"I'm telling you one last time. Everything for the wedding is ready, and both families have been notified. Anyone who dares to be disrespectful and disrupt the wedding will not be spared."
After speaking, he hung up the phone and ordered someone to take Chen Jiaojiao away.
Hu Jiasheng stared at the dead phone screen, his mind in turmoil for a moment, and he called Zhan Beijue.
Zhan Beijue had already woken up and was on his way to the company.
He answered on the first ring.
"What is it?"
"Ah Jue, Chen Jiaojiao is getting married tomorrow, is that true?"
Zhan Beijue paused for two seconds, his tone indifferent.
"It's true. While I have no right to advise you, as a member of the Zhan family, I feel it's necessary to say a few words."
"You and Chen Jiaojiao were wrong from the start. Now that both families have pushed things this far, you absolutely cannot make another mistake."
"Otherwise, it won't just be their reputation on the line, but the Zhan family's as well."
"A good man's ambition lies in all directions, and he should not be shackled by romantic entanglements. I believe you understand this better than I do. I've said enough, the rest is up to you to consider."
The call ended. Staring at the numbers in front of him, Hu Jiasheng suddenly felt as if his brain had been scooped out.
He couldn't focus on anything, couldn't calculate anything.
He was lost.
Lu Mingzhe slept soundly and came downstairs to find his parents absent.
The nanny smilingly approached him, asking if he was hungry and what he wanted to eat.
"Where's Mom?"
"Madam and Sir have gone out. They said they were going to trick Grandma and the in-laws into coming over to help arrange the hotel."
"Young Master, what would you like to eat?"
Chen Jiaojiao and her father were coming over?
That was good.
At this critical juncture, she was quite sensible.
"Did they say where they were going?"
"I think it was the Peninsula International Hotel."
"Got it. I'm not hungry, you can go back to your work."
Suddenly, he felt that things were being resolved too smoothly, which was rather uninteresting.
Lu Mingzhe lay down on the sofa, took out his phone, and went back to watching Xiang Wan's live stream.
After an unknown amount of time, the stream was interrupted, and Chen Jiaojiao's call came in.
Lu Mingzhe answered with a playful tone.
"What's up, Miss Chen?"
"Where are you now?"
"At home. Why? Miss me?"
"I've been locked in my room by my dad. Can you come and see me?"
"?"
"Peninsula International, room 8820. You'll come, right?"
Lu Mingzhe didn't understand why he should go.
"I'll definitely come. But not now, rather tomorrow morning. Are you already eager to marry me?"
Chen Jiaojiao was annoyed.
"I can't get through to Hu Jiasheng, and I've been blocked on WeChat. Lu Mingzhe, I just want to know what you did behind my back to find him."
From her words, it sounded as if her father had brought her here against her will.
Lu Mingzhe's interest was piqued again.
"Oh, you've lost contact with him? He blocked you? What does that mean? Did your dad really break you two up?"
Chen Jiaojiao: "How dare you say that? Wasn't it your terrible advice?"
"Don't blame me, Chen Jiaojiao. Look, have I ever forced you from beginning to end?"
"Isn't it because your father took a liking to our family's influence and was eager to marry you off to me?"
"Fine, if you want to ask about this, I'm useless. I don't know anything."
"As I said before. I won't force you. Come to the wedding if you want to, or let your father come if you don't. I only care about the outcome, nothing else matters."
With that, he hung up the phone.
Chen Jiaojiao was alone in the room, unable to get out, and unable to find Hu Jiasheng.
It felt like throwing punches at cotton, her heart aching with anger, but with nowhere to vent.
With no other solution, she could only wait for her father to return.
She sat on the sofa, waiting from four in the afternoon until past ten at night. Her father finally returned.
He pushed the door open and was startled to see her staring intently in the direction of the door.
"You're awake? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
Chen Jiaojiao sneered.
"Do you still care if I'm comfortable? As long as you're happy, that's all that matters, right?"
"You ungrateful brat, don't speak so heartlessly! You're marrying Lu Mingzhe, you'll be living a good life, not me. Don't act like I owe you something!"
Her father walked in, closed the door, and sat opposite her, speaking earnestly.
"Don't blame me for not letting you say goodbye to Hu Jiasheng. In fact, this is a test for him."
"Whether he's truly devoted to you or not, whether you can count on him at a critical moment, this incident will show it."
"Look, I brought you here this morning, and he hasn't made a move until now. Isn't that attitude clear enough?"
"You, don't be foolish."
Her father handed her his phone.
"Look, this is a video I had Xiao Wang record at the company. He's doing just fine, he doesn't take you seriously at all."
Chen Jiaojiao, full of doubt, took the phone and opened the videos one by one.
In the videos, Hu Jiasheng was sometimes in a conference room, expressionlessly attending meetings with others.
Sometimes he was sitting with designers, intensely discussing issues.
Sometimes he frowned at the computer screen, working diligently.
There was no sign of his sadness or anxiety.
It was as if he didn't know that the girlfriend he had sworn eternal love to was about to marry someone else.
The emotionless faces pierced Chen Jiaojiao's heart into a thousand pieces.
The first thing she did after waking up was to look for her phone, to see if Hu Jiasheng had sent her any messages.
As a result, she discovered she had been blocked.
When she called him, she was also sent to voicemail.
Initially, she still held some hope.
She thought that while she was unconscious, Hu Jiasheng had been coerced and had no choice but to act this way.
But now, it seemed...
Men were different from women.
At the crossroads of career and love, they always chose their careers.
No matter how sweet the vows were, they were unreliable at critical moments.
But she understood the logic.
Yet, her heart was unwilling to accept the reality.
Without hearing Hu Jiasheng's definitive answer, she refused to give up!
"If I don't hear him personally say we're breaking up, I will never give up."
"I want to use your phone to call him."
Her father was so angry he gritted his teeth, looking at her with the disappointment of someone who hated that iron could not be turned into steel.
Chen Jiaojiao dialed the number she knew by heart.
After a long wait, the call was connected, and Hu Jiasheng's familiar voice came through.
"Who is this?"
"Ah Sheng, it's Chen Jiaojiao."
The line went silent instantly.
After a few seconds, his calm voice returned.
"Is there something you need?"
Is there something I need?
He was asking her if there was something she needed with such a calm tone?
There was nothing more to ask. Chen Jiaojiao instantly understood everything.
"I'm getting married tomorrow. Do you have time to attend the wedding?"
Another silence.
Hu Jiasheng seemed to be contemplating how to answer appropriately.
Finally, he said.
"I'm sorry. I have project matters to attend to and no time to come."
"However, I will have Ah Jue deliver the wedding gift. I wish you a happy wedding and a long, blissful marriage."