Liu Zhijun's face suddenly turned cold. "Long Yinglan, this is our family matter, what does it have to do with you?"
Long Yinglan smiled calmly. "Chen Fan is a distinguished guest of our Wanhao Group. If someone intends to harm him, it naturally concerns our Wanhao Group."
"What? This kid is actually a distinguished guest of the Wanhao Group?!"
Everyone looked at Chen Fan with shocked eyes; their faces were already numb.
Liu Zhijun's brows furrowed tightly. He glanced at Chen Fan in surprise, not expecting this kid to be involved with the Wanhao Group.
"Since he is a distinguished guest of your Wanhao Group, then I can spare him this once. Take him and leave. Don't disturb my daughter-in-law's life again, or don't blame me for being impolite!" Liu Zhijun did not want to offend the Wanhao Group, so he took a step back.
"Daughter-in-law? Neither engaged nor legally married, how did Qin Shuran become your daughter-in-law? Don't you think what you're saying is a bit too ridiculous?"
"They have had a marriage contract for a long time. You should not be unaware of this matter."
"Heh, a marriage contract? What era is this, and you're still arranging such things for children." Long Yinglan scoffed.
Liu Zhijun's face darkened. "This is not something Chairman Long needs to worry about. This is a private matter between our two families."
"I said, anything concerning Chen Fan is related to the Wanhao Group. At least you should respect the children's wishes, shouldn't you?" Long Yinglan's exquisite face showed a calm smile, appearing very elegant and charming.
Even though she was over forty, her elegance and beauty still captivated many present.
"What can they understand? They naturally won't comprehend the elders' good intentions. Am I right, Hongguo?" Liu Zhijun asked Qin Hongguo.
Qin Hongguo nodded. "The parents' command and the matchmaker's words. This is an age-old principle."
Long Yinglan then turned her gaze to Liu Qianze. "You are the son of the Liu family head, aren't you? I heard you are also a talented student in the medical field?"
Liu Qianze didn't know why Long Yinglan was asking this, but he knew her identity and could only nod in response. "Yes."
"A while ago, I heard that a young man, holding a supreme card from the Wanhao Group, booked a private room at the Sky Hotel. Some things happened inside. I believe you wouldn't want these things to be made public, would you?"
Upon hearing Long Yinglan's words, Liu Qianze's face immediately turned grim.
He knew that the person Long Yinglan was referring to was him. He possessed a supreme card from the Wanhao Group that his father had given him when he went to Jiangcheng.
"Matters of the heart cannot be forced, otherwise, it is you who will be heartbroken in the end. I believe you understand," Long Yinglan said again.
"Long Yinglan, what do you mean by saying these things to my son? The two of them grew up together and had a marriage contract since childhood. How dare you, an outsider, point fingers at my son and meddle too much?" Liu Zhijun's face was cold, as if about to erupt.
"Dad!" At this moment, Liu Qianze quickly called out.
Liu Qianze appeared somewhat flustered. "I, I think Aunt Long is right. Matters of the heart cannot be forced. I, I am willing to compete fairly with Chen Fan."
"Compete fairly?!"
The crowd present thought they had misheard, and they all stared at Liu Qianze in disbelief.
"What did you say?!" Liu Zhijun glared at Liu Qianze with anger.
Even Qin Hongguo and the others looked incredulous, never expecting Liu Qianze to suddenly give up at this moment and propose fair competition with Chen Fan.
Although Long Yinglan's sudden appearance was unexpected, as long as the two families persisted, the engagement ceremony today could proceed as planned. However, none of them had anticipated Liu Qianze would say such a thing.
"Dad, I believe I can make Shuran fall in love with me, not force it. Don't worry, I..."
Before Liu Qianze could finish speaking, Liu Zhijun coldly rebuked, "Idiot! Don't call me Dad, I don't have a foolish son like you!"
Liu Zhijun's face turned red with anger, feeling that the Liu family's reputation was being utterly disgraced by this foolish son. He glanced at Long Yinglan, snorted coldly, and turned to leave the Qin family villa directly.
At this moment, the person with the most unpleasant expression was undoubtedly Liu Qianze himself. He never expected things to turn out this way.
But Long Yinglan had said what she needed to say. He knew what Long Yinglan wanted to hear. If he didn't say this, he would truly have no face to see anyone in the future, let alone be with Qin Shuran.
Of course, Liu Qianze blamed all of this on Chen Fan. If it weren't for Chen Fan, how could all these things have happened?!
Liu Qianze gritted his teeth, staring at Chen Fan, wishing he could strangle Chen Fan to death right now.
The atmosphere at the scene was awkward and strange, so quiet that a needle drop could be heard.
Qin Hongguo's brows furrowed. He also did not expect such an outcome and didn't know how to resolve the situation for a moment.
"Cough, cough." At this moment, Old Master Qin coughed twice.
"Father, what's wrong?" Qin Hongguo quickly helped Old Master Qin.
"I'm feeling a bit unwell. Let the birthday banquet continue. We need to entertain our guests. Help me to the study to rest," Old Master Qin instructed.
Everyone knew this was just an excuse. After all, Old Master Qin had been so robust just moments ago. How could he suddenly feel unwell?
Although everyone understood, no one pointed it out.
Qin Xiaodong, as the eldest son, naturally stayed to entertain the guests. As for Qin Hongguo, he helped Old Master Qin towards the study.
Before leaving, he glanced at Qin Shuran, signaling her to follow.
Before Qin Shuran left, she exchanged a glance with Chen Fan. Although they didn't speak, they could see a trace of joy in each other's eyes.
Seeing Qin Shuran and the others leave, Liu Qianze walked down the stairs with a somber expression.
"Cousin, cousin, why did you agree to compete fairly? What is that kid? How can he be qualified to fight you for Qin Shuran?" Liu Xiaotian asked, not understanding, as he met Liu Qianze.
Liu Qianze glanced at Chen Fan, did not reply, and also left the Qin family villa directly.
"Let's go too." At this moment, Long Yinglan came to Chen Fan's side and said.
Chen Fan's expression froze, then he quickly nodded and followed behind Long Yinglan, leaving under the gaze of countless eyes.
After today, the name Chen Fan would spread widely in the upper circles of South China.
"Thank you, Chairman, for helping me today." Sitting in Long Yinglan's Rolls-Royce, Chen Fan hesitated for a moment before finally speaking to express his gratitude.
After all, if it weren't for Long Yinglan's timely appearance, he probably wouldn't have known how to handle the situation.
"Do you know what your actions today constitute?" Long Yinglan asked in a stern tone.
"I just felt it was too unfair for them to treat Shuran this way. She should have the right to choose her own love." Chen Fan knew he had acted improperly today, but he had no regrets. If he had to do it again, he would still make the same choice.
Long Yinglan smiled calmly. "Fairness? That's a fairy tale for ordinary people. In the eyes of those people, there is only absolute power and profit, and no fairness at all. Don't think that because the Liu family's son said he would compete fairly with you, you will be worthy of love in the future. Without absolute power, in their eyes, you are still nothing."
Chen Fan nodded, keeping these words firmly in mind.
"Old Zhao, stop the car." After leaving the Qin family estate, Long Yinglan called out.
The Rolls-Royce slowly stopped.
"Go back to Jiangcheng by yourself."
Chen Fan nodded again, opened the car door, and got out.
However, just as the car was about to leave, Long Yinglan rolled down the window. "From now on, don't call me Chairman. Call me Aunt Long."
Chen Fan's expression froze. Before he could recover, the car had already driven away.