Chapter 2: Truly Able to Be Ruthless Enough to Kill Her

Tang Yizhou, who had just hung up the phone, felt inexplicably excited.

He felt Xu Yanfeng should come to settle scores with Xia Xi, and preferably ruin her wedding. He had never liked that woman; back then he first pestered Xu Yanfeng relentlessly, chased him down, then did something shameless, causing Xu Yanfeng to lose all face, while he himself just patted his butt and left, disappearing from everyone's sight.

How could she still be able to marry well and live a good life?

Why? He felt indignant for his good brother, wishing he could rush over and teach that woman a lesson, but reason told him he had no standing.

In the banquet hall, Xia Xi, in her panic, bumped into a waiter carrying drinks; the wine glass on the tray tipped over, spilling red wine onto her light pink dress, which immediately bloomed into an ugly stain.

The waiter stepped back, his face turning white with fright, and hurriedly bowed in apology: "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to, your dress…" His voice grew softer and softer, as the dress looked expensive and he guessed he couldn't afford to compensate.

Xia Xi knew the waiter was innocent; it was her own carelessness, panicking and not watching where she was going.

"It's not your concern; go get back to work."

The waiter, feeling pardoned, let out a sigh of relief, bowed again to her, and left with the tray.

Xia Xuan saw the situation over there, pushed through the crowd, grabbed Xia Xi's arm to inspect her dress, and noticing her off complexion, she asked with concern: "Sis, are you okay?"

Xia Xi shook her head, but her heartbeat still hadn't calmed; it was racing.

Xia Xuan: "The wine stain won't come out quickly; you definitely can't keep wearing this dress. How about this: I brought a spare toast dress—come with me to change into it."

Xia Xi showed hesitation: "How can I wear…"

Before she could finish, Xia Xuan tugged her toward outside the banquet hall: "We're sisters; why stand on ceremony?"

The two sisters entered the room being used as a temporary resting room; Xia Xuan took out another set of toast dress and handed it to Xia Xi.

It was a white strapless long dress, with one side of the hem slit, and at the back waist a light gauze tied into a large bow; as she walked, the bow floated lightly, like a pair of wings.

Xia Xuan's eyes shone with astonishment; she hugged Xia Xi and affectionately rubbed her cheek: "My sister is truly beautiful!"

Xia Xi pinched her round cheeks.

Xia Xuan suddenly thought of something; the happiness on her face faded a bit, her tone turning wistful: "If only the eldest sister were here."

Xia Xi fell silent.

Xia Xuan sighed: "Originally I wanted to wait for the eldest sister to come out before holding the wedding, but Song Bai's mother said that after consulting a fortune-teller who matched our birth charts, today is the best day; otherwise we'd have to wait another two years."

Xia Xi patted her back, smiled faintly, and said to comfort her: "The eldest sister wouldn't care about this. Your happiness matters more than anything. Let's not talk about it—let's hurry to the banquet hall so we don't miss the important thing."

*Four Seasons Star Sea, a well-known high-end entertainment club in Nancheng, membership-only, ordinary people can't enter.

In the luxuriously private room decorated in a retro-opulent style, the daylight was dim, alcohol fumes permeated the air, the record player spun round and round, and the low, ambiguous English songs drifting out sounded like lovers' whispers.

Everywhere exuded decadence.

In the corner sat a man dressed all in black, nearly blending into the shadows; his features were indistinct, only his long, fair fingers gripping a square cup could be seen, with ice cubes floating in the pale yellow liquor.

Everyone present had heard bits and pieces of Tang Yizhou's phone call.

Sitting opposite, Luojinnan was the first to ask: "Xu Er, are you really going?"

Xu Yanfeng swirled his wine glass, offering no reply.

Another person said: "In my opinion, after all these years, even a huge grudge should have faded—isn't it said the best ex is one who's dead? Don't listen to Tang Yizhou stirring the pot; he's just the type who loves chaos."

"But you can't put it that way—what that woman did back then is something no man could tolerate; could you swallow that anger?"

"That's also true…"

"That woman is indeed hateful."

"I bet Xu Er will go." Said Fu Li, who is usually quiet and rarely speaks up on such matters.

Before anyone could rebut Fu Li, Xu Yanfeng leaned forward and set down his cup; the glass tapped the marble table with a clear sound, the private room fell silent at once, and only the person lurking in the shadows stood up.

In the interplay of light and shadow, his face gradually became clear—a stunning visage that rivaled any male celebrity, every brow, eye, nose, and lip as if meticulously carved by the goddess Nüwa; no wonder he could make all the young ladies of Nancheng swoon as Xu Er.

