Elder Hua had her mic held by the host, her smile forming as she looked into AiLin, but it wasn’t pride that had entered her smile. Instead, it was a sense of triumph, as if she had won against AiLin.
AiLin’s grip on LiAi tightened instinctively, pulling the girl closer to her side, shielding her from the weight of the crowd’s scrutiny. The attention on them was already suffocating; she wouldn’t let LiAi bear even a fraction of it.
"Tonight will mark HaiTan’s twenty fourth birthday," Elder Hua remarked. I promised his parents before their death that I would make sure HaiTan grew up into an outstanding young man, which is why I am extrely proud of who he has beco now."
Su HaiTan smiled, muttering aloud, "All the achievent I have gotten is all thanks to you, grandmother."
"My beloved grandson," said Elder Hua as she looked at Su HaiTan’s features before gently patting her shoulder. "I have taken my ti to weigh my choices, I have looked through every and each option available throughout Beijing to make sure that I have chosen the right person for this."
People around them were sent to confusion by what Elder Hua ant with her words, but Li ZiChen, who was always quicker to understand compared to the rest of the guests, imdiately understood what Elder Hua wanted, what this woman had planned by bringing AiLin here, and his smile imdiately disappeared completely from his face.
"On your twenty fourth birthday, I have decided to find a prospect of marriage for you, a woman who would always be on your side," Elder Hua’s words reached their conclusion and only then did AiLin understand what the woman wanted.
With hand outstretched, she pointed toward AiLin, her eyes akin to a fox as she announced, "AiLin, my granddaughter. She would beco your betrothed."
Gasp resounded from the corner of the party hall to where AiLin and Li ZiChen had stood at. The racing heartbeat resounded against Ailin’s heart as she blankly stared at Elder Hua who seed to be smiling in triumph. Her eyes then gazed over Li ZiChen’s face that had turned murderous and only then did AiLin comprehend the entire plan laid by this old fox.
Elder Hua had always regarded AiLin as an eyesore and despised Li ZiChen, wanting him gone for her own benefit. The reason behind her hatred remained unclear, but her intentions were crystal clear to AiLin.
She sought soone who could marry Su HaiTan; soone pliable, easily controlled. And while AiLin was far from being easily manipulated, she was still a mber of the Hua family, a piece Elder Hua believed she had the right to move as she pleased. It would be more difficult to control a girl from another family, but since AiLin is still a part of the Hua Family, she could do as she pleased and this would even allow her to bring Su HaiTan completely into the Hua Family, as the grandson she had always wanted.
With this, she could kill two birds with one stone. By forcing AiLin into this marriage, she wouldn’t just break the woman’s defiance... she would also drag Li ZiChen, the young man she despised, to the brink of despair. Stealing the one person he loved most would be the perfect revenge.
At the sa ti, it would finally shackle AiLin’s rebellious spirit, binding her to Elder Hua’s will. With AiLin under her control, she would hold the ultimate power, ensuring that neither of them could ever defy her again.
"No," AiLin let her words cut between Elder Hua and Su HaiTan’s smiles. She looked up at them and narrowed her eyes, "I won’t be agreeing to anything that you have said. I won’t be marrying Su HaiTan, over my dead body."
Su HaiTan’s eyebrows furrowed and Elder Hua, who heard this, was as displeased as he was. Elder Hua held to the mic, seizing it from the host as she took a step forward, "Your grandmother has made her choice, AiLin."
"No. I am currently in the process of marrying Li ZiChen," AiLin saved her breaths from further pressure. She looked at Li ZiChen, held his hands and then raised them so the entire party hall could see that she was already in a relationship with soone else and wasn’t going to agree with the plan Elder Hua had laid out for her.
This frightened almost everyone in the party hall, enough to send the hundreds of people into a grim silence as they knew that tonight wouldn’t end well.
No one had ever disagreed to Elder Hua’s offer, no one.. dares to. It was akin to asking death by refusing to follow the words that Elder Hua already stated. The thing about the old fox was that she disliked ever losing her control over soone, and if soone dared to try rebelling against her, she wouldn’t hesitate before using her psychotic behavior on hurting them.
