Chapter 215: The Bai Family
Shi Lan was greatly reassured by his words, and she couldn’t help but smile. "Okay."
She trusted Mu Tangfeng.
Jiang Xia, who was sitting on the sofa, watched them with envy and walked over as well.
Jiang Yan was stunned to see how clingy the two men were to Shi Lan. She remembered how they had both claimed to dislike females in the past. The contrast in their current attitude was shocking, but it also made her feel quite relieved.
’From the looks of it, Lanlan definitely isn’t being forced into this.’
She decided not to be an annoying third wheel and went to find her own Beast Husband to soothe her rattled nerves. It had been a night of one ’surprise’ after another.
After the commotion surrounding Shi Lan and the Jiang and Mu families gradually subsided, the banquet suddenly grew lively again with the arrival of a new guest.
"Miss Bai is here."
An unknown man suddenly spoke up, and everyone turned to look at the main entrance.
As the most prominent young female of her generation, Bai Rao entered with her parents, wearing an elegant black mermaid-style gown. In the past, she often wore white dresses, giving everyone the impression of a pure and aloof beauty. But today’s outfit completely upended that perception.
She wore a white pearl coronet, her red lips were slightly pursed, and her faintly amber eyes held an impartial coldness, as if she looked down on every man there.
"Miss Bai, you look truly beautiful today."
As soon as Bai Rao arrived, many of the surrounding men grabbed red roses from the servers and rushed forward to shower her with attention. She frowned. This was an Imperial Family birthday gala, and she was now the Second Prince’s fiancée. Her status was sensitive; she couldn’t be so ostentatious.
Her red lips curled into what seemed to be a gentle smile as she scanned them one by one, but there was no mirth in her eyes. "Thank you, but that won’t be necessary."
Mrs. Bai watched her daughter with pride and satisfaction in her eyes. Although she disliked her primary husband, he had certainly done her proud by giving her Bai Rao. It was because of her daughter that the Bai Family’s status had risen so much over the years, to the point where they were nearly on par with the Four Great Families.
Mr. Bai noticed the gentle look his wife gave him, and his smile grew even brighter. He silently tightened his grip on her hand while looking at the other tall man behind Mrs. Bai, a hint of disdain in his eyes.
This was the servant husband Mrs. Bai had been favoring most recently, which was why she had specially brought him to the banquet.
Du Yi inwardly scoffed. She had to admit, as much as she despised Mrs. Bai, she was indeed envious that she had managed to give birth to a daughter.
And such an outstanding one at that.
As if sensing her mood, Jiang Hua leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Wife, if we work a little harder, maybe we can give Xiaxia a little sister."
Du Yi’s face flushed slightly as she gave him an exasperated look. "You’re so shameless. Mind the occasion."
Jiang Hua just smiled. "Alright, then I’ll bring it up again at home."
Bai Rao’s rejection left a trail of broken hearts. It was public knowledge that she only had one Beast Husband so far—the Second Prince—so the young men were all eyeing the four remaining, clearly defined slots with ravenous ambition.
However, none of the men dared to block her path for fear of annoying her. Mrs. Bai was very satisfied with her daughter’s performance. After all, with a daughter so outstanding, her Beast Husbands couldn’t just be any riffraff.
As she thought this, her gaze searched for the Mu Family. The Jiang Family was out of the question, but the Mu Family’s 2S Level son was a worthy match for her daughter.
Mrs. Bai led Bai Rao toward Mrs. Mu, who was chatting with Chang Liu. "Well, what are you two talking about?"
When the two saw her approach, they both fell silent in unison.
Mrs. Mu frowned slightly, while Chang Liu offered a faint smile. "Nothing much, Mrs. Bai. Your daughter has certainly grown more and more beautiful."
Mrs. Bai’s face instantly beamed. "Oh, you’re too kind. Isn’t your son also quite outstanding? I remember your eldest son, Bai Feng, became a Major General, didn’t he?"
"That Bai Feng, ah, I always knew he was a smart and capable child. To achieve so much at such a young age... If he weren’t somewhat related by blood to my daughter, I’d have thought an alliance between our families would have been wonderful."
Hearing this, Bai Rao’s expression secretly soured.
’I prefer to find my own partners. What on earth is Mother talking about? Bai Feng’s father is from a branch of the Bai Family. How could she even entertain such an idea? I have no desire to give birth to a deformed child in the future.’
It wasn’t just Bai Rao; as Bai Feng’s own mother, the smile vanished from Chang Liu’s lips as well. She had always despised Mrs. Bai’s vanity and had no intention of letting her son marry into such a family, only to be tormented by her.
She didn’t respond. Seeing that she was being ignored, Mrs. Bai’s smile faltered. She turned to Mrs. Mu instead. "Mrs. Mu, isn’t your son here?"
"Congratulations are in order. Your son is truly fortunate to be able to recover from a spiritual power collapse."
At these words, a flicker of interest appeared in Bai Rao’s eyes. She, too, looked at Mrs. Mu, still unable to understand why the collapse values of those few in the prison had suddenly dropped to a low-level.
’They were so resistant to treatment last time...’
Since it was her son being praised, Mrs. Mu responded politely despite her dislike for Mrs. Bai. "He’s here, but he’s currently with the female he fancies."
She knew exactly what Mrs. Bai was thinking and suddenly felt a wave of gratitude that her son wasn’t interested in Bai Rao.
She had nothing against Bai Rao herself, but Mrs. Bai was simply impossible to get along with.
Back when they were younger, her relationship with Du Yi and Mrs. Bai had been decent enough. Who would have thought that Mrs. Bai would go behind their backs and try to sow discord with the men who were fond of them?
Having been rebuffed twice in a row, Mrs. Bai’s expression soured. She forced a smile and asked, "Oh? Your son has already found a female he likes so soon?"
As she spoke, her eyes scanned the crowd. Mu Tangfeng stood out in his vibrant blue suit and orange-yellow hair, a stark contrast to his surroundings. She spotted him quickly, along with the female by his side.
Mrs. Bai frowned. She had caught a fleeting glimpse of this female at the last graduation ceremony.
She looked again and saw Jiang Xia was next to her as well.
Bai Rao followed her mother’s gaze. For some reason, she wasn’t particularly surprised to see those two men by Shi Lan’s side.
’I guess she got lucky, sticking by them through their time in prison. She actually managed to make it through.’
Seeing both his wife and daughter looking in that direction, Mr. Bai followed their gaze.
When he saw the female surrounded by two men, his vision nearly went black. ’That useless piece of trash, Donald! He called himself a top-tier bounty hunter, yet an S-level male can’t even handle one worthless female!’
’I haven’t been able to contact him for days. I thought he had already dealt with her. How is she back?’
Mr. Bai broke out in a cold sweat. He glanced guiltily at his wife, and seeing no suspicion in her eyes, he let out a silent sigh of relief.
However, Bai Rao noticed that something was off with him.
Bai Rao could have a bad temper at times, but she was still very concerned about her father. She could empathize; after all, Mr. Bai had raised her with great care over the years.
She supported him with a concerned expression. "Father, are you all right?"
"Is your illness acting up again?"
Hearing this, Mrs. Bai also glanced at him, a faint look of impatience in her eyes. ’If he weren’t my primary husband, I really wouldn’t want to bring this sickly weakling out in public to disgrace us.’
The servant husband behind her, however, gazed thoughtfully between Shi Lan in the distance and Mr. Bai, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.