Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.
A man in a perfectly tailored black suit strode forward, tall and commanding. Each step exuded authority, radiating an invisible pressure of power.
Two men followed him—one about his age, the other younger—then two rows of black-suited bodyguards trailed behind.
Xie Ruchen reached the crowd. His cold, sharp aura made people instinctively clear a path.
He stopped before Xie Ran. His pale, flawless complexion emphasized his sharp jawline. Standing there silently, he radiated noble authority.
Whispers ran through the crowd:
“Who is he? So many bodyguards… That presence isn’t ordinary.”
“The young man behind him looks familiar—the Pei family’s young master, right? I heard he’s unruly, never bows to anyone. Yet now he obediently follows this man.”
“Shh! ‘That man’ isn’t someone you can casually address. He’s likely the head of the Xie family, the nation’s richest.”
“The richest? Isn’t the Liu family the wealthiest in Gang City?”
“No, I mean nationwide.”
“Wow…”
Everyone gasped. The Liu family was already untouchable locally; now a national tycoon appeared.
Xie Ran’s mouth dropped. He stepped back, stunned.
“U-uncle?”
His uncle had actually come to the banquet! Despite repeated invitations before, he had always declined.
Xie Ran straightened his back. With his uncle here, those present would surely treat him with more respect—projects, contracts, everything would line up for him.
Excitement lit up his eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me in advance? I could have sent someone to fetch you!”
The crowd murmured again. The head of the Xie family was Xie Ran’s uncle. Not a coincidence—they shared the surname.
Feng Chunlan’s eyes widened at the man’s sudden arrival. She held Xie Zhi’s hand tightly.
“Your uncle? The illegitimate son who was brought into the Xie family at nineteen?”
Xie Zhi quickly covered her mother’s mouth.
“Mom, stop talking. I don’t want to die.”
Everyone noticed that Xie Ruchen’s every movement radiated dominance, and his face… godlike.
Too bad such a man was her uncle. Yet with a powerful uncle like him, she could walk unopposed in the future.
Shen Qingya sensed Xie Ran’s tension and straightened instinctively. Looking at the man’s face, she almost gasped.
What a face—so perfect, so unfair. God had granted him both immense status and peerless beauty.
Standing before him, Shen Qingya felt the full weight of the gap between them.
No matter the standard, this man met every expectation she had of a man.
Ignoring Xie Ran’s awe, Xie Ruchen scanned the room, finally resting his gaze on Su Xingnuo.
“Xie Ran, this is how you bully a woman? On her birthday, no less?”
Xie Ran’s legs nearly gave out—his uncle was angry.
He stammered, “Uncle, it’s not what you think! Su Xingnuo deliberately pushed Qingya. I just wanted her to apologize. How is that bullying?”
Xie Ruchen’s sharp eyes narrowed, light glinting darkly.
“Oh?”
He asked Su Xingnuo,
“Did you push her?”
Su Xingnuo calmly replied,
“No. She fell on her own.”
Xie Ruchen turned to Xie Ran.
“She said she didn’t push her.”
Xie Ran panicked. The intimidation of his uncle faded, replaced by desperation.
“But it was just the two of them upstairs! If not her, then who?”
Xie Ruchen’s dark eyes were sharp as ink.
“She said she didn’t push her.”
He repeated it, his voice low and sharp, like a dagger to the throat.
Xie Ran stepped back, flustered.
“Uncle, I didn’t mean that…”
Shen Qingya, pushed aside by Xie Ran, clenched her teeth and looked at Xie Ruchen. Eyes red, she said,
“Uncle, I know Miss Su didn’t mean it. You arrived late, you don’t know the full situation. I and she…”
“Uncle is not for you to call.”
Xie Ruchen’s voice was ice-cold. At his words, Qin Yue stepped forward.
“Excuse me.”
Slap! Slap! Two red handprints appeared on Shen Qingya’s face.
Shen Qingya clutched her face, disbelief flooding her. Tears sprang to her eyes as she looked at Xie Ran.
Now he dared not make a sound, like a cat that had stepped on a tail.
The crisp slaps echoed. Everyone held their breath, frozen, afraid for their own safety.
Feng Chunlan suddenly spoke, glaring at Xie Ruchen.
“Xie Ruchen, I am your elder sister-in-law! Qingya is the Shen family’s eldest daughter. She’s been wronged today, and you help without discerning right from wrong?”
Xie Zhi tugged at her mother, but Feng Chunlan’s strength was too great.
She hoped this powerful but unfamiliar uncle would spare the family some face.
After Feng Chunlan’s words, the room fell silent again.
Xie Ruchen glanced at Feng Chunlan in red and green.
“I had three elder sisters-in-law who spoke to me like this before. But they all passed away years ago, and I had their ashes scattered at sea.”
Gasps swept through the room. What a cold, decisive, and ruthless man.
Even someone in his position would not bother with mercy.
Feng Chunlan sank to the floor.
Xie Ran nearly collapsed too.
Xie Ruchen spoke again,
“She said she didn’t push her.”
“Uncle, what do you want?” Xie Ran’s voice wavered, almost tearful.
Su Xingnuo stared at Xie Ruchen, astonished—he repeated three times that she hadn’t pushed Qingya.
He believed her.
Shen Qingya’s eyes flashed with frustration. She had fallen from the stairs intentionally—how could Su Xingnuo emerge unscathed?
Biting her lip, she muttered,
“What if someone could prove she pushed me?”