Yan Zheng looked at Gu Yingxin with a faint, ambiguous smile.
[What brand of trash bag is Gu Yingxin? So good at pretending? I really want to buy one to cover the trash can in my bathroom.]
Gu Jiusi glanced nervously at Gu Yingxin, afraid she would feel hurt after hearing such an insult.
To his surprise, Gu Yingxin’s face showed no expression at all. Could it be… she couldn’t hear Yan Zheng cursing her in her mind?
Gu Yingxin thought Yan Zheng was smiling awkwardly after being praised, thinking to herself how foolish this mute girl was!
To display the grace of the Gu Family’s eldest young lady, she generously extended her hand to Yan Zheng.
“Hello, I’m Gu Yingxin. It’s the characters for ‘winning hearts.’”
[This impostor just wants to tell me she’s successfully won the entire Gu Family’s affection, right? And she’s hinting at me in such a roundabout way?]
Yan Zheng deliberately ignored the outstretched hand, pulled out her phone, and slowly typed out a message character by character:
[Oh. Illiterate, can’t read.]
Gu Yingxin awkwardly withdrew her hand, while Gu Jiusi scowled and scolded Yan Zheng.
“Xinxin spoke to you so kindly—what’s with your attitude!”
“Second Brother, I heard Yan Zheng only has an elementary school education. It’s quite pitiful that she doesn’t know many characters, so don’t be angry with her.”
See, how could he have such a kind-hearted sister who always considers others?
And then there was Yan Zheng! Even though she couldn’t speak, she was so sarcastic. If she could talk, wouldn’t that be even worse?
In his opinion, it was just as well she was mute!
Noticing Yan Zheng wasn’t carrying a bag, Gu Yingxin thought the Si Family must consider this country bumpkin only worthy of a cheap grocery tote, so they didn’t even buy her a designer bag.
She deliberately pulled the pink Hermès bag from her shoulder to the front, pretending to be annoyed.
“I already told Mom this bag is too small—how could it be worth 200,000? But she insisted that ‘a thousand pieces of gold can’t buy what I like,’ and even getting a brochure was such a hassle.”
Gu Jiusi affectionately ruffled her hair.
“There are a few collector’s handbags in tonight’s auction. If you like any, Second Brother will get them for you.”
“Thank you, Second Brother! You’re the best!”
Yan Zheng couldn’t stand watching the two of them show off—it was so fake it made her want to vomit!
But Gu Yingxin stopped her, waving the brochure in her hand with a feigned look of concern.
“Yan Zheng, if there are any characters in this brochure you don’t recognize, feel free to ask me. I’ll help you annotate the pinyin. Did your rural elementary school math cover addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division up to 100? The auction prices for tonight’s antiques and jewelry are all seven or eight digits. If you can’t count that high, I can teach you.”
A hand suddenly snatched the brochure away.
Just like when Yan Zheng had taken the pen from her hand in the hospital room.
Jiang Mingyan, dressed in a black velvet gown, looked utterly captivating now that she had soberly let go of love, her noble heiress aura shining through.
She flipped directly to the last page of the brochure.
“I was just wondering why Hanbao Pavilion, with all its genuine treasures, would invite a fake. Turns out, it’s under Director Gu’s name.”
Struck where it hurt, Gu Yingxin’s face instantly darkened. Jiang Mingyan tossed the brochure back to her.
“If Miss Gu is truly so kind, then please annotate every single character in this brochure with pinyin. As for counting, that’s what money counters are for. Everyone’s here tonight to spend money, not to sit around counting it for others.”
When Yan Zheng couldn’t speak yet, Jiang Mingyan practically became her voice!
If Jiang Mingyan had shown this kind of dominance earlier, wouldn’t that little white flower Shen Mengyu have been crushed to pieces by the heels of her high heels?
No wonder they say the wise don’t fall in love.
The muddy waters of love only make people drown and lose themselves.
Fortunately, Yue Lao doesn’t have romantic entanglements.
“Your sister hasn’t offended Miss Jiang. Even if you don’t consider my former sister-in-law’s feelings, isn’t speaking like this a bit too much?” Gu Jiusi looked displeased but still spoke politely.
Yan Zheng knew why Jiang Mingyan was targeting Gu Yingxin.
[My elder brother Gu Shuyan’s wife was Jiang Mingyan’s second sister, Jiang Mingge. Gu Yingxin might not have provoked Jiang Mingyan directly, but she certainly didn’t hold back in secretly provoking Jiang Mingge. She was once a radiant Latin dance queen like fireworks, yet she was extinguished by schemes and Gu Shuyan’s cold indifference. Gu Shuyan and Gu Jiusi, these two bachelors, are equally hopeless when it comes to messing things up.]
