The ballroom of the Emerald Palace was starting to feel like a pressure cooker. While the older generation of the Hidden Families discussed the shifting tides of the global market and the rising influence of the Yang Group, the younger guests were glued to their phones, watching Su Ruo's digital reputation burn in real-time.
The air was thick with the unspoken tension of a scandal that was only minutes away from boiling over.
Su Ruo sat at her table, her fingers trembling so violently she had to clench them into fists under the tablecloth. The notifications on her phone were a relentless barrage of mockery. Every "like" on Chen Ying's side-by-side comparison felt like a physical slap to her face. She looked across the room at Chen Ying, who was sitting with effortless poise, sipping a glass of iced water while the powerful Yang Muchen leaned in to whisper something in her ear.
