Cheng Ran took the stage, passing by Guo Shanhai.
Guo Shanhai hurried forward with a beaming smile and greeted her.
"Hi, Ranran. You look so beautiful today!"
Hearing his address, Cheng Ran couldn't help but slightly furrow her beautiful eyebrows.
Although she didn't say much, her displeasure was evident.
Her cheeks seemed to be covered in a layer of frost, and she didn't even glance at Guo Shanhai.
She walked past him indifferently, straight to her father, Cheng Dong.
This made Guo Shanhai extremely awkward, and he lightly rubbed his fingers.
The smile he forced onto his face looked somewhat stiff.
Seeing Guo Shanhai's somber expression, Cheng Dong quickly chimed in with a couple of apologetic laughs.
He glared fiercely at Cheng Ran, then looked out at the crowd and shouted.
"Everyone! Today is my daughter's 21st birthday. I, Cheng Dong, thank you all for coming to support us!"
After these polite pleasantries, Cheng Dong didn't immediately tell everyone to enjoy the banquet.
Nor did he seem to be in a hurry to cut the cake.
Instead, his gaze shifted back and forth between his daughter, Cheng Ran, and Guo Shanhai.
A hint of an unreadable smile played on his face.
Without making everyone wait too long, he changed the subject and continued.
"But! Besides my daughter's birthday, our Cheng family has another joyous occasion to announce!"
Tao Jie's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and his expression instantly became stiff.
It seemed the rumors were true, Cheng Dong had hitched himself to the Guo family!
This was absolutely not good news for his Tao family.
Now that Tao Fan was gone, the Tao family was already in decline.
And Cheng Dong, who had been living under Tao Fan for so long, harbored great ambition.
Although he outwardly treated Tao Jie with politeness, in reality, he probably wished to completely replace the Tao family more than anyone!
If Cheng Dong also formed a marriage alliance with Guo Shanhai, it was imaginable that the Cheng family's influence would grow rapidly.
At that point, the Tao family would be unable to catch up, and the position of Helmsman would inevitably belong to the Cheng family!
Aside from Tao Jie and Jiang Rou's displeased expressions.
Most of the other guests felt a pang of unease.
But at least on the surface, they maintained their smiles, pretending not to know and feigning excitement.
"A joyous occasion?"
"Miss Cheng's birthday is already a joyous occasion, but there's another one? Could it be?"
"Wonderful, hahaha"
"Oh, congratulations Helmsman Cheng, congratulations Miss Cheng!"
Even though everyone knew what the joyous occasion was, and even knew it was a marriage alliance with the Guo family.
Since Cheng Dong hadn't announced it, they could only pretend to be in the dark.
Cheng Dong nodded happily at the blessings from below.
He raised his hands to quiet the crowd and said with a laugh.
"Please be quiet, everyone, so I can continue announcing this joyous event, hahaha."
The crowd quickly fell silent. Although they already knew, they still looked expectantly at the stage.
Waiting for the official confirmation.
Amidst everyone's anticipation, Cheng Dong cleared his throat.
Just as he was about to speak into the microphone, Cheng Ran interrupted him first.
"Dad, let me say it myself."
"Ranran! Don't be foolish!"
As a father, Cheng Dong knew exactly what his daughter was thinking.
He reprimanded her in a low voice, absolutely refusing to hand the microphone to Cheng Ran.
Huh?
From below, Song Qiao couldn't help but let out a soft gasp.
Could there be a hidden story behind this?
With that thought, he quickly stirred up the crowd, saying.
"It should be the protagonist who announces such matters!"
"That's right, that's right"
"Exactly! It's more appropriate for them to announce their own affairs!"
"Well said! That's how it should be."
Seeing Song Qiao shift his position in the crowd, suggesting and agreeing, creating a scene of overwhelming support.
Jiang Rou felt a bit speechless.
To prevent him from being embarrassed, she somewhat perfunctorily agreed.
"That's right!"
The guests below didn't realize that all those voices came from Song Qiao alone.
Hearing someone stir up the crowd, they also chimed in with laughter.
"Isn't that right, Helmsman Cheng! Although this is your event, the protagonist today is Miss Cheng!"
"Yes, Helmsman Cheng, don't be so stingy."
"You're stealing your daughter's spotlight, that's not very nice."
Listening to the clamor from below, Cheng Dong forced a wry smile.
If he didn't let his daughter speak now, it might cause misunderstandings among the guests.
He glared fiercely at Cheng Ran and reminded her in a low voice, "Mind the occasion!"
Saying that, he waved his hand at the crowd and smiled.
"Since everyone wants to hear a few words from my daughter, I'll let her greet you all!"
"Great!" Song Qiao applauded enthusiastically.
Cheng Ran took the microphone and gave the crowd below a beautiful smile.
"Today is my birthday. Thank you all, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, for coming to celebrate with me."
As she spoke, she placed her hand over her chest and bowed deeply to everyone below.
Amidst cheers and applause, Cheng Ran slowly straightened up.
The smile on her face had completely vanished.
Her pretty face looked somewhat dejected.
"My father mentioned another joyous occasion earlier, which is to marry me off to Master Guo Shanhai of the Guo family."
"That's right. This is indeed a great joy for our Cheng family."
"After all, the Guo family has great power and influence, and Master Guo is incredibly capable."
There was no applause or cheering from below.
Because everyone could see that Cheng Ran's expression was not quite right.
Before anyone could question, she continued to shout loudly, "But I am unwilling!"
"I don't want to marry into the Guo family, I don't want to marry him!"
"What?"
Her words caused a stir throughout the entire hall.
Everyone looked at each other, unsure of how to react.
Although they had all guessed that this was not Cheng Ran's willing arrangement.
After all, who, with a bright future ahead of them, would be blind enough to fall for a middle-aged man like Guo Shanhai with his notoriously promiscuous private life?
But they hadn't expected Cheng Ran to say it so directly at such an occasion!
Wasn't this disrespecting the Guo family and embarrassing her own father?
But then again, Cheng Ran was just a young girl, caught between the two powerful families of Cheng and Guo.
If she didn't speak out here, she might not have another chance to confide in anyone.
As everyone expected, Cheng Dong's expression was indeed unpleasant, his entire face as dark as if it were about to drip water.
Guo Shanhai, on the other hand, remained calm.
He looked at Cheng Ran with a playful, lustful smile and said.
"Anyway, I only care about the outcome. Who cares if you're willing or not."
"Whether a forced melon is sweet or not, you have to twist it off first to find out!"
Indeed, for someone like Guo Shanhai, such matters carried no consequences.
If it wasn't sweet after twisting it off, he could simply discard it.
And a beautiful girl like this, telling him she wasn't sweet?
He'd never believe it!
Cheng Ran still ignored Guo Shanhai. She sniffled and continued to speak to the crowd below.
"But I still want to give myself a chance!"
"So I say, whoever's appraisal skills can defeat Guo Shanhai."
"I will agree to be that person's girlfriend!"