Chapter 52: Mistaking a Pearl for a Fish Eye

Hearing the words "family rod," Vivian Hale was virtually driven to a laugh from absolute fury.

Her brain bound to have been flooded with water previously.

The damage and humiliation caused by that so-called family discipline of the Cross family in the past—she had actually endured every single shred of it one by one.

Just to maintain a marriage that existed in name only; thinking about it now was farcical to the absolute limit.

For a moment, she was thoroughly choked into silence by rage.

Seeing that Vivian failed to open her mouth to argue back, Adrian Cross mistakenly assumed that she certainly didn't wish to mention the matter of divorce either.

Perhaps after considering it during this stretch of time, she still intended to reconcile with him.

After all, the immense family background and status of his Cross family were still displayed right here.

Didn't his father take him here specially today precisely because he desired to assist him in securing the bidding, making an absolute comeback?

Thinking up to this point, he conversely reclaimed his confidence.

"Vivian, don't forget your manners and upbringing right before Dad's face. I can choose not to argue with you over those matters you stirred up previously, as long as you return home to thoroughly reflect on yourself, and continue to act as a considerate, submissive, and qualified wife from now on. The Cross family will officially welcome you through the entrance and include you into our genealogy records."

"As the wife of the successor to my Cross family, I naturally won't treat you poorly either, as long as you keep to your proper place."

The main branch of the Cross family was currently an industry titan within the capital, its industrial chains sprawling entirely across the country and overseas.

He deliberately brought up his identity as the successor.

Simultaneously, he was offering her a sharp reminder—do not assume that because she stripped away those assets, he was left completely empty-handed and lacked the capability to deal with her.

And whoever dared to challenge or oppose the Cross family would uniquely fail to meet an excellent end.

Vivian comprehended exactly what he was hinting at, her opening words filled with unmitigated mockery.

"Adrian Cross, are you completely dreaming and haven't woken up yet? You and I have already divorced, on what grounds are you still putting on the absolute front of a husband before my face? As a cheating scumbag, instead of tucking your tail and bolting the exact millisecond you spot me, you actually dare to clamor right before me?"

She exposed the absolute fact on the spot, her gaze deeply sarcastic.

"Do you honestly believe I covet some position as the madam of the Cross family, and you still want to teach me manners? Wanting to domesticate me to serve as a common pet for your Cross family? Why don't you look upon your own self to see if you are even worthy?"

Her words were exactly like two fierce slaps delivered straight across Adrian's face, failing to leave him a single shred of face.

Leaving his countenance deathly dark, humiliated to the absolute limit.

How on earth did Vivian dare to do this?

How did she actually dare to completely fail to leave him a fraction of face right before his father's face!

Having finished her curses, Vivian was too lazy to cast another single glance at him, turning her line of vision over to Gabriel Cross instead.

"Furthermore, Mr. Cross, unearth the absolute status of the situation clearly before you deliver a reprimand to another person. I am no longer the daughter-in-law of your Cross family, and you possess zero authority to hand down orders to my face. This type of feudal garbage was completely abolished hundreds of years ago, yet uniquely your family still keeps this kind of matter dangling on your tongue—aren't you terrified of turning into a public laughingstock if word gets outside?"

Gabriel was instantly filled to the brim with total shock, his expression turning exceptionally brooding.

Compared to the absolute impact brought upon him by the matter of the "divorce," the thing that left him even more dissatisfied was Vivian’s attitude.

This woman, who had previously appeared completely unremarkable and possessed zero aggressiveness within his eyes, actually dared to challenge his face this way today.

"A laughingstock? My son marrying a physically disabled woman like you all those years ago was the absolute greatest laughingstock of all! I stated long ago that an orphan girl whose parents are both deceased and who lacks anyone to rely on possessed zero qualifications to march through the entrance of my Cross family, yet Adrian persistently refused to listen.

As a result, looking upon it right now, my initial decision was entirely correct. This divorce was executed beautifully. I uniquely desire to witness who on earth will still want a divorced, formerly ill woman like you once you are stripped of my son's support."

He inherently looked down upon Vivian, and right now, having seized an opportunity, he wasn't a single fraction stingy about deploying the absolute most venomous and nasty words to humiliate her.

Vivian’s face drained of color into a stark white.

