Chapter 4

Soon, the banquet officially began, and the hall was packed with relatives and friends.

"Yanze?! Ugh, when the hell did that scumbag get released?!"

"Probably here to see the kid. What an absolute monster—having a beautiful wife and still assaulting his own student!"

Those guests who had no idea my name had been cleared recognized me immediately, murmuring insults and deliberately backing away from me in disgust.

I remained expressionless, not bothering to offer a single word of defense.

Just then, the venue staff wheeled out a massive family portrait backdrop. On it were Gu Lianyi, Ye Siming, her parents, and the newborn baby—a picture-perfect family of five. I was nowhere to be found.

Someone nearby frowned in confusion. "Wait, why isn't Qi Yanze in the photo? Who's that guy holding his wife? Her brother?"

Hearing this, I smiled calmly and answered, "That's Gu Lianyi's husband. I'm already her ex."

The guests around me gasped in sheer disbelief.

Whispers spread like wildfire, rippling across the entire banquet hall in seconds.

Noticing the commotion, my in-laws realized something was off. They immediately dragged me aside, hissing threats under their breath.

"None of these guests know your charges were dropped! If you keep stirring up trouble, don't blame us for having security throw you out on your ear!"

"If it weren't to protect our family's reputation, do you honestly think we'd ever let a useless bum like you be our grandson's father?!"

Gu Lianyi marched over as well, her face grim. "Qi Yanze, today is your son's milestone banquet. You know what you should and shouldn't say. If you dare cause a scene, I swear I'll divorce you!"

Hearing her threat, I gave a placid nod, assuring them I definitely wouldn't "cause trouble."

Only then did they let me go. Smiling warmly, the family stepped up onto the stage.

Gu Lianyi took the microphone, her voice brimming with radiant emotion.

"Dear family and friends, welcome to my son's one-month milestone celebration. I believe the greatest blessing a woman can experience in her life is marrying a wonderful husband."

"And an even greater blessing is creating a tangible crystallization of love with that man! Because when a child enters this world, happiness itself is brought into physical form!"

Her speech was impassioned and stirring, her eyes repeatedly drifting toward Ye Siming with profound tenderness.

Yet, whenever her gaze brushed past me standing beneath the stage, all that tenderness vanished, replaced by an icy, warning glare.

Smiling faintly, I stepped up onto the stage. Her expression shifted instantly, and she hissed in a frantic, hushed tone:

"Qi Yanze, what do you think you're doing?!"

"Today is the baby's banquet," I replied smoothly. "As your 'husband,' it's only right that I say a few words."

Gu Lianyi's brow knitted tightly, but with hundreds of eyes watching, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and whisper a venomous warning:

"If you dare say a single out-of-line word, you will regret it!"

Panic danced across her eyes, while Ye Siming and her parents watched me with guarded hostility.

I could even see my father-in-law's fists tightening, ready to tackle me the second I said something wrong.

I offered a polite smile, gesturing for them to relax—I certainly wouldn't speak recklessly.

"First of all, as the child's 'father' and Gu Lianyi's 'husband,' I want to thank all of you for traveling from near and far to celebrate this occasion."

Seeing how compliant I appeared, relief flickered across Gu Lianyi's face, and she let out a quiet sigh.

Ye Siming and my in-laws, however, exchanged subtle glances of mocking disdain.

Noticing this, I instantly flipped the script:

"However, I also have to tell everyone the truth about this baby! This child isn't mine at all! He is the illegitimate product of an affair between Gu Lianyi and this man right here, Ye Siming!"

The entire banquet hall erupted into shocked silence before breaking into utter chaos. The relatives from my side slammed their tables, rising to their feet in fury!

Gu Lianyi lunged forward to rip the microphone from my hand, while Ye Siming and her parents charged at me like rabid dogs.

I sidestepped them effortlessly and projected my voice clearly into the mic:

"Not only did Gu Lianyi carry another man's bastard, but she also expects me to legally claim him and raise him with my own money! How utterly absurd!"

"As her husband, I refuse to be their scapegoat! As an educator, I refuse to live a lie!"

"Starting today, Gu Lianyi, I am divorcing you!"

With that, I hurled the microphone to the floor and slammed a signed divorce agreement onto the table in front of everyone.

Gu Lianyi snatched up the fallen mic, tears streaming down her reddened eyes as she sobbed into it:

"Qi Yanze! What lies are you spewing?! That's not how it happened at all!"

Enraged, my father-in-law lunged, grabbing my collar and slamming me down against a table, roaring like a maniac:

"You ungrateful little bastard! I knew you came here to ruin us!"

"Everyone, don't believe a word he says! It's all filthy lies! Watch me beat this lying degenerate to death—the scumbag who even preyed on his own student!!"

He grabbed an unopened glass bottle of liquor, raising it high, about to smash it directly over my skull!

Right at that moment, the grand double doors of the banquet hall were kicked wide open, and a squad of uniformed police officers marched in!

"Freeze! Drop the weapon!"

Seeing the police storm inside, my father-in-law froze, but instantly burst into triumphant laughter:

"Qi Yanze! Evil deeds always catch up to you! Look, the police are here to drag you back to a cell!"

"Officers, take this rapist away right now!"

My mother-in-law chimed in with venomous spite, "Qi Yanze, this is your karma! Justice never lets the wicked off the hook! This just proves that Ye Siming is the only one worthy of being our son-in-law!"

I looked at them with an amused smirk. "Is that so? Are you sure they're here for me?"

The officers strode straight onto the stage and produced an arrest warrant. But the name printed on it wasn't mine.

"Gu Jiuhai! You are under arrest for malicious fabrication and framed defamation! Put your hands behind your back!"