klisemfg Chapter 290 The Person to Protect
Chapter 290 The Person to Protect
At a table not far away, Ying Rui was originally sitting facing the restaurant entrance. She had clearly dressed up for the evening; a lake-green dress made her skin appear exceptionally fair, and her already delicate face was made even more stunning by the makeup. She was undeniably beautiful; her exquisite features were truly pleasing to the eye.
Ying Rui was overjoyed to receive a call from Jiang Yan today. She thought he wouldn't be back until tomorrow. Although her birthday was tomorrow, it wasn't important to her. The important thing was that he had made an appointment with her. It was the first time he had formally asked her out, and he even asked her to bring her parents.
Although she had tentatively asked why her parents were being invited, Jiang Yan simply replied that he had never truly treated their whole family to a meal before; it was always her grandfather who arranged it. This time, he planned to host the meal himself. Ying Rui was overjoyed upon hearing this.
She had been looking forward to it all the time, at least until she saw the two people walk in from the restaurant entrance.
What will he say to me tonight? Will he realize that Ying Rui is the most suitable wife for me? Will he change his mind and really start walking down the aisle with me?
But all these hopes were shattered when he saw Siyi.
Like colorful bubbles that had been floating above her head, they were mercilessly shattered one by one, leaving only an empty heart, a feeling that was indescribable.
How could he bring her along?
Wasn't Jiang Yan going too far? How could he bring this woman to their family dinner?!
Jiang Yan looked at Ying Rui, who was standing up not far away with a pale face and a questioning look in her eyes. He raised an eyebrow without making a sound, reached out and gently took Si Yi's hand, turned to look at her, and said, "Don't worry, you just need to sit next to me in a while. You just need to listen to what I say and don't have to say anything."
To say I wasn't moved would be a lie.
She already had little resistance to this man, and his current words and actions were clearly aimed at completely breaching her last, already incredibly weak, line of defense.
Siyi coughed lightly, "...What do you want to say, but is it not appropriate to tell me in private?"
It wasn't that she was afraid of Ying Rui; that kind of girl just had the mentality that what she couldn't have was the best. She was so much older than Ying Rui, so naturally she wouldn't really hold a grudge against her. But the two people next to her were, after all, elders, and their blatant behavior seemed to disregard other people's feelings.
“For me, nothing is more important than you.” Jiang Yan put her arm around Si Yi’s shoulder and pulled her into her arms. Through her steady breathing, she lingered in Si Yi’s fragrance, and her eyes became somewhat ambiguous. “You just need to follow me. Don’t worry about anything. Come here.”
She was eventually pulled along by him. In fact, Siyi knew that any woman would want to defend her position in front of the man she liked.
She is not a saint; she also has emotions and desires. She does not deny that at this moment, she also wants to defend herself.
So even though she felt that this behavior seemed a bit excessive, she still followed him forward.
"Yan Hui, you've arrived?" It was Ying's father who stood up first. He was used to big occasions, and while the other two were dumbfounded, he managed to keep the scene in check. "And who is this young lady?"
"Ye Siyi." Jiang Yan gently nudged Siyi to sit down. He pulled out a chair for her and waited for her to sit down in a very gentlemanly manner before sitting down next to Siyi. Looking at Ying's father, he said calmly, "I brought her here today because I have some things I want to say to everyone."
Seeing this series of actions, Ying Rui was furious. Even though she was usually very patient, her delicate face was now filled with intense anger and dissatisfaction.
Mother Ying, feeling sorry for her daughter, was naturally not as calm as her husband. She couldn't help but stand up, pointing at Jiang Yan Hui and questioning, "Yan Hui, what do you mean by this? Do you even respect the Ying family? You invited us here today. We traveled all the way from City A to City B just to have a meal with you, and you brought this woman out with you. What do you mean by this?"
The nominal "mother-in-law" naturally had the right to speak to him like that. Jiang Yanhui was very good-natured and did not get angry. Faced with the elder's questioning, he simply smiled calmly, but his deep eyes were looking at Ying Rui. "Please don't be angry. Now that I'm here, I will naturally explain. Why don't we sit down and order some food? I know you must be very tired from coming all the way from City A. Let's eat first."
"Are you kidding me? You want us to eat in front of this woman?"
