Chapter 51: Qu Xiaoxiao Gets Beaten (Please vote for monthly tickets!!!)

The next day, Guan Ju'er brought her mother and father to Room 2202. Seeing her daughter living in such a cramped room, Mother Guan was heartbroken.

However, in front of Fan Shengmei and Qiu Yingying, Mother Guan said nothing.

After touring her daughter's residence, Mother Guan and Father Guan felt relieved. After sitting for a while, they suggested taking Guan Ju'er out for a meal, as they had to return to their hometown that afternoon.

Fan Shengmei and Qiu Yingying were tactful enough not to interfere, both claiming they already had plans.

Once Guan Ju'er's family had left, Qiu Yingying couldn't help but remark with emotion.

"Sister Fan, did you notice? Guan Guan's parents are so cultured. When they saw Guan Guan living in such a small shared room, their eyes were full of heartache, yet they didn't say a single word. Compared to Qu Xiaoxiao's parents, they are worlds apart."

Fan Shengmei nodded. "Of course. Don't let Guan Guan's quiet demeanor fool you; she is a true lady of a distinguished family. Just look at the way she walks and eats—it's enough for us to study for a long time. That is called foundation; it's not something those nouveau riche can compare to."

As luck would have it, Qu Xiaoxiao came out to take out the trash just as she heard this, and the three of them bumped right into each other.

"Who are you calling nouveau riche?" Qu Xiaoxiao roared in a fit of rage.

Fan Shengmei did not back down either. She had long been annoyed by Qu Xiaoxiao—after all, she was just a rich second generation from a nouveau riche family, so what was there to flaunt? Combined with the incident with Wang Baichuan, this was a direct hit to her pride.

"Who we're talking about, who knows?"

Qu Xiaoxiao completely exploded. "You gold-digger! You're in your thirties and still daydreaming every day. Do you really think wealthy people would look twice at someone like you? Save it, before you end up fishing for some mistress or sidepiece!"

Hearing this, Qiu Yingying was displeased and moved to argue with Qu Xiaoxiao.

Fan Shengmei, however, remained calm. She stopped Qiu Yingying, walked up to Qu Xiaoxiao, and said word by word

"That's right. I went on blind dates before because I wanted to use men to leapfrog social classes. I admit I am vain and realistic, but every cent I spend is earned through my own hard work. What about you? Aside from being born into a nouveau riche family, what do you have to be proud of? That pathetic little company of yours—if Andy hadn't been soft-hearted enough to help you, would you have even landed that project?"

"I work at a foreign firm during the day and do live-stream sales at night. I earn hundreds of thousands a year. Just like I don't need to rely on men to buy a house and establish myself in Shanghai, what about you? Without your parents, you're just a useless parasite waiting to die!"

Qu Xiaoxiao was incensed and wanted to lash out, but comparing her physique to Fan Shengmei's, she didn't dare to get physical.

Just then, Andy returned from outside and quickly stepped between the two.

With Andy acting as a buffer, Qu Xiaoxiao actually grew bolder and reached out to grab Fan Shengmei's hair.

However, Qu Xiaoxiao forgot one thing: Andy was extremely averse to physical contact. When she saw Qu Xiaoxiao and Fan Shengmei engaging in a physical altercation, her first instinct was not to pull them apart, but to step aside.

Seeing that Qu Xiaoxiao actually dared to lay hands on her, Fan Shengmei flew into a rage and swung a slap.

With her small frame, Qu Xiaoxiao was no match for Fan Shengmei's strength; the slap sent her reeling, completely disoriented.

Not yet satisfied, Fan Shengmei delivered another slap.

Only then did Qiu Yingying realize what was happening and stepped in to separate them. Qu Xiaoxiao wailed loudly; she had never suffered such a grievance in her life. It was one thing to be insulted, but to actually lose a fight was another.

Having vented her anger, Fan Shengmei stopped hitting her and stared coldly at Qu Xiaoxiao.

Seeing that the situation was temporarily under control, Andy pulled at Qu Xiaoxiao's clothes. "Stop crying. If there's something to discuss, come to my place. Both of you, calm down first."

Qu Xiaoxiao looked at Andy pitifully.

Andy felt helpless, her gaze shifting between Fan Shengmei and Qu Xiaoxiao.

"If you are unwilling, there is nothing I can do."

Qu Xiaoxiao had no choice but to follow Andy to Room 2201. As soon as she entered, she clutched her face and howled.

"Andy, why didn't you stop her just now? You just let her hit me like that!"

Andy's lip twitched. "But... you were the one who moved first."

"Andy, wahhh~~~ Are we still best friends?" Qu Xiaoxiao cried even harder.

Andy could only hand her a tissue. "Is there some misunderstanding here? Why did you get into a conflict with Xiao Fan?"

"She called me... she said my family is nouveau riche and lacks upbringing, and she said all sorts of other nasty things. Of course I wasn't going to take that lying down, so I argued with her!" The more Qu Xiaoxiao thought about it, the angrier she got, wishing she could rush back and fight Fan Shengmei to the death.

Andy frowned upon hearing this. "It's indeed not very good for Xiao Fan to speak ill of people behind their backs. However, if your parents truly said such things in front of Qiu Yingying and Guan Guan, they were indeed lacking in manners."

Qu Xiaoxiao felt completely betrayed. "Andy, whose side are you actually on?"

"I love my friends, but I love the truth more." Fearing Qu Xiaoxiao wouldn't understand, Andy specifically translated Aristotle's famous quote into Chinese.

Knowing she wouldn't get any comfort from Andy today, Qu Xiaoxiao could only say through gritted teeth, "I'm not done with her!"

Andy frowned slightly. "Can't you two just coexist peacefully?"

"No! From now on, it's either me or her!" Qu Xiaoxiao yelled.

Andy shook her head helplessly and stopped paying attention to Qu Xiaoxiao, returning to her book.

Qu Xiaoxiao returned home, wiping her tears in misery. The more she thought, the angrier she became. She took out her phone and called Yao Bin.

"Hello, help me look something up. My neighbor, Fan Shengmei—she says she does live-stream sales and earns hundreds of thousands a year. Find out which company she works for."

Yao Bin, unaware of what had happened, asked curiously, "You're not going to take such a small amount of money to heart, are you? What are you planning?"

Qu Xiaoxiao said through gritted teeth, "That woman actually dared to hit me. I'm going to cut off her source of income and make her kneel before me begging for mercy! Otherwise, my hatred won't be appeased."

"What? She hit you? Xiaoxiao, there's no need to go to such trouble. I'll just find a few guys..."

Before Yao Bin could finish, Qu Xiaoxiao interrupted irritably, "Are you an idiot? We live in a society governed by law. What good will a few thugs do? Would they dare to kill? Can you guarantee they won't use this to threaten us later? Use your brain, big brother! I want to teach her a lesson, not screw myself or my parents!"

"Alright, alright, I'll look it up for you right now!"

After hanging up, Qu Xiaoxiao looked in the mirror at the red handprints on her face, wincing in pain.

"Just you wait. If I don't make you kneel and beg for mercy, I'll write my own name backward!"

In the afternoon, after seeing her parents off, Guan Ju'er returned to Room 2202. Hearing Qiu Yingying's vivid retelling of Fan Shengmei hitting Qu Xiaoxiao, she couldn't help but feel worried; she knew all too well how vengeful Qu Xiaoxiao could be.

(End of Chapter)