Chapter 70 Engagement [Abuse of Ke] Rotten Cucumber.

The Ke family attached great importance to this engagement banquet, inviting almost all the celebrities and dignitaries in Nanhai City.

The revolving banquet hall on the top floor of Nanhai City's CBD was chosen as the engagement venue, with 360-degree floor-to-ceiling windows offering unobstructed views of the city's neon-lit cityscape. The venue was decorated with exquisite elegance; upon entering, one was immediately struck by the dazzling gold accents and the air filled with the luxurious aroma of champagne and flowers.

The Ke family arrived early to check for any omissions and to greet the guests.

Ke Yanchen arrived very early. He hadn't slept a wink last night, his heart filled with joy and anticipation. His impeccably tailored suit accentuated his haughty and upright figure, exuding an air of refined, languid nobility. His thinning hairline framed his striking, handsome features, and a smile played on his lips, revealing an undeniable air of youthful exuberance and unbridled spirit.

He received countless blessings, smiled as he welcomed another relative or friend, and couldn't help but take out his phone again to check it, unable to control the frenzied excitement coursing through his body.

Yu Wu hasn't replied to her message yet; she's probably still getting her hair and makeup done.

As the guests gradually arrived, Yu Wu still hadn't replied to his messages, and he couldn't get through on the phone. Ke Yanchen couldn't help but find Ye Hongmian to inquire about the situation.

Ye Hongmian, exuding an air of elegance and wealth, smiled and comforted me, "He just replied to me, he'll be here soon. Xiao Ke, don't be too anxious."

Ke Yanchen pressed his fist to his lips and nodded with a smile. He turned and went to the door to greet the guests, his gaze fixed intently on the entrance. Suddenly, a tall, slender figure entered his dark pupils.

His smile deepened, his gaze fixed intently on her with deep affection.

At this moment, all the noise was reduced to a blurry hum in the background, and her figure could only be reflected in her pupils.

—The mist was slowly approaching him.

She walked with a graceful sway in high heels, but unfortunately, she rarely wore them in front of him.

The beams of light from the crystal chandelier slanted across the dome of the banquet hall. She wore a gilded, openwork fishtail dress, the gold threads shimmering with light as she moved, highlighting her perfect proportions. She wore no other jewelry, only a delicate serpent stone necklace around her long neck. Her face was exquisite, her skin snow-white and translucent, like a maiden stepping out of an ancient Greek painting, ethereal and radiant.

A beauty that was both noble and aggressive inexplicably made Ke Yanchen feel a sense of distance, and even a little uneasy.

Yu Wu had already walked up to Ke Yanchen, a smile on her lips, and sweetly called him, "Ke Ke."

She glanced at him, her eyes full of admiration, and said, "You look very handsome today."

Ke Yanchen tried his best to suppress his unease, his face showing a hint of roguishness, and pulled her into his arms, embracing her tightly.

She was incredibly soft in his arms, and Ke Yanchen's throat bobbed; he wished he could devour her right then and there. He desperately suppressed his burning desire and the intense possessiveness in his eyes, and took her to meet the elders of the Ke family.

With a polite smile on her face, Yu Wu accompanied Ke Yanchen to meet countless distinguished guests at high-society gatherings, receiving countless praises and blessings.

Cheng Yi, Ao Ziye, Shu Yueqiao, and Xu Shuwan all came.

Cheng Yi stood tall and straight, his thin eyelids concealing his cold and disdainful demeanor. He barely made eye contact with Yu Wu.

Ke Yanchen noticed the deliberate avoidance between Cheng Yi and Yu Wu. He abandoned his flamboyant and carefree demeanor, feeling inexplicably more uneasy. That feeling of panic spread rapidly throughout his body like a datura flower. Once a certain idea takes hold, the more you suppress it, the more it expands.

Ao Ziye and Shu Yueqiao never stopped smiling; they were as happy as if they were getting married themselves.

Xu Shuwan sincerely offered her blessings.

......

When Ke Qingfeng stepped onto the stage, his usually stern expression softened with a hint of joy. He coughed lightly twice into the microphone, and the entire audience fell silent, all eyes focused on him.

Ke Yanchen and Yu Wu stood in the front row, their fingers intertwined.

Ke Qingfeng, facing the gaze of the entire audience, slowly began to speak: "Good evening, distinguished guests."

"Today, we are honored to have so many distinguished guests here to witness the engagement of my son, Ke Yanchen, and Yu Wu. I, Ke, extend my heartfelt gratitude..."

The crystal chandelier above his head was still quietly brushing against Ke Qingfeng's hair. As he spoke, the huge projection screen behind him suddenly flashed a deathly white light with a sharp crack.

The entire hall fell into a sudden, deathly silence.

Everyone was staring at the screen.

Gradually, a subtle commotion began to stir among the guests. Some huddled together whispering, some took out their phones to take pictures, and some stared in disbelief, knocking over their glasses...

Ke Qingfeng frowned slightly, turned around, and his gaze sharpened—

Behind them, a giant projection screen displayed intimate photos of Ke Yanchen with different women, all of whose faces were blurred. Before Ke Qingfeng could reprimand the manager for handling the situation, a line of glaring red text popped up: [Ke Yanchen, you utter scumbag! You're cheating on your husband with multiple women at the same time, a master of infidelity and prostitution! This evidence is your retribution!]

Immediately afterwards, the screen began scrolling through screenshots of obscene and vulgar chat logs, detailing the time and place of his soliciting prostitutes.

"Damn it!" Ke Qingfeng turned his head and shouted angrily, "Where's the manager! Shut it down right now!"

