Chapter 30 "Rolling off the gentle cruise ship..."
Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing ate some more food, and during that time, people kept coming over to try to strike up a conversation with Gu Mingyan.
As the eldest daughter of the Gu family, Gu Mingyan is always a focus of attention in social circles.
Gu Mingyan knew that Yun Qingqing disliked this kind of hypocritical socializing, so during a break in the conversation, she whispered to her, "Qingqing, find a comfortable place to sit and have something to eat. You don't need to keep me company and force a smile here."
Yun Qingqing readily complied, picked up a small plate and gathered a bunch of delicate pastries, found a quiet corner by the window, and sat down comfortably.
She slowly finished her food before getting up to find the restroom.
After resolving her personal matters, she didn't want to return to the noisy banquet hall immediately, so she walked a few steps along the quiet corridor towards the side of the ship, wanting to feel the sea breeze and refresh herself.
As I approached the glass door leading to the side deck, I heard a few laughs and chatter outside.
Yun Qingqing was about to leave when she overheard Gu Xubai's name and couldn't help but glance over there again.
Through the glass door, she saw Fan Shuye leaning against the railing, chatting with several young men of similar age.
"...So, never underestimate that illegitimate son of the Gu family. Last time, during the bidding for that piece of land in the east of the city, that kid subtly tricked us. The old man came back so angry that his blood pressure went up, exclaiming that the younger generation is truly formidable." A man in a silver suit clicked his tongue in admiration.
Another man wearing gold-rimmed glasses chimed in, "Who says otherwise? Old Chen used to be so arrogant, relying on his connection with the Gu family patriarch to put on airs in front of Gu Xubai. And what happened? He got completely subdued by him, and now when he sees him, he has to respectfully call him 'Young Master Gu.'"
"Shuye, you deal with Gu Xubai a lot, how does it feel?" Someone nudged Fan Shuye, who hadn't said much, with their elbow.
Fan Shuye seemed to have been hit where it hurt, and his face immediately showed a bitter and resentful expression.
"He just tricked me and ripped me off. My old man was so angry that he grabbed a golf club and chased me halfway around the yard, yelling at me for not being able to beat someone younger than him."
Fan Shuye suddenly clutched his head with both hands, crying out in grief and indignation: "Since Ye was born, why was Bai born?!"
Yun Qingqing almost burst out laughing at his antics.
She hadn't expected that Gu Xubai already had such a reputation among the younger generation.
Yun Qingqing, having unintentionally overheard someone's conversation, quietly bypassed the glass door and returned to the banquet hall along the path she had come from.
The hall was still bustling with people, dressed in fragrant clothes and with their hair in flowing locks.
She glanced in the direction of Gu Mingyan and saw many figures there, indicating that the young lady would not be able to get away for the time being.
Her quiet seat by the window was now occupied by several elegantly dressed young women.
Yun Qingqing glanced at Meng Xian and Ding Manni sitting in the middle, and was about to pretend she didn't see them and find another place, when she heard someone call out from behind:
"lightly!"
Meng Xian stood up, a surprised smile on her face, and walked gracefully toward her.
"Teacher Meng," Yun Qingqing greeted him casually.
"It really is you! I thought I was seeing things." Meng Xian's smile grew even warmer. "Are you here for the banquet too? Why are you alone? Where's Mingyan?"
The commotion they were making attracted the attention of several socialites, and everyone turned their curious gazes to Yun Qingqing.
“Mingyan is chatting with someone over there,” Yun replied simply.
"Oh, I see." Meng Xian suddenly realized, and then naturally turned to her companions who looked puzzled, and introduced, "Her name is Yun Qingqing, and she is Mingyan's good friend."
"Yun Qingqing?" A girl in a sequined dress tilted her head to look her over, asking without malice, "I don't think I've seen you before. Which family are you from?"
"Oh right, I've been so busy filming variety shows that I didn't really know that," Meng Xian asked as if she had just realized something. "Qingqing, which family's daughter are you?"
She emphasized the word "precious daughter" slightly more than the others, making it sound particularly meaningful.
Yun Qingqing wasn't buying it and calmly said, "Can't you tell from the surname? I'm from the Yun family."
Because she spoke so matter-of-factly and confidently, the people present actually followed her lead and searched their memories to see if there was any low-profile, wealthy family with the surname Yun.
This made it difficult for Meng Xian to say what she had prepared directly.
Her thoughts shifted, and her smile became even more amiable: "You don't know, Qingqing and Mingyan are such good friends. They were inseparable when filming the variety show. I've seen Mingyan frequently transferring pocket money to her and treating her to all sorts of delicious food. It's such an enviable friendship."
Upon hearing Meng Xian's words, the young girls were all taken aback and exchanged glances with each other.
