Lu Sheng did indeed dress very casually to school today, merely throwing on a comfortable T-shirt and shorts in the morning.
She and Juanjuan had left their clothes for today at the store overnight, planning to change into them at the store when it opened for business.
If she had come wearing those clothes, it would have been inconvenient, and she would have drawn too much attention on the way, which she didn’t like to attract.
Unexpectedly, Lu Qianrou, seeing her dressed so casually, seemed to have finally found an opportunity to mock her. She deliberately cozied up and put on an act of thoughtful, sisterly affection.
Which made Lu Sheng feel nauseous.
But it had to be said, her act was really convincing.
As soon as she had spoken, people around them started to praise her.
"Indeed fitting for a legitimate precious daughter, so magnanimous. To be so good to an illegitimate sister, truly kind-hearted."
"Yes, custom clothes from The Thorn Birds are so expensive, a well-bred person really has a bigger picture in mind, valuing family more than money."
"But asking whether sponsorship has fallen through is a bit of a sting. Who has Miss Lu associated with? Her own brother is a top celebrity, her best friend is a popular young actress, and her boyfriend’s sister is a corporate president – giving a sponsorship of a million just like that."
"What kind of wealthy people could an illegitimate girl from the countryside get to know in Jiang City? It’d be weird if someone sponsored her, that question was indeed a bit heart-piercing."
"Eh? Speaking of top celebrities, why didn’t Lu Ziye come with his sister?"
"Lu Qianrou came with Yao Xuantong. It’s said that Lu Ziye hates being involved in celebrity gossip, so he probably avoided it on purpose."
Lu Qianrou was counting on the presence of so many onlookers; her remarks made in such a setting would leave Lu Sheng with no choice but to not openly contradict her, otherwise she would definitely be slandered by the public.
In doing so, she not only managed to belittle Lu Sheng in front of everyone but also showcased her own kind and magnanimous image – killing two birds with one stone.
Indeed, Lu Sheng did not contradict her.
Or rather, she couldn’t be bothered to.
Playing these sorts of manipulative games with Lu Qianrou for an audience of onlookers, to her, was simply too degrading.
So she simply pulled her hand back, giving Lu Qianrou a cold look: "Are you done? I need to go into school if you are."
Clearly, the onlookers were not satisfied with Lu Sheng’s reaction and began to feel indignant on Lu Qianrou’s behalf.
"What’s that about? Miss Lu came over with good intentions to show concern, and this illegitimate girl is putting on airs, so dismissive!"
"Exactly! Miss Lu didn’t even disdain her status as an illegitimate daughter, and she’s publicly calling her ’sister’ in front of the cameras. And look at her, making her sister kiss up to her cold ass."
"It makes sense though, it’s jealousy! Born from the same father, yet one is the legitimate daughter and the other is illegitimate, one rich, beautiful, and graceful, the other nothing – there’s bound to be imbalance in her heart."
"I truly feel sorry for sister Qianrou, having such a sister; who knows how much she has to endure at home every day."
As soon those around her started to say this, Lu Qianrou’s eyes immediately reddened.
She was the epitome of a pure white lotus, looking forbearing and aggrieved, timidly withdrawing her hand and giving Lu Sheng a reddened-eyed glance.
"...Sister, I was just worried about you, I didn’t mean any harm."
"If you think I’m annoying, I’ll talk less around you in the future."
Seeing Lu Qianrou put on such an aggrieved facade, Yao Xuantong, who was beside her, couldn’t just watch.
On her way here, Lu Qianrou had told her about the Lu Family taking in an illegitimate daughter.
Furthermore, Lu Qianrou made a point of emphasizing in front of her that Lu Sheng always intentionally flaunted herself in front of Lu Ziye, trying to catch his attention.
Seeing Lu Sheng today, she indeed looked the part of a vixen.
So young and already so scheming, trying to win the favor of her top star brother, truly a shameless and despicable creature.
With her contemptible background, it would be odd if Lu Ziye gave her the time of day!
But before Yao Xuantong could speak to defend Lu Qianrou, a mocking voice came from behind the crowd–
"Heh, bullying Qianrou at home is one thing, can’t you at least pretend in public?"
"Uncultured bumpkins will always be uncultured; even when brought to the city, they can’t make themselves presentable!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Fu Siya, wearing a sharp white suit dress and eight-centimeter stilettos, walking up with a look of disdain on her face.
Just moments ago, someone had mentioned that "Lu Qianrou’s boyfriend’s sister is a group president; her sponsorship comes in a hefty one million," and as if on cue, she appeared.
Fu Siya has always been very popular online.
Born into a wealthy family and looking gorgeous, everyone has to call her Miss Fu.
The most important thing is that she’s capable; at such a young age, she’s already managing the enormous Fu Group – truly a modern independent woman’s role model.
She walked over to Lu Qianrou and looked at Lu Sheng with a hint of perfectly disguised hatred in her eyes.
That last embarrassment at The Thorn Birds, when Lu Sheng accused her of being "domesticated by society’s stereotypes of women," still made Fu Siya’s chest tighten with anger these past few days.
Fu Siya didn’t understand why Lu Sheng had The Thorn Birds’ SVIP status, nor why her card had thirty million on it.
But she was certain of one thing: a seventeen-year-old country girl couldn’t possibly have earned so much money on her own.
The SVIP status and the money on the card must have either come from Li Muchen’s help, or she must have sold her body to cozy up to some powerful man previously.
And yet she had the nerve to mock her in the store, suggesting she wasn’t a smart, excellent, independent, and self-reliant young woman.
If she isn’t all those things, then what does she think she is??
Promising to attend this school anniversary event for Lu Qianrou, she was just looking for a chance to put the presumptuous Lu Sheng back in her place.
"I’m telling you, Qianrou, don’t blame your sister for being indifferent towards you."
"When you ask her if she brought in any sponsors, how could she not be annoyed and embarrassed?"
While Fu Siya seemed to be speaking to Lu Qianrou, she was actually using the opportunity to mock Lu Sheng.
"In my opinion, people not in the same league simply can’t talk on the same level."
"She’s been in the countryside for so many years, what kind of company executives could she have come across? She probably doesn’t even know how to write a sponsorship proposal."
"For today’s garden party, I’m guessing she’s just setting up a little stall on the field to sell some handmade stuff."
"Oh, my bad, perhaps she did secure sponsorship, but who knows whether it was through proper means."
"After all, she had some mysterious large amount of money before, which even the Lu Family knew nothing about."
Proper means? Mysterious large amount of money?
What’s this new drama??
Is Fu Siya hinting that this illegitimate daughter is conducting some shady business to make money, and even doing so behind the Lu Family’s back??
All the people around immediately started muttering.
Juanjuan, who had been very nervous with so many people around, now saw everyone targeting Lu Sheng with such aggressiveness.
Worrying that Lu Sheng was being bullied, she couldn’t help but reach for Lu Sheng’s hand and whispered with her lips quivering, "Sister, let’s just leave..."
Just then, a voice rang out.
When the crowd saw who it was, there was an immediate stir.
The media, catching wind of the commotion, lit up with excitement –
Their attendance at today’s Shengjing event was well worth it!
Besides Lu Ziye and Yao Xuantong, and Fu Siya, they hadn’t expected another big shot to show up!