Hidden identities of the AI Heiress
Chapter 864 - Chapter 864 Chapter 864 Tea Aroma Su Qingqing 3.0

Chapter 864: Chapter 864: Tea Aroma Su Qingqing 3.0 Chapter 864: Chapter 864: Tea Aroma Su Qingqing 3.0 Xu Lu was taken aback by Jiang Jing’s gaze and answered truthfully, “It’s what I heard from my aunt.”

Jiang Jing felt dizzy, “And where did she hear it from?”

Xu Lu thought for a moment and said, “It seems like she heard it from a classmate, who heard it from her younger sister…”

Jiang Jing felt even more confused, unable to understand how the bet she made with Qiao Yun became common knowledge, spreading from person to person.

Su Qingqing, gauging Jiang Jing’s expression, suddenly understood something. The next second, she feigned surprise, “Jingjing, didn’t your mom tell you? A few days ago, during a gathering with her friends, she said it herself, but just that….”

She paused, looking troubled, hesitating as if she had something difficult to say.

Jiang Jing almost gritted her teeth, “Just what?”

Su Qingqing sighed, “Only that your mom told them it was because the Li Family wanted to arrange a marriage with you, and that’s why my cousin held a grudge against you and made the bet, even using her connections to have you lose out in Tianqi.”

Jiang Jing was shocked, she had never expected her mother to say such things. If she was exposed, how could she show her face again?

Xu Lu only knew about the bet between Jiang Jing and Qiao Yun, but wasn’t very clear on the details. Now, hearing this, her tone was not very pleasant, “Really? Qingqing, how could your cousin be so bad?”

Su Qingqing didn’t answer but said with an innocent look to Jiang Jing, “But it was Jingjing who bet with my cousin first that you would be eliminated from Tianqi because you didn’t realize the software you carried had been infected with a virus. Plus, my cousin’s relationship with Young Master Li is mutual, and both families acknowledge it.”

Jiang Jing: “…”

The very things she wanted to keep secret were now being aired publicly by Su Qingqing, and Jiang Jing’s face flushed with anger.

They were speaking in a volume that was neither loud nor soft, and just then the music in the private room ceased, allowing Su Qingqing’s words to naturally drift into the ears of everyone present.

The crowd was a bit surprised; so there was this reason behind Jiang Jing’s failure.

But wasn’t Jiang Jing very capable? How could she suffer such an oversight?

Jiang Jing’s lips moved, her pretty face turned red with anger, and she felt unbearably itchy all over. She wanted to turn around and leave, but Su Qingqing held her hand tight.

Su Qingqing’s voice was gentle, “I know, your mother making up stories about my cousin is not your intent. You’re such a kind person, how could you possibly frame someone like that. Your mom must be redirecting her anger onto my cousin because the arranged marriage with the Li Family didn’t work out, right?”

Xu Lu agreed, “Exactly, my cousin surely wouldn’t know about this. Qingqing, don’t blame my cousin.”

“I don’t blame her.”

Su Qingqing pressed her lips together, her beautiful eyes seemingly glistening with tears, “But my cousin was fair and square in the bet with you, and yet she has to be slandered like this. It’s caused her to be unable to eat or sleep well for days, feeling anxious and reflecting on what she did wrong. Ah, as her cousin, it pains me to see her suffer and not be able to do anything about it.”

Jiang Jing: “…” I don’t believe a word you’re saying.

Su Qingqing suggested softly, “Jingjing, for my sake, could you apologize to my cousin on behalf of your mom, to let her understand she has done nothing wrong?”

Jiang Jing couldn’t take it anymore, almost hysterically she said, “Apologize to her, are you kidding me! Why should I apologize to her!”

Xu Lu was startled by Jiang Jing’s voice and then looked at Jiang Jing in astonishment.

This cousin of hers, usually so proud, had never lost her composure like this.

Everyone present was also shocked. Was this the goddess’s persona crumbling?

Jiang Jing, infuriated by Su Qingqing, failed to notice the strange looks from everyone. Seething, she said, “I will definitely not apologize to her, so stop dreaming.”

Su Qingqing’s face appeared even more innocent, “But isn’t your mom doing all this to protect your standing?”

Jiang Jing: “…”

Su Qingqing’s voice became slightly choked, “Okay then, I’ve put you in a difficult position. But don’t worry, even if you don’t apologize, I will still tell my cousin to consider the bet as if it never happened, and you don’t have to leave the circle.”

Jiang Jing knew that Su Qingqing was doing this on purpose, mentioning the bet and leaving the circle over and over again, as if she wanted to engrave the incident into everyone’s memory so that the moment they saw her, they would remember the bet with Qiao Yun.

Su Qingqing was forcing her to honor the bet.

Otherwise, she would be seen as not keeping her word, a coward, daring to do but not to own up to it!

Her chest heaving with rapid breaths, she suddenly stood up and pointed at Su Qingqing, berating, “Su Qingqing, stop your pretense. I know you don’t like me, and this act of yours is making me sick.”

