"Did you come back alone? Where's Yuxuan?" Huo Jintang frowned slightly, and her displeasure was evident on her face.
"He stayed in Jingzhou, busy taking care of the woman he loves." Su Yue's expression was calm, and there was not a trace of emotion in her tone. She felt that there was no need to hide this matter anymore.
Huo Jintang was slowly stirring her coffee. When she heard Su Yue's words, her hand trembled, disrupting the intricate latte art on the surface of the coffee.
"What do you mean by that? Are you saying that our Yuxuan has another woman outside?" Huo Jintang looked extremely surprised, and her eyes were filled with disbelief. She simply couldn't believe that her well-raised son would do something so morally reprehensible during the period of their engagement.
Su Yue initially wanted to show Huo Jintang the video she had taken last night. However, she was worried that as a mother, Huo Jintang might not be able to bear such a huge shock all at once. After thinking for a moment, she selected several photos taken by a private detective she had hired before and handed them to Huo Jintang, saying, "Auntie, take a look at these."
In the photos, a man and a woman were snuggling up to each other affectionately, in an ambiguous posture.
"How could he do such a thing!" Huo Jintang's hands trembled slightly with anger. She immediately reached for her phone, seemingly ready to call and demand an explanation, "Yueyue, don't worry. Auntie will get justice for you."
This reaction was beyond Su Yue's expectations. Recalling Huo Jintang's previous lukewarm attitude towards her, Su Yue had originally thought that even if she didn't shield her son, she would at least blame her for being not magnanimous enough. Unexpectedly, she actually sided with Su Yue this time.
"It's okay, Auntie. It's my fault that I couldn't keep Yuxuan's heart. I don't blame him for leaving me for someone else." Su Yue quickly reached out to stop her. Her fingertips gently brushed aside the stray strands of hair falling beside her cheek, and her expression exuded a cold and pitiful sense of brokenness, with even the corners of her eyes turning slightly red. Of course, all of this was deliberately feigned by her. She intended to create an image of being deeply hurt by love first, as a prelude to proposing the termination of the engagement next.
Even though Huo Jintang was a tough and capable woman, seeing Su Yue in such a state couldn't help but arouse her pity, even though she didn't have much affection for this future daughter-in-law in her heart originally.
"Well... even if you have your shortcomings, he still shouldn't be so greedy. Call him back, and I'll let his father give him a good lesson." As she said this, Huo Jintang slapped the glass table hard, causing the coffee cup on the table to vibrate several times.
Su Yue was stunned for a moment. This was completely different from what she had expected.
"Auntie, there's no need to go to so much trouble. Yuxuan doesn't like me, and you don't think much of me either. It would be better to just dissolve the engagement." Su Yue looked directly into Huo Jintang's eyes, her tone firm.
When Huo Jintang heard this, she immediately became anxious, "How can that be!"
Su Yue remained firm and repeated, "Auntie, I've made up my mind. I hope to call off the engagement. Let Yuxuan marry the woman he likes. Wouldn't that be more perfect for everyone?"
After all, it was her son who had cheated first. Huo Jintang, who was usually sharp-tongued, couldn't find a reason to refuse.
"It's not impossible to dissolve the engagement, but we have to wait until after his grandfather's 70th birthday before making the announcement." Huo Jintang frowned tightly, and she rarely lowered her stance to discuss with Su Yue, "Yueyue, you know that Yuxuan's grandfather likes you the most. You see..."
Su Yue raised the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing an appropriate smile, "Don't worry, Auntie. I will definitely go to wish Grandpa a happy 70th birthday. But regarding what you promised me, after the birthday banquet, I hope you can have a good talk with Yuxuan and dissolve our engagement."
*
Three days later, the 70th birthday of the old man of the Chen family arrived.
The birthday banquet was held at the Jinsha Hall near Quyuan Fenghe.
This was a high-end restaurant with three Black Pearl diamonds. It was extremely difficult to get a reservation on ordinary days. However, as the Chen family's business had been booming in recent years, it was not a difficult task for them to book all the seats in the Jinsha Hall in Hangzhou.
Su Yue didn't tell her family that she had returned to Hangzhou. She had been staying in a hotel these days.
There were several shopping malls near the hotel. The cheongsam she had ordered three days ago was delivered to the hotel on time this morning.
Su Yue put on the carefully selected cheongsam and applied a light makeup. Then she went downstairs and walked out of the hotel lobby. As soon as she reached the entrance, she saw a familiar white Mercedes-Benz G-Class parked there.
Chen Yuxuan was leaning against the front of the car, making a voice call with Lin Xiaoyan on his phone. His voice was so gentle that it seemed to drip with honey, "Xiaoyan, just stay at home and wait for me to come back. I'll go back to accompany you tomorrow and take DouDou to the pet hospital for a prenatal check-up by the way."
