Volume One, Chapter 17: The One Snatching the Dress Is Her Own Mother?

“Ms. Zhang?”

“Waaah, you’re bullying me! You’re all bullying me!”

Li Qiang frowned. He had only come to deliver a message; he never expected the young girl to try to scam him.

“Ms. Zhang, there’s no need for you to leave. Please return to your workstation and continue working.”

“Waaah... you’re all so mean...”

Zhang Li’s eyes widened, thinking she had misheard him. “What did you say?!”

Li Qiang explained patiently, “The president heard about what happened yesterday. He said you have a strong sense of justice, which is exactly the kind of employee Cheng Group needs. Your probation period is over. Starting tomorrow, you will officially become a member of Cheng Group.”

Justice, though delayed, has arrived?

President Cheng is too generous!

Even a lowly employee like her has been noticed?!

Zhang Li blinked, lost in daydreams.

Li Qiang, tired of watching her daze off, had many tasks to attend to. He took a few steps but was suddenly pulled back by Zhang Li.

“Thank you, Assistant Li! I will work hard!”

Meeting Zhang Li’s sparkling eyes, Li Qiang cleared his throat twice, broke free, and quickened his pace.

Does this little girl not know about boundaries between men and women?

Her actions could easily be misunderstood.

Thankfully, he was a gentleman with no time for romance.

Otherwise, this girl would be in trouble.

At the Ximen Grand Hotel.

Yu Yaxuan wore a white dress, graceful and elegant, with light makeup that gave her the aura of a noblewoman.

Cheng Zhengchu was dressed in a suit, exuding a cold, aloof dignity. His handsome face was expressionless, sending a chill with just one glance.

Following behind them was Cheng Miaomiao, in a purple cocktail dress, beaming brightly.

For the first time in twenty-three years, the family was together in perfect harmony.

The three of them were strikingly attractive, drawing admiring glances from passersby.

“Miaomiao, why are you dressed like this for dinner?”

Yu Yaxuan, wearing an evening gown for the first time, felt uncomfortable and out of place.

The dress was beautiful, but she was no longer a twenty-year-old girl. Why dress so elegantly?

“Mom, this is one of Yun City’s most upscale restaurants. You have to wear formal attire to dine here. Besides, you look great in a dress. Why wouldn’t you wear one?”

“Won’t it be expensive here?” Yu Yaxuan glanced at the decor, feeling hesitant. “It’s just a meal. We could go somewhere else.”

The hotel was magnificent and luxurious, with crystal chandeliers that spoke of wealth. A meal here was undoubtedly pricey.

“President Cheng gave Dad a membership card, so dining here is quite affordable. Right, Dad?”

“Mm,” Cheng Zhengchu replied softly and strode inside.

He was dressed more casually today in a modest brand suit, chosen deliberately to suit his current status.

“Sorry, ma’am, the first floor is fully booked for a birthday party. If you want to go to the second floor, you’ll need to show a membership card,” the waiter respectfully stopped Chen Xiaoli.

Chen Xiaoli immediately lost her temper. “What do you mean by that? I’m giving your restaurant face by coming here, and you won’t even let me in? Is this how you treat your guests? Call your manager! I want to file a complaint!”

“Ma’am, this is hotel policy. Calling the manager won’t help.”

Yu Yaxuan saw this and pulled Cheng Zhengchu back, “Forget it, let’s go somewhere else. This place is fully booked.”

Chen Xiaoli, ready to argue further, turned at the familiar voice, only to meet Yu Yaxuan’s infuriating face.

She was dressed in a white evening gown, majestic and noble, radiating an air of high status.

Chen Xiaoli gritted her teeth in anger.

That dress was bought with her husband’s money!

“Wretched woman, you just can’t stay away from me, can you? You think dressing up like that means you can just walk right in? The place is fully booked, the second floor requires a membership card. Do you have one? Are you qualified to be here?”

Chen Xiaoli sneered coldly, “Don’t think that just because you’re wearing haute couture you’re some kind of superior. You’re poor at heart; no matter how well you dress, it reeks of poverty!”

Cheng Zhengchu’s face instantly turned cold. “You again? Didn’t Bai Liang teach you a lesson last time?”

“Don’t bring up that loser! He acts like a dog begging for scraps in front of this wretched woman, and even fought me for her! You’re useless too. Your own woman is wearing clothes bought by another man, and you dare show your face? If I were you, I’d have jumped in the river long ago!”

“You parade around like you own the world! Married a promiscuous slut! And you’re proud of that? Ridiculous!”

Chen Xiaoli unleashed days of pent-up resentment in a torrent of accusations.

Cheng Zhengchu said nothing and simply produced his membership card.

“Security, escort this lunatic out. Don’t let her ruin my dining experience.”

The waiter, seeing the supreme black card in Cheng Zhengchu’s hand, immediately became respectful and called security to remove Chen Xiaoli.

“Throw this woman out. If she dares to insult my esteemed guests again, call the police at once!”

“Sir, madam, miss, please this way.”

Seeing the stark difference in the waitstaff’s attitudes toward herself and Cheng Zhengchu, Chen Xiaoli couldn’t believe her ears.

“His membership card is fake. He’s just a poor electrician. How could he possibly have a membership card here?”

Before Chen Xiaoli could continue her rant, security had already dragged her out.

Thrown onto the street like a shrew, she was about to get up and keep arguing when she saw Bai Liang storming toward her.

“Husband.”

“Smack!”

Bai Liang slapped her hard, gritting his teeth in hatred. “Wretched woman! I told you not to mess with people you shouldn’t, but you didn’t listen, did you? We’re getting a divorce immediately!”

He had just started work when HR sent him a message saying his wife was vulgar and that he need not come in.

His three-million-yuan-a-year job was ruined by this spendthrift woman!

Chen Xiaoli was bewildered. She had only insulted Yu Yaxuan, offending no one else.

Thinking about Bai Liang’s relationship with Yu Yaxuan, she flared up with anger.

“I’ve been with you for twenty years. Have you been fair to me? When Yu Yaxuan abandoned you, I stayed by your side. Everything you have now is because of me! And now you hit me for another woman? Do you have any conscience?”

“You’re completely unreasonable!”

Bai Liang was tired of arguing and dragged Chen Xiaoli to the civil affairs bureau.

Chen Xiaoli never imagined Bai Liang would divorce her over this.

In her heart, she marked Yu Yaxuan as her enemy for life.

Swearing they would never coexist peacefully.

Meanwhile, Lin Baozhu had struggled to find a dress that barely met her expectations, but it was worlds apart from the one she had missed out on before.

“To be honest, your Lin family doesn’t deserve the Xie family. The Xie family is a prominent name in Yun City. Not just anyone can be a Xie daughter-in-law,” Tian Fenglian said disdainfully as she accepted the gift from Xie Zhiqi and glanced coldly at Lin Baozhu nearby.

Given Lin Baozhu’s background, she shouldn’t even be attending her grandson’s birthday banquet, but he had begged her.

Even so, she wasn’t about to relent easily.

Lin Baozhu was distracted when she suddenly spotted the dress she had been longing for and immediately rushed over.

Was that the buyer of the exquisite white gown?

But why did that figure seem so familiar?

Her steps unconsciously drew closer, and she happened to meet Yu Yaxuan’s beautiful eyes.

Lin Baozhu froze. “Mom?”