Chapter 29 Slapping

The old man's sudden remark was particularly jarring in the empty space. Xia Li tensed up, clenched her teeth, and her hands trembled, her knuckles turning white from the force.

"Sorry, you've mistaken me for someone else." Her eyes darted away, and she prepared to ignore the old man and leave, but before she could take a step, her wrist was grabbed.

A sticky, nauseating feeling welled up inside her. Her brows furrowed deeply, her gaze fixed on her wrist, which was being held. She then gave it a hard jerk, but the old man gripped it even tighter.

"Don't recognize me? Let's catch up and I'll help you remember?" The old man seemed extremely interested, his lips almost twitching into a grin.

Xia Li suppressed her nausea and glared at that greasy and lewd face.

Actually, she's not ugly; in fact, she's very well-maintained. It's just that her face looks grotesque due to excessive excitement.

Xia Li gently closed her eyes, gasped, and when she opened them again, a sense of helplessness filled her voice as she said emptily:

"let go."

"let go!"

She spoke almost simultaneously with the cold, icy voice coming from behind her.

Xia Li leaned back instinctively, turned her head to look behind her, her eyes wide and staring blankly, her mouth slightly open but unable to utter a sound, her expression filled with disbelief.

Ji Ling stood not far away, his brows slightly furrowed, his eyes narrowed, brimming with anger, looking extremely oppressive, his gaze fixed on her wrist that was being held.

Then the painful sensation on her wrist disappeared in an instant, and without the strength to pull, her arm hung limply.

Instead, she heard footsteps becoming clearer, and the comforting scent of his body lingering around her nose. Ji Ling's broad and strong hand grasped her wrist, then moved down to envelop her entire hand, holding it tightly together.

Xia Li was stunned. She looked up at her side and saw Ji Ling with a tense jaw and cold eyes. His lips moved as he said bluntly, "Mr. Xu, isn't it extremely impolite of you to behave so disrespectfully towards a woman in public?"

The old man's face turned deathly pale instantly, his teeth chattered, his eyelids twitched uncontrollably, and his lips trembled.

Xia Li frowned, lost in thought.

When she accidentally bumped into this man at the orphanage, Ji Ling briefly explained his identity, but she didn't pay attention at the time. Nearly ten years later, she now knows that his surname is Xu, and today's wedding is Xu Da and Jiang Xue's. Judging from this, the old man in front of her may be a member of the previous generation of the Xu family. Jiang Xue should call him "uncle".

He was probably not the eldest son, or perhaps he was idle and aimless. As an older man, he was not valued and remained unmarried to this day, though he had quite a few female companions around him, and would force himself on whichever one he fancied.

Xia Li was lost in her own thoughts and didn't pay attention to Ji Ling's conversation with the old man until she noticed that her hand, which was being held, was suddenly being squeezed painfully, as if Ji Ling was angry and suppressing his anger. Only then did she turn her attention to the person beside her.

The old man smiled obsequiously, his hands hanging limply at his sides, and said in a fawning tone, "I'm so sorry, I didn't expect you to be Mr. Ji's man." He then lightly patted his stomach twice, making a comical gesture, and continued, "Look at me, it's all my fault."

Ji Ling's face remained expressionless, his eyes filled with annoyance, as if even a glance was superfluous and he didn't want to linger for even half a second. Then he coldly said, "You mean, if she weren't my wife, you could take liberties with her?"

The old man was clearly shocked by Ji Ling's words. His eyes widened in astonishment, his body stiffened, and his mouth gaped open, unable to utter a word.

He never expected that the girl he had his eye on years ago would not only hook up with Ji Ling, but would actually marry him directly. She was actually a family member that Ji Ling had never publicly acknowledged!

As he spoke, he looked at Xia Li, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

Ji Ling noticed the change in his gaze, narrowed his eyes slightly, pulled Xia Li behind him to protect him, and asked, "What are you looking at?"

The older man smiled and replied, "It was all a misunderstanding. I'm really sorry, Mr. Ji, please don't take it to heart."

Xia Li stood timidly behind Ji Ling, watching him. Seeing Ji Ling's cold eyes and his stalemate with the old man, she couldn't help but feel worried.

After all, it was someone else's wedding, and the older man was someone she had almost gotten engaged to. Ji Ling knew nothing about this, and if she didn't leave soon, it might become a laughing stock once more people arrived.

So she gently tugged at Ji Ling's sleeve, leaned close behind him, and whispered, "Alright, let's not worry about it anymore, let's go."

Ji Ling frowned, his eyes full of confusion. He didn't listen to her or give any verbal response. Instead, he silently tightened his grip on her hand, gently stroking it, and then said to the older man, "Apologize."

The older man smiled apologetically: "Mr. Ji, I'm really sorry."

Ji Ling frowned, his expression distant, then turned his gaze to Xia Li, his eyes now filled with tenderness: "Apologize to her."

The older man twitched the corners of his mouth, his smile tinged with unease. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, his gaze shifting between the two men: "This... isn't quite right."

Ji Ling asked, "Why not?"

The old man moved his lips, but still didn't say a word.

Seeing that the atmosphere was getting increasingly awkward, Xia Li quickly pulled Ji Ling back.

She knew what Ji Ling was thinking. Ji Ling appeared to be amiable and nonchalant about everything, but in reality, he had already planned to find out more about the other party.

