TL: Hua
Qiao Siya’s marriage partner was Kang Jiqing, the second young master of the Kang family. Both families were well-established, wealthy families in Rongchuan, so the wedding ceremony was naturally very grand.
The wedding was scheduled to be held at a resort in the mountains in the suburbs. The entire resort was booked, and starting in the afternoon, the road up the mountain was guarded and guided by special personnel.
When Xia Shu’an and Shen Boyan arrived at the venue, they saw that the gate of the villa was a city bustling with people. The smell of men’s and women’s perfume wafted in the air, and there was no end to the coming and going of big-name figures.
After a while, Lu Xin also arrived. The three didn’t wander around, but they found a remote place to hide.
Xia Shu’an asked, “Don’t you have to go socialize?”
Shen Boyan: “No, you have to keep a low profile when attending a wedding and don’t steal the limelight from the couple.”
There were not only guests at the wedding but also several media. Xia Shu’an had a classmate who worked for a magazine and saw her from a distance.
Shen Boyan explained to him as he walked, “The marriage between the Qiao and the Kang family has the nature of business cooperation. As a form of corporate publicity, various media outlets have been invited to follow up on the wedding.”
People who belong to a wealthy family enjoy the wealth and honor of a wealthy family, and they also have to bear corresponding responsibilities. Neither men nor women can escape. No wonder Qiao Siya looked determined to do something big yesterday.
Shen Boyan deliberately avoided the real power class and mixed among the juniors. This mixing really gave him the opportunity to discover interesting things.
“Lu Xin, you came back from abroad?”
A beautiful and bright-dressed woman walked from the opposite side in high heels of seven or eight centimeters. Lu Xin averted his eyes for a moment, then he turned around and smiled kindly at the woman.
“Zhu Zhu.”
“I thought you were enjoying yourself abroad and weren’t planning to come back.”
“No, China is my home. Rongchuan is my home. I will definitely come back.”
The woman looked around and said, “Why are you here alone? You didn’t bring any foreign girlfriends back?”
Lu Xin: “I went to further my study. How can I have a girlfriend?”
“Oh, do you even believe your own words?”
“…”
A few meters away, Xia Shu’an calmly explained, “That’s his ex-girlfriend.”
Shen Boyan said with a reserved tone, “I understand.”
Lu Xin was mocked by his ex-girlfriend and returned in a disheveled manner.
Xia Shu’an patted his shoulder and said gently, “You must pay for all the sins you have committed in the past.”
“I’m very serious when I’m in love, okay?”
“Yes, your love is just short-lived.”
“…”
Not long after the woman left, another lively and cute girl came.
“Lu Xin, you are still willing to come back from abroad…”
Xia Shu’an and Shen Boyan took the initiative to take two steps back, leaving them plenty of room to perform.
Three minutes later, Lu Xin came back with a sad face.
Another ten minutes passed.
Woman: “Lu Xin…”
Shen Boyan’s gaze at Lu Xin couldn’t help but become slightly more grave than the initial look of amusement.
That’s a lot of ex-girlfriends for one wedding.
This kid is really something.
Looking at the ashen man a few meters away, Shen Boyan held Xia Shu’an’s hand. He had a pure expression on his face and said sincerely, “Lu Xin is still too immature. When he gets a little bit older, he will know how important it is to find a true person.”
“The whole world is not as important as this person.”
Xia Shu’an nodded in agreement and suddenly felt something was wrong.
…….
Time passed bit by bit, and the guests gradually took their seats, waiting for the wedding to begin.
The time was almost here, but neither the newlyweds nor their parents were seen. Instead, there was a lot of noise from one end of the red carpet.
“what happened?”
“I don’t know; there seems to be something wrong with the wedding process.”
“…”
And as the music gradually stopped as well, the voice of the man on the other end, who was so exasperated that he broke his voice, finally became clear: “What do you mean by this?!”
“What do you mean by asking me this? I’m the one who’s supposed to question you guys. Your daughter went to meet her ex-lover the day before getting married to rekindle old flames and even let her ex-lover attend her wedding. She disrespected our family, Ji Qing; that’s why he refused this marriage!”
“You’re talking nonsense!”
“Nonsense or not, you know it yourself!”
Qiao Zhenhua had never been so humiliated before. He pulled Qiao Siya, who was dumbfounded at the side, and exclaimed, “Siya, say it, did you go to see anyone yesterday?!”
“Y-yes, but I—”
“Did you hear it? Did you hear it? Your daughter admits it! It’s your Qiao family who should apologize to our Kang family!”
Concerning the family principles, both sides were arguing fiercely and refused to give in. A lot of people are gathered around, and discussions are heard one after another.
