After I Married the Comatose CEO - Chapter 19

As the sky grew dark, the He family estate was brightly lit.

Xie Qiu led Meng Ziye through the twisting hallways until they reached the entrance of the banquet hall.

He Jingchen and his second uncle, He Feng, were standing at the door together, welcoming the guests.

Xie Qiu stepped forward, handed the gift he had prepared to an attendant nearby, and gave a simple greeting: “Mr. He, Second Young Master.”

He Jingchen had no expression on his face and only gave a slight nod.

He Feng glanced at him, recognized him immediately, and smiled. “Go on in.”

“Thank you,” Xie Qiu replied, gesturing for his friend to follow.

Many people had already arrived in the hall, gathering in small groups to chat and laugh.

Rather than Grandpa He’s birthday party, it felt more like a high-society networking event. Whether they were there to flatter the He family, make friends, or build connections, everyone at the banquet had their own secret plan.

“Thanks to you, Xiao Qiu, this is my first time at such a high-end party.” Meng Ziye looked around as they walked. “Wow! Look at all that good food over there!”

Xie Qiu smiled and nodded. “That’s right. Our main task today is just to eat and drink.”

The two walked toward the buffet table and found a quiet corner to enjoy the food.

As time passed, more guests arrived, and the banquet hall became even more crowded and lively.

“Xiao Qiu, this is delicious.” Meng Ziye handed Xie Qiu a green drink while he ate. “Do you know what this is?”

Xie Qiu took the glass, had a small sip, and shook his head. “I can’t tell.”

“Oh well, I think it tastes great anyway,” Meng Ziye said, picking up another glass.

Just then, Xie Qiu heard two voices behind him, speaking loud enough to be heard.

“Hey, look. Isn’t that the adopted son from the Xie family in the white suit over there?”

“Huh? Which Xie family?”

“The one with the construction company. I heard they’re doing so badly they’re almost bankrupt.”

Xie Qiu: “…”

Talking behind my back that loudly? Do they think I’m deaf?

“Oh, I remember! That’s the adopted son who has the marriage contract with the Eldest Young Master, right?”

“Pfft! What marriage contract? Who takes that seriously besides him?”

“But since he’s here today, it means the He family hasn’t denied him yet, right?”

“Who knows how he sneaked in? After all, the Eldest Young Master is still…”

As they began to talk about He Siyan, their voices grew quieter.

“Damn, those two have such nasty mouths!” Meng Ziye frowned and asked in a low voice, “Xiao Qiu, do you want me to go teach them a lesson?”

“It’s fine, let them talk. It doesn’t hurt me,” Xie Qiu swirled the glass in his hand and reminded him softly, “Today is the Old Master’s birthday. Let’s keep a low profile.”

“Fine,” Meng Ziye muttered. “When your husband wakes up and makes your identity public, it’ll be a slap in their ugly faces!”

Xie Qiu laughed. “Calm down and eat some more good food.”

But after only a moment of peace, a surprised shout came from behind him: “Xie Qiu?”

Xie Qiu sighed softly and turned around. “Young Master Bai.”

“How did you get in?” Bai You walked over in a few large steps, pointing at the person next to him. “And you brought him too?”

Meng Ziye tried to swallow the piece of cake in his mouth. Even though he was choking, he stretched his neck to talk back: “What’s wrong with bringing me? If you can come, why can’t I?”

“Look at my status and then look at yours,” Bai You said dismissively. “Can you even compare yourself to me?”

Xie Qiu spoke up just in time. “Young Master Bai, let’s not fight in a place like this today, okay?”

Only then did Meng Ziye remember what Xie Qiu had said earlier, and he managed to stay quiet.

Bai You pursed his lips and grabbed a cocktail from the table. “You still haven’t said how you managed to sneak in today.”

Xie Qiu replied, “I was invited in, of course.”

“Who invited you?” Bai You’s eyes darted around, and he suddenly got loud. “Was it Brother Jingchen?”

His shout attracted several nearby glances.

Xie Qiu covered his face with his hand. “No, you’re overthinking it.”

Bai You was about to say more, but he was interrupted by a wave of noise.

The banquet was about to begin, and Grandpa He entered the hall in a wheelchair.

Everyone lined up to greet him, but the Old Master simply nodded and sent them all away.

