DASFAM_CH 18

Everyone turned their heads toward the source of the sound. At the entrance of the banquet hall, a young man in a white suit strode in with long steps.

Someone among the guests recognized him immediately, "Young Master Zhang?"

"……"

Young Master Zhang? Zhang Changning?

Hearing that name called out, Bai Xu's attention shifted involuntarily toward the newcomer.

The young man had a head of natural deep-brown curls. His delicate features paired with that baby face made it easy to think of the porcelain cat figurines you'd find displayed in a shop window—genuinely striking enough to be called beautiful.

Song Qiancheng seized the moment and scrambled out of harm's way. He pressed his hand to his neck where there was no wound at all, caught his breath in two shaky gasps, and let the lingering fear settle.

The residual ache on his forehead flared, no blood had been drawn, but it still stung enough to set his teeth on edge all over again.

"Bai Xu, everyone here saw what happened today. I'm not done with you!"

"……"

Bai Xu turned his gaze back and, with a cold laugh, gave a flick of his wrist—

The jagged, broken stem traced a clean arc through the air and landed right at Song Qiancheng's feet, startling him into scrambling back half a step.

"Funny you should say that—if this doesn't get settled today, I'm not done with you either."

The little performance of 'going unhinged' he'd just put on had been more than enough to make him the center of everyone's attention. Now it was time to start settling accounts, one by one.

The words had barely left his mouth when Zhang Changning walked up to them.

Bai Xu met his eyes in a silent question.

Zhang Changning tilted his head with an easy familiarity, "Relax," he said quietly, "You can think of me as being on your side. And I absolutely cannot stand—"

He paused, then pointed at Song Qiancheng with open flair, "People who think a bit of dirty money in the family makes them better than everyone else—picking on people for their own amusement, resorting to every underhanded trick in the book. What kind of pathetic nonsense is that?"

A couple of crude words were mixed in, yet coming out of Zhang Changning's mouth, they had a particular snap and energy to them.

The corner of Bai Xu's mouth curved, while Song Qiancheng, unable to swallow the insult, shot back, "Zhang Changning, who exactly are you calling that?"

Zhang Changning shrugged, "Isn't it obvious? You."

"You—"

Mr. Song walked briskly to his son's side, "Qiancheng!"

"Dad!"

In full view of everyone, Mr. Song had no desire to get into a squabble with a bunch of young people and lose face, but he equally had no intention of letting it go just like that.

So he drew himself up and bore down with forced authority, "Young Master Zhang, the Song family may not match the Zhang family in standing, but within the capital circle we still carry a name worth respecting. Speaking to my son like that in public, isn't that a little too much?"

Then he turned his gaze, placing the blame squarely on Bai Xu, "And you—"

"Don't think that having the third branch of Shang behind you means you can do as you please. Striking my son in public, smashing a glass at him, threatening him—that was wrong of you!"

Ever since the incident with the third branch of Shang, they had not shown their faces in front of anyone. Even if there were rumors that the Old Master Shang had spoken up in defense of the third branch, that was no guarantee he was defending Bai Xu specifically.

Who was Bai Xu? What kind of background did he have? And yet he dared to make a public example of his son, to embarrass the Song family in front of everyone?

If word of this got out, what would be left of his, Song Liwei's, and the Song family's reputation?

Mr. Song had this calculation of gains and losses in mind as he raised his voice, "Everyone, I know perfectly well what kind of person my son is. Qiancheng may be a bit wild and reckless, but he would never do something truly harmful!"

Bai Xu raised an eyebrow ever so slightly, "Mr. Song, from start to finish I have not mentioned the Shang family even once. Yet you seem particularly sensitive about it, which tells me you're very aware of the gap between the Song family and the Shang family? You know your family can't afford to make enemies there?"

"……"

The brutal truth laid bare caused Mr. Song's expression to stiffen.

Countless eyes were trained on them from all around, yet Bai Xu's composure remained entirely at ease, "Song Qiancheng slipped something into my drink. I returned the favor in a personal capacity. I hit him because he had it coming."

"Exactly! He had it coming!"

Zhang Changning nodded in agreement, "Mr. Song, I'd advise you to be careful about what you say in public. After all, there's an old saying: a child's failings are the father's fault."

The moment those words landed, the central screen at the front of the banquet hall suddenly switched on, broadcasting what was clearly a covertly recorded video—

In the footage, Song Qiancheng stood with one hand in his pocket and the other holding an electronic cigarette, his expression saturated with arrogance and impatience.

The waiter standing across from him was stammering out a plea, "Y- Young Master Song, I beg you, I- I can't do something like this. This is illegal!"

Song Qiancheng blew a ring of smoke contemptuously into his face, "Quit your whining. I told you to do it, so do it!"

At that, the friend beside him passed over a small tablet, "Just slip it into the wine when you swap it out in front of Bai Xu. Don't worry, we've measured the dose. Just a bit of fun."

"You do it, and there's money in it for you. You don't, and your troubles are just getting started."

The waiter hesitated as he took the tablet, "What if he notices? Then I—"

Song Qiancheng cut him off, "Him? The guts of a mouse."

