16 – The Divine Couple is Here to Crash the Party
The woman beside Ji Hanyuan wore a dreamy, elegant light purple gown.
Though the dress was conservative—long-sleeved, with a hem that reached her ankles, covering every inch—it still couldn’t conceal her graceful figure.
Her slender waist seemed as if it could be held in one hand.
Her delicate collarbones were pale and alluring.
Even her exposed ankles were strikingly beautiful.
Not to mention her face—lively eyes, rosy lips, skin like ice and bones like jade.
With just one glance, four words would involuntarily come to mind: a peerless beauty.
For a moment, everyone seemed to forget the shock brought by Ji Hanyuan’s sudden return, instead immersing themselves in the picture-perfect scene of a talented man and a beautiful woman.
“This… this is too… too pleasing to the eyes…”
“This perfect couple looks like they stepped out of a painting… oh, my eyes are about to get pregnant…”
“Where did this little fairy come from! So pure yet so alluring! I’m totally obsessed with her beauty!”
“A cold, abstinent CEO vs. a pure, soft, and alluring beauty—oh my god! Who can understand my urge to ship them!”
“But… but… isn’t everyone overlooking one important detail? Fourth Master Ji… doesn’t he… never get close to women?”
Back in the day, a socialite once schemed to climb into Ji Hanyuan’s bed, only to be beaten half to death and thrown back in front of her own family’s gate.
From then on, that girl’s name vanished from the capital.
Her family could only swallow their bitterness, because who could dare provoke Ji Hanyuan? They were no match for him!
Gradually, everyone came to understand: no matter how beautiful you were, how prestigious your family, how outstanding your talents, or how skilled you were at seducing men—none of it worked on Ji Hanyuan!
Because he simply didn’t like women!
Yet now, Ji Hanyuan was tightly holding the hand of the girl beside him.
And then…
Suddenly, Ji Hanyuan wrapped his arm around the girl’s slender waist, pulling her into his embrace and shielding her.
He leaned down close to Tangtang’s ear, his tone brimming with possessiveness.
“Tangtang, I regret bringing you out.”
Everyone was staring at his Tangtang.
The way they looked at her made him extremely uncomfortable!
A bunch of ignorant ants—what right did they have to covet his Tangtang’s beauty?
They weren’t even worthy of tying her shoelaces!
Tangtang nestled shyly in Ji Hanyuan’s embrace.
She had also noticed that everyone was watching them.
Some gazes were filled with admiration, others with jealousy, and many even held malice…
At the same time, Tangtang realized something.
Today was actually Ji Mingpeng’s thirtieth birthday.
These past few days, Lin Jiaran had been coming every day to give her acupuncture.
Because Lin Qingmian didn’t dare touch her—after all, this was all being kept secret from Brother A Yuan. If he were to touch her and Brother A Yuan found out, he feared his hands would be broken by her Brother A Yuan.
So he taught Lin Jiaran how to perform acupuncture and had her come to treat Tangtang instead.
It was just a few specific acupoints, and Lin Jiaran was highly talented. With Lin Qingmian personally guiding her at first, after a few sessions, Lin Jiaran was now able to treat Tangtang independently.
When Lin Qingmian wasn’t around, Lin Jiaran also told Tangtang a lot about the Ji Family.
Because of this, Tangtang felt even more heartache for Ji Hanyuan.
It turned out that her Brother A Yuan’s relationship with his family… was very, very strained.
In fact, it was pitiable.
Even though… even though his mother was his father’s lawfully wedded wife, the true Madam of the Ji Family.
Yet… his father had always favored another woman, maintaining a close relationship with her both before and after marriage, constantly defying his family for her sake.
He even fathered three sons with her, all older than Ji Hanyuan.
Even more… later, Ji Hanyuan’s biological mother went mad and was sent to a sanatorium.
And this woman… directly moved into the household…
Now, she had become the widely praised and respected Old Madam of the Ji Family.
