Volume 1, Chapter 61: A Phoenix in Distress is Worse Than a Hen

Ye Tian's actions caused a massive commotion throughout the banquet hall.

Watching Shen Yuwei being tossed out the door by the security guards, the guests present reacted with a myriad of different emotions.

Those who had business dealings with Shen Yuwei sank into deep remorse. They rushed madly to Ye Tian's side, swearing to the heavens that they would sever all ties with her and never cooperate with her again.

Those who had no business connections with her were overjoyed, eagerly condemning Shen Yuwei's various wrongdoings and expressing that Ye Tian had been treated most unfairly.

In an instant, the banquet hall erupted with a chaotic chorus of diverse voices.

"I never imagined there could be such a shameless woman in this world. She even lost her wedding ring, yet had the audacity to bring a fake one and beg to remarry!"

"I heard long ago that she betrayed Divine Doctor Ye and hooked up with another man. Now that she sees Divine Doctor Ye is wealthy and powerful, she wants to crawl back. Truly disgusting!"

"You probably don't know yet, but she even publicly slandered Divine Doctor Ye before. It's only because Divine Doctor Ye is magnanimous and didn't hold it against her, otherwise she would have long since been..."

"You really can't judge a book by its cover. I was actually fooled by her and invested two million into her projects. Damn it, I'm going right now to cancel the contract!"

"Yes, yes, yes, let's all go together. It's time to teach her a lesson so Divine Doctor Ye doesn't think we're in the same boat as her!"

"..."

"Quiet, quiet!"

Surrounded by the crowd and with his ears ringing, Ye Tian had no choice but to raise his voice: "Everyone, I no longer have any relationship with Shen Yuwei. Regardless of whether you were previously friends or foes with her, it will not affect our future business collaborations. If you have any questions, please negotiate with the Li Group. I have fully entrusted all matters concerning business cooperation to them!"

Hearing this, many people breathed sighs of relief and showered praise on Ye Tian's magnanimity.

With this issue resolved, the guests finally set their minds at ease and continued to enjoy the wonderful evening.

Compared to the warm and lively atmosphere inside the banquet hall, the entrance of the hotel was somewhat chaotic.

Thrown out the door by the security guards, Shen Yuwei looked utterly disheveled.

Her makeup was completely ruined, and her once-exquisite cosmetics had been smeared into a chaotic mess by her tears, forming strange, multicolored streaks across her face that made her appearance bizarre and grotesque.

Her dress had been left in shambles from the shoving and tugging, the pleats of the hem twisted and rolled as if she had been ravaged by a fierce gale. It hung crookedly from her frame, several sections of the fabric stretched completely out of shape, making her look like a performance artist.

She lay flat on the ground in a sprawling pose, staring blankly up at the night sky.

At this moment, she still could not believe that Ye Tian had struck her and had security throw her out of the hotel.

"How could it come to this..."

"Why would Ye Tian treat me this way? He clearly loved me so much. In the past, he couldn't even bear to touch a single hair on my head..."

"Could his heart have changed so quickly? It's only been a little over a month since our divorce. How can he be so hard-hearted? Sob, sob, sob..."

...

At that moment, a large crowd had gathered at the hotel entrance to watch the spectacle.

Most of these onlookers were assistants, secretaries, and drivers of the guests, as well as media reporters.

Since most of them lacked the qualifications to enter the banquet hall, they could only wait outside.

Gazing at Shen Yuwei on the ground, the crowd murmured and gossiped among themselves.

"Who is this, and why is she lying there?"

"I just heard that she's the ex-wife of Divine Doctor Ye, the host of tonight's banquet!"

"Judging by her appearance, she must have come to attend the banquet. Why is she lying here now? That doesn't make sense."

"Ah, then you must not know the story. She was thrown out by the security guards! Word is she cheated on him and divorced Divine Doctor Ye. Now that Divine Doctor Ye has made it big, she regrets it. Tonight at the banquet, she actually used a fake wedding ring to beg for a reconciliation. In a fit of anger, Divine Doctor Ye ordered security to toss her out."

"Whoa, this woman told my boss just a few days ago that she was about to remarry Divine Doctor Ye. I never expected it was all her own fabrication!"

