Chapter 7: The Engagement Party

On the day of the engagement party, the grand banquet hall was packed with high-society guests. Dressed in my formal evening gown, I stood greeting visitors, playing it cool on the outside while dying of anxiety on the inside.

Huo Ci, in particular, had been MIA all morning, sending me only a single text: “I prepared a surprise for you.” I was deeply suspicious. Whenever that man promised a “surprise,” it usually meant heart-stopping panic instead.

Right on cue, a commotion broke out near the entrance. I turned around, my heart immediately sinking into my stomach: Shen Yuhang and Qiao Ran. God knows how those two managed to slip past security.

Yuhang marched straight up to me, his voice loud enough for the neighboring tables to hear every word. “Niyi, where’s your precious Huo Ci? Don’t tell me he got booked by some wealthy VIP client and couldn’t make it?”

Standing beside him, Qiao Ran played along seamlessly. “Oh, Yuhang, don’t be like that. Who knows? Maybe he just worked overtime last night and couldn’t pull himself out of bed this morning.”

Whispers rippled through the surrounding crowd. I was so furious I wanted to throw a glass of water straight into their faces, but before I could utter a word, Yuhang smugly pulled out his phone and flashed a blurry photograph for everyone to see.

“Look, everyone! This is Huo Ci, a male escort from the ‘Seduction’ nightclub who specializes in servicing wealthy cougars!”

To maximize the humiliation, Yuhang had even hired someone to stream the scene live. Within seconds, the stream flooded with viewers, comments scrolling at breakneck speed:

【Holy crap, the rich heiress got scammed by a pretty boy.】
【Being hot really is an easy paycheck.】
【Did Young Master Shen just get publicly cheated on? This is going straight to the trending topics!】

I balled my hands into tight fists, about to yell at them, when the massive double doors of the hall burst open. A deep, familiar voice resonated across the room, cutting right through the chaotic noise. “I’m sorry, Niyi. I’m late.”

I spun around. It was Huo Ci.

He wore a tailored, high-end black suit, his tall frame radiating a cold, imposing aura. His presence alone was enough to plunge the entire banquet hall into dead silence. But what truly stunned the crowd… was the entourage of heavyweights following right behind him. They were prominent titans of industry who regularly graced financial news headlines, tycoons whose every decision could send shockwaves through the market.

The atmosphere instantly froze. The smug grin on Yuhang’s face completely petrified, while Qiao Ran trembled so violently she dropped her wine glass onto the floor.

Crash!

The sound of shattering glass echoed through the quiet room. Immediately after, an elderly, prominent businessman in the crowd stood up abruptly, staring at Huo Ci in a mixture of shock and profound deference. “Mr. Huo? What are you doing here?”

He paused, and then, as if realization had struck him like a bolt of lightning, his voice trembled. “Could it be… you are the groom-to-be today?!”

“Is… is that the mysterious crown prince of the Huo family?!” someone gasped, nearly dropping their own glass.

“My god! Miss Zhao’s fiancé is actually part of the Huo family?!” “The same Huo family that dominates the Capital?!” “Which other Huo family could it possibly be?!”

The room erupted into a frenzy of hushed chatter. Those who had just been gleefully waiting to watch the scandalous drama unfold now looked like they had swallowed flies. The crown prince of the Huo family was notoriously reclusive; after all these years, there wasn’t a single clear photograph of him online. Aside from a few financial juggernauts who had crossed paths with him abroad, ordinary people had no idea what he looked like.

Qiao Ran stood frozen in place, her lips drained of all color. She pointed a trembling finger at Huo Ci. “N-No… impossible… We did our research…”

Huo Ci didn’t bother offering her a single glance. Walking straight over to me, he naturally wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close in a movement so practiced it felt second nature. Then, he cast a cool glance at the two standing before us, his eyes as indifferent as if he were looking at two pebbles on the side of the road.

“Your research was thorough enough. Unfortunately, the man in that photo isn’t me. He was an employee in our corporate PR department who was fired last month for impersonating me to commit fraud. He’s currently awaiting trial.”

