However, the bride and groom didnât have any time to feel relieved because todayâs ordeal wasnât done yet. They still had to go to the wedding banquet. Its scheduled duration was longer than the wedding ceremony itself.
Long Tengfei and Yang Jiahui were inside their vehicle on the way to the banquet. They looked exhausted. Even Yang Jiahui who usually had a pleasant temperament looked strained.
During the wedding ceremony earlier, Long Tengfeiâs first ex-wife found every chance to target them with unpleasant words. As the current wife, Yang Jiahui received more than half of the verbal attacks.
This was actually the first time that Yang Jiahui had this kind of interaction with her husbandâs first ex-wife. It was usually Wei Lan (second ex-wife and Irisâ mother) and Zhu Ning (ex-mistress and Long Jianâs mother) who often targeted her.
Zheng Suyin went into some kind of seclusion after her divorce with Long Tengfei. She rarely appeared in public. Thus, she and Yang Jiahui never encountered each other until today.
Yang Jiahui sensed that her husbandâs first ex-wife still might not have completely moved on from the divorce. Her words today were filled bitter resentment and furious indignation for her son, Long Hui.
She felt that handling Wei Lan and Zhu Ning was actually much easier than trying to deal with Zheng Suyin. At least with Wei Lan and Zhu Ning, she already knew what to expect.
Zheng Suyin, on the other hand, was someone unfamiliar. Yang Jiahui felt unprepared.
She really didnât want to spend the rest of today enduring the womanâs verbal abuse. She might be tolerant but only to an extent.
âStop the car,â she ordered.
The driver found a nearby plaza and safely parked.
âWhatâs wrong?â Long Tengfei asked.
âI donât want to go to the banquet anymore. You go by yourself. Iâll call a taxi and go to the gala instead.â
Long Tengfeiâs expression turned dark. âYouâre leaving me alone?â
She glared at him. Gone was her usual kindness and gentleness. She was truly angry this time. âYou allowed your ex-wife to insult me!â
âWhat do you mean? I defended you!â
âNot enough!â She started unbuckling her seatbelt.
âStop it, Jiahui. Iâm not going to leave you here by yourself!â
âThen go call another car to pick me up and send me to the gala. Iâd much rather spend the rest of today with my niece Meimei and Xiulan and the others who genuinely treat me well. I even prefer to spend time with Wei Lan. At least she already stopped picking fights with me ever since she remarried. The worst she does is ignore me which is already the best that I could ask from her. Itâs many times better than wasting my time enduring disrespect from your awful first family who think that theyâre superior compared to everybody else!â
Long Tengfei closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. However, he never let go of his wife. He held on, not allowing her to get out of the car.
âJiahui, I donât want to fight with you.â
âI donât want to fight with you either! But I canât help it when I feel so awful!â
âI feel awful, too.â He paused then said, âIâm sorry.â
She was startled and looked at him in both surprise and wonder.
âYou already know that myâŠpast history with women isnât something that Iâm proud of.â
Yang Jiahui snorted but she was already starting to calm down. Even so, she refused to give in so easily to him like she normally did. âYou were born in the wrong era, Tengfei. You shouldâve been born in the ancient times. Then you couldâve legally married more than one wife and taken in as much concubines as you can afford.â
He sighed. Experience had taught him enough not to make any careless remarks to his angry woman or suffer the consequences. His wife, Yang Jiahui, was perhaps the only woman that he felt genuine romantic love for the first time in his life.
They were already at this age. Both of them were mature. Long Tengfei didnât want destroy this marriage like his previous ones. He wanted to keep this one until their last breaths.
The only method that he could think of at the moment that would reduce his wifeâs anger was what he had always been good at.
At the front passenger seat, Cai Guang, Long Tengfeiâs long-time assistant, immediately activated the partition wall to give his boss and lady boss some privacy. His expression barely changed, neither did the driverâs.
Later, there was a knock from the backseat. Cai Guang lowered the partition wall.
âGo call another car,â Long Tengfei told him. âYouâll go with me at my sonâs wedding banquet.â
âUnderstood, President.â
Then Long Tengfei instructed the driver, âBring the Madam to the gala safely.â
The driver obeyed.
