Nearly ten minutes later, in the banquet hall, Qiu Lening, who had been intently watching the entrance, spotted Wen Yuan being led in with Huo Shengye’s arm around her waist.
Glancing at her best friend’s lips, Qiu Lening flashed a knowing smile, pulled out her phone, and sent Wen Yuan a WeChat message:
【Yuanbao, your lips!! Spill it—did you two do something naughty to be this late?】
If Wen Yuan saw the message right now, she’d be speechless. After all, it wasn’t by choice—Huo Shengye was just too, too domineering.
She hadn’t wanted to enter the banquet hall only in the last ten minutes, nor did she want to draw so much attention, but Huo Shengye had insisted.
Ugh, talking about it was exhausting.
And her lips hurt so much… Huo Shengye had said he’d let her kiss him, but as they kissed, she ended up being the one under attack.
What a terrible man. Wen Yuan decided to revoke the label of “good person” she’d given Huo Shengye. He wasn’t good at all—he bullied her.
Muttering inwardly about Huo Shengye’s fierceness, Wen Yuan was led forward by him. Before she knew it, she was already seated.
Sitting beside Huo Shengye in the very first row of the banquet hall, right in front of the red stage where the host stood, Wen Yuan was stunned. She had attended similar banquets before, back when the Wen family was considered an upper-middle-class wealthy household in the capital. But even then, they had only sat in the middle section.
Attending a large-scale banquet in such a prominent front-row seat was a first for Wen Yuan in her entire life.
Truly, the wealthy elite were different. A strange feeling welled up inside Wen Yuan, as if something had genuinely changed because she and Huo Shengye had gotten married.
The organizers were checking the guest list, and as several staff members passed by, they all came over to greet them.
Their tone was excessively polite and respectful, their bows a perfect ninety degrees—it was no exaggeration to say they were just short of kneeling.
Having studied abroad in Country U for many years, where social etiquette wasn’t as rigid, Wen Yuan had grown accustomed to it and didn’t particularly like this atmosphere of stark hierarchical differences, where everyone had to bow and scrape when they met.
The host and staff on the red stage were still quietly discussing something. Wen Yuan took out her phone, opened WeChat to pass the time, and immediately noticed Qiu Lening’s message. The corner of her lips twitched, and her brows furrowed.
Her lips hurt so much!
But with Huo Shengye right beside her, Wen Yuan didn’t dare say anything bad about him. Being caught red-handed would be too awkward.
Just then, a ringtone sounded—the default incoming call tone of a phone system. Wen Yuan glanced slightly to the side as Huo Shengye brought his phone to his ear and answered with a “Hello.”
Two seconds later, Huo Shengye stood up and left the banquet hall. A minute passed, and he still hadn’t returned.
Looking at the empty seat beside her, Wen Yuan suddenly felt a wave of unease.
She checked her phone—there were still six minutes until the banquet, which had been delayed by twenty minutes, was set to begin.
Another minute passed, and Huo Shengye still hadn’t returned. The host on the red stage was reviewing the script, while a staff member standing nearby frowned as they checked the guest list, whispering to the host, “Two people are still missing…”
Suddenly, the staff member’s expression brightened. “They’re here, they’ve entered. Everyone’s here now. Once they’re seated, you can start.”
The host quietly acknowledged. At the same time, a woman’s voice, arrogant and piercingly loud, was hurled toward Wen Yuan:
“Well, look who’s sitting in the first row—just anyone, huh?!”
The person who arrived was none other than Huo Lei.
In the past, there were three chaebols in K Country. After Huo Shengye took office, the other two were directly taken down, resulting in a massive asset merger, with all wealth now belonging to the Huo family.
As the sole remaining chaebol in K Country, Huo Lei’s loud voice had the potential to disrupt the order of the banquet hall, yet no one dared to stop her.
Not only that, but the surroundings also fell silent because of Huo Lei’s outburst, with everyone turning their gaze toward the first row.
Sitting in the middle section, Qiu Lening raised an eyebrow and was about to stand up when she suddenly received a message on her phone from Wen Yuan:
“Ningning, I’ll handle this myself. You stay seated and behave.”