A dead silence fell over the crowd. Meanwhile, the livestream viewer count breached a hundred thousand, comments flying past so fast it was a blur:

【Holy shit! The real crown prince made an appearance!】
【You’re telling me a man this gorgeous is an escort? He could buy out the entire damn club with pocket change!】
【Screenshotted! Is this enough evidence to sue for defamation?】

Yuhang’s face flushed from red to white before settling into a corpse-like grey. He could never have imagined that the man he had spent so long looking down on was someone he couldn’t reach even if he spent a lifetime looking up.

Huo Ci looked down at me, his tone instantly shifting to a low, tender murmur. “Mrs. Huo, if you want to change your mind now… it’s already too late.”

I stood there stunned, my brain still reeling as I struggled to piece together the bombshell that had just exploded in front of me.

—

Huo Ci led me into the VIP lounge. The moment the door clicked shut, he grasped my hand tightly. To my surprise, his fingertips were slightly cold. The man who had just commanded the awe of an entire room full of elite moguls was now visibly trembling with tension. He stared at me, his eyes filled with anxious dread, as if terrified I might turn around and run at any second.

“I didn’t mean to keep it from you. I was just… scared you’d change your mind.” His voice was barely a whisper, accompanied by a helpless smile. “I asked you once before what would happen if I really belonged to the Huo family. You said a family like that felt too distant, that it would give you too much pressure.”

Memory flooded back. So back when we were in the car, he had been testing the waters, only for me to mindlessly douse him in ice-cold water. No wonder he had looked so down after that conversation.

“Niyi.” He softly spoke my name, his dark eyes swirling with depth. “There are words I’ve held inside my heart for a very long time. Since I was sixteen… I’ve been in love with you.”

I froze. Huo Ci slowly began to share his story. Back then in that impoverished village, when his whole world was nothing but debt, despair, and darkness, I had walked in like a beam of light breaking into a pitch-black room. He had watched me argue with those vicious loan sharks, watching me try so hard to play tough even as my legs trembled underneath me.

From that day on, he worked himself to the bone, studying ruthlessly and climbing upward for the sole purpose of closing the distance between us. Unfortunately, by the time he was finally capable of returning, I was already promised to Shen Yuhang.

“Back then, the only thing I could force myself to do was stay far away from you,” he murmured with a self-deprecating laugh. “Because if I stayed anywhere near you, I was terrified I’d do something unhinged that even I couldn’t forgive.”

After being brought back into the Huo family, he established his foothold in the conglomerate in record time. The very first thing he did was quietly help my family’s business, funding investments, securing massive projects, making introductions to key partners… pulling every string behind the scenes while wiping his name completely clean from the record.

I blinked. “So you were the legendary philanthropist my dad kept talking about?”

Huo Ci nodded. “Yeah. I originally planned to take things step-by-step. I was even planning to invent an excuse to send Shen Yuhang overseas for a few years.”

I almost burst out laughing. Underneath that dignified exterior, the man was sly to his core.

Pinching the bridge of his nose with a helpless sigh, he continued, “I never anticipated Qiao Ran pulling that stunt, or that I’d accidentally wander into your room.” The corner of his mouth twitched up slightly. “You called me a model boy. I figured… if you had already misunderstood, I might as well play along a little longer.”

I glared at him. “You have the nerve to admit that?!”

He chuckled, leaning down to press a soft kiss to my fingertips. “Because I was selfish. I wanted to keep you by my side a little longer, even if it was just for one more day.”

With those words, Huo Ci suddenly took a step back and sank down onto one knee before me.

Stunned, I took half a step back. He produced a small velvet box from his pocket, revealing an exquisitely crafted, sparkling diamond ring. But what sent my heart racing even harder was the sheer nervousness etched across his features. A man who could strike fear into the hearts of titans across the financial world was now looking at me like a terrified schoolboy making his very first confession.

“Niyi, will you marry me?”

I looked down at him, gazing into the eyes that had quietly watched over me throughout all the years of my youth. Within them lay the unyielding patience of a teenage boy and an obsessive, unrelenting love he had never quite managed to hide.

Suddenly, it all made sense. From the very beginning, this man had walked a treacherous, grueling road, braving endless storms just to finally stand by my side.

Smiling, I held out my hand for him to slide the ring onto my finger, answering softly, “I do. This time, Mr. Huo, I’m not going to make you wait ever again.”