Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The banquet was far from over, but Xia Wanzhi couldn’t care less about whether anyone else was happy. While sneaking off to the restroom to share the good news with Zhuzi, she caught her reflection in the mirror and smiled to herself.

“Did you see that just now? That girl from the Xia Family is truly shameless.”

“If it weren’t for Zhou Yu, she wouldn’t even have the chance to attend a banquet like this tonight.”

The voices of two women chatting drifted in from behind her. Xia Wanzhi lifted her gaze, looking at them through the mirror.

They must have been gossiping the whole way there; they were so deep in conversation that they didn’t even notice the subject of their talk was standing right in front of the sink.

When they finally realized she was there, they fell silent. There was a momentary flash of panic and awkwardness as they exchanged glances, but they quickly regained their composure and acted as if Xia Wanzhi didn’t exist.

Xia Wanzhi shook the water off her hands and asked unhurriedly, “I wonder if you two could tell me-exactly how am I being shameless?”

If she was going to be insulted, she at least deserved to know the reason.

The woman on the left felt a chill under her gaze. Although she knew Xia Wanzhi was no longer as influential as she used to be, she still took her status as Zhou Yu’s fiancée into account and gritted her teeth without uttering a word.

The other woman, however, spoke up haughtily. “You have the nerve to do it, so why shouldn’t we have the nerve to say it? When the young master of the Zhou Family took you around to toast others, don’t think I didn’t see you making eyes and flirting with that Xie guy. If that’s not shameless, what is?”

Xia Wanzhi’s eyebrows shot up.

“I was making eyes at that Xie guy?” Xia Wanzhi was so angry she actually laughed. “Do you think I have nothing better to do than flirt with Xie Qiyan?”

“You…” The woman glared, wanting to retort, but Xia Wanzhi cut her off.

“I suggest you don’t let those words reach Xie Qiyan’s ears. He isn’t as easygoing as I am when he’s being framed.” Xia Wanzhi’s smile was gentle, yet deadly. After drying her hands, she said nothing more, slightly lifting the hem of her dress as she walked away.

The two women stood frozen in place, not daring to move.

They had taken Xia Wanzhi’s ‘kind’ warning to heart.

Even if Xia Wanzhi really did have something going on with Xie Qiyan, if even half a word of today’s conversation got out, they would both meet a miserable end.

Even if Xia Wanzhi had fallen from grace, she was still someone they couldn’t afford to provoke.

When she returned to the banquet hall, Zhou Yu was submerged in the crowd with a wine glass in hand. Seeing the men deep in conversation-likely discussing business-Xia Wanzhi, who had never been interested in such things, didn’t bother heading over.

Not every female companion had to be glued to her partner’s side at all times. For instance, the ladies from the Lu Family and the Qu Family were gathered in the dessert area, laughing and chatting.

Xia Wanzhi glanced over, then picked up a glass of wine for appearance’s sake and chose a corner to zone out.

She knew what happiness looked like, and she had always believed in love.

She had agreed to the marriage alliance with Zhou Yu because she believed he was the kind of man who would treat her well for a lifetime.

Just like Old Xia and Ms. Ross.

But now she suddenly realized that not all men could withstand the test of time.

For twenty-five years, from childhood to adulthood, Zhou Yu had been the one by her side, protecting her and being kind to her.

Yet in the blink of an eye, the man who once said he couldn’t live without her could turn around and hold another woman in the most intimate of ways.

They hadn’t dated; they went straight to being engaged. But Zhou Yu had respected her and cared for her, even asking for her permission just to hold her hand or give her a hug.

She didn’t understand dating, so Zhou Yu told her they could take it slow.

She was slow to warm up and needed time to accept her status as his fiancée, so he remained disciplined and polite, never doing anything out of line.

Xia Wanzhi had always thought he was a true gentleman.

But in private, he was a completely different person.

It turned out she, too, could be wrong about someone.

Xia Wanzhi gave a self-deprecating laugh.
Taking a deep breath, Xia Wanzhi placed her wine glass back onto a waiter’s tray. As she looked up, her gaze happened to collide directly with Xie Qiyan’s.

It was no wonder people said she and Xie Qiyan were making eyes at each other.

