A faint and refreshing scent unique to men lingered on the suit jacket, and Su Banxia immediately recognized it as Shang Lu’s fragrance.
She sat by the pool, wearing the suit jacket, feeling somewhat bewildered. Falling into the swimming pool and being rescued would undoubtedly have a negative impact on her appearance. Her wet hair and makeup must have made her look worse than a ghost.
She guessed that Shang Lu covered her head because he didn’t want her to be seen in such a state.
Su Banxia hesitated for a moment. She didn’t want to look like a drowned ghost, but with the suit jacket on her head, she couldn’t walk properly.
She could hear Mu Ruxue sobbing beside her, and people were discussing the recent accident. The situation was far from resolved, but she was confident that Xiong Da and Xiong Er had already caught the culprit.
In the original plot, everyone believed that Shang Lu accidentally fell into the water, but Su Banxia had just witnessed it clearly; someone had intentionally harmed him.
In the darkness, she fumbled to stand up, supporting herself on the ground. Accidentally, her hand touched Shang Lu’s leg as she pulled herself up.
Waiting for Shang Lu’s bodyguard, Xiang Lei, to return was taking too long. Seeing Su Banxia wearing Shang Lu’s suit jacket on her head and using her hand to pull herself up, Shang Jingyao couldn’t help but feel a tremor in his body.
As everyone knew, Shang Lu’s legs were a forbidden topic. Except for doctors, no one dared to touch his legs openly. Su Banxia not only pulled his pants but also used her hand to support his leg when getting up—a bold move.
Shang Jingyao, slightly disheveled and wet, narrowed his eyes, staring at the woman’s fair hand.
There was once a servant who accidentally touched Shang Lu’s disabled leg, and those hands were almost crippled. Surprisingly, Shang Lu allowed Su Banxia to touch his leg without any mercy.
After Su Banxia stood up, she still had the suit jacket on her head. She lowered her head and softly asked, “I can’t walk properly like this. Can you find a mask for me to wear?”
Shang Lu: “?”
At this moment, no one paid attention to Mu Ruxue; they were all watching them.
Shang Lu instructed Xiang Lei, “Go find a mask.”
“Alright, Mr. Shang.”
Xiang Lei immediately went to find one and quickly returned with an exquisite mask, handing it to Su Banxia. “Miss Su, here’s the mask you requested.”
Su Banxia fumbled to put on the mask and then took the suit jacket off her head, finally revealing her face. She extended her hand to return the jacket to Shang Lu, saying, “Here, it’s for you.”
However, Shang Lu didn’t take it and calmly said, “Put it on.”
Huh?
Su Banxia was a bit dazed. So, the suit jacket wasn’t meant to hide her face because she looked bad; it was meant for her to wear.
She put on the man’s suit jacket, feeling the coolness of her body warming up slightly. She didn’t care about the expressions of the people around her and hurriedly made a phone call.
“How is it?… Have you caught them? Alright, bring them here immediately.”
With such a commotion at the party, it was impossible for the Zhu family not to react. The host of the party rushed over, followed by the bodyguards holding someone down.
“What’s going on?”
Su Banxia stood beside Shang Lu and waved to Xiong Da and Xiong Er. “Bring the person over.”
Xiong Da escorted the waiter from earlier over, forcing him to kneel down. The young man, dressed in a waiter’s uniform, had a pale face and was sweating profusely as he pleaded for mercy.
“Everyone, I really didn’t mean it. I accidentally bumped into that lady.”
Mu Ruxue, pale-faced and wearing Shang Jingyao’s jacket, was one of the victims tonight. Even if she felt unhappy, she had to act like a good person and said, “I’m fine. Just apologize, and that’s enough.”
The waiter’s face brightened, and he quickly apologized, “I’m sorry. I was also tripped by someone. Please forgive me.”
Madam Zhu, the hostess, didn’t want the incident to escalate during the banquet and tried to defuse the situation. She said, “Since it was an accident, and he has apologized, let’s leave it at that.”
Su Banxia sneered.
All eyes turned to her, and her sudden cold laugh was particularly abrupt. With an expressionless face, she exuded a strong presence that left everyone feeling uneasy.
“Apologies work, why do we need the police?”
This classic line was truly classic, and in an instant, many people’s expressions changed.
Both the Su family and the Shang family were not easy to provoke. The incident involved Shang Lu’s wife, and even the Zhu family didn’t dare to offend the Su family, let alone the Shang family.
Shang Lu, with a dark expression, sat in his wheelchair, his cold and stern demeanor intimidating.
The waiter, pinned down by the tall bodyguard, couldn’t move, sweating profusely. He had followed the plan to cause the incident and had intended to leave the hotel immediately afterward. However, he was caught just a few steps away.
The imposing presence of Shang Lu was overwhelming, and the waiter, feeling guilty, tried to sneak a glance at him but met his fierce gaze and quickly looked away.
“Mr. Shang, I have a family to support, and I can’t afford to lose this job. Please spare me,” the waiter cried and kowtowed. “You are a generous person. Can you please forgive me? I beg you.”
Onlookers, who had nothing to do with the situation, sympathized and started a chorus of moral appeals.
“Isn’t this too pitiful? Is he bullying someone just because he’s powerful?”
