Hotel lobby.
As soon as Su Muqiu's family of three appeared, they immediately became the focus of everyone's attention, with gazes of sympathy, commiseration and even more gloating cast their way.
Xiao Zhan's personal information had already been secretly spread by Su Wenchao.
So, the guests who came all knew very clearly what kind of man the one who was about to become engaged to Su Muqiu really was.
Even so, they still came up one after another to offer congratulations.
"Congratulations, Elder Su."
"Miss Su is a heavenly beauty, while Mister Xiao is a talented youth. The two of them coming together is a perfect match made in heaven."
Nonsense!
Su Muqiu's grandfather Su Bingtian sat in the main seat, dressed in an exquisite Tang suit, holding a dragon head cane in his hand, with a faint smile and natural authority.
"Dad, he's here."
Su Jianguo came up behind Su Bingtian and bent over to whisper in his ear, "We can start now."
"Mm."
Su Bingtian stood up and waved his hand. The originally lively lobby instantly quieted down. He laughed out loud, "Today is my granddaughter Su Muqiu's engagement ceremony. All of you honoring us with your presence is my honor."
"You all know as well that not only does this granddaughter of mine have the looks of a celestial fairy, but she also has strong business skills, an invaluable talent. So when choosing a husband for her, I was especially prudent..."
"In the end, from among dozens of candidates, a young man named Xiao Zhan stood out. I hope that from now on, he will treat Muqiu well, and the young couple will have a loving relationship and give me great-grandchildren soon."
Pretty words, spoken set after set, if you didn't know better you'd think Su Bingtian really cared about Su Muqiu, and found her a fortuitous match and model husband.
Applause rang out below.
But to Su Muqiu's ears, the applause was like fishhooks in her throat and needles pricking her back, feeling like slaps to her face. Her heart felt stifled and awful.
Raising her head to look at the smiling face of Su Bingtian, Su Muqiu gritted her teeth against her lips, nearly biting through the skin.
What a great grandfather!
From when she was little to when she grew up, Su Bingtian had doted on Su Wenchao endlessly, yet looked down on her just because she was a daughter, destined to marry out of the family and unable to carry on the Su family line.
Especially five years ago, when she had a child out of wedlock, bringing shame to the Su family. If it hadn't been out of pity for Su Jianguo's family, Su Bingtian would have kicked them out long ago.
"You old fogey!"
Liu Hongxiu was furious, cursing under her breath, wanting to stand up for Su Muqiu but held back by Su Jianguo, who shook his head at her pleadingly, signaling her not to act rashly.
"Wimp!"
Liu Hongxiu gritted her teeth and endured.
"Everyone, look this way please."
Just then, Su Jianguo behind Su Bingtian couldn't wait to point towards the back door of the hotel, loudly saying, "Next up, let's give a warm welcome to the lucky young man making his grand entrance!"
The moment had finally arrived!
After secretly scheming for nearly two months, Su Jianguo's sole purpose was to make Su Muqiu's inner courtyard catch fire, blocking her development in the Su Group.
Marrying a rapist and violent man, what good days could she expect to have in the future?
How could she still focus on work?
Just thinking about Su Muqiu's miserable fate to come, Su Jianguo smiled gleefully.
Click!
Under everyone's expectant gazes, the back door of the hotel slowly opened, and Xiao Zhan walked in with Su Xiaomeng in his arms.
In an instant, the guests were dumbfounded.
Their jaws dropped.
What was going on?
He actually walked in carrying a child?
Some recognized Su Xiaomeng's identity and immediately started whispering. Their gazes towards Xiao Zhan contained more admiration, thinking to themselves that this guy had guts, not only happily taking on the role of father, but daring to openly bring in this wild seed. Was he not ashamed enough?
I salute you for being a real man!
Su Jianguo and Liu Hongxiu turned their faces away, secretly wiping tears, unable to bear watching. Su Muqiu didn't avoid it, despairingly looking straight at the back door of the hotel.