The death of her parents was the absolute greatest agony and emotional knot of her entire life, yet right now it was conversely utilized by another person to serve as a lethal arrow to launch an attack against her form.

Vivian shook entirely from absolute fury, just preparing to launch a counterattack right on the spot.

But right at this critical millisecond, a freezing voice rang out from behind her form: "Who on earth stated that no one wants her?"

Right after, Silas Vance strode forward with his long legs to block right by her side, his massive palm effortlessly encircling her waist, his holistic aura powerfully filled with an immense sense of absolute oppression.

"The people of your Cross family are completely blind, mistaking a pearl for a common fish eye, but that does not imply that another person will behave exactly like you. I happen to feel Vivian is exceptionally wonderful."

An intense wave of savage malice rippled within the man's ink-stained eyes, confronting Gabriel's face without a single fraction of dodging.

The surrounding air plummeted into absolute stagnation within a fleeting instant.

"You scoundrel!"

The exact millisecond his eyes clearly discerned that face belonging to Silas, following a few seconds of absolute shock, Gabriel’s countenance turned entirely purple from rage.

"Do you have a single fraction of a clue regarding your own identity, and exactly who on earth you are speaking to? You actually dare to clamor against my face for the sake of this woman! You unfilial son."

The two of them actually displayed an attitude this親?

Furthermore, what sort of scoundrel words did this person just utter?

He was virtually driven completely mad from rage.

"My surname is Vance, not Cross. I possess absolutely zero connection to your person, so do not put on the mouth and face of a parent to deliver a discipline to me."

Silas, however, failed to grant him a single shred of face, an unfathomable layer of dark emotion even flashing through his eyes.

"From this day forward, if I catch you all daring to harm Vivian Hale again, do not blame me for failing to act courteously."

The exact millisecond he finished speaking, regardless of what sort of a reaction Gabriel displayed, he directly clamped his arm around Vivian to walk away.

"Stop right there!"

Gabriel roared out in uncontrollable fury.

Silas paused his steps, yet he failed to turn his head back, merely declaring his stance: "Furthermore, regarding today's bidding, let everyone rely entirely on their own capability."

With that, he accelerated his pace to march inside.

Vivian kept pace by his side, the shock across her expression impossible to mask.

Judging from the appearance of things, the father-son relationship between Silas and Gabriel was far from excellent. Furthermore, she appeared to vaguely perceive that Silas's emotions were somewhat amiss, seemingly harboring a massive amount of resentment toward Gabriel.

It bound to be far from her own illusion.

"Are you... alright?" She lowered her cadence in an involuntary manner.

"Is the relationship between you and your father this poor because he shows unmitigated favoritism toward Adrian Cross?"

Hearing this type of words, Silas's tightened nerves seemed to soothe down for a brief moment. Lowering his eyes to look upon her, he seemed to let out a low laugh: "Are you offering me a shred of care?"

Vivian was speechless.

"I merely inquired at random. If you don't wish to speak of it, forget it."

This was another person's household matter after all; he inherently possessed zero obligation to inform her.

Nor should she pry into anything further.

Marching inside the venue, the two located a pair of seats to sit down.

This was a network bidding project publicly publicized by the government.

Before the bidding conference commenced, Vivian pulled up the documentation in her hands once more to begin a meticulous review, wanting to integrate the content even more thoroughly into her mind until it was fully memorized.

A good number of companies had arrived at the venue to participate in the bidding together, and the atmosphere could far from be described as relaxed.

However, their absolute greatest adversary currently bound to be Cross Group; after all, their foundations were deeply profound.

After approximately a quarter of an hour slipped by, the specialized panel members arrived at the venue one after another.

The person-in-charge, Director Xu, stepped onto the stage to deliver a speech: "Welcome, everyone. First and foremost, I highly welcome all of you to participate in our state-tendered project for the 'Ark' Data Security Platform.

Before arriving here, everyone possessed a certain understanding regarding the project and has prepared solutions. The suite of processes for today's bidding will rely on drawing lots to determine the sequence. The representatives of each company will step onto the stage separately to articulate their pitches, and ultimately our expert review panel here will make a selection, choosing the absolute most suitable company for cooperation."

The exact millisecond Director Xu finished speaking, he had the staff members hand down the lot container for everyone to draw from one by one.

When it was W.E.'s turn, Silas handed the opportunity over to her, "You pull it."