Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"riverbank?!"

Liu Sisi excitedly grabbed Shu Yao's arm and asked, "How did you get Jiang An's invitation?"

Shu Yao did not explain, his eyes fell calmly on Lin Ruiyang's face.

Lin Ruiyang tightly grasped the invitation in his hand. After a moment, he sneered, "Oh, right, I almost forgot. You and Jiang An know each other, but even if you do, you are not allowed to attend with someone else's invitation."

Lin Ruiyang waved to the security guards not far away, signaling them to come over and drive the people away.

Shu Yao was amused.

"Why must it be an impersonation? Is there a possibility—"

Her voice was as gentle as water, but in an instant it froze into an ice knife, piercing straight into Lin Ruiyang's heart.

"I am Jiang An."

"You, Jiang An?" Lin Ruiyang laughed as if he had just heard a joke. "Please, Shu Yao, if you're going to make up a story, make it up well. Everyone in the industry knows that Jiang An is a man. You can say you are Jiang An, fine. But how do you prove it?"

"Why do you want me to prove that I am who I am?" Shu Yao said matter-of-factly, "If you think I'm not, then please provide me with evidence. If you can't, then please return the invitation to me, and then—"

"Get out of the way."

"you!"

Lin Ruiyang was speechless for a moment.

Jiang An has always been very mysterious in the circle and has never appeared in public. Even the museum's introduction materials have always only contained a few words.

Even though everyone said Jiang An was a man, even though he felt that as a former colleague, Shu Yao could not have found time to engage in artistic creation as Jiang An besides his high-intensity work.

However, he really doesn't have any solid evidence.

Lin Ruiyang clenched his right fist, which was hanging at his side.

Mr. Chen, who had just accompanied the artist into the banquet hall, probably heard the noise outside and came out again.

Mr. Chen was also quite surprised to see the two people confronting each other, but compared to Lin Ruiyang's direct malice, he seemed much friendlier.

But also more hypocritical.

"Shu Yao, long time no see." Mr. Chen asked with a smile, "What happened?"

Lin Ruiyang leaned over and whispered a few words into his ear.

Mr. Chen's smile remained unchanged. It seemed like he was reprimanding, but in fact it was defending him. "Shu Yao, Ruiyang was indeed not considerate in this matter. Even if you leave, I have always admired your abilities. We will still be friends after we meet again. However, this dinner does involve some company cooperation matters, which cannot be disclosed to the outside world. Look at this..."

Before he could finish his words, whispers suddenly broke out around him, and the topic revolved around the old man at the elevator entrance who was gray-haired but energetic.

"Oh my god! Why is Li Jiahuan here too? Bowen must be quite something. How much should he give for his appearance? Even a big shot like him is willing to give him face."

"Come on, one of her filigree inlaid pieces sold for 160 million yuan at auction a while ago. Is she still short of this little appearance fee?"

"Professor Li looks so energetic, you wouldn't even think he's in his seventies."

"Don't you have a disciple like Jiang An? He probably thought there was someone to take over, so he retired early."

…

Once the boss showed up, naturally no one paid attention to the dispute on Shu Yao's side anymore.

Even Mr. Chen hurried forward to support her right hand which was leaning on the crutch.

Li Jiahuan cleverly avoided the question and joked, "Why, do I look too old to walk?"

"No, no, Professor Li looks quite young." Mr. Chen smiled and beckoned Li Jiahuan towards the banquet hall, introducing him, "Professor Li, this is my nephew, Lin Ruiyang, a senior reporter at Bowen Art Network."

Lin Ruiyang said respectfully, "Hello, Professor Li. I've heard of you for a long time, and I finally get to meet you today."

Li Jiahuan, having probably heard this kind of compliment too many times, didn't react. He looked around in confusion and asked, "What's going on? Why are you all crowding at the door and not going in?"

As everyone knows, Jiang An is Li Jiahuan's apprentice.

But now, when Li Jiahuan saw Shu Yao, he didn't react at all.

Isn’t this the best proof that Shu Yao used Jiang An’s identity?

Lin Ruiyang was delighted and quickly explained, "Professor Li, it's nothing. Someone just showed up with Jiang An's invitation. We hoped she could prove she was Jiang An, but she couldn't produce any evidence."

"oh?"

"Since you are here, it is a coincidence. I would like to ask you to take a look. Is this person in front of me your disciple?"

Lin Ruiyang could barely conceal the smugness in his eyes. He could completely imagine Shu Yao leaving in disarray after his lie was exposed.

This made him feel relieved of the anger he had felt at being suppressed by Shu Yao in the company.

However, at this moment, Li Jiahuan's calm words completely froze the smile on his face.

"I asked you to wait for me to come together, but you refused. Now I'm misunderstood, right?"

The helplessness and doting in Li Jiahuan's words made everyone present, except Shu Yao, gasp.

Shu Yao walked over to Li Jiahuan, holding her skirt, and took her arm. She cooperated obediently and said, "I understand. I will definitely accompany you next time."

Lin Ruiyang's face turned pale, and he didn't react for a long time: "Jiang An, not a man?"

"Lin Ruiyang, do you know why this rumor exists?" Shu Yao's face was expressionless, and his tone was somewhat cold. "It's because of people like you who cling to stereotypes. You think female artists can only create gorgeous and exquisite ornaments. When you see works like the Golden Tripod and the Golden Seal, your first reaction is that only male artists would be interested."

Lin Ruiyang only understood at this moment why he was rejected within less than five minutes when he sent an email to Jiang An a few days ago, inviting him to join the website column.

