n

n

n

n

n

nOn the weekend, at the Qu family villa, Mr. Qu and Qu Qi were standing in the courtyard, dressed up to welcome the guests.

n

nQu Xiao was sitting in a taxi. She coldly looked at Mr. Qu and Qu Qi, who were chatting and smiling, and the corners of her lips curled up into a mocking smile.

n

nThe guests present were all very famous bosses in the financial world. They clearly did not come just because it was Mr. Qu’s birthday.

n

nWhen Mr. Qu invited them, he had mentioned that Qu Xiao would come with her husband to celebrate his birthday. All the bosses in the financial world wanted to meet Shang Yan and make friends with him, so they came in person to celebrate Mr. Qu’s birthday.

n

nWhen they were drinking and talking, they often looked at the fence in the courtyard, waiting for Shang Yan to come.

n

nAt eight o’clock sharp, Qu Xiao appeared in front of everyone with a demure and elegant step.

n

nShe was wearing a crescent-white strapless evening gown. She casually pulled up her long hair, revealing her smooth and slender neck. She had specially selected a set of deep-sea pearl jewelry to match her outfit. Her makeup was so exquisite that people could not take their eyes off her. They could not help but exclaim in admiration.

n

nQu Xiao walked in front of Mr. Qu and handed him the gift that she had prepared in advance. “Happy birthday.”

n

nThe moment she walked into the villa, Qu Xiao could feel fear and nervousness in her heart.

n

nShe understood that this was due to her past trauma in this household.

n

nQu Xiao raised her eyes and saw Mr. Qu looking back at her. She kindly reminded him and explained, “Shang Yan has business to attend to, so he can’t make it. Let me wish you happy birthday on his behalf.”

n

nMr. Qu was unhappy, but it was not appropriate for him to flare up in public. He could only perfunctorily point inside and beckon Qu Xiao to go in.

n

nWhen the big shots of the financial world saw Qu Xiao, they naturally walked over to talk to her. Although they were mostly asking about Shang Yan, their attitude towards Qu Xiao was respectful and even a little fawning.

n

nWhen Qu Qi saw that everyone was surrounding Qu Xiao, jealousy and resentment rose in her heart. The knuckles of her fingers that were holding a goblet turned blue.

n

nDuring the main program of the birthday banquet, Mr. Qu walked to the center of the stage amidst applause.

n

nThe waiter pushed a three-tiered custom-made cake over. Qu Qi stood beside Mr. Qu and pretended to be intimate as she pulled Qu Xiao to stand beside her.

n

nQu Xiao felt a little disgusted, but she had no choice but to stand still and listen to Mr. Qu’s incessant speech.

n

n“Thank you all for coming to celebrate my birthday with me. I am able to have everything I have now because of my hard work.”

n

n“I relied on my own two hands to build the Qu family’s business to what it is today. The hardships that I have gone through have lasted many days.”

n

n“Of course, I will inevitably have to rely on you all in the future. Today, my eldest daughter is overseas and is unable to rush back to celebrate my birthday. Fortunately, I still have Qu Xiao and Qu Qi by my side.”

n

nMr. Qu acted like a kind father. He raised his hands and held Qu Xiao and Qu Qi’s hands as they walked to the middle of the stage to cut the cake together.

n

nQu Qi then proceeded to pretend to miss. She bumped a cut piece of the cake into Qu Xiao’s chest.

n

nThe guests exclaimed. Qu Xiao looked down at her white evening dress and hair that were stained with cake and sweet cream.

n

nShe saw the smile in Qu Qi’s eyes and knew that Qu Qi was deliberately trying to make a fool of her.

n

nQu Xiao had a faint smile on her face. Her left hand gently covered her chest while her right hand suddenly grabbed onto Qu Qi’s head, pressing her whole body into the cake.

n

nQu Qi screamed and struggled until her whole body was covered in cream and she spilled countless wine glasses on the champagne table. Only then did Qu Xiao release her hand.

n

nQu Qi wiped the cream off her face carelessly. Her current appearance was so embarrassing that it made people laugh, but no one handed her a piece of paper.

n

nThe bosses in the financial world had met countless people, so they naturally saw through Qu Qi’s dirty little tricks.

n

nTheir eyes were filled with surprise and admiration as they looked at Qu Xiao. She was indeed Shang Yan’s wife. Her actions were swift and decisive. It was rumored that she was timid and paranoid. This incident confirmed that it wasn’t true.

n

nMr. Qu’s birthday banquet was completely ruined by their nonsense. His eyes were filled with anger as he growled, “Qu Xiao, what are you doing!”

n

nQu Xiao took a wet handkerchief from the waiter’s hand and gently wiped her clothes and fingers. She raised her eyebrows slightly and said, “I thought this was a part of your arrangement. I’m sorry, maybe I was overthinking.”

n

nHer eyes were cold as she stared at Qu Qi. The cold and solemn aura emanating from her body made Qu Qi not dare to come closer.

n

nEven though both of them restrained their hatred for each other, the guests all found excuses to leave early.

n

nOnly Mr. Qu and Qu Qi were left in the living room, glaring at Qu Xiao with hatred in their eyes. Mr. Qu looked at the mess in the room and pointed at Qu Xiao while cursing, “Did you come just to deliberately make me lose face in front of them? Why didn’t Shang Yan come?”

n