Chapter 295 - 267: Patience
Chapter 295: Chapter 267: Patience
"Go on, then. You’d better tell them the truth—all the nonsense you were spouting to me with that stupid grin on your face!"
Tian Sisi stomped her foot and was about to pull Gu Shaoling away, but Gu Shaoling shook her head. Frowning, she said to Xiao Man, "You’re going to marry into my family one day. This is my cousin, my relative. You should be more polite. Don’t offend her."
Xiao Man was so angry she laughed. "She’s *your* cousin. What does she have to do with me? If marrying into the Gu family means I can’t offend your cousin, then whoever wants to marry in can go right ahead. I’m not interested!"
"You!" Gu Shaoling was speechless.
Tian Sisi jumped in. "You’re already like that with my cousin Shaojun! You two have an engagement!"
"Oh, so you *do* know Gu Shaojun and I are engaged? I thought you were saying I used tricks and my feminine wiles to steal someone’s fiancé?"
"Of course you stole him!" Tian Sisi’s mind worked in strange ways, her logic leaping about without any issue. "All of this originally belonged to Xuanxuan. Then you showed up and stole everything from her! She’s pitiful enough as it is. How can you live with yourself? Aren’t you going to compensate her in some way?"
"Compensate?" Xiao Man looked at Gu Shaoling. "You think so too? You think it would be ’normal’ for Tang Yaxuan to take my place and stay with the Tang family, right? But I came back, so she had to leave. Now you can’t stand the sight of me. You pity her, you want to fight her battles for her... You even helped Jun Ran confess her feelings to Gu Shaojun! Gu Shaoling, are you targeting me? Taking a stand against me? If that’s the case, then from now on, you and I are strangers. We don’t know each other!"
Gu Shaoling’s eyes flickered as she argued, "Who’s targeting you? Sister Jun Ran has liked my older brother for a long time. She didn’t show it before because he was engaged to Xuanxuan. My grandparents took that engagement very seriously; it was set in stone that they would get married! But now Xuanxuan isn’t a daughter of the Tang family, and you’ve only just arrived. You and my brother don’t have any feelings for each other, so who knows if the engagement even counts anymore? Sister Jun Ran grew up with my brother and they’ve always been close. Of course she has the right to be with him! Besides, Sister Jun Ran said she’s competing with you fairly, not stealing him. Who my brother chooses in the end is his own choice!"
"So what if Sister Jun Ran *is* trying to steal him? You stole him from Xuanxuan, anyway! It’s like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Sister Jun Ran is prettier, more elegant, and more capable than you. She was headhunted by the TV station to work in that big building before she even graduated! How many people are green with envy over that? She’s even going to study abroad in the future! Only she is the perfect match for my dear cousin. What do you have to compete with Sister Jun Ran?"
Tian Sisi lifted her chin, looking down her nose at Xiao Man with a smug expression, as if she were boasting about herself and not Jun Ran.
Xiao Man looked at Tian Sisi with amusement. "Why should I compete with Jun Ran? Is there a prize if I win? And so what if she’s going abroad? That’ll be completely normal in the future! If I wanted to, I could go abroad every year, every month. I could even buy a house and settle down overseas!"
Tian Sisi glared at Xiao Man. "Stop bragging. As if someone like you could afford to go abroad."
"That’s enough, stop it." Gu Shaoling pulled Tian Sisi back. "The Tang family has the means. Even my Brother Shaolian and Brother Shaojin could support her to do that right now!"
Tian Sisi was confused. "Zheng Shaolian and Zheng Shaojin? Don’t they have to rely on your family?"
"Who said that? This is just their maternal grandmother’s house. Didn’t they change their surname back to Zheng a few years ago? They’ve already returned to their own clan; they have their own family!"
Gu Shaoling glanced at Xiao Man and continued, "Before the Liberation, the entire industry around the Tianjin Pier belonged to the Zheng Family. It’s state-owned now, but the Zheng Family still holds a lot of non-voting shares. Once Brother Shaolian and Brother Shaojin turn twenty, they’ll be able to own and manage the shares in their names! Tang Manman was found by Brother Shaolian. How could he not take care of her?"
’...’
’I never knew any of this,’ she thought. ’But since when do I, Mo Xiaoman, need anyone to take care of me?’
Seeing the naked jealousy and envy in Tian Sisi’s eyes, Xiao Man was disgusted. She said to Gu Shaoling, "Tell your cousin this: the next time we meet, we’re strangers! Don’t you dare talk about anything related to me. Otherwise, you’ll face the consequences!"
Gu Shaoling’s brows shot up. "Tang Manman, I’ve already told you, this is my cousin! Show some respect!"
"You don’t even rank with me, so why should I listen to you? Do you even know what respect is? Go ask your parents. Once you figure it out, then you can come talk to me!"
"Tang Manman, how dare you insult my aunt and uncle?"
Tian Sisi pointed at Xiao Man, her face a mask of shock. Gu Shaoling also glared at Xiao Man. "You have no manners! You’re a guest in my home. You’ve gone too far!"