“Shh, be careful not to catch Shang Lu’s attention. Offending him isn’t a joke.”
“It was just an accident. He didn’t do it on purpose. Is it necessary to make things difficult for a waiter?”
Su Banxia couldn’t take it anymore and said, “An accident?”
She crossed her arms and looked down on everyone, saying coldly, “The surveillance video hasn’t been deleted yet. Let’s talk about accidents after reviewing it.”
The onlookers realized there was excitement to witness and immediately gathered around the main characters of the unexpected incident, entering the hotel’s banquet hall together.
A phone vibrated.
With a snap of her fingers, the projection screen in the banquet hall lit up. It was the same screen used during the dinner to display photos and videos of Mr. and Mrs. Zhu. Slowly, it started playing the surveillance video from the swimming pool.
When they saw the waiter appearing to stumble and then deliberately push the wheelchair, the banquet hall erupted in shock.
For an ordinary person, being pushed into the pool without a chance for rescue could lead to drowning. What’s more, the victim in this case was a man with a disability who relied on a wheelchair. How was this any different from an open murder attempt?
The waiter, under immense pressure, continued to protest, “There’s an issue with the video angle, I didn’t do it on purpose!”
But the evidence was clear, and his attempts at deceit were in vain.
Mr. Zhu’s expression darkened slightly as he ordered, “Take him to the police station.”
“Wait.”
Su Banxia scanned the surroundings, her gaze passing over the faces of the people. Then, she paused for a few seconds on one face, her lips curling into a cold smile.
“Why would he, a waiter working in the hotel with no chance to even bump into Shang Lu’s face, want to harm him?”
Someone voiced their confusion, “Could it be that he has a grudge against Shang Lu?”
Su Banxia’s tone was icy, “I believe someone orchestrated this.”
The waiter’s mental defenses had already crumbled, and he was drenched in sweat. Stuttering, he said, “I… I…”
He dared not look at the instigator. The person behind this was someone he couldn’t afford to offend. At the time, that person had said it was just to teach Shang Lu a lesson, and nothing serious would happen.
Little did he know that he would be arrested and accused of attempted murder. No matter how much money he had, it wouldn’t help if he lost his life.
Shang Lu, dressed in a white shirt, placed his hands on his legs and stared coldly at the kneeling waiter, his voice cold and flat, “Speak.”
The waiter’s blood seemed to freeze in his veins as he felt an icy chill. He regretted it. He shouldn’t have offended Shang Lu for the sake of a small sum of money. Everyone in Haicheng knew that Shang Lu was like a devil.
“I’ll talk, please forgive me. I’ll talk right away.”
Pointing at a person in the crowd, he said, “It’s him. He found me tonight and said that if I pushed Shang Lu into the pool, he would give me some money.”
“You’re slandering me!” the man shouted angrily.
Su Banxia’s eyes flashed with a hint of understanding. It turned out to be that peacock. She should have realized it from the beginning. He had a feud with Shang Lu from the start. Who else would want to harm Shang Lu?
Mr. and Mrs. Zhu’s faces turned pale, and the guests in the banquet hall expressed shock.
Zhu Yuejin rushed forward and kicked the waiter violently, “You bastard! I told you not to speak nonsense! I’ll kick you to death!”
Su Banxia said, “Xiong Da.”
Xiong Da forcefully pulled Zhu Yuejin away, and the waiter, bleeding from the nose, cried and begged for mercy, “Young Master Zhu, I had no choice. If I don’t expose you, Mr. Shang won’t spare me.”
Zhu Yuejin still wanted to go and hit someone.
“Smack!” A loud slap cut through the air.
Zhu Yuejin covered his face in disbelief, looking at the person who had struck him, “Dad, you hit me! You actually hit me!”
Mr. Zhu was furious and felt a tightness in his chest. How could he have a son so foolish? He scolded, “Shut up!”
Mrs. Zhu looked at Zhu Yuejin with disappointment and said a few words in a low voice while holding her husband’s arm.
Mr. Zhu quickly approached Shang Lu, “Shang Lu, it’s my fault for not raising this brat properly. Can you give Uncle Zhu face this time and let him apologize and make amends?”
Shang Lu glanced at the still defiant Zhu Yuejin, and a hint of coldness flashed in his black eyes. He turned to the girl in the suit beside him.
“This depends on my wife’s opinion,” he said indifferently. “After all, she’s the one who fell into the pool.”
Su Banxia was stunned and looked down at Shang Lu.
The man’s handsome face remained indifferent, his black eyes inscrutable, showing no emotion.
Mr. Zhu displayed a stern expression towards Zhu Yuejin, “Come over and apologize!”
Zhu Yuejin felt humiliated but, out of respect for his father’s authority, walked over to Shang Lu and Su Banxia.
Su Banxia leaned in close to Shang Lu’s ear and whispered, “Is it true that he’s involved in some business competition with you?”
If Zhu Yuejin held such a grudge against Shang Lu, it must have been due to business interests. She saw an opportunity to help Shang Lu in his career.
Shang Lu was slightly surprised by her suggestion. He didn’t expect her to want to fight for his business interests.
Everyone was waiting eagerly. Su Banxia urged him, “Hurry, say something.”
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