You Dare Play Tricks on Me!

Shen Lang's face instantly stiffened. Su Ruoxue's stepmother was indeed quite unpleasant.

"Mom, Mr. Shen here is now my fiancé. My engagement with Luo Tianyao has long been nullified," Su Ruoxue said with a forced smile.

Before Shen Lang could react, Qiao Lan coldly snorted, "Enough with the acting. I don't care if you have another man. Your engagement with Luo Tianyao must be fulfilled. You should understand the consequences."

Upon hearing this, Su Ruoxue gritted her teeth, a hint of helplessness showing on her delicate cheeks.

She had originally planned to hold out for a while, survive through the next fashion week, achieve a good ranking to attract foreign investment for Lingya International, and revive Tianrong International Group with substantial funds.

The idea was beautiful, but reality was cruel. The time left for Su Ruoxue was too short. Now she had to make a decision.

Qiao Lan cared nothing about Su Ruoxue's well-being; she was treating her like a commodity, to be sold to Luo Tianyao.

Su Ruoxue bitterly smiled inwardly. Her "value" as this commodity was apparently quite high.

Seeing Su Ruoxue remain silent, Qiao Lan's face showed a trace of satisfaction. She knew that Su Ruoxue had no choice left. Her gaze then turned to Shen Lang, and she asked icily, "Your name is Shen Lang. Are you currently living with Su Ruoxue?"

"Yes, what about it?" Shen Lang chuckled.

Seeing Qiao Lan's disdainful attitude towards Su Ruoxue, Shen Lang couldn't be bothered to show any respect to this older woman.

Observing Shen Lang's arrogant attitude, Qiao Lan's expression turned slightly annoyed. She didn't bother arguing with someone of such low status.

Without expression, Qiao Lan took out a check from her Hermès clutch on the table and quickly filled it out.

"This is a check for one million. You can cash it at any major bank in Huahai City. If you leave Su Ruoxue now, this one million is yours," Qiao Lan said coldly.

To Qiao Lan, the new heir of the Qiao family, a mere million was insignificant. The marriage between Luo Tianyao and Su Ruoxue had been arranged long ago, and now she needed to secure Luo Tianyao's stability. There couldn't be any other man beside Su Ruoxue.

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang immediately stepped forward and took the check from Qiao Lan's hand, grinning broadly. "Is this one million really for me?"

"Of course," Qiao Lan replied coldly, her smile tinged with contempt. She thought to herself that it was easy to buy off someone of lower class with a little money.

"Su Ruoxue, do you see now? The guy you found to act as your fiancé is only after money," Qiao Lan sneered at Su Ruoxue, her expression quite theatrical.

Su Ruoxue's face turned pale, her body trembling slightly. Her beautiful eyes stared at Shen Lang, deep disappointment mixed with a hint of anger flooding her heart.

How could he do this? Just for a mere million, he betrayed her?

"This man... he really is like this... I should have known..." Su Ruoxue's body trembled, her emotions collapsing. Although she had always kept her distance from Shen Lang, she had still trusted him as the supposed fiancé chosen by her grandfather.

But now, seeing him so easily betray her, Su Ruoxue's lips twitched slightly with a bitter smile, her heart aching.

Feeling helpless suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes without her noticing.

Putting the check into his pocket with a delighted expression, Shen Lang turned to Qiao Lan and said cheerfully, "Ms. Qiao, you're so generous. Thank you!"

As he finished speaking, Shen Lang returned to Su Ruoxue's side.

Su Ruoxue's delicate face was now streaked with tears, but she stubbornly held back from crying out loud. She glanced coldly at Shen Lang, her lips twitching slightly. "Go away. I never want to see you again!"

Ignoring her, Shen Lang grabbed Su Ruoxue's hand and said with a smile, "Snow, your 'mom' is so generous. She gave me a million! Let's go have a feast. I'll treat you tonight!"

Su Ruoxue was stunned, not quite understanding what Shen Lang meant.

Qiao Lan was taken aback, then her face darkened, and she exploded in anger, "You little bastard, what do you mean? I told you to take the money and get out of Su Ruoxue's life!"

Shen Lang was irritated and retorted, "Ms. Qiao, I only asked if that one million was for me, not that I agreed to leave Su Ruoxue. Since you offered me the money, I reluctantly accepted it."

"You dare to play games with me!"

Qiao Lan's face turned livid, and she slammed the table, standing up.

As the heir of the Qiao family, no one had ever dared to play such tricks on her before. This guy was simply a rogue!

Su Ruoxue couldn't help but burst into laughter, almost choking on her breath.

It turned out that Shen Lang's plan was this. She almost thought that Shen Lang would abandon her for a mere one million.

Shen Lang looked directly at the charming Su Ruoxue and couldn't help but reach out, gently wiping away the tears from her cheeks. He grinned and said, "Snow, don't cry, it's not a good look!"

Tears continued to flow from Su Ruoxue's eyes uncontrollably. In that moment, she felt that this man in front of her wasn't so hateful after all.

"Stop crying!" Su Ruoxue wiped her tears and managed a slight smile.

Shen Lang chuckled, "Snow, you look much prettier when you smile."

Seeing Shen Lang being so intimate in addressing her, Su Ruoxue suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. Besides her grandfather, she had never cried in front of any other man before, and Shen Lang was the first. It made her feel a bit ashamed.

However, after Shen Lang played around with Qiao Lan, Su Ruoxue's mood improved a lot. Seeing Qiao Lan also being taken down a notch for once, Su Ruoxue felt a sense of relief.

Qiao Lan's face was terrifyingly dark. If she had a knife now, she couldn't resist the urge to stab Shen Lang a few times. How dare he play with her like this? Shen Lang was the first person to do so!

"Su Ruoxue, let me tell you the truth. The reason I asked you to come here today was to deliver a message. Luo Tianyao will be hosting a banquet on the Red River Cruise next weekend, inviting many business and political figures, and you are included. If you don't go, you'll bear the consequences!" Qiao Lan sneered coldly.

Su Ruoxue calmed down. Luo Tianyao had just returned to Huaxia, and holding a banquet like this would surely involve some major moves. Su Ruoxue was smart enough to figure out that it likely had something to do with her.

At this point, she had no other choice but to take things step by step.

Looking at the sad expression on Su Ruoxue's face, Shen Lang turned to Qiao Lan and awkwardly chuckled, "Ms. Qiao, if there's nothing else, Su Miss and I will take our leave."

"Hold on!" Qiao Lan's face turned icy, furious as she said, "You arrogant brat, don't push it. Give me back the check!"

Shen Lang sneered, "I just told you not to regret it earlier. Now you're saying your words don't count so soon? As the CEO of Tianrong International, you don't even uphold integrity. No wonder the company is going bankrupt."