Hu Xingfa had envisioned life with Liu Fang after their remarriage many times since receiving his younger sister's wedding invitation, as well as her response to his proposal of reconciliation.
But he had never imagined that Liu Fang would refuse him so directly, in front of so many people.
Hu Xingfa's eyes widened, as if he wanted to kill Liu Fang, then he looked at Chen Long, who had been sitting behind Liu Fang all along.
Then his face flashed with a look of sudden realization. He pointed at Chen Long and shouted:
"You're not remarrying me because of this man, are you?! Let me tell you! I've seen plenty of these pretty boys! So what if he's good at dressing up?
Do you know where the money for his clothes comes from? He scams it from his sugar daddies! When he's scammed all your money, he'll run away!"
Just as Liu Fang was about to ask the security guards to escort Hu Xingfa out, she felt Chen Long, who had been sitting behind her, suddenly stand up.
The attention of the crowd, which had been drawn to Hu Xingfa, quickly shifted back to Chen Long.
Chen Long stood up, walked around to Liu Fang's side, blocking Hu Xingfa's gaze towards her.
"Sister Fang, I've always wanted to perform a magic trick for you."
This nonsensical remark left Liu Fang bewildered, and Hu Xingfa, standing behind Chen Long, scoffed:
"Pretty boys always like to do these useless things!"
Chen Long simply smiled without retort, reaching for a red cloth on the table and covering his clenched right fist with it.
His left hand began to circle above his right, and as he circled, everyone saw something emerging from beneath the red cloth.
Just as the entire audience was watching intently, Chen Long pulled the red cloth away, revealing a small velvet box inside.
Then, under the gaze of the entire audience, Chen Long slowly knelt on one knee, holding the small velvet box and opening it in front of the seated Liu Fang.
"Liu Fang, I love you. Will you marry me?"
Liu Chen looked at the brilliant diamond ring sparkling under the crystal light in the box. "Wow, Chen Long is quite sincere. This diamond is at least two to three carats, and with the surrounding small diamonds, it makes the ring look as big as a pigeon's egg."
Her mother had always worried about conflicts arising from money after she married Chen Long. However, for Liu Chen, as long as Chen Long treated her mother well, nothing else mattered.
The monthly rewards from the system alone, the monthly dividends from Penguin Farm, and the future dividends from League of Legends – any one of these could provide a comfortable living each month, far exceeding her mother's hard-earned income for several years.
What's more…
Chen Long was the chairman of "Meili Brand" ham sausage in his past life. "Meili Brand" later became a listed food enterprise. Such a person, would he covet the meager profits of her mother's small frozen goods wholesale store?
Liu Chen believed that any clear-minded person wouldn't think that way.
Of course, her mother didn't know about this. But seeing how persistent her scumbag father was, it would be better to accept Chen Long's proposal in front of him and then clarify things privately later.
After all, a proposal didn't necessarily mean getting married right away, did it?
Liu Chen guessed correctly. Liu Fang was indeed thinking the same way at that moment. She didn't even consider it a proposal, merely Chen Long's way of helping her make Hu Xingfa give up.
Therefore, Liu Fang unburdened, extended her hand, allowing Chen Long to place the large, sparkling diamond ring on her right middle finger.
However, when she found that the ring fit her finger perfectly, her heart began to pound.
Could this…
Could this be a real ring?
Was Chen Long truly proposing to her?
Lost in her thoughts, Liu Fang didn't notice Hu Xingfa walking up to her.
"I'll beat you to death, you unfaithful slut!"
As he spoke, Hu Xingfa raised his hand, about to strike Liu Fang's face.
Chen Long, still half-kneeling, was too slow to reach out or kick. He could only pull Liu Fang's hand towards himself to dodge the powerful slap.
Liu Chen, who had been sitting next to her mother and had shifted slightly backward, had no such hesitation. With a sidekick, she sent the enraged Hu Xingfa stumbling back several steps.
Indeed, Liu Chen, who had been practicing the Eight Brocades lately, was now at an advanced level. While she couldn't kick an adult man flying, she could certainly send Hu Xingfa reeling.
When Hu Xingfa, who had been kicked away, approached again, he was met with a shoulder throw from Chen Long, who had already stood up and was prepared.
Chen Long twisted his neck, his gaze chilling as he looked at Hu Xingfa, who lay on the ground feigning death.
"I've told you twice: what kind of man hits a woman? Only cowards dare to attack women! Get up, let's continue!"
Hu Xingfa, thrown to the ground, wasn't unwilling to get up, but the fall had sobered him.
He realized he might not understand Liu Fang at all anymore. In the past, if he had gotten into a conflict, let alone been thrown to the ground like this, Liu Fang would have rushed to his side, trying to pacify the situation and preventing it from escalating like this.
