A commotion of excited chatter and gasps came from the entrance to the banquet hall.
“She’s gorgeous! What an authoritative-looking face!”
“From a distance, I thought she was just a beauty. But up close—wow, she’s an absolute stunner!”
“A beauty doesn’t need a weapon to kill; one sway of her waist is enough to steal your soul.”
“Good heavens, please punish me in my next life by making me look like that!”
The association president spotted Song Xinya walking slowly toward them and hurried over to greet her.
His fawning manner left Song Xuanli, Li Cuirou, and Zhang Yingying utterly astonished.
Zhang Yingying said, “Who could make the association president run over like a lackey to welcome them?”
Li Cuirou added, “The association president is already the most influential figure in the education and training industry. What kind of big shot could make him wait on someone hand and foot like this?”
Song Xuanli said, “There’s always someone better. It must be some important person we don’t know.”
The three of them hurried toward the entrance to see who this person was.
Then they saw—
Song Xinya, dressed in an elegant evening gown.
And standing beside her was the association president, his head bowed humbly.
Song Xuanli, Li Cuirou, and Zhang Yingying stood rooted to the spot in shock.
It was Song Xinya!
Song Xinya was the one who had made the association president lower himself and fawn over her!
At the same time, Song Xinya noticed the three of them.
Accompanied by the association president, she walked toward the entrance of the hall at an unhurried pace. Every step was calm and composed, and every movement radiated the relaxed authority of someone at the top. She was dazzling.
Song Xuanli, Li Cuirou, and Zhang Yingying stood there in a daze. They had not seen Song Xinya in a long time, and she had become even more beautiful.
It wasn’t merely her appearance. Her temperament and presence had also continued to grow. She was becoming increasingly poised, increasingly noble and elegant.
She was growing more and more like Qin Yuhe.
As she passed by Song Xuanli, Li Cuirou, and Zhang Yingying, Song Xinya treated the three of them as if they were invisible, not even sparing them a glance.
Song Xuanli called after her. “Since we’ve run into each other, shouldn’t you at least say hello?”
Song Xinya turned around and smiled gracefully.
“Hi, cheating scumbag dad.”
“Hi, hypocritical, vicious homewrecker stepmother.”
“Hi, venomous, fake-sweet stepsister.”
It was even more informative than an introduction. Everyone immediately understood exactly what kind of people the three of them were.
“He cheated on his wife and still brought his homewrecker wife out to show her off. Aren’t they embarrassed?”
“The man’s a scumbag, the woman’s a shameless tramp. Rotten fish belong with rotten shrimp—cheap and perfectly matched.”
“He ignores his own biological daughter while doting on someone else’s. Is there something wrong with his head?”
“I guess this is what they mean by two of a kind. Bad people really do find each other.”
The crowd’s murmurs were like invisible whips, lashing across Song Xuanli, Li Cuirou, and Zhang Yingying’s faces.
With a dignified smile, Song Xinya asked, “Would you like me to greet you in the future, too?”
Two words burst from Song Xuanli’s mouth. “No need.”
Song Xinya said, “Don’t clench your teeth so hard. If you crack them, you’ll have to pay for the repairs yourself.”
Song Xuanli clenched his teeth even tighter. But then he remembered that if they really broke, he would indeed have to pay for the repairs himself. Furious yet helpless, he reluctantly loosened his jaw.
Noticing that no one was standing beside Song Xinya, Zhang Yingying smiled smugly and said sarcastically, “At tonight’s banquet, all the other couples arrived together. Why isn’t your husband accompanying you?”
Li Cuirou chimed in, “I heard President Qin went to the neighboring city for an entrepreneurs’ conference. Of course he wouldn’t be able to accompany Xinxin. In President Qin’s eyes, his career must come first.”
Song Xuanli said, “Naturally. A man should always put his career first.”
Song Xinya gave a soft laugh. “With how much importance you place on your career, how did you still manage to make such a mess of it?”
Song Xuanli snapped, “Stop slandering me. I’ve always managed the Song family’s company very well.”
Song Xinya said, “You’ve managed it wonderfully. It’s almost gone bankrupt.”
Zhang Yingying stepped forward to defend her unrelated father, glaring furiously at Song Xinya.
“Song Xinya, I know you’re especially upset because Qin Yuhe didn’t accompany you to the banquet. But this is a public occasion, so please have some decency. Don’t bring your personal emotions here and attack me and my family for no reason. You’re a grown woman, yet you’re acting so emotional. It’s incredibly childish.”
“Every grievance has its source and every debt its debtor. Qin Yuhe is the one who didn’t accompany you, so what does that have to do with us? Your own husband refuses to attend even one banquet with you. You should hurry home and reflect on what you did wrong. You must not have been good enough.”
Zhang Yingying had deliberately seized on the fact that Qin Yuhe had gone to a conference in the neighboring city. Certain that he wouldn’t return to accompany Song Xinya, she took the opportunity to attack her again and again.
“So what if you married into a wealthy family? Marrying up is no easy thing. Being a rich man’s wife isn’t as easy as it looks. All the other couples came together, while you’re here all alone. How pitiful.”
Covering her mouth, Zhang Yingying giggled. “Sister, I feel so sorry for you.”
Suddenly, a man’s deep, cold voice rang out from the entrance to the hall.
“Who said I wasn’t willing to accompany my wife to the banquet?”
The crowd froze. They instinctively split into two lines.
Qin Yuhe strode in, tall and handsome in a black suit, a pink cashmere shawl in his hand.
