Rebirth: I Am Not the Movie Queen This Time
Chapter 296: Living Unrestrained (Fourth Update)

Chapter 296: Chapter 296: Living Unrestrained (Fourth Update)

As Second Aunt Jiang and Third Aunt Jiang spoke until they were almost out of breath and their hearts pounded in fear, Wan Chu’er finally said:

"This matter has nothing to do with you. It’s Lin Jiayi who wanted to harm others but ended up shooting herself in the foot. I’m someone who clearly distinguishes love from hate, and from now on I no longer acknowledge Lin Jiayi and her mother."

Hearing this, both Second Aunt Jiang and Third Aunt Jiang sighed in relief and felt a lingering fear, realizing that Miss Wan Chu’er was not someone to be trifled with.

From now on, when it comes to this young lady’s affairs, they would rather stay out of it and keep their mouths shut, as any misstep would not only leave them without any gains but force them to retract each statement they had made, which would be a rather unpleasurable experience indeed.

Jiang Xiaoxiao didn’t want to see her two aunts suffer any further embarrassment here, so she said to Mai Qiqi and Wan Chu’er, "How about we go to my room to talk?"

Mai Qiqi and Wan Chu’er, of course, understood what Jiang Xiaoxiao meant. Both of them liked her and didn’t want to see her in a difficult position, so they immediately agreed.

Wan Chu’er bid farewell to Old Sir Zhong, "Grandpa, Qiqi, Xiaoxiao, and I will go upstairs to chat for a while. Call me if you need anything."

Old Sir Zhong replied, "Go ahead, I’ll have a word with an old friend too."

Elder Mai, who was nearby, heard Old Sir Zhong refer to him as an "old friend," and his face brightened with a more radiant smile. He waved at Wan Chu’er and his granddaughter Mai Qiqi, "Have fun, and don’t quarrel."

Mai Qiqi’s mouth twitched. Her grandfather was really losing his composure today. She quickly pulled Wan Chu’er and Jiang Xiaoxiao to go upstairs.

Mr. Jiang, who was sitting aside, hummed softly. He naturally felt a bit intimidated by those of higher status, but his chauvinist attitude made him brace himself. With a stern face, he sat there listening to Elder Mai and Old Sir Zhong talk, his expression somewhat comical. Clearly, he was eager to join their conversation but was too proud to lower his stance. He was like his own second son, shamelessly trying to win their favor, whilst maintaining a face that looked as if others owed him a great deal of money.

Once inside the room, Jiang Xiaoxiao slumped her shoulders and apologized to Wan Chu’er, "I’m sorry, Chuchu, for the suffering you had to endure."

If it was any other matter, she might have been able to protect Wan Chu’er somewhat, but against these relatives of her family, there was not much she could do.

Seeing Jiang Xiaoxiao blame herself like this, Wan Chu’er put an arm around her shoulder, consoling her:

"It’s not your fault. It’s me who walked into this, who agreed to go out with Lin Jiayi, who insisted on coming here today."

Meanwhile, Mai Qiqi’s eyes flickered, and she chuckled, "Chuchu, come clean, did you do what happened to Lin Jiayi? Did you turn her own plan against her? Tell me all the details."

Wan Chu’er glanced at the curious Jiang Xiaoxiao and said nonchalantly:

"Lin Jiayi harbored ill intentions the first time she met me. She was determined to ruin my relationship with Jiang Kechu, but I knocked her out with a ball. Afterward, instead of resenting me for hitting her, she wanted to become close to me, constantly seeking me out, bringing gifts now and then.

She pretended as if she wanted to be my best friend, but sadly, our values don’t align, and there were naturally some ulterior motives."

Mai Qiqi interjected: "I’m your true best friend, from now on your best friend can only be me!"

Jiang Xiaoxiao asked, "What about me?"

"You’re her sister-in-law, of course," Mai Qiqi said matter-of-factly.

Jiang Xiaoxiao oh’d in response.

