Xu Yinyin knocked at the door called An Shu Tong, only then did An Shu Tong set down the SLR camera she was playing within her hands and got up to go out.
"Shu Tong, you are the third lady of the Su family. I can be here, all thanks to your influence. When you are not here, those people barely spare me a glance. How about you introduce me to some of them?" Xu Yinyin was An Shu Tong's colleague in the news agency, and they were pretty close on a personal level.
The Su family was hosting a banquet this time, inviting people from the upper circles. Xu Yinyin came from a modest background, so her presence at such an event was indeed due to the fact that An Shu Tong was the third lady of the Su family.
However...
"What kind of influence could I share with you now? If they genuinely respected me, then even in my absence, everything would remain the same," An Shu Tong said with a sigh. A tinge of self-mockery crossed her elegant face, with an undercurrent of gloom in her eyes.
A sense of loss filled her heart, although fleeting. With today's gathering, she needed to keep her smile up.
“Let's go. I'll accompany you down there,” An Shu Tong gave a smile at Xu Yinyin, thinking to herself that since Yinyin was so keen on meeting the people from the elite circles, she would help her out.
No matter what, she didn't want Xu Yinyin's trip to end up futile.
But, Xu Yinyin couldn't understand the hidden meaning in An Shu Tong’s words, nor could she decipher the expression on An Shu Tong's face. She was currently bathed in excitement, hoping to mingle with the rich elites, hoping this would be her ladder to success.
~
After An Shu Tong left, An Mu Shan made her appearance from around a corner of the corridor. She was dressed in a red one-shoulder evening gown. Her shoulder-length black hair was styled into a bun and embellished with a crown-shaped headband encrusted with rhinestones. Her sparkling eyes and radiant smile, coupled with her striking beauty, made her look enchanting under the warm yellow lights.
She watched the direction in which An Shu Tong left, with bitterness evident in her eyes.
Walking lightly to the door of An Shu Tong's room, An Mu Shan was about to push the door and enter when someone from behind called her.
"Mu Shan, everyone is mingling outside, why are you alone in here?" the speaker was Su Yicheng, who was the third son of the Su family, and An Shu Tong's husband.
"Brother-in-law, I think I've had too much to drink, and I'm feeling slightly dizzy,” An Mu Shan immediately changed her expression. The fierceness on her face vanished, replaced by an expression of innocence and pity.
With that, she started to sway slightly.
Fearing she might fall, Su Yicheng instinctively reached out, pinching her waist. His towering figure leaned slightly towards her, his usually cold face now bore a gentle expression, even his voice was gentle.
"Mushan, you've drank too much, I'll take you back to your room to rest."
"I don't want to go back." An Mushan had indeed drunk quite a bit, her body reeked of alcohol, but she was not yet completely drunk.
She lifted her eyes, her big eyes gradually clouded with a layer of mist.
Looking at her, Su Yicheng's noble face expressed regret and pain. He owed Mushan, he had always understood that.
"Brother-in-law, when are you divorcing my sister?" There was no one around, so An Mushan simply leaned closer, but she did not bury herself entirely in the man's chest. She was hinting subtly, her body swaying tantalizingly, "During your loneliest and most helpless period, I was the one who stayed by your side, supporting and encouraging you. You once said, after growing up, you wouldn't marry anyone except me. But after all, you married my sister, and I, because of you two, ruined my best future."
"Now my father is the chairman of the An's, and I am the brightest star in the An's. But like this, can you pretend the harm you once did to me doesn't exist?"
An Mushan started crying, burying her face in Su Yicheng's chest, "Brother-in-law, divorce my sister and we can legitimately be together."
A glint of hesitation passed through Su Yicheng's eyes. After struggling, he gently patted An Mushan's back, "Wait a bit longer, the time is not right yet."
An Mushan knew what Su Yicheng cared about, and she understood the need for progressive steps. Men should not be pushed too hard. After giving him a hard time, it was time to soothe him with sweet words.
With her body coiled around Su Yicheng like a snake, she raised both of her smooth arms, tossed her high heels aside, stood on her tiptoes, and began passionately kissing the man.
