The sound of the slap was crisp.
Momentarily, heads were spun to focus on Shentu Tianyin and the heckler.
It was nothing special to see a woman slap a man. But it was a peculiar sight to witness when said woman was none other than Shentu Tianyin.
Even Xia Lei was slack-jawed. He had never seen Shentu Tianyin in such a state of fury.
The heckler had a palm to his burning cheek as he glared at Shentu Tianyin in shock. If he wished to retaliate, Shentu Tianyin was evidently no match for him. Despite the advantage he held, he refrained from doing so. Why? Because Shentu Tianyin was Xia Lei’s former wife.
“What the hell are you running your mouth about?” Shentu Tianyin fumed. “Who ordered you to sabotage the wedding?”
The man kept silent, quickly turning away to leave.
Shentu Tianyin was fast to grab his arm. “No! You’re not leaving until you spit it out!”
“Let me go!” The man yelled fiercely. Though his front was intimating, it was clear that the fear and panic of being caught was settling in.
“No! You’re not leaving until you made it clear!” Shentu Tianyin was furious.
Xia Lei watched Shentu Tianyin, relishing in the sight of an entirely different side of her personality.
Long Bing came to Xia Lei. “Hubby, I’ll head over to handle this.”
Unexpectedly, Xia Lei shook his head. “No, just leave it.”
“Why?” Long Bing kept her eye on the man. “That man is clearly doing this under someone’s instructions. He’s here deliberately to sabotage your wedding.”
Xia Lei merely replied, “Just keep watching, someone will handle this real soon.”
Just as his sentence fell, Tang Yuyan was seen to move over. She landed a punch to his stomach.
“Bastard!” Tang Yuyan lifted him up by the collar. “Who made you do this? Speak!”
“I… I was just telling the truth!” The heckler defended himself. “Is it illegal to tell the truth now?”
Tang Yuyan motioned a few Bureau 101 agents over. She instructed, “Bring him away and interrogate him.”
The agents extracted the man away from the scene.
Tang Yuyan turned to look at Xia Lei, a smile blooming across her face.
Xia Lei shook his head and avoided her gaze.
The man didn’t even need to guess about what was going on. Fan Fan had snatched him away from Tang Yuyan and this was undoubtedly a very triggering event for the woman. How could the proud daughter of the Tang family not do a number to offend Fan Fan on this occasion? The Tang family had wealth and power that the Shentu family couldn’t even come close to. It was given for Tang Yuyan to cultivate such a temper with privileged upbringing. It was almost natural to expect that the woman would not give a damn about the feelings of others. But honestly, what was the point of these?
The wedding carried on. Xia Lei and Fan Fan exchanged their rings.
Watching the wedding band find its home on the digits of Xia Lei and Fan Fan, Shentu Tianyin found her vision blurred. She could never forget that moment when Xia Lei had slipped the wedding band snug on her ring finger. It was a time where she would have never expected Xia Lei to exchange another wedding band with a different woman.
Tang Yuyan came to stand beside Shentu Tianyin. “You did well just now.”
Shentu Tianyin asked, “Did you plan this?”
Tang Yuyan was quick to decline, “No way, would I pull something so childish? But even if it were my doing, doesn’t this count as helping you out? You slapped that man and effectively halted the disturbance. Xia Lei will be grateful for your help.”
Shentu Tianyin only heaved a faint sigh. “A gratitude like this… I don’t want it.”
“I don’t care if you want it or not. I just don’t like seeing that woman happy. That woman could accept that her own husband has another three women. Just thinking of this makes me sick.” Tang Yuyan glared at Fan Fan, not bothering to mask her hatred.
“Enough, I don’t wish to talk about this anymore,” said Shentu Tianyin.
Oddly enough, there was an unreadable smirk on Tang Yuyan’s lips but she did not press on.
At this moment, a middle-aged man surrounded by a flock of tuxedo-clad bodyguards entered the ballroom. His presence immediately drew silence from the crowd.
Xia Lei and Fan Fan went and greeted him.
The man smiled. “Xia Lei, Fan Fan, congratulations on your union. I’ll need to excuse myself now as there are a few urgent matters that demand my attention. I brought you both a congratulatory gift. May you have a pleasant life together.”
“Officer, you didn’t have to. You gracing us with your presence here is our biggest honour.” Xia Lei offered him a polite smile.
One of his bodyguards passed a gift box into the palms of the man. He then passed it over to Xia Lei.
Xia Lei opened it to find a landscape painting. On the canvas were majestic mountains, water and the sun. The most eye-catching of all was a hawk and the bold calligraphy adorning its side. The eagle spreads its wings and soars for thousands of miles. The spirit of Thunder Horse shall serve the country faithfully!
It was a compliment and a spur.
“Thank you! Thank you so much, Officer.” Xia Lei was overjoyed. While this painting was not worth much, this was an acknowledgement of his capabilities.
“Do your best, the country needs you. You are the hero of our people!” The man gave Xia Lei a solid pat on the shoulder.
Xia Lei nodded. “Don’t worry, Officer. I will not let the country down.”
“Very well, very well.” The middle-aged man seemed comforted. They shook hands and he offered a smile to Fan Fan. “Fan Fan, congratulations on finding your happiness.”
The lift of Fan Fan’s lips was absolutely sweet. “Thank you, Officer.”