Mother Ying couldn't hide her anger; her face had completely changed. Normally, the two elders of the Ying family were quite accommodating to Jiang Yan Hui, understanding the immense influence of the Jiang and Lin families in City A. To be honest, they naturally felt honored to have Jiang Yan Hui as their son-in-law. But face aside, they were experienced and knew that the young couple's relationship wasn't good. Plus, their daughter had been abroad for years, and they had initially thought that with time, feelings would develop. After all, these days, which wealthy young man didn't engage in business marriages? And those marriages, once arranged, would last a lifetime.
But yesterday all the newspapers were reporting that this woman had given birth to two children for Jiang Yanhui outside of their marriage, and Xiao Rui had been feeling down ever since.
He had originally thought that he had specially invited them to dinner today to apologize, but he didn't expect that he would bring this woman along. Wasn't this just slapping the two elders in the face?
The Ying family is no small family. How many of Jiang Yan Hui's Jiang Group's projects received funding only because of her husband's influence? If it weren't for the marriage alliance with the Ying family three years ago, would Jiang Yan Hui be where she is today?
In the eyes of the two elders of the Ying family, his behavior was exactly like that of a "Chen Shimei" (a notorious figure in Chinese folklore known for abandoning his wife, Chen Shimei).
Finally, Mr. Ying couldn't help but cough lightly, signaling to Mrs. Ying to calm down. After a moment's thought, he spoke, "Yan Hui, your behavior is indeed inappropriate. Regardless of whether you brought this Miss Ye here today to explain things to us or to talk to Xiao Rui..."
"Yes, I am here to explain."
Jiang Yan finally spoke. He sat in his chair, idly toying with a wine glass in front of him with his right hand. The orange light from above shone down on the rim of the glass, casting dappled light that reflected in his eyes. But there was no tenderness in his eyes. His gaze was icy as he interrupted Ying's father, saying directly, "But I'm not here to explain to you. I'm here to explain to her."
He turned to look at Siyi, his originally cold gaze softening. His deep voice was always captivating, but now, Siyi felt that every word he spoke carried a magical power that could draw her into the depths of his heart, making her almost unable to extricate herself.
He said, "Now let me formally introduce you to the woman sitting next to me. She is the woman I, Jiang Yan Hui, have wanted to protect for the rest of my life. Her name is Ye Si Yi, a professional lawyer, and she is twenty-eight years old this year. She has two children, but those two children are not illegitimate children. They are my children, Jiang Yan Hui's children."
Siyi's heart felt heavy, as if it had been struck by something, and that corner of her heart seemed to have been frozen before.
But at that moment, she only heard the sound of ice cracking, as if a soft spring breeze was blowing into her body through her limbs, and the tip of the iceberg completely melted...
"Jiang Yan Hui, how could you..."
Ying Rui, who had been holding back her words, finally couldn't hold back anymore. Her eyes were red, and she looked so pitiful that she was almost unbearable to look at. "How could you do this to me? Even if you don't like me, you can't do this to me... You know perfectly well... How could you do this? How could you do this in front of my parents?"
The atmosphere instantly became tense. Looking at Ying Rui's appearance, Si Yi's feelings of gratitude had already largely dissipated.
She knew she seemed to be the central figure in the whole affair, and it wouldn't be very ethical to just indulge in her own pleasure at this point.
"Yan Hui, you and Xiao Rui have been married for so many years, and what you did today is really too much! Here's what we'll do, I'll call your grandfather over now. Since you don't intend to handle this properly, then let us elders handle it!"
Ying's father, being a shrewd man, had already realized that Jiang Yan was not going to listen to either soft or hard tactics today.
He had known for a long time that a woman named Ye Siyi existed, but she had disappeared for the past five years. The news reports were indeed a bit unexpected for him, and seeing her today was even more shocking.
However, after calming down, he looked at the problem from the perspective of a successful man. He felt that as long as Jiang Yan was willing to turn back, it was not a big deal.
It would be best if a man like Jiang Yanhui could wholeheartedly love his daughter, but it would be expected if he had a lover outside the marriage.
That's why he didn't break off relations at first, but now that he can see that Jiang Yan Hui doesn't take him seriously at all, he is naturally displeased and pretends to take out his phone to call Lin Zhen Biao.
Jiang Yan Hui wasn't in a hurry at all. She merely curled the corner of her mouth slightly, lazily flicked the outside of the glass with her middle finger, and said in a deep voice, unhurriedly, "Are you sure it was me who went too far, and not your daughter who went too far first?"