Lin Jiaorui slowly turned around and saw Lin Qingtong staring at her, her black pupils revealing a coldness.

She gave an awkward laugh and explained, "What can I do for you, sister? It's the engagement banquet, and I still have a lot of guests to take care of."

Lin Qingtong glanced at her, a mocking smile playing on her lips.

"Apologize."

Lin Jiaorui gritted her teeth secretly, glancing around at her surroundings, hoping that someone would come out and save her from this predicament.

But reality is always so cruel; no one stood up for her.

Lin Jiaorui swallowed hard and looked at Lin Qingtong in front of her before speaking.

"Sister, we're sisters after all. There's no need to go to such extremes. It's just one incident, and besides, I didn't do it. What does it have to do with me if it's your ex-husband?"

As she spoke, she became more and more confident, and felt even more that it had nothing to do with her.

Upon hearing this, Lin Qingtong found it amusing and coldly replied.

“The apology I’m referring to isn’t for that incident, but for your disrespect towards my mother earlier. Since you said we’re sisters, then my mother is your elder. How could you treat your elder like that?”

Lin Qingtong's words directly shut down Lin Jiaorui's words.

Lin Jiaorui was stunned for a moment, her eyes filled with resentment.

"Today is my engagement party, and you're determined to cause trouble, aren't you?"

Lin Qingtong simply replied, "I don't want you to do anything, and I haven't caused any trouble. I just want you to apologize. You were indeed wrong in this matter."

"Do you only feel happy when I make a scene that everyone knows about?"

Her question made Lin Jiaorui so angry that her chest heaved, and she couldn't find any words to refute it.

Just as Lin Jiaorui was feeling extremely embarrassed, a calm voice rang out.

"Sister-in-law, are you trying to bully my daughter-in-law?"

Lin Qingtong looked in the direction of the sound and saw Second Master Shen leading Second Madam Shen gracefully towards them. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and smile.

Madam Shen is truly magnanimous; she helped the mistress with her husband without batting an eye.

When Lin Jiaorui saw Master Shen appear, she gave him a sweet, seductive look, as if she were extremely aggrieved.

Seeing this, Second Master Shen softened his tone and said to her, "Don't worry, with me here, no one will dare to bully you."

Those who didn't know the relationship between the two assumed that Lin Jiaorui had been accepted by the Shen family. But Lin Qingtong knew the truth and felt nothing but utter irony at the sight before her.

It's truly an unprecedented and bizarre story that a mistress married a son and even brought along the wife to speak on her behalf.

Before Lin Qingtong could say anything, Second Master Shen gave her a cold look.

"Miss Lin, you haven't even married into the Shen family yet, and you're already so arrogant. Do you not take us seriously?"

"That makes sense, you'll probably never be able to marry into the Shen family."

Lin Qingtong remained calm and composed, as if these words had no effect on her whatsoever.

Instead, Shen Tinghe stood up to speak for Lin Qingtong.

"Second brother, please respect my lover. She will be my wife and the mother of my children in the future."

Shen Tinghe's words were tantamount to announcing his intention to always be with Lin Qingtong and to support her.

The Shen family members in the crowd saw this scene, their eyes flickering slightly, each with their own thoughts.

Previously, these people all looked down on Lin Qingtong, thinking that Shen Tinghe was just playing around.

But after what he just said, no one dared to underestimate Lin Qingtong anymore. Some people even started investigating and preparing to find a suitable topic to strike up a conversation and get to know her.

Lin Qingtong could feel the watchful eyes around her. She glanced at Shen Tinghe, her eyes filled with a helpless smile.

Shen Tinghe's tall frame immediately shielded Lin Qingtong in his arms, his sharp, cold gaze shooting back at her, causing the others to avert their eyes.

Master Shen Jiu is not someone they can afford to offend.

Seeing that Lin Qingtong and the others were no longer speaking, Second Master Shen instructed Shen Yibo to take Lin Jiaorui to the lounge.

Continuing to argue about this matter will not benefit the second branch of the family.

Soon, Shen Yibo took Lin Jiaorui away, and Lin Qingtong didn't say anything more after they left.

After all, the person has already left, so chasing after them would seem petty.

At that moment, Lin Jiaorui stormed into the rest room, kicking over a chair in a fit of rage.

"Why should we swallow this insult?"

Shen Yibo twirled the lighter, casually brushing it off, "Just because she's Ninth Master Shen's girlfriend."

"Don't cause trouble. Stay obediently in the Shen family, or even my father might not be able to protect you."

After saying that, he left the rest room.

But Lin Jiaorui became angrier the more she thought about it. Why should she have to put up with this?

No, I absolutely cannot let Lin Qingtong go.

So Lin Jiaorui dialed a phone and coldly gave the order.

"Proceed as originally planned."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Jiaorui curled up a cold smile.

"Lin Qingtong, you can't escape this time."

Originally, she didn't want to target Lin Qingtong anymore because of Shen Tinghe, but after what just happened, Lin Jiaorui felt that she had to vent her anger.

Furthermore, if Lin Qingtong were to have an accident at the engagement party, Shen Tinghe would definitely despise her.

She wanted to see how Lin Qingtong would continue to be smug.

Thinking of this, Lin Jiaorui's smile grew even brighter.

She took the pink bottle from the bodyguard and shook it gently; it appeared crystal clear yet gleamed with a dangerous light.

At the engagement party, the guests were chatting and socializing, laughing and talking.

Lin Qingtong sat to the side, gently swirling her wine glass as she looked at Shen Tinghe in front of her.

"Such a great opportunity, aren't you going to socialize a bit?"

Shen Tinghe answered with his long legs casually crossed.

"I don't need it."

His words were domineering and direct, which made Lin Qingtong chuckle.

"That's true, you really don't need to. It's always others chasing after you to socialize."

As soon as he finished speaking, several portly men in suits approached Shen Tinghe respectfully.

"Master Shen Jiu, seeing is believing. You are indeed as outstanding and noble as the legends say. You can be spotted in a crowd at a glance."

Shen Tinghe nodded calmly: "So?"

Even though Shen Tinghe's attitude was so cold, these people still answered with smiles.

"We have a project about emerging technologies that we'd like to collaborate with you on. I wonder if that's possible?"

"Shall we talk in private?"

The group of people's gazes fell on Lin Qingtong, and they seemed to mind.

Seeing this, Lin Qingtong stood up and nodded casually to Shen Tinghe.

"I've been sitting here for a while, I'll go take a look over there."

Shen Tinghe reached out to grab Lin Qingtong, but she had already gracefully left.

After Lin Qingtong left, Shen Tinghe's face turned extremely gloomy, and the surrounding air pressure dropped to freezing point.

"Show your sincerity in cooperating."

The other party was overjoyed and immediately produced a wealth of materials to give a grand speech, only to receive a cold reply from Shen Tinghe.

"Not very good."