In the glamorous arena of prestige, guests wore masks of hypocrisy, clinking glasses and conversing about money and business opportunities.
In the northwest corner of the hall, far from the bustling center, the crowd was sparse. A tall stack of champagne flutes created a large screen, partitioning off a triangular haven, yet it lacked the peace that such a secluded spot should possess.
Instead, the atmosphere was fraught with tension, the very air thick with cold antagonism.
Three women and two men stood in a cluster, each holding a glass of champagne, but no one was drinking. All eyes were fixed on the lone woman three steps away.
Across from them, Lan Su leaned casually against a long table. The side of her face was illuminated by the rippling light refracted from the champagne tower, and the tear mole under her left eye shone like cinnabar. The warm light and colors seemed to recede on her. Despite her slender frame and the gentle, pastoral features typical of a Jiangnan water town, an invisible sharpness emanated from her.
A sharpness that should not belong to a daughter of a wealthy family.
She casually surveyed the five people before her, then spoke flatly:
“Insulting someone is also a form of admiration. I can interpret that as you all looking up to Huo Yan.”
Seeing her momentum grow, Huo Jingjing assumed the commanding posture of a Huo family member, stepped forward, and reprimanded:
“Lan Su, you haven’t even served me tea since you returned to the Huo family last month. Strictly speaking, I haven’t acknowledged your entry into the Huo family yet.”
Huo Jingjing was two years older than Huo Yan, making her 27 this year, and combined with the Huo family’s old-fashioned rules, she naturally carried the air of an elder, believing she could intimidate Lan Su.
Lan Su, however, paid her little mind, not even bothering to stand straight, remaining tilted against the long table supporting the champagne tower.
“Whether I join the Huo family or not is not up to you. My name and Huo Yan’s are formally printed on the marriage certificate. My destiny and hers are one. It is unacceptable for you to discuss her faults in front of me.”
Huo Jingjing gritted her back teeth. On the day of the tea ceremony last month, Lan Su had appeared fragile, speaking barely a word, like an obedient, pull-string doll. She had assumed Lan Su was another little pity who would cry after a few words, just like Huo Yan’s deceased ex-wife. She hadn’t expected her to be so sharp-tongued.
Folding her arms across her chest, her voice rose:
“So what if Huo Yan acknowledges you? She has to call me ‘Sister’ in front of me. Did Huo Yan not teach you the rules, or did the Lan family not teach you?”
Lan Su moved her back away from the table, standing up straight. Her tone was light:
“Rules are for people who understand rules. If you don’t mind, Sister, I can make public what you all just said.”
Huo Jingjing, accustomed to being fawned over, was momentarily stunned when she encountered such a challenge. Her perfectly applied makeup seemed to crack slightly, and her thickly painted red lips parted several times, unable to articulate anything.
The other socialites nearby couldn’t stand it and stepped up to help:
“Lan Su, what is your attitude!”
“Exactly! Who gave you the right to talk to us like that? Do you know who my father is? He’s the General Manager of Shengda Jewelry! I’ve attended so many banquets with him, and you’re the first person I’ve encountered who is so impolite!”
Lan Su tilted her head: “Then I must be very honored.”
She turned, her organza dress gently lifting, the fluttering fabric reflecting tiny specks of light under the lamps—the hem of the skirt had diamond dust woven into the material.
With her back to the crowd, she suddenly recalled something and added:
“Oh, I forgot to tell you, my wife is the General Manager of Marylía, Huo Yan. Its market value is, not coincidentally, exactly 37 times that of your father’s company.”
The young woman in the yellow dress was so enraged her teeth ached. She turned and glanced through the gaps in the champagne tower, spotting a figure walking towards them. Without further thought, she dashed toward the champagne tower.
Boom—Crash!
The long table toppled, and 91 full champagne flutes fell with it, shattered glass and liquid spilling all over the floor. The woman in the yellow dress sat on the ground, sobbing, panicked and surrounded by the mess.
“Lan Su, what are you doing!”
She demanded, as if Lan Su had personally pushed her.
Clack. Lan Su stopped walking. The surface of the champagne in the glass she held steady showed a slight ripple. She turned to face the woman head-on, looking down, like a sovereign regarding a beggar in the corner.
Guests conversing happily not far away stopped and looked towards the chaotic corner. Huo Jingjing had already stepped forward to chime in:
“Lan Su, this is too much.”
The rest of the small group also started to accuse: “Even if she said something you didn’t like, you can’t resort to violence!”
“Everyone attending today is a person of standing. Couldn’t you have settled your private grievances in private?”
“Miss Sun is the daughter of Shengda Group, after all!”
Waiters rushed over to help. Two pulled Sun Qin up, while the rest cleared the shattered glass scattered on the floor. More and more people gathered to watch. Lan Su, stared at by dozens of eyes, gripped the stem of her glass until her knuckles were white, nearly snapping the base.
After striving in the Lan family for over a decade, she was still rendered speechless in front of an audience.
If she were overseas, she would have already stabbed Sun Qin’s face with a piece of broken glass.
But she was now Huo Yan’s wife and had to consider her identity as the ‘Second Miss of the Lan Family,’ so she couldn’t act recklessly.
“You tripped yourself.”
She stated plainly, even though her words seemed utterly weak to the outsiders.
Huo Jingjing stepped forward: “Lan Su, that’s enough. You are a member of the Huo family now. If you are wrong, you are wrong. Apologize to Miss Sun, and we can let this matter go.”
This trick of framing was all too familiar to her. To onlookers, it was a given that Lan Su pushed her. As the second sister, Huo Jingjing asking Lan Su to apologize was actually helping her save face, especially when combined with Sun Qin’s addition of, “It was my fault for being clumsy.”
Who was superior, who was sensible, and who was rude became immediately apparent.
“Just a little squabble between young ladies, it’s nothing major.”
“They’re still young, so impatient to resort to violence over something like this.”
“Isn’t the Lan family very strict about manners? To use force in public…”
The crowd whispered and discussed, but from behind, the sound of the elevator arriving could be heard—Ding!
The metal doors opened to both sides. Out stepped a middle-aged boss in a black suit, and the General Manager of Marylía, Huo Yan, slowly advancing in a wheelchair.
And this middle-aged boss was none other than Sun Qin’s father, Sun Long.
Upon seeing Huo Yan arrive, Miss Sun’s expression of grievance became even more pitiful. She sobbed and ran towards her father:
“Daddy, please don’t blame Lan Su, I just wasn’t careful.”
As her words fell, the surrounding onlookers offered comfort, thinking that while this Miss Sun was rumored to be arrogant and unruly, she was actually thoughtful and generous in person.
Unexpectedly, her father, the one who should have been most sympathetic to her, did not comfort her. Instead, his mouth tightened, and his face turned ashen:
“I saw it. It was indeed your carelessness.”
The tears on Sun Qin’s face froze. “Y-You said what?”
Creeak…
The wheelchair rolled over the fine glass shards and stopped as it passed Sun Qin. The lenses of Huo Yan’s glasses reflected an eye-piercing light as she looked up, her slightly upturned lips like sharp hooks.
“Miss Sun.”
Huo Yan lowered her voice mercifully, speaking slowly, word by word. Each word was like a needle pricking Sun Qin’s eyes.
“Your acting is good. But you forgot, there’s a corridor on the second floor.”
Ten minutes ago, Sun Long had chased Huo Yan all the way to the second floor, pushing hard to secure the cooperation for the winter season pearl project.
Huo Yan was not interested in his project proposal, but she was quite interested in the game of the small leopard catching mice that was unfolding downstairs.
“Mr. Sun, do you like watching a show?”