163: Chapter 164 Why Don't You Just Die, You Useless Husband?
Zhang Fan and Gu Jingshen witnessed everything from the corner. Gu Jingshen was so angry that his fists were clenched tight. He cursed in a low voice, "Those two bastards, they've gone too far! Qin Fei is a daughter of the Qin Family; how can she turn her back on her own family and bully her own mother and sister like this? And Zhao Lei is even more of a scumbag. Does he think he's something just because he has money?"
Zhang Fan's expression darkened instantly. He tapped his phone screen with his fingertip—the clock had just ticked past 19:15, leaving only 15 minutes until Xiao Chen's so-called "show-off time."
He quietly slipped his phone to his side and lowered his voice to send a voice message: "Boss, how is the situation on your end?"
Qin Xue's call came through quickly, her voice steady: "Don't worry, I've arrived. The people are all arranged and waiting in every corner of the banquet hall."
"You're here?" Zhang Fan turned his head sharply, his gaze quickly sweeping over the bustling crowd in the banquet hall, but he couldn't see Qin Xue. He sent another follow-up voice message, "Where are you?"
"I'm in the multimedia room upstairs with the boss, keeping watch." Qin Xue's voice suddenly dropped, carrying a hint of uncertainty, "Zhang Fan, let me confirm one more time—are there really terrorists? Don't you dare set me up."
"I wouldn't dare set you up even if I had the guts of ten men!" Zhang Fan said, laughing bitterly, "If something goes wrong, wouldn't Old Gu tear me apart? Relax, this is a great opportunity for you to earn some merit."
"Fine, if the people you mentioned really show up, we'll act immediately." Qin Xue paused, then added, "Oh right... keep an eye on Jingshen. He tends to lose his cool when things happen."
"Damn! Even at a time like this, you're still showing off your love!" Zhang Fan rolled his eyes at the phone, grumbling to himself as he put it away.
His gaze returned to Xiao Chen. The man was still leaning against the pillar, his fingers tapping rapidly on his phone screen, as if the surrounding arguments and Qin Yan's reddened eyes were separated from him by a transparent sheet of glass, completely unaffected.
But Zhang Fan could see it clearly: a nearly imperceptible cold smile curled at the corner of Xiao Chen's mouth, and deep within his eyes lurked an irrepressible anticipation, as if he were waiting for a "good show" that had already been scripted to begin.
Beside him, Gu Jingshen could no longer hold back. With a sudden "whoosh," he stood up abruptly, his fists clenched tight, looking ready to charge forward.
Zhang Fan quickly reached out and grabbed Gu Jingshen, who was about to rush forward, lowering his voice to persuade him: "What are you in such a hurry for? Don't you see that her husband doesn't even care?"
"Damn it! Don't you dare mention that bastard to me!" Gu Jingshen's temper flared. He shot a fierce glare at Xiao Chen, who was still looking down at his phone playing games, and cursed through gritted teeth, "His own wife is being harassed like this, and he doesn't even make a peep. Is he even a man?"
"He's doing it on purpose." Zhang Fan tugged on his arm, lowering his voice even further, "He's waiting for Qin Fei and Zhao Lei to make the scene even uglier, waiting for Qin Yan to completely break down, and then he'll jump out to play the 'savior' and put on a cliché 'son-in-law's comeback' show."
Gu Jingshen was stunned for two seconds before he suddenly realized what was going on, his voice rising a notch: "Holy crap! Has this guy watched too many short dramas? Is his brain flooded? No wonder he refuses to do anything; it turns out he's waiting to watch the Qin Family make a fool of themselves! His heart is so black!"
In the banquet hall, Qin Fei was still complaining to Mother Qin that the "birthday banquet was too shabby," while Zhao Lei was off to the side showing off his luxury car and wealth.
With Qin Fei holding his arm, he walked to the main table. His gaze swept over the Luzhou Laojiao on the table, and he suddenly stopped. He picked up the wine bottle to look at the label and sneered, "Mom, the wine you're using for this birthday banquet is probably only worth a hundred yuan or so, right? Any bottle of red wine in my home's wine cabinet could buy a whole case of this. And this food—the scales on the steamed sea bass weren't even scraped off properly, and the braised pork is so greasy it sticks to your mouth. You call this a 'birthday banquet'?"
He intentionally raised his voice so that the guests at the surrounding tables could hear him clearly.
The originally noisy banquet hall fell silent instantly. The relatives of the Qin Family lowered their heads, their expressions embarrassed. Most of them were ordinary wage earners who rarely got to eat a good meal, yet Zhao Lei made it sound as if they were "eating trash."