The onlookers were stunned.

Even though Jiang Jing usually did not get along with Su Qingqing, they maintained a superficial peace, so others were unaware of their mutual dislike and thought their relationship was quite amicable.

Now, Jiang Jing was the one tearing apart any pretense of civility, and she was the one initiating the conflict.

Looking at Su Qingqing’s bewildered face, the scales of sympathy immediately tipped in her favor among those present.

“Jingjing, you’re being a bit too much,” Qingqing didn’t say anything wrong. Your mom started by slandering her cousin, and she doesn’t expect you to do anything but offer an apology to her cousin.”

The speaker was a handsome young man, a second-generation rich kid who had a crush on Jiang Jing.

He was attracted to Jiang Jing’s talent and her clear sense of grievances and grudges, but now he was beginning to doubt his judgment.

Jiang Jing couldn’t believe that her admirer would speak up for Su Qingqing. Her face flushed as her gaze swept across the room, “Do you all think I’m wrong?”

“Jingjing, we don’t think that way. It’s just that, hearing what Qingqing said, it sounds like her cousin is quite pitiful.”

“It was you who wanted to make the bet, and now that you’ve lost, Qingqing is still willing to speak for you. I think apologizing wouldn’t be too much to ask.”

Everyone present was rational and could distinguish right from wrong quite clearly.

Xu Lu pulled on Jiang Jing’s sleeve and said, “Cousin, calm down a bit.”

Jiang Jing’s eyes grew red. Aside from being eliminated from Tianqi, she had never felt so wronged in her life. Why was no one defending her?

Had Qiao Yun really done nothing wrong?

But at this moment, Su Qingqing stood up, took Jiang Jing’s hand, and said anxiously, “Don’t be angry. It was my fault for bringing it up, I’m sorry…”

“You…” Jiang Jing felt so dizzy with anger. Was Su Qingqing apologizing to give everyone the impression she was being bullied?

Feeling the eyes of everyone on her, her whole body blushed, and she wanted to pull her hand away.

However, she didn’t expect Su Qingqing to suddenly cry out…

Jiang Jing looked on confusedly as Su Qingqing suddenly fell backward, her body hitting the table and knocking over the beer on it.

Jiang Jing was stunned.

So was everyone else at the scene.

The people closest to Su Qingqing rushed to help her, “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Su Qingqing pressed her lips tightly together, her beautiful eyes brimming with moisture. With a large wet spot on her white dress and the look of silent endurance, she instantly gained a great deal of sympathy.

“Jingjing, we can talk this out. There’s no need to get physical.”

“Exactly, Qingqing is so fragile. What if she got hurt?”

Jiang Jing felt she was too innocent. If Su Qingqing was fragile, then there were no fragile people in this world.

She explained, “I didn’t push her.”

Obviously, no one believed her.

After all, what they had just witnessed was Jiang Jing pushing Su Qingqing.

Su Qingqing spoke with a hoarse voice, “It has nothing to do with Qingqing. I just lost my balance.”

“Qingqing, you’re such a kind person…”

Jiang Jing stared at Su Qingqing with red eyes, almost wishing she could devour her.

Xu Lu was full of regret. Had she known, she wouldn’t have invited Jiang Jing to come out. Now that things had escalated to this point, she whispered, “Cousin, just apologize to Qingqing.”

“You also think I pushed her?” Jiang Jing challenged.

Xu Lu rightfully said, “I saw it.”

Jiang Jing trembled, overwhelmed by a tidal wave of injustice, and said with a bitter laugh, “Su Qingqing, you’re ruthless.”

She couldn’t stay any longer; she pushed Xu Lu aside, bit her lip, and angrily left.

Once Jiang Jing left, even Xu Lu, who was closest to her, felt she had gone too far.

Xu Lu apologized to Su Qingqing, “Qingqing, I’m sorry. I didn’t know she would be like this today. She’s not usually like this.”

“It’s not your fault.” Su Qingqing regretted, “It’s my fault. I’m the one who should apologize.”

Everyone looked at Su Qingqing, feeling as though a halo was about to shine above her head, the kind that would make her an immediate saint.

Wiping her wine-stained dress, Su Qingqing said with reddened eyes, “You guys continue having fun. I’ll go tidy up my clothes and give my cousin a call to talk about the betting agreement. Jingjing is so talented; it’d be a pity for her to leave the circle.”

“Fair play to those who admit defeat. It’s a very normal thing. She wanted to bet. Why worry about her business?”

Someone couldn’t stand it, “Qingqing, do you have to be so silly? She’s so ungrateful, and yet you’re still speaking up for her.”

“If Jiang Jing doesn’t leave the circle, huh, I’ll think less of her.”

With a faint smile, Su Qingqing responded, “That doesn’t seem very nice…”

The crowd asserted that there was nothing wrong with keeping a promise.

Su Qingqing expressed great satisfaction.

