Chapter 470

Chapter 470 Both Sides of the Hand Are Flesh and Blood

Qin Yueran’s words were razor-sharp, landing like resounding slaps across Shi Cheng’s face!

Because she was the Queen of Junlan, she could afford to be this arrogant!

Qin Yueran’s appearance had plunged the entire scene into an unbearable awkwardness!

While nursing the throbbing pain, Shi Cheng hadn’t missed a word Qin Yueran said. He had heard her clearly — there is only one person at this table worthy of a toast from me, and that is Su Rui!

Why? On what grounds? What right did a lowly pharmaceutical sales rep have to receive a toast from the Queen of Junlan?

Shi Cheng’s head was buzzing. He couldn’t wrap his mind around it — tonight’s dinner had been completely under his control, so why had the power dynamic suddenly flipped on him?

That infuriating woman had exposed his lies, not only leaving him with no way to save face, but also completely overturning the impression the Xia family elders had of him!

Xia Min looked at the imperious Qin Yueran and let out a quiet sigh. She truly was a descendant of the Qin family — this arrogance, this pride, even her temperament was identical to her grandfather’s!

Xia Min had already figured out that Shi Cheng had tried to use Qin Yueran’s name to elevate his own status, but he hadn’t expected to end up shooting himself in the foot.

Ma Lan shot her husband a surprised glance. You can know a person’s face but not their heart — she never would have thought that Shi Cheng, whom both of them had thought so highly of, was such a glory-seeking braggart. A character flaw like that was practically disqualifying.

Their daughter absolutely could not marry a man like this.

In that instant, Xia Min and Ma Lan had both arrived at the same conclusion simultaneously.

If Shi Cheng had known that Qin Yueran’s words had caused him such devastating consequences, he never would have come to Junlan Kempinski for dinner in the first place!

After delivering her imperious declaration, Qin Yueran couldn’t be bothered to spare another glance at the shell-shocked Shi Cheng. She turned to Su Rui instead, offering him a smile that seemed filled with genuine respect, and said, “Mr. Su Rui, your presence honors all of Junlan. I simply must offer you a toast today — please do give Yueran the honor.”

Her attitude was one of complete deference, a world apart from how she had just treated Shi Cheng — truly heaven and earth!

Xia Qing watched her best friend’s demeanor with equal surprise. In her memory, whenever Qin Yueran laid eyes on Su Rui, she would turn into a fierce tigress — it was simply impossible for the two of them not to bicker and argue!

What had gotten into her today? Why was Qin Yueran being so polite, even respectful, toward Su Rui? Somehow, Xia Qing caught a whiff of something suspicious!

She smiled wryly and glanced at Qin Yueran, silently praying that this pair of bickering lovebirds wouldn’t cause a scene in front of her parents.

But how could Xia Qing have known that Su Rui and Qin Yueran’s encounters had long since gone beyond mere “verbal sparring” — just yesterday, the two of them had been going at it in a standalone villa until the world turned upside down, and even now the fourth young miss of the Qin family was still walking with unsteady legs!

Watching Qin Yueran offer him a toast with a face full of sincerity, Su Rui shuddered for no apparent reason. He stared at that crystal-clear glass of baijiu and couldn’t help but recall the scene of Qin Yueran drugging him the day before. Even now his lower abdomen was killing him! Strong medicine really does a number on you!

Damn it, what if this glass of wine was also spiked with some potent aphrodisiac!

Su Rui pinched the glass between two fingers, his expression looking like someone who’d been constipated for days — so conflicted it was painful to watch.

At this moment, on the sprawling terrace, every guest’s gaze had converged on this table. The Queen of Junlan, Qin Yueran, personally offering a toast meant that the recipient’s status and identity were quite extraordinary indeed!

Naturally, everyone was also speculating about where exactly this Su Rui had come from, and what could have made the fourth young miss of the Qin family treat him with such gravity.

Ma Lan and Xia Min exchanged a glance, both wearing wry smiles. The scene before them made them simultaneously realize that they had both misjudged the situation — and misjudged it spectacularly.

Simply by taking Shi Cheng’s one-sided account at face value, they had let themselves be swayed, forming a preconceived notion that Su Rui was no good. Yet after meeting him in person, the calm and composed air he projected made it impossible not to question Shi Cheng’s words — and Qin Yueran’s appearance was undoubtedly the strongest proof of all. If Su Rui’s status and identity weren’t genuinely remarkable, why would the fourth young miss of the Qin family need to lower herself like this?

Xia Min shook his head with a self-deprecating smile. He had always prided himself on being an excellent judge of character, but the moment the matter involved his daughter’s boyfriend, he had immediately lost his composure!

Qin Yueran smiled and glanced at Xia Qing, then turned gracefully to Su Rui and said, “Mr. Su, thank you for honoring me with your presence. I’ll drink first as a show of respect.”

With that, she tilted her snow-white chin upward and drained the baijiu in her glass in one go.

Holding the empty glass, Qin Yueran fixed her bright gaze on Su Rui. She seemed to have recalled the way Su Rui had thoroughly exhausted her the night before, and a flush crept across her face, giving her the appearance of someone faintly embarrassed.

