Zhou Yu recoiled at her words, face turning red with rage. Beside her, all her ladies around her fell silent in abject shock.
"And frankly, I think it's weirder for you to be paired with Jingwei than I am. Aren't you a heiress? Why were you matched with a second son? Or were you simply not good enough for Tianwei?" She asked, in the same tone of mock concern Zhou Yu used earlier.
Xue Ning paused for a moment, loving the way Zhou Yu's face turned white. She had clearly touched a nerve.
If she was less vindictive, she would have simply left it from that point, but Zhou Yu had the nerve to bring up her parents.
She wasn't going to let her go just like this. She didn't want to just touch a nerve, she wanted to stomp all over it and grind it into ashes right under her feet.
She wanted her to bleed.
"You rejecting Jingwei must have been due to the good karma Jingwei accumulated from his past life, and you not getting paired with Tianwei must have been your karma. He would have left you at the altar, if things even got that far."
Xue Ning scoffed, nearly laughing at the thought of stern, no-nonsense Tianwei paired with a woman like her.
Everyone's mouths fell open at the sheer vitriol that escaped Xue Ning's lips. How did this unassuming-looking woman have claws so sharp? She, knowingly or not, had managed to stab Zhou Yu right where it hurt.
Zhou Yu was the only child of the Zhou family, despite her parents' efforts to have a second child. Never mind that she was a girl - the main issue was her lack of capability.
No matter how they tried to cultivate her into the heiress that the Zhou family needed, she always fell short!
Whether it was academics, sports, musical instruments, languages or even cooking, she was a failure at all of them. There were other ladies from equally prestigious families that outshone her in every way.
The only talent she had was picking on those poorer than her, and her family simply looked the other way, knowing that her victims wouldn't be able to fight back.
Meanwhile, the only saving grace she had was her looks, which was why they planned to marry off to the Sun family's second son, a famed playboy known to be weak to pretty faces.
No rich family's first son wanted her, because she did not have the grace and decorum to conduct herself with the dignity required as the future matron of their legacies. Sun Jingwei was her father's only choice - with his laundry list of scandals, he would be hard-pressed to find someone as well-connected as his daughter!
But then Zhou Yu rejected the arrangement, claiming Jingwei wasn't good enough for her, which offended the Sun family and nearly drove her father into a heart attack!
Even if it was true, no one with common sense would have outright stated it.
Zhou Yu's father was livid when he found out, claiming that she was worthless as a daughter and an heir, for she had no diplomacy and no foresight.
"But I'm sure your family will find someone for you," Xue Ning finished consolingly, sitting back at her seat. "After all, even trash bins can attract raccoons."
She turned to the makeup artist. "Will I be done soon?"
"Yes Miss!" The makeup artist all but jumped at being addressed. In that very moment, Miss Li seemed more like the heiress than Zhou Yu, whose lips were trembling in an effort not to cry, her smug glee and haughty manner all but evaporated into thin air, leaving behind only a spoilt baby who realised there were bigger tyrants in the playground.
She had done the impossible. Miss Li was a shining knight cloaked with vengeful justice, and Su Yan's assistants could only become her fans.
Zhou Yu could only bite her lips and blink back tears of hurt and rage, as this random woman cut into her so efficiently. She'd be thinking about her words every night! Once she found out who she was, she'd make sure to destroy her entire family!
Everyone avoided meeting Zhou Yu's eyes as she broke down. No one even passed her a tissue. Instead, they were looking at Xue Ning with newfound respect and fear.
Her hair was coiffed and styled into curls that framed her delicate face, and they were pinned with bejewelled hairpins. She would have looked like a well-mannered, innocent young lady, if not for the fact her makeup made her look like someone that could step on you like a bug.
Her makeup made her big doe eyes look sharper and more deadly, yet they seemed to hold wisdom and secrets. Her lips were coloured a fresh red, similar to a ripe strawberry. Men would fall over their feet trying to taste them.
The onlookers could only think it looked like a new blood stain, blended from the tattered remains of Zhou Yu's self-esteem.
Yet they could not look away, for Xue Ning looked like a warrior goddess, a woman that could crush empires underneath her feet.
Meanwhile, Su Yan could only smirk and pat herself on the back for choosing the right look. Just as she predicted, this Miss Li wasn't a pushover! She was polite, but she wasn't an easily bullied meek girl.
Su Yan purposely made her look a bit more intimidating, just so that other people would think twice before messing with her. It would be necessary, because women like Zhou Yu were sadly, not an uncommon occurrence.
With her height, she would also need to look more intimidating to also ward off men with ill-intentions. The press would also be more careful with dealing with her.
Now for her outfit.
"Miss Li, if you could follow me, I have your outfit prepared." Su Yan said with a smile. Xue Ning got up and easily followed her.
The moment she closed the door, the room exploded into loud chatter as everyone couldn't help but talk about the mysterious Miss Li and her actions.
"Do you think she's related to the Li family in Southeast Asia?" One woman asked.
"Which ones? The ones that are involved in maritime trade, or the ones that run the casinos and triads?"
"Oh definitely casinos. She gives me the feeling of someone from that family, you know?"
"She could also be from the Li's in Beijing," another voice commented. "Weren't they pretty well-off before?"
"Ah, but no one knows what happened to that family… maybe they moved to America." One replied. "Or they just all died out. We haven't heard news from them in years. Maybe she's one of them - look at the way she argues! So American."
"There's no way…" Zhou Yu added in a shaky voice. "No way this woman is from a rich elite family…"
Everyone turned to look at her with barely concealed pity in their eyes.
"Zhou Yu, maybe she really is one," one of them said. "Think about it, which woman in Shanghai doesn't know who you are? Especially if she's trying to get together with Sun Jingwei. Doing research on your partner is common sense."
"Unless she didn't see the need too… because her family is richer than yours?" Another added hesitantly.
"Or maybe she's one of those overseas kids," A third voice commented. "She lived abroad for her schooling and now she's back to marry Jingwei."
"In that case…" everyone turned to look at Zhou Yu, who became paler with every word that came out of their mouths.
If she did offend a fellow heiress who was slated to marry Sun Jingwei…
"You're in trouble."
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