In the first row of the banquet hall, Huo Lei saw Wen Yuan typing on her phone and laughed mockingly, “What, trying to call for backup?”
Beside Huo Lei, Shao Feng, who had been beaten up earlier, was once again dressed to the nines. This time, he didn’t stop Huo Lei and allowed her to act arrogantly.
He even chimed in, “How could she possibly call for backup? The Wen family is almost bankrupt.”
The two of them played off each other, and nearby staff and the host wanted to intervene, but seeing Huo Lei and Shao Feng’s demeanor, they all chose to remain silent.
Countless eyes fell on Wen Yuan in the front row, and various whispers filled the air.
“Wow, that young lady is really beautiful. The Wen family? Which Wen family?”
“The one in the city, District B, the one that made its fortune in tourism. They were wealthy for quite a while before, but now that the Huo family is entering the tourism industry, they’re the first to suffer. How pitiful.”
“Going head-to-head with a chaebol is bound to end badly.”
“But why is this young lady confronting the Huo family’s daughter? The atmosphere between them doesn’t seem good.”
“I don’t know, but I’d guess it’s probably the Huo family’s fault…”
People in the crowd were saying all sorts of things. As the evening banquet was about to begin, the host glanced outside the door, praying that Huo Shengye would return soon.
Aside from Huo Shengye, the head of the family, who dared to discipline the Huo family members, everyone else could only flatter the chaebols. No one dared to step in.
The organizers were as anxious as ants in a boiling pot.
Across from Huo Lei, Wen Yuan calmly placed her phone into her handbag, elegantly picked it up, and stood. The chair behind her automatically folded as she rose.
Huo Lei crossed her arms over her chest, finding the scene amusing. She sneered at Wen Yuan, “What’s this? Your family is almost gone, and you’re still putting on airs? Is the first row really the place for you? Sitting wherever you please when you’re out, no manners at all.”
“Are your parents dead or disabled? Didn’t they teach you any manners?”
As she spoke, Huo Lei turned to a tall staff member maintaining order. “Escort this young lady to the last row! How did you arrange the seating? If she sits in the first row, does that mean our Huo family should sit on the stage?!”
The staff member: “…”
Huo Lei glared at him. “What are you waiting for? Get moving!”
A young master who had seen Huo Shengye escort Wen Yuan in earlier chuckled, “Oh no, this Huo family daughter is in for it.”
A young lady beside him added, “Most likely. And when that Miss Wen came in earlier, her lips were still a bit swollen.”
They were all adults; there was no need to spell it out. Those who understood knew exactly what had happened between Huo Shengye and Wen Yuan and what their relationship was.
It couldn’t be more obvious.
There were also those who didn’t understand but couldn’t help feeling secondhand embarrassment: “Oh no, why is she sitting in the first row? Doesn’t she know her place? This is so awkward.”
“Who knows? Maybe she wants to see Huo Shengye? If Huo Shengye comes, he’ll definitely be seated in the front row.”
“Isn’t that just ridiculous? What status does Huo Shengye hold? How could someone from an ordinary, nearly bankrupt wealthy family like hers possibly climb up to him? What kind of wild chicken thinks it can become a phoenix?”
In the middle section of seats, Qiu Lening couldn’t hold back any longer and was about to snap back.
Just then, from the front row, a girl in a beautiful dress moved. She walked toward Huo Lei, step by step.
Under the gaze of hundreds of eyes, Wen Yuan, holding her bag in her left hand, raised her right hand and—smack!!
With a clean, sharp motion, she slapped Huo Lei across the face.
The crowd was stunned, and many gasped in shock. From the middle section, Qiu Lening clapped her hands loudly, shouting with exhilaration, “Yuan Yuan, well done! Slap her! Her mouth is so vile!”
Clearly not expecting Wen Yuan to dare hit her, Huo Lei was left dazed by the slap. Her eyes widened, and she was about to retaliate.
But Wen Yuan calmly switched the bag from her left arm to her right, raised her arm again, and—smack!!
Another slap—this one even harder than the last.
Huo Lei screamed in fury, on the verge of losing her mind, when a strong force on her shoulder yanked her violently backward.