Chapter 92: The Engagement Party (Part Two)  

After speaking with Shangguan Zheng, Jing Yiran dialed another number.

Shangguan Xing was useless in the larger scheme of things, so he had to speak with Shangguan Zheng instead. These two brothers had been making empty promises that Shangguan Ning would never let Liyu Science & Technology go bankrupt. She would definitely save the company, no matter what. Shangguan Ning proved to be a strong contender. She refused to give in to these threats. In fact, Jing Yiran himself had run into trouble on her account.

Luckily, he was smart enough to have thought of this devious scheme.

He then proceeded to make a call which was declined. A moment later, he received a text from an unknown number: How may I help you, Second Master?

He was impressed. This girl was a professional. Not only was she careful enough to not answer his call, but she was also cautious enough to text him back from an unknown number. She must be good at conducting shady deals like these.

Sitting in his luxurious Lamborghini, Jing Yiran replied, “You really are your father’s daughter, after all. You both are as ruthless as each other. He doesn’t think twice before using his daughter as bait to save his business, and you don’t think twice before you can put your sister into trouble. My respect for you has gone up a few notches.”

“I’m impressed with you too, Second Master, though I am no match against you.”

Jing Yichen smirked at the sight of the message. He replied, “The old man will get some benefits after I get the girl. I wonder about you, though. What do you get from this? How do you benefit? Anyway.. don’t intoxicate her too much. I like it when she protests!”

“Okay.”– was the reply.

...

At the banquet hall, Xie Zhuojun was a little annoyed with Shangguan Rouxue. She kept looking at her phone and was busy texting all the time. “Xue, what are you busy with? You missed my mother’s toast.”

Shangguan Rouxue looked up in panic and smiled. “Oh... it’s nothing really. Just some old friends, sending in their congratulatory messages on our engagement. I was just replying to them all. I’m so sorry to have been this distracted. I’d love to hear what Aunt said.”

Hearing this, Wang Lu turned her face away.

Xie Zhuojun understood that his mother was upset. How could she repeat her toast? It was so heartfelt. He didn’t want to make things any worse than they already were, so he bent in and whispered to Shangguan Rouxue,”My mother just said that you needn’t call her Aunt anymore. It’s sad that you missed everything she said.”

Shangguan Ning immediately pulled out the brand-new sim card from her mobile, threw it at her feet and crushed it.

She bit her lip and said shyly, after a while –”Dad, mom.”

Wang Lu and Xie Dongfeng finally smiled. They presented their to-be daughter-in law with a small present in a red packet. This was a custom that they followed, whereby the daughter in law was given an amount of money, when she addressed her in laws as her parents, for the first time. It signified that she was now part of their family and they in turn, would love her like their own daughter.

Shangguan Rouxue blushed. She took the present and handed it over to Xie Zhuojun. “Zhuojun, please put it away for me, will you?” she said shyly.

Xie Zhuojun took it with a smile and said gently, “Okay, I’ll do that.”

Wang Lu was now sure that Shangguan Rouxue was the right girl for her son. How nice of her to give the money to Xie Zhoujun, to take care of.

Everyone around the table was very happy for the couple, except for Shangguan Zheng, who seemed distracted.

He took a sip of red wine and asked Shangguan Rouxue, who was sitting next to him, “Where is your sister? Didn’t I ask you to personally deliver the invitation to her?”

Shangguan Rouxue replied, reassuringly,”Don’t worry, Daddy, Sister will be here. She accepted Zhuojun’s invitation.It is our engagement party and she will definitely join us soon. Right, Zhuojun?”

Xie Zhuojun nodded. “Yes, she will be here.”

Although he sounded quite certain, he wasn’t completely confident. When Shangguan Ning accepted the invitation, she didn’t say if she would be attending. It had already been a few hours since the party had started. It seemed unlikely that she would come now.

As if on cue, he looked up and saw Shangguan Ning push open the door and walk in.

She was dressed in black skirt and a white blouse. She wore a deep purple coat to go with it. Her attire and her new haircut, made her look sharp and fashionable. She was in complete contrast to the Shangguan Ning who followed him everywhere, like a lost child, all those years ago.

Xie Zhuojun realised that she had come here directly from work. She hadn’t bothered to change into another set of clothes even. It showed how little she cared about the party, and about the hosts.

He wasn’t sure what was happening to him. That she didn’t care about him, was exactly what he had always wanted, wasn’t it? Then why did he feel so terrible about it, now that it had finally happened.

When the crowd saw Xie Zhuojun staring at the gate, they followed his line of vision and noticed Shangguan Ning, immediately.

It was difficult for them to not notice someone this pretty.

Some guests knew her but most of them didn’t.

Xie Zhuojun overheard them whispering amongst themselves. They wondered who this good looking girl was and why had she arrived at the party, just when it was about to get over.

“That’s the Deputy-Mayor’s daughter”– said one of them.

“Isn’t Deputy-Mayor’s daughter, Shangguan Rouxue? I didn’t know he had another daughter.”– replied someone else.

“Ah, you are ignorant. Shangguan Rouxue is Deputy Mayor’s younger daughter and this is his older one. She is his child from his ex-wife. I think her name is Shangguan Ning. I’m not so sure though...”

People talked as they surveyed Shangguan Ning, from head to toe.

Shangguan Ning was not bothered about being judged. She walked straight to the table where the couple and the family were seated.

Shangguan Rouxue stood up happily and grabbed hold of her sister’s arms, “Sister, you’re finally here! I thought you wouldn’t come. I’m so glad that you are here. Our whole family is together now.”

Shangguan Zheng let out a sigh of relief, at the arrival of his daughter. He finally relaxed.

Although he knew that Jing Yiran was upto no good, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if Shangguan Ning married him. She would become part of a wonderful family and he himself would become the next mayor. What an excellent proposition. Two benefits out of one action.

Thinking of this, he stopped feeling guilty for what was going to happen tonight. Instead, he conditioned himself to think that he was actually doing his daughter a whole lot of good by marrying her off into such a prestigious family.

Shangguan Ning ignored Shangguan Rouxue’s fake show of affection. She said to her, “Shangguan Rouxue, your mother robbed my mother of her husband’s love and affection. She drove my mother to take her own life. Then, years later, you robbed me of my fiancée, chose to get engaged to him and then you were cheeky enough to invite me to your engagement party even. Are you trying to drive me to insanity as well? We are such a loving family, are we not?”

She was audible enough for most people to be able to hear her. Eventually, the entire banquet hall fell silent.