Xia Yongqiang looked at Shen Xinglan with a furious expression. "What do you mean by this?" Did this youngster agree to the engagement just so he could humiliate the Xia family in front of everyone?
"Don't forget that you're the one who personally discussed this marriage with me. You're also the one who agreed to the engagement ceremony." Xia Yongqiang's expression was grim. "Are you going back on your word now?"
If the engagement fell through today, they would become the laughing stock of the entire city tomorrow.
"Who said I'm going back on my word?" Shen Xinglan cast a glance at Xia Wan, who was looking tearfully at him. "It's true that I'm getting engaged to the precious daughter of your family but… it's not her."
Xia Wan looked deathly pale. Unable to face such a situation, she bitterly cried, "What did you say? Who can you marry if not me?"
"How can you bully my daughter? You…" Yao Lili rushed out again.
Ji Zeming waved his hand. "If you continue to make so much noise, I'll have to escort you out, Mrs. Xia."
"You dare! This is my daughter's engagement ceremony!" Yao Lili pushed aside Xia Haixin and was about to rush up the stage.
Bai Yongwei chuckled as she looked at Yao Lili. "You're mistaken. This is our family's engagement ceremony. Didn't you hear what Xinglan said earlier?!"
Xia Yongqiang was so angry that his face turned red. Blue veins protruded on his hand that held onto the cane as he slammed the cane firmly on the floor. "That's enough! Stop embarrassing yourself in front of everyone."
Xia Haixin hastily dragged Yao Lili out of the ballroom. Xia Wan wanted to call for her mother but did not dare to open her mouth.
"It's not like there's only one daughter in the Xia family." Shen Xinglan pointed at a spot below the stage. "She's the one I'm getting engaged to!"
Everyone's eyes were focused on the woman below the stage. A Miao felt she had never been this attention-grabbing in her entire life.
"Hehe… Hehe…"
She did not know what response she could make aside from giggling.
"Impossible! Impossible!" Xia Wan shook her head like she had gone mad. "How could you like that ugly woman? She's not some precious daughter; she's a ille…"
"Wanwan!" Xia Yongqiang bellowed. He walked toward her side and grabbed her arm. "Cool your head. That's your sister."
"Sister?" Xia Wan's eyes widened in disbelief. "Grandfather… You… What did you say?"
Right then, Xia Haixin hastily ran up the stage. "Wanwan, stop being difficult. Listen to your grandfather."
"So it's all a misunderstanding!" Bai Yongwei had stared briefly at A Miao and carefully sized her up. Concealing the contempt in her eyes, she smiled and said, "Zeming, so that's our future daughter-in-law."
Ji Zeming frowned. "Xinglan, just what exactly is going on?"
"How would I know?" Shen Xinglan curled his lips. "From start to finish, the one that I want to marry has always been A Miao." He raised his tapered eyebrow. "Don't tell me that Elder Xia thought that I wanted to marry her?"
Shen Xinglan pointed at Xia Wan while sneering. "Are you kidding me? I don't know this young lady from the Xia family at all. The one I've been dating has always been A Miao."
"Or…" He smiled faintly at Xia Yongqiang. "Or are you saying that A Miao has nothing to do with the Xia family?"
Xia Yongqiang's face had been stretched taut throughout their entire conversation. Even a fool could tell that Shen Xinglan did this deliberately. Unfortunately, he had no way of reneging on his word.
"Hehe, so that's what happened!" Xia Yongqiang finally smiled. "I was having difficulties handling the matter as well, not knowing how to give an explanation to Old Madam Bai!"
"How shameless!" This was the sentiment shared by everyone present.
"No…" Xia Wan opened her mouth in despair but no words came.
Xia Yongqiang had a deathly grip on her arm and her father was also casting her a warning look. She bit hard on her lower lip before abruptly raising her head.
"Youran!"
Bai Youran was momentarily stunned but rapidly recovered and walked over to her.
"Wanwan!"
Xia Wan threw herself into his embrace. "Youran, we… we can finally be together!"
The contempt in everyone's eyes had turned into admiration for how shameless this family could become. In the future, they must never engage with the Xia family…
"Youran, please take Xia Wan away so she can have some rest." Bai Youngwei glanced at Old Madam Bai with a smirk.
Old Madam Bai was also a person of tremendous caliber. She walked toward Xia Yongqiang and said meaningfully, "Old Xia, I hope our families will work well together in the future."
"That's only natural." Xia Yongqiang was very pleased with Xia Wan's action earlier. He took the initiative to say, "Let's pick a date later on and throw a wedding for our two children. Sigh, we've slighted Youran with today's events! Rest assured that I'll compensate him in the future."
"We can talk about it in the future!" Old Madam Bai left with her entourage with a chuckle.
Now that things had come to this, no one knew what they should say. A Miao, who had been treated as part of the backdrop all along, stomped on the feet of Shen I and Shen II who had been holding her hostage while glaring at Shen Xinglan.
"Come here." Shen Xinglan extended his hand to her.
A Miao: "Never!"
Shen Xinglan: "Do you want to die?"
A Miao: "..."
After suffering defeat in their exchange of glances, A Miao gave in to her fate and walked up the stage.
"Elder Xia, are you willing to continue hosting the ceremony?" Ji Zeming took a step forward.
He did not know what his son was planning to do. Even though the girl called A Miao was not pretty, she looked neat and pure. To him, everything else was not an issue as long as Shen Xinglan liked her.
"Of course." Xia Yongqiang had returned to normal. At least, his expression was normal…
The following engagement ceremony was probably the most unique one in the history of such ceremonies. The guests were puzzled while the in-laws from both sides wore smiles that were evidently off.