In a place like Four Seasons Star Sea, those who come and go are either rich or noble, and there are always women feigning faint to fall into his arms.

At this moment his expression was overly indifferent, so indifferent that one couldn't read his thoughts; some thought he was annoyed by Fu Li's words and were about to advise him, but he lifted his eyelids, half-smiling, and said: "I bet you're right."

The crowd: "?"

What does that mean? Is he really planning to go find that woman Xia Xi?

Luojinnan suddenly coughed, drawing everyone's attention; they all turned to look at him as he reached behind and grabbed a few books, tossing them onto the table, and, chin lifted toward Xu Yanfeng, said: "Lend them to you for reference."

Xu Yanfeng's gaze shifted to those few books with flashy covers—"Mistakenly Flirting with the Iceberg CEO: Fiery Wife, Don't Run," "Aristocratic Contract Marriage: Forced Love for 100 Days," "Obsessive Tycoon's Long-Planned Scheme: Pure Maiden Within Reach."

What the heck?

"Confiscated from my little niece." Luojinnan said, "I flipped through a few pages out of boredom; honestly, it's pretty heart-wrenching. You can use it as reference, learn how the domineering CEOs in there torment women."

Xu Yanfeng gave him a cold glance, then turned and left the private room.

Luojinnan rang the bell and summoned a waiter.

A waiter in a white shirt and black vest quickly entered the private room, respectfully lowering his head to ask: "Manager Luo, what are your orders?"

Luojinnan tried not to laugh, pointing at the books on the table: "Later I'll send you an address; call a runner to deliver the books there."

A trivial matter; the waiter agreed and immediately went to handle it.

Fu Li took a sip of his iced whiskey, lips slightly curling, and remarked blandly: "Camel, keep the jokes in moderation."

Luojinnan shrugged, unafraid. He leaned sideways, elbow on the cushion, drew close to Fu Li, lowered his voice: "Nobody else knows Xu Er's temperament, but you do—do you think he could really bring himself to kill Xia Xi when they meet again?"

Back then, how much Xu Yanfeng doted on Xia Xi was obvious to these childhood friends of his; he could have handed over the Xu Clan's shares without hesitation, and it was fortunate that Xia Xi was sensible and didn't ask for them, otherwise she could have driven Xu Yanfeng's father to fury.

Fu Li: "It seems you think the same."

"Also?" Luojinnan understood; Fu Li's idea matched his own.

Only Tang Yizhou, that big idiot, fails to see it, jumping around causing trouble— the emperor isn't anxious but the eunuch is; sooner or later he'll provoke Xu Yanfeng into anger.

*Prosperous Courtyard Hotel, the banquet is about to begin, the hall buzzing with noise.

Xia Xuan's health is poor, she can't exert herself, so Xia Xi helps receive the male side's guests who have come from afar.

The actual number of guests far exceeded expectations; Xia Xi was urgently contacting the hotel manager to add more tables. She didn't yet know that Xu Yanfeng had already arrived at this hotel.

Tang Yizhou learned from the WeChat group that Xu Yanfeng was coming, so he went early to the lobby on the first floor and waited in the lounge area.

A black Bentley Mulsanne pulled up at the hotel entrance; Tang Yizhou recognized it as Xu Yanfeng's car and stood up. The hotel's valet, quite perceptive, stepped forward and opened the rear door.

Leather shoes stepped on the red carpet at the doorway; Xu Yanfeng got out of the car and smoothed his lapel.

Tang Yizhou rushed over like a gust of wind, grabbed him and headed for the elevator, taking him to the floor where Xia Xi was holding her wedding. Outside the banquet hall, he pointed at the welcome photo by the door and gritted his teeth: "The groom isn't even the guy she cheated on you with back then—he's grown into this bear-like oaf; how could he possibly compare to you, and yet you call him a damn stupid ass? Can you really tolerate this? Should I round up more people to cause a huge scene, make that woman unable to lift her head?"

Hearing this, Xu Yanfeng's first reaction was, "How could anyone be called a damn stupid ass?" He fixed his gaze on the welcome photo; the groom's name abbreviated was CSB.

Xu Yanfeng: "……"

Xu Yanfeng ignored Tang Yizhou and walked straight into the banquet hall.

His calm, composed demeanor made those who didn't know think he was just another guest attending the wedding, no different from the other guests.

Yesterday, when I started the chapter I got a bit excited, and when excited I forgot to write something in the side notes……_(: з」∠)_ I'll say it here.

This is a long novel, a long one.

During the free period, it's usually one chapter per day, at 8 a. m.; later there will be extra chapters.

Wish everyone a happy weekend, (*￣3)(ε￣*)(End of chapter)