Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack
Chapter 83: Banquet Turmoil (Part 1)

Chapter 83: Chapter 83: Banquet Turmoil (Part 1)

Time flew quickly, like a fleeting white horse, gone in the blink of an eye.

Before they knew it, Christmas Eve had arrived. After their university classes were over, the school let out early, and Luo Qianqian and He Wenyu quietly waited at home for Zhang Jingjing.

"Xiao Yu, Qianqian, go change your clothes. Why are you still wearing your school uniforms?" Mother He, who happened to have the day off, looked at the two wearing their school uniforms while watching TV in confusion. They usually changed clothes as soon as they got home, so what was going on today?

He Wenyu, eyeing the delicious food Mother He was preparing with a voracious look, said, "Mom, we’re going to a classmate’s house to play today, remember?"

"You’re going in your school uniforms?" Mother He looked at them incredulously. Was this the same girl who would even check what she was wearing when going downstairs to buy a pack of salt? She quickly went over to He Wenyu, touched the girl’s forehead, relieved she didn’t have a fever, but still asked, "Why would you wear your school uniforms to play? They aren’t even pretty."

"Oh, godmom, there are quite a few kids today. We didn’t want to get lost and not be able to find anyone, so wearing the same thing makes it more obvious," Luo Qianqian explained. Indeed, two in school uniforms would stand out in a crowd of evening gowns.

This was He Wenyu’s first impression upon entering the Zhang family home. She and Qianqian’s school uniforms were indeed easy to spot, not revealing any arms or legs and in classic blue, white, and red, a stark contrast to the colorful dresses around them. The villa’s first floor, set up as a buffet, was already full of a variety of foods and drinks, and with piles of plates on the table, one could mistake it for the back kitchen of a restaurant.

"You two find something to eat first; I’m going to change," Zhang Jingjing said, frowning at her pale pink dress, which, to her dismay, matched that of ’that woman’. She could tolerate matching with Luo Qianqian and Qianqian in their school uniforms, but not with ’that woman’ in any resemblance.

"Go ahead." Luo Qianqian caught sight of Jingjing’s stepmother hanging onto a man clearly over a decade her senior. Pulling He Wenyu aside, they grabbed a plate and picked some food, as they hadn’t eaten dinner before arriving.

"Wow, whose kids are these, showing up in school uniforms?" A middle-aged, plump woman in a purple dress looked with disdain at the two kids grabbing beef tongue beside her.

"Anyone who can come here obviously has an invitation; why ask? They must be the children of Director Zhang’s clients," said a younger woman in a red backless dress.

"Indeed. Hey kid, who’s your dad? And why did you come in a school uniform? Look, even that young man over there is wearing a suit," the plump woman quickly said, smiling at the two, not wanting to offend an unknown ’enemy’.

"My dad..." He Wenyu started to speak but was interrupted by Luo Qianqian.

"Shouldn’t one introduce oneself before asking others?" Luo Qianqian said calmly.

The plump woman was internally startled, thinking to herself that this child must be extraordinary to be so composed. Thankfully, there was a chance to remedy the situation. She quickly replied, smiling, "What would you like to eat? Let aunty help. These shrimp are good." She deftly picked up two shrimp and placed them on Luo Qianqian’s plate, then grabbed two more for He Wenyu: "I’m friends with Director Zhang. My husband is Yuan Shifan, Director Yuan. Can you tell me who your father is? Could you introduce him to aunty?"

"See that beauty over there?" Luo Qianqian pointed at Jingjing’s stepmother, her stomach churning at the sight of the woman’s three layers of fat. Being overweight wasn’t her fault, but to wear so much white powder makeup and walk out of the house was wrong.

"I see her, Madam Zhang. She’s your...?" The woman thought quietly, surely not the Zhang family’s daughter? Not recognizing Director Zhang’s own child after so many years would be a big problem for her man.

"She’s my..." Luo Qianqian saw the woman’s urgent expression, but couldn’t resist playing a game, so she stopped short.

"Who is she?" The woman perked up her ears, afraid to miss a single word.

