Compared to the roaring success of Su Huaijin’s “Gobi” fashion line, Su Wan’s life had turned as cold and miserable as the winter weather itself.
At the entrance of the Xu family compound in Beijing, Su Wan had already been standing in the freezing wind for over an hour.
The expensive wool coat she wore was stained with mud at the hem after days without proper washing, making her look pitifully worn out. Her face was red from the cold, her lips cracked, and her eyes filled with anxiety and desperation.
Finally, the gate opened slightly.
Xu Zhiyuan stepped out in a brand-new Zhongshan suit, a cigarette between his fingers, his brows tightly furrowed. The moment he saw Su Wan’s haggard appearance, undisguised disgust flashed across his eyes.
“Su Wan, I already told you—we should put our marriage on hold for now. With your family’s current situation… my mother doesn’t agree.”
He exhaled a puff of smoke impatiently.
Ever since Old Master Su had publicly expelled Su Wan from the family compound, and Wang Fang had been investigated for elder abuse—though temporarily released due to lack of evidence, her reputation was utterly ruined—Su Wan had become the laughingstock of the entire social circle.
A status-conscious family like the Xus wanted nothing more than to cut ties with her immediately.
“Put it on hold?”
Su Wan suddenly shrieked and lunged forward, grabbing Xu Zhiyuan’s sleeve like a madwoman.
“When you were coaxing me into bed, you didn’t say that!”
Her eyes burned with desperation and madness.
“I’ve already lost everything! If you abandon me now, I’ll hang myself in front of your workplace! I’ll put up big-character posters exposing every filthy thing we did together! If I can’t live, none of you will live peacefully either!”
Xu Zhiyuan’s expression changed instantly.
He glanced around nervously and lowered his voice.
“Have you gone insane?!”
“That’s right! I am insane!”
Su Wan laughed hysterically.
“That bitch Su Huaijin is stepping all over me now, and even you want to kick me while I’m down? Xu Zhiyuan, I might already be pregnant with your child. You’d better decide what you’re going to do.”
At the mention of a child, Xu Zhiyuan’s hand trembled.
He didn’t know whether she was telling the truth, but in this era, a scandal involving improper relations could destroy a man completely.
Grinding his teeth, he violently shook her off.
“Fine! Stop screaming! I’ll marry you, alright?”
Su Wan staggered backward from the force, but a twisted smile of triumph spread across her face.
“Not only are we getting married—we’re doing it properly.”
She straightened her messy hair, malice flickering in her eyes.
“I want the engagement banquet held at the Beijing Hotel. I want everyone from the compound invited. And most importantly…”
Her lips curled coldly.
“Su Huaijin and Cheng Beitang must receive invitations too.”
Xu Zhiyuan looked at her like she was crazy.
“Are you asking to be humiliated? They’re the center of attention right now. Why invite them?”
“The center of attention?”
Su Wan sneered and touched the cold jade pendant hidden in her pocket—a token connected to dangerous black-market criminals. Though she wouldn’t need them today, she had other plans.
“Xu Zhiyuan, you don’t understand. The brighter something shines, the more completely it shatters when it falls.”
She recalled the vicious scheme she and Wang Fang had devised after her mother’s release.
Cheng Beitang was a war hero?
A legendary soldier?
To some people, he was nothing more than an ill-fated “bringer of death,” a man cursed to doom everyone around him.
As long as they exposed that “curse” publicly at the engagement banquet and branded him as inauspicious, none of the powerful families in Beijing—who cared deeply about luck and reputation—would dare associate with Su Huaijin again.
Inside the Su family villa, an elegant red-and-gold invitation was delivered to Zhang Ma, then placed on Su Huaijin’s desk.
She was sketching fashion designs when she paused at the sight of the names on the invitation.
“Su Wan and Xu Zhiyuan’s engagement banquet?”
Cheng Beitang walked in carrying a plate of sliced apples. After glancing at the invitation, his brows furrowed slightly.
“They still dare to stir up trouble? Looks like last time’s lesson wasn’t enough.”
His fingers tightened slightly, crumpling the thick cardstock.
“Don’t go. It’s annoying just looking at it. I’ll have the guards throw it away.”
“Don’t.”
Su Huaijin set down her pencil and gently pressed her hand over his.
“If they invited us so sincerely, wouldn’t refusing make us look guilty?”
She knew Wang Fang and Su Wan too well.
Those two were like rats hiding in the sewers. As long as they still breathed, they would never stop scheming.
This banquet was obviously another trap.
“They chose this timing because they want to regain face—or set me up.”
She walked to the window, looking at the pine tree standing firm against the winter wind.
“You know, Beitang? I used to avoid them. I used to be afraid.”
She turned back to him, her eyes blazing with determination.
“But now I understand something.”
“Avoiding problems never solves them. Since they want to put on a show, then I’ll give them one.”
Her gaze sharpened.
“I want them to understand that the current Su Huaijin is no longer the weak pushover they could manipulate at will.”
Cheng Beitang looked at the fire in her eyes, and the hostility in his chest melted into tenderness.
He walked over, wrapped her in his arms, and kissed her forehead gently.
“Alright. However you want to play this game, I’ll stand beside you. If the sky falls, your husband will hold it up for you.”
Su Huaijin smiled slyly.
