Bai Haonan's words grew increasingly stern, and the imposing aura he exuded immediately made the others at the table dare not even breathe too heavily, lest they be implicated.
Yet, even facing such a Bai Haonan, Bai Ruoqi remained completely unfazed.
She said coldly, "You've wanted to make a move for a long time, haven't you? Since that's the case, why bother pretending anymore?"
"You were never a good person to begin with. You make it sound like I'm forcing you to act. You've mastered the art of having a righteous cause."
Seeing that he had already reached this point, Bai Ruoqi still dared to mock him!
Bai Haonan, finding it even harder to accept, angrily declared, "Fine, then today I'll let you see if I have the ability to deal with you!"
"You dare!" As soon as Bai Haonan finished speaking, Xiao Lu stood up.
She looked directly at Bai Haonan and said, "Bai Haonan, you should know the relationship between Qi Qi and me, right?"
"You want to make a move on Qi Qi in front of me today. What's this, are you not putting our Xiao family in your eyes?"
Seeing Xiao Lu stand up, Bai Haonan's pupils constricted slightly.
He then said gloomily, "Xiao Lu, it's you again. What exactly do you want?"
"Don't pretend you don't know that your Xiao family has secretly helped her more than once. Are you trying to jump out directly and tear down the facade with our Bai family?"
"I'm telling you, I will be the head of the Bai family in the future, and the matters of the Bai family will be decided by me!"
"You'd better think clearly. If you antagonize the Bai family, even if you are the Xiao family, you won't get away with it!"
Bai Haonan's words were entirely impulsive.
Although the Xiao family was indeed weaker than the Bai family, they were still one of the eight great families, and the gap was not that significant.
If the Bai family were determined to attack the Xiao family, even if they won, they would be severely weakened.
Xiao Lu, however, said angrily, "Bai Haonan, do you think I'm afraid of you? Who do you think you are?"
"I'm telling you, with me here today, you won't be able to touch a single hair of Qi Qi. Otherwise, you're provoking me!"
"You haven't gained true power in the Bai family yet. You dare to oppose our Xiao family like this. Do you really think you can do it?"
Bai Haonan was intimidated by Xiao Lu's words.
Because what Xiao Lu said was not wrong. He had not yet fully controlled the Bai family, and his words could not truly represent the will of the Bai family.
If they rashly worsened relations with the Xiao family, it would only affect their family's support rating in the end.
As he was momentarily speechless, Bai Fuguo said in a deep voice, "Miss Xiao, my son is being rude. I ask for your forgiveness, but no matter what, this is still an internal matter of our Bai family."
"Even if Miss Xiao is the eldest daughter of the Xiao family, you are ultimately an outsider. Your actions seem to be against the rules, don't you think?"
But Xiao Lu paid no mind to it and said, "Against the rules? Qi Qi is my best friend, she is my family!"
"Now that someone is trying to hurt her, why can't I speak up?"
"Also, although I cannot represent the entire Xiao family, here, I can publicly announce that I, Xiao Lu, will fully support Qi Qi in my personal capacity!"
"If I do this, can you still say I have no right to manage this matter?"
"What did you say?!" Seeing that Xiao Lu actually said such a thing publicly, Bai Fuguo's expression became even more unsightly.
Although Xiao Lu could not truly represent the Xiao family, she was their only daughter and beloved jewel. Therefore, her words carried almost the same weight as the Xiao family's.
And if Xiao Lu really intended to get involved, then this would be terrible news for them.
He stared at Xiao Lu and said, "Miss Xiao, are you really going to do this?"
"The Bai family and the Xiao family have always had a good relationship. Your actions are undoubtedly damaging this relationship!"
Xiao Lu said unceremoniously, "Bah, what good relationship between the Bai and Xiao families? That's because Qi Qi and I have a good relationship!"
"Now that Qi Qi is about to be driven out by you, why should I still be friendly with you?"
"Do you really think your family has something so good that our Xiao family must rely on?"
As Xiao Lu spoke, Bai Fuguo's face grew increasingly grim.
Not only that, but the others at the table were so uncomfortable they wanted to leave.
This was no longer just a struggle within the Bai family; it was a tense moment between the Bai and Xiao families.
They dared not get involved in such a conflict, lest they get caught in the crossfire.
Bai Fuguo's body trembled slightly with excessive anger.
Even though he saw Xiao Lu as a junior, he could not act out of line due to her identity.
Therefore, even though his lungs were about to explode with anger, he ultimately swallowed the rage.
He nodded and said, "Alright, since Miss Xiao insists on intervening today, I have nothing more to say."
"However, Miss Xiao, I hope you remember that even if you participate, you won't be able to change anything in the end."
"This game will only end with our victory. If you don't believe me, then let's wait and see."
Xiao Lu said fearlessly, "Let's see. The final victor will definitely be Qi Qi. Guys like you can never win!"
Bai Fuguo said coldly, "Is that so? Miss Xiao, it's better not to speak too soon, lest you lose face in front of so many people."
Xiao Lu retorted sharply, "Will I lose face?"
"What a joke. If you can't win, you can't win. Nothing you say will matter!"
Seeing that Xiao Lu dared to confront Bai Fuguo so directly for her sake, Bai Ruoqi was filled with emotion, and her eyes even reddened slightly.
Wu Tian, standing beside her, also nodded. Clearly, he also highly approved of Xiao Lu as a friend.
But how could Bai Fuguo tolerate such an insult?
Therefore, he changed the subject and said, "However, speaking of which, Bai Ruoqi, you are my niece after all. You can't come to my birthday banquet empty-handed today, can you?"
"All the guests have sent valuable gifts. What about you? What did you bring?"
As soon as Bai Fuguo spoke, everyone understood. Bai Fuguo definitely intended to make a fuss.
No matter what gift Bai Ruoqi presented, Bai Fuguo was sure to exploit it.
Faced with this situation, Bai Ruoqi couldn't help but look at Wu Tian.
She had indeed brought a gift, but Wu Tian had chosen it.
And according to Wu Tian, it was a grand gift.
However, the gift had been sealed when it was delivered, so she didn't know what it was.