It was all a misunderstanding caused by Xie Qiyan’s persistence in trying to catch her at her worst.

Dropping her shoulders, Xia Wanzhi kept a stiff face as she lifted the hem of her dress, turned around, and headed straight for the banquet exit.

Xia Wanzhi left.

She left Zhou Yu behind and departed on her own.

Xie Qiyan narrowed his eyes slightly and tilted his head back, draining the champagne in his hand in one gulp. His expression relaxed, tinged with a hint of amusement.

“What are you looking at?” Jiang Baichuan approached with a glass of wine, clinking it against Xie Qiyan’s empty one. “I find it strange. Don’t you usually skip banquets like this?”

Xie Qiyan arched an eyebrow but said nothing.

Jiang Baichuan gave him a meaningful look. “What, is your target here?”

“Didn’t you ask me to come?” Xie Qiyan countered smoothly.

Jiang Baichuan let out a soft huff. “I ask and you just show up?”

“Have some confidence. You’re worth that much face.” Xie Qiyan patted him on the shoulder, set down his glass, and also left the venue.

Jiang Baichuan sneered, “What a storyteller.”

He was a year older than Xie Qiyan. Most children from prominent families knew each other from a young age. Although the Jiang family didn’t have much interaction with the Xie Family-mostly being competitors-he and Xie Qiyan just so happened to be primary school desk-mates.

Even though Xie Qiyan was later sent abroad, they never lost touch.

Jiang Baichuan had indeed put in a lot of effort to help Xie Qiyan take control of the Xie Family upon his return, which also secured a stable, lifelong partnership between Xie Corporation and Jiang Corporation.

This move hadn’t been a loss for him.

“President Jiang, excuse me, have you seen my fiancée?” Zhou Yu finally managed to break away from his conversations. After searching around and failing to find Xia Wanzhi, he approached Jiang Baichuan.

Jiang Baichuan tilted his chin up, his tone cold. “She left.”

Zhou Yu froze, feeling somewhat inferior in front of Jiang Baichuan.

First, because Xia Wanzhi had left, and second, because Jiang Baichuan’s attitude toward him was clearly worse than it was toward her.

A bankrupt young lady had easily gained the favor of the heads of the Lu Family and the Jiang family at this banquet.

Instead, he had become Xia Wanzhi’s foil.

Dissatisfaction and resentment crawled across his face before he quickly suppressed them.

Returning to the banquet floor, Zhou Yu forced a smile and continued to raise his glass, trying to build connections with the high-status members of the elite families.

It wasn’t until Xia Wanzhi reached the entrance of the Zhou Family residence that she realized her impulsive departure was a bit undignified.

Undignified for Zhou Yu, specifically.

She sent Zhou Yu a few messages, but he didn’t reply. Xia Wanzhi didn’t want to go inside and face Zhou’s Mother’s harsh criticism, so she waited in the car for over half an hour.

Waiting until she was nodding off, Xia Wanzhi figured the banquet should be winding down, so she dialed Zhou Yu’s number.

The ringing lasted only three seconds before the call was hung up.

Xia Wanzhi stared at her phone screen. She hesitated for a moment and didn’t call back, switching to WeChat to chat with Yun Li for a while.

After another ten minutes, she finally lost her patience. Xia Wanzhi scrolled down her WeChat interface, found Zhou Yu’s name, and clicked the call button.

Lately, she had been video chatting with Xie Tan so often that muscle memory took over, and she accidentally tapped the video call icon instead.

She hesitated, thinking about hanging up and redialing, but the video was already connected.

Rustling sounds came through the phone’s speaker, accompanied by heavy breathing and a woman’s delicate, soft voice.

“Oh, Young Master Zhou-”

The end of her sentence seemed to be shattered by a sudden impact.

Xia Wanzhi had never heard such a sound before.

Nor had she ever seen such an X-rated scene.

The camera was shaking and the image was blurry.

As if noticing that Xia Wanzhi hadn’t hung up, half of a strange woman’s face, flushed with pleasure, appeared on the screen.

It was a blatant provocation.

Xia Wanzhi’s breathing grew heavy, and she finally pressed the end call button with stiff fingers.