Volume One, Chapter Two: Feeling Wronged After Getting Involved with a Savage Man?

Jiang Junmei immediately turned her head and shot a fierce glare at her. "Shut up!"

"Put down? Which matter exactly are you talking about putting down?" Nie Xingyan looked at the two of them, echoing each other, and couldn't help but laugh bitterly at their absurdity.

"Is it your affair during marriage and having Ling Sisi with your lover, hiding it from my father for a lifetime, telling me to 'let go' of my hatred? Or is it using my father's money to support that lover, and after he dies, continuing to live happily with him, all the while advising me to let go of my conscience and betray my own father?"

Outside, Jiang Junmei was the esteemed chairwoman of Jianfu Group; inside, she was a leading figure in the high society circles, a star wherever she went.

Today, being cursed by Nie Xingyan as a mistress and adulterer, her face showed signs of losing composure.

"Yan Yan, I have my reasons," she said, voice trembling as if wronged, her tone quickening, veins bulging at her temples.

"Not long after I gave birth to you, your father had an accident while inspecting a construction site..."

"His lower body was crushed by steel bars. We went everywhere, tried many specialists and folk remedies, but his condition was incurable. I... I couldn’t just remain a widow forever!"

Luckily, she had found an excuse to send Qin Che out earlier; otherwise, revealing such a secret about her father-in-law’s family would have been utterly disgraceful.

"You couldn’t remain a widow? Then you could have divorced. So why didn’t you?"

Nie Xingyan was not one to be fooled by a few words.

Leaning half-sitting against the sofa back, she said, "Let me guess the reason. You just couldn’t give up my father’s money, right?"

Jiang Junmei’s almond-shaped eyes darkened, her fingers clenched into fists.

"Back then, he was wealthy enough to guarantee you a life of carefree luxury and satisfy your insatiable materialistic desire to be superior. As for your physical needs, well, you could always find other men to fulfill them, right?"

Nie Xingyan spared her no dignity.

Looking at Jiang Junmei’s glamorous and well-nourished appearance, it was clear she had been well taken care of. Thinking of her father, who had toiled for that family until his unfortunate death, Nie Xingyan felt disgusted by everything about her.

"Stop making excuses for your promiscuity. Ling Sisi is less than two years younger than me. What, you couldn’t endure a year of loneliness? You couldn’t wait to cozy up to some wild man and now you’re playing the victim?"

Jiang Junmei turned pale, hands clenched tightly, struggling to keep herself from losing control.

Now, as the president’s wife of Jianfu Jewelry, who wouldn’t look up to her with respect?

Yet today, bowing low and playing small brought no gratitude. Inwardly, she cursed Nie Xingyan for being so stubborn.

But she was clearly in the wrong—no right to even complain.

Ling Sisi, already resentful, became angry upon hearing Nie Xingyan insult her biological father. Her youthful temper flared, eyebrows raised, and she rushed forward to defend Jiang Junmei.

"Nie Xingyan, do you have any manners?" She almost spat at her face.

"How dare you talk about my mother that way! You had plenty of benefits at the Nie family. When the Nie family went bankrupt and your father jumped to his death, my mother never rejected you. When you found a better place, we even wanted to bring you along. But you refused to come to the Ling family and insisted on living a hard life. Who are you blaming?"

Indeed, having grown up around Jiang Junmei, Ling Sisi had mastered the art of twisting facts to perfection.

Well then, she was practically begging for a beating.

"Manners?" Nie Xingyan rolled her eyes.

"Right, the upper beam is crooked and the lower beam follows suit. Jiang Junmei couldn’t resist having an affair with your father during their marriage, and you, you’re the mistress who knowingly stepped in and are quite pleased about it. Your Ling family’s upbringing is really something else—leading by example, you’ve done well."

What mother? The day her father jumped to his death, she had already become an orphan. She had no mother.

More laughable was Ling Sisi, who really thought two feathers on her head made her a phoenix? She didn’t want to engage with them, yet they all came to provoke her.

What nonsense!

Ling Sisi, unable to retort, pouted in anger, mumbling for a long while but lost the verbal duel. "You—you’re really rude."

Once, Nie Xingyan was a favored darling, beyond Ling Sisi’s reach, showered with love and attention.

Ling Sisi was merely a hidden illegitimate daughter. Even now, deep down, she both envied and resented Nie Xingyan, wanting to escape her shadow but unable to stop mimicking her, even wanting to outdo her.

Over the years, to outshine Nie Xingyan, she had enrolled in countless elite finishing schools, constantly reminding herself to behave with grace.

Yet scenes like today’s verbal brawl left her overwhelmed.

Ling Sisi still tried to act tough, looking at the plainly dressed Nie Xingyan, then down at her own limited-edition outfit, her sense of superiority swelling again.

She sneered through her nose, "Don’t think just because I call you sister, you actually matter. You’re so angry simply because Che chose me over you."

She was Ling Jianfu’s biological daughter, with everything she wanted, a wealthy family background matching Qin Che’s. She was no worse than Nie Xingyan.

If she didn’t mention Qin Che, it would be fine. But once she did, Nie Xingyan wanted to laugh even harder.

"Your Che? Ling Sisi, you must be hypnotizing yourself every day until you believe it. Do you believe that if I just snap my fingers, Qin Che will come crawling back to me like a dog?"

Just now in the underground garage, how Qin Che went crazy—if anyone cared, they could check the footage.

Their eyes met; Ling Sisi’s gaze flickered away.

She didn’t even dare to gamble on it. She was terrified that, as Nie Xingyan said, Qin Che might really lose his mind on the wedding day and abandon her. Her fists clenched, trembling with rage.

What a joke. For a scumbag who played both sides, Ling Sisi still hadn’t improved over the years. She remained a defeated player.

Seeing Ling Sisi’s eyes redden, Jiang Junmei hurried over to defuse the situation. "Yan Yan, it’s all in the past. Sisi just speaks without thinking..."

She pinched Ling Sisi’s arm and gave her a meaningful look.

"Don’t worry, if you want to take that trash and treat him as a treasure, go ahead. Today is your big day, after all. We’ve known each other for so many years; some blessings are still due. So, I wish you both a lifetime of happiness."

Scumbags and dogs—may their bond last forever.

But these two better not go ruin anyone else’s life. Respect and blessings, locked in place!

Ling Sisi might not truly like Qin Che. It was just that he was her ex-boyfriend. Whatever Nie Xingyan had, she had to have as well.

So she schemed to snatch that scumbag boyfriend away, wanting to prove she was better.

Relying on a man to prove oneself—truly foolish.

Over the years, Ling Sisi spent heavily to learn all kinds of etiquette and rules to be a proper wealthy heiress, striving for flawless behavior.

Even when quarreling, she’d pick on the other’s lack of money.

Little did she know, Nie Xingyan was the exact opposite throughout these years.

She mingled in all sorts of circles to make a living, transforming from a wealthy heiress into someone anyone could point at and criticize. Having seen the world’s coldness and cruelty, how could a few careless words upset her?

Rather, it was Ling Sisi, still nursing old wounds and stabbed at her heart by that scumbag, who was truly pitiful.