“You…” Even though Gu Qiao’er was usually very patient, she was now overcome with anger and stood up abruptly from the sofa, pointing at Lin Xiaoxue and wishing she could curse her to a pulp.

But for a moment he didn't know where to begin his rant and was at a loss for words.

"What do you mean 'you'? Don't point your finger at me. Who do you think you are to argue with me?" Lin Xiaoxue was thoroughly enjoying her scolding and felt a little smug. She couldn't argue with her sisters at home, but she had no problem arguing with outsiders.

Her older sister would praise her too, right? Then she turned around and glanced at Lin Xiazhu, only to find that the other woman was looking at her speechlessly, but her expression didn't seem to blame her. Lin Xiaoxue curled her lips; she knew that her older sister supported her in dealing with outsiders.

"Is it necessary to insult us like this? We are all guests of the Bai family, not here for a beauty pageant. What the third sister of the Lin family said is so strange." Gu Yan couldn't help but speak up. Even though she was slightly less beautiful than the Lin sisters, who could stand being ridiculed on the spot?

Moreover, Lin Xiaoxue's words were really too rude, clearly insulting her and her cousin.

"Your Lin family's upbringing is truly appalling." She looked at Lin Xiazhu with a deep gaze. Lin Xiazhu was the one who supported the Lin family, and she had heard the Bai family mention this a few times.

"Try saying that again, and I'll..." Lin Xiaoxue said, about to rush over and tear her apart, but Lin Xiazhu stopped her.

"Stop arguing, all of you shut up. This is the Bai family home, not a place for you to fight. If you don't know how to raise yourselves, look at yourselves first before you judge others. I don't want to argue or fight today. Since we can't get along, let's call it a day." Lin Xiazhu led her two younger sisters to the garden outside.

"Big sister, they seem to be furious." Lin Taozi glanced back and muttered to herself.

"Yeah, they brought it on themselves, don't mind them." Lin Xiazhu smiled, not taking the little incident to heart at all. If Gu Yan and Gu Qiao'er were more polite, she could get along with them, but since they insisted on causing trouble, there was no need to be polite to them.

An hour later, Bai Ruan came out of the study. He didn't see Lin Xiazhu in the living room, but Gu Yan saw him and immediately came over. "Brother Mingxuan, what do you want to eat for lunch today? I'll go to the kitchen and make it for you."

“There’s a chef to cook for you, so you don’t need to worry about that,” Bai Ruan replied calmly.

"My cousin and I are bored and want to find something to do, so please let us do it." Gu Yan pouted, with a hint of coquetry in her voice.

Bai Ru'an frowned slightly, but quickly returned to normal. "Go if you want. Just make a few things to pass the time, and leave the rest to the chef."

Then he went out to find Lin Xiazhu and the others, leaving the Gu sisters glaring at his retreating figure with unpleasant expressions.

"What's the point of us coming here? Nobody likes us, we're like beggars. Why are we even attending this banquet? We might as well go home." Gu Yan frowned, her eyes brimming with tears, complaining pitifully.

“Yan Yan, we don’t have a home in the capital. The house we live in belongs to the Bai family, and everything belongs to the Bai family.” Gu Qiao’er wanted to remind her to face reality.

“Then let’s leave the Bai family and go back to Fengcheng. No matter how hard life gets, we won’t have to put up with other people’s attitudes,” Gu Yan said with great pride.

"How will we live if we go back to Fengcheng? Drop out of school and work? You'll graduate next year, and I just graduated too. We have even fewer connections if we go back to Fengcheng, and my dad will still have to support us..."

They were dependent on the Bai family for their livelihood. Leaving the Bai family and returning to a state of destitution with nothing was something they simply could not accept.

Gu Yan's face turned pale. Yes, she didn't know how to do anything. She wasn't used to heavy work, and she didn't want to take jobs with low pay. In the past few years in Beijing, she didn't even have to do housework and lived like a rich young lady.

"We've been spoiled by the Bai family and have lost all our life skills. Why should we leave? The Bai family has a responsibility to take care of our future lives," Gu Yan murmured to herself, as if hypnotizing herself.

Soon it was lunchtime. Bai Zhengping sat in the main seat, with Bai Junbai and Bai Ruan sitting on his left and right sides respectively. Lin Xiazhu sat next to Bai Ruan, followed by Lin Taozi and Lin Xiaoxue.

Gu Yan, Gu Qiao'er, and Bai Junbai sat on one side, facing each other in two rows. There were more than a dozen dishes on the table, all of which were carefully prepared by the chef at Bai Zhengping's request, but a few dishes made by Gu Yan were also mixed in.

They were all spicy. According to Gu Yan, people in Fengcheng love spicy food and can't live without it. So the dishes Gu Yan made today were very spicy, and they smelled quite pungent when they were first served.

"Grandpa Bai, try this spicy chicken. It's a specialty of Fengcheng, and it's delicious." This wasn't the first time Gu Yan had cooked at the Bai family's house; she had done it three or four times already. She remembered that Bai Zhengping liked spicy food.

Bai Junbo and Mingxuan also ate there and praised her cooking skills.

"Oh, then I'll have a taste." Bai Zhengping was very supportive and picked up a few bites to eat. Bai Junbai also tried some, and Bai Ruan also took a bite. Only the Lin sisters didn't touch anything.

"Sister Xiaozhu, try my cooking, it tastes really good." Gu Yan smiled kindly, as if she had forgotten about the unpleasantness from before.

Lin Xiazhu shook her head, "I don't like spicy food, you guys eat it, I prefer milder flavors." It's not that she can't eat any spicy food at all, but her stomach always feels uncomfortable whenever she eats spicy food, and after her rebirth, she almost never wants to touch spicy food.

"Just try it. Maybe you'll fall in love with spicy food after you eat it," Gu Yan continued patiently.

"People from our area don't like spicy food; if they eat it, their stomachs feel like they're on fire, which is very uncomfortable."

Lin Taozi blinked innocently at Gu Yan, not understanding why she insisted on making her older sister eat the dishes she made. There were so many dishes on the table that they couldn't finish them all, so why did she have to eat spicy food? Her older sister didn't like it, and neither did she. Nobody in their family liked spicy food.

"Have you never eaten spicy food before?" Gu Qiao'er asked curiously.

"It's not that I've never eaten it before, it's just that I don't like it. If I eat a spicy bite, I have to drink several mouthfuls of water, otherwise I feel uncomfortable," Lin Taozi said softly.

"That's a pity. Many spicy dishes are delicious, but you won't get to enjoy them." Bai Zhengping laughed heartily, not taking their conversation seriously.

"If you're not allergic to it, you can try it. It's a real shame if you don't eat spicy food," Gu Qiao'er said with a gentle smile.

"If Xiaozhu doesn't like it, don't keep trying to persuade her. Just eat quietly. The makeup team will be here soon after you finish eating, and then we should start preparing for the dinner." Xiao An interrupted the topic calmly.

Gu Yan and Gu Qiao'er lowered their eyelids and ate quietly. Lin Xiazhu buried her head in her food and didn't waste any time chatting with them. Lin Xiaoxue didn't dare to say much because the Bai family was there, for fear of angering Bai Ru'an and being thrown out, preventing her from attending the banquet that evening.

An hour after lunch, the dresses and shoes were delivered, and the makeup team arrived around the same time. As soon as they arrived, they started doing makeup and changing clothes for the girls.

The dresses were beautiful, each with a different style and color. Bai Ru'an had them custom-made according to the characteristics of the group. Since everyone was quite young, the styles were relatively conservative, but they were still very beautiful.