“Nannan, don’t say anymore. You said it yourself that it’s only rumors. Those rumors are a joke. The Shen’s have been in Haibin for how long? Their wealth is beyond your imagination. The financial crisis has spread all over the world. The Shen’s are just slightly affected by it. Their loss is only a drop in the bucket for them. It’s nothing for them to care about. Isn’t that right, Weiyin?”


  On the side of the group, Ye Qing silently took a sip of wine. She lowered her gaze and quietly laughed.

  Shen Weiyin quirked up her lips. “Of course.”


  “The Shen’s and the Lu’s are the two largest companies in Haibin and the two families are also friends. Back then, I was optimistic that Lu Beichuan and Weiyin would get together. They make a perfect couple. They’re so right for each other. I didn’t expect……” The woman sighed and looked at Ye Zhen and Lu Beichuan from a distance. She angrily said, “I can’t believe he married Ye Zhen. That Ye Zhen can’t even compare with Weiyin’s finger. I really want to ask Lu Beichuan to go see any eye doctor!”


  “No one disagrees with you. When I heard that Lu Beichuan was getting married, my first thought was to congratulate Weiyin. It’s only after I carefully inquired that I found out the bride was a parvenu’s daughter.”


  “He’s totally blind. Not marrying Weiyin is his loss.”


  “Yeah, our Weiyin deserves a better man than him……” The woman noticed that Ye Qing had been silent this entire time. She smiled. “Miss Ye, sorry, we’re just speaking the truth. We don’t mean anything by it. Look, Lu Beichuan and your younger sister, Ye Zhen, simply isn’t as good as a pairing as one between Lu Beichuan and Weiyin. Don’t you agree?”


  Ye Qing gave a reluctant smile. Her silence was acquiesce.

  Although she didn’t like Ye Zhen, when these people overtly and covertly belittled Ye Zhen and looked down on her for being a parvenu’s daughter, weren’t they also looking down on her too?

  When the Shen’s became bankrupt, would these people still be able to say these things? She would wait and see.

  “Oh yeah, Ye Qing, I heard there was a major mishap at Lu Beichuan’s wedding. Somehow you became the bride and Lu Beichuan left you at the altar. What was that about?”


  Although Ye Qing was standing with these women, they flaunted that they weren’t the same kind of person as her. They viewed themselves as above her. To them, she was just a parvenu’s daughter and they kept her around to mock her for fun. They didn’t treat her as a real friend.

  “I heard that Lu Beichuan originally liked you and that Ye Zhen stole the position of Mrs. Lu from you. On the day of the wedding, she threatened Lu Beichuan with leaving Haibin. Did that really happen?”


  “Really? Is that true?”


  “If that wasn’t true, why did Lu Beichuan leave Ye Qing at the altar? It can’t be that Ye Qing impersonated Ye Zhen to become the bride, right?”


  “Ye Qing, tell us. What happened back then? We’ve been studying abroad the past two years. We only vaguely know what happened in China through rumors. You’re the object of those rumors. Tell us what happened.”


  Ye Qing’s expression was awkward. She thought it over and haltingly and evasively said, “This incident, actually…… Those rumors are wrong. It’s all in the past…… There’s nothing to say.”


  Her secretive appearance and the way she started speaking and broke off as if she was holding something back further confirmed the rumors’ authenticity.

  Shen Weiyin slightly smiled and helped Ye Qing out of her predicament. “Alright, that’s enough. Ye Qing already said that’s all in the past. Don’t mention it anymore.”


  “Fine, we’ll stop. Lu Beichuan and Ye Zhen, one is stupid and the other is wicked. That makes them a good match for each other.”


  Everyone quietly laughed.

  “Madam Zhou is over there. Let’s go say hello.”


  Far away from them, today’s birthday girl was whispering to a waiter in a remote corner. After she succinctly said a few words, the waiter nodded and left. Madam Zhou looked at the hotel’s doors from a distance with a worried frown.

  Holding the wine glasses and smiling, the group of women walked over to wish her happy birthday.

  “Madam Zhou, happy birthday. May you never grow old.”