A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)

In front of the banquet guests, Chu Wen-Fei was sprawled on the floor like a dog, while Ye Fan was standing straight up with his hands clasped behind his back. And the Shens were standing in front of the latter, facing him respectfully.

The Qius were dumbfounded, after witnessing the scene on the stage. It felt like they had just been slapped hard in the face.

The atmosphere in the dining hall turned heavy, and it grew so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. The jeers from the Qius had vanished, to be replaced by untold shock and fear.

"What... What just happened?"

"What's going on now?"

Qiu Mu-Ying stared with her eyes wide opened. While her mother stood rooted to the floor, as if she had just been struck by lightning.

As for Master Qiu and the other Qius, their mouths were wide opened but, due to the shock, they could not get a single word out. Just then, they all looked like chickens which were being strangled. Both Qiu Mu-Ying and her mother were hit especially hard by the turn of events.

The mother and daughter pair had been telling their relatives that Chu Wen-Fei was a dragon among men and unrivalled among his peers. But a moment afterward, Shen Jiu-Yi had kicked Chu Wen-Fei off the stage, before the latter had even finished his greeting. Now, Chu Wen-Fei was sprawled on the floor like a dog and moaning in pain.

The shock did not end there. After the Shens had so badly treated the Qiu's star son-in-law, they were now behaving respectfully toward their trashy son-in-law. And Shen Jiu-Yi even presented the painting to Ye Fan.

To the Qius, the huge twist in the plot felt like a kick in the stomach.

It was no longer just a slap in the face.

It was more like a kick in the face.

The Qius were completely flummoxed.

Their faces were flushed and they were dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, the same thought started to swirl around in the minds of the Qius.

Is Ye Fan the real Mr. Chu? The same Mr. Chu whom the Shens respect so much?

Have we made a mistake?

Everyone had their mouths wide opened, while they looked on in disbelief.

Master Qiu's body was trembling, as he stared in the direction of the stage. Inwardly, he was screaming over and over again. Could it be that he had been underestimating Ye Fan? "Impossible, it's impossible?"

"Ye Fan is a country bumpkin and a useless piece of trash. He is not Mr. Chu." At that moment, Qiu Mu-Ying was panicking. She kept shaking her head and her heavily made-up face looked distraught. To Qiu Mu-Ying, it felt like her world was collapsing.

And Wang Qiao-Yu was yelping like a dog as fear filled her eyes.

The Qius just could not accept the fact that they were now beneath the weakling they had always despised.

As for Qiu Mu-Cheng, her face had already turned pale. As she looked at the young man standing on the stage, she went into a daze and her mind blanked out.

Suddenly, a stream of memories came over her.

She remembered the dream-like light show on the night of her cousin's engagement party, the mysterious man at the auction and the way the Shens had revered Ye Fan at the hospital.

Could it be that Ye Fan was not as simple as he looked?

Silence continued to reign in the dining hall. And the silence was only broken after a long while, by the sound of sharp intakes of breath coming from the Qius. One could only imagine the impact the recent events had had on them.

"Mr. Chu, please accept the painting."

Shen Jiu-Yi repeated his request respectfully. But Ye Fan did not take the painting and only smiled indifferently. Then he asked, "Mr. Shen, may I know where the men's room is?"

Shen Jiu-Yi was stunned for a moment. He had no idea why Ye Fan suddenly wanted to know where the men's room was. But after hesitating briefly, he gave directions to Ye Fan. And soon, under everyone's gaze, Ye Fan left the hall.

And that frightened Shen Jiu-Yi. He did not know if Ye Fan had forgiven him or not, because the latter had not accepted the painting. So he turned to his son and asked, "Fei, do you think Mr. Chu dislikes this painting? Or has he not forgiven us yet?"

At that juncture, Ye Fan had suddenly declared his intention to use the men's room. So Shen Jiu-Yi could not help making speculations about Ye Fan's thoughts.

He was worried that Ye Fan was dissatisfied with the arrangements for the banquet.

