Qin Xuanye came to his senses and explained somewhat guiltily:
"You said that on Friday, Uncle Chen would be holding a recognition banquet for her, and everyone would know by then."
"Posting about this now on the campus forum is just unnecessary."
Chen Ruanruan's voice choked up a little.
"Yes, on Friday, everyone will know I'm the fake one."
She cried even more sadly.
Qin Xuanye couldn't help but comfort her:
"Don't be sad, Ruanruan. I'll be there too."
"As long as I'm there, no one will dare look down on you."
Chen Ruanruan smiled through her tears.
"Xuanye, it's so good to have you."
After hanging up the phone, there wasn't a trace of a smile on Chen Ruanruan's face on the other end of the line.
She looked at the investigation report beside her.
The information from the private detective showed that Tao Liuyue and Qin Xuanye were high school classmates and had even dated for a month after the college entrance exams.
They were exes.
Yet, neither of them had mentioned this.
Even during their first meeting, Chen Liuyue had been able to call him 'brother-in-law' with a smile.
Chen Ruanruan knew she had encountered a formidable opponent.
This Chen Liuyue was far too cunning.
And for now, she had no intention of exposing them.
She planned to reveal it at the right moment, to make Qin Xuanye's guilt towards her reach its peak.
...
Time quickly arrived at Friday.
On Friday afternoon, Chen Liuyue received a call from her grandmother, Qian Xiaofen.
She had just reached the school gate and hadn't even had a chance to speak before being ushered into a chauffeur-driven car, taken to a beauty salon for facials, hairstyling, and makeup.
She was already beautiful.
After being polished, she stood out even more.
Her jet-black, shiny long hair was styled into flowing waves cascading over her shoulders. Her almond-shaped eyes sparkled, their corners slightly upturned. Her pale cherry lips, now adorned with makeup, gleamed with a glossy, pearlescent finish.
Qian Xiaofen pointed to the three haute couture gowns not far away and said:
"Which one does Xiao Yue like?"
"The red one is more solemn, the white one looks pristine, and this black one is also very beautiful."
Chen Liuyue, holding her arm, stood with her as they made their selection.
Just then, a server's voice came from outside the door.
"Mrs. Chen, Mrs. Wu has arrived."
Following the sound, Wu Peihua walked in with Chen Ruanruan.
Spotting her mother Qian Xiaofen, Wu Peihua listlessly called out 'Mom'.
Beside her, Chen Ruanruan obediently raised a sweet smile.
"Grandma."
Qian Xiaofen gave them a slight nod, neither cold nor particularly warm.
Wu Peihua then noticed the three haute couture gowns on display and pointed to the white one.
"Ruanruan, this one looks perfect for you."
"I remember you had a gown from this same collection for one of your birthday parties years ago."
Chen Ruanruan nestled close to her obediently, her voice soft and sweet.
"Mom, your memory is so good."
"I do really like white gowns; they show off one's grace."
Wu Peihua smiled. "You're a dancer, of course you have grace!"
The mother and daughter performed their duet.
Completely forgetting that these three gowns were specially chosen by Qian Xiaofen for her own biological granddaughter, Chen Liuyue.
Seeing that if she didn't intervene, Chen Ruanruan would go in to try on the gown, Qian Xiaofen cut in:
"Peihua, take Ruanruan to pick something else."
The expression on Wu Peihua's face froze.
The smile on Chen Ruanruan's lips faded slightly.
Qian Xiaofen pointed at the three gowns before them and said:
"These three haute couture pieces were specially chosen by me for Xiao Yue."
A flash of envy passed through Chen Ruanruan's eyes, quickly followed by a pang of grievance.
Before Chen Liuyue appeared, all these privileges used to be hers.
Though her heart ached with sourness, she still managed to smile.
"Grandma, you're so good to Liuyue."
Qian Xiaofen nodded and said:
"Of course, she's my own granddaughter."
"And she's suffered so much all these years outside. Of course I have to be good to her."
Wu Peihua's lips moved slightly.
She had originally wanted to say, 'What suffering could she possibly have endured outside?', but suddenly remembered what Chen Liuyue's roommate had said that day.
Immediately, she swallowed her words.
Seeing that her mother didn't even speak up to defend her, allowing her grandmother to be so biased, Chen Ruanruan's eyes dimmed.
She obediently linked arms with Wu Peihua and said, "Mom, let's not disturb little sister while she tries on clothes. Let's go pick from the other side."
That's what they said.
But after seeing those three haute couture gowns, they couldn't find anything satisfactory after browsing the other area.
Wu Peihua was about to suggest maybe letting Ruanruan wear an old gown.
But meeting her daughter's soft, pleading gaze,
she thought to herself, a daughter must be raised in luxury!
How could she let her daughter wear a repeat gown? That would shame her, and shame the Chen family!
Then she remembered there were three gowns here.
So she walked forward with a smile.
Gently asking:
"Liuyue, which of these three gowns have you chosen?"
Thinking that with two left, she could just let Ruanruan pick one from those.
Chen Liuyue rested her slender fingertips on her chin, seeming to ponder.
She had just tried on all three gowns.
They were all beautiful.
The red was bold, the white was pure, the black was mysterious.
She wore a conflicted expression, first glancing at her grandmother Qian Xiaofen.
Then she slowly turned to Wu Peihua.
"Mom, these three gowns are all too beautiful, I just can't decide."
Qian Xiaofen laughed upon hearing this and said:
"If you can't decide, then don't. After all, all three gowns were custom-made for you."
"You can wear one for the start of the banquet, change into another for the start of the dance, and switch to the last one towards the end."
Chen Liuyue's eyes sparkled upon hearing this, looking at Qian Xiaofen with anticipation.
"Grandma, is that really okay?"
"This is my first banquet. Changing three gowns in a row, won't people think I'm being too pretentious?"
Qian Xiaofen patted her granddaughter's hand with an air of authority.
The old lady confidently lifted her chin.
"Who would dare say my granddaughter from the Wu family is pretentious? They wouldn't have the nerve."
Seeing this scene, Wu Peihua also felt a pang of bitter jealousy in her heart.
Her mother treated this granddaughter, Chen Liuyue, even better than her own daughter.
She couldn't help but say sourly:
"Mom, you're spoiling Liuyue too much."
"And three gowns, that's too extravagant."
"We just looked over in that area; all the gowns are either from past seasons or have ordinary designs."
"Liuyue can just pick one, and let Ruanruan choose from the other two."
Chen Ruanruan also didn't want Chen Liuyue's leftovers!
But after walking around the other area, there really wasn't a single gown that could compare to these three.
Even the leftovers were much more exquisite than those over there.
Chen Liuyue curved her lips into a slight smile and suddenly looked at Chen Ruanruan.
With a double meaning in her words, she said:
"Oh, but those would be the ones I picked over, wouldn't they?"
"Big sister, you wouldn't mind?"
"You could still wear them?"