As for the two main characters…
The man looked like he was in low spirits while the woman wore a frightened expression that screamed that she was about to die.
After the ceremony was over, everyone left the hotel with wondrous feelings. The only ones remained were the two families staring each other down.
"Let's leave today's affairs in the past. You're my niece's husband from now on," Xia Yongqiang told Shen Xinglan before taking his leave. "When are you two planning to get married?"
Shen Xinglan cast A Miao a glance. The latter's body was stiff as she stared emptily at the air.
"Since A Miao wishes to continue her studies, I think we'll have to wait a little for the wedding." He looked away. "But there's something I hope you'll agree to, Elder Xia."
No matter how unhappy Xia Yongqiang was, he was already numb to it by now. He rubbed the space between his eyebrows. "Say it!"
"I want A Miao to live with me."
A Miao whipped her head around in alarm. Just as she was about to yell in protest, she heard Shen I's quiet voice from behind her. "Do you want to return and suffer Xia Wan's torment each day?"
"Hehe!" The corners of her mouth twitched. She continued acting like air without the slightest hesitation.
"That doesn't seem appropriate…" Xia Yongqiang frowned. He was planning to keep A Miao right under his nose and manipulate her from time to time. After all, this girl was the only bargaining chip they had in the marriage alliance with Ji Conglomerate.
Shen Xinglan smiled. "There's nothing inappropriate about it. That's decided, then." He continued to say, "I'll send someone to Xia Conglomerate to discuss the real estate project that you mentioned the last time."
Xia Yongqiang's eyes gleamed and he immediately nodded. "Very well. We'll have A Miao stay in your place then. It also makes it easier for you two to strengthen your relationship!"
"Go home and pack. Shen I will pick you up tomorrow." Shen Xinglan turned his head to look at A Miao. Seeing as she was still glaring at him, he sneered and then turned to leave.
After the Ji family departed, the expressions of Xia Yongqiang and his family members immediately fell. "Let's go. We'll talk about this at home."
A Miao did not utter a single word throughout the ride home. When they arrived at the Xia family villa, she heard Yao Lili's ear-piercing weeping before even entering the door.
"My poor daughter! Just what sort of bad karma did she incur?" Yao Lili was still bawling but when she saw the door open, she cried, "Ah! You dare come back, you illegitimate child!"
Yao Lili charged right up to A Miao with her messy hair covering her face, trying to grab the latter. A Miao reacted swiftly and hid behind Xia Haixin, whom grabbed Yao Lili's hands and pushed her aside.
"What madman show are you putting on now?"
"Me, a madman?" Yao Lili yelled hysterically. "You're actually protecting that illegitimate child!"
Xia Yongqiang's patience had long been exhausted tonight. He lifted his cane and was about to strike. If not for Xia Haixin's swift actions, the cane would have slammed onto Yao Lili's head.
"You're not going to argue anymore?"
The cane fell to the ground with a loud thump. Yao Lili wizened up, shivering.
"Wanwan." Xia Yongqiang entered the living room.
Xia Wan was seated on the sofa. Her eyes swelled so badly that they resembled walnuts and her complexion was deathly pale as she bit on her lower lip. "Grandfather…" As soon as she opened her mouth, she could not stop her tears from flowing.
"Sob, sob, sob…"
This evening would be a nightmare that she would repeatedly recall in her mind. Xia Wan would wish nothing more than for her to lose these memories. That way, she would not have to face everyone or herself.
"That guy, Shen Xinglan, had never thought of getting engaged to you since the beginning." Xia Yongqiang sat down with a weary expression. "He had played us all for fools."
Xia Wan cried bitterly and pitifully while Yao Lili, who stood by her side, hugged her. Yao Lili said as she sobbed, "Dad, are we going to let this slide? Shen Xinglan is such a bully; our family…"
"Idiot! Your mind isn't even as sharp as Wanwan's." Xia Yongqiang interrupted her angrily. "Wanwan performed very well today, having been able to bring up the Bai family under such circumstances. Otherwise, our Xia family would thoroughly be the entire city's laughing stock."
It was fortunate that Bai Youran had such unwavering affection for Xia Wan. Otherwise, he would not have protected her in that kind of situation.
"Since things have come to this, we can only change our previous plan." Xia Yongqiang glanced at A Miao. "A Miao will marry into the Ji family while Wanwan will marry into the Bai family as promised."
Unable to accept this outcome, Yao Lili was about to say something but saw Xia Wan shaking her head at her.
"I'm fine with this but I get that feeling that Shen Xinglan didn't get engaged with A Miao because he likes her." Xia Wan's gaze flitted across A Miao with an undisguised resentment in her eyes.
If she could tell, then Xia Yongqiang would naturally be able to as well.
"A Miao, just what exactly happened between you and Shen Xinglan? Tell me everything from A to Z."
"Nothing happened." A Miao looked at Xia Yongqiang and told him everything that she was free to say. However, there really was nothing that she could say because all of it was not for her to say…
"But she and Xia Fan have already…" Yao Lili lost her voice halfway through her sentence.
Xia Yongqiang gave her a warning look. "No one is allowed to mention that from now on. Pretend it has never happened."
"Don't worry, Grandfather. We won't mention it."
Xia Wan understood the old man's intentions. Never mind if Shen Xinglan would still want A Miao after such a high society scandal of A Miao sleeping with her cousin brother became known. Even her own reputation would suffer damage.
"But I worry that Xia Fan will speak about it." Xia Wan reminded her grandfather. "Second Uncle's family didn't return for my engagement ceremony. If they find out what happened today, I fear…"