Gu Jiusi glared at Yan Zheng.
Who was she calling a bachelor!
Jiang Mingge cheated with another man and divorced his elder brother—that was entirely her own fault!
“Yan Zheng didn’t provoke this impostor either, Director Gu. Why didn’t you think her words were too harsh? If it were President Si here and he heard someone belittling his wife like that, it probably wouldn’t just be about harsh words.”
Jiang Mingyan cast a contemptuous glance at Gu Yingxin, then took Yan Zheng’s hand and left.
Gu Yingxin was furious!
But Jiang Mingyan was the most beloved youngest daughter of the Jiang family. How could she, an illegitimate fake heiress, dare to confront her directly!
Still, if Si Yueting had any interest in a country bumpkin like Yan Zheng, why wouldn’t he accompany her here personally? Let alone stand up for her!
Hmph, later she’d have her second brother buy her a bag on the spot, just to show Yan Zheng who was really the one sitting there eagerly helping others count their money!
When they reached a secluded spot, Yan Zheng made a gesture with both fists, thumbs bent, lightly tapping toward Jiang Mingyan.
Jiang Mingyan didn’t understand sign language. She tilted her head, guessing,
“Are you thanking me? Actually, you don’t need to. After all, you helped me before. And just now, I was speaking up for my second sister—I couldn’t hold back.”
She had promised her second sister not to confront the Gu family, but seeing Yan Zheng being bullied, she couldn’t just stand by.
“Although Si Hanche and I have called off our engagement, can we be friends from now on? Since we’re friends, I won’t call you Mrs. Si anymore—I’ll call you Yan Zheng. Since you can’t speak, if Gu Yingxin causes trouble again, I’ll stand up for you. Si Hanche always said that if you’re angry, you should vent, so you don’t develop knots.”
She remembered how, whenever Si Hanche made her unhappy before, he would always find ways to comfort her and be her punching bag.
He said he would only love and cherish her, that he couldn’t bear to let her hold back any anger in this lifetime.
But now he had turned around and fallen for someone else, doing all sorts of cold and hurtful things to her.
Jiang Mingyan’s eyes instantly dimmed.
Yan Zheng patted her shoulder, indicating she was willing to be friends.
She could tell Jiang Mingyan still loved Si Hanche in her heart.
This tangled red thread—she absolutely had to untie it for them!
Jiang Mingyan ran into an acquaintance, so Yan Zheng decided to enter the venue first to find her grandmother. As she turned, she bumped into a solid chest.
Stepping back, she apologized in sign language, only to hear the man chuckle softly.
“Where I’m from, we never make women apologize. Especially beautiful ones.”
Lu Xizhou stood with his hands in his pockets, his misty purple silk shirt exuding casual languor. His distinctly European features were accentuated by deep-set eyes, raven-feather thick lashes, and rose-colored lips beneath a tall nose bridge that carried a hint of bewitching charm—the very image of a dissolute playboy.
Yan Zheng hadn’t expected him to understand sign language.
This Young Master Lu’s scandals frequently made headlines—whether having coffee with supermodels or skiing with starlets. Yan Zheng held not an ounce of favorable impression toward him, precisely because Lin Huai had been bribed by him to frame her for stealing Si Yueting’s company secrets!
“Just use sign language. I can understand.”
Lu Xizhou shrugged, his gaze toward Yan Zheng filled with undisguised admiration.
“President Si is truly lacking in romance, letting such a beautiful wife attend banquets alone. With wolves lurking everywhere, if she were mine, I’d guard her step by step. Almost forgot—President Si’s confined to a wheelchair now. Even if he wanted to follow, he probably lacks the capacity.”
Yan Zheng calmly signed in response,
“My husband is busy with work, yet still finds energy to prevent external threats from undermining the company—unlike Young Master Lu who seems to have ample free time daily. Moreover, he’s physically robust; even from a wheelchair he’d have two children in three years. Meanwhile, you appear somewhat frail—I suggest tonifying your kidneys when you return. As for whether my husband understands romance, that’s a private matter between us.”
Lu Xizhou’s mouth twitched.
He’d heard the Si family’s daughter-in-law was some country girl—meek and timid due to her muteness. Who knew she’d be such a sharp-tongued, thorny rose!
Once, there was also a little mute who’d defended him this courageously.
For the first time, he’d learned something for someone—sign language.
Only, his little mute had died.
A staff member rushed out abruptly, bumping into Yan Zheng and making her lose balance.
Just as Lu Xizhou reached out to steady her, a pair of large hands firmly caught her from behind.
The familiar masculine scent made Yan Zheng turn in surprise.
There stood Si Yueting in a tailored suit, his crisp white shirt unbuttoned at the collar, enhancing his striking handsomeness and noble elegance.