Jing Min chuckled coldly and slowly put down his wine glass, his fingertips rubbing his cuffs. Just as he was about to step forward, suddenly—

The banquet hall was in an uproar as guests looked down at their phones.

Their expressions gradually shifted from astonishment to shock, and a murmur of whispers spread like a tide.

Have you seen the news?

"Really? This is..."

"It actually involves that mysterious cruise ship 'Royal Shadow'?"

Chu Wuyang, Zhou Heng, and Yang Jinchu noticed something amiss almost simultaneously, and their gazes turned to the surrounding crowd.

Not far away, several guests were whispering among themselves.

She glanced at Zhou Heng, intentionally or unintentionally, her eyes filled with complex emotions—a mixture of inquiry and astonishment.

It even carried a hint of hidden hostility.

Chu Wuyang frowned slightly and asked in a low voice:

"What happened?"

A sense of foreboding rose in Zhou Heng's heart. He frowned slightly and took out his phone.

Click on the news notification that just popped up.

—When the large words on the screen came into view, his expression changed abruptly, his fingers tightened, and his hand holding the phone trembled slightly.

—[Shocking Inside Story Exposed! Zhou Heng Involved in Illegal Experiments, Suspected Link to Overseas Criminal Groups]

—[The shady dealings on the Royal Shadow cruise ship, the medical research behind it even involves…]

—[Shocking! Zhou Heng's illegal experiments exposed, suspected to be related to the Royal Caribbean's Shadow cruise ship!]

—【A disgrace to the Haicheng pharmaceutical family: Just how terrifying are Zhou Heng's experiments?】

—[Zhou's Pharmaceutical stock price plummets; anonymous insider reveals Zhou Heng's past collaboration with a mysterious overseas consortium...]

Zhou Heng gripped his phone tightly, his knuckles turning white, a storm raging in his heart.

—How could this be? It can't be...

The surrounding guests all turned their attention to him, whispering among themselves.

"If this is true, then Zhou Heng is finished."

"The Zhou family probably needs to sever ties immediately, right?"

"I heard he had conducted some questionable research before, but no one has been able to get concrete evidence..."

The Chu family's expressions changed drastically in an instant, and the atmosphere in the banquet hall suddenly became oppressive, turning the clamor into an eerie silence.

Aunt Chu's voice trembled, her face pale as she looked at Zhou Heng, her tone urgent:

"Zhou Heng, what exactly is going on?"

Chu Huiqing sat not far away, holding a glass of red wine, her eyes indifferent, her thin lips slightly pursed, not uttering a word.

It was as if this matter had nothing to do with her.

Zhou Heng's face was terribly grim, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly. He abruptly dialed the phone, his voice low and menacing:

"Investigate immediately who leaked this information."

"Excuse me, everyone, I must take my leave now..."

After he finished speaking, he turned and hurriedly walked out of the banquet hall.

Chu Wuyang sensed the unusual atmosphere around her, looked at Yang Jinchu with a puzzled expression, and lowered her voice to say:

"What does this mean?"

Yang Jinchu lowered his eyes, took a sip of tea, his expression remained unchanged, and his tone was gentle:

"I don't know."

He put down his teacup, glanced at the lemonade that Chu Wuyang was still obediently holding, smiled, and spoke in a casual and gentle tone:

"Don't drink alcohol, you can have juice. I have something to do, so I'll be going now."

After saying that, he turned and left, remaining calm and composed.

Even after Zhou Heng left, the atmosphere remained tense and uneasy, with many people discussing the matter.

Especially since the Chu family and the Zhou family are related by marriage, this incident has undoubtedly drawn the Chu family into the conflict.

"If Zhou Heng's matter is true, the Chu family will probably be implicated as well..."

"The Zhou family will probably distance themselves from us immediately, right?"

At this moment, the Zhou family representative stood up and whispered to Old Master Chu:

"We'll handle Zhou Heng's matter ourselves. I'll take my leave now."

The eldest aunt of the Chu family looked unpleasant, gave a cold laugh, and spoke with sarcasm:

"Handle it yourself? This is no small matter. If the eldest daughter of the Chu family's fiancé has a criminal record, where will our Chu family put our face?"

Jing Min remained silent, looking down at the news on his phone.

The eye fell on one of the anonymous leaks.

His gaze gradually turned cold.

—[According to insiders, Zhou Heng secretly participated in medical experiments conducted by a mysterious conglomerate that has long operated on the high seas...]

He looked up, his gaze slowly landing on Li Yan.

—Just now, Li Yan was reporting to him that the Royal Shadow had docked in Haicheng.

And now this news has broken...

This matter is definitely not simple.

Li Yan nodded slightly, his gaze solemn. The two of them tacitly realized that this matter could not be taken lightly.

Jing Min glanced down at Chu Wuyang, then took out his phone, quickly sent her a message, and got up to leave.

The turmoil at the banquet had not yet subsided.

Ye Yuhe had already slumped down, holding her wine glass as she moved closer to Chu Wuyang, sighing with a worried expression.

"Yangyang, do you think the Chu family must have suffered a significant loss because of Zhou Heng's affair?"

Chu Wuyang frowned slightly, about to speak, but Ye Yuhe continued complaining to herself:

"As you know, Zhou Heng and the Chu family are related by marriage, and many of their industrial chains are already connected... With such a big incident, the Chu family will definitely be busy cleaning up the mess first."

Her voice was low, and her eyes were full of unease.

"Then I want to marry Chu Yao, but I'm afraid I don't know when that will be."

Chu Wuyang understood what she meant and chuckled helplessly:

"Are you in such a hurry to get married?"

Hearing this, Chu Xi, who had been drinking the whole time, suddenly chuckled, her tone lazy but her eyes somewhat obscure:

"Ye Yuhe, do you really want to marry my older brother that much?"

He had been leaning casually against the sofa, idly twirling his wine glass, listening to her conversation with Chu Wuyang without interrupting.

But upon hearing this, she couldn't help but speak, her tone tinged with a hint of inexplicable bitterness.

Ye Yuhe paused for a moment, then turned to look at him.

She noticed that he seemed perfectly normal, as if he was just joking casually, but something still felt off.

She frowned and glared at him, replying rather unhappily:

"What's wrong? You're the kind of righteous straight man who spends all day in war zones, saving lives and healing the wounded. You don't understand the feelings of us young women at all."

She muttered with a hint of resentment and grievance in her voice:

"Chu Yao is so outstanding, I can't wait to marry him, what's wrong with that?"

Chu Xi raised an eyebrow slightly, chuckled softly, picked up her wine glass and swirled it gently, her tone lazy and ambiguous:

“That’s right, of course you can choose the person you want to marry, but my older brother isn’t the only outstanding person.”

He paused, lowered his eyes to look at the swirling liquid in his glass, and said softly:

"But you make it sound like it can't be anyone but my older brother."

Ye Yuhe's heart skipped a beat, and she felt inexplicably flustered. She glared at him and muttered under her breath:

"Neuropathy!"