Chapter 152: The Future Son-in-Law

"Boss Qian, if you were coming, you should have given a phone call in advance so that I could go out to welcome you..."

Elder Shen wore a smile on his face and reached out an aged hand. Qian Jinsong did not show the slightest smile, nor did he have any intention of shaking hands. He shook his head and said, "Elder Shen, you can save the polite formalities. I am here to take someone, just make sure you don't block the way."

Elder Shen's expression stiffened slightly. Qian Jinsong raised a hand, and everyone looked in the direction he pointed, which unexpectedly was Hong Chen.

"I don't need to state the reason, do I? Are you coming with me on your own, or should I take you?"

Lin Yuxin asked in a low voice, "Hong Chen, what is going on?"

"It's nothing, just a minor grievance." Hong Chen waved his hand dismissively, then nodded to Qian Jinsong, "Fine, I'll go with you."

"No!" Lin Yuxin suddenly felt uneasy and grabbed Hong Chen's arm with both hands. Hong Chen turned his gaze to her, and she said, "If you go, I am going with you."

Her tone was as resolute as cracking ice and snow.

Hong Chen frowned, and then he heard Qian Jinsong's deep voice ring out, "Then let's go together, saving me the trouble of asking a second time."

Lin Yufei suddenly chimed in, "I'm going too."

If both Hong Chen and Lin Yuxin left, leaving her alone to face Lu Bin, wouldn't that be the death of her?

"You are leaving, but not with them; you are coming with me!" Qian Jinsong had stepped forward to take one person, only to end up taking two. Lu Bin had wanted to take one person, yet couldn't even take a single one. Where was he supposed to put his face? He had originally been prepared to compromise, but now he had changed his mind, and his attitude was extremely resolute. "Elder, if you insist on protecting your own, it's impossible for me to use force here at the Shen family. But I will put my words right here: my father will be the one coming this afternoon!"

Elder Shen's face was as dark and still as stagnant water. One came to take a person, and another came to take two people; they completely failed to show him any regard. This was the Shen family, and he was the head of the household!

"Boss Qian, Young Master Lu, if you want to take a member of the Shen family, you must present a decent reason." Elder Shen suppressed his burning anger and said in a heavy tone.

"Dad, let them take those people away, and leave the remaining two old ones to me to deal with. This whole family deserves to die!" Yang Meihua's expression was agitated, her eyes flashing with a sinister glare.

Elder Shen rebuked angrily, "Meihua, what on earth is going on? Explain it to me clearly."

The old madam also grew anxious: "Meihua, speak up already."

"Yes, sister-in-law, don't be angry, let's talk things over."

"Sister-in-law, calm your anger, let's talk..."

***

The second and third masters of the Shen family, including Shen Huizhu and others, also chimed in with words of persuasion.

Yang Meihua ignored the others and only shook her head at Elder Shen: "Dad, don't force me. Once Shanzhan and Tianbao return, let them explain it to you. In short, trust me, I am not making an unreasonable scene. This family has acted far too ruthlessly and viciously, they must not be let off."

Elder Shen felt a stabbing pain in his liver from anger. He took a couple of breaths and turned his gaze to the couple Lin Yuangui and Huifang: "Yuangui, Huifang, what on earth has your family done? Give me an honest account."

Shen Huifang was on the verge of tears; right now, she was completely in the dark.

Lin Yuangui wore a bitter expression, alternately shaking his head and sighing...

At this moment, the butler hurried in from outside and loudly announced, "Master, a distinguished guest has arrived."

For a guest to be announced as distinguished by the butler, their status certainly must not be lower than Elder Shen's. Even when Lu Bin had arrived earlier, the butler had not used such a title.

Everyone was startled. Someone else had arrived? Could it be that they were also here to take someone away?

A moment later, three people were seen walking in slowly. This time, it was Shen Shanze's turn to play the role Shen Shanzhang had played earlier, hurriedly stepping forward to greet them with a look of astonishment, closely followed by his son and daughter-in-law.

"Young Master Luo, welcome, welcome." The smile on Shen Shanze's face was even more eager than Shen Shanzhang's had been earlier, as he bowed slightly to the short-haired young man among the three—that short-haired youth was none other than Luo Song.

"Young Master Luo." His son smiled and greeted him, while the daughter-in-law was rather more casual, smiling somewhat playfully: "Brother Luo."

Luo Song frowned slightly before smiling and nodding in acknowledgment: "Uncle, Young Master Shen, Mixue."

From their different forms of address, it was evident that Luo Song and Mixue were closer. In the past, the two of them belonged to the same social circle and often hung out together.

"Let me introduce him, this is President Gao, the crown prince of Qing City's Hongcheng Group." After the greetings, Luo Song introduced the young man beside him. He was still wearing a gray suit, though the style was casual, paired with white leather shoes. With his handsome face and an aura of elegance and composure, he was the quintessential tall, rich, and handsome man. Who else could it be if not Gao Yuanjie?

