Jiang Lirong immediately exclaimed, "Oh," in surprise, and said, "Wow, Xiao Chu is also from Wutong County, are you classmates?"
Zhuo Yao smiled and nodded, a little embarrassed, and said, "We’ve been going to the same school from elementary to high school."
"Then you must be quite familiar with each other."
"More familiar than most people, sometimes when Chuchu got into arguments with her mom and ran away from home, Aunt Bai would ask me to talk to her. Back then, Chuchu would often come to me to vent her troubles," Zhuo Yao carefully chose her words and said quietly.
As soon as she finished speaking, Second Aunt Jiang, Third Aunt Jiang, and Jiang Lirong exchanged glances.
So it turns out Wan Chu’er used to frequently argue with her parents and even ran away from home. A little girl running away from home is really a big deal.
Zhuo Yao was very pleased with their reactions. She pretended not to notice their interactions and simply lowered her head to quietly sip her tea.
This image of a well-behaved girl next door made her words even more believable.
Third Aunt Jiang laughed and said, "People say girls change a lot before they turn eighteen. Who would’ve thought Xiao Chu used to be so rebellious. Look at her now, not only graduated from the top university but also married a great guy."
Jiang Lirong agreed, "Who would’ve thought." She then turned to ask Zhuo Yao, "I heard Xiao Chu lived alone with her mom. Was their life tough back then?"
Zhuo Yao blinked, as if recalling some bad memories, nodded heavily, and said,
"Yes, back then Aunt Bai worked really hard to support Chuchu’s education. After losing her job, she set up a shoe repair stall on the street. She had to endure both hard work and bad weather."
Third Aunt Jiang exclaimed, "Repairing shoes doesn’t make much money, and school expenses are high. Did Xiao Chu take on a lot of debt for school?"
"This... No, Aunt, I... don’t really... know." Hearing this question, Zhuo Yao suddenly became hesitant and used the excuse of not knowing to avoid answering.
Jiang Lirong’s eyes lit up, but she didn’t rush to press further. Instead, she poured her another glass of water, smiling as she said, "You look like a good student. Maybe you were too focused on your studies to know much about Xiao Chu."
Zhuo Yao hesitated for a while, and finally, under pressure, she said, "Actually, back then some rumors were spreading at school, saying Xiao Chu was being kept as a mistress by the owner of a local nightclub, but I didn’t believe it."
As soon as these words came out, they exploded like a thunderbolt, leaving the women stunned.
Second Aunt Jiang and the others exchanged excited glances.
As Zhuo Yao lowered her head to drink water, she secretly congratulated herself on her cleverness. Wan Chu’er, did you think you could really turn from a sparrow into a phoenix?
Suddenly, a glass of cold water was poured right over Zhuo Yao’s head.
"Ah—" Zhuo Yao let out a scream, a strand of her hair was wet and drooped across her face. Startled, she thought Wan Chu’er had caught onto her words.
She was truly terrified of Wan Chu’er’s beatings.
Zhuo Yao’s scream only attracted minimal attention in the bustling hall.
The group at the table was shocked by the sudden turn of events, and Jiang Lirong was looking at Mai Qiqi and the angry girl beside her. That girl was holding the cup with which she had just drenched Zhuo Yao.
Zhuo Yao came to her senses, quickly grabbing a napkin from the table to wipe her face as she turned to question Lin Yufei, "Who are you? Why did you do this to me?"
Lin Yufei sneered, slamming the cup on the table as she casually said, "Wash out that filthy mouth of yours so you stop spewing nonsense. And where did you come from, acting like a sneaky actress and slandering others?"
It turned out they happened to be sitting at the next table and overheard Zhuo Yao badmouthing Wan Chu’er by accident. Unable to contain themselves, Lin Yufei poured water all over Zhuo Yao’s head.
Zhuo Yao realized that what she just said had been overheard by these two girls, and they were on Wan Chu’er’s side.
She quickly rolled her eyes, seeing that Second Aunt Jiang and the others weren’t standing up for her. Instead, they were looking at her suspiciously, secretly cursing them in her heart while denying, "What nonsense did I say? I was just sitting here having some tea and chatting with some elders. What did I do to you?"
Just then, Jiang Kefei, who had been watching Zhuo Yao from another table, rushed over and pushed Lin Yufei aside to shield Zhuo Yao, angrily saying, "Who are you? How dare you cause trouble at my brother’s wedding, leave immediately, or I’ll call security to throw you out."
Mai Qiqi laughed, "Oh, so you’re Jiang Kefei’s cousin. We’re both good friends of your cousin-in-law. Is this fake innocent woman someone you brought along?
Your taste is really something, picking someone who fabricates stories to slander your cousin-in-law. What are you going to do about it?"
Jiang Kefei was momentarily stunned. He recognized Mai Qiqi and knew her family was quite influential. He was at a loss, looking at the pitiful and tearful Zhuo Yao, then at the arrogant Mai Qiqi and Lin Yufei, unsure of what to do.
Seeing her son in trouble, Second Aunt Jiang spoke up to break the tension, "Ladies, you must remember this is a wedding. Such behavior is inappropriate. Furthermore, Miss Zhuo is from the same place as Xiao Chu. They were classmates, and Miss Zhuo didn’t say anything bad about Xiao Chu. Maybe this is a misunderstanding."
"Right, isn’t it true that Xiao Chu grew up alone with her mom? What Miss Zhuo said were facts," Third Aunt Jiang also evasively said.
Noticing the situation, Mrs. Jiang hurried over. She would not allow anything to go wrong at her son’s wedding.
She arrived with a stern face, disregarded Second Aunt Jiang and the others, and said to Mai Qiqi and the others, "Qiqi, whatever you have to say, let’s sit down first."
Standing draws too much attention and easily attracts onlookers, better to quell it first.
Mrs. Jiang smiled and arranged for other guests at the table to move elsewhere, and then sat herself down. Mai Qiqi and Lin Yufei, in a gesture of respect, also found seats to sit.
Jiang Kefei, wanting to be cooperative and feeling that causing a scene wasn’t good, preferred to take a more peaceful approach, so he obediently sat down as well.
Seeing this lineup, Zhuo Yao didn’t dare to linger. She wanted to get up, "I’ll go to the restroom to clean up first." But Lin Yufei pulled her back fiercely and pressed her back into the chair.
"Done something wrong and want to run away? Not so fast!"
Mai Qiqi added, "It’s best if Miss Zhuo doesn’t leave until this is sorted."
Zhuo Yao looked around, seeing no one was standing up for her, and even Jiang Kefei urged her, "Yaoyao, whatever it is, let’s explain to my aunt."
Zhuo Yao gritted her teeth in anger; Jiang Kefei was indeed no match for even one of Jiang Kechu’s toenails.