As Xu Shuming's car entered the Su family mansion, the butler had already informed Mrs. Su and Miss Su upstairs.
Su Ruiyi had been dressed and ready for a while. She rushed into Mrs. Su's room, urging her to hurry. Her father was home, and they needed to leave quickly.
"Yiyi, do you think this corsage looks good on me? This one? Or this one?" Mrs. Su asked Su Ruiyi, who was behind her.
Su Ruiyi looked closely at the two corsages in Mrs. Su's hands, seemingly dissatisfied with both.
"I don't think either looks good. The one from the auction, the Phalaenopsis orchid, is much prettier."
"That one is still in the safe."
"Then I'll go get it!"
Su Ruiyi excitedly ran towards the walk-in closet. The safes there held exquisite treasures, each incredibly valuable, rarely worn except for important occasions.
Meanwhile, Xu Shuming had already gone upstairs. The sight of Mrs. Su still adorning herself by the vanity made him feel nauseous.
Xu Shuming glanced at her. "Cover up that fake face of yours. I don't understand why you're still getting plastic surgery when you're so old!"
Mrs. Su, who had been in a good mood, was instantly dejected by Xu Shuming's tirade. She thought her surgically enhanced face looked fuller and younger.
"Let's eat quickly. I have clients to meet after," Xu Shuming said impatiently, checking his watch and counting down the time.
Mrs. Su: "It's New Year's Eve, and you still have clients to meet? Which client is it?"
Xu Shuming perfunctorily gave a random name.
Mrs. Su continued to press: "But I saw on his wife's social media that their family is celebrating New Year's in Country C this year. How can they meet you?"
"Enough! Must you keep questioning me? Do you want me to tell you? Don't I want to spend New Year's with you?"
"Xu Shuming, it's your daughter who organized this New Year's Eve dinner! If you're not happy, go talk to your daughter!"
"It's precisely because my daughter is back that I'm dining with you two!"
"Heh, what? In a hurry to celebrate with some other woman? They exposed one, how many are left?"
"Was it you who did that?" Xu Shuming glared at Mrs. Su, conflict brewing.
"So what if it was, so what if it wasn't? Are you afraid?"
"I don't want to fall out with you. You'd best behave yourself!"
"You're the one who should behave! Shameless man!"
With a sharp crack, Xu Shuming slapped Mrs. Su. He used so much force that her neatly styled hair came undone.
Xu Shuming grabbed Mrs. Su's head, forcing her to look at him.
"You hideous creature, it's best you don't go out in public! Even if you expose one of the women I'm seeing, I'll have another waiting. If you dare, expose me entirely and see if your Su Corporation's stock remains stable! Su Hui, listen carefully, if you make me unhappy, I'll drag your family's legacy down with me!"
Xu Shuming straightened his tie and opened the door, only to bump into his daughter standing at the entrance, stunned. He knew Su Ruiyi must have heard everything inside the room and saw no reason to maintain his facade of a good father.
Su Ruiyi stammered, clutching the precious corsage. She glanced at her mother, who had collapsed on the floor, and avoided her father's eyes as she spoke.
"Dad... Daddy, tonight... the Wang Ziran family will also be dining at the same restaurant... I, I promised to say hello."
Su Ruiyi's news disrupted Xu Shuming's plan to leave quickly. He glanced back at the woman who had already become a source of annoyance.
"Then you go to Wang Ziran. Mrs. Su is feeling unwell and won't be attending."
Tears welled up in Su Ruiyi's eyes. "Then, what about us?"
"If your mother isn't going, then I'm not going either."
With that, Xu Shuming roughly pushed past Su Ruiyi and left. The corsage he was holding, not gripped tightly, slipped from his hand and fell to the floor. Its delicate craftsmanship couldn't withstand the impact. A piece of mother-of-pearl split in two, and the pearls inlaid on it dislodged, rolling down the stairs.
This was the New Year's Eve Su Ruiyi had longed for. Like the beautiful corsage, its ultimate fate was to be shattered.