Su Yicheng stood still, not rejecting, but not reciprocating either. Once she had kissed enough, and cried enough, Su Yicheng finally said, "Go back to your room and sleep."
With one last look at him, An Mushan suddenly clutched his tie. Kicking open the door behind her, she hung onto him as they tumbled into the bedroom together.
This bedroom was Su Yicheng's matrimonial room with An Shutong. An Mushan felt that sleeping with her man, occupying her room, was the greatest insult and provocation to her.
~
Although An Shutong's father An Zhenhua is no longer with us, and at the moment, her second uncle An Zhenye handles the affairs of the An family. Nevertheless, she is still the third lady of the Su family.
Out of respect for the Su family, many people would still keep up the surface level niceties.
After An Shutong introduced a few people to Yu Yinyin, she chose a quiet corner to stay, without the crowded disturbance, sitting alone with a glass of champagne.
Not long after, Yu Yinyin ran over and said, "Shutong, do you have your DSLR with you? Could you lend it to me? I want to record a video. Who knows when we can attend such an event again, so it would be great to take some pictures and videos for remembrance."
"Wait for a moment, let me get it," An Shutong said as she got to her feet.
"I love you so much," Yu Yinyin shouted at An Shutong's retreating figure.
An Shutong went upstairs and upon reaching her bedroom, she felt something was off. There were sounds of lovemaking coming from her room. The sounds were slight, seemingly being suppressed, yet her ears were functioning perfectly, she heard it.
Without guessing, An Shutong knew who it was.
This was the marital bedroom she shared with Su Yicheng. Even though since their marriage, Su Yicheng had barely visited this place. Yet, it's audacious for anyone to frivolously use this place.
If before she was heartbroken, now she felt utterly desolate.
Without entering, she quietly waited outside the room.
As the sounds were fading away, An Shutong turned around to calmly look at the impeccably dressed man departing her room - a man of high stature.
Su Yicheng had not expected An Shutong to be outside, let alone her calm demeanor. In his memory, she was a woman who constantly made a fuss, which he found extremely annoying.
"I came back to get something," An Shutong said, giving Su Yicheng a glance before she lowered her eyes to enter the bedroom.
Su Yicheng gripped her arm, "Wait a moment before going in."
His voice was low and a bit hoarse, but full of magnetism. Such a lovely voice. Now he was acting all aloof and restrained, the beastly behaviour from just now vanished in a blink. Men are such good actors...
"Are you afraid I'll embarrass someone?" An Shutong retorted sarcastically.
"What qualification do you have to embarrass others." Su Yicheng's face was filled with an unprecedented frostiness, his lips pressed thin as though restraining his anger. "The one who shamelessly wanted to marry me back then was you, An Shutong. You wronged Mu Shu."
His voice was not loud, his words were serene but they were like daggers stabbing An Shutong in the heart.
An Mu Shu had finished packing up and went to the door, calling out, "Sister."
An Shutong was numb, but thinking of this shameless couple made her raise her hand and attempt to slap both of them.
But Su Yicheng caught her wrist, his handsome face full of anger. "Don't go too far."
An Shutong chuckled, shaking off his hand and headed straight to the bedroom.
Inside the room, a nauseating smell made her want to vomit. The bed sheets were a mess, so was the couch, everything was untidy. An Shutong could guess what the two of them had been up to, they had put on quite a show.
Such a shame that this spectacle was for her eyes only.
~
An Shutong handed a camera to Yu Yinying, who said thank you upon receiving it.
"I'll go out to get some fresh air." An Shutong had no mood to stay here. After telling Yu Yinying, she turned and walked out.
Yu Yinying was left holding the camera, shocked. There was a video in the camera, the scene she saw was the climax. Both man and woman were completely naked, their bodies closely pressed against each other. The woman was sitting at the end of the bed, legs spread apart while the man was thrusting mercilessly.
The image was blush inducing, the accompanying sounds even more so.
Unprepared, Yu Yinying was flabbergasted. The explicit sounds had attracted everyone's attention.
At this moment, An Mu Shu, curious about the commotion, walked over and asked, "What's going on? Why is everyone gathered here?"