She had felt this deeply before.

For example, when dealing with Sheng Minyang, Ji Ling had already investigated him thoroughly and knew more about him than she did. Another example is the male celebrity from last time. On the surface, she seemed to have nothing to do with him and had no interaction with him, but in reality, she was vengeful and secretly exposed his prostitution, ensuring that the male celebrity could never recover.

Xia Li lowered her voice to a whisper, her breath shallow, and said, "Never mind..."

"How can we let it go?!" Before she could finish speaking, a white figure suddenly rushed out from the side, interrupting her, shouting angrily at them from afar.

Upon closer inspection, it was Jiang Xue.

The indoor wedding banquet had just ended, and Jiang Xue, having not seen Xia Li and Ji Ling, mistakenly assumed they hadn't come. However, upon closer inspection...

Seeing their gifts, I couldn't help but feel suspicious.

Just as she was about to head to the next beach location, Jiang Xue took the time to touch up her makeup. Unexpectedly, she saw three figures pulling at each other in a deserted corridor. They were all familiar faces to her, and she overheard some of their conversation.

Jiang Xue carried her wedding dress, her high heels clattering on the floor as she jogged along.

As expected of a model, she ran in sky-high heels and remained as steady as if she were on flat ground.

The old man was too old to react before Jiang Xue came up and slapped him across the face.

She was tall with long arms, and when she swung her arms, she did so with exceptional strength. The sound of her swinging her arms was particularly crisp in the empty corridor, followed by her angry words: "Shut up, you old geezer."

Jiang Xue has a strong personality and speaks bluntly. She would never compromise herself and would vent her anger. When she saw Xia Li being bullied by an old man, as a woman herself, she felt a burning anger in her heart. She couldn't stand these bullies who relied on their power to bully others.

Xia Li was startled by the scene before her and was momentarily stunned, looking around.

Fortunately, there were few people in this area, and almost no one passed by. She was afraid that someone would see the chaotic scene.

If Ji Ling was secretly plotting against others, Jiang Xue was more like a direct and outspoken opponent.

The old man, holding his face, released his grip, revealing a clear, red handprint on his cheek, which was even swollen. Upon recognizing the person, he immediately roared angrily, "You...you...do you know who I am?! How dare you hit me?!"

Jiang Xue scoffed, "I don't care who you are."

The old man's eyes widened, his finger trembling with anger as he pointed at her and said, "You... you have no manners! Do you know that when Xu Da comes, he has to call me uncle? You have to do that from now on too!"

Jiang Xue looked at him disdainfully: "Oh, what's wrong? What does it have to do with anything? I hit you, so what?"

The old man was so angry he couldn't speak: "It's all a mess!"

Jiang Xue said coldly, "I married someone from your family, but I'm not part of your family. You have no right to discipline me. Moreover, harassing the people I invited at my wedding is harassing me. How dare you, you shameless bastard!"

He was about to slap her again when Xia Li immediately stopped him.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. Ji Ling was holding one of her hands, and since he showed no sign of leaving, she could only turn her attention to Jiang Xue.

With her free hand, she tugged at Jiang Xue's arm, speaking softly as if afraid of being overheard by passersby, "Alright, Jiang Xue, it's nothing serious. Let's go. You're the bride; people will be worried if they can't find you."

Jiang Xue turned her head, her tone full of dissatisfaction: "Is that all? No way! There's more..." As she spoke, Jiang Xue's gaze lingered on her and Ji Ling, then she gritted her teeth: "You two are actually together, and you haven't even made it public yet. Xia Li, you're so unfair."

Upon hearing this, Ji Ling lowered his eyes, his throat bobbed, and then turned his gaze to Xia Li.

Xia Li also looked up, and when their eyes met, they both looked away.

This was not a good time to talk. Ji Ling and Jiang Xue both seemed to want an explanation. Looking at the old man on the other side, although he was angry, his body was trembling, and he was also afraid.

Xia Li mediated, saying to the old man, "You should leave now. Let's pretend today's events never happened. You don't want to make a fool of yourself at your own family's wedding, do you?"

The old man sniffed, then coughed with a pursed mouth, and staggered as he prepared to turn and leave.

Neither Ji Ling nor Jiang Xue wanted the situation to end, and both were prepared to continue the stalemate. Xia Li sighed, grabbed one of them with each hand, and pulled them back.

She looked at the two of them and said solemnly, "Thank you."

Upon hearing Xia Li's words, Ji Ling's eyes showed a slight dissatisfaction. Was their relationship so distant in her eyes? But in an instant, it turned into a nonchalant expression, and he replied, "You're welcome."

Seeing this, Jiang Xue teased, "You're a married couple, yet you treat each other with such respect."

Then Jiang Xue said to Xia Li, "Don't thank me. I'm not standing up for you. I just can't stand people causing trouble at my wedding. This is my first wedding, maybe only once in a lifetime. Such an important thing doesn't need me to say more."

As she spoke, she turned her gaze to Ji Ling, her eyes filled with disdain and contempt: "Marriage is such an important event, it must be a big one, it must be public, it must be told to everyone, there can't be any mistakes, otherwise it would be too unfair."

Jiang Xue spoke up righteously, though it was unclear whether she was hinting at Ji Ling or stating her own requirements for the wedding.