Mother Qin, Shen Lan, held her chopsticks with a hand that was trembling slightly. Just as she was about to speak to smooth things over, she was interrupted by Zhao Lei: "Mom, I don't mean to criticize, but you're just too frugal. Look at the birthday banquet Fei'er threw for my mother last time; she used '82 Lafite, and the dishes were prepared by a Michelin-starred chef brought in from Shanghai—that's what you call class! But you—holding it in this dumpy little shop, using this cheap stuff. If word gets out, people will think the Qin Family is so destitute!"
Qin Fei chimed in from the side, her eyes sweeping over Xiao Chen in the corner, her tone sharp: "Isn't it just because some people are incompetent? If Xiao Chen could make money like Zhao Lei, would Mom have to settle for this?"
These words acted like a fuse, instantly drawing Zhao Lei's attention to Xiao Chen.
He pulled his hand away from Qin Fei and sauntered over to Xiao Chen's table. Looking down at him, he kicked the leg of Xiao Chen's chair with his toe: "Hey, you loser, did you hear me? I'm talking to you!"
Xiao Chen was busy looking down, playing star path: reboot, his fingers sliding rapidly across the screen, not even lifting his eyelids.
Zhao Lei's expression darkened instantly. He snatched the phone from Xiao Chen and smashed it hard onto the floor. The phone screen cracked with a "snap," and the game froze on the "Character Died" screen.
"You motherf*cker, you dare ignore me?" Zhao Lei rolled up his sleeves, revealing the Rolex on his wrist. "Let me tell you, Xiao Chen, you're just a good-for-nothing loser who lives off a woman! Qin Yan must have been blind to marry you. You live in the Qin Family's house, spend the Qin Family's money, and don't even have a job. You do nothing but play games all day. You're not even as good as a dog!"
These words were like a poisoned blade, stabbing deep into Qin Yan's heart.
She was already running a high fever and her face was pale. Hearing Zhao Lei humiliate Xiao Chen like this and seeing the phone smashed, she couldn't hold back any longer. She rushed over, trying to stop Zhao Lei: "Brother-in-law, don't go too far! Xiao Chen, he..."
"Too far?" Zhao Lei pushed Qin Yan away, with such force that she stumbled back two steps. "You call this too far? I'm helping you see reality! If you stay with a loser like this, you'll never have a future. If I were you, I would've divorced him long ago and found someone rich and powerful. Wouldn't that be better than being with him?"
Xiao Chen finally raised his head slowly. There was not a hint of anger in his pitch-black eyes, only icy indifference.
He stared at Zhao Lei, a faint cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth, as if he were looking at a clown: "Are you done?"
"What? You want to hit me?" Zhao Lei stiffened his neck and puffed out his chest arrogantly. "Let me tell you, I, Zhao Lei, have connections in both the underworld and the legitimate world in Jiangcheng. If you touch a single finger of mine, I'll make sure you can't stay in Jiangcheng!"
The surrounding guests held their breath. Some quietly took out their phones to record, while others stepped back, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
Mother Qin rushed over, crying and shouting, trying to hold Zhao Lei back: "Zhao Lei, don't hit him, let's talk this out!"
"Talk it out?" Zhao Lei shoved Mother Qin aside. She stumbled and nearly fell, but was caught by a relative nearby.
Zhao Lei rolled up his sleeves and was about to strike Xiao Chen in the face. He was certain that Xiao Chen wouldn't dare to fight back; after all, for the past three years, Xiao Chen had always been a soft pushover in the Qin Family who "didn't fight back when hit or talk back when scolded."
But just as his fist was about to touch Xiao Chen's cheek, Qin Yan suddenly rushed over and stood in front of Xiao Chen.
Her already weak body was knocked off balance by Zhao Lei. Everything went black before her eyes, and she heard Mother Qin's crying in her ears, but her body felt as if it had been filled with lead, and she collapsed straight down.
"Yan Yan!" Mother Qin let out a heart-wrenching scream and lunged over to hold Qin Yan, only to find her eyes tightly closed, her face pale as paper, and her breathing becoming faint. "Quick! Call an ambulance! Yan Yan has fainted!"
The banquet hall was in total chaos. The relatives gathered around, helping in a flurry of activity. Some pinched Qin Yan's philtrum, others pulled out their phones to call 120, and some accused Zhao Lei of "being too ruthless."
Watching Qin Yan lying on the ground, Zhao Lei also panicked, muttering to himself: "I didn't push her... she rushed over herself..."