Finally, Long Tengfei talked to his blushing wife. âIâll try to leave the banquet as soon as I can and follow you to the gala later. If I canât make it, Iâll at least pick you up. Wait for me, okay?â
Yang Jiahui already felt better. The anger was still there but she was mature enough to judge that it wasnât worth it to fight with her husband over his horrible first family. Today, at least.
But if something like this happened again, then she wouldnât let it end so peacefully. She was a loyal and devoted wife to her husband but she never claimed to be a martyr. There was a limit to her tolerance.
It seemed that Long Tengfei understood her conviction. Hopefully, he would be more careful next time.
Long Tengfei kissed his wife one more time before climbing out of the vehicle with his assistant, Cai Guang. They watched as the vehicle drove away and waited for the other car to arrive.
âPresident,â Cai Guang spoke after what felt like a long time. âMay I say somethingâŠthat you might find, er, offensive?â
âWhat is it?â
They might have an official boss and subordinate relationship but they were actually also the closest friends.
âI thinkâŠthat trying to stay neutral and maintain a balance among your children like you have always done already reached the limit. Itâs clearly not working anymore. Young Master Hui and Young Miss Xiulan are no better than mortal enemies now. Your other children, Young Master Jian and Young Miss Jinjing, have basically chosen a side as well. They are both close to Young Miss Xiulan.â
Long Tengfei was quiet. He didnât agree or disagree. Yet.
Cai Guang continued, âAt this point, I also personally think that Young Miss Xiulan is the best among your children. Itâs not only because she married CEO Jin Liwei but also because of her own abilities. Sheâs a certified genius and an official Cross Academy student. Whatâs more, sheâs the disciple of the business legend, Sir Lu Jianhong. Her Eve Holdings might be new but itâs already running like a well-oiled machine with all the successful companies like Orchidia under it. And alsoâŠ.â
âJust say whatever you want to say in one go,â Long Tengfei told him. âWhatâs with you with all these pauses?â
âAbout Phantom DragonâŠ.â
âAh.â Long Tengfeiâs expression turned grave.
âI have reason to believe that Phantom Dragon is owned by Young Miss Xiulan.â
Long Tengfei nodded. âI also think so.â
âAlthough we canât find anything about this new investment companyâs real background, I recently found out that Elder Long Jufang is assisting Phantom Dragon behind the scenes to swallow more shares. As the President already knows, Elder Long Jufang has become a staunch supporter of Young Miss Xiulan for a while now while Elder Long Meng supports Young Master Hui.â
âI know.â Long Tengfei massaged his aching temples. He suddenly felt so old all of a sudden. âSo what are you suggesting that I should do?â
Cai Guang cleared his throat. âIf I may be presumptuous, I think the President should give more power to Young Miss Xiulan. At the moment, sheâs just a brand ambassador for Long Industries. I believe that only by giving her roughly the same authority as Young Master Hui and Young Master Jian to make major decisions in the company would it be a level-playing field for them.
âThen they can all openly prove their capabilities in front of everybody. This way, their need to do things to sabotage each other in the dark might be reduced. Or at the very least, Young Miss Xiulan wouldnât have to unleash such an aggressive, uh, entity as Phantom Dragon. If she swallows Long Industries this way, sheâll face a lot of dissension. It wonât be true success.â
Long Tengfei stayed silent while pondering his assistantâs words.
âProtecting your children and trying to prevent them from harming each other are one thing,â Cai Guang said. âBut we also need to ensure that Long Industries wonât fall into ruin due to their constant in-fighting.â
Long Tengfei sighed. âYouâre right.â He sighed several more times. âYouâre absolutely right.â
âItâs not that Iâm siding with Young Miss Xiulan. I just think that based on what weâve seen so far, sheâs the one who has the advantage. Between the Jins and the Maos, oh and the Zhengs too, who would you rather Long Industries have as a backer?â
Long Tengfei clicked his tongue. âIs that even a question?â
âExactly, President. In my opinion, one is a true backer while the rest areâŠuh, Iâm sorry to say this but the rest are leeches.â
The other car finally arrived at this point. They climbed inside and immediately headed to the wedding banquet.
âWeâll continue discussing this later,â Long Tengfei said.
âUnderstood, President.â Cai Guang bowed to him.