that was supposed to be announced in public came to nothing.

Shangguan Mingyue drove in silence, without saying a word! Chen Ze sat in the passenger seat and started to speak several times, but in the end, he kept quiet.

Shangguan Mingyue drove straight to the seaside and stopped.

The two leaned against the railing, letting the cool sea breeze wash over them, and their moods gradually settled.

"Chen Ze, thank you for today," Shangguan Mingyue said.

"Oh, no need to thank me. I was being paid to do a job," Chen Ze said.

"Your performance at the banquet tonight really took me by surprise," Shangguan Mingyue said.

"Oh, did it?" Chen Ze scratched his head.

"If there's anything you want to ask, go ahead," Shangguan Mingyue said.

"What's the story behind your marriage alliance with Wang Yu?" Chen Ze asked.

Shangguan Mingyue then told him about her situation with Wang Yu.

After listening, Chen Ze couldn't help cursing. "I didn't expect him to be so shameless. He's so old, yet he still wants to be an old cow eating tender grass!"

Shangguan Mingyue couldn't help smiling. "Where do you get these expressions? Though that one is pretty fitting."

"What if your grandmother really does kick you out of the Shangguan Family? What will you do then?" Chen Ze asked cautiously.

"If she kicks me out, then so be it. Things are already much the same as if she had. I can support myself on my own; there's no need to swallow that sort of humiliation!" Shangguan Mingyue said indifferently.

Chen Ze gave her a thumbs-up and praised her. "That's the spirit! But if she really kicks you out, she'll definitely take everything back. You won't be able to stay on as president, and you won't have a penny to your name. Let's see what you do then!"

Shangguan Mingyue curled her lip. "You're underestimating me, aren't you? Do you really think I haven't made preparations these past three years? Besides, even if I don't have a penny, I can still support myself. At worst, I'll live like an ordinary person."

Chen Ze praised her again. "You see things clearly!"

He turned to face the sea and said, "Since you're taking it so well, I won't try to comfort you."

Shangguan Mingyue gazed steadily at Chen Ze's profile. "Chen Ze, I think you're different from every other man."

"Oh? How am I different?" Chen Ze asked.

"I can't quite put the feeling into words. Your personality and the way you do things feel different from other men's," Shangguan Mingyue said.

Chen Ze was noncommittal. "Everyone is an individual, so of course their personalities are different. If everyone were the same, wouldn't the world be too dull?"

"Mm! You're right!"

The two quietly enjoyed the sea breeze, neither saying a word.

After a long while, Shangguan Mingyue suddenly said, "Chen Ze, if I had nothing left, would you still consider me a friend?"

"Of course! If you really do get swept out the door, come work for me then! I've always wanted a business of my own, but I don't have a talent for it. If I made you the president of my company, I could completely lie flat!" Chen Ze said, full of longing.

Shangguan Mingyue burst out laughing. "So that's what you've been plotting all along! Does working under me make you feel hard done by?"

"I wouldn't go that far. To tell the truth, working under you is pretty easy. As the saying goes, a soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good cook. If you can be the boss, who would choose to be a beast of burden?" Chen Ze said.

"What nonsense are you spouting? But I do agree with that last sentence. I didn't expect you to be an ambitious man!" Shangguan Mingyue said with a smile.

"It's getting late. Take me back," Chen Ze said, ending the topic.

The two got into the car, and Shangguan Mingyue asked, "Where do you live?"

"Take me to the Jade Dragon Villa District in the suburbs. I haven't seen my little sister in days, and I want to check on her," Chen Ze said.

Neither spoke along the way!

They arrived at the entrance to Chen Ze's small villa. Chen Ze got out and said, "Would the esteemed president like to come up and sit for a while?"

"Sure! Wait a moment, I'll park the car first!" With that, Shangguan Mingyue stepped on the accelerator and drove toward a large villa nearby.

"Wait, I was only being polite. You really want to come up?" Chen Ze was speechless.

But what left him even more speechless was that Shangguan Mingyue actually drove into the large villa next door. Chen Ze watched, dumbfounded!

The two villas were less than twenty meters apart, and before long, Shangguan Mingyue came out.

"Come on, what are you standing there for?" Shangguan Mingyue looked at Chen Ze's stunned expression and spoke with interest.

"Wait, that villa is yours?" Chen Ze asked stupidly.

"Yes! What's wrong?" Shangguan Mingyue asked.

"But, this..." For a moment, Chen Ze couldn't find the words to describe how he felt.

"Come on, don't just stand there!" Shangguan Mingyue said, amused.

Chen Ze walked over and used the facial recognition device at the entrance. The door opened with a beep, and the two went inside.

"Xixi, Xixi!" Chen Ze called twice, but no one answered.

"That brat isn't home?" Chen Ze took out his phone and called his sister.