Ye Hengtian was faster than her, blocking her path, his face darkening. "Are you sure the children are Su Banxia's? Did you hear her say with your own ears that the two kids are hers?"
At his words, Ye Lan froze and shook her head. "No!"
Ye Hengtian looked at her and said, "Without hearing that yourself, you go and tell Uncle Pei this now. Do you think Pei Shaoze will treat you any better? He already doesn't like you. Do you want him to end up hating you and avoiding you altogether?"
Ye Lan was stunned. She hadn't thought about these questions at all.
After a moment of hesitation, she felt a bit intimidated and looked at Ye Hengtian. "Then what should I do? Brother, I hate Su Banxia so much. Are you telling me to just watch Su Banxia and Shaoze Gege get together? And even wish them well?"
Ye Hengtian shook his head, speaking calmly. "Wait."
Ye Lan frowned. "Wait for what?"
"Wait for an opportunity."
He felt that Lin Tongze choosing today to come to the Pei family wasn't just about delivering a congratulatory gift; there had to be more to it.
If Lin Tongze was part of the Pei family, then when it came to Ye Lan's marriage, he would have to weigh his options carefully.
Right now, he still hadn't figured out the relationship between Su Banxia and Lin Tongze, nor was he sure if those two children were Lin Tongze's.
As a man, if it were him, he wouldn't use his own wife to get her into a top-tier company like Dingsheng. Besides, with two kids, he'd be too busy protecting them to even think about using his wife to seduce Pei Shaoze.
So it was very possible that Su Banxia and Lin Tongze were just friends or lovers.
If that were the case, he might consider marrying Ye Lan off to Lin Tongze instead.
Comparatively, a partnership between the Ye family and the Lin Corporation was what he wanted more.
The Pei family was doing well now, but the more prosperous they were, the bigger the problems. Once those issues surfaced, the Pei family's collapse would happen in an instant.
He could sense that Lin Tongze was the one who would bring about that collapse.
Ye Lan didn't need to think that far ahead, nor did she want to. She only wanted to marry Pei Shaoze, and right now, Su Banxia was a threat to her.
She hated this threat and wanted to eliminate it.
Since she couldn't go to Uncle Pei and explain things, she wouldn't let Su Banxia have an easy time either.
Su Banxia had eaten something, but she didn't know anyone in the hall, so there was nothing to talk about. Yan Xin had disappeared somewhere.
She sat for a while, utterly bored.
But leaving didn't seem appropriate either, so she decided to step out of the hall. Outside, there was a massive swimming pool.
As night fell, the lights around the pool lit up, making the water look exceptionally clear and beautiful.
She stood by the pool, staring blankly at the water.
"What's wrong? First time seeing such a big pool?"
A voice came from behind, unpleasant to hear.
Su Banxia turned around and saw Ye Lan standing behind her with a dark expression.
Pausing slightly, she replied, "Yeah, it really is my first time."
A private villa pool like this—she truly had never seen one before.
"Country bumpkin."
Ye Lan sneered and said, "Su Banxia, you could sleep your way through a lifetime and never own a pool like this."
Su Banxia didn't want to argue with her, but that didn't mean she was willing to swallow her pride.
Raising an eyebrow, she looked at Ye Lan. "So, Miss Ye Lan thinks she can get a pool this big by sleeping around?"
"You—"
Ye Lan was furious. "Don't lump me in with a cheap woman like you. The Ye family has plenty of money. If I wanted a pool like this, I could have ten, not just one!"
"Heh."
Su Banxia let out a low laugh. "So, Miss Ye, when it comes down to it, you're still relying on the Ye family, aren't you? At least I can try to get what I want through my own efforts, even if it's by sleeping. But you? Without the Ye family, you're like a useless waste, good for nothing but throwing a princess tantrum, right?"
Ye Lan glared at her, seething. "You—"
She couldn't find the words to insult her.
So she just raised her hand and swung it at Su Banxia.
Su Banxia saw through her cheap tricks and easily blocked the incoming hand, shoving her aside.
Since she was attending a banquet, Ye Lan was wearing high heels.
Thrown off balance by Su Banxia, she stumbled and fell to the ground.
Instead of teaching Su Banxia a lesson, she ended up looking even more pathetic, and Ye Lan's resentment grew stronger.
Her eyes, murderous, fixed on Su Banxia as she hissed, "Su Banxia, go to hell!"
With that, she lunged at Su Banxia.
Su Banxia was standing by the pool and didn't expect her to charge so suddenly. She instinctively stepped back a few paces.
She didn't fall into the pool, but Ye Lan tackled her, and they both plunged into the water.
Su Banxia wasn't a strong swimmer. As she sank, with Ye Lan pressing down on her, she went straight under, gulping mouthfuls of water.
Hearing the commotion, the people inside the hall rushed out and gathered around the pool, shouting for help.
Ye Hengtian followed them out and saw Ye Lan's clothes floating on the water. He immediately dove in. The Pei family's pool was not only huge but also exceptionally deep.
Once in the water, he realized Ye Lan was viciously choking Su Banxia.
Seeing Su Banxia's pale face and her dark eyes about to close, he quickly pulled Ye Lan away, lifted Su Banxia, and started swimming toward the shore with her.
Ye Lan was a good swimmer, so Ye Hengtian got Su Banxia to shore first before going back for Ye Lan.
He brought both of them up one after the other.
Pei Shaoze, who had been in the inner courtyard, heard the noise and came out.
The two women lay on the ground. Su Banxia had swallowed too much water and was struggling to breathe. Seeing her like this, Pei Shaoze pushed aside the people trying to help her.
He knelt beside her and gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. After a moment, Su Banxia spat out some water.
She felt a little better.
Then, out of nowhere, she heard crying—it was Ye Lan's voice.
Regaining some clarity, she looked at Ye Lan, who was sobbing in Ye Hengtian's arms, and noticed the blood on her hand.
She frowned slightly but said nothing.
Ye Lan cried for a while, then buried her face in Ye Hengtian's chest and choked out, "Brother, Su Banxia pushed me in. She tried to kill me. Look at my hand—she scratched it. In the water, she almost choked me to death!"
With that, she started crying again.
No one knew who Su Banxia was, but everyone knew Ye Lan was the Ye family's precious daughter. Hearing her accusations, they all felt a pang of pity for Su Banxia.
Offending Miss Ye of the Ye family—life wouldn't be easy from now on.
Ye Hengtian listened to Ye Lan's accusations, frowning slightly but not saying anything. Instead, he turned his gaze to Su Banxia.
She was still pale, with wet hair plastered messily across her forehead. Her dark eyes were calm and low as she looked at him, showing no sign of panic.
Looking into those dark eyes, he suddenly recalled the feeling of holding her in the water.
He had always hated touching women, but with her, it didn't seem so bad.
Pei Shaoze looked at Su Banxia, ignoring Ye Lan's words entirely. "How are you? Feeling better?"
Su Banxia nodded. "I'm fine."
Then she looked at Pei Shaoze. "Are there cameras installed around here?"
Pei Shaoze nodded, and at that single word, Ye Lan's face turned white.
Pei Shaoze roughly understood what Su Banxia meant. He cast a cold glance at Ye Lan, then let his dark eyes fall on Ye Hengtian.
With a chilling look, he picked Su Banxia up and carried her straight into the inner courtyard.
Ye Hengtian withdrew his gaze from the departing pair. The look Pei Shaoze had given him—he understood it. It was a warning.