Li Wangshu arrived at the Ji family’s birthday banquet arm in arm with Song Xuyu, and without surprise, she became the most eye-catching person in the room.
Everyone began asking who she was. Those who knew a little said she was the daughter the Ji family had recently found, but rumors about the truth varied wildly.
“Moon.”
The entire Ji family was stunned by how beautiful she looked.
Not far away, Ji Mo was chatting with her friends. The moment she saw the radiant Li Wangshu, her face turned pale.
“You look beautiful today, little sister.”
Ji Qingshuang had never expected that his younger sister, who had grown up in a small town, would not only be stunning when dressed up but would also carry herself with such elegance.
“Xuyu, thank you. You made my sister look amazing.”
Song Xuyu proudly lifted her chin.
“Of course. But it’s mostly because she has a great foundation. She only needed a little styling to look like this.”
Li Wangshu politely greeted everyone while keeping her distance. She had planned to grab a slice of cake and hide in a quiet corner, but Xu Jingya stopped her.
She and Ji Huaiyang intended to introduce Li Wangshu to all the guests.
Since Moon had refused to hold a family recognition banquet, they decided to use Xu Jingya’s birthday party instead.
Li Wangshu followed behind them, greeting each guest as “Uncle” or “Aunt.”
She wasn’t especially warm, but she was perfectly polite.
“I’m so jealous of your family. You’ve really been blessed with wonderful children, and they’re all outstanding. I heard your younger daughter also got into Peking University and was the top scorer on the college entrance exam.”
“This child is absolutely gorgeous. Her temperament is incredible. As expected of Jingya’s daughter.”
“These two sisters standing together… who wouldn’t envy your family? I wish I had daughters like them.”
…
Every time someone praised Ji Mo and Li Wangshu together, Father Ji and Mother Ji looked calm on the surface but were nervous inside.
Fortunately, Li Wangshu remained composed the entire time. Although she didn’t speak much, she was graceful and poised, leaving a very good impression on everyone as the suddenly appeared Second Miss Ji.
Some guests couldn’t help asking why the Ji family’s second daughter had grown up elsewhere.
Perhaps because Li Wangshu had behaved so quietly and elegantly all evening, the couple mistakenly believed she would cooperate.
So Father Ji and Mother Ji claimed that the two girls were twins, and that one of them had been taken away shortly after birth.
Li Wangshu gently swirled the wine in her glass and looked at the couple, who couldn’t even meet her eyes. She deliberately put on a deeply disappointed expression.
“Moon… we’ll explain everything later…”
Xu Jingya hurriedly tried to explain.
She was obviously afraid Li Wangshu would make a scene at the banquet.
…
“Mo, then she’s an illegitimate daughter.”
Wu Lu looked at Li Wangshu with jealousy.
“She even looks like a little seductress. Well, I guess the woman who gave birth to her had to be beautiful to become someone’s mistress.”
“Hmph! And what is she wearing? That’s from two years ago, isn’t it? Who does she think she’s fooling? Also, is there something wrong with her leg? The way she walks looks strange. Is she disabled?”
“We can tell everything just from her clothes. It doesn’t matter whether she was recently found or not. She’ll never compare to our Mo. Mo is wearing this season’s newest design. Even famous celebrities have trouble borrowing one of those. I heard your mother bought it outright just for you. I’m so jealous.”
Zhang Dan quickly chimed in.
“Don’t say that. My sister will be upset if she hears.”
Ji Mo looked frightened as she picked up a glass of wine.
“This is her first time attending an event like this. She’s probably nervous. I’ll go check on her.”
“Mo, you’re just too kind.”
Her two followers immediately accompanied her, while Jiang Fengmian also walked over after seeing her approach.
“Brother Fengmian.”
Ji Mo called sweetly.
“What brings you over?”
Jiang Fengmian gently rubbed her head.
“I wanted to check on my sister.”
Jiang Fengmian frowned and looked toward the fairy-like girl standing in the distance.
He stared for a moment before saying,
“She doesn’t seem to like you very much. Maybe you shouldn’t go.”
“I know.”
Ji Mo clutched her dress pitifully.
“But this will put Mom and Dad in a difficult position. They definitely don’t want us fighting. I don’t want them to be sad, so I want to do something to improve our relationship.”
“You really are too considerate. That isn’t always a good thing. People like you get taken advantage of.”
Jiang Fengmian sighed.
…
Meanwhile…
“Your real sister is unbelievably beautiful.”
Song Xuyu admired Li Wangshu more the longer she looked.
“I really want to convince her to become a model for my company.”
She turned to the Ji brothers.
“Help me persuade her. She’d only need to work weekends. It won’t interfere with anything else.”
“Xuyu, you’d probably have better luck asking her yourself…”
Ji Chenxing glanced toward Li Wangshu.
Although he had acted as if he didn’t care about her, his eyes had hardly left her all evening.
The moment Li Wangshu put down her wine glass and the smile disappeared from her face, he sensed something was wrong.
“Let’s go take a look.”
So before Li Wangshu could lose her temper, the male and female leads, the Ji family, and Song Xuyu all gathered around her.
…
“Little sister, you look beautiful today.”
Ji Mo looked at Li Wangshu’s dress.
“Did Mom choose it for you? It really suits you.”
“Pfft…”
One of her followers burst into laughter.
“It suits her perfectly. Absolutely perfectly.”
“Lulu!”
Ji Mo tugged at Wu Lu, signaling her to stop.
“Sister, Lulu didn’t mean to laugh at you. Please don’t mind her.”
If it had been Ji Lian, she probably would have demanded an explanation.
But Li Wangshu already knew exactly what she meant, so she couldn’t be bothered asking.
“Wait, what exactly do you mean?”
Li Wangshu didn’t ask, but someone else did.
Song Xuyu had personally styled Li Wangshu today and had been captivated by her beauty all evening.
“Is there something wrong with the dress?”
“No, no.”
Ji Mo waved her hands repeatedly.
“Mo, why are you afraid of her?”
Wu Lu continued fearlessly.
“She’s wearing an outdated second-hand evening gown and still showing off. Oh, and she’s lame too. Isn’t she embarrassed to disgrace the Ji family?”
Song Xuyu’s expression instantly darkened.
No one noticed because everyone’s attention had shifted to Li Wangshu’s dress and her leg.
The Ji family’s expressions were even uglier.
Standing beside Li Wangshu, Ji Lian had already shrunk back in fear. The similar humiliation from her previous life was triggering painful memories.
Li Wangshu, however, remained completely calm.
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. But isn’t Miss Ji wearing this year’s newest design from House C?”
“Exactly.”
Wu Lu proudly continued.
“Our Mo’s dress is the limited global edition, personally designed by the master himself. After all, our Mo is the true daughter of a wealthy family, unlike someone born to a shameless woman.”
This time Wu Lu’s attack went even further.
Ji Mo panicked for real.
“Stop! Don’t say nonsense! My sister isn’t like that!”
She immediately turned toward Father Ji and Mother Ji with tears in her eyes.
“Mom, Dad, I never said anything like that to them. They guessed it themselves.”
“So she’s an illegitimate daughter.”
“No wonder she’s treated so differently.”
“Madam Ji is even introducing her personally. She’s really generous.”
“You’re right. There really is something wrong with her leg. You can tell from the way she walks.”
…
The whispers could no longer be contained.
“My leg does have a problem.”
Li Wangshu finally spoke after letting the rumors spread long enough.
“But how I became disabled… I believe Mr. Ji and Mrs. Ji will explain it.”
She looked directly at them.
“You won’t let her pin the label of ‘illegitimate daughter’ on me… right?”