Pushing open the door, Jiang Yao followed the waitress to the booth.
A woman dressed flamboyantly sat there, applying makeup while looking into a small handheld mirror.
Hearing movement, she glanced over casually.
“You’re here. Sit.”
She did not even stand up to greet her?
That was quite different from the Lin Shuangshuang in the original host’s memories.
The original host had been unable to distinguish good people from bad and had treated Lin Shuangshuang like a true best friend.
But from the memories Jiang Yao had seen, this woman was clearly a fence-sitter who only acted when profit was involved.
Tsk. What a waste of such a beautiful day to come see her.
As if sensing something off, Lin Shuangshuang raised her head and looked carefully at the graceful woman standing before her.
For a moment, she was stunned.
The woman before her had not changed much from before, but simply standing there made her look like a celestial fairy descending from the heavens, so striking that people could not help but gasp.
“Hiss… It doesn’t look like you got plastic surgery or anything, so why does it feel like you became a completely different person?”
As she spoke, she stopped applying makeup and carefully sized Jiang Yao up.
Jiang Yao met her gaze and chuckled softly, though her fingers unconsciously rubbed together.
“What changed?”
Lin Shuangshuang smacked her lips.
“Your aura changed.” She nodded firmly. “That’s right. Before, you were like a blooming rose, but now you feel elegant and detached, like a chrysanthemum. I invited you clubbing before and you wouldn’t go. What’s this? Switching to the virtuous wife and loving mother route now?”
“Yeah. My son’s been pretty rebellious lately, so all my time and energy have been spent on him.”
Jiang Yao leaned lazily against the back of the sofa while speaking indifferently to the woman touching up her makeup.
If her precious son Su Muzhe had been there, he definitely would have complained:
Spent on him? Was she joking? Those cheesy short dramas were obviously her real children.
“Tsk tsk tsk, stop pretending. There’s a gathering at Qinhuang Nightclub tonight. Come with us.”
Jiang Yao thought about it for a moment.
If she remembered correctly, Qinhuang Nightclub was a high-end club. People either went there to pick up others, get picked up themselves, or become suckers footing the bill.
And if Lin Shuangshuang alone had invited her, then there was a high chance Jiang Yao was expected to play the fool and pay.
Did they think she was stupid?
A walking ATM for them to drain?
She casually found an excuse.
“I need to tutor my son tonight.”
Hearing that, Lin Shuangshuang burst into laughter.
“You?” She laughed so hard her whole body trembled, as though she had just heard the funniest joke in existence.
Jiang Yao merely smiled faintly and drank the lemon black tea she had ordered.
If she remembered correctly, the original host had also been a student at B University. With those qualifications, tutoring her son should not be a problem.
“Why not?”
Seeing Jiang Yao actually becoming serious, Lin Shuangshuang laughed awkwardly and tried to brush the topic aside.
Before successfully attaching herself to Ye Qing’s wealthy connections, she still did not want to lose Jiang Yao as a source of money.
Thinking of Ye Qing, Lin Shuangshuang suddenly remembered something.
“Oh right, Ye Qing and Zhu Xin are coming too.”
Ye Qing and Zhu Xin?
If Jiang Yao remembered correctly, those two had never gotten along with her.
Yet Lin Shuangshuang had invited her while also inviting those two women.
What exactly was she plotting?
Looks like she had found a new wealthy branch to cling to.
Jiang Yao quietly watched Lin Shuangshuang, the corners of her lips curving into a smile.
The smile made Lin Shuangshuang so uncomfortable she no longer knew where to place her gaze.
Not long afterward, the crisp sound of high heels approached.
Jiang Yao finally lifted her eyes away from the short drama playing on her phone and looked toward the source of the sound.
Two women were walking over while chatting and laughing together.
The instant their eyes met Jiang Yao’s, their laughter abruptly stopped.
The woman in front crossed her arms arrogantly and smiled brightly.
“Yaoyao, you came too.”
Tsk. What a heavy scent of green tea hypocrisy.
This woman really knew how to pretend.
Jiang Yao clearly remembered that just two months ago, the original host had nearly thrown a cup of tea in her face.
Yet now she could still greet her with a smile.
