Chapter 10 You can cancel the engagement, but give me the five million!

Although Xu Li had a smile on her face, her other hand, which was hanging under the table, was tightly gripping the tablecloth.

He was so nervous not because of anything else, but because the look Zhou Dingyu gave him at this moment was inexplicably the same as the extremely aggressive and terrifying look he had just shown in the locker room.

He was like a patient hunter who was deliberately teasing a prey that had accidentally entered his territory.

Their eyes met again.

Zhou Dingyu's dark eyes were gloomy, and his lips curled into an ambiguous smile, "I did it, Miss Xu, please do as you please."

He tilted his head back and drank the glass of red wine in one gulp, his Adam's apple rolling.

His lips were stained with a gorgeous red like blood, and he raised his thumb to rub it off casually.

The man's action brought Xu Li back to three days ago, when he drank the glass of drugged water in the same posture without any precautions.

Somehow, Xu Li felt a little uneasy.

Forcing herself to collect her thoughts, Xu Li took a sip of the red wine and said to Zhou Dingyu with a smile , " I can't hold my liquor well. Please forgive me, Mr. Zhou."

With this back and forth, the oppressive feeling released from the man gradually subsided, and the faint sounds of picking up dishes and serving soup were heard again in the banquet room.

Here, Old Lady Zhou looked at Xu Li calmly, then opened her mouth and asked Zhou Dingyu tentatively:

"I'll ask your family doctor to treat you and give you a rabies shot. Even though these three cats have regular checkups and shots, you still can't let your guard down."

Zhou Dingyu smiled, put the Buddhist beads back on his wrist, leaned over and served the old lady a bowl of shark fin:

"No need, grandma. It's just a minor injury. After the banquet is over, I happened to go to the hospital to see Kuang Ye for something, so I'll take care of it while I'm at it."

Seeing that her eldest grandson was really not angry because of Xu Li’s “rude remarks”, the old lady felt relieved.

After all, she is a guest, and today's banquet is held for her. It would be bad if the scene was too ugly and it got out.

The old lady's face was gentle , " That's fine ... "

Xu Li lowered her head, and when she saw that the topic had changed, she let out a sigh of relief.

At this moment, she suppressed the pounding of her heart and tried hard to reduce her presence.

However, even though she tried so hard not to attract attention, Mr. Zhou, who was sitting at the first seat, glanced at Xu Li twice while the servant was picking up food for him.

The old man's weather-beaten eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, and they narrowed slightly when they fell on Xu Li's face.

Xu Li seemed to sense something. When she looked up, her eyes met the old man's.

The old man concealed the scrutiny in his eyes without making a sound.

Greeted Xu Li politely , " Xu girl, eat more."

Xu Li nodded and pursed her lips slightly , " Thank you, Grandpa Zhou."

Not only Mr. Zhou, but also Luo Ling, a woman next to Xu Li, sensitively caught her unusual reaction.

Luo Ling glanced slightly sideways from the angle of picking up the food and saw Xu Li's red ears.

When he looked up at Zhou Dingyu opposite him, he inexplicably felt something was wrong.

Considering that the two of them had left the table almost one after the other some time ago, and that their words seemed to have hidden meanings, Luo Ling frowned slightly.

I wanted to take a closer look at the bite marks on Zhou Dingyu's palm, but I found that the man had already turned over his palm and leaned lazily on the back of the chair, playing with the Buddhist beads in his hand with his bony fingers.

The bite marks had been covered up and could no longer be seen.

——

The banquet is over, but what is coming will eventually come.

The servant took away the food plates and served the Jin Jun Mei tea that had been brewed long ago.

The aroma of tea makes people calm down.

Xu Li knew that for some things, it was better for her to speak them herself rather than letting others raise them.

She raised her eyes to look at Mr. Zhou who was sitting in the first seat, and said in a neither arrogant nor humble voice , " Grandpa Zhou, I already have an answer to your proposal."

Mr. Zhou slowly blew away the foam in the tea, took a sip, and looked at Xu Li with hawk-like eyes . " You say."

"I agree to your proposal and cancel the engagement."

"Xu girl, you have to think it over carefully!" Upon hearing Xu Li's reply, Old Lady Zhou immediately clenched the handkerchief in her hand and spoke in a hurried voice.

"Grandma Zhou, I've thought it through." After a pause, Xu Li's eyes swept across Luo Ling and Zhou Huaian beside her. Her mind raced, and she felt calm.

