Wang Tingting's aggressive demeanor startled Su Yingxue.
She shot Chen Fan a reproachful glance, then immediately turned to placate Wang Tingting. "Tingting, you aspire to be the queen of Jiangnan's underworld. Don't lower yourself to Chen Fan's level."
Wang Tingting turned her face away in anger.
Su Yingxue looked from Wang Tingting to Chen Fan, a wry smile appearing on her unadorned, pretty face. She wondered if these two were destined to clash, acting like sworn enemies from their very first meeting.
Torn between her savior and her good friend, she didn't know how to mediate their relationship.
Chen Fan seemed to sense Su Yingxue's predicament. He stood up, walked over to Wang Tingting, and apologized sincerely, "I'm sorry, I misspoke."
"I solemnly pledge that from this moment on, you, and the Brother Dao you mentioned—Chen Dao—are all my subordinates under my protection."
Hearing this, Wang Tingting was so enraged she almost fainted.
This wasn't an apology; it was outright provocation!
According to him, her and Brother Dao becoming his subordinates was some grand honor.
Little did she know, if Chen Dao or Jiang Tiansheng heard this, they would likely be ecstatic.
This truly was their honor!
"Kid, your name is Chen Fan, right!"
"I, Wang Tingting, remember you!"
Wang Tingting placed her hands on her hips, her face flushed with anger. "If you're truly a man, say that again when Brother Dao is here. I hope you won't be so scared your legs go weak when you meet Jiangnan's number one tough guy!"
Chen Fan shrugged helplessly.
"Yingxue, I'll head back now. I'll see you again tomorrow!"
"Oh, and rest well in the hospital. I'll take care of your mother for you these few days."
With that, Wang Tingting stormed out of the ward in a huff.
"Thank you!"
Su Yingxue sincerely thanked Wang Tingting's retreating back.
Turning back to Chen Fan, she offered another apologetic smile.
Imperial City International Hotel!
After Chen Fan had disrupted the wedding, key members of the Su and Jiang families remained on the scene, cleaning up the mess.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night for both families!
Looking at the empty hotel, Mother Su's face crumpled. Hobbling over to Jiang Shaolong, she timidly asked, "Shaolong, what do we do now?"
"What else do you want to do?"
Jiang Shaolong spun around, glaring at Mother Su with terrifying eyes. "I see it clearly now. Your entire Su family are jinxes, harbingers of misfortune. Anyone they touch is doomed!"
As he spoke, spittle flew onto Mother Su's face.
"Shaolong, why are you yelling at my mom? Can we be blamed for this?" Su Yingxia quickly supported her mother, her own heart full of anger.
"Bitch!"
Overcome with rage, Jiang Shaolong backhanded Su Yingxia, his face contorted with ferocity. "Who gave you the right to speak?"
"You, you hit me?"
Su Yingxia covered her face in disbelief, tears welling up in her eyes.
For three years, she had been married to Chen Fan, who had been utterly devoted to her and had never once raised his voice, let alone his hand.
But now...
Thinking of this, a strange sense of loss washed over her.
"Crying, what are you crying for! You damned bitch, let me tell you, you think you're some celestial maiden, you think I actually liked you, I was just..."
"Shaolong, stop! We're all family, what's with the fuss?"
"Haven't we embarrassed ourselves enough today? Come apologize to Yingxia."
Just as Jiang Shaolong was about to reveal that he had been using the Su family, Father Jiang interrupted him.
Jiang Shaolong remained motionless.
"Shaolong, think about how Li Xiangbei and the others looked when they left. If you don't want the Jiang family to face utter destruction, stop this tantrum." Jiang Lizhu quickly went to Jiang Shaolong's side and whispered his advice.
Jiang Shaolong's entire body trembled, his eyes filled with horror!
Now, many top figures mistakenly believed he was some "Mr. Long" and had rushed to attend the wedding, only to discover they had been deceived?
Who could handle that?
If he didn't handle this well, the Jiang family would undoubtedly face a terrifying storm.
And the only one who could absorb the wrath of so many powerful figures was Old Master Chen, an old friend of Old Master Su.
Thinking he had almost fallen out with Su Yingxue just now, potentially alienating the Jiang family's only lifeline, cold sweat streamed down Jiang Shaolong's forehead.
Indeed, the elder statesmen were wiser. Fortunately, his father and second uncle had reacted quickly, or the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Jiang Shaolong calmed himself, forced a hypocritical smile, lowered his head, and went to Su Yingxia's side to appease her.
"Yingxia, I'm sorry, it's my fault. I shouldn't have hit you. I deserve to die!"
As he spoke, Jiang Shaolong slapped himself twice.
"Shaolong, don't be like this. I don't blame you." Seeing this, Su Yingxia quickly grabbed Jiang Shaolong's hand and said with hatred, "If anyone's to blame, it's that good-for-nothing Chen Fan. If he hadn't caused trouble, this would never have escalated to this point!"
"Mmm."
Jiang Shaolong nodded in agreement. Chen Fan had embarrassed him multiple times, and now he had pushed their Jiang family into a precarious situation. His hatred for Chen Fan was even greater than Su Yingxia's!
"I won't let him get away with this. I'll make him pay!"
Jiang Shaolong uttered the last word through gritted teeth.
"Impossible!"
Father Jiang frowned, seemingly deep in thought. After a moment, he said, "That person is probably not as simple as he appears."
"Mr. Long is the biggest boss of Longteng Group. Our Jiang family doesn't even qualify to know such commercial secrets."
"Where did he get his information?"
"Elder Brother's analysis is sound. Shaolong, don't act rashly," Jiang Quan seconded.
"Until this matter is investigated clearly, if you dare to act recklessly, I won't spare you!" Father Jiang added as a final warning.
"Are we just going to let him off like this?" Jiang Shaolong's tone was full of reluctance.
Father Jiang snorted, filled with disappointment. "Instead of thinking about that, let's first figure out how to appease the anger of those business magnates."
"Yes."
Jiang Shaolong meekly replied, but no one knew what he was truly thinking.
They toiled until ten o'clock that night before the two families began to leave the hotel.
Given the magnitude of the incident, Father Jiang and the others didn't dare rest. They rushed back to Jiangbei that very night.
First, to seek connections and protection, and second, to hold down the fort and brace for retaliatory business attacks from their rivals.
Jiang Shaolong, meanwhile, took Su Yingxia back to the garden villa he had purchased.
Despite the disastrous wedding and their families becoming a laughingstock, as long as he hadn't completely severed ties with the Su family, he, Jiang Shaolong, would continue to be Su Yingxia's husband.