“Make sure to keep an eye on him. If you lose him, I’m going to come for you.” The man teased.
To which, Fan Fan wrapped her arms tightly around Xia Lei’s arm. “Don’t worry, he’s not going to run far.”
“Hehehe, please carry on with your agenda. I need to catch a flight to Argentina,” said the man.
“Have a safe journey, officer,” said Xia Lei.
“Safe trip, Officer,” offered Fan Fan.
The man waved and left. It was completely silent until the man was out of the ballroom.
“I wasn’t expecting this. I didn’t know Xia Lei was able to invite…”
“This is an honour that money can’t buy. This shows that Xia Lei is too important to this country.”
“Yeah, he’s our Chinese hero.”
Discussions arose. Earlier, they busied themselves with vile gossip of Xia Lei and his three lovers but it was already forgotten. Who was willing to offend a national hero for the sake of shallow entertainment?
Shentu Tianyin strutted towards Xia Lei and Fan Fan. Tang Yuyan decided to tag along behind her. Both women had brought gifts for the newly-weds and it was only then that they had a chance to hand it to Xia Lei.
Noticing them walking over, Xia Lei felt his temples throb again. What was he going to do about it? They were already here as guests, he couldn’t just chase them out for no solid reason. He was not the kind of man to pull that sort of act.
A small frown formed on Fan Fan’s face. “Hubby, what are they doing here?”
Xia Lei replied with a whisper, “I think they’re here to pass us their gifts.”
Fan Fan pouted. “I don’t want their gifts.”
Shentu Tianyin stopped ahead of them and smiled. “Xia Lei, Miss Fan, congratulations on the wedding. This gift is nothing much but I hope you’ll accept it.”
Xia Lei reached over for the gift. “Thank you.” He muttered, “You being here is enough. There’s no need to bring us a gift.”
Shentu Tianyin replied, “I don’t wish to come empty handed.” She refused to dwell long on the contents of her gift, quickly switching the topic. “Miss Fan, you look gorgeous today.”
Fan Fan uttered, “I’m no longer Miss Fan now. I’m Messrs Xia but you can call me Madam Fan now.”
While the statement was harmless, it was not courteous. It stung Shentu Tianyin a little but the woman continued to put up a strong front. “Sorry, my bad. Please forgive me, Messrs Xia.”
Fan Fan replied, “It’s alright, help yourself around. There’s a lot of guests here today and I’m sorry for not being able to cater much.”
“It’s not a problem, Messrs Xia.” There was a waft of sadness that accompanied Shentu Tianyin’s tone. The term “Messrs Xia” was once hers but it had now belonged to someone else.
Tang Yuyan presented herself before Xia Lei. “Xia Lei, Messrs Xia, congratulations! Please accept my small gift.”
“Thank you.” Xia Lei received Tang Yuyan’s gift. “Please help yourself to the drinks, I’m going to have to excuse myself now.”
Fan Fan wanted to show some temper to Tang Yuyan but seeing that Xia Lei was unwilling to spare the woman another second, Fan Fan scrapped the thought. The way Xia Lei handled it was appropriate. There was no solid proof that Tang Yuyan was behind the sabotage. But if he had stayed longer and provided a chance for Fan Fan and Tang Yuyan to converse, a conflict was sure to unfold. Today was supposed to be a joyous occasion and Xia Lei wished to avoid any potential problem.
With that, Xia Lei led Fan Fan away.
The corner of Shentu Tianyin’s eyes was once again moistened.
Tang Yuyan commented nonchalantly, “Only the weak will cry. From my impression of you, you’re not a weak woman.”
Shentu Tianyin was dispirited. “People change. You changed too.”
Tang Yuyan was taken aback, no words forming on the tip of her tongue.
After making customary greetings to most of his important guests, Xia Lei let Fan Fan and his three pregnant wives remain in the ballroom. He quickly moved to a room at the back of the venue. Qin Xiang, Liu Zhengnan and Lu Sheng were already waiting for him inside.
Xia Lei checked his wristwatch. “It’s time to start the operation. Brother Sheng, Qin Xiang, you both will take the same vehicle as Fan Fan and the ladies. You must ensure their safety.”
Lu Sheng assured him. “Don’t worry. Even if I die, I will make sure that they’re safe and sound.”
Qin Xiang made a face. “Don’t talk about deaths, today’s Lei Zi’s happy day. Quit yapping inauspicious things like that.”
Lu Sheng smiled sheepishly. “Oops, my bad.”
“What’s my role?” asked Liu Zhengnan.
Xia Lei instructed, “You’ll be my imposter. After I leave, all you need to do is show yourself. Liang Siyao and Long Bing will help you with your cover.”
“Alright, leave that to me,” said Liu Zhengnan.
Xia Lei inhaled. “Let us begin.”
Qin Xiang brought Xia Lei a box that contained all of his cosmetic tools. After that, he left the room to guard the door.
Xia Lei fetched a delicately crafted human face mask from the box and began manipulating Liu Zhengnan’s features.
It took a while before Liu Zhengnan was allowed to leave the room for the ballroom.
Xia Lei too had left the premises. He had even discarded his sleek suit in favour of casual clothes.
The moment he exited Hilton Hotel, he brought his satellite phone to his lips.
“Begin the operation!”