Knowing there was a banquet in the evening and guessing that Mr. Su might come up with a plan to call a stag a horse, Ting Wan waited. She waited for Mr. Su to come himself, or to send someone to inform her that she was about to be passed off as Su Xiaomo.
However, she waited from morning until afternoon, and not only did she not see Mr. Su, but she didn’t even see a single person related to the Su family.
Very well.
A wicked smile played on Ting Wan’s lips.
This father’s favoritism was truly something else.
Ting Wan wouldn’t believe for a second that they didn’t have such a plan.
After all, this concerned Young Marshal Xiao’s reputation. How could they possibly not take advantage of this opportunity—one with reporters present, and one that she, the newly arrived eldest Miss Su of Hong City, was unlikely to attend—to call a stag a horse?
Although the original Su Youning’s plea only mentioned living a good life and that item her mother had left behind, she, Ting Wan, would not suffer this humiliation.
The dress had been prepared by Principal Tan. It was a qipao of a simple and elegant color, with no extra embellishments save for a single embroidered crabapple blossom on the hem.
Ting Wan put on some makeup, specifically accentuating her eyes, which would soon be brimming with tears. Then, she picked up her handbag and went to meet up with Principal Tan.
When Principal Tan saw her, her eyes were the first thing to draw her attention. She stared for a good while before managing to squeeze out a sentence: “This makeup of yours… is quite suitable for crying.”
Hearing this, Ting Wan really wanted to praise Principal Tan for her excellent judgment.
The banquet was held in the grand hall of the Four Seasons Hotel, the largest hotel in Hong City. It was spearheaded by the government, and the theme was, well, the theme was that there was no theme.
To Ting Wan, it just looked like a tea party for Hong City’s upper class to gather, chat, create some buzz, and add a bit of gossip for the city’s newspapers.
Because they had been told to arrive a little early, Principal Tan and Ting Wan were indeed very early.
Hongcheng Women’s University was famous, and Principal Tan had relatives in the Military Faction, so anyone with a daughter, or even just a girl in their family, had to show Principal Tan some respect.
In other words, Principal Tan knew a great many people.
Ting Wan stayed close by Principal Tan’s side, looking very intimate with her. Those who knew Principal Tan and came over to socialize would inevitably ask about her.
At these moments, all Ting Wan had to do was smile. Principal Tan did all the talking:
“This is a student our school specially enrolled this year, Su Youning from Liu City. She has a good character, a great personality, and plays the violin wonderfully. She even knows how to make lipstick! The other day, you said the color of the lipstick I was wearing was nice, didn’t you? Well, it was made by this very young lady! I’m all alone, so it’s rare to meet someone I click with so well. Of course, I had to bring her out to show her off.”
Principal Tan’s spiel was a set of talking points with an unchanging core idea—this is Su Youning from Liu City.
Thus, before Xiao Tang made his grand entrance as the final act, almost the entire venue knew that the young woman Principal Tan had brought was Su Youning from Liu City, who shared the same name as Young Marshal Xiao’s fiancée but did not have the face from the newspaper photograph.
With so many people, there were bound to be some who had studied the newspaper carefully.
“Aren’t you the woman standing in the corner of that newspaper photo?” Before long, someone recognized her as the melancholy background figure standing to the side in the picture.
Had Ting Wan seen the newspaper?
In this situation, of course she hadn’t!
“Ah? What newspaper?” Ting Wan blinked her large eyes, looking in confusion at the observant person who had spoken.
At this moment, Principal Tan chimed in at the perfect time, shooting the observant person a prohibitive glance before saying to Ting Wan, “It’s nothing. She loves reading the papers and probably mistook you for someone else.”
Principal Tan’s words and glance were perfectly timed, and she immediately pulled Ting Wan away to change the subject.
This move was highly effective. Every single person present began to let their imagination run wild.
Although they didn’t know who the woman gazing affectionately at Young Marshal Xiao in the photo was, it didn’t stop their speculation.
They knew that the Su family from Liu City had a second daughter; after all, the eldest daughter was the Young Marshal’s fiancée.
But since no photos of the two had ever been released, they didn’t know what Su Xiaomo looked like.
This didn’t hinder their imagination, however. Based on the fact that Ting Wan was also in the photo, someone concluded that the other woman must be Su Xiaomo, and from there, they concocted a drama about the Young Marshal falling for his fiancée’s younger sister.
Therefore, when Xiao Tang arrived on the scene with Su Xiaomo, the entire hall fell silent.
Seeing the two of them arrive, Ting Wan hid herself in the crowd.
She had to let them finish their act first, so she could make her own dazzling entrance!
Just as Ting Wan had expected, they were indeed planning to call a stag a horse. Moreover, Mr. Su had come along as well.
What a father!
Ting Wan sneered inwardly.
“Everyone,” Xiao Tang said, pulling Su Xiaomo onto the stage. “I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you all to my fiancée, Miss Su Youning.”
He was making it quite formal.
Su Xiaomo, dressed in a sparkly little Western-style dress, stood beside Xiao Tang, her smile exceptionally sweet.
Mr. Su was also smiling, a look of satisfaction on his face.
In a large crowd, there are always brave souls who will speak up from within:
“Is that really Su Youning? I’m afraid it’s her younger sister, Su Xiaomo!” Brave Soul Number One shouted at the top of their lungs.
Then, Brave Soul Number Two made their appearance: “If she’s Su Youning from Liu City, then who is the Su Youning from Liu City that Principal Tan brought?”
Xiao Tang hadn’t been smiling to begin with, but now his expression visibly soured.
The faces of Su Xiaomo and Mr. Su froze.
It was time to make her entrance.
Ting Wan used the crying skills she had learned in the Romance Department to make both her eyes well up with a pool of tears. Her face was a mask of disbelief, and her whole being looked as if she had suffered a devastating blow.
“Sister! Why are you impersonating me!”
As Ting Wan’s voice rang out, the crowd unconsciously parted to form a path for her, allowing her to walk to the front and allowing those at the front to see her clearly.
Her words sent the reporters’ camera shutters clicking so fast they nearly smoked.
Seizing the opportunity, she staggered forward, turning her tirade towards Mr. Su, who was about to speak:
“Father! I know that compared to me, the daughter of the first wife you never loved, you prefer Auntie and my younger sister. You must think how wonderful it would be if this excellent marriage belonged to my sister! But you never said so. I thought you loved me, especially since this engagement was arranged for me by you and Mother together! But why! Why would you have my sister impersonate me! If you think I’m not suitable, you could have just said so. I’m not an unreasonable person. Could it be that I don’t even deserve the dowry my mother left for me? My sister is taking the dowry my mother left for me to marry my fiancé! Am I truly that worthless?”
Ting Wan’s voice was loud enough, her words clear and distinct. As she spoke, the tears pooled in her eyes rolled down one by one, a picture of pitiful sorrow.
“Youning, that’s enough, good child.” Principal Tan came up and embraced Ting Wan. “Good child, don’t be sad. You were specially admitted into our Hongcheng Women’s University, which makes you my student. Who could say you’re worthless? Mr. Su, Young Marshal Xiao, this trick of calling a stag a horse is truly brilliant! I’ve really seen it all today! It’s a good thing Youning is so outstanding that a few of my friends wanted to meet her. Otherwise, you would have actually pulled this off today! She would no longer be herself!”
As Principal Tan delivered her verbal assault, Ting Wan continued to cry.
The atmosphere was utterly frozen.
Except for the reporters’ camera shutters.