The drive back to the Lin residence was suffocating. Lin Aiguo had insisted the entire family travel in his large luxury sedan, ensuring no one could escape his wrath.
Lin Aiguo sat in the front, rigid, while the three women were squeezed into the back.
Bai Lian was draped across Bai Mei Ling's shoulder, muffled sobs shaking her body, still covered by a thick shawl.
Lin Yue sat beside them, cool and composed, without feeling any stress from the lingering tension in the car.
The low, guttural growl came first, blocks away from the venue.
"Silence!" Lin Aiguo roared, slamming his fist onto the dashboard. The chauffeur flinched.
Lin Aiguo finally didn't control his fury and let his emotions flow "This is an absolute disgrace! The Chen Family! The entire city elite witnessed that spectacle!
The embarrassment we suffered tonight will haunt us for months! This is simply an utter humiliation for our Lin Family!"
Bai Mei Ling instantly straightened, adopting a fierce, protective stance for her daughter. "Aiguo, calm down! don't be so harsh on Lian'er! It was an accident on a slippery floor! She is devastated enough!"
She shot a venomous glare at Lin Yue in the dim light. "Though, one has to wonder about the nature of the accident!"
Bai Mei Ling look at Lin Yue furiously, then strategically pivoted the blame. "The real humiliation started when your eldest daughter, Lin Yue, openly refused her fiancé's request to dance!
If Lin Yue had simply done her duty and accepted, Lian'er would never have been put in the position to save face for the Lin Family, and the accident would never have happened! It is her arrogance that caused this chaos!"
Bai Lian, seeing the attention shift away from her torn dress, quickly seized the opportunity, her voice trembling with manufactured distress. "Yes, Father! Yue-jie, how could you be so difficult and selfish?
This whole evening was ruined because you were so determined to be contrary and disrespectful!
You didn't even wear the beautiful gown Mother picked out for you, losing mother her face infront of Chen family. You ruined everything!"
Bai Lian paused, her voice shaking with manipulative grief while staring Lin Yue "It had to be deliberate! My dress was flawless. It must have been ruined on purpose by someone jealous and with malicious intent!"
Lin Yue looked at the mother-daughter pair, her expression unchanging. She met their accusations with a chilling calm that forced them to falter.
"Aunt Mei Ling, Bai Lian, let us be clear about one thing," Lin Yue stated, her voice cutting through the tension like glass.
Lin Yue's tone is chilling "As I already stated, the zipper on the gown Aunt Mei Ling provided broke before I even left my room. I was forced to select the only other appropriate dress I had available.
Therefore, if we are tracing fault, perhaps we should start with who decided to sabotage my attire, hoping I would be the one standing awkwardly in the corner, not you."
Lin Yue's direct, knowing implication stunned them. Bai Mei Ling's face froze, and Bai Lian looked momentarily terrified, realizing their hidden crime had been exposed, even if only through conjecture.
Lin Yue then turned her gaze, sharp and cold, directly onto Bai Lian and continued "And for your accusation for your dress Bai Lian, you are mistaken, the dress malfunctioned when you slipped on a loose object on the dance floor, everyone saw it.
Furthermore, it failed so spectacularly because of a severe flaw in its design or tailoring, which is something you should address with your boutique,"
Lin Yue countered, presenting the undeniable facts calmly. "It was unfortunate that your clumsiness led to such a disastrous tear.
As for malice, I was sitting alone in a corner, watching. If you believe someone attempted to sabotage the night, perhaps you should consider who else might have reason to step on a discarded object in the dark."
Lin Aiguo, overhearing the escalating accusations of sabotage, slammed his fist onto the dashboard. "Stop! Stop this instant! I don't care who broke whose clothes!
The whole night was a failure because you three cannot act like decent high-society ladies!"
He turned to Lin Yue, his fury focused on the most convenient target. "But the fact remains, Lin Yue! You are engaged to Chen Hao!
He asked you to dance, a perfect opportunity to salvage the evening, and you publicly refused him!
Your arrogance knows no bounds! Do you have any idea how much this alliance with the Chen Family is worth? You defied Chen Hao, and you are the primary reason for the social collapse!