Then she opened a drawer beneath the desk and took out two pieces of fabric she had prepared long ago.
One was deep black velvet.
The other was a cool silver-gray fabric for a tailored suit.
“This battle needs proper armor.”
Her fingers brushed across the materials as her eyes turned sharp and professional.
“Beitang, I’m making you an outfit. This time, I don’t just want them silenced.”
A confident smile spread across her lips.
“I want all of Beijing to see exactly how dazzling my man truly is.”
For the next two days, the lights in the Su family study burned late into the night.
Su Huaijin devoted herself entirely to the designs.
Instead of flashy fashion, she created a refined modernized Zhongshan suit tailored specifically to Cheng Beitang’s temperament.
The bulky traditional cut was streamlined, the waist and shoulders fitted perfectly. Around the collar, dark silver embroidery formed subtle thundercloud patterns—symbols once found on ancient generals’ battle robes.
For herself, she designed a matching black velvet gown.
Elegant rather than revealing.
The front featured a high collar and dignified silhouette, while the back was adorned with pearl-button cutouts that exposed flashes of her butterfly-like shoulder blades whenever she moved.
The night Cheng Beitang tried on the outfit, Su Huaijin’s breath nearly stopped.
She was used to seeing him in military uniform—commanding and imposing—but this outfit revealed an entirely different kind of charisma.
The silver-gray suit perfectly emphasized his broad shoulders and narrow waist.
Combined with the deadly aura forged through years on the battlefield, he looked both like an aristocratic gentleman from the Republican era and a legendary blade waiting to be unsheathed.
Restrained.
Dangerous.
Irresistibly seductive.
“Wife, it’s a little tight,” Cheng Beitang muttered awkwardly, adjusting the fine material.
Su Huaijin stepped forward and straightened his collar, her fingertips brushing his throat as she laughed softly.
“It’s supposed to fit like this. I want everyone to know you’ve been completely claimed by me.”
His eyes darkened instantly.
Grabbing her hand, he pressed it against his chest.
“My life already belongs to you. Forget just my body.”
The day of the engagement banquet arrived.
At the Beijing Hotel banquet hall, although the Xu family had wanted a low-profile event, Su Wan’s relentless demands forced them to make it fairly grand.
Many families from the compound received invitations, and plenty attended out of curiosity.
Su Wan wore a bright red qipao, thick makeup hiding the exhaustion on her face. She stood beside a visibly unwilling Xu Zhiyuan greeting guests, smiling until her face stiffened.
Wang Fang was there too.
Dressed in a faded purple cotton jacket, the once-proud woman now looked gaunt and sinister, lurking in the shadows like a venomous snake waiting to strike.
Whispers spread through the crowd.
“Look at Su Wan—she looks more like a stage performer than a bride.”
“Keep your voice down. I heard she forced Xu Zhiyuan into marriage by claiming she’s pregnant.”
“How embarrassing. Old Master Su spent his whole life building his reputation, only to end up with a granddaughter like this.”
Every whisper pierced Su Wan like needles.
She clenched her handkerchief so tightly her nails nearly cut into her palm.
Laugh all you want.
When the real show starts, let’s see if you can still laugh.
At that moment, the banquet hall doors suddenly opened.
A gust of cold wind swept in, and the noisy hall instantly fell silent.
Every eye turned toward the entrance.
The first figure to appear was Cheng Beitang.
Tall and straight as a pine tree, dressed in the silver-gray modernized Zhongshan suit, he looked like a powerful young marshal straight out of the Republican era.
Even without his military uniform, he radiated overwhelming pressure forged through countless battles.
One arm bent slightly, allowing the woman beside him to hold it.
And Su Huaijin…
She was breathtaking.
The black velvet gown hugged her graceful figure perfectly, the hem flowing like rippling water as she walked.
She wore no extravagant jewelry, only a single white jade hairpin in her elegant bun.
Black and white.
Cold and warm.
Standing together, they looked like a magnificent oil painting, making everyone else in the room fade into the background.
“Oh my god… is that Su Huaijin?”
“Her dress… it’s incredible! She looks even prettier than movie stars in magazines!”
“That’s Cheng Beitang? Are you kidding me? He’s unbelievably handsome! Who called him some uncultured brute?”
Gasps and admiration erupted across the hall.
Su Wan stared at them, jealousy twisting her face viciously.
She had spent hours dressing up, yet in front of her supposedly “country bumpkin” sister, she instantly became nothing more than a ridiculous clown.
Su Huaijin walked calmly through the crowd on Cheng Beitang’s arm, chin slightly lifted, a composed smile on her lips—the posture of a victor.
“Looks like we arrived at the perfect time,” she said lightly.
Cheng Beitang swept his cold gaze over the stunned guests.
“A bunch of mediocrities.”
The two stopped before the main table where Su Wan and Xu Zhiyuan stood frozen stiff.
“Congratulations, little sister.”
Su Huaijin smiled sweetly at Su Wan’s distorted expression.
“Although this marriage happened rather hastily, as long as you managed to get married at all, that’s still a good thing.”
The phrase “as long as you managed to get married” hit Su Wan like a public slap across the face.
She trembled with rage.
“Su Huaijin! Don’t get too smug!”
Her voice rose sharply.
“Today’s main character might not be who you think it is!”