Everyone was astonished, wondering what had just happened.
Su Yanxi looked toward Young Master Fu and met his dark, captivating eyes.
“Brother Yanze already took care of it for me.”
Young Master Fu’s brows shifted slightly. Gu Yanze had already taken care of it for her, so she didn’t need him as her big brother anymore?
Old Master Gu had always been fiercely protective of his own. When he learned Su Yanxi had been wronged, his anger flared at once. His face reddened, and he huffed with fury.
“Our Yanxi is such a lovely girl. Why should anyone be allowed to bully her? Who was it? I’ll find out, no matter what!”
Old Master Fu patted Gu Nanchu on the back. “That short temper of yours is exactly the same as it was when you were young. Calm down before you work yourself into a fit.”
“With my Eldest Grandson there, don’t worry. He’ll see that Yanxi gets justice.”
Young Master Fu cast a searching glance around the hall.
Suddenly, a petulant, domineering voice rang out behind him. “Older Cousin!”
Young Master Fu’s brows drew together.
Here came trouble.
Old Master Fu, however, turned around with a cheerful smile. “My good granddaughter, you’ve come to see Grandpa.”
Fu Wanti was the daughter of Fu Jingting’s second son. She had grown up in the United States, and when she heard Young Master Fu had retired from the military and returned home, she’d flown back especially to attend the banquet.
Fu Wanti wore a strapless evening gown in pink and white. She looked like a freshly opened cherry blossom, rosy-cheeked, full of life, and utterly charming.
“I’m not here to see Grandpa. I’m here to see my older cousin.”
Young Master Fu shot her a glance and drawled, “Little Potato.”
Fu Wanti scrunched up her face. “Don’t call me Little Potato. I think I’m prettier than a little potato. You can call me Little Princess.”
Young Master Fu looked at her and enunciated each syllable with deliberate clarity. “Little Potato.”
Fu Wanti: “…”
Fine. She wasn’t going to bring it up with him again. She’d been trying to correct him for eighteen years, and it still hadn’t worked.
Fu Wanti glared at Young Master Fu with her round eyes, like an angry little beast, then explained why she’d hurried over to find him.
“Older Cousin, someone just bullied my friend.”
Young Master Fu said, “You’ve only just come back from abroad, you foreign little potato. Where did you find a friend?”
“I made friends in the United States. She’s my best friend, and she came to the banquet too.”
A knowing, amused glint passed through Young Master Fu’s eyes. “Where is she? Bring her to me.”
Fu Wanti said happily, “Older Cousin, I knew you’d help me. I’ll go get her right now.”
Fu Wanti hurried over to Zhang Liuliu. “I’ve already told my cousin that you were bullied. Don’t worry. He’ll stand up for you, for my sake.”
Zhang Liuliu put on a sorrowful, helpless expression. “Wanwan, thank you for standing up for me. The girl who bullied me for no reason is called Su Yanxi. She seems to be very close to your cousin. I’m afraid if I go over there, he’ll take her side instead of mine.”
“Wanwan, I know you’re a loyal friend. You should just leave me out of it. It’s fine if I have to put up with a little unfairness. Don’t let this come between you and your cousin.”
Fu Wanti smiled confidently. “Liuliu, what are you worrying about? Young Master Fu is my own cousin. We’re family. How could he take another woman’s side over mine?”
Zhang Liuliu looked secretly pleased.
Fu Wanti linked arms with Zhang Liuliu and brought her over to Young Master Fu.
Young Master Fu gave Zhang Liuliu a sidelong glance, then looked over Fu Wanti’s indignant little face, practically bursting with self-righteousness, and let out a derisive snort.
A row of question marks appeared over Fu Wanti’s head.
“Older Cousin, what are you laughing at?”
Young Master Fu said, “Tell me what you heard happened.”
Fu Wanti said, “My good friend Liuliu went out to the balcony to catch up with a high school classmate, being friendly and polite. Who could’ve guessed that after just a couple of words, that classmate would try to splash champagne on her and even drag three guys into bullying her?”
Fu Wanti nudged Zhang Liuliu. “Liuliu, who bullied you? I’m right here. Don’t be afraid—tell us.”
Zhang Liuliu glanced at Su Yanxi.