That was why… Ji Hanyuan had left the Ji Family at a young age to forge his own path.
What meaning did that family hold for him, aside from sharing its surname?
It had only ever brought him harm!
So, when Tangtang noticed today was Ji Mingpeng’s birthday banquet, she was somewhat surprised.
Brother A Yuan had said he was taking her to watch a show, hadn’t he?
Why… were they here…
At that moment.
Ji Mingpeng, standing at the center of the banquet, spotted Ji Hanyuan, and his face instantly darkened as if it could drip with ink!
His wife, Zhou Ruili, frowned and asked, “Mingpeng, when did he return to the country? I didn’t know… Did you invite him?”
Ji Mingpeng sneered, his eyes filled with malice as he glared at Ji Hanyuan.
“You’re pregnant, and I didn’t want to burden you with such unpleasant matters. But today, I did not invite him!”
He was straightforward by nature, unwilling to maintain a superficial harmony with Ji Hanyuan like his elder brothers.
If the relationship was bad, it was simply bad!
They weren’t born of the same mother, and his mother had occupied the position that rightfully belonged to their own mother for so long—how could their relationship ever be good?
He wished Ji Hanyuan would die far away! How could he possibly invite him to such an important occasion?
However, with so many influential guests present today, no matter how much he despised Ji Hanyuan, he couldn’t risk tarnishing the Ji Family’s reputation in front of such a crowd.
Thus, he had no choice but to approach Ji Hanyuan, forcing a polite smile and speaking in formalities.
“Fourth Brother, it’s been a long time. Why didn’t you let your third brother know when you returned to the country?”
Ji Hanyuan held Tangtang close, shielding the petite girl in his embrace, while his other hand toyed with the black jade thumb ring on his finger.
He glanced up, his deep eyes sweeping over Ji Mingpeng with an intensity that seemed to see through everything.
“If I’d told you in advance, how could I have given you a surprise?”
After all, he had brought Tangtang here precisely so she could witness firsthand as he exacted revenge on their behalf.
The unfinished dream from their first night together, where they had held each other but not completed it, was something they would surely repay—with interest.
“A surprise?” Ji Mingpeng’s eyelids twitched, and a sense of foreboding washed over him.
Could a surprise from Ji Hanyuan ever be an ordinary one?
What exactly was he planning today…
Meanwhile, Zhou Ruixue, who had been standing beside Zhou Ruili and gazing longingly at Ji Hanyuan, brightened up at his words.
“Four…”
She had almost blurted out “Fourth Brother”…
But noticing the girl in Ji Hanyuan’s arms and recalling the humiliation from that day, her tongue stumbled, and she stammered “Four” several times before finally managing to speak clearly.
“Four… Fourth Master, you and my brother-in-law are so close. Did you return from abroad just to celebrate his thirtieth birthday?”
As soon as Zhou Ruixue spoke, Zhou Ruili pinched her hand.
She had always indulged her younger sister, keeping many things from her in the hope that she could grow up innocent and carefree.
But who would have thought that this girl would actually say such things in public…
As expected, Ji Mingpeng glared fiercely at the sisters Zhou Ruili and Zhou Ruixue.
Zhou Ruili was immediately alarmed and quickly tried to smooth things over.
“Whether it’s a surprise or not doesn’t matter, what’s important is that you’re here. Fourth Master, we’ve received your good intentions, and the entire Ji Family has been thinking of you. You must remember to come home and visit when you have the chance.”
However, her attempts to smooth things over and offer a way out were met with no intention from Ji Hanyuan to accept them.
Instead, he let out a scornful laugh before lifting his gaze to glance at her lightly.
That profound look in his eyes held a hint of… pity?
Zhou Ruili noticed Ji Hanyuan’s expression, her brow twitching involuntarily as an inexplicable sense of foreboding washed over her.
Then, she heard his icy voice say.
“I heard you two are about to become parents?”