When Zheng Yan got home, his mother had already prepared breakfast.
As he was eating, Zheng Yan’s phone suddenly rang.
He took a look and saw it was a message from Bai Zhi.
“Come over for lunch today.
Don’t forget.
{Address}”
Zheng Yan smiled.
‘So Bai Zhi was worried I’d forget she had to send me a special reminder.’
She even included her location.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be there soon.”
After sending the message, Zheng Yan looked up and said, “Mom, we’re going out for lunch today.”
“Going out?
Where are we going?”
“Remember Bai Zhi came over yesterday?
She invited us to a restaurant to thank us for saving her life.”
“Then…
what should I wear?” Mrs.
Zheng was a little flustered.
“Anything is fine.
It’s just a meal.”
Hearing Zheng Yan say that, Mrs.
Zheng relaxed.
After they got ready, they took a taxi to the place where Bai Zhi was hosting the meal.
Cyan Cloud Tower.
The building had a distinctly ancient feel.
It was rumored to be two or three hundred years old, with green bricks and white tiles, its renovated exterior looking exceptionally beautiful.
Cyan Cloud Tower itself was situated atop Cyan Cloud Mountain in Jiangnan City, nestled by the mountain and overlooking the water, offering a spectacular view.
The wealthy usually hosted banquets here to entertain guests.
Not only was it extremely expensive, but getting a table wasn’t even guaranteed.
The only ones who could likely just decide to eat here on a whim were the great families, like the Bai Family.
For anyone else, even the wealthy, reservations had to be made nearly half a year in advance.
After Zheng Yan and his mother got out of the taxi, they were a bit awestruck looking at the tower in the distance.
“Son, are you sure we were invited to eat at such a nice place?”
Zheng Yan smiled.
“This is the place Bai Zhi mentioned.
Let’s go.”
As they neared Cyan Cloud Tower, they realized there seemed to be a wedding going on.
“I can’t believe we ran into a wedding just by going out.” Mrs.
Zheng smiled happily.
‘What a good omen.’
Then she looked at her son and said, “If you were still with Wang Jiaxin, I might be holding my grandbaby by now.”
Zheng Yan just smiled and said, “Let’s go in.
We shouldn’t keep them waiting.”
As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and saw that Bai Zhi had already messaged to ask where he was.
He quickly replied: Almost there.
When they reached the entrance, Mrs.
Zheng froze as she looked at the wedding photos displayed by the door.
The person in the photos was none other than Wang Jiaxin.
“Zheng Yan, that woman is Wang Jiaxin!” Mrs.
Zheng cried out in shock.
He recalled hearing Wang Jiaxin mention yesterday that she was getting married today.
He just hadn’t expected it to be at Cyan Cloud Tower.
Mrs.
Zheng looked up at Zheng Yan, her face filled with astonishment.
“Zheng Yan, what’s going on?”
Zheng Yan comforted her, “It’s normal.
She wasn’t going to wait three years for a convict like me.”
Mrs.
Zheng opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, no words came out.
‘There’s nothing wrong with Wang Jiaxin pursuing her own happiness.
You can only say the two of them weren’t fated to be together.’
Just then, Wang Jiaxin and Wu Fa, the married couple standing at the entrance of Cyan Cloud Tower to greet their friends and family, spotted Zheng Yan and his mother.
“Well, well, isn’t it Zheng Yan?
After all that tough talk yesterday, you still showed up today?
You really have no shame,” Wang Jiaxin said with contempt.
“Haha, don’t tell me you picked up the invitation to take another look after we left?” Wu Fa burst out laughing.
“But since you’re here, why don’t you come in and have a meal?
I bet you’ve never eaten at a place this nice in your whole life, have you?”
“Forget it.
Don’t let him in.
We don’t want his bad luck rubbing off on us,” Wang Jiaxin said with disgust.
Mrs.
Zheng was confused.
She looked at Wang Jiaxin and said, “Wang Jiaxin, what do you mean by that?
How is my son shameless?”
Zheng Yan pulled his mother behind him and looked at the couple.
“Wang Jiaxin, don’t take it too far.”
“Me?
Taking it too far?
You’re the one shamelessly crashing my wedding!
I tell you to come and you actually show up?
You really have no shame.”
The commotion here attracted the attention of many people.