As punishment for your arrogance and public insubordination, you are confined to your room for the rest of the week! This alliance is too important to risk on your arrogance!"
"Father," Lin Yue interrupted, maintaining her composure straightened her back "Do you really think that I am the main culprit for today's scandal?"
Lin Yue look at Lin Aiguo calmly "I performed my duty by attending the banquet, and I refused the dance because I found it tiresome.
That is not a scandal. If you wish to address the Lin Family's ruined reputation, you must address the true source of the scandal."
She leaned forward slightly, her gaze piercing. "The humiliation was not the rejection to dance but the actual humiliation was Bai Lian's wardrobe malfunction and Chen Hao hugging Bai Lian in public."
Lin Yue lean back on the car seat and said with cold and calm tone "Chen Hao chose to hug Bai Lian. That was his instinct and his decision, not mine, everyone present that time saw this.
His desperate reaction to protect another woman and worry in his eyes for Bai Lian in public speaks volumes about his feelings, and his conduct, not mine." Lin Yue let the unspoken accusation hang in the air: He chose her over me, his fiancée.
The sedan plunged into a terrifying silence. Lin Aiguo's eyes widened in stunned comprehension and disbelief. He had assumed Chen Hao was simply being a gentleman, not a frantic lover.
Bai Mei Ling jumped in, her composure completely broke, seizing the narrative back. "Nonsense! That is a vicious lie, Don't twist this, Lin Yue!
You abandoned your post and caused the situation by refusing the dance! If you had simply accepted, Lian'er would never have been put in that position!
Lian'er was distressed at that time! Chen Hao was simply being polite and kind to a distressed relative, offering comfort! He is a perfect gentleman! He—he was just being… brotherly!"
"Brotherly?" Lin Yue scoffed, her voice dangerously quiet. "In front of Old Master Chen? In full view of his own family, who looked utterly mortified? No, Aunt Mei Ling. The public saw a man who would risk his family's honor for one woman. And that woman was not his fiancée."
Bai Lian burst into genuine, terrified tears. "Father, it's not true! Yue-jie is lying! She is jealous because Brother Chen Hao was only trying to help me!"
Bai Lian sniffled pitifully. "Yue-jie seems so cold towards Brother Chen Hao. Maybe he thinks she doesn't care for the engagement…"
Lin Yue offered a slight, knowing smile that chilled her stepsister. "Bai Lian, you needn't worry about my relationship with my fiancé.
I am sure that after tonight, the Chen family will have a great many questions for Chen Hao about his public conduct, and his priorities will become very clear, very soon."
Lin Aiguo felt a sickening jolt in his stomach. Lin Yue was right. The scandal wasn't just the dress; it was Chen Hao's open preference for Bai Lian. He couldn't punish Lin Yue for Chen Hao's lack of control, but he couldn't let his frustration go.
Lin Aiguo, realizing the monumental deception he had been blind to, felt a cold, terrifying rage replace his heat.
The whispers, the glances, the shame of the Chen family—it all clicked into place. The failure was deeper than a torn dress. His future was at stake.
"Silence!" Lin Aiguo shouted, his voice cracking with defeated authority. "I don't care about your dresses or your clumsy slips! I care about the scandal and Lin family's reputation!"
"Get out," Lin Aiguo snarled, his voice low and utterly menacing. "All of you. Get out of my sight. We will discuss this affair and its consequences tomorrow morning.
Lin Yue, you stay confined to your room. Bai Lian, Bai Mei Ling, do not think you have escaped scrutiny. I am utterly ashamed and disgusted."
The sedan pulled up to the house. Lin Aiguo stormed out, leaving the mother-daughter pair frozen in fear, the devastating reality of Lin Yue's final words settling over them.
As Lin Yue walked toward the door, she spared one last glance for her stepmother and stepsister.
Bai Mei Ling was still whispering frantically to Bai Lian, clearly formulating the next line of defense.
The engagement is already fractured, Lin Yue thought.
A sense of icy satisfaction settling in her heart. The public saw Chen Hao's choice of action. The elders saw their shame. All that remains is to watch the consequences unfold.
Lin Yue walked into the house, her simple sapphire dress a victorious contrast to the shattered reputation of the Lin Family.