I don't know what sweet words Lin Xiaoyan said on the other end of the phone, which made Chen Yuxuan break into a bright smile.
But that smile vanished without a trace the moment he saw Su Yue, and at the same time, a flash of amazement appeared in his eyes.
Su Yue was wearing a cheongsam with ruby ribbons. In order to attend the birthday banquet, she deliberately chose this festive yet elegant color. The red brocade was matched with a delicate small round collar, and the collar was inlaid with lifelike crane buttons, adding a bit more ancient charm. The hem of the cheongsam reached down to her ankles, and there were short slits on both sides. As she walked, her white and jade-like legs were faintly visible. It perfectly combined gracefulness and charm, nobility and enchantment, and the two completely different temperaments of purity and allure coexisted wonderfully in her, making her incredibly beautiful and captivating.
For a moment, Chen Yuxuan was so mesmerized that his eyes were involuntarily drawn to Su Yue and he couldn't move them away for a while.
"Do I look beautiful?" Seeing his dazed look, Su Yue casually teased him, not really expecting an answer.
"Beautiful." Chen Yuxuan blurted out subconsciously.
But as soon as the words came out, he noticed the teasing smile in Su Yue's eyes. He came back to his senses immediately and quickly added, "The cheongsam is nice, but the person... is just so-so."
Whenever he lied, his ears would turn completely red uncontrollably. In fact, Chen Yuxuan knew very well about beauty and ugliness. Lin Xiaoyan's affected and petty manner could only please him in matters of love. When it came to temperament and appearance, she was simply no match for Su Yue, who was brought up in a wealthy and prestigious family in the Jiangnan water town.
"Oh, if I'm ugly, then so be it. Anyway, I don't plan to marry you anymore." Su Yue calmly retorted, "Auntie has already agreed that after Grandpa's birthday banquet, our two families will dissolve the engagement."
Logically speaking, this should have been a cause for celebration for Chen Yuxuan. But for some reason, he twitched the corners of his mouth, yet he couldn't manage to smile.
"Get in the car. I'll take you there." Chen Yuxuan put away his unnatural expression, and there was a hint of impatience in his tone. As he spoke, he opened the car door, trying to change the subject, "Don't get the wrong idea. If it weren't for my mother forcing me to come and pick you up, I wouldn't do such a stupid thing."
Su Yue didn't care either and gracefully took the front passenger seat. She wasn't going to refuse the offer of a free ride. She wasn't stupid.
In less than half an hour, the car drove into Lingyin Road.
On both sides of the road, the lush green trees were full of vitality and dense foliage. Following the winding road, passing by the Botanical Garden, and going further in, the destination of the banquet could be seen. This place was simply a natural oxygen bar. The restaurant was built by the lake, and looking along the spacious road, the view suddenly became wide and open.
There were rows of luxury cars parked in the parking lot, exuding an air of luxury.
The Chinese-style garden architecture blended perfectly with the beautiful scenery of the lake and mountains, complementing each other. Being in this place, one could truly feel the leisurely artistic conception of "Sitting alone in the dense bamboo forest, playing the Qin and whistling freely".
The doormen were wearing black and red waistcoats, standing at the door energetically, ready to provide parking services for the guests at any time.
Su Yue got out of the car and looked around at the surrounding environment with great interest. As expected of the newly emerging wealthiest family in Jiangnan, the old man Chen's birthday banquet was held with such great pomp.
As soon as Su Yue and Chen Yuxuan, this handsome man and beautiful woman, appeared, they immediately attracted the attention of many guests. Among the crowd, there were faint whispers of gossip.
"Is that Young Master Chen? The woman beside him must be his fiancée, right? I have to say, they look quite well-matched standing together."
"Sigh, the business of the Su family is getting worse and worse. In the past, Yong'an was much stronger than Shenghai. But now... it's really a case of 'Ten years on the east side of the river, ten years on the west side'. There's no comparison anymore!"
"However, Miss Su of the Su family is really beautiful."
"What's the use of being beautiful? The Su family also has a young master born to the stepmother. The property of Yong'an will never be inherited by her. There's no real benefit for Young Master Chen to marry her."
Those wealthy ladies gossiped together without any scruples. Their words, one after another, all reached Su Yue's ears.
Chen Yuxuan casually threw the car keys to the doorman and walked inside without even glancing at Su Yue.
He knew very well that people around them were watching, but he deliberately did this to embarrass Su Yue.
As he walked, Chen Yuxuan deliberately slowed down his pace. Deep down, he secretly hoped that Su Yue would chase after him as she used to, affectionately taking his arm and relying on him. If that happened, he might really soften his heart.
Unfortunately, this time he was completely wrong. Su Yue was not someone who would easily bow her head and be manipulated. With a slight upward curve of her lips, revealing a meaningful smile, she walked straight towards those wealthy ladies who were gossiping.