After three rounds of drinks, the heavily made-up woman who had scolded Su Chen earlier stood up. She took out an exquisite box from her bag and handed it to Zhang Xinlan:
"Auntie Three, this is my birthday gift to you, just a little something. I hope you'll accept it."
Zhang Xinlan got up to take it, saying repeatedly, "Ah, Ruomei, you child, why spend the money?"
"Auntie Three, open it up and see what good stuff Ruomei has brought you!" someone heckled, and the others also expressed their eagerness to see.
Hearing that everyone wanted a look, Zhang Xinlan opened the box, and as soon as she did, several women gasped.
"It's actually Dior's special limited-edition set, and the complete set!"
"Yes, I've wanted this makeup set for a long time, but I've never been able to find it."
"Of course, there are only 1000 sets available worldwide; it's truly a rare find. I heard that this makeup set is now being resold for over a hundred thousand per set."
"The money is trivial; what's precious is Ruomei's thoughtfulness towards Auntie Three."
At this moment, a young man dressed in a blue Ferragamo suit spoke idly while twirling his wine glass.
The young man had handsome features and a commanding presence, unmistakably the air of an elite. He was Lin Wenlong's only son, Lin Chao, who had just returned from studying abroad.
Su Chen couldn't help but take an extra look at him, because from the time Su Chen entered until now, this was the first time the man had spoken.
More importantly, Su Chen had a feeling there was a different meaning behind this man's genteel exterior, something beyond what he showed on the surface.
Hearing Lin Chao's words, the others nodded too. Indeed, while a gift worth tens of thousands might not amaze the Lin family, the thoughtfulness behind it was praiseworthy.
"Big brother, you are making me blush," Lin Ruomei said with a slight smile, deliberately glancing at Lin Ruoxue. "This was arranged by my boyfriend; he's a high-level executive in a multinational company. They just happen to have some business dealings with Dior, so he had the advantage of proximity."
"So that's the case; it seems like Second Brother will soon have a prominent son-in-law, right!"
Eldest brother Lin Wenlong chuckled, and Lin Wenbin and his wife were overjoyed, their smiles wide. Only Lin Wenqing and his spouse felt somewhat awkward.
At this moment, many in the Lin family were looking at their son-in-law Su Chen, their eyes not hiding the scorn they felt.
Lin Ruoxue was also getting rather angry. She could tell this was a deliberate provocation against her nominal husband, if somewhat subtle.
Although she had no real affection for this man, he was, after all, her husband by law. More importantly, Lin Ruoxue understood that these people were ostensibly making life difficult for Su Chen, but in reality, their target was herself.
In the end, Su Chen presented no conflict of interest for them; how he was didn't really matter.
It was different for her. Since she had taken over the Lin Corporation, she had touched on too many of their interests, especially Lin Wenlong's family.
Lin Wenlong's family had always wanted Lin Chao to take charge of Lin Corporation, which was understandable as Lin Chao was the eldest grandson.
Yet, since she had taken the reins of Lin Corporation, the results had far exceeded everyone's expectations, and with Grandfather's support, they had failed in a power grab.
They had probably heard about her marriage and once again harbored those aspirations, hence they had Lin Chao return to the country. However, Lin Ruoxue was unwilling to let go of the Lin Corporation she had painstakingly managed for over two years.
It wasn't that she was power-hungry or money-loving; it was that it was her career, and she still had many dreams to fulfill!
Thinking about how her marriage had led to Su Chen being mocked, Lin Ruoxue felt somewhat guilty and involuntarily glanced at the man next to her.
To her surprise, Su Chen seemed unfazed, continuing to eat and drink as if nothing had happened and seemingly unaffected by the situation.
Lin Ruoxue couldn't help but wonder whether this man was simply thick-skinned or if he had seen it all and had become indifferent to such things.
At the moment, Lin Ruoxue preferred to believe the former.
Feeling Lin Ruoxue's gaze, Su Chen smiled slightly and whispered, "It seems your days are going to be tough."
Lin Ruoxue didn't expect that the other party had already seen through everything; her eyes filled with confusion. She found that she couldn't quite see through this man who had lived with her for half a year.
Just then, Lin Chao stood up with a gentleman-like smile and pulled out a delicate little box.
He took the initiative to open the box, and suddenly a dazzling silver-white necklace appeared before everyone.
"Auntie, I'm a layman, and my gift might not be as thoughtful as Ruomei's, just some common item. I hope you won't find it contemptible," he said.
A faint smile on his face, Lin Chao casually handed the box to Zhang Xinlan.
However, the other younger members of the Lin Family gasped as they saw the gift Lin Chao produced.
"Big brother, the diamond on this necklace is so large; it completely overshadows my gift," Lin Ruomei deliberately said with a bit of grievance.
"Look at how pure the diamond is, and so big too. Whether it's the cut or the craftsmanship, it's flawless. I bet it can't be had for less than four or five hundred thousand."
Another younger Lin Family member exclaimed in admiration.
Zhang Xinlan, who actually came from a modest family, though she had married into the Lin Family for many years, still retained her frugal character. Hearing that the necklace was so expensive, she quickly said, "Xiao Chao, this is too valuable; your auntie can't accept it."
Lin Wenqing, who taught at a university, also felt it inappropriate upon hearing how expensive the item was.
He had already thought that the set of cosmetics Lin Ruomei had given was too much, but seeing his wife so enamored with it, and recalling that he hadn't given his wife anything nice for many years, he held back.
But that was his limit, and now that Lin Chao had brought out an even more valuable necklace, he felt even more uneasy.
"Uncle, Auntie, we are all family here. Talking about money is just being formal. This is your nephew's heartfelt wish. Wouldn't you hurt your nephew's feelings?"
Lin Chao smiled and pushed the box that Zhang Xinlan had handed back over to her.
Zhang Xinlan looked at her husband with some difficulty, sensing that something was not quite right.
In the past, when family members celebrated birthdays, everyone also gave gifts, but they were mostly things worth a few thousand yuan; ten or twenty thousand would be considered a lot. It wasn't that the Lin Family couldn't afford more, but because everyone was family, there wasn't any need for extravagance.
But today, Lin Ruomei and Lin Chao had consecutively brought out extremely expensive gifts, leaving the couple in a dilemma of whether to accept or refuse.
Just as Zhang Xinlan and her husband felt stuck, the eldest, Lin Wenlong, spoke, "Little brother, this is the children's filial piety, just accept it. Besides, Xiao Chao has just returned from studying abroad, and we'll have to trouble Ruoxue to arrange a position for Xiao Chao in the corporation!"
"Exactly, little brother, Xinlan, you two don't need to be polite. In the future, with Xiao Chao and Ruoxue managing our family's corporation together, Lin Corporation will surely thrive. What's the cost of a gift compared to that?"
Lin Wenlong's wife, Li Yan, likewise said with a beaming smile.
Su Chen sneered. Sure enough, the drama was unfolding!
The previous sentence was about arranging a position for Lin Chao, and the next instant, it switched to the two of them managing together, with Lin Chao's name subtly mentioned before Lin Ruoxue's.