Li Caiyi met a lot of old acquaintances tonight, so her mind couldn't help but wander to the past all the time. She only came back to her senses when Li Chunhua grabbed her hand and protectively stood in front of her.
"That's not true. Brother Renshu is the one who asked my sister to be her partner first. He is a gentleman, so he can't bear to let her trouble herself, especially after he was the one who asked her. As for me, my mother bought this for me just like Auntie bought yours. Please retract your statement," Li Chunhua said in a calm voice, but Li Caiyi could tell that her sister was upset. She only restrained herself because Meng Renshu and Qin Xiangjun were there.
Meng Shuchun snorted. "Then she should at least show some restraint. Do you know how much time and money was invested in that one dress your sister wore?"
"Shuchun, I said stop it! Don't cause any more trouble here!" Meng Renshu reprimanded her harshly, and Meng Shuchun looked away in defiance.
Li Chunhua couldn't bear to listen to her again, so she was about to hurl some sarcastic and mean remarks. Nobody could insult her sister in front of her!
"Xiaohua, don't."
However, she was stopped by Li Caiyi's words and a firm hold on her shoulder. Li Chunhua looked back and found her sister shaking her head at her. There was no ripple at all in her sister's calm eyes, as if what Meng Shuchun said was nothing but children's words to her.
Then, Li Caiyi moved forward and switched their place, with Li Chunhua standing behind her.
The sight of Li Caiyi from behind was something Li Chunhua rarely saw. No, it was safe to say that this was her first time looking at Li Caiyi's back properly. Usually, she was the one who stood in front of her sister, not the other way around. She never knew that Li Caiyi's back could appear this dependable. Li Chunhua instantly clamped her mouth shut when she saw that.
"You seem to be pretty fixated on this dress. Did you perhaps want to have this dress too?" Li Caiyi asked while smiling.
Meng Shuchun, who clearly heard a hint of provocation in her tone, retorted, "Who wants that cheap dress? I have lots of other dresses better than that."
"But that wasn't what you said earlier, though? So you want to say that your brother spent so much effort on a cheap dress?"
Meng Shuchun's brows twitched, and she unconsciously sneaked a glance at Qin Xiangjun, who seemed adamant to be a spectator here. As willful as she was, Meng Shuchun still held some fear for her mother, who was excellent at almost everything and the epitome of a high-class lady. She couldn't let this gold digger beat her in an argument, or her name wouldn't be Meng anymore!
"Don't twist my words like that. When did I ever say that? But I guess it's expected of you. You can't win an argument without resorting to cheap tricks like that." Meng Shuchun scoffed mockingly.
"It doesn't sound convincing coming from a little kid who threw a tantrum after her brother refused to accompany her. That's not good, you know? A good kid should know when to not inconvenience people around her."
"Y-you! Don't treat me like I'm below you!" Meng Shuchun growled.
If there was one thing Li Caiyi had, but Meng Shuchun hadn't, it was patience.
Li Caiyi recalled how she would tolerate Meng Shuchun's every whim, even to the unreasonable one just so she could leave her alone. When she snatched Li Caiyi's things or came to 'borrow' the black card Meng Renshu gave to her, Li Caiyi never complained.
Meng Shuchun thought that whatever Meng Renshu bought for Li Caiyi was also rightfully hers because it used her family's money. Hence, she felt no qualm snatching her sister-in-law's things from time to time.
Li Caiyi didn't like conflicts and only wanted to spend her days peacefully, so she never resisted. Meng Renshu wouldn't mind spending his money on her sister, either.
Back to the current situation, Li Caiyi studied Meng Shuchun's reaction and realized once again that this kid didn't seem to grow at all. Her older self was just a bigger version of her younger self.
"Why can't I? It couldn't be that the young lady from the Meng family was so uncultured that she didn't know how to respect those older than her? What do you think, Xiaohua?" Li Caiyi looked back at her sister with a smile, and the quick-witted Li Chunhua came forward with a Cheshire cat smirk on her face.
"Of course, there's no way the young lady from the Meng family wouldn't know that. Don't be so harsh on her, Xiaoyi. She is just a KID, after all. What does a kid know about behaving properly?"
"Now, you are the one who is too harsh on her," Li Caiyi chuckled.
Meng Shuchun's face reddened when she heard her emphasize the word 'kid'. Especially when some people who gathered to watch the show until a few moments ago dispersed one by one as well. They took it as 'children squabble' and just let them be.
"Y-you two…" Meng Shuchun's body was trembling in anger. She wanted to scream and yell at them, but a fierce glare from her mother was all it took to shut her mouth.
Qin Xiangjun smiled apologetically towards the twins. "Oh my, it seems my daughter had offended you two. I'll make sure to scold her later, so can you two let this one go, for Auntie's sake?"
Li Caiyi wasn't surprised anymore by how smoothly Qin Xiangjun salvaged the situation by putting herself in a lower position. If she said it like that, the twins would be unreasonable if they pressed the matter further.
Qin Xiangjun also didn't ask Meng Shuchun to apologize, meaning she also tacitly agreed with her daughter. Because they were always the right ones, there was no need to apologize.
Well, no matter. It was just one of Meng Shuchun's crazy episodes. This wasn't her first time saying degrading remarks about their family, and certainly wouldn't be the last one either.
"Auntie, your words are too distant. Meng Shuchun is just throwing tantrums, like always. We don't mind at all," Li Caiyi said softly, which incurred more rage from the girl in the red dress. Next, she turned her head towards Meng Renshu and said to him, "Brother Renshu, please don't mind us and go ahead. We won't hold you back anymore. Please excuse us, Auntie."
"Xiaoyi!" Meng Renshu tried to call her, but Li Caiyi had dragged Li Chunhua with her and walked away.
Meanwhile, Qin Xiangjun watched the twins leave with a calculating gaze.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