The other man was Gao Yuanjie's accompanying bodyguard, though not the same one as the previous night.

"Oh my, the rising star of Nan City's social circle, Young Master Gao!" Mixue let out a startled cry, covering her mouth with a gesture entirely devoid of pretense.

"Young Master Gao, hello, hello." When her husband Shen Hanchu saw his wife's reaction, he showed no jealousy; instead, his expression grew excited, looking very much like a fan meeting an idol.

And it was no wonder they reacted this way. A week ago, at Nan City's most expensive nightclub, a man had visited in the company of Young Master Luo, casually tossing out over eight million to cover the tab for the entire venue. The name of Young Master Gao had spread across the entire Nan City social circle overnight!

"A colleague of mine has her grandmother's birthday today, and Young Master Luo and I happened to be in the neighborhood, so we came to offer our congratulations," Gao Yuanjie said with a reserved smile. Sweeping his gaze across the room and spotting Lin Yuxin in the distance, he began to stride forward. Luo Song intentionally lagged half a step behind, while Shen Shanzhang and the others hurriedly followed.

***

Lin Yuxin's view had been blocked earlier, but now that Gao Yuanjie was walking toward her, she recognized him and felt a slight surge of surprise. She was about to step forward to greet him when she was suddenly grabbed by Hong Chen. Lin Yuxin turned her head, and Hong Chen shook his head at her.

Most of the guests did not recognize Luo Song or Gao Yuanjie and began whispering guesses about their identities. However, a few individuals like Qian Jinsong and Lu Bin recognized Luo Song, and seeing Gao Yuanjie head straight for Lin Yuxin's family, their expressions could not help but change slightly.

"Yuxin, I specifically came to wish your grandmother a happy birthday." Stopping in front of Lin Yuxin, Gao Yuanjie spoke with a smile and introduced Luo Song.

"President Gao, you really shouldn't have gone to such trouble," Lin Yuxin replied with polite formality.

"Yuxin, you're being too formal," Gao Yuanjie shook his head. Then, his gaze swept over and settled on the old madam in front of the main table, and he walked right up to her. His bodyguard handed him an exquisite wooden box. Gao Yuanjie took it and opened it, revealing a glossy, dark-red-tinged ganoderma lucidum that came into everyone's view.

"Hello, Madam. I am a colleague of Yuxin's and have specially come to wish you a happy birthday. Please accept this small token of my respect, and I wish you good health and every auspicious blessing."

Gao Yuanjie presented the gift box. Suddenly, someone cried out, "At last night's auction, a 130-year-old ganoderma sold for 3.68 million—this is that exact one!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall erupted in astonished uproar!

Among the nine great immortal herbs, century-old ganoderma was one of them, sharing the same renown as thousand-year wild ginseng. The difference was that nowadays it was virtually impossible to find thousand-year ginseng, whereas century-old ganoderma could still occasionally be found in deep mountains, though the quantity was certainly extremely scarce. Nan City's auction house had sold one just last night; if another one appeared now with virtually identical form, the probability of them being two different specimens was infinitesimally low. The only possibility was that it was the very same one.

"Yuxin, what kind of colleague is this? He casually gives a gift worth over three million!" Lin Yuangui's brain struggled to process the information, leaving him in a daze. Shen Huifang's mind, however, raced at lightning speed. A wolf-like gleam erupted in her eyes as she slapped Lin Yuangui hard and shouted, "Didn't you hear Yuxin call him President Gao? That's Yuxin's boss, my future son-in-law!"

Shen Huifang was clearly not speaking on impulse; she had deliberately raised the volume of her voice. That single exclamation shocked the entire room!

Hong Chen's expression sank abruptly, while Lin Yuxin felt intensely awkward. Lin Yufei wore a skeptical look, at which point Gao Yuanjie turned back. Instead of looking at Lin Yuxin, he met Shen Huifang's gaze—a gaze that looked very much like a prospective mother-in-law looking at a groom—remained silent for a few seconds, and then gave a faint smile: "Hello, Auntie!"

That single word "Auntie" made Shen Huifang feel as light as air, her face blooming with an excited smile the likes of which Hong Chen had never seen before. This time, she had bet correctly. What kind of colleague would present a birthday gift worth over three million if he didn't have romantic intentions toward Lin Yuxin? It would be a ghost story if he didn't!

Shen Huifang knew Lin Yuxin relatively well. With the three-year marriage contract unfulfilled, if they didn't officially divorce Hong Chen while letting Gao Yuanjie pursue Lin Yuxin, the whole arrangement would likely fall through in the end.

Therefore, for the sake of her daughter's happiness and the happiness of the entire family, she was willing to throw caution to the wind today. Defying conventional wisdom, she blurted it out in front of everyone, breaking the window paper once and for all, while conveniently slapping a cuckold's cap onto Hong Chen's head.

Now, Hong Chen would surely have no face left to keep clinging to Lin Yuxin, and she would finally secure the golden son-in-law she had been dreaming of day and night!