Chapter 96

Chapter 96: My Elbow Only Tilts Toward My Wife (New) Xu Jingxuan suddenly lifted her head, tears still wet on her face, her eyes filled with pain. Jiang Shixu had actually confessed his feelings for Ruan Chutang in front of so many people! Chu Tang was stunned. When those whispers reached her ears, she had actually been quite anxious. She was afraid that Jiang Shixu would really take Xu Jingxuan's side and stand against her, as they had said. At this moment, Chu Tang felt incredibly reassured. Warmth spread through her palm as Jiang Shixu's broad hand held hers, giving her the strength to feel at ease. Chu Tang's heart slowly settled, and her emotions calmed down. Old Mrs. Jiang, however, was far from calm. Wasn't Jiang Shixu saying this in front of everyone just slapping her in the face? The old lady was so furious her voice trembled as she spoke, "Shixu, don't you dare—" "Miss, the surveillance footage is here." The waiter interrupted Old Mrs. Jiang, handing the USB drive to Ruan Chutang. Everyone turned to look at the USB drive in the waiter's hand, all eager to see what was on it. Chu Tang reached out and took the USB drive, then said to the crowd, "Please follow me to the screening room on the fifth floor. The truth will soon be revealed." Xu Jingxuan was so nervous that her palms were sweating. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to stay calm, saying, "Sister Ruan, I've already apologized to you. Why must you keep pressing this?" "Was that a sincere apology?" Ruan Chutang glanced at her coldly. "I don't accept it." Xu Jingxuan continued to deflect: "Even if you don't consider me, consider the guests. The banquet hall is this big with so many people—can the screening room even hold all of them?" Ruan Chutang gave a mocking smile. "Sorry, Miss Xu, the screening room upstairs can hold a thousand people. No need for you to worry about that." Xu Jingxuan's expression stiffened, and she frowned, thinking of another excuse. Chen Yuanyuan crossed her arms and watched Xu Jingxuan with great interest. "Oh my, could it be that someone's guilty conscience is keeping her from daring to go?" Xu Jingxuan gritted her teeth. "I'm not guilty about anything. I just don't want to waste everyone's time. It's just a misunderstanding—why make such a big fuss?" Chen Yuanyuan burst out laughing. "Hahaha, I never named anyone as being guilty, Miss Xu. You're the one who assumed it was about you. So eager to defend yourself, aren't you?" "Everyone, if you're interested in coming with me to the screening room, please head to the fifth floor." Chu Tang's tone was calm. Old Mrs. Jiang spoke up again: "Look at you—where's your dignity as a young lady from a distinguished family? It was just an accidental stain on your dress, and you're carrying on like this. I'll pay for the dress on Xuanxuan's behalf. Why go to a screening room to watch surveillance footage? We're all family. Don't make a scene that can't be resolved." Chen Yuanyuan rolled her eyes at that, muttering inwardly: That old hag is up to her tricks again, always bullying Tangtang. She wouldn't even let Tangtang call her "Grandma" at the family banquet, and now she wants to smooth things over by saying "we're all family." Chu Tang and her best friends told each other everything, and she had complained to Zhou Xueluo and Chen Yuanyuan about the grievances she suffered at the Jiang family banquet. Chen Yuanyuan was extremely dissatisfied with the old Jiang matriarch and her adopted daughter. Ruan Shaodong wasn't in the banquet hall at the moment—he was in the garden outside discussing business with several important clients, completely unaware of the commotion happening inside. Ruan Jiaojiao had caught the flu two days ago and was in the hospital receiving IV fluids, with Yang Xuelian by her side, so they couldn't attend the banquet. Thus, the Ruan family couldn't come to Chu Tang's defense right away. Chu Tang had originally thought she would be alone in dealing with Xu Jingxuan's bullying, but she never expected Chen Yuanyuan and Jiang Shixu to step forward and defend her so fiercely. "Grandmother, what do you think a young lady from a distinguished family should be like?" Jiang Shixu's tone was icy. "Should she just swallow her pride and let others bully her?" The old lady looked at him in disbelief. "Shixu, what are you saying? What do you mean 'let others bully her'? Are you saying that Xuanxuan and I are bullying her?" "Isn't that the case?" Jiang Shixu's eyes were cold and sharp beneath his gaze. "The stained dress was a small matter to begin with, but the moment she opened her mouth, Xu Jingxuan blamed Tangtang for not watching where she was going. Tangtang's request to review