"Quick, quick, we must report this to the company immediately. We can't continue cooperating with her firm..."

"This is major news. I was just worrying about lacking material, and now it drops right in my lap. I need to write a report right away and aim for tomorrow's headlines!"

Amidst the crowd, waves of mockery and discussion rose and fell.

These words were so piercing, driving into her heart like needles.

Right now, she had nowhere to hide her shame!

She could easily imagine that after tonight, everyone in Jiangnan would know that Shen Yuwei was a liar and a shameless bitch!

Just a moment ago, she was a noble socialite of high society; the next second, she had fallen like a phoenix stripped of its feathers, lower even than a common chicken.

And the ultimate culprit behind all of this was the man she still loved most—Ye Tian.

"Ye Tian, I hate you!"

"Since you are so heartless and unrighteous, don't blame me for resorting to my final tactics."

"Ye Tian, I won't let you off so easily!"

"Just you wait!"

After a long while, beneath the gaze of the multitude, Shen Yuwei slowly dragged herself up from the ground.

She cast a venomous glare toward the banquet hall, wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve, and then lifted her ruined skirt and strode away.

...

In the days following the banquet, Ye Tian was exceptionally busy.

Aside from business matters, many of the attending guests had come specifically for Ye Tian's medical skills.

Either they themselves were suffering from ailments, or their family members were plagued by chronic illnesses, and they wished to enlist Ye Tian's help for treatment.

Since these people showed Ye Tian respect, he naturally reciprocated in kind, turning almost no one away. As long as they were patients, he treated them all equally.

In just a few short days, he treated over two hundred patients. The majority of them experienced rapid improvements, while the rest were on the path to steady recovery. Barring any accidents, a full recovery was merely a matter of time.

Of course, there were also cases he could not cure. Most of those were terminally ill individuals whose lifespans had been completely exhausted by their diseases; no matter how brilliant Ye Tian's medical skills might be, he could not wrest souls from the clutches of the Underworld Lord.

Consequently, he could only express his deepest regrets to their grieving families.

Having finished treating the patients, Ye Tian finally found some free time and returned to Dragon Head Mountain to continue his cultivation.

...

The Zhou Family Residence.

The Inner Hall.

Zhou Yunyi sat at the head of the long table, his stern gaze sweeping across the family members seated along both sides.

At this very moment, the Zhou family was facing the darkest hour in its entire history.

Despite holding the absolute upper hand initially in the commercial rivalry between the Zhou Group and the Li Group, they had now been completely overturned by the Li family once again!

With the two families locked in direct confrontation in the market, the Zhou family was steadily retreating, their decline painfully apparent.

There was no helping it; with the Li family now on friendly terms with the Xu family, the Zhou family dared not resort to underhanded tactics against the Li Group. Relying solely on the empty cheering of their allies was utterly useless, leaving them with no choice but to watch helplessly as the situation deteriorated to this point.

Zhou Yunyi had called this family council today precisely to discuss how to reverse the crisis and provide the higher-ups with a satisfactory explanation.

Otherwise, the Zhou family, acting merely as a chess piece, would face the imminent risk of being discarded!

"Let's hear your thoughts, everyone. Do you have any ideas? There's no need to hold anything back at this juncture."

Zhou Yunyi spoke in a low, heavy voice, dark clouds of fury masking his face.

The family members sat in anxious apprehension, none daring to speak up lightly.

After a long while, an elderly man seated beside Zhou Yunyi finally broke the silence.

"To pacify the external threat, we must first stabilize our internal affairs. Our most urgent task right now is to heavily curtail internal expenditures within the group and conserve our funds..."

With him taking the lead, other managerial members of the clan began to offer their opinions one after another.

"In terms of operations, our previous expenditures and losses across various sectors were simply too high, leaving us with no cost advantage. We must cut costs and enhance efficiency."

"Why don't we petition the other major families and get them to pressure the Li family, forcing the Lis to raise their prices and prohibiting them from engaging in malicious competition with us?"

"In my opinion, we should just lay off staff. With our business volume having dropped by more than half, keeping so many people around is useless anyway. We might as well cut jobs to reduce payroll expenses."