It was a shame that she hadn't recognized his true worth back then.
Li Hongliang glanced at his daughter's expression, then at Lin Guoxiong and Fu Qingyun on stage. Seeing their indulgent looks, Li Hongliang felt reassured. It seemed his suspicions were correct.
This woman was likely already slated to be the young madam. Li Hongliang had heard about Su Mojin more than once, particularly during the incident with the Wei family.
A genius trader. The Lin family had five trading teams, and this woman led one of them. While it was undeniable that Mr. Lin had provided covert assistance and promotion, the woman's individual capabilities were immense. Her first team achieved second place among the five, and setting aside other factors, she was a perfect fit for the position of the Lin family's young madam.
It was common knowledge that the Lin family's young master was not adept at business, a fact known to both Li Hongliang and others.
Seeing his daughter's expression, Li Hongliang gently patted her back. Both the young master and the young madam of the Lin family had changed drastically. It seemed his past choices were not wrong, only that his daughter had suffered.
He hadn't anticipated his doting daughter would fall for the Lin family's young master. If only it had happened sooner, perhaps he could have fought for his daughter's chances.
Yin Hongya looked at Lin Yan with disbelief, as if trying to discern if the Lin Yan before her was still the cousin who had once loved and cherished her.
"No, I absolutely cannot apologize to her..."
"Slap!"
As everyone expected, Lin Yan delivered another slap. He wasn't someone who enjoyed hitting women, but today he truly couldn't hold back. It wasn't just a woman; anyone, man or woman, would feel humiliated being insulted in public, under everyone's gaze.
"Hongya, quickly apologize to the young master. An apology will resolve everything."
At Fu Qingyun's signal, the bodyguard holding Lin Xuehui released her. Lin Xuehui, now free, immediately ran towards Yin Hongya.
At this moment, she deeply regretted bringing Yin Hongya to the capital. She had intended to compete for the position of young madam, but this girl had been spoiled into foolishness by her family!
"No, why should I apologize to her? I'm right, she's a fox..."
Yin Hongya stubbornly spoke, her face half swollen, but she was met with another heavy slap from Lin Yan. Soon, Yin Hongya was crying from the blows.
Crying from being slapped?
Everyone present glanced at Lin Guoxiong on stage. Seeing that Mr. Lin had no expression and made no move to stop it, they understood. As the saying goes, family shame should not be aired publicly. It seemed this Mr. Lin was truly doting on his young master to the extreme.
Yin Hongya crouched on the ground, covering her face and sobbing. Su Mojin reached out to pull Lin Yan, but her hand retracted midway.
"I... I'm sorry."
Prompted by Lin Xuehui, Yin Hongya finally uttered those three words. Seeing this, not only did those present heave a sigh of relief, but Lin Xuehui also relaxed.
"Take her away."
Having heard the apology, Lin Yan didn't press further, considering they were still in the banquet hall.
Two bodyguards led Yin Hongya out of the banquet hall. The banquet continued. Before sitting down, Lin Guoxiong glanced at Lin Yan. The father and son exchanged a look, and Lin Guoxiong's gaze seemed to say:
"Fortunately, you stood up. Otherwise, if my daughter-in-law was bullied for nothing, I'd deal with you when we get home."
As Lin Yan sat down, the banquet resumed. Lin Guoxiong's voice rang out again, and the entire banquet hall fell silent, as if the previous incident had never happened.
As soon as Lin Yan sat down, several pairs of eyes turned towards him. As the saying goes, a scumbag, besides being a scumbag, has many merits. Especially Lin Yan's handsome and domineering demeanor just now had captivated Nana's friends.
"No, Nana, I suddenly think he's so handsome again. What should I do?"
One of her friends said, stars twinkling in her eyes.
"He might be a bit of a scumbag, but he's genuinely handsome. I'm suddenly not interested in that Zhang Junkai anymore. No, Nana, I need to go to the restroom later."
"Huh? What are you going to the restroom for?"
Nana looked at her friend who had just spoken in a low voice with some confusion.
The speaking girl winked at Nana, implying "you know." Nana's face turned dark. It wasn't necessary to react so strongly.
Ahead, Li Yuhan looked back at Su Mojin next to Lin Yan with a complex expression. Li Hongliang saw all this and sighed. He didn't intervene; he couldn't. He hoped the upcoming announcement would make his daughter give up completely.
Su Mojin gently massaged Lin Yan's large hand with hers. Lin Yan's hand was slightly red from slapping Yin Hongya, and Su Mojin's cool hand felt very comfortable on it.
"Tell me honestly, do you have some history with that woman just now?"
With watery eyes, Su Mojin looked at Lin Yan with a hint of grievance. Seeing that look, Lin Yan instinctively raised his hand. No, I'm not guilty, why would I touch my nose?
"No, she's probably a childhood playmate. I haven't seen her in many years."
Lin Yan leaned closer to Su Mojin and casually lied.
"Hmph!"
Su Mojin gave Lin Yan a snort, clearly not believing him. However, she didn't say anything more, burying her head on Lin Yan's shoulder. After a while, Lin Yan felt a dampness on his shoulder.
"Hmm? Are you angry?"
Lin Yan gently lifted the small head buried on his shoulder, asking with a hint of caution in his voice.
Her face, buried on Lin Yan's shoulder, now had a few teardrops. When Lin Yan pulled her up, she looked even more crystal clear. Su Mojin lightly punched Lin Yan twice on his body, broke free from his hand, and nestled back onto his shoulder.
"You idiot, this is being moved. You were so handsome just now, and with so many people around, don't pull me..."
Hearing this, Lin Yan unnaturally touched his nose again.