Ch 13 : Interesting daughter

The phone was quickly brought downstairs.

But the one carrying it over was not a servant.

It was today’s main host, Zhou Yu.

She wore a dark emerald-green qipao, her hair elegantly pinned up with a wooden hairpin.

Every movement she made carried the grace and refinement of an aristocratic lady.

Standing intimately beside her was Lin Shu, Shen Nanyue’s stepfather.

The nearly fifty-year-old man was about a head taller than Zhou Yu.

His proper, dignified face featured narrow smiling eyes that gleamed sharply with calculation, giving him an air of exceptional sophistication.

And the man following beside them had fixed his gaze on Shen Nanyue from the moment he arrived.

The stare made Shen Nanyue uncomfortable, so she turned her head to look at him.

The man had a tall, slender figure.

His dark gray suit gave him an elegant and refined appearance, while his handsome features and deep blue eyes lent him an air of mystery.

He was probably mixed-race.

She had heard that Meng Yan was mixed-race as well.

Shen Nanyue calmly looked away.

Zhou Yu did not hand the phone directly to Shen Nanyue.

Instead, she shot her a slight glare before speaking.

“Why is everyone gathered here? The banquet is about to begin. Please head over for dinner.”

Smiling warmly, she graciously ushered the guests along.

Seeing the birthday host herself step in, the crowd, no matter how eager for gossip, understood that staying any longer would be disrespectful to the hosts.

High society cared most about reputation.

Gossip was one thing, but truly offending either the Shen family or the Lin family would hardly be worth the trouble.

So after Zhou Yu spoke, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Zhou Yu glanced at Lin Shu, and he smiled before turning to entertain the guests.

In an instant, only the few of them remained.

Zhou Yu’s gaze landed on Zhou Yushen beside Shen Nanyue.

The night Zhou Yushen had driven Shen Nanyue home, he never got out of the car, so Zhou Yu had never seen what he looked like.

She assumed he was just another one of Shen Nanyue’s reckless fair-weather friends.

Her expression immediately turned cold, and her tone became stiff.

“This gentleman, you may take your seat as well.”

The intent to dismiss him was obvious.

Shen Nanyue turned to Zhou Yushen.

“Go save me a seat. I’ll come find you in a bit.”

Zhou Yushen nodded.

Before leaving, his gaze swept over the man standing beside Zhou Yu, and his eyes turned noticeably colder.

After Zhou Yushen left, Zhou Yu handed the phone to Shen Nanyue.

“I already deleted the video. There’s no need for family members to make things this ugly.”

Her voice was calm and cold, yet it sent chills down the spines of both Chen Mu and Lin Siwan.

So there really was a video!

Chen Mu secretly shot Lin Siwan a glare, while Lin Siwan lowered her head.

Fear surged through her heart.

The smile on Shen Nanyue’s face stiffened briefly, but she casually accepted the phone as if nothing had happened.

“No need to apologize. I made a backup copy of the video.”

She spoke lazily, yet Chen Mu and Lin Siwan instantly felt their hearts leap into their throats again.

Chen Mu’s face darkened, his voice low and heavy.

“Shen Nanyue, do you really want this family to reach the point of no return? Are you trying to drive me to death?”

But Shen Nanyue merely turned to Zhou Yu and asked coldly, “Mom, did you hear what those people were saying about me just now?”

“So what if I did?” Zhou Yu snapped angrily. “You’ve been willful since childhood, so of course people gossip about you. Just because your reputation is bad, does that mean you have to drag your sister’s reputation down with you?”

Shen Nanyue lifted her eyes and looked at Zhou Yu without a trace of warmth.

She had always believed her mother was someone driven entirely by profit.

A woman with neither familial affection nor love.

Who would have thought that even she could have a moment overflowing with maternal love?

“If someone is rotten to the core, then even without this video, her stench will spread throughout all of Fengcheng sooner or later. Before that happens, Mom, you’d better start planning carefully for dear little sister’s future.”

After speaking calmly, Shen Nanyue turned to leave.

But just as she turned around, Zhou Yu called out to her.