She wanted to see what kind of man her husband actually was!
"Mengmeng?!"
Seeing him, Su Muqiu's expression drastically changed as she cried out involuntarily, then disregarding everything, instinctively rushed towards Xiao Zhan.
"Mama!"
Su Xiaomeng was overjoyed, opening her arms to welcome Su Muqiu.
Su Muqiu took Su Xiaomeng from Xiao Zhan's arms and held her tightly, only looking at Xiao Zhan after a while. "You... you're Xiao Zhan? How is Mengmeng with you?"
"We happened to run into each other downstairs."
Xiao Zhan smiled and nodded, examining Su Muqiu closely for a few moments. Then he stretched out his hand, "Nice to meet you Miss Su. I'm him, please take care of me from now on."
To be honest, Xiao Zhan was a little nervous.
In the past when he was in the army, even facing thousands of enemy troops and storms of bullets, Xiao Zhan had never felt nervous. But now, facing a powerless woman, he was inexplicably nervous.
If his wolf cub buddies from the army knew about this, their jaws would probably drop.
"Hello."
Su Muqiu politely responded, but showed no intention of shaking Xiao Zhan's hand at all. Rather, she retreated several steps, extremely wary of him.
Xiao Zhan was very embarrassed.
Su Xiaomeng suddenly pointed at Xiao Zhan and said, "Mama, this uncle is amazing. He said he knows my dad and taught those bullies who picked on me a lesson just now. He also said he would punish that bad guy who wants to be my dad."
"Huh? Where's the bad guy?"
Su Xiaomeng blinked and looked around.
Su Muqiu was startled, the suspicion in her gaze towards Xiao Zhan growing. You're saying you know who Mengmeng's father is? Are you kidding me? I'm Mengmeng's mother and even I don't know who her father is!
"......"
Now Xiao Zhan was even more embarrassed, giving an awkward cough. Avoiding Su Muqiu's eyes, he smiled, "Little Mengmeng, I was entrusted by your father to come protect you and your mother. From now on, uncle is your Ultraman."
"Ah?"
Su Xiaomeng was confused. "The bad guy who wants to be my dad, that's you?"
"Is uncle bad?"
"Not really bad..."
Su Xiaomeng thought for a moment then shook her head. "But my dad is an invincible super hero. You're at most an invincible little hero. As long as you don't try to be my dad, I won't call you a bad guy."
Xiao Zhan was drunk.
In front of his own biological daughter, he had actually been defeated by his other self.
The surrounding guests were even more dumbfounded than Xiao Zhan.
Such a dramatic scene went beyond everyone's expectations. Damn, the script didn't seem to go like this! What happened to the flowers planted in cow dung? What happened to drawn swords and tension?
Xiao Zhan and mother and daughter Su Muqiu standing together looked like a perfect match with no sense of dissonance at all.
Hey!
We came to watch the show and laugh at you guys, not to watch your family of three showing affection and being all lovey-dovey. Please keep it down, be more miserable, and give us a chance to mock you coldly, okay?
Don't be so selfish as people!
"What's going on?"
Su Bingtian's sword-like brows furrowed together, also somewhat surprised.
"This is..."
The smile on Su Jianguo's face froze as he quickly said, "The brat is clever, spouting nonsense clearly to curry favor out of fear. Don't worry Dad, I'll have Wenchao expose his trickery right away!"
Then he signaled to Su Wenchao with his eyes.
Su Wenchao immediately realized his intention. He suddenly started clapping, then walked over to Xiao Zhan, sneering coldly, "Not bad for the husband my grandfather picked out for his granddaughter. Brother-in-law is really generous, clearly knowing my cousin was defiled by another man before and has an illegitimate daughter, yet he doesn't hold it against her. Instead he even treats the child as his own and wants to protect them mother and child. I'm ashamed for being her cousin..."
He spoke loudly, his voice spreading through the entire hotel lobby.