Yu Wanqing applied almost half a pound of powder to her face to barely cover the mark of Ruan Luo's slap, while whispering something to Ruan Zhengde.
Ruan Chen, who had gone upstairs to change her clothes, also came down.
He wore a loose white t-shirt with sleeves just past his elbows, light blue jeans, and ordinary sneakers.
She exudes a clean, student-like aura, her hair styled up with a simple and neat ebony hairpin.
The only adornments on her body were a gold thread on her left wrist and an unidentified moon-white pendant around her neck. Her aura was extremely indifferent as she swayed and staggered toward the door.
Ruan Zhengde's face darkened the moment he saw her like this. "Ruan Chen, is our Ruan family about to go bankrupt? Dressed like this! You're going to the Xu family's banquet in Jingzhou, not your class reunion!"
No response.
Yu Wanqing winked at him, "It's alright, little boy. It's better to dress simply so that people won't say that the girls of our Ruan family have any shameful thoughts."
Sitting in the Xu family's villa, Ruan Chen looked around at the furnishings and suddenly felt a strange sadness.
I feel sorry for Xu Weiwei.
The Xu family hosted a banquet for many celebrities. Amidst the clinking of glasses and the elegant attire of the guests, no one could tell that they were grieving the loss of their loved one.
She poked at the cake in front of her bit by bit with a spoon, thinking of that night, and the girl in front of her and Tao Ran—actually, Xu Weiwei wasn't drunk at the time, she was just crying silently, but even bystanders could feel the grief emanating from her body.
Tao Ran tried to persuade her, but Xu Weiwei looked at him with her tear-filled, rotten peach-like eyes. She opened her mouth, uttered only four words, when suddenly her face turned bluish-purple. She then collapsed onto the carpet, convulsed a few times, and fell lifeless.
Then the police broke down the door.
Even Ruan Chen's thoughts were in disarray at the time.
Sitting in the Xu family home now, in this slightly noisy environment, the scenes from back then have become clearer.
Ruan Chen narrowed her eyes slightly as the cake on the plate was unconsciously crushed into a pulp.
Xu Weiwei's voice trembled with tears, and she mumbled those four words indistinctly—"Actually, young master..."
The veins on the back of her hand flashed and disappeared in an instant, and her lowered eyes suddenly sharpened—if they were siblings, there was no need to call them young masters; if they were really from the Xu family, even if it was just for show, they shouldn't be holding a banquet at this time!
Beneath the silver fork, the porcelain plate holding the cake shattered into pieces due to the force that hand suddenly unleashed!
"...Miss Ruan?"
Ruan Chen turned around and saw Yu Wanqing standing three meters behind him, arm in arm with another noblewoman.
It is Madam Xu.
Madam Xu didn't notice Ruan Chen's still-fierce gaze. She only looked at the smashed cake and porcelain plate and praised gently, "Miss Ruan is really strong. Her outfit today is also very casual, just like that child Weiwei."
She uttered those last words purely unconsciously.
She realized it was unlucky after saying it, but figured Miss Ruan probably didn't know who Weiwei was, so she let it go.
Yu Wanqing was startled by Ruan Chen's gaze, but she still mustered her courage and stepped forward, "Ruan Chen, this is..."
“Madam Xu,” Ruan Chen said with a clear gaze, stepping forward to shake hands politely, and said softly, “Is it a little inappropriate for you to compare me to the deceased?”
She gently placed her fingertips on Mrs. Xu's pulse—it was beating very fast; she was nervous.
She continued with her second question, "Xu Weiwei...isn't the young master's biological sister?"
Madam Xu's pulse was about to break two hundred.
The two were very close, and Ruan Chen noticed her rapid breathing and bloodshot eyes—she was really nervous.
Ruan Chen didn't ask any more questions, afraid that the noblewoman in front of her might faint at any moment.
Madam Xu shook off Ruan Chen's hand, looked at Yu Wanqing, and questioned her with an unpleasant expression, "What exactly has your Ruan family been saying about our Xu family behind our backs?"
She couldn't believe that Ruan Chen, a child who had just turned fifteen, could ask such a question. There must be someone teaching her behind the scenes!
Xu Weiwei is indeed not the older sister of the mentally challenged young master; she is the child bride that the Xu family prepared for that idiot.
When Hsu Wei-wei was brought to the country, she was so young that it wouldn't sound good if word got out, so they always claimed to be siblings.
Now the Ruan family has actually pointed it out!
Yu Wanqing didn't hear what Ruan Chen and Madam Xu said, and panicked. She pulled Ruan Chen aside and scolded loudly, "Why aren't you apologizing to Madam Xu right now?"
Ruan Chen laughed coolly; she knew the Xu family had misunderstood—perfect.
The commotion quickly attracted the attention of the celebrities who had come to the banquet, and they all looked in this direction.
Yu Wanqing's original intention was to embarrass Ruan Chen in public and subtly imply to everyone that Ruan Chen was shamelessly trying to seduce the Xu family's idiot. Now, although it's unclear what happened, it must be that Ruan Chen offended Madam Xu, making this the perfect opportunity.
Ignoring her pleas, she shouted, "How was I raised you at home? You have to be polite to Aunt Xu. You were the one who cried and made a scene at home, insisting on coming to see Xu's older brother, saying you wanted to come and take care of him. Now that I've brought you here, why are you behaving so ill-mannered? If you make your Aunt Xu angry, you won't be able to see your brother Xu anymore!"
Ruan Chen felt nauseous and wanted to vomit.
It really hurts my stomach.
Sure enough, whispers began to circulate.
"No way, everyone knows that Xu's eldest son is an idiot, so why are people still going out of their way to beg for his attention?"
"They look quite young, probably not even adults yet. They're just being silly and not knowing any better."
"Kids these days mature early. By fifteen or sixteen, they understand everything they should. I think she might just be in a hurry to find a husband. The Xu family is a good match. It's easy to manipulate a fool. In the future, she'll still be the one calling the shots at home, won't she?"
“That makes sense, especially for the children of these wealthy families, who receive this kind of education from a young age.”
Ruan Chen frowned slightly, rubbed her stomach, and was about to retort when Madam Xu spoke first.
"What can a fifteen-year-old child understand? Even if he said something inappropriate, wasn't it all taught to him by you adults behind the scenes!" Madam Xu's hands trembled with anger. "No wonder the head of the Ruan family didn't come, but sent you, someone without proper status, with a child. It turns out they were deliberately trying to humiliate the Xu family!"
Madam Xu was being quite polite.
Ever since Ye Huanhuan turned against him, Ruan Zhengde has openly brought Yu Wanqing along to many informal occasions—basically, she's just a pretty accessory to show off, and those who know, know what a formal relationship is.
Yu Wanqing didn't know how to restrain herself and insisted that Ruan Zhengde make up for the nineteen years of wrongdoing. Many ladies in the circle had long disapproved of her flamboyant behavior.
Seeing that the Xu family was directly targeting Yu Wanqing, Ruan Chen naturally had to hand them the knife.
She raised her pretty little face, her eyes innocent and pitiful. Coupled with her student-like attire, she was much more convincing than Yu Wanqing. "Auntie, didn't you say this at home? Chen'er is just curious and wants to ask Aunt Xu."
From this angle of looking up, she could just see an old acquaintance on the second floor.
Fu Lin.
Fu Lin gave her a thumbs up, then turned to the middle-aged man beside him and said, "Brother Xu, I've already told you and your wife that Ruan Chen is a good girl. Look at her, she's beautiful and has the Ye family as her backing. How could she be like what Yu Wanqing said, rushing to find a husband at such a young age? Brother Xu, can you believe that?"
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