Rebirth: I Am Not the Movie Queen This Time
Chapter 258: Hidden Secrets

Chapter 258: Chapter 258: Hidden Secrets

Lin Jiayi looked at Wan Chu’er with a beaming smile and exclaimed, "You really are beautiful, no wonder you’ve captivated Big Cousin’s eyes."

Jiang Lingling didn’t catch the sarcasm and cheerfully agreed, "Yes, Uncle’s family is very satisfied with the little cousin-in-law. Auntie likes her even more than Xiaoxiao."

The other three couldn’t help but smile, Lin Jiayi stifled a bit and could only smile and say, "Is that so?"

Originally, Lin Jiayi’s remarks were barbed, sarcastically implying that Wan Chu’er had nothing but her beauty to captivate Ke Chu, but Jiang Lingling completely misunderstood.

Jiang Xiaoxiao, recalling what Wan Chu’er had said earlier, became wary.

Lin Jiayi didn’t continue, just smilingly introduced herself, "Hello, my name is Lin Jiayi, I’m Xiaoxiao and Lingling’s cousin. You can call me Cousin like they do."

Wan Chu’er’s eyes shifted, and she lightly smiled, "Hello, my name is Wan Chu’er, but you should follow Jiang Lingling and call me little cousin-in-law, these are my two brothers."

Jiang Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment and hurriedly said, "Cousin, Chu’er is my brother’s girlfriend, she will be our sister-in-law in the future, how can she call you cousin?"

"Yes, cousin, you got it wrong," Jiang Lingling also naively thought Lin Jiayi was mistaken and chimed in laughing.

Lin Jiayi seemed to realize her mistake and covered her mouth, showing an embarrassed look.

"Sorry, I’ll just call you Chu’er then. You’re so young and beautiful, calling you sister-in-law sounds like you’re old. I’ll change it after you get married to Big Cousin, hehe, you don’t mind, right?" Lin Jiayi spoke teasingly.

Wan Chu’er responded indifferently, "Doesn’t matter."

Her reaction left Lin Jiayi somewhat frustrated, but it didn’t show on her face; Lin Jiayi instead warmly greeted Xiao Bai and Li Shan.

Jiang Lingling eagerly tried to introduce Xiao Bai to Lin Jiayi, "The little cousin-in-law’s cousin is really funny, he kept me laughing all the way."

Lin Jiayi: "... I wonder what Mr. Bai does?"

Xiao Bai smiled playfully, "I just mess around in Beijing, haven’t achieved anything yet."

Such an occasion, upon a first encounter, there’s no need to be too clear.

Lin Jiayi nodded slightly and smiled, "Lingling is young and quite naive, Mr. Bai, I hope you can take care of her."

Xiao Bai raised an eyebrow ambiguously, "Sure, sure."

Their exchange was only brief, yet quite a stunt was performed; unfortunately, Jiang Lingling was too naïve to notice anything and was eagerly pulling Xiao Bai to go have fun.

"Brother Yan, let’s go fishing, there’s a fish pond by the mountain."

Lin Jiayi helplessly said, "Lingling, it’s Chu’er’s first time here, we should accompany her, don’t run around everywhere."

Jiang Lingling always listened to Lin Jiayi, she looked at Xiao Bai, then at Wan Chu’er, and reluctantly pouted in agreement.

Lin Jiayi said, "Come, Chu’er, let me introduce you to a few friends."

Here it comes.

The show is about to start.

A glint lit up in Wan Chu’er’s eyes, she composedly said, "Sure."

So Lin Jiayi led her two cousins and Wan Chu’er toward a group of girls, she took a few steps, then looked back at Xiao Bai and Li Shan following, and stopped again.

"Mr. Bai and Mr. Li might prefer to go to the barbecue area, see if there’s anything you like, or maybe join in playing cards over there; it’s not convenient for the gentlemen when we girls are talking."

Lin Jiayi’s words sounded so sincere and apologetic, one could hardly impose.

