Chapter 672 No More Pretense
Cheng Meiyi had just reached the backstage entrance when she heard a burst of noisy laughter coming from inside. Her heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly opened the door and rushed in.
"What are you doing?" Cheng Meiyi's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot after she saw what was going on in the lounge.
This lounge was specially prepared for Qi Yao. Originally, the Qi family did not plan to bring her to an occasion like today, nor did they plan to let her appear.
But just before leaving, Qi Yao grabbed Cheng Meiyi's sleeve, looking like she really wanted to come along.
The Qi family couple and Qi Yingzhang already doted on this youngest child in the family. Since she took the initiative to express her wishes, how could they let her down?
They agreed to bring Qi Yao over, but instead of taking her to the front hall, they settled her in the lounge for the time being, planning to have a family celebration after all the guests had left.
While Cheng Meiyi and the others went to the front to greet the guests, Mingming arranged for a nanny to stay with Qi Yao in the lounge.
Even before this, Cheng Meiyi and Madam Qi had brought Qi Yao food a few times when she was bored and hungry while alone in the lounge, and the nanny was also there at the time.
But now, there's no sign of the nanny in the house at all; instead, there are several uninvited guests who seem quite presumptuous.
Cheng Meiyi's face darkened, and she immediately lifted her skirt and rushed to Qi Yao's side, asking with concern, "Yao Yao, are you alright?"
Qi Yao lowered her eyelids and weakly shook her head.
Cheng Meiyi assumed she was frightened by the people who had barged in, and said sternly, "Who are you? Why are you here? This is private property. Please leave immediately, or don't blame me for being impolite."
The girl in the lead completely disregarded her warning, scoffing, "What's with the formality? Do you really think marrying my cousin will make you an overnight success and secure your position as the eldest daughter-in-law of the Qi family? Let me tell you, my cousin has just had too much of the fine food and just wants some simple porridge and side dishes to balance things out. Once he gets tired of you, your so-called young mistress will become nothing more than a decoration."
A girl dressed in a simple dress, a girl with a gentle and beautiful appearance, uttered malicious words that made her think she was superior to others.
Even her gorgeous clothes and beauty couldn't hide her sharp tongue and arrogance.
"Don't give me that attitude, do you even deserve it?"
Cheng Meiyi was taken aback by the woman's address to Qi Yingzhang, but quickly regained her composure: "Cousin? You're Yingzhang's cousin? I've never heard Yingzhang mention you before? Could you be some distant relative who's deliberately trying to get my attention?"
Jiang Rumei was so angry when she heard Cheng Meiyi's words that she almost jumped up and down on the spot. What she hated most was being deliberately brought up about her true relationship with the Qi family.
Cheng Meiyi's words hit her sore spot perfectly.
"Your cousin isn't talking to you because he doesn't care about you at all. He's not even willing to introduce you to his own family, which shows how disliked you are. If you had any self-awareness, you should have stepped down instead of shamelessly clinging to this position and dragging my cousin down!"
Cheng Meiyi wasn't stupid. Hearing her say that, she immediately guessed what these people were up to. She sneered, "If I voluntarily step down and make room for someone else, then who will sit in this seat? You? Aren't you Ying Zhang's cousin? Why are you still thinking about your cousin? Things aren't like they used to be, where marriage between relatives was a big deal. Even if you like your cousin a lot, you can't be with him."
Jiang Rumei's expression changed as she noticed the astonished gazes coming from all around her. Enraged, she retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting? How could I possibly like my cousin?"
Cheng Meiyi ignored her and pretended to suddenly realize something, saying, "Ah, I remember now. You said you are Ying Zhang's cousin, could it be that you are the daughter of Ying Zhang's uncle who is not related to him by blood? No wonder! Your father is not related to Ying Zhang by blood, so naturally you are not related to Ying Zhang by blood either, so you have no psychological burden when you like him."
As soon as Cheng Meiyi said this, the room fell silent, and everyone's gaze toward Jiang Rumei became strange.
The Jiang family's situation is actually not complicated. Qi Yingzhang's mother is the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, and her mother is the first wife of Miss Jiang's father, Mr. Jiang.
The two had a relatively sweet period together, but when Miss Jiang was eight years old, their relationship broke down and they quickly divorced.
After that, Miss Jiang's mother went abroad and never returned, while Mr. Jiang quickly started a second spring in his life, bringing his first love home.
The uncle Cheng Meiyi mentioned was the son of Mr. Jiang's first love and her ex-husband. Strictly speaking, he had no blood relation to Qi Yingzhang at all.
But some people don't know this, at least not the girls who came with Jiang Rumei to cause trouble today.
Jiang Rumei didn't need to look up to imagine the way everyone was looking at her.
Thinking about the cold treatment she might receive after today, Jiang Rumei was almost furious: "Shut up! My dad and aunt are siblings. How dare you talk about my dad and me like that? Believe me, I'll tell my aunt right now!"
"Whatever. But don't blame me for not reminding you, when your grandma brought your seven-year-old father home, the aunt you're talking about was already eight years old. And at that time, the couple had only recently divorced."
Cheng Meiyi's casual words were tantamount to putting Jiang Rumei on the hot seat. If she admitted that the two were not biological siblings, that would be fine, but if she insisted, wouldn't that mean that her grandmother had long since become a mistress in someone else's family and that's how she gave birth to her father, an illegitimate child?
The consequences were something Jiang Rumei couldn't afford to bear. Overwhelmed with anger, she finally couldn't help but take action.
Her move caused many people's expressions to change. They had come here tonight mainly to watch the show, and at most they would chime in with insults, but they never thought of taking action.
After all, verbal disputes are easy to resolve, but once physical altercations occur, the nature of the matter changes.
Cheng Meiyi didn't expect this person to be so easily provoked. He only said a few words before he started to attack. Caught off guard, she had no time to dodge.
In a moment of panic, Cheng Meiyi subconsciously closed her eyes, secretly regretting that she would probably have to attend the second half of her wedding with a slap mark on her face. What bad luck!
With a scream and a thud, the expected pain did not occur. When Cheng Meiyi looked up, she found that Jiang Rumei had flown out for some reason and landed under the table next to the lounge, knocking over a table full of things.
"Yao... Yao Yao?"
"You dare hit me! You actually dared to hit me!"
Jiang Rumei clutched her stomach, which was throbbing from the kick, and stared at the figure blocking Cheng Meiyi's path, her eyes red with tears.
Although she had just said a few sarcastic things to Cheng Meiyi and seemed very dissatisfied with her, in reality, the person she hated the most was the one in front of her.
(End of this chapter)
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