Chapter 17: Expose Her!

When Gu Mianmian saw Xiao Yiling approaching, she didn't put up any guard at all, and that slap landed squarely and viciously on her face.

The sharp "smack" made everyone around stop what they were doing, and even the air fell silent.

The crowd stared at Xiao Yiling in utter astonishment; some of them knew her, and they were especially shocked: "Xiao Yiling, what are you doing?"

"Yiling, why did you suddenly hit Mianmian? Are you out of your mind?"

"Weren't you and Mianmian best friends…"

"Xiao Yiling, you were invited tonight too. Fine that you didn't come, but the moment you arrive you start hitting people? That's too much!"

Amid the chorus of accusations, Gu Mianmian barely had to do anything—just putting on that innocent, pitiful expression with teary eyes was already heartbreaking enough.

She whimpered pitifully: "Yiling, did I do something to upset you? Tell me, and I'll change, okay? Just please don't be angry with me…"

Seeing her so gentle and kind, even speaking up for Xiao Yiling, the crowd grew even more outraged: "Xiao Yiling, what's wrong with you? Did you take the wrong medicine today?!"

Xiao Yiling was already trembling all over with rage. Looking at Gu Mianmian's face—the same face she had once trusted—her eyes burned with fury: "Gu Mianmian! Haven't you put on enough of an act?! I really regret only seeing your true colors now!"

"…What on earth are you talking about?"

Xiao Yiling clenched her fists tightly: "Keep pretending, will you? How are you such a good actress? How did I ever misjudge you before? I was completely led around by the nose!"

She cried out to the crowd: "Do you all know that Gu Mianmian has been lying to me every single day?! She tricked me so terribly!"

"What's going on? What did she lie to you about?"

"Tell us, spell it out, and we'll judge for ourselves…"

Everyone seemed to see that Xiao Yiling had truly reached her breaking point.

And there was no calming her down anytime soon.

Although Xiao Yiling had always been a somewhat foolish, domineering, and unreasonable rich young lady, she wouldn't normally do something like this in front of so many people.

Besides, Gu Mianmian was still the Gu Family Daughter—even if not by blood, in everyone's eyes she was no different from a real one.

With Xiao Yiling acting like this, they couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Gu Mianmian's white-lotus act disgusted Xiao Yiling: "She used to tell me that Gu Wenyan liked another man, so she wanted to run from the marriage, and that the wedding with the Bo Family was bound to fail too…"

"She also said that the Bo Family Head despised Gu Wenyan, and that he only wanted to marry her because he saw her as a gullible fool."

"But guess what?! The Bo Family Head's marriage to Gu Wenyan is already a done deal, and he even gave her such an expensive necklace! His feelings for Gu Wenyan are real love—nothing like the fake relationship Gu Mianmian described!"

"And behind my back, Gu Mianmian always complained to me that her sister was someone who came back from the countryside, didn't know manners, and was vulgar—but in reality… Gu Wenyan is both elegant and beautiful!"

Xiao Yiling said in furious exasperation: "So tell me, what was Gu Mianmian's purpose in lying like this? I understand now—she wanted all of us to hate Gu Wenyan so she could secure her position as the Gu Family Daughter. After all, she's only an adopted one, while Gu Wenyan is the real, true Gu Family Daughter!"

Driven by the thought that if she wasn't going to have a good time, neither should Gu Mianmian, Xiao Yiling thought about how she had believed Gu Mianmian's slander and now become a thorn in Bao Sihan's side—her family's company might even go bankrupt…

She hated! Even in death, she would drag someone down with her and take fierce revenge on Gu Mianmian!

But the people around, upon hearing Xiao Yiling's words, were all shocked. They looked at Gu Mianmian, then at Xiao Yiling, and felt it couldn't possibly be true.

After all, Gu Mianmian's kind and harmless image had sunk too deeply into their hearts.

"I've met Mianmian's sister too—she's just a country girl…"

Xiao Yiling scoffed: "Hmph! A country girl. If you actually met her, you'd know—the real can't be faked, and the fake can never pass for the real thing!"

But after her initial panic, Gu Mianmian quickly came up with a solution. Big tears fell one after another as she suppressed the sound of her crying: "I never said those things. I don't understand why you're suddenly venting all this at me…"

"Huh? Still not admitting it? Fine, you're really good at acting! Let's see how long you can keep it up. Anyway, when you all deal with her in the future, you'd better keep your guard up, or one day you'll end up just like me!"

The phone in Xiao Yiling's bag kept ringing. She knew her end was coming. Before leaving, she gave the crowd one final warning: "If any of you see Gu Wenyan in the future and don't drop that arrogant attitude of yours, you… will fare even worse than me."

These people still didn't know what had happened that afternoon, so they listened in a fog.

After watching Xiao Yiling leave, they all gathered around to comfort Gu Mianmian, but while comforting her… they couldn't help mulling over what Xiao Yiling had said.

Some words are like needles—even if they don't draw blood on the spot, they've already pierced the heart…

That very evening, Bo Group released an announcement of its acquisition of Xiao Electronics. The moment the announcement came out, the entire business world—especially the electronics industry—was in an uproar.

But the chairman of Xiao Electronics refused all interviews, stating that he would emigrate with his wife and daughter, resign from his post, and never again involve himself in related business…

Only then did the people at the birthday banquet finally understand what had happened.

That night, Gu Wenyan went to sleep quite early. When she woke up and saw the news, she wasn't surprised—Bao Sihan had promised her, and he would certainly deliver.

Coming out of her room and going downstairs for breakfast, she sent Bao Sihan a message along the way, expressing her appreciation.

Halfway through typing the message, Gu Wenyan looked up and saw the scene before her, and the smile at her lips faded a little.

Gu Mianmian was wearing a pure, innocent white dress, leaning against her mother and softly complaining.

The mother patted her shoulder comfortingly, heart aching for her.

"Mommy… maybe don't go ask Sister about it, okay? She probably didn't do it on purpose."

"How can I not ask? If she deliberately led others to slander you, this matter must be dealt with seriously!"

As she spoke, she caught sight of Gu Wenyan, whose expression was cool and indifferent.

Having just woken up with a completely bare face, Gu Wenyan's skin was astonishingly good—translucent and porcelain-white, glowing like jade.

Jealousy flashed in Gu Mianmian's eyes. To maintain her current skin tone and condition, she had to spend an enormous amount of money on skincare treatments, but Gu Wenyan…

She had once deliberately dragged Gu Wenyan to the seaside to sunbathe without sunscreen for several days, yet Gu Wenyan hadn't tanned at all!

And usually Gu Wenyan just washed her face casually, yet her skin was still this good—it was so unfair!

"Wen Yan." Mother Ye Yiwen spoke up with a touch of severity as well. "Come here. Mommy wants to ask you something."