But the truth was that Ye Fan had really needed to use the men's room.

However, Shen Fei was also uncertain. He scratched his head and guessed: "Dad, I think Mr. Chu has already forgiven us. Just now during the banquest, I offered him a toast and he accepted."

"Then why did he turn down our gift? And he even used going to the men's room as an excuse. Isn't it obvious that he doesn't want to accept the painting?" Shen Jiu-Yi had a heavy expression on his face. Shen Fei considered his father's question and then replied in a low voice: "Dad, perhaps Mr. Chu wants to keep things low-key and his identity hidden? I have not told you this, but when I was toasting Mr. Chu earlier..."

And Shen Fei told his father that Ye Fan had not only declared his surname to be Ye, but had also admitted to being a live-in son-in-law of the Qiu family.

When Shen Jiu-Yi heard his son's report, the expression on his face changed. "Shit, you idiot. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"It's obvious that Mr. Chu wants to keep a low profile."

"Damn, no wonder Mr. Chu refused to take our painting and made an excuse about going to the men's room. It's obvious that he wants to keep his identity hidden."

"We have to think of a way to salvage the situation."

Shen Jiu-Yi was panic-stricken. He was worried that he had disrupted Ye Fan's plan.

After all, Ye Fan probably had something in mind when he decided to hid his identity. Shen Jiu-Yi thought that merely killing himself many times over would not be enough to appease Ye Fan's anger, if the gift presentation had somehow disrupted the latter's plan.

"Let me go-"

"You bastards, let me go."

"You bunch of lowly scum. How dare you touch me?"

"I am Mr. Chu-"

Chu Wen-Fei's angry voice rang out from below the stage.

At that moment, the security guards had already arrived on the scene, and they were carrying out Shen Jiu-Yi's instruction to escort Chu Wen-Fei out of the building.

Meanwhile, Chu Wen-Fei continued to howl and kept insisting that he was Mr. Chu.

"Screw you!"

"I have already warned you earlier, right?"

"You think you are Mr. Chu? You think you can live up to that name?"

"Get out now!"

The security guard then gave Chu Wen-Fei a hard slap, and the latter quieted down right away. Afterward, the guard called for his colleagues and they prepared to throw Chu Wen-Fei out of the building. When Shen Jiu-Yi saw them, an inspiration struck him. He hurried forward.

"Stop!"

"How dare you manhandle Mr. Chu? Are you tired of living?"

"Aren't you going to leave?"

With just a few words, Shen Jiu-Yi managed to scare away the guards.

And then, with a smiling face, he went forward to help Chu Wen-Fei up. "Mr. Chu, what happened earlier was just a misunderstanding. I made a mistake and failed to recognize you. You are indeed the real Mr. Chu."

"Quick, Fei, help Mr. Chu to his seat."

Shen Fei was dumbfounded for a brief moment, and then realization dawned on him.

He could not help thinking that his father was indeed a cunning old fox.

"I am coming, dad."

"Hahaha- Mr. Chu, are you alright? Let us get you seated."

After some quick words from the father and son pair, Chu Wen-Fei was once again seated in his seat.

When they saw Shen Jiu-Yi behaving so respectfully toward the person he had just kicked to the floor, the Qius once again found themselves at a loss for words.

"What...What..."

"What the hell is going on?"

"How could both father and son make the same mistake?"

Could it be that cataract runs in the Shen family?

Meanwhile, Chu Wen-Fei was scolding the Shens inwardly.

Are both father and son idiots?

You were the ones who invited me to this banquet, and you can't even recognize me?

"Okay, stop pretending to apologize. Give me something practical. Hand over the painting. If you do that, I will forgive you for kicking me." Chu Wen-Fei was obviously in a bad mood. After all, he had failed to show off in front of his relatives. Instead, he had gotten himself kicked by Shen Jiu-Yi. And he had even fallen face first to the floor. He had lost face. So how could he be happy?

The only thing that could console him now was the twenty-million painting.