NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24: Chapter 24 This, is Fake
Seeing Su Ruoxue's distressed look, Ye Fan asked, "Ruoxue, what's wrong?"
"Today is Grandma's 70th birthday, and the banquet is about to start!" Su Ruoxue explained.
Ye Fan then remembered that today was indeed Old Madam Su's 70th birthday, and she had announced it a half month ago.
However, due to the recent targeting by the Jiang Family, their entire family had shifted their focus, and they had forgotten about Old Madam Su's 70th birthday celebration.
Su Ruoxue hesitated for a moment before saying, "Grandma is taking this birthday banquet very seriously and wants to use the occasion to gather the family's children. It wouldn't be appropriate for us not to go. It's almost noon; let's hurry over there!"
"Okay!" Ye Fan nodded in agreement.
Upon hearing this, Ye Ling'er exclaimed excitedly, "I want to go too, Mom and Dad, I want to go too!"
"This..." Su Ruoxue hesitated and looked at Ye Fan.
Ye Fan replied with a smile, "Let's go. Ling'er's injury has stabilized, and as long as she doesn't engage in strenuous activities, she'll be fine."
"That's a relief!" Su Ruoxue finally relaxed.
Ye Fan picked up the little girl without hesitation and walked out of the Warzone Hospital.
Just as they stepped out of the hospital gate, a bright red Ferrari came speeding toward them and stopped in front of Ye Fan. At the wheel was none other than Young Master of the Chen Family, Chen Haonan.
"Master Ye!" Chen Haonan greeted, his excitement palpable upon seeing Ye Fan.
Ye Fan, surprised, asked, "What are you doing here?"
Chen Haonan replied, "Master Ye, thank you for saving my life last night. I felt much better this morning, and to express my gratitude, I've brought a modest gift. Please, Master Ye, you must accept it!"
Chen Haonan immediately took a beautifully wrapped gift box from the passenger seat and handed it to Ye Fan, his face full of sincerity.
"Thank you, and once I'm done today, I will go to the Chen Family to treat your father's illness!"
Ye Fan did not decline the gift because he was in a hurry to attend Old Madam Su's birthday banquet and had had no time to prepare a gift. It was perfect timing that Chen Haonan's gift could serve as a present to bring along.
"Thank you, Master Ye!" Chen Haonan was overjoyed.
After accepting the gift box, Ye Fan briefly explained the situation to Su Ruoxue, and they sped off towards the Su Family.
...
At that moment, the internal atmosphere at the Su Family home was bustling with activity. Looking around, there were at least a hundred members of the Su Family gathered.
The Su Family, a second-rate family in the Central Plains, was not lacking in heritage with hundreds of family members.
Today, as it was Old Madam Su's 70th birthday, many junior members of the Su Family had come to wish the old lady well.
Sitting in the seat of honor, Old Madam Su was seen wearing a red birthday outfit, her face kind and compassionate, filled with gratification as she looked at the rising talents of the Su Family.
"Ye Fan, Su Ruoxue, and family have arrived!"
Suddenly, a voice rang out, and a group of Su Family members quickly turned their attention toward the door, just as Ye Fan walked in, carrying Ye Ling'er in one arm and the gift box in the other.
"Oh! Ye Fan, Su Ruoxue, your family has finally arrived. I thought we might have to carry you all here in a sedan chair!" Su Yue raised her voice and chuckled mockingly as Ye Fan's family entered.
She was a member of the Su Family Direct Lineage and the favored granddaughter of Old Madam Su. She was the one who had called Su Ruoxue earlier.
Mocked by Su Yue, Su Ruoxue looked apologetically at Old Madam Su sitting in the seat of honor and said, "Grandma, I'm so sorry, Ruoxue is late!"
"Our family has been targeted by the Jiang Family recently, and Ling'er has even been seriously injured. We rushed here from the hospital just for Grandma's birthday celebration!"
"Yes, great-grandmother, please don't blame Mom and Dad!" Little girl Ye Ling'er's bright and shiny eyes gleamed as she spoke.
Su Ruoxue and Ye Fan's family's late arrival caused Old Madam Su to have some prejudgements, but hearing this, Old Madam Su's anger subsided.
The entire Su Family knew that Ye Ling'er had been desired by the Jiang Family, who wanted her to be buried alongside their drowned young master, Jiang Long.
But because the Jiang Family was an immovable giant, they had issued a warning: if the Su Family dared to intervene, they would ensure the Su Family would disappear from the Central Plains.
Therefore, this matter was merely observed by the rest of the Jiang Family with cold detachment, and they hadn't offered any help. Now that Su Ruoxue and Ye Fan's family had arrived late, they couldn't really blame them for anything.
