Chapter 67: Almost Forgot

This sudden turn of events would have left anyone stunned and unable to react. Yet Li Xiaoqing, in her confusion, hurriedly spoke up, "Uncle, you must be mistaken! Jiang Xiaotian is my cousin. He’s just an orphan, penniless and with nothing to his name. You’re wrongly accusing your own son!"

Yang Yuanzhen shot Li Xiaoqing a glance, about to curse, but upon hearing her say that she was Jiang Xiaotian’s cousin, he swallowed his words. At last, he spoke, his voice trembling, "And who are you? Jiang Xiaotian is my business partner—he’s just modest, that’s all."

Yang Yuanzhen, with nowhere to vent his anger, felt utterly aggrieved. By now, even Lian Yiwen had grasped the situation, but he was firmly on Jiang Xiaotian’s side. He withdrew his smile and frowned at Yang Yuanzhen, "What’s going on? Your son has offended Mr. Jiang?"

"This—" Yang Yuanzhen broke into a cold sweat, terrified.

But before he could explain, Jiang Xiaotian laughed, "When did I become your partner? I merely thanked you for fixing my car. If I’d known your son was him, do you think I would have cared about you?"

"Who cares! Stop pretending! Dad! Why are you afraid of him? He’s just a poor loser! He’s Li Xiaoqing’s cousin and as broke as they come!" Yang Feng cursed furiously, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Jiang Xiaotian, as if he wished to tear him apart.

Yang Yuanzhen nearly rolled his eyes in exasperation. This troublemaker still didn’t know how to read the room!

But before he could discipline his son, the usually gentle Lian Yiwen’s gaze became sharp, "What did you just say? Mind your attitude and your words! If you so much as speak to Mr. Jiang like that again, don’t blame me for being rude!"

"No, no, please! Don’t be angry, Supervisor Lian, Mr. Jiang! It’s all a misunderstanding! My son is just like this, he means no harm! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have any friends, right? I’ll apologize to Mr. Jiang on his behalf!" Yang Yuanzhen was frantic. His careful calculations had been upended at the one point he thought safest, and now everything was ruined.

He knew his son’s awful temper all too well! But these people—these were not ordinary folks. He had no way to handle this.

Yang Feng’s friends were now completely silent. Watching everything unfold, it was clear that Jiang Xiaotian’s position was even higher than Yang Feng’s father’s.

But wasn’t he supposed to be a pauper?

Li Xiaoqing shook her head. She couldn’t believe any of it, unable to bear the shock, and she walked up to Jiang Xiaotian, pointing at him angrily, "Jiang Xiaotian, what are you playing at? I just wanted a peaceful birthday, is that so hard? Why must you do this? Are you satisfied seeing Yang Feng beaten? What are you pretending for? You’re nothing but a poor loser!"

Jiang Xiaotian nodded, not arguing, "That’s right, I never said otherwise. The point is, I didn’t hit him, nor did I ask anyone else to. I didn’t come here on my own—Yang Feng's father invited me. Is there a problem with that?"

Li Xiaoqing was instantly silenced.

"Is it so hard to acknowledge me? I’m your cousin, not your enemy. I've never humiliated you; it’s just that you refuse to believe me," Jiang Xiaotian said calmly, without anger, only incomprehension.

Even now, Li Xiaoqing could still blame everything on him.

Lian Yiwen stepped forward, standing beside Jiang Xiaotian. "I’m not sure what happened, but Jiang Xiaotian is a distinguished guest of Platinum. Any disrespect towards him is disrespect towards the Platinum Hotel! If you don’t like it, leave!"

He glanced at Yang Yuanzhen, "You as well. Control your son, or everything you have may be ruined by him."

Yang Yuanzhen didn’t dare show the slightest temper, nodding and bowing in agreement.

He feared Lian Yiwen, but feared Jiang Xiaotian even more.

---

Li Xiaoqing nearly collapsed, feeling dizzy as if in a dream. No matter what, she couldn’t believe it. That poor boy—how could this be?

"Don’t be fooled by him! Jiang Xiaotian is a fraud! I know exactly what he’s worth! He’s been a parasite in my family since childhood! How could he possibly be wealthy? You’ve all been duped!" Li Xiaoqing cried out.