Wang Jiaxin had, of course, invited many of their old classmates to her wedding.
A crowd of spectating classmates had now gathered around them.
These classmates looked at Wang Jiaxin and Zheng Yan and burst into laughter.
“Isn’t that Zheng Yan, the one who went to prison?
I can’t believe he got out only to have his girlfriend run off with someone else.”
“How pathetic.
I heard his family’s home was forcibly demolished, and his dad died too.”
“That’s just tragic.
Of all the people to offend, he had to cross the Jing Family.”
“What an overconfident loser.
He can’t possibly think Jiaxin would still be with him, can he?
That’s hilarious.”
Wang Jiaxin put her hands on her hips, looking extremely smug.
The more miserable Zheng Yan was, the more it proved she had made the right choice back then.
‘Only an idiot would actually wait three years for someone.’
Zheng Yan stared at Wang Jiaxin.
“You really think highly of yourself.
Let me tell you, I didn’t come here today for your wedding.”
“Haha, that’s hilarious!
You’re not going to tell me you’re here to eat on the second or third floor, are you?” Wu Fa said with a laugh.
What kind of place was Cyan Cloud Tower?
It was the Bai Family’s property.
Trash like Zheng Yan wasn’t even qualified to be a doorman here, let alone dine inside.
Zheng Yan’s brow furrowed.
Cyan Cloud Tower was a landmark in the city, so of course he’d heard of it.
As far as he knew, the first floor of Cyan Cloud Tower was open to the public, while the second and third floors required a membership card to dine.
And you couldn’t apply for a Cyan Cloud Tower membership card; they were only given out as gifts.
They were usually given to major corporations, business partners, or powerful dignitaries.
And he was, quite clearly, none of those.
Wu Fa’s words actually stumped Zheng Yan, because he didn’t know where Bai Zhi was hosting the meal either.
‘It might be on the first floor, but it could also be on the second or third.’
Seeing Zheng Yan at a loss for words, the crowd broke into snickers.
“This Zheng Yan guy is ridiculous, trying to act tough at Cyan Cloud Tower.”
“Haha, I’m dying!
I’ve finally seen someone get put in their place for showing off.”
“He actually had the nerve to say he came to Cyan Cloud Tower to eat?
Is he even worthy?”
Wang Jiaxin crossed her arms, looking extremely smug.
“If you want to come in and eat, that’s fine too.
Kneel and kowtow to me three times, and I’ll let you in.”
“Jiaxin, you’re too kind!
Zheng Yan, aren’t you going to thank her for her grace?”
“Yeah, I bet you’ve never eaten at such a nice place in your life.”
Zheng Yan couldn’t be bothered to waste his breath on them.
He started walking forward.
“I’m here to eat.
Whether you believe me or not has nothing to do with me.”
Seeing that Zheng Yan was still trying to push his way in, Wu Fa was displeased.
“What do you think you’re doing?
Are you trying to crash the party?”
“I let you off last time, and you really think you’re somebody now?”
After speaking, Wu Fa snapped his fingers, and several men in suits emerged from the surroundings.
They were strong and well-built, clearly not ordinary people.
It was likely many of them were even skilled veterans retired from the military.
“Brothers, today is my big day.
Give this Zheng Yan a ‘warm welcome’.”
“Yes, Young Master Wu.”
The men cracked their knuckles and advanced on Zheng Yan.
The surrounding classmates didn’t try to stop them.
Instead, they looked on as if enjoying a good show.
Mrs.
Zheng rushed forward to plead, “Wang Jiaxin, for the sake of the time you and Zheng Yan spent together, please make them stop.”
Zheng Yan quickly pulled his mother back.
“Mom, you don’t have to beg them.”
Wang Jiaxin sneered.
“You want me to intervene?
Fine.
You, old hag, kneel and kowtow to me twice, and I’ll agree.”
“Wang Jiaxin, you’ve gone too far!”
Veins bulged on Zheng Yan’s hand.
Out of respect for their past, he had given Wang Jiaxin face time and time again, but she just kept pushing her luck.
“So what if I’ve gone too far?
What can you do about it?”
Wang Jiaxin said disdainfully.
“That’s quite the arrogance!”
Just then, a clear voice, laced with suppressed anger, rang out.
Hearing the voice behind them, everyone turned around and was momentarily stunned.