The lobby manager rushed over from the door to handle the situation in a flurry.

Ke Qingfeng's chest heaved violently with anger, his eyes fixed on Ke Yanchen below the stage, his knuckles turning white from the force.

...

Ke Yanchen looked away from the obscene words on the screen on stage, his spine stiffened, and facing the surprised and astonished gazes around him, he slowly tilted his head, his dark pupils silently looking at Yu Wu, his jaw taut into a sharp line.

Yu Wu gave him a strange smile, then quickly put it away.

Of course she knew that everything on the screen was fake.

The photos were ones she collected of Ke Yanchen and his ex-girlfriends. Because they were blurred out and taken at different times, the girls were wearing different clothes, creating the impression that he was having affairs with many women. The chat logs were also entirely fabricated by her.

At this moment, Yu Wu, like any naive fiancée who has been deceived, was filled with surprise and disappointment. She angrily slapped him twice, tears welling up in her eyes, and cursed him: "Scumbag!"

She seemed unable to bear being deceived by her fiancé and wanted to leave, but Ke Yanchen held her wrist tightly.

He remained silent, his dark pupils gazing intently at her.

Her hair obscured Yu Wu's expression, and amidst the rumble of thunder outside, she continued her cruel torment in his ear, each word piercing his most tender heart.

"I did it."

"Haven't you always suspected me and Chengyi?"

"We've slept together before, and every time we make love, we wish we could die inside each other."

"Ke Yanchen, you deserve it."

After saying that, she forcefully shook him off, her eyes like a sharp knife piercing Ke Yanchen's most vulnerable throat.

Ye Hongmian and Yu Jianting squeezed through the crowd, their faces full of disappointment as they looked at Ke Yanchen. "How could you be so shameless! Our Yu family has nothing to do with you!" After saying that, the couple left the venue with Yu Wu under the watchful eyes of the entire audience.

Ke Yanchen felt as if his throat was being tightly gripped, and he silently accepted everything. He felt as if he were in a vacuum, his senses gone, and his mind blank.

The room was filled with suppressed gasps and whispers. Some people had complicated expressions, some were sneering, and some were pointing and whispering about him.

"Holy crap, could Ke Yanchen have an STD?"

"This is so dirty! How could he eat something so cheap..."

"How disgusting! Miss Yu is so pitiful; she almost jumped into this fire pit!"

"I feel like throwing up. I never imagined he was so promiscuous in private..."

Ke Qingfeng's gaze was like an ice-cold knife fixed on Ke Yanchen, and in this eerie atmosphere, he roared at him like a thunderclap: "Get over here now!"

The scene was chaotic and noisy.

Ke Yanchen turned his head again to look in the direction Yu Wu had left, and was caught off guard by Cheng Yi's contemptuous and mocking eyes. Dark, indifferent, and extremely noticeable.

For the first time, Ke Yanchen realized that the oppressive feeling Cheng Yi brought was not even needed through his eyes or expressions; just standing there silently was enough to make people feel suffocated.

Cheng Yi raised his champagne glass, toasted him from afar, and downed it in one gulp. He strode away, head held high, aloof and dignified, his hands spotless, yet the ground around him was stained with thick pools of blood from his carnage.

He won so beautifully.

......

A numb, tingling sensation spread across his face, and Ke Yanchen swallowed hard. His shoulders slumped, and expressionless, he walked towards the door amidst his father's furious reprimands and his mother's worried concern.

In the blink of an eye, one can fall from heaven to hell.

A pool of mud, barely alive.

Utter despair, like a lamp running out of oil.

......

A torrential downpour began outside; the sky was gloomy, the air was damp and cold, and everything was shrouded in a misty blackness.

Ke Yanchen wandered aimlessly by himself.

My mind is a mess, yet there's one clear thought.

—Go find Yuwu.

Thunder rumbled across the sky, and torrential rain poured down like a river. He was soaked to the bone, and stubbornly kept walking, regardless of the direction.

My heart was being ripped apart, my breathing was being stopped, and I felt completely numb, as if I couldn't feel any pain.

He walked away like that, like an empty shell without a soul or flesh, like a lonely ghost wandering the streets.

When Yan Congrong found him, his eyes were vacant, like a walking corpse. Yan Congrong felt a pang of pain in her heart and quickly got out of the car to hold an umbrella for him, getting herself mostly soaked.

Ke Yanchen's gaze finally focused, and all his intense emotions collapsed and erupted. His lips trembled, and a suppressed, extremely painful sob escaped his throat: "Mom, I messed things up..."

Yan Congrong opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a word for a long time, heartbroken. Ke Yanchen had been sensible since he was a child, and hadn't called her "Mom" since the sixth grade of elementary school.

He was like a child who had done something wrong, helpless and broken, constantly choking back tears as he said he was wrong, that he didn't want it to be like this, repeating the words in trembling voices.

Stereotyped speech patterns in post-traumatic stress disorder.

That moment bent all the taut pride.

"I didn't want this to happen either... Mom..."

"Let's go home." Yan Congrong felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if someone had twisted it hard. She held his shoulders and was about to lead him into the car.

Ke Yanchen's throat bobbed with difficulty, a deep despair gripping him. Suddenly, he smelled a pungent, rotting odor. He pressed one hand to his throbbing chest, his body went limp, and he could no longer hold on. With a "plop," he coughed up a mouthful of blood, becoming the only bright spot in the misty rain.

Yan Congrong was horrified and used all her strength to drag him into the car.

-----------------------

Author's Note: A little late.