Old Madam Su fell silent for several seconds before finally saying, "No matter, take your seats!"
"Thank you, Grandma!" Su Ruoxue breathed a sigh of relief.
Su Yue, on the other hand, snorted coldly, "I heard that the Jiang Family has committed a serious crime and was taken down by the authorities in one fell swoop. Your family is really lucky!"
Both she and Su Ruoxue were grandmother Old Madam Su's granddaughters, but they had different fathers. Su Ruoxue had been naturally beautiful since childhood, which Su Yue envied immensely, always opposing Su Ruoxue in every aspect from childhood to adulthood.
Seeing Su Yue openly targeting Su Ruoxue, Ye Fan's eyes turned cold; he knew that Su Yue couldn't stand to see any good in their family.
"Yue Yue, I'm here!"
Just then, a smiling young man in a suit and leather shoes walked in from outside.
Upon seeing the young man, Su Yue asked, "Where is the gift you prepared for Grandma?"
"Here it is!" The young man grinned, pulling out a scroll of painting.
In front of everyone, he unrolled the painting to reveal a landscape painting featuring rivers and two large shrimps frolicking. The style was ancient, and the shrimps were vivid and lifelike.
Most striking was that the lower right corner of the scroll was stamped with several red seals, at least dozens upon closer inspection.
"Wow, Cao Xuan, this painting looks great, it must be worth a lot of money, right?"
Many Su Family Members gasped in amazement, completely captivated by the scroll.
Cao Xuan laughed heartily, "Knowing that Grandma has always loved collecting antiques, this is a genuine work by Tang Yin from the Ming Dynasty, also known as the renowned Tang Bohu, called 'Shrimp Play in Mountain Streams Painting'."
"It doesn't matter about the money, it only cost five million. The main thing is Grandma's happiness!"
As these words came out, they caused an uproar at the scene, and everyone was shocked.
"My goodness! This painting actually comes from Tang Bohu? And it's worth five million?"
"Gosh, five million is no small amount. Su Yue, you've really got yourself a good boyfriend, envy-inducing!"
The Su Family, after all, was a second-rate family. Despite its considerable wealth, there were few present who could fork out five million to celebrate Old Madam Su's birthday.
"Of course!"
Praised by others, Su Yue proudly raised her neck, like a proud white swan.
Cao Xuan, her new boyfriend from the eminent Cao Family, had just presented a Tang Bohu original worth five million called 'Shrimp Play in Mountain Streams Painting,' which greatly boosted her pride.
"Well-intentioned indeed!" Old Lady Su smiled benevolently upon hearing this.
Then, with disdain, Su Yue turned towards Su Ruoxue, "If I'm not mistaken, Ye Fan is still doing odd jobs at the night market stalls, right?"
"Just look at my Cao Xuan, then look at your Ye Fan. Compared to my Cao Xuan, your Ye Fan is nothing."
"Hahaha..." Immediately, the place erupted in laughter.
They all knew well that Su Ruoxue had saved Ye Fan in the past, and the two had developed feelings for each other, leading the otherworldly beautiful Su Ruoxue to marry Ye Fan.
After their marriage, Ye Fan had achieved nothing significant, only doing menial work at a roadside barbecue stall, which instantly turned him into the Su Family's laughingstock.
"Su Yue, you..."
Mocked by Su Yue, Su Ruoxue's delicate face instantly turned pale.
Ever since Su Yue started dating Cao Xuan, a scion of a wealthy family, she had not stopped mocking Su Ruoxue, who particularly loathed Su Yue for putting Cao Xuan on a pedestal to belittle Ye Fan.
In Su Ruoxue's heart, Ye Fan was one of a kind. Everyone had different starting points, and there was no basis for comparison.
Seizing the opportunity, Cao Xuan looked at Ye Fan and said, "Doing odd jobs certainly isn't proper work for a grown man. Our Chen Family is currently hiring a gatekeeper, the monthly salary is four thousand five hundred, maybe you should give it a try?"
He stared at Ye Fan with a mocking look, not bothering to conceal the scorn in his tone.
"Yeah, Ye Fan, why don't you go to the Chen Family and be their gatekeeper, ah no, guard the gate," Su Yue teased.
"Hahaha..."
At that, another round of laughter resounded among the Su Family Members.
Witnessing Cao Xuan and Su Yue treating him as a joke, Ye Fan laughed coldly and pointed at the 'Shrimp Play in Mountain Streams Painting' Cao Xuan had brought:
"This is fake!"