“Miss Qiao is very affectionate…”
“I wonder what happened last night to make the groom ditch the wedding in public and walk away.”
“…”
The piercing sound caused Qiao
Siya’s expression faltered miserably; her face turned red, and she shouted, “No, it’s not like that; my friends can testify!”
“They’re all your friends; of course they’re on your side!”
“You……”
This wedding attracted many big shots and media from both inside and outside the industry, with great momentum. The public loves to watch the gossip of wealthy families the most. The more bizarre and brilliant the story is told, the more they enjoy listening to it. If eye-catching rumors like “the bride secretly met her old lover before the wedding, and the groom abandoned the wedding in anger” spread today, Qiao Siya’s reputation and even the entire Qiao family’s reputation would be damaged.
Seeing that Qiao Siya was ashamed and anxious under the gaze of everyone, with her face flushed, Lu Xin instinctively wanted to stand up. However, he had only lifted his foot when someone behind him pulled him back.
“What are you doing?!”
Shen Boyan said calmly, “What are you doing?”
“I have to explain to them!”
“You will only cause trouble if you go up.”
“But–”
“Listen to him.” Xia Shu’an reached out to stop him, looking at Shen Boyan.
Shen Boyan lowered his head and sent a message. He pushed Lu Xin and Xia Shu’an back a few steps, straightened his suit, and walked gracefully out of the crowd.
“Is there a misunderstanding about this matter?”
“President Shen?” The expression on Qiao Zhenhua and President Kang’s faces changed when they saw the tall man walk out of the crowd.
Shen Boyan and this matter aren’t related in any way. President Kang asked doubtfully, “President Shen, what’s the matter?”
Shen Boyan smiled at the two of them and said gently, “Originally, I wasn’t in a position to get involved in the family affairs between the two of you, but since it related to Miss Qiao’s reputation, I had to come out and clarify things for her.”
“Miss Qiao did meet Mr. Lu that day, but she didn’t come specifically to meet him. He just happened to be there.”
Before President Kang could speak, his wife said first, “How could it be such a coincidence?!”
Shen Boyan was sternly retorted, but he didn’t get angry. He just said in a good-tempered manner, “President Kang, aren’t you curious about why I know about it?”
“Yeah, why does President Shen know?”
“Because I was there when Miss Qiao met Mr. Lu. To be precise, Miss Qiao came to see me, and I happened to be with Mr. Lu, so Miss Qiao happened to meet Mr. Lu.”
The expression on President Kang’s face changed several times, and finally he forced a smile and said, “I can understand President Shen’s kindness in wanting to help the Qiao family, but President Shen is really joking. What business do you have with Qiao Siya?”
“President Qiao and I always had the intention to cooperate; that’s why I received an invitation to this wedding. I went out with my friends that day and happened to run into Miss Qiao. We met privately to keep in touch with each other. Isn’t this very common?”
“I believe that if it’s the groom, who had a meet-up in private to talk, chat, and strengthen relationships, people won’t have any questions. Why is it not okay for the bride to do the same?”
There is indeed a strong argument in this statement, but logically speaking, there’s no problem. With Shen Boyan’s current momentum in Rongchuan, any ambitious person wouldn’t miss the opportunity to brush their presence in front of him. Who’s going to engage in discrimination against women or brides here?
When Shen Boyan saw that President Kang was in a difficult situation, he smiled kindly and said, “Besides, President Qiao and I haven’t cooperated yet, so there’s no need for me to stand out and get involved in this mess. But if Miss Qiao is implicated by me, I can’t just do nothing.”
“If Second Young Master Kang still doesn’t believe it, I can explain it to him face-to-face.”
President Kang’s expression changed slightly, and he quickly said, “No need!”
“How could that be?”
Shen Boyan, as if he were very apologetic, said with extreme patience and humility, “We can’t let the two newlyweds have any knots in their hearts. Where is your son?”
President Kang’s expression was relatively calm, but a look of panic appeared in his wife’s eyes.
“Jiqing felt betrayed and left in a fit of anger.”
Shen Boyan: “What should we do? Then we have to ask him back quickly; don’t let the misunderstanding continue!”
Mrs. Kang: “No, no need; we will talk to Jiqing.”
Shen Boyan looked at her innocently and said, “What about the wedding? Should we let Miss Qiao carry on alone?”
Mrs. Kang suddenly became speechless.
He raised one hand, asked everyone present to quiet down, and said loudly, “Dear seniors in various industries and media friends, this matter is related to the happiness of the two newlyweds. We hope that everyone can stay as witnesses to ensure that the misunderstandings between the two are resolved.”