Meng Xian, seemingly oblivious to the subtle reactions of everyone, said to Yun Qingqing with concern, "Qingqing, since you're here, try some of the pastries here. These are all made fresh by a pastry chef from France; you probably don't see them often."
After she said those words, a hint of pleasure flashed in Meng Xian's eyes.
During the filming of the variety show, she was always outshone by Gu Mingyan, which made her feel very frustrated. Thinking back carefully, there were several times when Yun Qingqing subtly helped Gu Mingyan out of awkward situations and won her favor.
Now that Yun Qingqing's true colors had been revealed to everyone, Meng Xian's pent-up frustration finally dissipated considerably.
Yun Qingqing could easily tell that she was mocking her humble background.
If it were Yun Qingqing, who had just entered society, she might actually feel ashamed of her poor family background.
But after working in such an inhumane environment for several years, this kind of sarcasm was child's play to Yun Qingqing, who had been through countless trials.
She remained completely unfazed, even having the mood to complain to the system: "Seriously, Meng Xian is supposed to be the female lead, right? How can she be so mean?"
[Host, times have changed! Pure and innocent heroines are no longer popular. Heroines with a bit of scheming and cunning are much more sought after!] The system declared confidently.
"Oh," Yun Qingqing said expressionlessly, "Since she made things difficult for me first, it's not unreasonable for me to retaliate, is it?"
While the system was still pondering the meaning of her phrase "report back," Yun Qingqing calmly accepted the small cake plate that Meng Xian kindly offered.
Just as Meng Xian's fingertips loosened their grip on the edge of the plate, Yun Qingqing's wrist trembled almost imperceptibly—
"oops!"
The cream cake landed squarely on her dress, instantly turning the pristine white fabric into a messy, colorful oil stain.
Before anyone could react, Yun Qingqing's eyes reddened, and large tears rolled down her cheeks without warning.
Ding Manni had interacted with her a few times on variety shows and knew that although she seemed to have a gentle temperament, she was actually not someone to be trifled with.
Seeing Yun gently shedding tears, she immediately felt a chill run down her spine and asked, "Why...why are you crying?"
Yun suddenly burst into tears, her shoulders trembling slightly. She tried to wipe the sticky cream off her skirt with one hand, but the more she tried, the dirtier it became, making her look extremely pitiful.
"Teacher Meng... why did you get cake on me?" Yun asked softly, sobbing.
Meng Xian quickly retorted, "It wasn't me! You just didn't hold it properly!"
The commotion attracted the attention of nearby guests.
Gu Mingyan quickly noticed the situation, frowned, and immediately abandoned the person she was talking to, walking over quickly.
"What's wrong?" Her gaze fell on Yun Qingqing, who was crying her eyes out, and her eyes turned cold the moment she noticed the glaring stain on her dress.
When Yun Qingqing saw her, her tears fell even harder. She sobbed and broke down as she recounted what had just happened: "...I know Teacher Meng thinks I'm a country bumpkin and don't deserve to be on this occasion. But...if you think I'm an eyesore, you could have just asked me to leave. Why did you get cake all over me and stain the dress you gave me, Mingyan!"
The last sentence was like adding fuel to the fire.
Gu Mingyan's anger flared up instantly, and she stared coldly at Meng Xian: "If I remember correctly, your family isn't that well-off, is it? Making things difficult for my friend here, are you trying to show off your abilities?"
These words were utterly merciless, and Yun Qingqing, who was wiping away tears, almost burst out laughing.
Compared to the Gu family, Meng Xian's family background isn't much better.
As more and more people around her turned their curious gazes toward her, and even Director Sun Mo stopped his conversation with his friend and looked over with great interest, Meng Xian began to panic.
"I really didn't make things difficult for her on purpose. It was Yun Qingqing who didn't hold the cake properly! You can ask them if you don't believe me!" She looked anxiously at her companions, hoping they would speak up for her.
But when Meng Xian handed over the small cake, she was standing the closest, and the others were so busy listening to their conversation that they didn't really see what happened the moment the plate left their hands.
A girl with a round face and almond-shaped eyes hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "I didn't see how the cake fell, but Meng Xian did say something like she was a country bumpkin."
The others hadn't noticed anything at first, but looking at Yun Qingqing with tears streaming down her face, they suddenly realized something was off about Meng Xian's words and nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Yun Qingqing stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Mingyan, it's alright, it's not Teacher Meng's fault. She, what she said is not wrong... It was my own ignorance that allowed me to try to get close to everyone with my family background, which was indeed a bit of an eyesore."
Meng Xian was so angry that she was trembling. She couldn't understand how she had become the target of everyone's criticism when she had tried to expose Yun Qingqing's shortcomings.
