Jiang Yue’s face was flushed bright red with embarrassment. She stood there awkwardly, looking at the lustful glints in the eyes of the men below the stage. One by one, tears fell from her face.

  Now, Jiang Yue looked pitiful and utterly helpless.

  Seeing Jiang Yue like this, Matriarch Gu’s face turned even paler. She looked at Jiang Yue with heartache, her body trembling involuntarily.

  Qiao Nian, who had been supporting Matriarch Gu, naturally noticed that Matriarch Gu was trembling. Her eyes darkened.

  If Matriarch Gu wasn’t here, she wouldn’t even bother with Jiang Yue.

  However, Jiang Yue had been raised by Matriarch Gu, and Matriarch Gu still loved Jiang Yue after all. Coupled with the fact that Jiang Yue was now labeled with the Gu family’s name…


  Now, the Gu family and Jiang Yue were on the same boat. If dishonor was brought upon one party, the other would be humiliated as well.

  Qiao Nian was worried that Matriarch Gu’s illness would worsen because of her anxiety. Her gaze fell on the red cloth on the table beside her. She walked over and pulled it off the table, causing the placards on it to fall to the ground.

  Qiao Nian walked up to Jiang Yue and draped the red cloth over her body.

  Jiang Yue’s trembling body suddenly froze. She looked at Qiao Nian in disbelief.

  Qiao Nian looked extremely elegant in the black gown, but what about her? Her gown had burst open, and she could only pull the red tablecloth tighter around herself.

  Jiang Yue could clearly feel the coldness radiating from Qiao Nian. Even after thinking through all the possible outcomes, she would still have never expected Qiao Nian to be the one to protect her at this critical moment.

  Actually, Jiang Yue wasn’t the only one who was shocked. The others were also stunned.

  “Am I blind? Jiang Yue stole Professor Qiao’s gown, but Professor Qiao still helped her?”


  “Professor Qiao is really amazing!”


  “Professor Qiao is truly a person who sees the big picture. She must be an outstanding person. Outstanding people are always so outstanding, no matter at what juncture!”


  Seeing that Jiang Yue was still standing there unmoving, Qiao Nian frowned a little and said coldly, “Are you planning to continue your

  speech?”


  Jiang Yue came back to her senses.

  “Hurry up and get changed. If Grandma has another heart attack because of you, I’ll never let you off the hook.” Narrowing her eyes, Qiao Nian said coldly.

  When Jiang Yue heard Qiao Nian’s words, she turned slowly to look at Matriarch Gu, inch by inch. Her gaze finally landed on Matriarch Gu’s face. She saw Grandma looking at her anxiously.

  “Grandma… Grandma,” Jiang Yue called out silently.

  Previously, she had thought that Grandma was only insisting that she take off the gown because it belonged to Qiao Nian. Now, it seemed that she had misinterpreted Grandma’s intentions. Grandma was just worried that the gown would split open and ruin her image.

  Jiang Yue lowered her head in shame and walked awkwardly towards the changing room, not daring to take another look at the audience.

  When she arrived at the changing room, Jiang Yue locked the door with trembling hands. All the strength in her body seemed to have drained out of her. Leaning against the door, she slid down, falling onto the ground.

  After an indeterminate amount of time, Jiang Yue came back to her senses. She got up from the ground and walked to the fitting room mirror.

  She had held her head high her entire life. She was the idol of many socialites, and the goddess admired by many young masters. But all of this had been ruined.

  How could this be?

  Why was fate so cruel to her?

  She had waited for so many years just to stand on that podium to give a speech.

  She had prepared so much, but she hadn’t expected everything to end so dramatically.

  What she had expected even less was that Qiao Nian would step forward and save her at this moment.

  Although she knew very well that Qiao Nian had only saved her because of Grandma, the fact still remained that Qiao Nian had saved her. If it weren’t for Qiao Nian, she might have been in an even worse state right now.

  She had even provoked Qiao Nian on purpose today and snatched her gown. She had gone too far.

  When Jiang Yue thought of Grandma’s disappointed expression just now, her heart ached. Grandma must have been very disappointed in her.