His companion laughed out loud, "Qiancheng and I have pulled this on him more than once. Got him every time, and he never said a word. Just go, stop being such a coward!"

The video ended there, but the evidence was irrefutable.

Bai Xu's gaze went immediately to Zhang Changning beside him. The latter gave his signature shrug and replied with easy nonchalance, "I just happened to be passing by, happened to see what was going on, and happened to have it played for everyone."

A rare trace of genuine amusement surfaced on Bai Xu's face, "Thank you for all your happening."

He turned then to the waiter who stood at the main table rigid as a puppet, and in an instant his entire bearing shifted back to something cool and measured, "I kept a small sample of the wine. It can be sent for chemical analysis. Once the results come back—whether you're the ringleader or just an accomplice—either way, no one is getting away."

"……"

Those last few words seemed to jolt the waiter out of his stupor all at once.

He came rushing forward and blurted it all out in one breath. "Mr- Mr. Bai, please, let me off this once. I'm sorry, I didn't want to do it— you all saw it too! It was Young Master Song and his group who threatened me into slipping something into your drink!"

"The pill was something they gave me! I truly never imagined they'd be carrying something like that on them!"

The words hit like a thunderclap, shattering the truth wide open.

The guests all began to piece it together, and the looks they turned on the Song father and son were ones of contempt and disdain—

Wealthy people's private habits and indulgences were nothing new, but they were rarely put on open display like this.

Song Qiancheng and his friends wanting to humiliate Bai Xu was one thing—but carrying something like that on their person was another matter entirely. It was utterly beneath them.

Among the guests, someone couldn't resist voicing their commentary, "Carrying that kind of 'mood enhancer' around—there wouldn't happen to be someone who isn't quite up to the task, would there?"

Zhang Changning laughed without the slightest attempt at tact, "Song Qiancheng, what's going on with you? Not up to it?"

Bai Xu followed right on his heels, "Mr. Song, is this the fine son you raised? Quite the eye-opener."

"……"

"……"

The two jabs, landing one after the other, hit like thousands of slaps raining down at once.

Song Qiancheng flushed crimson, unable to get out a single word in his own defense. He had never once anticipated that things would go like this—

The situation had gone completely off the rails from what he'd intended. Somehow the one being publicly mocked and talked about had ended up being him.

Mr. Song, who had been so full of bluster just moments before, had gone an equally ashen shade. It had never crossed his mind that his accomplished son—his pride and joy—could be this sort of person behind closed doors. The humiliation was total.

Mr. Song could have happily slapped Song Qiancheng across the face then and there, just to relieve the pressure that had built up in his chest.

"Mr. Song, what do you have to say about this?"

"Really. Couldn't he have read the room and considered what kind of occasion tonight is? Absolutely disgraceful."

People were beginning to speak up in Bai Xu's favor.

At this point, holding firm and making excuses would accomplish nothing.

Mr. Song forced himself to hold together, barely managing to find his voice,"It is I who has failed in raising my son. The Song family admits fault. Mr. Bai, how would you like to resolve this?"

Bai Xu looked the father and son straight in the eye, "Simple. Song Qiancheng takes out another pill, dissolves it in a drink, and swallows it in front of everyone. We wait for it to take effect right here in public. Then we're done."

"......"

The guests present exchanged glances, and in that moment many of them had arrived at an entirely new understanding of Bai Xu—

To say he was ruthless, he was simply giving them a taste of their own medicine. To say he wasn't, this approach was more than enough to close an iron grip around the Song father and son's most vital pressure point.

Song Qiancheng stared with wide, disbelieving eyes, while Mr. Song was so choked up he nearly couldn't draw breath, "Mr. Bai, isn't this going a little too far?!"

"Too far?"

All those times Song Qiancheng and his crowd had casually used the original host as the butt of their jokes—why hadn't anyone called that too far?

The coldness Bai Xu had been holding in check broke free entirely. His naturally soft features grew sharper along with his bearing, "Since Mr. Song is so devoted to his son, perhaps you'd like to take his place and apologize to me that way?"

"……"

The atmosphere plunged instantly to freezing point.

Not a single person in the room dared speak up on the Song family's behalf.

Bai Xu's eyes flickered faintly as he made a quiet internal calculation of the timing. He had pushed things this far—surely a certain host was about to make her appearance.

"My apologies, everyone. I'm afraid I'm late."

Right on cue, a voice dropped in with precisely measured timing.

As the host of the banquet, Sun Miaochun arrived fashionably late with the chief assistant at her side. She took in the gathered crowd and played the part of someone entirely in the dark, "What's happened here? Looks quite lively."

"Chairman Chun."

"Good evening, Chairman Chun."

The guests present were all seasoned and sharp-minded people. They chimed in with their greetings at just the right moment, and in the easy exchange that followed, the frozen standoff from before dissolved without a sound.

Sun Miaochun stepped up beside Bai Xu. Behind her composed smile lay a faint note of appreciation, "Mr. Bai, first time meeting you. How do you do."

"Chairman Chun."