Of course, Xia Qing and the others didn’t read into it — they all assumed Qin Yueran simply couldn’t hold her liquor, and that the redness was naturally the effect of the alcohol.

What they didn’t realize was that Qin Yueran, as the Queen of Junlan, had inherited the drinking capacity of veteran commanders like Qin Zhizhang — she could drink an entire table under the table on her own without breaking a sweat. A single small glass of mild, light-aroma baijiu went down for her like a sip of water!

Su Rui’s expression remained tortured. He was now seriously convinced that the wine had either been spiked with a potent aphrodisiac or a powerful laxative!

What if he drank it and ended up with an explosive episode right then and there?

Su Rui had absolutely developed a full-blown persecution complex!

“Mr. Su, are you looking down on Yueran?” Qin Yueran shook her head ever so slightly, a barely perceptible look of grievance crossing her face, and let out a soft sigh.

That single sigh was enough to break the hearts of half the people present.

The Queen of Junlan, whom so many had sought in vain — actually being rebuffed by a man?

Although the incident of Qin Yueran being stolen away at her own wedding had circulated widely among the upper echelons of the capital, very few people had actually laid eyes on Su Rui, and that was especially true in Ninghai.

How could this man bear to refuse Qin Yueran? What a waste! The men present all thought to themselves that if they were the ones being toasted like this, they would have grabbed a whole bottle without a second thought and downed it on the spot!

Xia Min and his wife were also momentarily stunned. What was going on? The way it looked, Qin Yueran actually seemed to have feelings for Su Rui?

What on earth did this man their daughter liked have going for him, that he could draw this kind of reaction from Qin Yueran?

Xia Qing, for her part, was completely unbothered. She pressed her lips together with a quiet smile. She knew Qin Yueran better than anyone — she had always been bold and passionate, wearing her heart on her sleeve. Even if she occasionally got sentimental over matters of marriage, she would never show this kind of wistful, aggrieved expression. She was absolutely putting on a performance!

Ma Lan quietly nudged Xia Qing. From where she stood as a mother, her daughter’s nerves seemed far too steady — it was obvious she was facing a rival in love, so how could she still be smiling?

Shi Cheng, meanwhile, felt like his brain was about to short-circuit. His attempt to humiliate Su Rui had backfired completely, leaving him the one stripped of all dignity. The Queen of Junlan, who had just been mocking him when he tried to cozy up to her, was now showing unmistakable favor toward his rival!

If there had been a hole in the ground, he would have dived into it without a moment’s hesitation!

After much internal struggle, Su Rui finally caved and said with a distinct lack of backbone, “I’m not feeling too well today, I’m afraid I won’t be able to accept Miss Yueran’s toast.”

His body was as sturdy as an ox — how could he possibly be unwell?

That said, Su Rui wasn’t exactly lying either. He genuinely did have a minor ailment… all thanks to those two bottles of potent medicine that deserved a thousand curses.

Xia Qing didn’t know the full story, but based on past experience, she figured Su Rui was saying this just to go against Qin Yueran again. This pair of bickering lovebirds was really giving her a headache!

Xia Min, on the other hand, felt a quiet admiration stir within him. It seemed this Su Rui was indeed no ordinary person — there was something unflappable about him. His own daughter couldn’t hold a candle to the fourth young miss of the Qin family in terms of status and standing, yet faced with Qin Yueran’s overtures, Su Rui remained completely unmoved, even going so far as to tactfully decline. That showed this young man was deeply devoted to his daughter. His ability to resist temptation was remarkable!

In today’s society, young people with that kind of willpower and character were exceedingly rare!

This wasn’t Xia Min being overly sentimental — he truly had a gift for reading the big picture from small details!

Ma Lan felt the same way. By comparison, Shi Cheng’s earlier willingness to lie just to get close to Qin Yueran was simply beneath contempt!

“Mr. Su, are you truly unwilling to drink this glass?” Qin Yueran’s face still wore that faint expression of grievance and melancholy. Anyone who knew her well, seeing that look, would have thought they were seeing a ghost!

“I’m very sorry, I really am not feeling well today. I can’t handle the stimulation of alcohol.” Su Rui was firm and righteous.

Qin Yueran’s gaze swept imperceptibly over the two bottles of baijiu sitting on the table, and she smiled faintly. “In that case, Yueran won’t press the matter. I hope Mr. Su and your friends enjoy your time at Junlan Kempinski Hotel.”

The moment those words left her mouth, she was already cursing inwardly, “You bastard, how dare you play dumb with me — how come you weren’t this coy and hesitant when you were going at it on my body yesterday! Just you wait, next time I’ll have you cut down to size!”

Throughout the entire exchange, the Queen of Junlan had shown no sign whatsoever of knowing Xia Qing — not even the most ordinary glance between them. It was unclear whether this was out of guilt toward Xia Qing, since it was Xia Qing who had fallen for Su Rui first, yet she herself had gone ahead and tumbled into bed with him, making her something of an interloper; or perhaps Qin Yueran wanted to make amends for her guilt by bringing Xia Qing and Su Rui together and driving away Shi Cheng, that oblivious rival.

Whatever the reason, the fourth young miss of the Qin family couldn’t have been feeling at ease inside. On one side was the man she loved, on the other was her closest friend — both equally dear to her!