“I’m going to wish Grandpa He a happy birthday.” Bai You put down his glass. “Xie Qiu, don’t run off! Wait for me to come back!”

Xie Qiu: “…”

Meng Ziye asked, “Xiao Qiu, are we really going to wait for him here?”

“Only an idiot would wait for him.” Xie Qiu started walking. “The banquet is starting. I’m going to go wish the Old Master a happy birthday first.”

A moment later, they walked near the main table of the banquet hall.

The Old Master saw Xie Qiu and gestured for him to come over.

“Grandpa, happy birthday,” Xie Qiu said respectfully as he walked up. “I wish you health, long life, and that everything goes your way.”

“Good,” the Old Master spoke up. “Xiao Qiu, come here to Grandpa’s side.”

Xie Qiu hesitated for a second, but still took two steps forward and knelt down. “Grandpa, do you have any instructions for me?”

When the others saw him go right up to the Old Master, they were shocked and immediately began to whisper among themselves.

“I heard from Wanrong that you have taken very good care of Siyan lately.” The Old Master’s usually stern face softened slightly, which was rare. “You are very thoughtful. Come visit me when you have time; Grandpa has something to give you.”

“Thank you, Grandpa,” Xie Qiu replied obediently. “I will come visit you when I have the time.”

“Good child,” the Old Master said no more. “Go on now.”

The other guests were far away, and the hall was noisy, so they couldn’t hear the specific details of the conversation. They only saw that after the Old Master said a few words, Xie Qiu stood up and stepped back.

Meng Ziye met him. “Xiao Qiu, what did Old Master He say to you?”

“Nothing much,” Xie Qiu replied, then asked, “I’m going to head out first. Are you staying to eat, or coming upstairs with me?”

Meng Ziye thought about it. “I’ll stay for now and find you later.”

“Okay, then take care of yourself.” Xie Qiu patted his friend on the shoulder. “See you later.”

He walked through the crowd, heading straight for the exit of the banquet hall.

As he walked, Xie Qiu suddenly heard a name that sounded a bit familiar.

He instinctively looked over, and a cold yet beautiful face came into view.

Xie Qiu recognized him almost instantly. This person should be the “main character” of this book—Shen Xibai.

He had been so busy trying to wake up his husband that he forgot the main character would attend tonight’s banquet. Also, a scene where the male lead saves the beauty was supposed to happen.

At the same time, Shen Xibai was talking to someone. He suddenly felt a gaze fixed on him and couldn’t help but look to the side.

Their eyes met across the room.

Xie Qiu felt a strange sense of being caught. He moved his eyes away naturally and kept walking forward.

Just then, a harsh male voice rang out: “Shen Xibai! What are you doing here?”

Xie Qiu paused and took a tactical step back.

If he guessed correctly, the speaker was Shen Xibai’s half-brother, Shen Yinan.

The main character’s life story was very rough. His mother died when he was young, and his father’s new wife was a two-faced person. She was good at acting one way to your face and another behind your back. Over the years, she had whispered lies to the father to drive a wedge between him and his son, making Shen Xibai’s life in the Shen family harder every day.

There was no helping it; to be a main character in a novel these days, it was very hard to have two living parents.

As Xie Qiu was complaining in his head, he heard Shen Yinan speak again: “Father clearly grounded you. How dare you sneak out to attend a banquet?”

Shen Xibai’s tone was cold: “The one who received the invitation was me.”

“You—” Shen Yinan’s face changed. “What do you mean? Are you implying that I’m just using your invitation?”

The onlookers began to whisper again. Xie Qiu looked around for the second young master, He Jingchen.

Sure enough, after a few more words, Shen Yinan was so angry he was jumping. He grabbed a glass from a waiter’s tray and splashed the wine at Shen Xibai.

Shen Xibai stood still, his clothes soaked in red wine.

Xie Qiu: “!”

This scene was exactly like the description in the novel.

Even after splashing the wine, Shen Yinan wasn’t satisfied. He grabbed another glass to splash more.

In the next second, He Jingchen appeared just in time and grabbed his wrist tightly. “What are you doing?”

“Second Young Master He?” Shen Yinan quickly tried to explain. “No, it was Shen Xibai, he—”

“No matter what personal grudge you have, do not cause trouble at the birthday banquet.” He Jingchen let go and gave a cold warning. “Otherwise, I will have someone escort you out.”