It was also known that Li ZiChen was one of the victims in Elder Hua’s insane behavior as there was a ti when Li ZiChen had gone against Elder Hua, even talking back to her. His family was also on his side, doing the sa toward Elder Hua and for the very first ti, the old matriarch was put to sha.
She didn’t take it kindly and the next week? Li ZiChen was put in a situation where he almost died, causing the wounds on his left arms.
It was clear that now AiLin’s rebellion was akin to a death sentence and the blood curdling expression which now rested on Elder Hua’s face had spoke of the deadly future that was going to et her for refusing her words.
"What did you say, AiLin?" Elder Hua gloomily inquired.
"You didn’t hear it well, grandmother, so I will be kindly repeating it to you and Mister Su," she looked at them both, her face cool as ice as she spoke slowly in clarity, "I am currently in a relationship with Li ZiChen in hopes of marriages, his family and mine have agreed therefore, I will be rejecting the offer you have kindly given to . I wish that you can find soone else in my replacent."
Elder Hua’s eyes twitched, the anger was palpable on her face as she opened her mouth, threats slipping out, "AiLin you know well that this isn’t sothing you can simply reject. Su HaiTan is a better choice compared to Li ZiChen, don’t you know what he had done?" Stepping forward, Elder Hua then smirked, "No, should I remind you what kind of position you are in right now?"
Upon the word, AiLin felt her grip hardened. She understood that Elder Hua was trying to remind her of how her family, Valentine, Samuel, and Vicky are all still under her grasp, struggling to be free and how they would be in danger if she disagreed to her offer.
But that wasn’t all, it seems that Elder Hua had also planned on destroying Li ZiChen’s life with what she had if she continue to rebel.
It was hard for AiLin not to be swayed, her heartbeat raced and she looked at him, fearing that he would et a dangerous fate again because of her. She would rather suffer, not to see her loved ones suffer.
"No," Li ZiChen spoke as he held to her hand in a tight grip of support, "Don’t be scared. Her threats are futile now, AiLin."
She looked at him and trusted his words but she also knew what Elder Hua had done, what’s she’s most capable of doing which is ruining everyone’s life and their happiness.
Su HaiTan who was watching everything with a calm smile then stepped forward before Elder Hua could speak. He patted her shoulders, as if trying to show the kind grandson he was. He then coaxed Elder Hua into giving him the mic which wasn’t much as all he had to do was look at her with a pleading eye and Elder Hua was quick to give into him.
Placing the mic on his hand, Elder Hua scoffed at AiLin.
"I do think that since tonight is my birthday, we can push this conversation for a later date." Su HaiTan then looked at AiLin and the young girl she had held tightly around her legs. This made him to smile, "Everyone have a lot of things they have to protect. People used to say that the more you have, the harder it is to protect."
AiLin frowned, knowing too well that Su HaiTan had also picked up on Elder Hua’s habit of threatening innocent people.
"How about we have this conversation for another day and start the party?" Su HaiTan then turned his eyes away from the couple, placing the mic back to the host and eyeing him sternly to resu the party as if nothing had ever happened.
The host was still too stunned from what had happened but regain his composure as a professional and lead the conversation with a few awkward smile. The guests also knew better than to remain silent as they began to laugh and speak again as if they hadn’t seen what had happened. Upon watching how easily these many well known and high socialites were controlled by Elder Hua’s mood, AiLin felt uncomfortable.
She could feel that this conversation wouldn’t just end here.
anwhile, Xiao MuChen who was searching for LiAi had seen everything that had happened from the TV set on the party hall. He had seen little LiAi hiding behind AiLin and panicked as he was also aware that AiLin had sohow gotten on the bad side of Elder Hua.
ngYan, who had also found him, was as pale as him, both looking at each other’s eyes as they knew how LiAi’s presence could really break this entire cold war between the family mbers.
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