Chapter 15

"It was all set! What do you mean by standing me up today?!"

Chen Siqi said furiously to the person on the other end of the phone.

It was unclear what the other person said, but Chen Siqi hung up the phone in anger, her face, covered in exquisite makeup, filled with rage.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

Liu Weian said through the door: "Siqi, are you ready? The guests have already arrived."

Hearing Liu Weian's voice, Chen Siqi frowned in extreme irritation and glared at the door with disgust, but her tone was obedient and docile: "I'll be ready in a moment."

"By the way, when are your classmates arriving? I didn't see any of your classmates downstairs."

Chen Siqi clenched her fists tightly.

The two people she had agreed upon earlier had both stood her up today, leaving only Lu Yan He...

Would he come?

Chen Siqi let go of her hands and said: "They're on their way."

"Alright, then remind them to hurry up, don't miss singing the birthday song for you." Liu Weian said and left.

Chen Siqi held her phone, wanting to call Lu Yan He, but as she gripped it, she didn't dare to make the call.

She was afraid of hearing Lu Yan He tell her that he couldn't come either.

Then, for today's birthday party, she wouldn't have a single friend attending.

Chen Siqi pursed her lips stubbornly, and another figure suddenly appeared in her mind.

Xu Zijun.

Since she could pay for her answers, perhaps she could also pay to invite her to the birthday party?

Although... Chen Siqi's mind conjured up Xu Zijun's chubby figure and black-rimmed glasses.

Such an image would definitely be discussed privately by the people at the venue.

How could her, Chen Siqi's, friend have such an image?

But it was better than having no friends at all.

Chen Siqi hardened her heart, made a decision, found Xu Zijun's WeChat, and sent her a message.

It was getting late, and she couldn't hide in her room any longer.

Chen Siqi stood up and walked toward the door with a sullen face.

The moment she opened the door, a sweet smile had already replaced the expression on her face.

Liu Weian was wearing an exceptionally grand velvet gown today, embroidered with gorgeous diamonds and silver threads, making her look radiant.

At this grand party with many guests, she greeted every guest with the posture of a hostess.

"Weian, now that I've come over today, I'm truly impressed by you." A woman, also wearing clothes from a major brand's new season, said to Liu Weian with great emotion in front of seven or eight other women, "To host that little girl Chen Siqi's birthday party so grandly—if it were me, I really wouldn't have the mood. Only you would be willing to put in such effort."

Everyone exchanged a look that said, "we know what you mean."

—She's just a stepdaughter, not her own flesh and blood.

Liu Weian smiled gently and said: "Siqi's biological mother passed away early. Without a mother's care, although I am not her birth mother, after these few years, I have developed a lot of affection for her. A girl's eighteenth birthday is very precious, so of course, I have to help her host it properly."

"I heard from my daughter that Siqi always seems to be a loner at school and doesn't have many friends." Another woman suddenly said, "Weian, is her personality a bit withdrawn?"

Liu Weian showed an expression of surprise, "Really? She always tells me that she has many friends at school and that quite a few friends are coming to her birthday party today. Xiao Lin, why would you think Siqi has no friends at school?"

Li Lin stood beside her mother and said with a generous posture: "Auntie Weian, because whenever I see Siqi at school, she's always by herself."

"I really haven't heard of anyone who is close to Siqi either." Someone immediately said, "Weian, you should still pay more attention. After all, her biological mother died early; children like that are always prone to psychological problems, aren't they?"

"You all are exaggerating too much, how could that be!" Liu Weian immediately said, "Her friends from school will be coming to the party today; you will see them very soon."

"Is that so? How come I haven't seen any of them?" Li Lin looked around, "I haven't seen any of our schoolmates either."

"They said they were on their way." Liu Weian gave Li Lin a deep look and said.

The women gathered together to chat.

At this moment, someone suddenly said: "Siqi has grown into a young woman! She's getting prettier and prettier!"

This voice attracted everyone's attention.

Chen Siqi held up her skirt and walked down the stairs gracefully. As more and more people cast their gazes toward her, she became more nervous, trying harder to maintain her beauty and elegance.

But she was only an eighteen-year-old high school student, still possessing a sense of youthful innocence.

This gave her posture a bit of a girl's self-restraint.

She revealed a smile she tried to keep perfect and bowed in greeting to everyone present.

Chen Siqi was very beautiful.

Li Lin looked at that face, and the jealousy in her heart couldn't help but spread.

Because of their parents' relationship, they had known each other since they were young, and because of this, people around them often compared them.

Li Lin had a round face, while Chen Siqi had a thin, oval face. When they were young, Li Lin was round and cute, while Chen Siqi looked like she was malnourished, so everyone praised Li Lin for being better-looking. However, as they slowly grew up and their bodies began to slim down, the difference between the two became prominent.

The little girl who was once so thin she looked malnourished had grown into a girl with fair skin and a bright, moving appearance, while the little girl who was once round and cute, although she hadn't grown up ugly, could only slowly receive evaluations like "sunny, bright, generous, and proper."

Li Lin was jealous of Chen Siqi.

Therefore, she had been sparing no effort to lower everyone's evaluation of Chen Siqi.

Liu Weian glanced at Li Lin lightly and immediately stood by Chen Siqi's side, taking her hand.

Chen Siqi wanted to dodge, but couldn't.

"Siqi, come, let me take you to greet the aunties first; they all watched you grow up." Liu Weian said with a smile.

Chen Siqi glanced at her father.

Her father was standing with someone else, talking and laughing, his eyes looking at her.

Seeing her look over, he signaled with his eyes for her to follow Liu Weian.

Chen Siqi's heart sank.

Over the past few years, Liu Weian had completely captured her father's heart. He firmly believed that everything Liu Weian said and did was for her own good.

Chen Siqi wanted to change all this and wanted to expose Liu Weian's true face.

But she had never succeeded.

Liu Weian was too good at pretending.

"Siqi, just now your aunties were asking if you have a withdrawn personality at school, hearing that you don't have any friends at school, and Li Lin also said that you are always a loner at school. Hurry and explain to the aunties what is going on." She said while hugging Chen Siqi's shoulder.

To protect the face of the Liu family, the two stood on a unified front of shared interests.

Chen Siqi's face darkened, and she looked at Li Lin, who was standing on the side, with a cold gaze.

Li Lin immediately showed an innocent expression and said: "Siqi, I didn't say that. It was clearly my mother who misunderstood what I meant. I only said that you usually don't walk with others, but I didn't say you had a withdrawn personality."

Chen Siqi smiled "magnanimously" and said: "It's fine. After all, you are an art student, and the cultural course score requirements aren't high, so you might not understand how busy we students who have to take the college entrance exam are. Where would we have time to play and walk with friends after school? We are all racing against time to study."

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(End of chapter)