The air froze instantly.
Xie Jingran’s words about “crippling it” were no joke. Beneath his calm tone lay a terrifying intensity.
Liu Cuifen shrank back in fear, stumbling and almost twisting her ankle. She looked at the powerful man before her in horror. Her earlier swagger, the harsh scolding, vanished instantly.
“You… who are you? This is our family matter…” Chu Weidong, though only two years into the business world, forced his courage and stepped forward, attempting to assert authority as an elder. “Sir, no matter who you are, Anhe belongs to our Chu family. We are disciplining our junior. Outsiders have no right to interfere, right?”
“Outsider?”
Xie Jingran sneered, a smile that did not reach his eyes.
He ignored Chu Weidong and lowered his gaze slightly, landing on Chu Anhe, who was trembling in his arms.
Seeing her pale face, a strange yet intense sensation pricked Xie Jingran’s chest.
System: Ding! Host heartache value +10086! Attention, this is not a drill! Recommend teaching them a harsh lesson!
Xie Jingran reached out, gently brushing the stray strands of hair from Chu Anhe’s ear. He whispered, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
Then he turned toward the three members of the Chu family. “Who just bullied her?”
His gaze swept over Chu Anning, dressed in an ostentatious designer outfit that could not hide her vulgarity, and finally fixed on Liu Cuifen.
“It was you?”
Liu Cuifen’s scalp tingled under his gaze, and she stammered a defense. “I… I was maintaining order at the banquet! She didn’t have an invitation and snuck into such a high-end event. Who knows her intentions! Sir, don’t be fooled by her. Her father was a heartless contractor whose work caused deaths, and her family is deeply in debt…”
“Shut up.”
Xie Jingran’s two words cut sharply. He raised his hand, and immediately two burly bodyguards in black, wearing earpieces, approached respectfully, bowing slightly.
“Master.”
The word “Master” struck Chu Weidong’s family like a thunderclap.
Chu Anning widened her eyes in disbelief. Master? To be called Master here and command security at will… could it really be…?
Impossible! There’s no way this unlucky girl, Chu Anhe, would know someone of this level.
Xie Jingran pointed at Chu Weidong’s family with detached authority, as if dealing with trash. “These people publicly insulted my wife at the gate. Throw them out immediately.”
“Yes, sir!” The bodyguards stepped forward, massive as iron towers, blocking Chu Weidong. “Please leave immediately.”
Chu Weidong panicked completely.
Though a nouveau riche, he understood what the name “Xie family” meant in Haishi.
Being publicly expelled today would not only strip him of face, but likely make it impossible for him to continue in Haishi’s business circles.
“Wait! A misunderstanding! It’s all a misunderstanding!”
Chu Weidong fumbled, backing up and patting his suit pockets. “We have the token! We came to see the old master! I am fulfilling the marriage arrangement!”
The word “marriage arrangement” caused gasps among the onlookers.
Xie Jingran raised an eyebrow.
Chu Weidong, trembling, took out the red cloth-wrapped jade token, holding it high like a get-out-of-jail card. “See! This is the token left by Master Xie back then. Whoever holds this can have my daughter marry Xie’s grandson! We are the Chu family’s in-laws! Who dares touch me?”
Seeing the jade token, Chu Anning also clutched it like a lifeline, regaining her earlier arrogance. She pointed at Chu Anhe and screamed, “Yes! I am the future Xie family young mistress! We want to see Master Xie! We want to see Xie Jingran!”
She straightened her chest, proud and confrontational. “You may have some money, but what are you before the Xie family? I’ll tell you, once I see my fiancé Xie Jingran, I will make him expel you from Haishi!”
For three seconds, the crowd went silent.
Then stifled laughter began to ripple through the onlookers.
Chu Anhe stood beside Xie Jingran, watching the Chu family act like clowns, finding it absurdly funny.
Xie Jingran looked at the jade token in Chu Weidong’s hand and then at Chu Anning’s smug face.
“You want to see Xie Jingran?” he asked.
“Yes!” Chu Anning lifted her chin. “Scared? If you’re smart, apologize immediately to me and that slut Chu Anhe!”
Xie Jingran remained silent, slightly turning toward the light.
At that moment, he perfectly overlapped with the young man on the large screen in the manor, showing the banquet’s main family portrait on loop.
Xie Jingran said coldly, “If there is no second Xie family in Haishi, and no other unlucky person named Xie Jingran…”
He stepped forward, looking down at the frozen Chu Anning, his voice icy and mocking. “Then I am the Xie Jingran you’re talking about.”
Boom!
The words hit the three Chu family members like a thunderclap.
Chu Anning’s expression froze, her smug smile locked in place, looking utterly ridiculous.
Liu Cuifen’s designer bag fell to the ground with a snap.
Chu Weidong’s hand holding the jade token shook violently, his face turning from red to white to ashen.
“No… impossible…” Chu Anning stammered, stepping back. “How could you be Xie Jingran…”
“Really? Don’t I look like him?”
Xie Jingran snorted, his gaze sharp as a blade on the jade token in Chu Weidong’s hand.
“And regarding the marriage token…”
He reached out and took the jade token from the now terrified Chu Weidong, tracing the “Xie” character engraved on its back with his finger. His eyes grew fierce.
“This token was indeed given out by my grandfather back then. But as far as I know, the marriage arrangement was made by the late Chu Yuntian for Chu Anhe and me.”
“How did this end up with you? Or worse, were you trying to impersonate and scam me?”
Chu Weidong’s eyes darted wildly before landing on the corner where Chu Anhe’s grandmother stood.
He grasped her roughly, dragging her into the crowd. “Mother! Explain! Tell Master Xie whether this token was for Anning! You personally handed it to me, didn’t you? Mother, you’ve always doted on Anning! Speak!”
“Uncle, let go of grandmother!” Chu Anhe’s eyes reddened as she tried to rush forward, but Xie Jingran gently held her shoulder.
He gave her a reassuring glance before turning coldly toward Chu Weidong.
Chu Anhe’s grandmother trembled.
She looked at her eldest son’s grim face, at her resentful granddaughter Chu Anning, and at her daughter-in-law.
For years, she had endured in silence for family harmony, letting them bully Chu Anhe and her mother.
But now, her gaze went past the crowd to the girl protected by Xie Jingran.
Her little granddaughter, the one her late husband could never let go of.
Her second son died early, leaving huge debts. Anhe and her mother had worked hard to repay them, even secretly buying treats for her.
“Mother! Speak! Are you mute?” Chu Weidong, seeing her silent, pushed harder.
Chu Anhe’s grandmother nearly fell but finally raised her head. Her old eyes, once clouded with fear, now glimmered with unprecedented determination. “No… it is not so.”
Chu Weidong froze. “Mother, what did you say?”
She straightened her back and spoke loudly. “Weidong, one must not ignore conscience. Before your father passed, he held my hand and repeated his instructions a thousand times… This jade token was earned saving Master Xie. That marriage arrangement was made by your father for Chu Anhe.”
Her voice quivered but struck like a hammer. “You forced me to say it was for Anning… Weidong, that belongs to your niece. You cannot bully these mother and daughter orphans!”
Her words were a resounding slap to the Chu family.
Chu Weidong’s face went ashen.
Beside him, Liu Cuifen and Chu Anning were pale and incredulous. How could the normally timid old woman dare to publicly expose them?
It was over. Truly over.
The surrounding guests’ eyes shifted from mere curiosity to disdain and disgust.
Xie Jingran watched, a cold smile of satisfaction playing on his lips. “You three impostors, got it?”