Having achieved her goal and not wishing to stay any longer, she left the private room. The grievance on her face disappeared completely as she straightened her messy hair with her hands.

“Su Qingqing!”

An angry voice rang out.

Looking up, Su Qingqing raised an eyebrow, “Why haven’t you left?”

Jiang Jing clenched her teeth in anger, “You did it on purpose.”

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, so she came back.

“That’s right.” Su Qingqing’s expression turned cold as she stared at her, “Damn right I did it on purpose.”

Jiang Jing’s eyes were fiery red, “Why? Isn’t it enough that I’ve already lost?”

Su Qingqing’s face hardened, “Are you saying you don’t know what your mother is trying to do?”

Jiang Jing instinctively retorted, “I don’t know.”

With a scoff, Su Qingqing said, “Jiang Jing, you’re not afraid of being struck by lightning for saying that.”

Jiang Jing’s expression changed.

In fact, she didn’t know.

But she knew her mother’s character.

By not speaking up when her mother declared she would handle everything, perhaps she was harbouring a sliver of hope.

With disdain, Su Qingqing spat, “Compared to me, you’re better at pretending. At least I pretend openly, whereas you only sneak around behind the scenes. If it weren’t for my aunt this time, my cousin would be the one slandered. Jiang Jing, you’re not innocent at all.”

She arrogantly raised her hand and flipped her the middle finger, “You think you can mess with my sister?”

Jiang Jing’s lips trembled, but she couldn’t utter a word.

…

After driving Jiang Jing away once again, Su Qingqing gleefully pulled out her phone to contact Qiao Yun, eager to share today’s events as a joke.

Qiao Yun was listening to Pei Yao report on the company’s recent activities when her phone rang.

She glanced down.

It was a call from Su Qingqing.

She gestured for Pei Yao to quiet down, then answered the call. She opened her mouth and awkwardly said, “Sister.”

Her voice was soft and sweet, endearing Su Qingqing tremendously.

“Cousin, where are you? I’ll come find you. I have great news to share.”

Qiao Yun glanced at Li Hanzhou and honestly replied, “At Lanting Pavilion.”

“What a coincidence, I’m here too. Which private room are you in?”

Thinking it over, Qiao Yun said, “I’ll come to you.”

“Oh, that works too.” Su Qingqing then told Qiao Yun her room number.

Her thoughts were that her cousin was too good-natured and reserved. Given that everyone in the room was around the same age and generally had decent personalities, maybe this would help her cousin make some new friends.

After hanging up, Qiao Yun batted her eyelashes at Li Hanzhou and said, “I’ll go see my sister and be right back.”

Li Hanzhou ruffled her hair, “Go ahead.”

“Mhm.” Qiao Yun stood up, turned to Pei Yao and said, “You stay here.”

Pei Yao: “…”

Oh no!

He didn’t want to sit staring with Li Hanzhou!

Unfortunately, Qiao Yun didn’t hear his silent cry.

Having ended the call, Su Qingqing stood at the entrance of the private room, eagerly waiting with her neck stretched out.

After a short wait, she saw Qiao Yun coming down from the elevator.

She immediately went to greet her, “Cousin, over here…”

Qiao Yun walked over, her gaze resting on the wet hem of Su Qingqing’s dress.

Noticing Qiao Yun’s look, Su Qingqing proudly said, “It’s a badge of honor.”

Qiao Yun: ???

Taking Qiao Yun’s hand, Su Qingqing pushed the door open, “Come on in and join the fun.”

As the door opened, people inside instinctively looked over, their eyes quickly shifting to Qiao Yun.

Mainly because they had never seen someone so exquisitely beautiful.

With pride, Su Qingqing introduced, “This is my cousin Qiao Yun.”

Everyone exchanged glances and soon realized who Qiao Yun was.

They looked at Qiao Yun again.

She was dressed simply and neatly with a small face, her large eyes clear, with thick, curly lashes–clearly the type who’s a good and obedient girl.

Thinking back on what Su Qingqing had said earlier about Qiao Yun suffering every day because of Xu Qiao’s slander, they felt pity for her.

Xu Lu was even more embarrassed, given that Xu Qiao was her aunt. She warmly said, “Come on in.”

Qiao Yun was quite puzzled why these strangers were looking at her so oddly and thus remained silent with pursed lips.

Xu Lu didn’t get a response but didn’t get angry either. She touched her nose, feeling a bit guilty for some reason.

Su Qingqing held Qiao Yun’s hand, reassuringly saying, “Cousin, these are all my classmates. Don’t be afraid.”

Qiao Yun wanted to say she wasn’t afraid.

Someone waved, “Little sister, come sit here. We all know about your situation. It’s not your fault; it was Jiang Jing who was wrong first. Don’t be sad; Qingqing is almost heartbroken over it.”

Qiao Yun: ???

“Come have some food. Qingqing said you haven’t been eating well for days.”

Qiao Yun: “…”

What happened?

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