Old Master Zhou’s high praise made everyone’s eyes focus on Leng Zhiyuan. “Ha Ha, Old Master Zhou, it seems like you are very satisfied with this granddaughter-in-law.”
Old Master Zhou patted his chest. “Not only am I satisfied, I am one thousand times satisfied, ten thousand times satisfied! Ha Ha. Come on, you’ve all seen enough. It’s my granddaughter-in-law’s first time here. Break it up quickly. Don’t scare her.”
“Old Master Zhou, you are too overprotective. Alright, let’s talk over there.”
All the people led Old Master Zhou over with Mr. Zhou following closely behind.
Leng Zhiyuan followed Madam Zhou to meet some family friends who were all rich Madams. Madam Zhou was afraid that she would feel awkward, so she took particular care of her emotions the whole way. Leng Zhiyuan also behaved gracefully and smiled back at those people.
It was not easy for Madam Zhou to meet her childhood friend, so they started chatting. She walked to the side to take a breather and saw a glass of red wine on the buffet table. She picked the glass up and took a sip.
Just then, from the corners of her eyes, she saw that there were seven or eight girls from prestigious families gathered together. They were sizing her up while whispering to each other.
Leng Zhiyuan has sharp ears and could vaguely hear —
“Look, that’s Major General Zhou’s newly-wedded wife.”
“She is indeed beautiful, but her expression is so cold and arrogant. She hasn’t smiled since she came in. It feels like she is very impolite.”
“Exactly, I don’t know what Major General Zhou likes about her. Even Old Master Zhou and his entire family treat her very well. They have been looking after her the whole time.”
“Hmph, I don’t think she is worthy of our Major General Zhou!”
Leng Zhiyuan listened expressionlessly. It seemed that these girls liked Zhou Yao, so now they regarded her as a rival in love. They found her unpleasant to the eye, so they were slandering her.
That loathful handsome face appeared in her mind. Hmph, he had most likely been dallying with other women outside.
Men are really all the same and not a single one is decent.
She put down her wine glass and walked towards the bathroom.
But only after two steps, a waiter bumped into her. The red wine in the waiter’s hand spilled directly on her dress. “I’m sorry, Miss, I didn’t mean to. Are you okay?”
The waiter bent down to wipe her dress.
Just then, the waiter halted in surprise. Leng Zhiyuan was wearing a pair of white sneakers, but the skirt was long so she could hide it deliberately, and no one else saw it.
Now everyone’s gaze was directed towards her. Those well-dressed and noble women covered their mouths and sniggered, “My god, she’s wearing sneakers to this kind of occasion. How impolite and uncultured.”
“That’s right. I think she is the new daughter-in-law of the Zhou family. Just now, Old Master Zhou was praising her like a treasure.”
This pair of sneakers was Leng Zhiyuan’s own idea. Madam Zhou had customized several pairs of crystal high heels for her, but she did not wear them. She was really not used to wearing high heels. Even if she forced herself to wear them, she would not be able to walk straight, which would look even worse.
She thought she could hide it from everyone, but she did not expect to be exposed.
She looked up and saw those girls sniggering excitedly. This waiter must have been purposely arranged by them. There were more and more people looking at her, some laughing, some gloating, some looking down upon her…
She felt full of malice.
The two hands hanging on the side of her body slowly clenched into fists. In normal times, she was in contact with real bullets. Although it was dangerous, it was very direct. She would fight back at those who dared to bully her. But for the first time, she did not know what to do in such a setting and in face of the teasing from those girls.
She was afraid that she would make the Zhou family look even worse.
The Zhou family, apart from Zhou Yao, treated her really well.
Madam Zhou, Mr, Zhou and Old Master Zhou noticed the situation over. The three of them got up one after another and were about to rush towards her…
Leng Zhiyuan did not want to implicate them. She wanted to walk away from everything. Anyway, she did not belong here.
Just as she was about to act on it, she suddenly heard a low, familiar voice, “Mrs. Zhou, what trouble did you land yourself in again?”
Leng Zhiyuan looked up and saw the crowd parting, and a tall figure walked over slowly.
“Major General Zhou…”
It was Zhou Yao.
Today, he was wearing a white shirt under a tailored black suit, and slim black suit pants wrapped his two long legs. He rarely dressed so formally which made him seem extraordinarily dashing.
With everyone watching, he slowly came up to her. She was the tallest among all the women, 1.7 meters tall, but she seemed so petite in front of him, and she needed to look up at him.
“Mrs. Zhou, I merely left for a few days, and you have caused trouble for me again? What are you doing now? Acting like a clown for others to see? See how I will deal with you when we get back!”
Just then, an underling brought over a pair of crystal high-heeled shoes. The 1.9 meter tall man squatted slowly in front of her and nimbly untied the laces of her sneakers. “Lift your feet.”
His tone was impatient, but his actions were so loving.
Leng Zhiyuan lifted her feet obediently.
He took the sneakers off her feet, put them in the crystal heels, stood up, and extended his right hand to her like a gentleman. “Mrs. Zhou, may I have this dance?”
Leng Zhiyuan was stunned for a few seconds, then put her little hand in his palm. When she glided onto the dance floor with him, she saw Madam Zhou walk over to personally pick her white sneakers up and hand them to the underling. “Please excuse us, my daughter-in-law doesn’t like wearing high heels.”
“Ha Ha, if Zhiyuan doesn’t like it, so be it. Who stipulated that she must wear high heels? Old Master Ni, am I right?”
Mr. Zhou stepped forward and gave the waiter a stern look. The waiter looked towards the group of girls guiltily. The girls all hung their heads in fear.
This farce ended like this, and the rumor that Leng Zhiyuan was spoiled by the Zhou family spread just like that.
Leng Zhiyuan’s heart had become extremely soft. Although this fake marriage was not what she wanted, the Zhou family had given her a lot of affection and warmth ever since she married into the family all the way from Hong Kong.
A low chuckle sounded from above her head. “What are you thinking? You’ve stepped on my foot for the third time.”
Leng Zhiyuan looked up and directly met Zhou Yao’s deep, black eyes. He looked at her with a smile that had a little bit of tenderness and also a little teasing.
There was a thorn in her heart, so she turned her head away with a cold, “Humph.”
“Still angry with me?” he asked laughingly.
She pursed her red lips and said nothing.
“That day, you already punished me by injuring me on top of my existing injuries. Today, I rushed back to rescue you. Is that still not enough, eh?” He deliberately lowered his voice, and the mellow voice poured over her eardrums, generating an inexplicable electric current.
She shrank backwards.
“Stop going backwards. Retreat some more, and we will soon end up dancing at home.”
He clasped her cold little hand firmly into his palm, and in an instant, his warm body temperature was transferred to her skin.