“You’re already this old. Don’t you have even basic manners?”

Only then did Zhou Yu turn toward the man beside her, finally revealing a smile.

“Meng Yan, this is my eldest daughter. I spoiled her too much growing up, so she’s rather willful. I hope you’ll be understanding of her in the future.”

Meng Yan curled his lips into a smile.

Even while speaking to Zhou Yu, his eyes never left Shen Nanyue for a single moment.

“I actually think Miss Shen is very interesting.”

His voice was gentle, the deliberately lowered tone carrying a seductive magnetism.

Shen Nanyue frowned.

After a moment of thought, she turned and looked directly at Meng Yan’s face.

She hadn’t examined him carefully before, but now that she did—

His nose bridge was high, but lacked the flawless curve of Zhou Yushen’s features.

His lips were thin, lacking Zhou Yushen’s fullness and color.

His features were handsome, yet he lacked the natural elegance and aura Zhou Yushen possessed effortlessly.

Once you’ve experienced the best, even the slightest flaw becomes impossible not to notice.

“You’re Young Master Meng, right? Unfortunately, I’m not interested in you at all.”

“If you don’t want to lose face later, you’d better leave now. After all, the one discussing marriage arrangements with the Meng family isn’t me.”

As soon as the words fell, Shen Nanyue stepped away again.

Just as Zhou Yu darkened her face and was about to scold her, Shen Nanyue suddenly stopped once more.

Her gaze swept toward Lin Siwan and Chen Mu.

A dazzling smile bloomed across her beautiful face.

She waved the phone in her hand lightly.

“Tonight, since my mother is protecting you two, I won’t release the video. But next time, remember not to act like clowns in front of me. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee that one day this video won’t end up playing on the giant screen at Central Mall.”

As she spoke, the bright smile faded from her face, replaced by icy mockery in her eyes.

“You’ve got the guts to do it but not the guts to admit it. Twisting black and white is the only thing you’re good at, idiot.”

She shot Chen Mu a disdainful glance and rolled her eyes as she turned away.

Lifting the hem of her dress, she walked off without sparing Zhou Yu a single response no matter how many times she called after her.

The distortion of anger twisted Zhou Yu’s carefully applied makeup into something almost ugly.

A suffocating frustration built in her chest.

The current Shen Nanyue seemed to be slipping more and more beyond her control.

Then, noticing Meng Yan beside her from the corner of her eye, Zhou Yu quickly adjusted her expression and smiled.

“Meng Yan, Nanyue’s just in a bad mood right now. Don’t take it to heart. Later tonight, I’ll publicly announce your engagement. That child still listens to me, her mother.”

“Really? From what I see, she doesn’t listen to you much at all.”

Zhou Yu’s expression stiffened, and she was just about to say something—

But Meng Yan had already begun walking in the direction Shen Nanyue had left.

“The Meng family won’t break off the engagement. Aunt Zhou truly raised a very interesting daughter.”

Watching Meng Yan’s departing figure, the anxiety hanging over Zhou Yu’s heart finally eased completely.

As long as the Meng family didn’t cancel the marriage arrangement, there was still room to salvage everything.

Meanwhile, after leaving, Shen Nanyue headed toward the banquet hall.

From afar, she spotted Zhou Yushen’s figure.

Zhou Yushen sat quietly at the edge of the banquet table.

The surrounding crowd was noisy, everyone chatting amongst themselves.

Only he remained silent, leaning back against his chair with his gaze lowered slightly.

The lights illuminated his incomparably noble face.

Simply sitting there, he resembled the lone brilliant star in a pitch-black night sky.

So dazzling that people couldn’t help wanting to draw closer to him.

Shen Nanyue walked over and sat beside him.

“Logically speaking, the seat next to you should be one everyone’s fighting over. Looks like I got lucky.”

She teased him with a smile.

After all, dragging him into the center of gossip tonight really had been her mistake.

She felt a little guilty and wanted to make it up to him.

Zhou Yushen lifted his eyes, his dark gaze quietly studying her for a moment before he spoke in a low voice.

“You and Meng Yan are getting engaged?”