Wan Chu’er: "...I had someone look into this gathering and then I heard some unsettling rumors, so I devised a plan accordingly. I’m quite busy, I don’t have all the time in the world to keep playing along with Lin Jiayi’s act."

Mai Qiqi clicked her tongue twice, praising, "You truly are Mr. Chu of society!" Then, her tone shifted, and with a cheeky smile, she asked: "Don’t tell me it was Xiao Bai who did the investigation for you."

She could tell at a glance that Xiao Bai seemed like a person who could do anything, certainly the best at doing such dirty work.

Wan Chu’er: "...No comment."

Jiang Xiaoxiao still felt somewhat melancholic; one was her dearly liked friend, also her big brother’s girlfriend, and the other her own cousin, yet such an incident unfolded between them, casting a faint frustration in her heart.

Wan Chu’er seemed to perceive Jiang Xiaoxiao’s worry, and said earnestly, "Xiaoxiao, I’ve never been a saint. When others scheme against me, I can’t just sidestep it and call it a day. I’m not that magnanimous.

Those who scheme against me, I will only choose to retaliate with an eye for an eye, following the principle of ’Do not do to others what you don’t want done to yourself.’ I want to live freely and fully in this life."

Jiang Xiaoxiao hadn’t expected Wan Chu’er to explain herself, and she quickly responded, "Chuchu, I don’t blame you, I just can’t come to terms with my cousin doing something like this. Humans truly are complex creatures, capable of becoming unrecognizable."

Mai Qiqi patted Wan Chu’er on the shoulder, agreeing, "I want to have this same standard."

Wan Chu’er: "..."

Mai Qiqi then asked, "Hey, why is it that at such a critical moment, Brother Jiang is not around? What a great opportunity to make an impression, totally wasted. How come I feel like there’s no difference whether Brother Jiang is here or not?"

Hearing this, Jiang Xiaoxiao immediately perked up, "Don’t speak ill of my big brother, my big brother didn’t mean for this, and even if he found out afterward, he would definitely stand up for Chuchu. Chuchu, don’t listen to Qiqi, this idiot."

Wan Chu’er laughingly said, "For something as trivial as this, there’s no need for Jiang Kechu to step in. All he needs to do is to ride on a cloud of seven colors and come to marry me." She borrowed a line from the movie "A Chinese Odyssey."

This instantly drew cries of "cheesy" from both Mai Qiqi and Jiang Xiaoxiao.

As the three of them were joking around, Mrs. Jiang came up to call them downstairs.

Walking down the corridor, Wan Chu’er fell a step behind next to Mrs. Jiang and whispered, "Aunt, thank you for defending me just now."

She owed Mrs. Jiang too many thanks.

Mrs. Jiang smiled kindly, "If I don’t stand up for you, then who will I stand up for?"

In the living room downstairs, aside from Jiang Lirong and Jiang Lingling, everyone else was present. Additionally, there was Li Shan.

Old Sir Zhong, seeing Wan Chu’er come downstairs, waved his hand and said, "Li Shan went to the police station and brought back the statements from those involved last night. You all should listen to the results."

The faces of the Jiang Family were all embarrassed, and even Father Jiang felt somewhat uncomfortable; he had previously stated it would take two days to clear Wan Chu’er’s name, but with just one phone call from Old Sir Zhong, the results were brought in directly.

Mrs. Jiang and Jiang Lingling, however, were quite at ease, with the former having been siding with Wan Chu’er already, and the latter having just learned upstairs what had happened.

Li Shan nodded to everyone, then pulled out a stack of documents from a file bag, saying, "After verification, it’s been found that Lin Jiayi, along with Second Young Master Zhu from Tianmei Electric as the ringleader, and several others as accomplices, orchestrated last night’s party with the intention of drugging Wan Chu’er, making her embarrass herself, while Jiang Lirong brought a group of people to witness the disgrace, aiming to ruin Wan Chu’er’s reputation and therefore persuade the Jiang Family to call off the engagement.

This is stated in the testimonies of at least five people, including Second Young Master Zhu. As for why it ended up being them who got drugged, the police are still investigating."