Luo Qianqian suddenly spotted a suspicious man shying away at the back of the crowd, with messy hair, stiff glasses, and a shirt full of wrinkles, incessantly eating the food before him, his eyes darting around, now and then glancing in the direction of Jingjing’s father and stepmother. Could it be this man? Was he really so bold? To seek fun at such an event?

"She’s Uncle Zhang’s new wife," Luo Qianqian quickly said, then clutching her plate, she pulled Xiao Yu and headed over to observe the suspect man.

"You little brat, dare to trick me?" The plump woman paused after hearing the words, then realizing the jest, she angrily threw her plate down. The loud noise attracted many glances, including from Jingjing’s father and her husband.

"Sorry, so sorry." Seeing the warning look from her man, she felt a chill in her heart, fearing that if anything else went wrong, he would never take her to such an event again.

The staff cleaned up quickly, and the plump woman joined a group of chatting women nearby, wineglass in hand.

"Qianqian, I’ve finished eating," He Wenyu said, holding up her empty plate.

Luo Qianqian saw her chance and took it, "Let’s go over there and find something to eat. That looks really appetizing," she suggested, pointing to the table in front of the suspicious man. This was a private party with plenty of people around; she didn’t need to worry about someone taking advantage of her in such a crowd.

"Okay, I want to eat that." With He Wenyu as her cover, Luo Qianqian wasn’t afraid of others detecting her ulterior motive; they seemed like two kids who only knew how to eat.

"Damn it, it’s just my damn bad luck," a man’s grumble reached Luo Qianqian’s ears: "When are they going to start serving the wine?"

Wine? Is there something wrong with the wine? Luo Qianqian was startled and looked around at the stacks of tall glasses. What could be wrong?

"Uncle, could you help me get that? I can’t reach it," Luo Qianqian feigned a pitiful look, tugging at the suspicious man standing by the food table.

Li Xiancheng was taken aback. He was an uncle? He was clearly a college student; he looked more like a big brother. Seeing the small child, he obligingly took a chicken wing and placed it on Luo Qianqian’s plate. It was only after eating that he realized what he had done and waved his hand dismissively, "Go play elsewhere; don’t bother me, Master," splashing some of the sauce onto Luo Qianqian’s clothes with his tongs.

Seeing this, Luo Qianqian pouted and pretended to be upset: "Wuwu, my school uniform. Wuwu," she whimpered quietly enough for only the man to hear, her voice filled with a crying tone.

"Hey, what are you crying for?" Li Xiancheng crouched down, clumsily trying to calm Luo Qianqian down.

"What are you doing?" He Wenyu, having returned with her food, saw a man seemingly bullying her friend. Qianqian was hanging her head low; she must have been really frightened by the bullying, so she yelled, "Monster, surrender your life!" Then she stood protectively in front of Luo Qianqian, plate in hand, untouched by any soup spill, interrupting the man’s comfort.

"???" Luo Qianqian looked up at her friend with a face full of question marks. What was this about a monster?

Li Xiancheng looked at another school-uniform-clad little girl in front of him and felt resigned. Had he stirred up a hornet’s nest of little girls?

"Xiao Yu, it’s not like that, Uncle wasn’t bullying me. He helped me get a chicken wing," Luo Qianqian pointed to the iron platter on the table.

He Wenyu, seeing that Qianqian was okay, continued eating at the side of the table.

Luo Qianqian was now determined to keep an eye on this man.

"Qianqian, Xiao Yu, you’re here! I’ve been looking for you two for so long," Zhang Jingjing, dressed in a school uniform, weaved through the crowd and finally reached them.

He Wenyu stopped her munching and asked in surprise, "Why are you wearing a school uniform too?"

"I didn’t want you two to be lonely," Zhang Jingjing made up an excuse on the spot: "There’s lobster over there, why don’t you go eat some?"

"Where?" He Wenyu’s eyes widened at the mention of delicious food, and she puffed up her cheeks, struggling to swallow the food in her mouth before speaking.

"We’ll go there in a bit. Xiao Yu still has a full plate," said Luo Qianqian. After speaking, she pulled Zhang Jingjing closer and whispered, "Is the man I met before the one standing behind me?"

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