C15 The Prodigal!

Xu Fengjiao had no filter when she spoke, declaring in front of her colleagues that divorcing Jiang Yan was a cause for celebration, which visibly irked Xu Fengqiu.

"Jiao, can't you keep a lid on it? What kind of jokes are you making? What if your brother-in-law hears about this?"

Unperturbed, Xu Fengjiao quipped, "So what if he hears? Someone like him doesn't even deserve to be called a man. Sister, any man you pick after the divorce would be an upgrade."

Xu Fengqiu's expression chilled as she warned, "Keep talking nonsense, and you'll really upset me!"

Zhao Yu stepped in, trying to defuse the tension with a chuckle, "Ms. Fengqiu, please, don't be upset. Jiao means well."

Li Xiaoya sidled up to Xu Fengqiu, grinning, "Fengqiu, is this your future brother-in-law, the son of the Dragon River Hotel owner, Zhao Yu?"

Xu Fengqiu nodded and introduced him, "Zhao Yu, meet my colleague and dear friend, Li Xiaoya!"

Zhao Yu greeted Li Xiaoya and the others with a confident wave, "Hello, everyone. As friends of Ms. Fengqiu, you're friends of mine too. Let me know what you'd like to eat tonight, and I'll have the kitchen prioritize your order."

Li Xiaoya's eyes twinkled as she posed her question, "Young Master Zhao, I've heard your head chef trained at an international Michelin-starred restaurant. Could we trouble him to personally prepare a meal for us tonight, or would that be asking too much?"

Xu Fengqiu quickly interjected, "Zhao Yu, if it's too much trouble, we can do without the head chef's cooking."

Zhao Yu just smiled, oozing confidence, "No trouble at all. I'll head to the kitchen now and speak with the chef. Please, have a seat in the meantime."

As Zhao Yu departed, Xu Fengjiao couldn't hide her smugness, "See, sister? Zhao Yu is pulling out all the stops because of me. He once said the head chef only cooks five times a month, reserved for very distinguished guests. It's a special occasion when he takes to the kitchen."

Xu Fengqiu chuckled and replied, "All right, all right, it's all thanks to your good graces!"

Li Xiaoya and the rest joined in, showering Xu Fengjiao with compliments.

"Jiao is so fortunate to have found Zhao Yu—a boyfriend who's not only handsome but wealthy too. It's downright enviable!"

"The thing is, Jiao is gorgeous. There's a saying, 'A phoenix only nests in a Wutong tree.' Zhao Yu is just as lucky to have a girlfriend as beautiful and intelligent as Jiao."

"Feng Qiu, you and your sister are each more stunning than the other. Your mom must have been quite the beauty in her day!"

Basking in the adoration, Xu Fengjiao couldn't help but feel a bit over the moon.

Just then, Jiang Yan arrived.

"Wife!"

Xu Fengqiu greeted him with joy, linking her arm through his.

"Husband, what took you so long? It's a good thing our parents aren't here yet. They'd surely give you an earful for being late."

Jiang Yan just laughed it off, "No worries, I'm used to it."

Xu Fengqiu proudly introduced Jiang Yan to her colleagues, "Everyone, this is my husband, Jiang Yan. Honey, you've met Xiao Ya before, and I'll introduce you to the rest during dinner."

Most of Xu Fengqiu's female colleagues were unfamiliar with Jiang Yan's background. Impressed by his suit and dashing looks, they complimented him warmly.

"Feng Qiu, who knew your husband was such a catch? You should have introduced him to us sooner. Were you worried we might steal him away?"

"Ha, Feng Qiu is clever and competent, and Jiang Yan is quite the looker. You two are a perfect pair."

"Feng Qiu, with your husband's demeanor, what does he do for a living? He's got to be a high-level executive, right?"

Jiang Yan couldn't help feeling a bit pleased with himself amidst the flurry of compliments.

Xu Fengjiao let out a scoff, playfully undermining him, "A company executive? More like a house executive. He used to stay at home doing chores, living off my sister. He only started working at the company today, thanks to Zhao Yu finding him a job."

Upon hearing Xu Fengjiao's remarks, the female colleagues who had just been singing Jiang Yan's praises suddenly regarded him with scorn.

"So he's all show and no substance. I really misjudged him."

"How could Fengqiu end up with such a loser? She's wasted her beauty on him."

"I've never heard of a man being supported by a woman before. In ancient times, they'd call someone like that a 'kept man,' wouldn't they?"

Li Xiaoya seized the moment to twist the knife, saying with a laugh, "Oh, don't underestimate Jiang Yan. He's quite capable. Just the other day, he gave Rachel a Patek Philippe watch worth over 100,000 yuan!"

Everyone, especially Xu Fengjiao, looked surprised.

She eyed the watch on Xu Fengqiu's wrist incredulously and asked, "Sister, is the watch Jiang Yan gave you really worth that much?"

Xu Fengqiu nodded, glanced at Jiang Yan, and said with a smile, "Yes, it was a gift from him."

Xu Fengjiao's dissatisfaction flared as she huffed, "No wonder you wouldn't part with that watch when I asked for it. You're too attached!"

She glanced down at her own wrist where she wore a ladies' watch Zhao Yu had bought for her that day, worth over 8,000 yuan.

At the time of purchase, she had felt quite proud.

But now, in comparison to Xu Fengqiu's watch, it seemed insignificant.

"Wait a minute, sister. Where did Jiang Yan get the money to buy you such an expensive watch?"

Li Xiaoya was also curious about how Jiang Yan had afforded the watch.

Jiang Yan himself explained, "I won over 100,000 yuan in the lottery."

"So, it was a lottery win!"

Xu Fengjiao's expression turned disdainful as she mocked, "No wonder you're so free with your spending. Easy come, easy go. My sister has been saving diligently for a down payment on a house, and here you are, splurging. If you could give her the lottery winnings, it would be far more useful than buying some fancy watch."

At that moment, Jiang Yan's in-laws arrived at the Dragon River Hotel, just in time to overhear Xu Fengjiao's remarks.

"What thing costs over a hundred thousand?"

Xu Fengjiao quickly found her support, hastily explaining, "Mom, Jiang Yan hit the lottery for over a hundred thousand, and instead of handing it over to my sister, he splurged on a watch."

Zhou Hui's expression soured as she turned to confront Jiang Yan, unconcerned with the onlookers. She scolded him, "You profligate fool! A hundred thousand could buy a car, yet you waste it on some useless watch. Is it something you can eat? Does it shelter you from the elements?"

Xu Guangchang's face was equally stern as he expressed his displeasure, "You come into such a substantial amount of money and don't even consult us, just squandering it as you please. Do you even consider our opinion? I work a whole year to make fifty or sixty thousand, and here you've blown two years of my wages."

Seeing Jiang Yan being berated by everyone, Xu Fengqiu quickly came to his defense, "Dad, Mom, please don't be so hard on Jiang Yan. He did it to cheer me up. I'm the one who liked the watch, and that's why he bought it for me."

"Let's not dwell on anger, you two. I've got some great news to share with you shortly, and I'm sure it'll lift your spirits. Please, let's take our seats!"