Meng Xian usually uses feigned weakness and misunderstandings to smear others. In the last variety show incident involving the prop sword, she used just a few words to characterize Gu Mingyan as someone who was taking revenge and disrespecting her teachers.
But when the filth was poured on her, Meng Xian truly experienced the helplessness and anger of being unable to defend herself.
"Don't listen to her nonsense. She deliberately dropped the cake to frame me..." Meng Xian said urgently.
Gu Mingyan was too lazy to listen to her nonsense.
She patted Yun Qingqing's back and gently comforted her, "Qingqing, don't cry. It's just a dress. It's okay if it gets dirty. I'll give you ten better ones."
After saying that, she turned to face the guests and suddenly raised her voice: "Whose ship is this now?"
The crowd stirred slightly, and a young man in a silver suit stepped forward.
Yun Qingqing recognized him as the one who had been chatting with Fan Shuye on the side deck earlier, praising Gu Xubai as a promising young man.
The man said politely, "Miss Gu, the cruise ship is currently under my name. My surname is Zhang."
Gu Mingyan cut to the chase: "Young Master Zhang, how much did you pay for this ship?"
The other party paused for a moment, then quoted a rather substantial figure.
Gu Mingyan didn't even blink and said directly, "Okay. I'll offer double the price; sell me this cruise ship now."
The entire room fell silent for a moment, followed by gasps of shock.
Buying a cruise ship at twice the market price? Is that a really big deal?
The man in the silver suit was also stunned, but being from a business family, he quickly recovered and began to weigh the pros and cons.
Selling the cruise ship is a minor matter; the real opportunity to do Miss Gu a favor is something I couldn't ask for!
He immediately smiled and said in an extremely straightforward manner: "Miss Gu is so generous! The price is negotiable. I just hope that Mr. Gu can go a little easier on you in the business world next time."
His words were half-joking and half-serious, and those around him who understood laughed along.
Gu Mingyan nodded, satisfied with the man's tact: "I will tell him."
The man in the silver suit was extremely efficient. He made a phone call, and within ten minutes, someone rushed into the banquet hall with the ownership transfer documents and related certificates.
Gu Mingyan took the stack of documents, glanced at them, and turned to shove them into the arms of Yun Qingqing, who was still stunned and shedding tears.
"Take it," Gu Mingyan said calmly. "This boat is yours now. Let's see who dares to say you're ignorant and don't deserve to be here."
Yun Qingqing was genuinely frightened this time: "Mingyan! No, this cruise ship is too expensive, I can't accept it!"
"Take it if I give it to you." Gu Mingyan interrupted her, slightly raising her chin. "I, Gu Mingyan, never take back what I give away."
Yun gently held the document, unsure whether to accept it or not.
Gu Mingyan was quite pleased with her speechless expression of shock, and slowly turned her gaze to Meng Xian beside her.
"Miss Meng, are you ready to roll off the light cruise ship now?"
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Author's Note: ===★【Next book: "The Beloved Little Sister of the Real and Fake Young Masters of a Wealthy Family," please add it to your favorites~】===
Su Qiuqiu died at the young age of three and found herself in a novel about a wealthy family with real and fake young masters.
Her third brother, Su Jingci, was a fake young master who was switched at birth. After the real young master, Su Xiaocheng, returned home, someone deliberately sowed discord between the two, causing them to fight to the death and both sides to suffer heavy losses. The entire Su family also fell apart as a result.
However, the tense standoff between the real and fake young masters suddenly took a turn for the worse after Chiu Chiu was reborn.
Chiu Chiu is a real slut; she's always begging for hugs and cuddles in her soft, sweet voice. She initially thought she'd be ignored, but before long, everyone turned into doting moms!
The cunning young master, pretending to be a rich and powerful man, would kneel on the carpet and clumsily braid Qiuqiu's hair.
The aloof and indifferent young master will sing newly learned nursery rhymes to Qiuqiu in a high-pitched voice;
Even the gloomy eldest brother and the hot-tempered second sister put on floral aprons and competed to make baby food for Qiuqiu.
The real and fake young masters are no longer competing for resources; they're just busy vying for Qiuqiu's favor.
*
If we're talking about the thing that Chinese entertainment industry haters love to talk about the most, it's undoubtedly the protracted feud between the two top stars from the Su family.
The news that the two participated in the same variety show caused an instant uproar online, with everyone waiting to see the "black lotus" and the "coffin face" tear each other apart.
As I waited and waited, I found that the trending topics were all about:
#Su Jingci and Su Xiao present a massive display of doting on their younger sister#
#Two top celebrities reconcile in an epic way to appease their sister#
#Su Jiujiu, the human cub, heals the ceiling#
Haters: ? ? ? No, is this right?
Chuchu slurped up the sweet milk candy, tilting her head as she thought:
So what if he's a real young master, or a fake one? He's still her brother, no matter what.
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