Su Xingyu was taken aback, suddenly realizing her sister was falsely accusing her. Truly... shameless!
She let out a cold laugh and said to Su Xingqi, "Why didn't I realize before that you were this kind of person?" Yet she disdained to argue further, as she lacked evidence to prove the dress was lent by Liu Meizhi. Now, wasn't it just them saying whatever they wanted?
Su Xingqi's voice was filled with grievance: "Sister, what do you mean by that? I just spoke the truth, why are you being so prickly? If you hadn't accused mom of withholding things from you in front of so many people, I, I wouldn't have wanted to expose you, after all, we are sisters... Sister, how did you become like this?"
The more she spoke, the more she felt hurt, and by the end, she was on the verge of tears.
The rich wives nearby looked at Su Xingyu with disdain. No wonder people said being a stepmother is hard; this stepdaughter was indeed too cunning. Look at Su Xingqi, her biological daughter, with such grace and propriety—truly a proper lady.
Qin Mu couldn't stand it anymore, stood up, and gently comforted Su Xingqi, "Alright Xingqi, don't be sad, it's not your fault, it's your sister who doesn't know any better. Why talk of sisterhood with a woman like her? Keep your distance from her in the future."
Su Xingqi leaned her head into his embrace with grievance: "Qin Mu..."
Qin Mu patted her shoulder soothingly.
Su Xingyu watched this scene unfold, feeling a sharp pain in her heart. Even though she had decided to forget this man, watching someone she once loved deeply discard her like rubbish and show tenderness to the woman who betrayed and trapped her—pain was inevitable. She held her head high, determined not to let anyone see her weakness, and said coldly, "Mrs. Liu, since you don't want this dress, I'll take it with me. I don't have the habit of being falsely accused and still paying up."
Liu Meizhi looked at her mockingly, "Who wants your shabby dress? I've said it since you were young, your taste is poor. You actually dare to call this dull gray skirt a dress? You wear rags yourself, don't blame me for it!"
Su Xingyu wasn't bothered to waste words on her; arguing with such people was just a waste of time.
She bent down to pick up the gray dress on the table, but a hand reached out diagonally and snatched it first. "Wow, this dress is quite nice," said a wealthy lady, unfolding the dress, "I wondered why this pattern looked familiar, like the signature rose from Qiansi Fang. Indeed, it's from Qiansi Fang!"
As she spoke, she turned over a small embroidered corner of the dress to show everyone.
"Qiansi Fang?!" another wealthy lady exclaimed in surprise, "Quick, let me see it!"
"What's Qiansi Fang?" Liu Meizhi asked, puzzled.
The wealthy lady who first discovered the dress mystery glanced at Liu Meizhi with some pride and composure, "You don't know Qiansi Fang? It's a boutique that specifically makes clothes for distinguished families, I mean, distinguished families! Not like us, who just rose in a generation or two, but like Mr. Qin's family, which is an affluent hereditary aristocracy, really prestigious."
Finally, she smiled a bit obsequiously at Qin Mu, "Mr. Qin, you've surely heard of Qiansi Fang, right?"
Unlike Liu Meizhi, who's ignorant of it, not knowing Qiansi Fang, boasting about being a nouveau riche indeed. The wealthy lady felt disdain for Liu Meizhi, thinking that if it weren't for her daughter connecting with Qin Mu, how could they possibly be drinking afternoon tea at the Su Family's home? Spending time with this uneducated foolish woman?
Qin Mu nodded, feeling immensely surprised inside. How did Su Xingyu end up with something from Qiansi Fang? That store indeed exclusively makes clothing for distinguished families and only serves regular customers. Ordinary people would be turned away even if they brought money. In fact, Qiansi Fang's clothes are considered premium even among distinguished families, and his mother, Mrs. Qin, only had a few made.
He looked at Su Xingyu, "How do you have something from Qiansi Fang?"
Su Xingyu replied, "Do I need to explain to you?"
She was here, not to be ogled by people just to satisfy their curiosity.
Actually, she was quite surprised herself—she didn't expect the maid to take the dress out for mending to Qiansi Fang. She knew that store; when her mother was still alive, she liked clothes from there. She still remembered being held in her mother's arms, the soft and exquisite fabric touching her young face, feeling as comfortable as a dream from which she never wanted to awaken.
She retrieved the dress from the wealthy lady's hand and examined it closely, only to discover that the previously torn areas had been embroidering with delicate rose patterns, elegant and understated, perfectly concealing the signs of mending. With these rose embellishments, the originally ordinary gray cocktail dress suddenly became much more sophisticated; Qiansi Fang truly lived up to its name, transforming decay into marvel.
She looked at Liu Meizhi sarcastically, raising the dress in her hand, "I was planning to return it to you, but since you don't want it, it seems I made a profit. When my mom died, you sold quite a bit of her Qiansi Fang clothes, didn't you? Thanks, now I can sell this dress and count it as some interest on the inheritance you've embezzled over the years."
"You!" Liu Meizhi was trembling with anger, picked up a teacup and hurled it at her, "You wretched girl, I'll beat you to death!"
"Mom!"
"Mrs. Su!"
Su Xingqi and Qin Mu quickly stepped in to restrain her, the scene turned chaotic.
Su Xingqi, flustered and anxious, truly felt like crying this time; how did she end up with such a mother? So easily provoked that all her etiquette and grace vanished, throwing a tantrum in front of Qin Mu and all the wealthy ladies, where was her daughter's dignity to be placed? She stomped her foot, "Qin Mu, quickly take my mom inside to rest!"
Turning around, she forced a smile towards the wealthy ladies, "Ladies, sorry for letting you witness this farce, my sister is so immature, making mom's headache act up again. You see..."
"I understand," one of the wealthy ladies who caught the hint smiled kindly and touched Su Xingqi's hand, "I have something to attend to, so I'll take my leave. Xingqi, take good care of your mom. Mr. Qin, farewell, let's have tea together sometime when it's convenient." Given the current situation, it was not suitable to linger.
The other wealthy ladies sensibly stood up and took their leave as well.
Meanwhile, Su Xingyu stood alone in the living room, coldly observing the scene.
Over there, Liu Meizhi was still shouting, "Wretched girl, I won't let you off!"
A wealthy lady who wanted to curry favor with Liu Meizhi passed by Su Xingyu and said arrogantly, "Mrs. Su really raised a thankless girl. Even a dog knows to wag its tail after being raised so long, but you? Heh, how much she must love you to give you so much money to buy clothes from Qiansi Fang, don't be ungrateful!"