Long Hui fished out a small box from his breast pocket and opened it, revealing a simple solitaire diamond ring. He looked up at Jiang Ying Yue.
"Ying Yue, I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you and our son. Let's build a happy family together. Will you marry me?"
Jiang Ying Yue looked utterly shocked just like everyone else. She froze, her mind going blank.
Everyone gasped at Long Hui's sudden proposal.
Even Iris didn't expect that he would propose to Jiang Ying Yue tonight. She looked at Meimei, Chen Fei and Long Jinjing. All of them had similar expressions as her. They didn't know exactly what to feel. They felt both joy and discontent for Jiang Ying Yue.
Many of the guests whipped out their phones to record the sensational moment. They weren't particularly excited for the couple themselves. They were more excited at the prospect of a family scandal that was sure to engulf the Long family, knowing that the woman involved was Long Hui's former bodyguard.
These people moved in the same circles in high society. They already knew what kind of attitude the Long elders had towards people they deemed as inferior to their status. The Long family almost broke apart when Long Tengfei divorced his first wife to marry Wei Lan, a struggling model with questionable background. The situation only stabilized when Long Tengfei married his current wife, Yang Jiahui, who was proving to be a reliable madam of the Long family despite her not so impressive family background.
If Long Hui were to really marry this bodyguard, the Long family would most likely enter another turbulent period. There might even be some drastic insurgence among the dissatisfied branch families.
Unlike Long Tengfei who was already the family head when he married Wei Lan before, Long Hui was still just an heir at the moment. One wrong move from him and he might not even succeed his father as head of the family at all.
All of these ran through the minds of everyone witnessing the surprise proposal. They couldn't resist glancing at the Wu family, specifically at Wu Qianxi, who was believed to be Long Hui's future wife once upon a time.
Back to the proposal.
Long Hui started to sweat when Jiang Ying Yue failed to respond. His expectant expression started to transform into anxiety. He lifted the open box containing the diamond ring higher.
"Ying Yue? Please marry me."
Jiang Ying Yue finally regained her senses. Her heart was beating so fast and so loudly that it was all she could hear. It was like the galloping of horses threatening to jump out from inside her chest.
"H-hui…"
She wanted to ask him what the hell he was doing, proposing in such a (for her) hostile environment like this. She felt extremely uncomfortable and pressured. Did he think this was romantic? Not to mention that she was still feeling unhappy about his earlier actions (or lack thereof) regarding the insults being thrown at her by the elders and the other guests and most especially Wu Qianxi's flirting with him.
'Let me think about it first. Let's not rush our relationship,' was what she wanted to tell him. However, with all the people watching them right now, doing so would embarrass him. She still loved and cared for Long Hui not to subject him to such public humiliation.
"Ying Yue?" Long Hui asked again. He was now almost soaked in his own sweat.
"I…" Jiang Ying Yue felt very torn. She didn't want to make a decision so quickly. However, seeing his pleading expression, her heart softened for him. Trembling a little, she forced a smile and answered, "Y-yes, I'll marry you."
Long Hui looked delighted. He quickly slipped the ring on Jiang Ying Yue's finger. It fit perfectly. Then he jumped up, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her on the lips in front of everyone.
Iris, Meimei, Chen Fei and Long Jinjing clapped their hands. However, they weren't as enthusiastic as the people around them. They looked at each other, not really knowing whether to be happy or dismayed for Jiang Ying Yue.
"She doesn't look happy to me," Long Jinjing observed. Her voice was very soft. Only Iris and the others heard her.
Chen Fei sighed. "I don't know what your brother is thinking. This isn't really an appropriate time to propose. Now I feel bad for Jiang Ying Yue. I think she may have felt forced to accept Big Brother Hui's proposal because of the crowd."
Iris agreed with their observations. Remembering the perfect proposal her darling gave her, she felt that Long Hui was a big idiot. He basically dumped all the pressure on Jiang Ying Yue. Jin Liwei would never do this to her.
The inconspicuous remnant inside her grew stronger and powered up Iris' negative feelings about Long Hui. But she still failed to notice it. These more intense emotions started melding with her own calmer and rational emotions until it was difficult to differentiate between the two. Iris treated all of these as her own feelings. She thought that these negative emotions were because she felt indignant and protective of her friend, Jiang Ying Yue.
"Thank you, everyone, for bearing witness to such a happy occasion of my life," Long Hui said in a loud and joyful voice. His arms was wrapped around Jiang Ying Yue who looked awkward being in the spotlight. "And thank you, Father, for allowing me to do this even though this is your birthday."
Long Tengfei only nodded.
The celebratory atmosphere was interrupted when Wu Qianxi suddenly burst into tears. She looked distraught. She was in a sorry state, only emphasized by her ruined dress. She sobbed in her mother's arms.
Her husband, Sir Wu, glared at Long Hui and Jiang Ying Yue. He looked absolutely furious.
"Long Hui, I can't believe that you'll do this to my daughter! You not only humiliated my daughter but also my entire Wu family in front of all of these people! Do you think that we, the Wus, are so easily trampled on just because you're a Long?!" he shouted and pointed an accusing finger at Long Hui. Then he shot his angry glare at Long Tengfei next. "Tengfei! Your son is too much! I demand justice for my daughter! She has suffered so much!"
The rumourmongers among the crowd were almost in ecstasy at the development of the events. This was the kind of drama that they were waiting for! They started munching on imaginary popcorn, as they watched the drama unfold right in front of them.
Long Tengfei's eyes turned cold. He frowned, displeased that the Wu family was creating so much trouble during his birthday and his son's proposal. He didn't appreciate that the Wus were making this occasion about them when it was clearly supposed to be about his Long family.
Long Jufang interrupted and spoke directly to the furious Sir Wu. "Calm yourself. We'll certainly have a thorough conversation with Long Hui about his terrible lapse in judgment tonight. We apologize for the distress our young master has caused Miss Wu Qianxi and your family. I, Long Jufang, promise that we will solve this predicament of a sham proposal."
"Sham proposal? Granduncle, I am very serious in marrying Ying Yue!" Long Hui declared in a loud voice.
Long Jufang was angered that Long Hui talked back to him. But seeing Long Hui's stubbornness, the elder glowered at Jiang Ying Yue instead. "You low-born woman! You're not satisfied with just giving birth to Long Hui's firstborn child, you even want to be his wife?! Well, I'll tell you this right now! Even if you marry Long Hui, we'll never accept you into our family! You're nothing but a gold digging slut!"
Jiang Ying Yue flinched at the insults. Her eyes filled with tears but she refused to cry in front of all of these people.
A faint smirk lifted up Wu Qianxi's lips, but she quickly returned to crying in her mother's arms.
Long Jufang opened his mouth but he was interrupted before he could even speak.
"Enough!" Surprisingly, it was Yang Jiahui who erupted in anger. She couldn't hold it in any longer. She swept her unusually blazing eyes at Long Hui, the Long elders and the Wu family. "If you intend on ruining my husband's birthday, then you have succeeded! How dare you make a circus out of my husband's important birthday party?! I am aghast at your thoughtlessness! You are disrespecting my husband! This is Long Tengfei's day, not yours!"
Everyone went silent.