But in the eyes of Lian Yiwen and the others, her words were nonsense.

If it were just about money, they wouldn’t be so wary of Jiang Xiaotian. If it weren’t for Li Xiaoqing being his cousin, they would have thrown her out already.

Jiang Xiaotian looked at Li Xiaoqing, his gaze now filled with nothing but helplessness.

His cousin had changed—she’d become snobbish, looking down on others.

At least last year, she’d brought Jiang Xiaotian to her birthday, thanked him for the gift, even if she didn’t like it.

In just a year, Li Xiaoqing had become this way, and the culprit was Yang Feng.

Seeing his defiant expression, Jiang Xiaotian felt anger rising.

Before he could vent it, he suddenly felt a slap on the back of his head.

"Damn!" Jiang Xiaotian spun around angrily, but immediately softened.

Standing behind him was none other than Ling’er, dressed in an evening gown.

Judging by her expression, this couldn’t mean anything good...

The next second, Jiang Xiaotian remembered—he’d promised Ling’er dinner! He’d nearly forgotten, having lingered here for so long!

"Ling’er...I ran into some trouble..." The usually aloof Jiang Xiaotian was now stammering like a shy girl.

Under Ling’er’s commanding presence, no one dared act out.

She swept her gaze around, snorted coldly, "Hurry up!"

Yang Feng saw this and immediately perked up.

"So you’ve offended her too! Jiang Xiaotian, do you know who she is?" He jumped to his feet, and Yang Yuanzhen couldn’t stop him.

Especially as the words left his mouth, the fat man looked utterly hopeless, probably already planning his demise.

"Huh? Are you really not afraid of dying?" Jiang Xiaotian felt he was dealing with an idiot.

But Yang Feng ignored him, "Jiang Xiaotian! Do you know whose woman she is? How dare you mess with her! If I take a photo of you together, you’ll be finished!"

Yang Yuanzhen was on the verge of tears, mouth agape, throat blocked, unable to utter a sound.

---

As for Li Xiaoqing, this was perhaps her last chance to save face, so she quickly tried to explain to Ling’er, "Sister, you may not know, but this man is my cousin. Today is my birthday, and I don’t know what trick he used to deceive everyone, causing me and my friends to be humiliated, even beaten! But I know him inside out—I can’t stand it!"

Ling’er frowned, looking at her, then at Yang Feng, and finally glared at Jiang Xiaotian, "This is your cousin?"

Jiang Xiaotian nodded helplessly.

Everyone waited to hear what Ling’er would say, but she didn’t even glance at Li Xiaoqing. She turned away, "Boring! Hurry up and come back, don’t make me wait any longer!"

He dared not disobey, nodding his head as quickly as a drum.

Yang Feng and Li Xiaoqing were utterly dumbfounded.

Li Xiaoqing collapsed into a chair, her face pale, mumbling to herself, "How can this be...It’s impossible..."

Clearly, the goddess of Platinum knew Jiang Xiaotian.

Yang Feng’s lips were drained of color.

Could it be that the top-floor restaurant she’d reserved today was for dinner with Jiang Xiaotian?

Could all of this be true?

Li Xiaoqing looked up at Jiang Xiaotian, her lips dry, "Cousin, you..."

Jiang Xiaotian remained indifferent, "I told you, I didn’t lie to you. By the way..."

He took a set of car keys from his pocket, "I really do have a car. Yang Feng’s father really did invite me—I had no idea it was you guys, nor did I intend to interfere. So, carry on with your meal, I’m leaving now."

Jiang Xiaotian reminded Lian Yiwen that their table was on the house, since it was Li Xiaoqing’s birthday.

No matter how awful his cousin was, she was still family, and Jiang Xiaotian decided to do one last good deed—and humiliate Yang Feng a bit more.

He ignored Yang Yuanzhen and happily went upstairs.

Compared to them, Ling’er was far more important.

After Jiang Xiaotian left, Yang Yuanzhen stormed off, wanting nothing to do with his son and needing time to think.

Li Xiaoqing sat in a daze, with no desire to celebrate her birthday.

After a long while, she sighed.

Perhaps she really had missed out on something...