Qiao Xi covered her face and cried. "All of you don't like me. I'm an outsider, and the Qiao family is unwilling to accept me. Even when I came back, the security guards wouldn't let me in. Dad kept saying that he hoped I would come back, but he refused to pick up the phone. He even complained that I was late!"
Gu Zheng, who was pretending to be a bodyguard at the side: "..."
Mrs. Gu's ability to act weak had improved again.
If he had not heard Mrs. Gu's thoughts, he would have been deceived by her acting skills.
Half an hour ago, the two of them had already arrived at the Qiao family's villa.
Gu Zheng looked at his watch. "It's supposed to start at 7:30 pm. It's already 8 pm."
Qiao Xi had an indifferent expression. "Even if I arrive on time, Qiao Zhenguo will still send people to stop me. He just wants me to be late so that everyone will think I'm unfilial and rude."
"Do you see those security guards? I bet they'll stop me."
As expected, Qiao Xi had just taken a few steps when the security guards stopped her. They even said that the Qiao family only had one daughter, which was Qiao Rou. They told her to scram as far as she could.
Qiao Xi retreated unhurriedly, took out a mirror and a blush from her bag. She carefully touched up her makeup. "I already guessed it. They want me to be unable to raise my head in Li City University once this banquet is over."
Gu Zheng's eyes were slightly cold. "Those students will naturally be angry after waiting for so long. At that time, the people you'll have to face won't just be the Qiao family."
These students were young and rash. They might do something later.
They would not think about why Qiao Xi was late at all. They only knew that it was her fault for being late, and she had to pay the price.
Qiao Xi smiled. "What are you afraid of? These people can't cause trouble because my people are among them!"
...
At this moment, Gu Zheng's gaze was on Xue Yi. It must be her.
She was a daughter of the Xue family and a musical genius.
Was this who Qiao Xi was talking about?
The faces of the Qiao family members turned livid. They did not expect that Qiao Xi would actually expose them in front of everyone.
The little b*tch had learned her lesson. She knew how to tolerate things now?
Qiao Rou cursed in her heart. Previously, when Qiao Xi was innocent, she had never explained herself. Hence, she would try her best to slander Qiao Xi and ruin her reputation. She thought that Qiao Xi would quietly endure it, but she never expected that she would actually cry at the banquet.
Qiao Xi ran away while crying, but Xue Yi grabbed her first.
Xue Yi's expression was cold as her gaze landed on Qiao Zhenguo. "So it's not that Qiao Xi was unfilial that she was late but President Qiao got the security guards to stop her and deliberately did not pick up her calls?
"I've been in the university for so long. I heard that Qiao Xi is gentle, polite, and very talented. How could she possibly be late on purpose?
"So President Qiao was the one who forbade Qiao Xi from entering and even scolded her when she entered. This was your plan all along, wasn't it? What right do you have to scold her?"
Xue Yi looked at Qiao Rou and sighed.
"I understand. You must be doing this for your illegitimate daughter. If Qiao Xi is too outstanding, your illegitimate daughter will be suppressed. However, if you make it seem that Qiao Xi has a bad character, then your illegitimate daughter will be praised.
"So for Qiao Rou, you have to destroy Qiao Xi first. President Qiao, you're a good player!"
The entire venue was silent, and even everyone's breathing could be heard. Everyone was extremely anxious.
If it were anyone else, they would have retorted long ago, but the person who spoke was Xue Yi. Whoever dared to speak out would be going against the Xue family in the capital.
The Qiao family also knew Xue Yi's background and naturally did not dare to offend her, so they remained silent.
Qiao Rou's face turned ashen as she bit her lip.
This Xue Yi actually... reprimanded her for being an illegitimate daughter?
If it were not for Qiao Xi and her sl*tty mother blocking the way, she would be the legitimate eldest daughter of the Qiao family.
Qiao Xi was mischievous and unqualified to be the Qiao family's eldest daughter. She should have died a long time ago.
At this moment, Old Madam Qiao coughed and pulled Qiao Rou to her side. She patted her hand to comfort her, then looked coldly at the crowd.
"Since we invited Qiao Xi back, we couldn't have sent the security guards to stop her. She was late and found a random reason to malign Zhenguo and Rou Rou. Quickly apologize!"
Xue Yi's expression turned cold.. She was about to retort when she was stopped by Qiao Xi.