But now, he had been thrown to the ground by her new lover in front of friends and family, and that heartless woman remained unmoved!
She truly didn't love him anymore.
Realizing this, Hu Xingfa suddenly seemed to lose all his spirit, lying on the ground unable to get up.
The banquet hall manager, along with security guards, rushed into the Peony Hall, truly wanting to cry.
Why was it the Peony Hall again!
This hall was cursed!
Two security guards, one on each side, escorted Hu Xingfa out of the Peony Hall.
Luo Meihong watched the scene, muttering curses, and then turned to Hu Qian, who was sitting beside her like a fool, staring blankly.
"What are you still gawking at! Aren't you going to push me to follow your father? If it weren't for you and your mother, and if your mother hadn't seduced Xingfa back then, how would our family have ended up like this!"
Hu Qian, who had been pretending to be a stranger and watching the spectacle out of embarrassment, felt all eyes in the hall turn to her due to Luo Meihong's outburst.
Hu Qian desperately wanted to walk away and leave her grandmother there!
But she couldn't. Although their family was poorer than before, their circumstances were still much better than most of her classmates. And if she truly angered her father, who would pay for her university tuition in the future?
So, Hu Qian silently pushed Luo Meihong's wheelchair and followed Hu Xingfa out of the Peony Hall.
After they both left the Peony Hall, the guests finally began to whisper among themselves.
The elderly matriarch of the Wang family, seated at the main table, directly criticized:
"That Liu Fang is truly promiscuous. Her ex-husband was willing to humble himself to seek reconciliation, and she refused. Not only that, but she let this man behind her humiliate her ex-husband. Tsk tsk."
Having heard the commotion earlier, Hu Min, who had just changed into her toast-greeting outfit, arrived and happened to hear the entire sentence.
She turned to look at Wang Dong beside her, who looked embarrassed. Wang Dong stepped forward, frowned, and asked his grandmother, who had always wanted him to get married:
"Grandma, are you dissatisfied because the wife I found for myself isn't to your liking? But Grandma, have you ever considered that when I wanted to join the army, you cried and threatened to hang yourself if I went, so I compromised?
Later, when I wanted to go to Guangdong to try my luck with Gangzi and the others, you said you were in poor health, and if I left, you would have an asthma attack thinking of me.
Now, I'm over thirty. I've finally married the person I love and have my own child. This time, instead of feigning illness, you're focusing your efforts on Hu Min.
Grandma, please, let me go. I am a person, a man, not a doll in your hands. For the past thirty years, I've listened to you.
But for the rest of my life, please let me live as myself, okay?"
After saying this, Wang Dong, usually jovial, stood there with teary eyes, looking at the Wang family matriarch.
Hu Min, wearing a loose-fitting short dress, couldn't help but embrace Wang Dong with concern upon hearing his words.
Seeing this, the Wang family matriarch's chest heaved with anger. But this time, Wang Dong simply stared at her without doing anything.
Finally, the Wang family matriarch could only sigh: "Fine! You've married a wife and forgotten your mother. I won't argue with you. You'll understand when you're older!"
Wang Dong cast a wistful glance at his grandmother.
"After the wedding today, I'll move into Minmin's place."
"How can that be! If you marry a wife, you don't bring her home to live together, is that considered marrying a wife?!"
The Wang family matriarch immediately disagreed.
Fortunately, because the main table was on either side of the T-shaped stage, and the guests had been busy discussing the 'wedding-snatching' incident earlier, no one noticed the argument happening at their main table.
Wang Dong did not explain further. Instead, he raised his glass of Sprite on the table:
"Aunt, Uncle, please enjoy the meal. Thank you all for coming today. I'll have a drink first, and then I'll go around toasting everyone."
With that, he took a sip from his glass, nodded to everyone, and then, hand in hand with Hu Min, who was wearing flats, he moved on to the next table.
The Wang family matriarch was still angry when her elder sister, who was almost eighty, slapped her hands on the table.
"Sister, why are you hitting me?"
Xu Yun, who was almost eighty, opened her mouth to scold her younger sister, who had been competitive since childhood. "Xu Su, Wang Dong is in his thirties, not three years old. Back then, when you were fifteen and insisted on marrying Wang Dazhu, Dad disagreed, thinking his family had too many burdens and couldn't afford enough food. You went on a hunger strike to marry him. Now Wang Dong is getting married, and what are you doing?"
"I..."
The Wang family matriarch, Xu Su, stammered for a long time. Finally, under the gaze of her nearly eighty-year-old elder sister, she had to promise:
"I won't interfere anymore. I'll never interfere again!"
Wang Dong, who had just walked to the back table to toast with red eyes, quickly gave a thumbs-up with a smile after seeing his great-aunt nod and wink at him.