She had always been an orphan. Growing up, she had nothing except for her name. When she was eighteen years old, she was taken back by her uncle. Only then did she find out that she belonged to a prominent family in Kingstown.
Her mother, Su Han, got pregnant outside of marriage and disappeared eighteen years ago without any information. No one knew if she was still alive. Thinking of that, Mrs. Li did not look happy, and she glanced at Su Qianci coldly.
Su Qianci knew that Mrs. Li did not like her, so she did not respond. Su Qianci simply smiled at the ladies for talking about her. She quietly walked up and called Mrs. Li, "Mother."
Mrs. Li did not want to be nice to the girl, but they were still in public. She held back her discontent and nodded without any expression.
"Auntie, happy birthday!" It was Tang Mengying's voice.
Everyone saw Tang Mengying holding a big box walking over, with a huge smile on her face. Tang Mengying was very good-looking. Her eyebrows were delicate, and her eyes were huge. With a cute nose and sharp little chin—she looked like a doll with pink lips and smiley eyes.
Seeing Tang Mengying, Mrs. Li, who had no expression beforehand, immediately smiled and said, "Why are you here so early? You only came back from Australia a few days ago. You should have slept from the jet lag."
Tang Mengying stuck her tongue out in a cute way and said, "I have been back for a couple of days already. It is auntie's birthday, so how can I miss it just for sleep?" She smiled and went up to Mrs. Li, placing the big box on the coffee table among the ladies.
"What is this?"
"I admire that Mengying gives you a gift each year. We are also neighbors, but Mengying never paid such attention to us."
"Right, but I thought Tang Mengying would become your daughter-in-law... However..." Before Mrs. Zhang finished her sentence, she was hit on the hand by Mrs. Mo. Mrs. Zhang' s smile suddenly disappeared. She looked to Tang Mengying awkwardly and the latter blushed, seeming to feel embarrassed.
Very soon, everyone's eyes fell on Su Qianci. As if she had heard nothing, Su Qianci made eye contact with everyone, smiled and said, "Let me go prepare some fruit for you. Please sit."
"That's okay. The help will do that." Mrs. Li dialed back her smile and said, "Sit down, in case anyone says I am abusing my daughter-in-law."
Even an idiot could tell something was off.
Right, Su Qianci was an illegitimate daughter whose father was unknown. How come she got to marry into the most prominent family, the Li family?
If it were not for the insistence and even threats of Li Sicheng's grandfather, Captain Li, no one in the Li family would have agreed to the marriage. In the eyes of Mrs. Li, nothing about Su Qianci – no matter her education or her family – was a match for her son.
Su Qianci quietly found a remote spot to sit down, deliberately far from Mrs. Li.
In her previous lifetime, she had taken it for granted and sat next to Mrs. Li. However, she had been told to go away harshly, embarrassing herself and getting ridiculed by Tang Mengying.
Seeing that Su Qianci knew her place, Mrs. Li became less agitated. She quickly moved her eyesight away and saw the big box that was brought by Tang Mengying, smiling happily. "What did you prepare for me this time, Tang Mengying? You work so hard on your gift every time."