How perceptive Qiao Zhenhua was. As soon as he heard this statement, he immediately knew that Shen Boyan wanted to keep everyone, especially the media, from publishing anything online.
He immediately said, “I, Qiao, did not entertain you all well today. Please wait a moment, friends. No matter what happens with the wedding today, I hope this matter will not become a thorn in the hearts of these two young people.”
When things have reached this point, anyone with a discerning eye knows that this wedding probably won’t happen, but it has nothing to do with them. Moreover, this melon is quite delicious to munch on. Being able to enjoy such an entertaining melon after spending a small amount of money, of course they have to eat it.
When the parents of both parties saw that the scene had stabilized, they each went back to their own lounges.
Shen Boyan walked back to Xia Shu’an, and Xia Shu’an asked in a low voice: “What happened?”
Shen Boyan smiled at everyone while taking them to a deserted corner.
After no one was around, his expression changed, and he said, “I suspect Kang Jiqing isn’t even at the scene today.”
“How could it be!” The one who spoke out was Lu Xin. His face was still tinged with anxiety as he said quickly, “Kang Jiqing has a decent reputation and shouldn’t make such a ridiculous mistake.”
Shen Boyan calmly said, “With so many guests here today, have you ever seen Kang Jiqing come out to entertain them? And if he’s really so angry, would he just leave instead of having a big argument with Qiao Siya first?”
Xia Shu’an pondered: “Indeed, if he was so angry, he would have questioned Qiao Siya first. If the man leaves after they argue, the woman should interrupt the wedding as soon as possible in the most dignified way, instead of waiting for the man’s parents to question her.”
“Judging from Qiao Siya’s appearance, it seems like she didn’t know beforehand either.”
Just as the phone vibrated, Shen Boyan lowered his head and glanced at the phone. On it was a message from his assistant: [People from the Kang family have been searching for people in various clubs, bars, and hotels since the morning.]
“Look.”
Lu Xin and Xia Shu’an were both shocked after reading the message.
Xia Shu’an: “So Kang Jiqing is really missing. The Kang family was desperate. They didn’t want to take responsibility, so they took this opportunity to put all the blame on Qiao Siya.”
“This is too vicious!”
Lu Xin said angrily, “The Kang family is considered disciplined in doing business; how could they be so vicious?!”
Shen Boyan smiled lightly and said, “Who knows?”
…….
…….
In the room, President Kang gritted his teeth and angrily threw his cell phone, which still made the shutdown sound, into the sofa.
“That scoundrel!!”
To the side, Mrs. Kang was sobbing: “Where did Jiqing go on the wedding day…”
“I think it’s better if he doesn’t show up or doesn’t show up for the rest of his life. He caused me to lose my face today. Now, how can I face the Qiao family? What do the people present think of me? A perfectly good in-law turned into an enemy!”
“I’m to blame for this, my momentary obsession…”
“Of course it’s your fault! You spoilt your son!”
“And you!” Kang Yong raised his head and shouted at the man at the door, “If it weren’t for your bad idea! If I explained it to Old Man Qiao properly, maybe we could have smoothed over the situation!”
It was just a decision you made out of a guilty conscience, and now you are blaming me?
The man who was loudly accused had a gloomy look in his lowered eyes, and in a soft voice, he said earnestly, “It was an emergency situation at the time, so I couldn’t help but…”
“Get out of here!”
The man walked to the door, and before closing the door, he could hear the cry of the woman inside: “Where is Jiqing…”
The last light in the room was cut off by the door. The expression on the man’s face changed as he lowered his head and expressionlessly sent a message from his phone: [Wake him up.]
After deleting the message, the man put the phone back into his jacket pocket and turned to a nearby aisle. In the washroom at the end, Xia Shu’an was lowering his head and seriously washing his hands.
The unique light from the front mirror lamp enveloped his pitch-black short hair, and when viewed from the side, his face resembled an oil painting created by a master. The sound of leather shoes hitting the tiles could be heard echoing behind him. Xia Shu’an had already finished washing his hands and was pulling out a paper towel to dry them. When he raised his head, he saw an unfamiliar face in the mirror.
Xia Shu’an didn’t pay attention, turned around, and left.
“You are……”
“Hm?”
This man in his thirties, with an air of shrewdness, narrowed his eyes and said, “You are Xia Guangsong’s son?”
Xia Shu’an only thought that the other party knew his father, which was common in the business world, and he nodded, saying, “Yes, and you are?”
“Just a former partner.”
“Then, please excuse me.”
With a nod, Xia Shu’an walked out of the bathroom.
As the water rushed down, the man seemed to think of something, and his lips, which had been pursed tightly, lifted slightly.
