Sylas Ren, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up. "Why not ruin Miss Wendy's face? Maybe if Raymond Lei sees her ugly, he won't want to marry her after all."
He said this just to provoke them. Deep down, he knew Raymond Lei wasn't after Wendy Hua merely for her looks.
The Hua Family was truly vile—even Sylas found it hard to stomach. Quentin Hua was one of them, yet they treated him worse than a stranger. At least with outsiders, when they needed something, they'd watch their manners and offer some reward. But with Quentin, they were always so cruel, acting as if he was beneath their notice. If they thought he was so low, why ask for his help at all? Didn't they realize that made them even more despicable?
"Sylas..." Wendy Hua, ignoring the pain from her head wound, stared at Sylas Ren in utter disbelief. Was he really telling her to destroy her own face?
Seeing the sneer on Sylas Ren's face, tears spun in Wendy Hua's eyes, her complexion growing even paler. Autumn Du's heart twisted with pain. Unable to hold back, she glared at Sylas and shouted, "How can you say that? Wendy cares about you so much, and you want her to ruin her own face? Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?"
For the past two days, Autumn Du had been holding back her temper because of Quentin Hua. But now, seeing her beloved daughter bullied, she couldn't stand it any longer and finally exploded.
The sarcasm on Sylas Ren's face deepened. "Conscience? Mine's just fine—maybe only the truly heartless can't see it. And just because she likes me, does that mean I have to like her? Does your Hua Family really think you can get whatever you want?" He snorted coldly, glanced at Wendy Hua with open disgust, and said to Autumn Du, "Please keep your daughter away from me. I don't have a taste for self-torture, and I'd never fall for such an unreasonable shrew!"
"You... you..." Autumn Du was so furious she could barely speak. Her eyes reddened as she turned to Charles Hua, pleading, "Dear, you must stand up for Wendy! Look how he's humiliating our daughter!"
Before Charles Hua could reply, Sylas Ren sneered again, "Oh, so only the Hua Family is allowed to insult people, but no one else can talk back?"
"Enough!" Wendy Hua suddenly screamed, spun around, and dashed out. Sylas Ren's words had cut her deeply.
"Wendy..." Autumn Du hurriedly chased after her.
Joyce Du glanced at Wendy Hua, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately stayed put. Raymond Lei was already at the gate of the Hua Mansion, and there was a chance he would break in. Staying close to her cousin felt safer—who knew if Raymond Lei might take a fancy to her beauty and snatch her away too? That was why she wore a veil today. If one paid attention, they'd notice her clothes were unusually plain.
Charles Hua glared furiously at Sylas Ren, then turned to Quentin Hua and shouted, "If not for the Hua Mansion, would you be who you are today? Wendy is your sister by the same mother—are you just going to stand by and watch her marry Raymond Lei? Do you have any humanity left?"
Quentin Hua remained expressionless; no one in the Hua Family could ever provoke a reaction from him.
Roxy Shangguan, however, was infuriated—these people were simply unreasonable! And for unreasonable people, the best solution was force!
She grabbed another teacup from the table and hurled it at Charles Hua, striking his forehead just as she had with Wendy Hua. Now, anyone could see they were father and daughter—even their wounds matched!
Charles Hua clutched his injured forehead, glaring at Roxy Shangguan as if his eyes could spit fire.
Sylas Ren spoke up leisurely, "Mr. Hua, you'd better go check on things! Who knows, maybe your precious daughter has already been taken away by Raymond Lei!"
Just as he finished speaking, a servant rushed in, breathless and shouting, "Sir... something's wrong... Miss Wendy... Miss Wendy—"
Charles Hua ignored his urge to scold Roxy Shangguan and grabbed the servant by the collar, urgently asking, "What happened to Miss Wendy?" Seeing the servant's panic, a sense of dread crept into his heart—he knew firsthand how cruel Raymond Lei could be. Had Raymond Lei really barged in to snatch someone away?
The servant finally caught his breath and said, "Miss Wendy ran to the gate and was spotted by Raymond Lei. He ordered his men to seize her, and the guards can barely hold them off! The household guards are no match for martial artists from the jianghu!"
Wendy Hua, wounded by Sylas Ren's words, ran off without a second thought, not watching where she was going. She ended up at the front gate, where the impatient Raymond Lei was waiting—and naturally, he ordered his men to grab her!
If Quentin Hua didn't live at the Hua Mansion, Raymond Lei would never have waited so politely outside; he would have stormed in to snatch her long ago.
After waiting so long with no sign of movement, Raymond Lei—never a patient man—was already on the verge of barging into the Hua Mansion. Wendy Hua's appearance merely sped up his plans!
As the two sides clashed and people were hurt left and right, Wendy Hua finally snapped out of her daze. She saw Raymond Lei at the gate, grinning at her in a way that made her skin crawl. Fear welled up inside her, her face turning ghostly pale. Autumn Du, who had been right behind her, rushed over, grabbed Wendy's hand, and comforted her, "Wendy, don't be afraid! Father and I won't let him take you!" Wendy was her precious child—how could she let her marry such an old brute?
Raymond Lei's grin grew even more repulsive as he slowly approached. Wendy Hua trembled in fear, her voice shaking, "Why hasn't that bastard come yet? Does he really not care if I live or die?"
Autumn Du's face turned cold, cursing Quentin Hua fiercely in her heart. That ungrateful wretch—did he ever think he'd be nothing without the Hua Family? Now that he's grown wings, he doesn't care about the family's fate? He's worse than a beast!
"Miss Wendy, you've made me wait so bitterly!" Seeing the wound on her forehead, Raymond Lei put on a look of concern and said tenderly, "How could you be so careless? Such a beautiful face, injured—my heart aches for you!" As he spoke, he reached out to touch Wendy's face.
Wendy Hua cried out and quickly hid behind Autumn Du. Autumn Du forced herself to remain calm, her face darkening as she said coldly, "Master Lei, what is the meaning of this?"