Tsk tsk tsk. Even Oscar-winning actresses were not this good at acting. Even ninja turtles were not this patient.
Jiang Yao glanced at her lazily, which already counted as giving her face.
Ye Qing seemed entirely unbothered by the cold treatment and sat down beside Jiang Yao.
“Yaoyao, what beauty treatments have you been doing lately? Your skin looks like that of an eighteen-year-old girl.”
Without a word, Jiang Yao subtly shifted farther away.
“Natural beauty.”
She glanced at Ye Qing’s face and smiled.
“But you really should get some work done. Your crow’s feet are already showing.”
Ye Qing’s hand trembled as she touched the corner of her eye, forcing herself to remain calm.
“Really? My son’s studies have been exhausting lately, so I’ve been worrying too much.”
Clearly she had already gotten injections done, yet this bitch could still tell.
Still, she pretended not to notice Jiang Yao’s obvious hostility and continued flattering her.
“I haven’t seen Yanyan in a long time. Recently I heard from Shenshen that Yanyan’s father has been personally taking him to school?”
“Mm.”
Jiang Yao responded absentmindedly.
“President Su is so busy, yet he still personally picks up and drops off his son. You two really love your child.”
After speaking, she paused and looked toward the others watching the drama unfold before continuing hesitantly,
“But I also heard Yanyan got involved with some shady people outside school?”
Hearing that, Jiang Yao let out a cold laugh.
“Miss Ye certainly hears a lot of things. I wonder who exactly keeps spreading all these baseless rumors.”
She paused briefly before continuing,
“But recently, I happened to hear that a female college student caught President Lu’s attention.”
“Oh my, that’s hilarious.”
Ye Qing laughed exaggeratedly.
“Yaoyao, don’t bring out random hearsay like that.”
“Exactly, exactly. Everyone knows Ye Qing and President Lu are the model couple of our social circle.”
Lin Shuangshuang immediately joined in.
“This isn’t hearsay.”
Jiang Yao leaned back lazily against the sofa.
“Did your President Su tell you that himself?” Zhu Xin, who had been silently enjoying the gossip, suddenly asked.
She really loved stirring up drama.
Couldn’t she see that Ye Qing’s eyes were practically spitting fire already?
Perhaps realizing it too late, Zhu Xin hurriedly tried smoothing things over.
“Of course President Su wouldn’t casually discuss these things at home with you…”
“How do you know my President Su wouldn’t talk to me about these things?”
“Haha… haha…”
Zhu Xin laughed awkwardly.
Seeing sparks practically flying between the three women, Lin Shuangshuang felt she had enjoyed enough entertainment and quickly stepped in to mediate.
“Now that everyone’s here, why don’t we order something to eat?”
“You all enjoy yourselves. I still have things to do, so I won’t be joining.”
Jiang Yao stood up.
“And Miss Ye, please move aside. You’re blocking the way.”
Without stopping, Jiang Yao walked straight out as though she had never heard Ye Qing’s words at all.
Behind her, Ye Qing stared at Jiang Yao’s carefree departing figure, nearly grinding her teeth to pieces.
She slammed her handbag heavily onto the table.
“That bitch! What is she acting so arrogant for? Isn’t it just because she married Su Jingyang? With the state of their marriage, let’s see how long she can keep pretending!”
Zhu Xin, who had remained silent until now, hurriedly pulled her back into her seat and patted her shoulder.
“Don’t be angry, don’t be angry. Her son doesn’t love her and her husband doesn’t care about her. Sooner or later she’ll suffer for it. Let’s just enjoy our meal.”
It would have been better if Zhu Xin had stayed quiet.
The moment she spoke, Ye Qing immediately remembered Jiang Yao’s earlier words. Unable to hold back anymore, she grabbed a cup of tea and splashed it straight onto Zhu Xin’s face before storming away with her handbag.
Only Lin Shuangshuang and Zhu Xin remained behind.
One looked completely helpless, while the other sat there drenched in tea, her face flushed red with humiliation.
Watching Ye Qing leave, Zhu Xin could only grit her teeth and endure it.
After all, she still hoped to use Ye Qing’s connections to get her second son into an international elementary school.