Then Li Shan directly turned towards the swimming pool.

Alas, Lin Jiayi is truly the bane of straight men.

Xiao Bai could only smile and follow Li Shan.

The group of girls saw Lin Jiayi coming over and immediately shifted their attention to her.

One of the girls, wearing a green dress, pointed at Wan Chu’er and asked curiously, "Jiayi, is this the new girlfriend of your big cousin that you talked about?"

Lin Jiayi smiled and said, "Yes, her name is Wan Chu’er, and it’s her first time attending such a gathering, please take care of her."

Upon hearing this, the girls exchanged glances and then looked at Wan Chu’er with unclear intentions.

Someone joked with Lin Jiayi, "She’s really beautiful, no wonder your cousin isn’t interested in anyone else."

The others laughed, as if only they knew the secret, isolating Wan Chu’er from the group.

Little did they know that Wan Chu’er was not only undiscouraged but also asked aloud, "Others? Are they your friends? Is there someone else who likes Jiang Kechu too? You guys wouldn’t be trying to stand up for a friend and then laugh at me, would you?"

They wanted to play their clique games, deliberately excluding and isolating her, and it was up to her whether she would comply.

Wan Chu’er’s sudden outspokenness stunned the group, as nobody expected her to be so direct.

A few girls changed their expressions slightly, everyone toned down their smiles, and looked at Lin Jiayi.

Lin Jiayi responded quickly, she smiled and said, "Chuchu, don’t listen to them. They love to joke. It’s normal for many people to like cousin because he is outstanding. You should feel proud."

Wan Chu’er also smiled, "Hehe, I was just kidding. Don’t mind me, everyone."

The atmosphere became somewhat stiff as everyone looked at each other.

Jiang Xiaoxiao realized that this group of people, led by Lin Jiayi, was not well-intentioned towards Wan Chu’er.

She then said, "Didn’t cousin say there are lots of fun things here? It’s boring to just stand and talk here, how about we go play volleyball?"

Playing might give them less time to play their mind games.

The girl in the green dress said "Ah" and frowned, "We are all wearing dresses, it’s inconvenient to play ball, and playing would make us sweaty, I really hate sweating."

Lin Jiayi wrapped her arm around Jiang Xiaoxiao, laughing, "Let’s not play ball then. It’s Chuchu’s first time at this kind of gathering; it’s more proper to get to know more people."

Then she introduced everyone present to Wan Chu’er one by one, leaving Jiang Xiaoxiao no room to interject further.

"This is Ye Yin, her family is in the food business, the Tian Tian Food that is always advertised on TV belongs to her family."

"This is Anning, both her parents work at the National Petroleum Group, her dad is actually the general manager of the group."

"This is Zhan Yuting, Yuting’s mom is a national treasure-level dancer, often goes abroad for performances."

"This is Li Meilin, Meilin’s dad is the deputy director of the National Sports Bureau."

...

When introduced by Lin Jiayi, each one of them displayed an air of arrogant nonchalance.

Unfortunately, Wan Chu’er was not a naive rural girl; contrary to their expectations, she was not constrained, envious, or insecure. She was merely indifferent.

As if hearing about today’s sunny weather, without any emotional fluctuation.

So someone couldn’t hold back, and Zhan Yuting couldn’t help asking, "May I ask what your family does? Miss Wan, you have a very unique air about you."

Wan Chu’er responded with poise, "My parents have passed away, and currently, I live with my retired grandfather, earning a bit of extra money during my spare time to support myself."

Li Meilin chuckled slightly, "Oh, it’s like a Cinderella story then. Well, coming here today is worth it for you, take a good look around."

Others also showed a hint of disdain, and someone even sighed, "It’s a pity that Shen Qian actually lost to such a person."

Suddenly a female voice interrupted from the side.

"It’s a pity, what pity?"

Everyone turned around, Anning exclaimed in surprise, "Shen Qian, you came! I thought you said you weren’t coming."