Shen Yinan was scared by his aura and didn’t dare to argue anymore.

He Jingchen’s gaze landed on Xie Qiu for a moment, then he looked at Shen Xibai. “Are you okay?”

Shen Xibai shook his head. “I’m fine.”

He Jingchen looked at the stain on his chest. “I’ll have someone get you a new suit so you can change.”

“No need,” Shen Xibai refused. “Thank you for your kindness, Second Young Master He.”

He Jingchen didn’t push him. He turned around to continue his work.

The crowd watching the drama moved away. Xie Qiu was also ready to leave, but as he passed by Shen Xibai, he stopped.

He took off his own suit jacket and handed it to Shen Xibai. “If you don’t mind, you can wear my jacket for now.”

It happened that they were both wearing white suits today. Since he was going back to his room anyway and the other person had to stay in the hall for a long time, looking like that would surely cause people to gossip.

Even though Shen Xibai had the “main character aura,” he was truly quite pitiful. Later on, he would have to go through three hundred chapters of a painful “push-and-pull” romance with He Jingchen.

Shen Xibai froze. “Do we know each other?”

“We don’t,” Xie Qiu said with a small smile. “But we do now.”

Shen Xibai stared at him for a few seconds and took the jacket. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Xie Qiu pulled his hand back and kept walking out.

“Wait,” Shen Xibai asked behind him. “How do I return this to you?”

Xie Qiu waved his hand. “If we have the chance to meet again in the future, we’ll talk then.”

Shen Xibai watched him leave, not noticing the hateful look in the eyes behind him.

Xie Qiu walked out of the banquet hall and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He really wasn’t suited for these crowded social events. Staying even a little longer felt suffocating.

Xie Qiu avoided the staff and walked toward the garden, wanting to sit on the little swing and enjoy the breeze for a while.

Just as he reached the garden, a cold voice came from behind him: “Xie Qiu.”

Xie Qiu’s heart skipped a beat. He turned around to see who it was. Shen Yinan was standing on the porch with two people following behind him, looking like they were up to no good.

“Hello,” Xie Qiu gave a standard smile. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“So you are that orphan the Xie family picked up,” Shen Yinan walked toward him. “I heard you don’t want to marry the Eldest Young Master He anymore, and now you’re chasing after He Jingchen instead?”

Xie Qiu: “…”

What is going on? Does everyone in this world, young and old, like He Jingchen?

Shen Yinan said fiercely, “Answer me!”

“I think there might be a misunderstanding,” Xie Qiu explained patiently. “I am not close with the Second Young Master. I am only here today because He Siyan is my fiancé, nothing more.”

“Fiancé?” Shen Yinan laughed loudly. “Did you guys hear that? He said He Siyan is his fiancé!”

The two followers laughed along with him. “Hahaha, that’s hilarious!”

“Exactly! Someone like him isn’t even worthy of carrying the Eldest Young Master’s shoes!”

Xie Qiu didn’t want to argue with them. “Excuse me, I just remembered I have something to do. I’ll take my leave.” After saying that, he took two steps back, trying to leave from the other end of the porch.

“Stop! Did I say you could leave?” Shen Yinan rushed forward in a few large steps and splashed the wine from his glass at him.

Xie Qiu couldn’t dodge in time, and half a glass of red wine splashed across his face.

“A low-born orphan like you thinks he deserves a place in the He family?” Shen Yinan cursed loudly. “I’ll give you a lesson today so you’ll think twice before minding other people’s business again!”

Xie Qiu raised his hand to wipe the red wine off his face and asked calmly, “Is your status really that much higher than mine?”

Shen Yinan: “What do you mean?”

Xie Qiu smiled. “As far as I know, when your mother was pregnant with the second son of the Shen family, your father’s first wife had not yet passed away.”

As soon as he said this, Shen Yinan’s face changed instantly. The two followers behind him both let out a “Holy crap!”

Shen Yinan went completely crazy. “You jerk! I’ll tear your mouth apart!”

In the next instant, Xie Qiu grabbed the wine glass from his hand and smashed it against a carved pillar.

With a loud “pop,” a large piece of the glass broke off. Xie Qiu held the broken glass against Shen Yinan’s throat and walked forward slowly. “Second Young Master Shen, how exactly were you planning to tear my mouth apart?”

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