Bai Xu was well aware that she had chosen this precise moment to appear deliberately—had he and the Song family remained locked in a standoff any longer, the evening would have been headed for an irreparable scene.

"It seems the two of you had a little falling-out?"

Sun Miaochun asked the question knowing full well what had transpired. She had the chief assistant bring over several glasses of champagne, "It is I, as your host, who has failed to look after everyone's comfort. Please allow me to offer my apologies first. As for Mr. Bai and Mr. Song—for my sake, shall we share a glass?"

Mr. Song was quick to take the offered step down, reaching for a champagne glass.

Sun Miaochun turned to Bai Xu, "Mr. Bai?"

Bai Xu let out a quiet laugh, "Chairman Chun, this glass of yours—is it for the sake of the Old Master Shang? Or for the sake of the third branch of Shang? Or perhaps for my own sake?"

A banquet of this scale—an underhanded stunt of this kind—there was no way word hadn't reached Sun Miaochun's ears.

She had known something was going to happen to him, and yet she used an excuse to delay her appearance. Most likely she had been watching from the sidelines from the very beginning, using the situation to run a quiet test—

First: to see, after the drug took effect and he made a fool of himself, how the guests responded and rallied around him—using that to gauge their true feelings toward the Shang family and map out who stood where.

Second: to step in and resolve the matter after he'd been humiliated. Sun Miaochun's timely intervention would have let her do the Shang family a favor and build goodwill, while the scale of that favor would conveniently serve as a side measure of how much weight he and the third branch carried in the Old Master's eyes.

Either way, the one who had slipped something into the drink was not Sun Miaochun.

What a pity, then, that Bai Xu was no soft target—not someone to be easily managed, and certainly not someone who would walk into this kind of trap.

"……"

Sun Miaochun heard the meaning beneath his words and did not deny it, "Mr. Bai is quite young to see so much. The question is whether Mr. Bai is willing to do me the courtesy."

With that, she gestured to the chief assistant to extend the champagne glass a little further forward.

Bai Xu had not been wrong in his reading—and Sun Miaochun herself had genuinely not anticipated it.

Not only had the other party detected what had been slipped into the wine, he had turned it around with ease, checked the Song father and son, and escalated the situation to a point where she had no choice but to step in and handle it personally.

Of course, the outcome had already been decided. She could only align herself with Bai Xu's side.

The Song father and son had been thoroughly humiliated—right and wrong had been laid out clearly for all to see. It was likely that after tonight's banquet, the Song family would find it difficult to hold their heads up for quite some time.

Bai Xu knew what he wanted, and only then did he reach unhurriedly for the champagne, "Chairman Chun's face is naturally one I must give due respect. However, I'd like to take the occasion of your banquet to say a few words."

Sun Miaochun's regard for him went up another notch. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly, "Please, go ahead."

Bai Xu swept his gaze around the room and stated openly, "Everyone, I know what you're thinking. Yes, Shang Yanxiao and I are in a marriage alliance. But that does not make me an extension of the third branch of Shang."

"Whatever your impression of me has been until now, from today onward, I, Bai Xu, do not need the Shang family as my footing, and I do not need the Shang family to shoulder whatever comes after on my behalf."

"If anyone is hoping to use me as a window into the current state of the third branch, I'm sorry, but you've come to the wrong person."

Certain shameless tricks and attempts at probing were best left unused on him.

One of the guests still couldn't help but press, "Mr- Mr. Bai, what exactly is the Third Young Master's situation right now? You've already entered into a marriage alliance with him, couldn't you just give us a straight answer?"

"The Shang family's holdings are vast. Even the subsidiaries under the group all operate independently. The Third Young Master used to oversee so many business dealings, someone has to manage all of that going forward."

"Word is the Third Young Master still hasn't woken up, and the Fourth Young Master never got involved in affairs before, and now he's— well, it's inconvenient. What if someone takes advantage of the situation?"

The blunter thought went unspoken:

Who knew what kind of power struggle might break out?

If the third branch truly fell in the end, those with existing business ties would need to redirect their allegiances early and make sure they were standing on the right side.

Bai Xu raised a hand to quiet the commotion. He did not deny the facts, "The third branch did run into some trouble a while back and needs time to settle."

He paused, then shifted course, "But the Third Young Master's capabilities have always been evident to everyone. The companies and projects he oversaw continue to run steadily even now."

This was something he had learned from Xie Qi before setting out—

Shang Yanxiao's business acumen and his methods had always been exceptional. The senior management team he had cultivated and promoted, with layered divisions of responsibility and mutual oversight, had continued handling company affairs methodically throughout this period.

That style of management was, remarkably, consistent with how Bai Xu had operated in his own world.

Bai Xu used a pointed question to close off the murmuring, "Who exactly is spreading the idea that the third branch is about to collapse? All this idle talk every day, spinning rumors about the Third Young Master and the Fourth Young Master, aren't people afraid that loose words will bring trouble to their own doors?"

"Exactly!"

Zhang Changning chimed in, cutting straight to the point, "And the Old Master Shang is still here. Who would dare try anything?"

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