Fu Wanti followed her gaze to Su Yanxi. “So you’re the one who bullied my good friend?”
Then she looked at Gu Yanze, Shen Hebai, and Liang Jihei beside Su Yanxi. Her gaze lingered on Gu Yanze as she looked him up and down.
“I get it. You’re the three guys who bullied Liuliu.”
Fu Wanti turned to Young Master Fu. “Older Cousin, now that everyone’s here, you can make sure my friend gets justice.”
Young Master Fu replied lazily, “You believe everything Zhang Liuliu says? I suggest you buy some insurance before you open your mouth, in case you end up eating your words.”
Fu Wanti froze. “Older Cousin, what do you mean?”
“With brains like yours, you’d be lucky to sell them for a dollar a pound on a secondhand goods site. If you weren’t born into the Fu family, someone would’ve chopped you up and made potato chips out of you by now. Your so-called good friend has fooled you, dummy.”
Fu Wanti turned to Zhang Liuliu. “Liuliu, did you lie to me?”
Zhang Liuliu muttered, “I didn’t.”
“I’ll have someone pull up the security footage now,” Fu Linchen said.
“No need.” Su Yanxi took out her phone. Her lovely features were calm as still water as she played the recording she’d made earlier.
Zhang Liuliu’s words from when she’d deliberately started trouble were played back without a single word missing.
Now it was clear who was right and who was wrong.
Zhang Liuliu had never imagined Su Yanxi would have recorded what she said. She panicked.
Fu Wanti understood what had happened and felt like a stupid little pig who’d been used. Her face burned with embarrassment.
Everyone at the banquet was a prominent figure from one field or another, and they all looked down on Zhang Liuliu’s cheap, underhanded tactics.
Zhang Liuliu’s parents hurried over as soon as they heard. “Young Master Fu, our daughter was indeed in the wrong. We apologize to you on Liuliu’s behalf.”
“Parents are responsible for failing to teach their children. Your brat has been going around causing trouble, so yes, you should apologize—but I’m not the one you need to apologize to.”
His dark gaze turned to Su Yanxi. “All three of you should apologize to Su Yanxi.”
Su Yanxi looked up at Fu Linchen. She’d been about to thank him, but the instant their eyes met, she thought she saw a hint of flirtatious warmth in his gaze. She lowered her head and pressed her lips together.
Fu Linchen: ?
She wasn’t happy that he was standing up for her?
It was really just a beautiful misunderstanding. When Fu Linchen looked at people without meeting their eyes, his expression was arrogant and icy, with an intimidating edge. But when his gaze softened, there was something roguishly flirtatious about him; he seemed naturally tender-eyed.
Under the pressure Fu Linchen brought to bear, Zhang Liuliu’s parents lowered their heads and apologized to Su Yanxi.
Su Yanxi’s expression didn’t change. Calmly, without a hint of emotion, she said, “If you’re sincerely apologizing to me, I can accept it. If you aren’t, there’s no reason for me to.”
“Tell our Little Princess yourselves: are you sincere?”
Fu Linchen called his own cousin nothing but Little Potato, yet he called Su Yanxi “our Little Princess.” That alone showed just how much he valued her.
Zhang Liuliu’s parents finally understood: their spoiled daughter had offended someone they couldn’t afford to cross.
The two of them were terrified and hurriedly said, “Young Master Fu, we’re one hundred percent sincere.”
Fu Linchen’s expression remained indifferent. “Are you?”
Zhang Liuliu stood there stubbornly, refusing to yield. She hadn’t said a single word of apology from beginning to end.
“Your daughter’s heart is like Sanlu baby formula laced with melamine—all fake and shoddy goods.”
Zhang Liuliu’s parents pressed down on her head, and all three of them bowed together and apologized once more.
Zhang Liuliu had made the mistake herself and dragged her whole family into it. What a dutiful daughter she was.
At that moment, Fu Wanti looked as though she’d been struck by lightning, utterly bewildered.
She couldn’t stop thinking about how she’d begged her cousin for eighteen years to call her Little Princess, and he’d never once done it. She’d assumed he was just a straight-laced guy who thought such a mushy nickname was beneath him. But now…
He called another girl Little Princess as if it came naturally!
Why did another girl get to be Little Princess while she was Little Potato? Was that fair? She was his own cousin, after all!