Although Shu Yan's reputation was not good now, and she was said to be out of favor with Shu Zhongze, her主动示好 (proactive overture) and charming demeanor still made Young Master Han's heart flutter. He quickly left first to wait for her in the lounge.
As soon as Young Master Han left, Shu Yan immediately beckoned a waiter, secretly slipped him a wad of tips, and whispered something in his ear.
The waiter, carrying a tray of drinks, walked towards Gu Susu and Lily Zhou, the design director of RJ. He stopped beside them and asked, "Would you like a cocktail?"
Susu nodded slightly, reached out and took two glasses of wine, giving one to Lily Zhou and holding one in her own hand.
At this moment, the waiter suddenly lost his footing and stumbled, spilling all the drinks from the tray onto Gu Susu. Lily Zhou's clothes also got splashed, but not as badly as Susu's.
Susu's sky-blue evening gown was ruined by the colorful cocktails. Lily Zhou's expression instantly changed, and she glared at the waiter, saying, "How can you be so careless!"
The waiter repeatedly apologized, "Sorry, sorry."
Susu looked down at the waiter's feet and saw no slippery stains. She figured the waiter hadn't held the tray steady. Since her dress was already like this, she had to leave.
"Lily, forget it. He surely didn't mean to. I'm very happy to meet you tonight. When you see the design draft I sent to your company, we can chat again. I'll take my leave now." After speaking, Susu wanted to find Qin Tianyi to inform him before leaving.
Lily Zhou wiped the wine stains from her dress and said helplessly, "Alright then, we'll talk next time."
The waiter said to Susu with a guilty expression, "Madam, we have a spare dress in the lounge. You can go to lounge number two to change. The dress I stained, I will immediately send it for dry cleaning after you change it, and I will bear all the dry cleaning costs."
Before Susu could reply, Lily Zhou interjected irritably, "There's only one spare dress? Look, my dress also has wine stains. Can't you find another spare?"
"I'm sorry, there's only one spare dress, and the size fits this lady's figure perfectly. The wine stains on your dress are not as obvious, but after the banquet, if you bring it tomorrow, we will still clean it for you free of charge," the waiter explained apologetically.
Lily Zhou said angrily, "What kind of service is this from your hotel? Are apologies useful? Be more careful next time! If it weren't for Mrs. Qin speaking up for you, I would have called your manager."
"Lily, don't be angry. Why don't you go change into the spare dress? I'll head back first." Susu wanted to calm her down.
Lily Zhou stopped arguing with the waiter and smiled at Susu, saying, "I'm fine. These wine stains on my dress are barely noticeable. Your dress is almost ruined, you should go change. We haven't seen Mr. Qin yet, and it's not good for you to leave alone. Go on, go on, I'm fine."
Susu thought it made sense. She was here tonight as Mrs. Qin. Given Tianyi's status, it wouldn't look good for his wife to leave before the banquet ended.
"Then I'll go change into a dress," Susu said, following the waiter to lounge number two.
Qin Tianyi had finished his conversations with Shu Zhongze and Huo Liangcheng. They each had other people to attend to and returned to the banquet hall.
Qin Tianyi looked around but couldn't find Susu. He found it strange, wondering if she had gone to the restroom.
At this moment, he saw Lily Zhou still chatting with others in the banquet hall, so he politely walked over and asked, "Hello, excuse me, where is my wife? The one who was chatting with you just now."
It was the first time Lily Zhou had seen Qin Tianyi up close. His handsome appearance and the noble, elegant aura he exuded surpassed all the supermodels she had ever met.
She was stunned and, after a few seconds of daze, replied, "Your wife went to the lounge to change her dress. Just now, a waiter spilled a whole tray of drinks on her dress."
Qin Tianyi said "Oh" and asked, "Do you know which lounge she's in to change? I'll go take a look."
Lily Zhou thought for a moment and said, "That waiter said he was taking her to lounge number two. But she's been gone for a while, she should be done changing by now. Why haven't I seen her come out?" As she spoke, Lily Zhou looked around again and said strangely, "I don't see that waiter either. Could he still be waiting at the door of the lounge?"
"Alright, thank you." Qin Tianyi felt something was not quite right and hurried to lounge number two.
Lily Zhou had long heard that Qin Tianyi was the true boss of Mishiang Company and intended to get acquainted with him. After all, no matter how famous RJ was internationally, it was new to Lancheng. Establishing good relationships through more communication with local fashion companies was also part of the company's localization strategy.
"I'll go with you to take a look. That waiter is quite strange." She immediately followed Qin Tianyi, wanting to see if the waiter was up to something.
Hearing Lily Zhou say this behind him, Qin Tianyi quickened his pace, afraid that something might happen to Susu.
They arrived at the door of lounge number two. There was no waiter standing at the entrance.
Qin Tianyi tried to push open the lounge door but found it was locked. He knocked forcefully on the door from the outside, "Susu, are you inside? Have you finished changing your dress?"
But he heard no response from Susu inside. Lily Zhou pressed her ear against the door and seemed to hear that something was wrong inside, saying, "There seems to be a man inside too."
Qin Tianyi was greatly alarmed and immediately wanted to break down the lounge door.
"Mr. Qin, this door is too sturdy, it's hard to break open. Wait here, I'll go find the manager for the key." Lily Zhou ran to get the key.
Qin Tianyi couldn't wait another second and forcefully kicked the door with his foot. The door was indeed sturdy.
He couldn't care less and kicked it several times, startling many people at the banquet.
The thought of Susu being bullied by someone inside made his blood boil, and he finally kicked the door open.
Inside the lounge, a disheveled man was pressing down on a woman. The scene was unbearable to look at.
"The key, the key..." Lily Zhou got the key from the hotel manager and ran over, only to find it was too late. She also looked at the scene inside with shock.
Qin Tianyi didn't say a word. Heartbroken and furious, he strode in, grabbed the man by the back of his collar, and punched the man to the ground. However, he discovered that the woman being pressed was not Susu, but Shu Yan.
Shu Yan's face was pale with fright. Her shoulders were exposed, and the hem of her dress was torn and messy. She stared blankly at Qin Tianyi, who had helped her open the door from Young Master Han, feeling utterly ashamed.
Seeing that it was her, Qin Tianyi sneered and asked, "Where is Susu? Where is she?"
Shu Yan felt her heart, which had gone cold, ache again. She instinctively tried to get up.
Lily Zhou, seeing that the woman inside was not Susu, breathed a sigh of relief.