Chen Ming followed behind Shen Qingyue, quietly watching her antics, with a constant curve at the corner of his mouth.
Observing the situation from the crowd, Qin Zhen's eyes were filled with gloom, unsure himself what was bothering him.
Shen Qingyue wanted to discuss work, so Chen Ming found a place to sit and wait for her.
Mr. Bai and Shen Jun were longtime friends and business partners, and they treated Shen Qingyue well, introducing her to many people.
Shen Qingyue had done her homework before coming. She recognized most of the people at the banquet and knew what kind of work they were involved in. The conversations went smoothly, and she collected a lot of business cards.
Seeing others praising Shen Qingyue endlessly, Shen Yiyuan felt disdainful.
After taking a stroll around, Shen Qingyue settled down and prepared to find Chen Ming, whom she had left to enjoy himself earlier because she was busy.
A few young women noticed Shen Qingyue alone and deliberately raised their voices so she could hear. "How long do you think it'll take for Shen Qingyue to go back and beg for a reconciliation with resident Qin after their divorce?"
Shen Qingyue turned her head towards the sound.
The woman speaking was named Sun Tian, a former schoolmate of Shen Qingyue's. During their university days, she confessed her feelings to a man who rejected her but then turned around and confessed to Shen Qingyue, which sparked their enmity.
Sun Tian continued, "I bet it won't even take a week before she has to grovel back to the Qin family."
The other girls by her side chimed in.
"Probably, if it weren't for all the recent news, I'd say she'd be back in three days!"
"I don't think she can hold on anymore. Today, she deliberately brought a man to the banquet. Was she trying to provoke President Qin? Too bad he completely ignored her."
"I bet she'll never do it in her lifetime." Shen Qingyue suddenly spoke up.
Sun Tian seemed to have just noticed her presence. "Miss Shen? When did you arrive?"
Shen Qingyue curled her lips. "When the dogs started barking."
Sun Tian struggled to maintain her smile. "Miss Shen, President Qin has been attending various events with Miss Wei recently. I haven't seen you before. I genuinely feel sorry for you."
Shen Qingyue swirled the highball glass in her hand. "Thanks for your concern! But now that we're divorced, who he's with has nothing to do with me, right?"
Sun Tian scoffed. "I know you're not feeling well. We're all sisters here, so why put up a strong front? I've heard about President Qin's nights spent outside; that Miss Wei was the woman seen with him at the hotel not long ago, right? Let me tell you, men, they all have a few flings outside. It's an exaggeration to divorce over something like this, just inviting ridicule."
Shen Qingyue set down her glass, her lips still wearing a composed smile. "No wonder Miss Sun has always been so 'magnanimous.' President Zhu can enjoy his nights in ecstasy, thanks to your enlightened 'virtuous wife'. But as you said, we're all sisters, so let me kindly remind you that there are plenty of people out there having affairs, and they're quite good at it. You better take precautions! Otherwise, as a tender and considerate wife like you, you might end up with some unpleasant diseases because of your husband..."
Sun Tian had just gotten married this year due to a family alliance, and the couple played separately. However, her husband's reputation had always been poor as the youngest in the family, always neglecting his responsibilities. Even during their honeymoon, he engaged in group activities and got caught on camera, causing a big scandal that spread on the internet, affecting both families...
Sun Tian's family worked in public relations, and she thought they had buried the incident. But there are no walls that don't have cracks. Even if it only appeared on the trending list for a few minutes, people found out. They estimated the Sun family's PR skills and only discussed it privately, so she pretended not to know.
Now that Shen Qingyue brought it up, someone behind Sun Tian could not help but burst into laughter! After all, although the man's face was obscured in the initial photo, his lower half was exposed... so many people knew about the size of President Zhu's little friend... it was quite petite! It was also because of this that President Zhu became even more promiscuous, just to prove how 'potent' he was!
Sun Tian felt as if her face had been struck invisibly, and anger surged within her as she cursed, "What are you so proud of? You can't even keep your own man, yet here you are slandering me and my husband. Have you no shame?"
Shen Qingyue was about to say something when a man suddenly walked over and shielded her. "Miss, before you curse at others, shouldn't you take a look at yourself? Do you have any shame?"
Shen Qingyue's gaze fell upon his face, his lips tightly pursed, exuding a menacing aura. Over the years, every time she saw him, he was always smiling. She never really paid much attention to Chen Ming while she was busy chasing after Qin Zhen.