Seeing her recoil, Chen Yan harshly pinched her waist: "Ye Lu, don't be so formal. Call him Big Brother Liu. Boss Liu, you don't have a female companion tonight, do you? Let Ye Lu accompany you."
Ye Lu's face turned ashen, realizing this ferocious woman's unusual kindness in getting her ready was meant to exploit her in this high-end banquet and sell her off.
"Sorry if I'm abrupt, but I feel like I've eaten something rotten—would anyone mind if I excuse myself to the bathroom?" Ye Lu bluntly excused herself, then promptly turned to leave.
Boss Liu looked somewhat displeased, while Chen Yan, infuriated, hurriedly mollified him with a smile: "Don't mind her, Boss Liu. She's just a child throwing a tantrum. Let me have a word with her."
Once out of the banquet, Ye Lu was accosted by a furious Chen Yan: "What the hell are you doing? Who gave you permission to disrespect Boss Liu like that?"
"Even when you're selling me off, should I not resist? Do you take me for a fool?"
Ye Lu was absolutely furious.
"Sold? Don't make it sound so crude. Boss Liu is a multibillionaire. Sure, he's been divorced twice, and he's a bit old, but he's rich. Stumbling across him is your lucky break. If I hadn't kindly worked to make this connection for you, where would you find the opportunity to meet someone so wealthy?"
"But he's an old man—older than my father. What sort of kindness is this from you?"
"Ha, so now you're being picky? Look at yourself." Chen Yan crossed her arms and scoffed. "Thrown out by your in-laws, caring for two illegitimate children, you really think you're some kind of saint? Apart from looking somewhat pretty and attending graduate school to keep up appearances, what's your worth? Even a man with a net worth of a few million would never choose someone like you."
Ye Lu's face turned ghostly pale, her heart tightening.
Chen Yan's venomous words ruthlessly struck at the very heart of Ye Lu's deepest pain.
Six years had passed, but those were the nightmares she refused to recollect, forever lancing her heart with unbearable pain.
"Even so, I'd rather stay single for the rest of my life." She barely kept her face from turning pale, clenching her teeth.
After giving birth to her children, she no longer planned to marry. Nor did she fantasize about marrying any man.
She wanted to change her fate and rewrite all the tragedies in her life. That was why she was determined to enroll in graduate school. She needed to become stronger to protect her family.
"Not getting married? Who's going to pay the exorbitant medical bills for your mother lying in the hospital? Who's going to raise your two illegitimate children? You think you'll earn a lot of money working after finishing grad school and can afford all these expenses?"
Chen Yan's sharp voice rose in octave, intense with reprimand.
"Let me tell you, don't count on your father's help. His pitiful company is about to crash, and it desperately needs capital now."
"What? Did you say that dad's company is also going bankrupt?" Ye Lu was shocked. That company represented her father's lifetime of dedication. Although it hadn't grown much, her father had never given up.
It was her father's life.
"He hasn't told you because he didn't want you to worry. But now things are this dire, I don't mind telling you. Once this company goes under, don't expect my family to cover your mother's medical expenses, and I'll kick those two children of yours out without hesitation."
"Without money, your father's life-long work will be destroyed, your mother won't be able to afford treatment and she'll die, and then there will be two children to look after."
Ha, humans indeed always have to face reality.
A while later, Ye Lu returned to the banquet and appeared by Boss Liu's side.
In the lounge.
Madam Shang softened her tone: "At tonight's banquet, I've invited many top-tier young ladies from across the country. Each of them is beautiful and intelligent and would make a suitable match for the Shang Family. Have a good look and see if any of them catch your eye—I'll help you make a connection."