"Even though we bought new clothes, we shouldn't just throw away the old set. Thrift is a traditional virtue."
Inside the fitting room, Qin Yuan changed into a brand-new, casual white summer tracksuit. Good clothing truly made a difference in the texture of the fabric against the skin.
He looked at himself in the mirror, a satisfied smile gradually spreading across his face, completely unaware that a crisis was waiting for him just outside.
"Clothes really do make the man."
Afterward, Qin Yuan packed his old clothes into a bag and stepped out of the fitting room.
"Looking good. You look much more energetic."
Wen Yue crossed her arms, sizing up Qin Yuan as he walked over, and said with a calm smile, "Let's go. To the next place."
Qin Yuan returned her smile, nodded, and walked over to her side, naturally reaching out to take her hand.
Wen Yue was slightly startled. Her hand twitched for a second, but Qin Yuan only held on tighter, as if to emphasize his absolute insistence on holding her hand right then and there.
The two of them walked out of the clothing store together. Remembering the store manager's reaction and attitude just moments earlier, Qin Yuan asked softly and curiously, "By the way, that manager... did she seem to know you?"
Wen Yue glanced at him, the corners of her lips curling up slightly as she countered, "Why do you suppose this shopping plaza is called Tianheng City? And why is it built right here in Tianheng Building?"
"As far as your eyes can see, every single property bearing the name 'Tianheng' belongs to my family."
Hearing this, Qin Yuan couldn't help but draw a sharp breath, feeling a wave of deep astonishment in his heart.
What he didn't know yet was that Tianheng was merely one of the Wen Group's many ventures rather than the entirety of their empire. Having just become Wen Yue's presidential assistant, he simply didn't have a complete understanding of the Wen Group yet.
Qin Yuan was stunned into silence for two seconds. Just as they reached a nearby corner, before he could even utter a word—
The very next second:
"Come on, take a look, everyone! Here's live video footage! This bastard Qin Yuan is cheating! Look at the two of them walking hand-in-hand, all lovey-dovey!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, I spit on you! Have you no shame, you damn scoundrel? I'm going to expose your disgusting behavior to the world today!"
"He was proposing to my sister just two days ago, and today he turns around and gets all cozy with another woman out in broad daylight!"
Zhang Jiajun held his phone up, aiming it at the two of them while recording as he walked, his angry expression laced with a heavy dose of excitement.
He never expected that coming over to browse the Gadiba store his family owned in Tianheng City would lead to such an unexpected discovery.
No, to him, it was more like an unexpected windfall.
Deep down, Zhang Jiajun despised Qin Yuan and wished he could kick him out of the Zhang family once and for all.
He had a pretty good relationship with Wang Songyang, and he genuinely believed that Wang Songyang and his sister were a match made in heaven—after all, the guy was going to be a massively famous superstar in the future.
That was why he had immediately sent "proof" of Qin Yuan's infidelity to both of them, and why he had contacted Wang Songyang. Wang Songyang was already on his way; Zhang Jiajun had deliberately been stalling for time.
With Zhang Jiajun's sharp and clamorous shouting, quite a few passersby had already stopped to watch.
Yet he wasn't flustered in the least—this was the exact effect he wanted, and his behavior only grew more outrageous.
"Doing such a morally bankrupt thing, you two shameless dogs just wait to be ruined!"
Initially, Qin Yuan had been completely off guard when Zhang Jiajun rushed up and unleashed a barrage of abuse. But at that moment, hearing such grating words as "shameless dogs," he finally snapped.
I already tolerated it when you cursed at me, but how dare you insult my wife?
Without a second thought, Qin Yuan let go of Wen Yue's hand, strode forward, and threw a punch as fierce as a striking dragon, knocking Zhang Jiajun's phone right out of his hand.
Crack!
With that punch, Zhang Jiajun's phone hit the ground, the screen and case splitting apart instantly.
Qin Yuan's sudden decision to bypass words and go straight to violence left Zhang Jiajun momentarily dumbfounded.
Pointing a trembling finger at Qin Yuan, he roared, "You—how dare you smack my phone away! I..."
Slap!
Qin Yuan batted his hand aside, using enough force that the blow carried straight onto Zhang Jiajun's face.
"You're not even human, let alone your phone! If you dare spew any more garbage, I'll beat you into submission right now."
Qin Yuan glared at Zhang Jiajun, the anger he had long suppressed within the Zhang family instantly igniting and erupting. If not for the growing crowd around them, he really would have taught Zhang Jiajun a lesson in basic human decency.
Yet out of the corner of his eye, Qin Yuan caught sight of an even more startling scene.
Wen Yue hadn't stepped in to stop him at all. Instead, she stood there expressionlessly watching the whole thing like a spectator with no skin in the game, completely unfazed even by the insults Zhang Jiajun had just hurled.
Qin Yuan thought internally: *My dear ancestor, you could at least have stopped me a little! Aren't you worried I'd actually beat the crap out of this punk and turn this into a huge scandal?*
"You..."
Clutching his burning cheek, Zhang Jiajun stared at Qin Yuan with a mix of shock and fury. But the moment he opened his mouth, Qin Yuan snapped back to reality and cut him off instantly.
"The very day your sister stood me up at our engagement and stayed out all night with her male best friend, I already announced I was cutting ties with her. Nothing I do has anything to do with the Zhang family. You know damn well who the real cheater is."
"And listen up, Zhang Jiajun: the beautiful lady standing behind me is my legally wedded wife."
"You pull out your phone to secretly film us, and you even dare to publicly and maliciously insult me and my wife. Try saying one more word, I dare you."
As those words fell, the sheer magnitude of the revelation flooded the minds of the onlookers.
Wait.
Who was cheating? Whose fault was it really?
Yet buried right in the middle of Qin Yuan's statement, they found a definitive answer.
Qin Yuan had said he and the beautiful lady behind him were legally married... Within mere seconds, a wave of shock rippled through the crowd, and all eyes instantly shifted to the couple, completely forgetting about Zhang Jiajun.
After all, quite a few people present recognized Wen Yue. The man who had been "suspected of cheating" turned out to be the husband... of the Wen Group chairman's daughter?!
The crucial part was that Wen Yue simply stood there in calm, unmoving silence.
If they weren't married and Qin Yuan was lying, wouldn't anyone in her position say something to refute it?
Silence meant tacit confirmation of the relationship!
"Make way! Make way!"
The head of security, flanked by several uniformed guards, rushed to the scene. The moment the security chief saw that the person standing behind Qin Yuan was Wen Yue, his scalp went numb.
It was like a top-tier executive making a rare inspection tour, only to have some local troublemaker pick a fight right on their turf!
Utterly upside down.
Regardless of the reason, protecting the boss's personal safety and interests always came first.
"No fighting! Where do you think you are, Tianheng City?"
The security captain's words sounded like a general warning to everyone present, but every line was actually a direct threat aimed at Zhang Jiajun. At the same time, he motioned for two of his subordinates to hold Zhang back.
He stepped in front of Wen Yue and said apologetically in a low voice, "M-Ms. Wen, I'm sorry. I got here late. I never imagined someone would be blind enough to offend you here in Tianheng City..."
With a cold expression, Wen Yue stepped forward to Qin Yuan's side. Executing an action that stunned the entire audience, she finally spoke her first words of the day.