The young women surrounding Jiang Wanqing had already begun mocking Shen Shuhe with barely concealed sarcasm.
“I told you from the start. She’s just a country bumpkin who doesn’t even know the Jiang family’s eldest daughter. There’s no way Mingshu knows her. How could she possibly have invited her to the birthday party?”
“The nerve! Trying to force her way into a social circle she doesn’t belong in. Doesn’t she know her own place?”
“She even forged a fake invitation. How embarrassing.”
Shen Shuhe remained calm. “I have an invitation.”
She reached into her handbag, took out the invitation, and handed it over.
“If Miss Lu doesn’t trust your own security system, then feel free to check it again.”
She had already passed through three security checkpoints.
If the invitation in her hand was fake, then there was only one possibility—Lu Mingshu was helping Jiang Wanqing set her up and make a fool of her.
But if Lu Mingshu admitted the invitation was fake, she would also be admitting that the Lu family’s security system had such an obvious flaw.
Everyone present was part of Beijing’s elite.
Was Lu Mingshu’s friendship with Jiang Wanqing really deep enough for her to sacrifice the Lu family’s reputation just to stand up for her?
If that was the case, Shen Shuhe had nothing more to say.
If she was destined to become a laughingstock over a forged invitation, then the Lu family would be humiliated right alongside her.
Lu Mingshu wasn’t stupid. She naturally understood the consequences.
Just as she hesitated, Jiang Wanqing gently tugged at Lu Mingshu’s sleeve. Like when she had “broken up the argument” with Zhou Jiayan earlier, she once again played the understanding peacemaker.
“Forget it, Mingshu. Miss Shen was dumped at her engagement banquet yesterday. She must not be willing to give up yet. She went through so much trouble to get an invitation to your birthday party because she wants to reconcile with Jiayan. That’s only natural.”
“We’re all girls here. Mingshu, for my sake, don’t make things difficult for Miss Shen, okay?”
With those words, she acknowledged that the invitation was genuine, avoiding rumors about flaws in the Lu family’s security while simultaneously pushing Shen Shuhe into the spotlight as a lovesick woman desperately clinging to her ex.
Hearing that, Zhou Jiayan looked at Jiang Wanqing with even greater admiration and affection.
She truly was the flawless white moonlight of his life.
Then he turned to Shen Shuhe, who stood there silently. His eyes were filled with disgust.
She was unbearably vulgar.
Shen Shuhe looked as though she had wandered into an entirely different species.
Everyone around her had unconsciously backed away, standing in small groups about a meter from her while watching the spectacle.
Yet she showed not the slightest fear or discomfort at being isolated.
Instead, she stood out like a crane among chickens.
Jiang Wanqing’s childish display of fake innocence amused her.
And she actually laughed.
Jiang Wanqing frowned.
“What are you laughing at, Miss Shen?”
“I’m laughing at you.”
Imitating Jiang Wanqing’s sweet, syrupy tone, Shen Shuhe smiled knowingly.
“I’m laughing because you’re so pleased with yourself after picking up a man I threw away.”
She glanced lazily at the wealthy young women surrounding Jiang Wanqing before continuing,
“As your friends said, you’re the eldest daughter of Jiang Bank. Yesterday’s engagement banquet was packed with guests. With your status, it shouldn’t be hard to find someone who attended yesterday or get hold of the photos and videos they took, should it?”
She deliberately raised her voice.
“I’ll say this one last time. I was the one who dumped Zhou Jiayan. I’ll assume you misunderstood because you didn’t know the truth before. But if you keep saying otherwise after today, then you’ll be deliberately twisting the facts and slandering me.”
“We’re all girls.”
“I won’t make things difficult for you.”
If it was a contest of acting considerate, anyone could play that game.
Jiang Wanqing’s face alternated between pale and flushed.
She bit her lower lip and looked toward Zhou Jiayan.
Her expression was heartbreakingly pitiful.
How could Zhou Jiayan bear seeing the woman he adored look like that?
The veins on his forehead bulged as he stepped forward to defend her.
“This has nothing to do with Wanqing! Why are you targeting her? Besides, today is Miss Lu’s birthday party. Causing a scene here and ruining the birthday girl’s mood—is this the upbringing the Shen family gave you?”
Shen Shuhe couldn’t be bothered to respond.
She didn’t even spare him a glance.
Instead, she looked directly at Lu Mingshu, smiled faintly, and once again extended the invitation in her hand.
“Miss Lu’s birthday party surely isn’t the kind of event where just anyone can create an invitation. My name is clearly printed on this card. If I’m really not on your guest list, then perhaps Miss Lu should investigate the people around you.”
“If someone played a prank on me and caused this misunderstanding, that’s no big deal. What worries me is that someone close to you might have ulterior motives and be using you as their weapon.”
Shen Shuhe knew there were only two possibilities.
Either Lu Mingshu knew nothing and had been manipulated by Jiang Wanqing…
Or the two of them had planned everything together to turn her into the biggest joke in Beijing’s upper-class society.
If it was the former, then cooperation between her and the Lu family was still possible.
Not giving Lu Mingshu a chance to speak, Jiang Wanqing stepped in first.
“Miss Shen, I just returned to the country. I really haven’t had time to learn what happened at your engagement banquet yesterday. If I misunderstood you, then I apologize.”
She picked up a glass of red wine from a passing server’s tray and walked toward Shen Shuhe.
“Mingshu is my best friend. I truly meant no harm. I only wanted to keep her birthday party from being disrupted, so I tried to smooth things over. I wasn’t trying to twist the truth or slander you.”
Stopping in front of Shen Shuhe, she became the only person in the room willing to approach her.
Wearing a gentle, harmless smile, she said apologetically,
“I’ll drink this as my apology to you.”
With that, she raised her wine glass to clink it against Shen Shuhe’s champagne flute.
Shen Shuhe had been watching every one of Jiang Wanqing’s movements.
The moment she noticed Jiang Wanqing trying to use the toast as an excuse to spill wine on her, she swiftly stepped aside.
But the wine didn’t splash onto the floor.
With a subtle twist of her wrist, Jiang Wanqing deliberately poured the entire glass onto her own custom-made designer gown.
The pristine white dress was instantly stained with a large crimson blotch.
Jiang Wanqing staggered back in apparent panic, her voice trembling.
“I sincerely wanted to apologize… Miss Shen, why are you being so unreasonable?”
“Enough!”
Zhou Jiayan strode forward, wrapped an arm around Jiang Wanqing, and glared furiously at Shen Shuhe.
“Shen Shuhe, when are you going to stop making a scene? Can’t we just part on good terms?”
Shen Shuhe narrowed her eyes, her gaze turning icy as she studied Jiang Wanqing more closely.
When exactly had she ever offended Jiang Wanqing?
Surely she wouldn’t go this far over Zhou Jiayan—a man who had already broken off his engagement with Shen Shuhe.
Lu Mingshu’s expression turned cold as she loudly sided with Jiang Wanqing.
“Shen Shuhe, I don’t care what methods you used to get that invitation, but you’re not welcome here. Apologize to Wanqing immediately, pay for her dress, and leave.”
Now that Lu Mingshu had spoken, one of the socialites boldly chimed in with a sneer.
“Her family’s practically bankrupt. How could she possibly afford to pay for that dress?”
“Hurry up and apologize to Wanqing, then leave.”
“You were never invited in the first place!”
At that moment, the sound of someone knocking on the upstairs banister echoed through the hall.
A cool, low male voice drifted down from the second floor.
“I invited her.”