It turns out that Jiang An is Shu Yao.

If photography was not prohibited at the dinner, the entrance would probably have become a red carpet scene with flashing cameras.

When Mr. Chen saw that something was wrong, he immediately winked at the staff next to him.

The staff quickly greeted the crowd of onlookers into the banquet hall.

"What a coincidence! Professor Li's apprentice is also from our Bowen. It's truly an honor for our Bowen." When the corridor was less crowded, President Chen immediately stepped forward to smooth things over. He turned to look at Shu Yao and apologized with a low brow, "Shu Yao, I'm so sorry, but Ruiyang is also considering the safety of tonight's dinner. If the invitation doesn't match the person, what if something goes wrong—"

"Oh?" A teasing voice suddenly sounded from not far behind Mr. Chen, "Looks like I can't get in?"

Everyone turned around in tacit understanding.

I saw Shen Ye in a suit and tie.

He rarely wears suits on weekdays, and it seems that this is the first time Shu Yao has seen him dressed so formally.

You know what, he looks quite decent.

Mr. Chen recognized him immediately and greeted him with a smile on his face. Seeing Zhou Jinghuai's name on the invitation in his hand, he didn't care at all: "Mr. Shen, are you kidding? Mr. Zhou is very busy with official duties. It is our honor to have you attend on his behalf. How can we not let you in?"

Shu Yao was stunned for a moment before he remembered that during the last video conference, Chen Ye had been sitting on the sofa in the corner, not in the camera, and did not make any sound the whole time. No wonder, Mr. Chen did not have any strange reaction at this moment.

He probably still thought that she and Shen Ye didn't know each other.

However, Lin Ruiyang’s focus is different from Shu Yao’s.

He had met the man in front of him three times. The first time was at the mall, where he smashed the surveillance camera for Shu Yao. The second time was at the company, where he sat in on the entire meeting that had put him in such an embarrassing situation.

As for the third time, it was a few days ago in Zhou Jinghuai's office. He saw a graduation photo. There was not only Zhou Jinghuai in it, but also this face that he would never forget.

Later, when he came back and mentioned it to Mr. Chen, he realized that the man in front of him was not only one of the founders of Zhuoyu Technology, but also the second son of Yuanyang Real Estate.

At the same time, he also learned from Mr. Chen that Shen Ye got married not long ago.

Seeing that he was indeed wearing a wedding ring, Lin Ruiyang immediately looked at Shu Yao's hands, but her hands were empty.

Lin Ruiyang was immediately relieved. He heard that Chen Ye got married in a hurry. With his status, it was obvious that it was most likely a business marriage.

As for Shu Yao... he is not a thing of the past, he was just kept outside for fun.

Lin Ruiyang's eyes were filled with undisguised contempt.

But it was fleeting.

*

In the banquet hall.

As a newcomer, Shu Yao sat at a more off-center seat, while Chen Ye sat at the main table.

The two were far apart and had no communication.

But it seemed that the position suited her very well. She ate silently without even raising her head.

Shen Ye glanced at him, a faint smile in his eyes.

The phone vibrated. It was Zhou Jinghuai calling.

Shen Ye went to the empty box next door to answer it, and when he was about to go out, he saw Lin Ruiyang walking in with two glasses of red wine.

He kicked the door shut with a polite smile on his face.

“Mr. Shen, there are so many people next door, I haven’t toasted you properly yet.”

Chen Ye lowered his head and fiddled with his phone, without even raising his head, and responded indifferently: "What's the matter?"

Lin Ruiyang smiled apologetically and said, "I didn't know your identity before, so I apologize for the offense. I hope you can be magnanimous and not take it to heart."

Shen Ye put away his phone, took the red wine glass from his hand, shook it lightly but did not drink it: "Of course not."

"That's good." Lin Ruiyang took a sip of red wine to show his sincerity, "I heard that Mr. Shen is newly married, and I haven't had the chance to wish you a happy marriage yet."

"You're welcome, Mr. Lin."

Lin Ruiyang lowered his voice: "Then President Shen and Shu Yao..."

Shen Ye smiled and didn't care much: "It's not the same relationship as before."

Lin Ruiyang relaxed and spoke without the restraint he had just shown. "Then I would like to congratulate President Shen on escaping the sea of ​​suffering. To be honest, I really didn't wrongly accuse her last time. Most people in the company know about her and my uncle. No matter what I do, I can't possibly use my uncle to make up rumors, right?"

"Oh?" Chen Ye asked with interest, "What's going on between her and your uncle?"

"It's just...someone saw it with their own eyes. When she went to Beijing on a business trip, my uncle went to her room and didn't come out for a long time."

"Have you confirmed this with your uncle?"

"Of course, they're all men. I just couldn't bear to watch it. Fortunately, you broke up with her. Shu Yao, that woman, just leaned over—"

“Wow—”

Before he could finish his words, Lin Ruiyang was poured with a glass of red wine.

His hair was wet and stuck to his forehead, and there were traces of red wine on his face. He looked disheveled. He wiped his face, but there were still red wine stains on his eyelashes, and the collar of his white shirt also looked like it was stained with blood.

A drop of red wine splashed onto Shen Ye's ring finger, staining the ring red.

Shen Ye took a wet wipe from the table and wiped it carefully with his head down.

"You should be thankful that my wife doesn't like me to fight, so my temper has improved a lot in recent years. Otherwise—"

He raised his eyelids and smiled casually.

"The red on your head isn't wine."

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