Lin Yue remained in her corner, calmly sipped her cider, occasionally selecting an appetizer, her gaze distant and serene.
She was completely unconcerned with the two figures whispering intensely a few yards away. The only thing she minded was the timing of her plan.
After a noticeable lull in the background music, indicating the imminent start of the evening's main social event, the dance, Bai Lian leaned close to Chen Hao and whispered something calculated.
Chen Hao's face shifted from frustration to a stiff resolve. He smoothed his suit jacket and walked over to Lin Yue, stopping directly in front of her chair.
"Lin Yue," he addressed her, his voice carrying the forced authority of a man doing his duty. "The dance is starting. As my fiancée, it is appropriate that you take the first dance with me."
Lin Yue looked up slowly, her expression placid. She offered a slight, cool smile. "Chen Hao, how thoughtful. Unfortunately, I must decline. I prefer to enjoy the music from here. I find dancing quite tiresome."
Chen Hao's posture stiffened further, his cheeks flushing pink. His ego, already bruised by her earlier dismissal, now felt publicly scorned. He was Chen Hao, heir to the city's top family; women vied for his attention.
"Tiresome?" he scoffed, his voice sharp with suppressed anger. "This is a Lin Family banquet and a social necessity. Your lack of interest is not only arrogant but shows immense disrespect to your father and to the Chen family. Are you truly so rude as to disregard a simple request from your future husband?"
Before Lin Yue could respond, Bai Lian glided over, her face a mask of practiced distress. "Oh, please, you two, don't argue!"
Bai Lian intervened. Her eyes, wide and filled with 'concern,' focused on Lin Yue. "Yue-jie, Brother Chen Hao is only trying to look out for your reputation. You know how people gossip. Perhaps you should reconsider?"
Lin Yue did not even acknowledge Bai Lian's presence. She simply rose from the chair, smoothly setting her glass aside.
With a confident, graceful turn, she walked away, moving to the opposite side of the hall near the windows, leaving them standing awkwardly in her wake.
Chen Hao was left simmering with impotent rage. "Unbelievable! Such audacity! Who does she think she is?"
Bai Lian instantly intensified her role. She dropped her voice to a sympathetic murmur and squeezed his arm reassuringly. "Oh, Brother Chen Hao, please don't let her sour your mood. I understand how frustrating it is when someone is so willfully difficult. You deserve a partner who values you, respects your position, and is eager to share the limelight with you."
Bai Lian looked up at him, her eyes glistening. "She truly doesn't understand what an honor it is. I wish I could properly support you right now, but I know I can't replace your fiancée …" She let the thought trail off, a picture of helpless devotion.
Chen Hao felt a rush of affection and protectiveness for the 'pure' girl beside him. "Don't be silly, Lian'er. You are far more considerate than she is. And you're right, I won't let her ruin the entire evening. It's expected that I dance."
He looked down at Bai Lian, a sudden decision lighting his eyes. "Lian'er, since my fiancée is too arrogant to participate, will you do me the honor? At least you have the courtesy to be presentable."
Bai Lian's heart soared, but she feigned hesitation. "Oh, Hao… are you sure? It's not appropriate…"
"Nonsense," Chen Hao interrupted, seizing her hand. "You are family, and I need a partner. It's perfectly fine."
As the orchestra struck up the first waltz, Chen Hao and Bai Lian glided onto the floor.
At the edge of the floor, Old Master Chen watched, raising a questioning eyebrow. "Lin Aiguo, isn't that your other daughter, Bai Lian? Why does she dancing with Chen Hao? I thought Lin Yue was his dance partner as she is Chen Hao's fiancée."
Bai Mei Ling, prepared for this exact question, offered a perfectly crafted, innocent explanation. "Oh, Old Master Chen, you are so astute! It is quite simple, truly.
Poor Lin Yue is, you know, a bit introverted. She often finds the spotlight overwhelming and has no interest in dancing."
She gave a pitiful, dismissive wave toward Lin Yue in the distance. "Lian'er, on the other hand, is such a sweet, considerate girl.
She saw that Chen Hao, as the guest of honor, was left without a partner due to Lin Yue's disinterest, and she simply stepped in to save the situation.
She is always so eager to help the family keep face, even if it means putting herself out there."
The explanation was simple, charitable to Bai Lian's character, and effectively underlined Lin Yue's supposed social ineptitude and arrogance.
It was undeniable; Chen Hao needed a partner, and Bai Lian had stepped up. The elders nodded, accepting the convenient lie.
Bai Lian and Chen Hao were indeed dancing gracefully, drawing approving murmurs from the guests.