"My father taught me that a gentleman should help others achieve their goals and not force others to do things against their will. I respect Zhou Huaian's wish to date Miss Luo Ling. I will withdraw and help them be together."

As soon as the words fell, the banquet room fell silent again.

Old Master Zhou looked at Xu Li twice more, his calm eyes flickered for a moment, and then he regained his composure.

There was a hint of surprise in Zhou Huaian's eyes, and even Luo Ling glanced at Xu Li with a look of surprise.

Only Zhou Dingyu, who was sitting diagonally opposite Xu Li, had his brows lowered and was lazily playing with the tea set on the table.

The sun was shining brightly at the moment, casting a layer of light on the curling tea smoke, making the man's outline look extraordinary.

The scene fell into a subtle stagnation for a while, until Xu Li added a sentence:

"Please fulfill your promise of five million as soon as possible, Grandpa Zhou."

As soon as the words fell, the stagnant scene suddenly began to ripple.

No one expected that the woman who had just proudly said she wanted to quit would now take the initiative to mention the five million in compensation.

Zhou Yingzhi didn't understand the reason and immediately went to ask what was going on. Luo Ling kindly explained it to her.

Zhou Yingzhi quit immediately. Five million was enough for her living expenses for a month!

She pinched her waist and pointed at Xu Li, her voice sharp , " Give her five million? Why? My second brother doesn't like her, so he doesn't marry her! Marriage is free! Our Zhou family doesn't owe her anything!"

"Shut up!" Old Mrs. Zhou tapped her cane and scolded Zhou Yingzhi coldly.

Zhou Yingzhi shrank her shoulders and calmed down immediately, but she still gave Xu Li a fierce glare.

The man who was lazily leaning on the chair raised his eyes and looked at Xu Li, with the corners of his lips slightly raised, and his peach blossom eyes were filled with an unclear meaning.

In addition to Zhou Dingyu, Zhou Huaian's expression was also very interesting at this moment.

Zhou Huaian's lips were curled with a mocking smile, and the pair of upturned phoenix eyes behind the glasses were filled with disdain:

"Ms. Xu is truly impressive!"

Look at it with new eyes?

Looking at this man, whom I regarded as a bright moon and kept in my heart for twenty years, I once again mocked myself with cold words.

Xu Li pursed her lips, endured the dull pain in her heart, clenched her palms, and looked stubborn and calm:

"'Make people look at you with new eyes', these six words are for you too."

Her words were full of sarcasm, implying that the other party had cheated on her and violated the engagement first!

Zhou Huaian naturally understood the implication of her words, but he did not expect her to retort.

In the moment he was stunned, Xu Li had already withdrawn her gaze from him.

But when he inadvertently glanced at Zhou Dingyu, he caught a glimpse of interest in the other's black eyes.

The other person acted like a gangster and even raised the red wine glass in his hand towards her with a curled lip.

Xu Li calmly withdrew her gaze and looked at Mr. Zhou who was in the first position, neither humble nor arrogant:

"Grandpa Zhou, my father rescued you on that cruise ship, and later the two families made a marriage contract because of it. It was supposed to be a good thing, and no one would have expected this day to come."

"I think if my father were still alive, he wouldn't want to see the relationship between the two families become strained."

She specifically brought up her father just to remind everyone in the Zhou family present not to forget their roots!

If her father hadn't saved Old Man Zhou, the Zhou family wouldn't be what it is today!

Now, seeing that the Xu family has fallen on hard times, the Zhou family has abandoned the Xu family. It is the Zhou family that was immoral first!

She didn't point it out completely, as she was giving Mr. Zhou some face.

She figured it out.

Talking about money hurts one's dignity, but a gentleman loves money and earns it in a proper way. It is reasonable for her to take the five million!

Just think of it as Mr. Zhou repaying her father for rescuing her!

Xu Li straightened her back, and her soft voice, which was full of openness and honesty, once again spread clearly in the hall:

"Please rest assured, Grandpa Zhou. I will tell the public that Zhou Huaian and I have different personalities and I took the initiative to cancel the engagement with the Zhou family."

"From the perspective of outsiders, the Zhou and Xu families will continue to be as close as before."

"Five million in exchange for the Zhou family's dignity, you won't lose, right?"

After he finished speaking, the room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

After a long while, Mr. Zhou slowly ground the walnut in his hand and told the servant , " Go get the card."