the surveillance footage was perfectly reasonable, yet you scolded her for being relentless and making a fuss. Well, today we're watching that footage no matter what. I won't stand by and let you bully my wife in front of me." Xu Jingxuan's heart jolted—the word "wife" stung her deeply. Jiang Shixu was actually defending Ruan Chutang this much! He was already calling her his wife before they were even engaged—how could he?! The old lady's chest heaved violently with rage. "Shixu, you're a member of the Jiang family. How can you side with an outsider?" Jiang Shixu tightened his grip on Ruan Chutang's hand, met Old Mrs. Jiang's eyes without flinching, and said with utmost seriousness, "My elbow only tilts toward my wife. No one can change that." "You—you, you, you..." Old Mrs. Jiang clutched her chest, too furious to speak properly. "Brother, say less, please. Grandmother has a weak heart—don't upset her." Xu Jingxuan said to Jiang Shixu. Jiang Shixu let out a derisive laugh and hit the nail on the head: "If you caused less trouble, she wouldn't be this upset." Xu Jingxuan was rendered speechless, her heart a tangled mess of fury and jealousy. "Enough. No more arguing. Let's go to the screening room." Ruan Chutang spoke coldly. At the far end of the banquet hall, there were three elevators on each side, six in total, with each elevator capable of carrying fifteen people at a time, meaning a total of ninety people could be transported up in a single trip. Chu Tang raised her voice and said, "I'm someone who absolutely despises being slandered. If any of you are interested, feel free to take the elevator with me to the screening room to watch the surveillance footage." Many guests followed Ruan Chutang toward the elevators. Whispers began to rise once more. "It seems Miss Ruan really was wronged. The Ruan family's daughter has everything she could ever want—why would she make a fuss over a dress?" "I think so too. I always felt something was off about that adopted daughter of the Jiang family. If she had a clear conscience, why wouldn't she let everyone see the surveillance footage?" "Just when they were badmouthing Ruan Chutang, I wanted to say—Xu Jingxuan is obviously a green tea bitch. Didn't you notice the way she looks at the Jiang family's young master?" "Right, I noticed that too. Her feelings for the Jiang family's young master are definitely not ordinary. It doesn't look like sibling affection to me." "Tsk tsk, pseudo-incest? Interesting. The wealthy families really do know how to put on a show." "Sis, I'm a master of tea detection. Xu Jingxuan is a textbook green tea bitch. Good thing the Jiang family's young master isn't blind—he can spot a green tea, which puts him above most men." "Yeah, the way Xu Jingxuan talks is unbearable. Such an affected, pretentious white lotus!" "Come on, let's go watch the surveillance. Let's sit back and watch the green tea get slapped in the face." These deliberately hushed comments still reached Jiang Shixu's ears. He tightened his grip on Chu Tang's hand. "Tangtang, I only ever had sibling feelings for Xu Jingxuan—nothing more." After a pause, he added, "From now on, I won't even have those." Chu Tang hummed in acknowledgment without saying anything else. Among the guests, the young masters and misses of high society loved watching a good show, so nearly all of them followed to the screening room. The older generation, however, didn't take this youthful drama seriously and remained in the first-floor lobby—networking where networking was to be done, and doing business where business was to be done. A large crowd of drama-loving young people arrived at the fifth floor and filed into the screening room. More than a few let out exclamations of awe. "Damn, the Ruan family really is the number one wealthy family in Jiangcheng. A screening room this big, with a starry ceiling too—I'm so jealous." "Just ask your dad to get you one." "Can't do it. The construction cost of just this one screening room must be in the hundreds of millions. How could my family compare to the Ruans?" "I heard this entire estate was bought by Ruan Shaodong as a dowry for Ruan Chutang. There's no comparison, really no comparison. This is true wealth." "I spend a million from my dad every month and he still calls me a spendthrift. There really is a gap between people." "Tell me about it. Look at what netizens say online—the biggest dividing line in life is the amniotic fluid you're born in." ... Once the guests were all seated, Chu Tang personally walked over to the computer at the front and began operating it. She plugged in the USB drive, opened the folder, located the corresponding surveillance footage, and then turned on the projector.