Bai Lian felt a rush of heady triumph.
"This should have been mine all along. Lin Yue is nothing. I am the one who deserves him, the spotlight, and the wealth."
Bai Lian indulged completely in the moment, leaning slightly into Chen Hao's space.
As the waltz neared its dramatic conclusion, Lin Yue, watching from her distant vantage point, made her move.
Hidden in the folds of her dress, Lin Yue held a single, small pearl—one she had deliberately loosened from the trim of Bai Lian's gown earlier.
With a flick of her wrist, she expertly tossed the tiny orb. It skipped silently across the polished floor and settled precisely near the spot where the dancers were about to execute their final, elaborate turn.
Chen Hao, swept up in the music and the flattery of the crowd, executed a complicated twirl, bringing Bai Lian close.
Bai Lian's high-heeled shoe came down exactly on the pearl. In an instant, her balance was violently thrown off.
A sharp RRRIIIP echoed through the sudden silence of the music. The weakened seams of her expertly tailored dress failed catastrophically.
The force of the misstep, combined with the earlier sabotage, caused the dress to tear with vengeance.
A large slit ripped open down the side of the skirt, running almost to her thigh, and the primary strap holding the bodice tore away from the stress, sending a substantial portion of the fabric around her chest area flapping open.
Bai Lian stumbled, her face contorted in a mixture of shock and sheer terror, her milky white skin exposed to the shocked audience.
The music died abruptly.
The ballroom was plunged into a shocked silence, followed by a torrent of gasps.
Bai Lian immediately crossed her arms over her chest, holding the ripped fabric together desperately.
"Ah! Lian'er!" Bai Mei Ling shrieked, sprinting toward the floor, her own refined façade instantly shattering into a frantic panic.
The guests began whispering wildly, their initial shock giving way to prurient curiosity and thinly veiled contempt.
Lin Aiguo, his face purple with outrage and deep humiliation, sputtered, frantically trying to regain control, the shame radiating off him.
Chen Hao, initially stunned, reacted instinctively. Driven by the deep, protective impulse he held for his secret lover, he immediately wrapped his arms tightly around Bai Lian, pressing her body against his to hide her exposed skin from the hungry eyes of the crowd.
"Don't move. Don't look up," he murmured urgently into her ear, his usual arrogance replaced by raw, genuine concern.
This spontaneous, intimate reaction was an undeniable declaration of his devotion to Bai Lian, subconsciously overriding his public obligation to Lin Yue. "Staff! Get a blanket and clear the area immediately!"
The whispers intensified, shifting from the ruined dress to the inappropriate embrace.
"Look at Chen Hao! He's hugging the other sister?"
"I heard he was engaged to the eldest daughter of Lin Family. That beautiful one who just walked in."
"But it looks like he's completely desperate for Bai Lian, the stepsister, tsk tsk tsk, what scandalous behavior in public!"
"Right, look how concerned and protective he looks while embracing that stepdaughter of Lin Aiguo. Sigh, they didn't looks like relatives but more than a couple no?"
"The Lin and Chen family becomes a complete joke." Someone gloat in the crowd.
The Chen Family was utterly mortified. Old Master Chen, Chen Ling, and Liu Wanrou looked ashen, the honor of their prestigious name being publicly compromised by Chen Hao's lack of control and his inappropriate relationship.
They exchanged icy glances, the damage to the engagement's integrity now undeniable.
Lin Aiguo finally found his voice, forcing a painful composure.
He approached Old Master Chen, bowing deeply. "Old Master Chen, Brother Chen Ling, sister-in-law, please accept my deepest apologies for this disgraceful spectacle.
An unforeseen accident, I assure you. This is completely unacceptable," Lin Aiguo said, his tone low but tight with contained fury.
He then addressed the broader room, his voice shaking. "Ladies and gentlemen, I must apologize for the early conclusion of our evening due to this unfortunate incident. The banquet is concluded. We thank you for your attendance."
With no thought for the remaining guests, Lin Aiguo ordered his family to depart immediately.
As soon as a car could be summoned, he gave a curt, final apology to the remaining guests and dragged his scandal-ridden family members out of the hall, his face etched with simmering, silent fury.
Bai Mei Ling hustled the distraught Bai Lian out, covered in a borrowed shawl. Lin Yue also followed behind them.
Lin Aiguo paused only long enough to give a final, nod to the silent Chen family members, his eyes blazing with rage at the catastrophic failure of his social standing.
He marched out, dragging the remnants of his shattered family reputation home.