“I was only worried that the temperature in the hall would be too low and my wife might catch a chill, so I went to buy her a shawl. In the short time I was gone, someone started spreading rumors that I hadn’t come. How vicious can your mouth be?”
Everyone finally understood what had happened. They turned to Zhang Yingying, their eyes filled with contempt.
“This couple’s relationship is perfectly fine. Why are you spreading rumors?”
“You just can’t stand seeing other people happy. You’re jealous.”
“Now that I look at her, she really is a venomous, fake-sweet stepsister.”
Zhang Yingying’s face turned pale and green by turns. She was utterly humiliated.
Qin Yuhe strode over to Song Xinya and draped the pink shawl over her bare shoulders.
He asked gently, “Were you cold?”
Song Xinya replied, “As long as you’re here, I always feel warm.”
The crowd wore delighted expressions.
They were all thinking the same thing: They were witnessing true romance. Who could possibly resist such sweet love?
Zhang Yingying’s heart felt as if it had been slashed with a knife.
Qin Yuhe shot her a cold look. “You’re always jumping into other people’s marriages. You must be very unhappy with your own life.”
Li Cuirou said, “Yingying didn’t know you were coming, so that’s why she said those things. She wasn’t trying to interfere in your marriage.”
Qin Yuhe said, “If that wasn’t interfering, then what was it? Just like her mother, who directly became the third party in someone else’s marriage?”
Li Cuirou lowered her head and pulled Zhang Yingying behind Song Xuanli, seeking his protection.
Song Xuanli looked at Qin Yuhe, his eyes practically glowing with the sight of money.
The project he was currently working on in the capital was a Qin family project. He still hoped to obtain more projects from Qin Yuhe in the future—and better ones at that.
Money could make the devil turn a millstone; without money, you became the one turning it.
At that moment, Song Xuanli suddenly found his sense of justice and moral compass again. He said to Li Cuirou and Zhang Yingying, “You two were indeed in the wrong just now. You provoked her first, then slandered and spread rumors about her. Since you were wrong, you should have the courage to admit it. Apologize to Song Xinya.”
Li Cuirou and Zhang Yingying had lived with Song Xuanli for years, so they understood exactly what he meant—
Saying “I’m sorry” wouldn’t cost them anything. It could smooth things over, help them maintain the image of two women who knew their mistakes and were willing to correct them, and, at the same time, pressure Song Xinya into forgiving them in front of everyone.
Li Cuirou and Zhang Yingying were about to apologize when Song Xinya stopped them. “No need. Your apologies aren’t worth a thing to me. I don’t care about them, I don’t need them, and I certainly won’t forgive you.”
She slipped her arm through Qin Yuhe’s, tilting her head to the side like a swan turning its graceful neck. Elegant yet distant, she headed toward the center of the banquet.
The association president followed beside Qin Yuhe and asked in a low voice, “President Qin, should we have them thrown out?”
Qin Yuhe replied, “Wait until after you announce that my wife is a member of the association. Then have them thrown out.”
“Understood.”
With the main guest’s arrival, the evening banquet officially began.
The association president went up to the stage and opened with a speech. “Thanks to everyone’s support, I am honored to stand here today as the president of the International Education and Training Association. First, I would like to thank you all for your support.”
He turned toward the audience and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, facing Qin Yuhe.
After straightening, the association president continued speaking for a while before introducing the theme of the evening.
“Today, I have a very important announcement to make.”
With that, he deliberately paused.
Everyone grew curious.
What was the announcement?
How important was it?
And who did it concern?
Zhang Yingying had always wanted to become a member of the International Education and Training Association. A sudden sense of foreboding rose in her heart. “Could someone have already become a member of the association?”
“It shouldn’t be,” Li Cuirou said. “I asked around through several channels before, and there hasn’t been any word of it.”
Song Xuanli thought for a moment before saying, “Could it be that Song Xinya has been elected as a member?”
At the thought of that possibility, Zhang Yingying couldn’t take it. She turned to Song Xuanli and complained, “Dad, how could you say that? Do you actually want Song Xinya to become a member of the association?”
Song Xinya was stubborn, strong-minded, and hot-tempered. Not only was she difficult to control, but she had also always held a grudge against him for cheating on her mother during their marriage. Zhang Yingying, on the other hand, listened to everything he said. So Song Xuanli told Zhang Yingying, “Of course I want you to be elected as a member.”
“Your father and I both support you,” Li Cuirou added.
The association president’s ringing voice echoed through the grand and magnificent hall.
“Congratulations to Ms. Song Xinya on becoming a member of the International Education and Training Association!”
Thunderous applause erupted.
A brilliant beam of light fell on Song Xinya, making her the one and only star of the evening.
Song Xuanli, Li Cuirou, and Zhang Yingying stood frozen in place. Their three hearts shattered into QR codes, and scanning them would reveal nothing but sobbing.
What followed was their being thrown out of the hall in full view of everyone.
Holding a glass of champagne, Song Xinya stood at the dazzling center of attention, surrounded by the crowd.
She watched as Zhang Yingying was driven out of the entrance with tears streaming down her face, Li Cuirou wore a look of deep worry, and Song Xuanli—the man who cared most about his reputation—was left utterly humiliated.
Were they really that upset?
Song Xinya parted her red lips slightly. A disdainful light shimmered in her smiling eyes, while every expression on her stunningly radiant face revealed absolute confidence that victory was hers.
This was only the beginning.
Once she took back the company her mother had founded, the three of them would be even more devastated...
