Chapter 72: If Shen Lu Has Such a Character, She Is Unfit to Be Her Rival
When Shen Lan saw Mrs. Shen fall silent after being rebuked, she was indignant. She started to say something more, but Mrs. Shen grabbed her arm and pulled her into the car.
"Home," Mrs. Shen commanded coldly.
The driver complied, turning the car around and heading for the Upper City District.
Shen Lan bit her lip. "Mom, are we just going back? But weren’t we supposed to meet that couple today?"
Their trip to the Lower City District today wasn’t intentionally to find Shen Lu. Rather, Mrs. Shen had been pressured by several other society ladies. They said that since Shen Lan’s adoptive parents had, after all, raised the child, it was heartless for her biological parents to show no appreciation whatsoever.
Mrs. Shen didn’t know who had spread this rumor, but for the sake of her and her husband’s reputation, she had been forced to come with Shen Lan to meet that lower-class couple who had raised her.
"See them? See what?" Mrs. Shen was furious, her tone harsh. "My face is swollen like this, how can I go see anyone? Are you trying to make me go and embarrass myself?!"
"That’s not what I meant... Mother, Shen Lu went too far." Shen Lan quickly tried to placate her. "After you raised her for all those years, she actually used such cheap tricks on you, making you lose face in front of all these lowlifes."
"Hmph." Mrs. Shen gently stroked her red, swollen cheek, her eyes filled with a venomous light. "Just a little bastard."
For various reasons, she wouldn’t kill Shen Lu, but she would absolutely not let her have an easy time.
’For example, what about wrecking the little stall she relies on to make a living?’
That kind of thing was minor. As long as no one died, the Lower City District police couldn’t be bothered to care, let alone expect any reaction from the Wang Family.
Shen Lan understood the implication in Mrs. Shen’s words, and her troubled mind began to settle.
’She had been worried Mrs. Shen would be intimidated by Shen Lu’s threats and do nothing. It seemed she hadn’t been scared off after all.’
"Mother, what about inviting Shen Lu to my birthday party?" For some reason, Shen Lan desperately wanted Shen Lu to attend.
In the past, Shen Lu had taken her place and been the star of the birthday party.
Now that things were set right, she was a phoenix in the clouds while Shen Lu was a sparrow in the mud. She refused to believe Shen Lu didn’t feel the sting of her fall from grace.
If Shen Lu had to witness the friends who once orbited her now sticking to Shen Lan like glue, and the parents and brother who once cherished her now treating her with disdain while granting Shen Lan every wish...
Shen Lu would surely go mad with jealousy.
’She just wanted to see the look on Shen Lu’s face when she was consumed by jealousy. That would definitely be satisfying.’
Mrs. Shen wanted to snap, "Why the hell would you invite *her*?" but after a moment’s thought, she said with a mix of annoyance and impatience, "You decide."
Shen Lan linked her arm with Mrs. Shen’s and said coaxingly, "Mother, you dote on me the most."
"You know I dote on you. If it weren’t for you being bullied by Shen Lu, would my face be swollen for no reason?" Mrs. Shen complained irritably. "This is so annoying. Even with the best medicine, it will take all night for the swelling to go down. I can’t attend the banquet tonight."
’Heaven knows what those gossips will be saying about her behind her back now.’
...
After dealing with the Shen mother-daughter duo, Shen Lu washed her hands and returned to her stall to continue making fried rice.
The customers, having just watched a huge drama unfold, couldn’t help but whisper among themselves. Some regulars also asked Shen Lu what had just happened.
"It’s just as it looks. The real heiress who returned to the nest can’t stand me, so she used some tricks to frame me." Shen Lu’s tone was devoid of much emotion, as if she were talking about someone else. "It wasn’t my fault we were switched at birth, and it’s not like someone deliberately swapped us. The Shen Family simply made a mistake. I thought that after leaving the Shen Family, I would have nothing more to do with them, but I never expected them to come looking for trouble."
"That young lady looks so delicate and gentle, you’d never think she was so scheming."
"But your adoptive mother, she doesn’t look like someone to be messed with. Boss Shen, do you think she’ll really come after you?"
’Of course she will!’
’She had exposed Mrs. Shen’s sore spot in public; Mrs. Shen must be wishing she could strangle her with her own two hands.’
’But she had also warned her. If Mrs. Shen tried anything fatal, it would bring about a series of terrible consequences. However, that didn’t mean Mrs. Shen would let her off the hook.’
’Pulling some non-lethal little tricks should be no problem for her.’
Shen Lu didn’t regret provoking Mrs. Shen. Even if she hadn’t done it today, given Shen Lan’s petty and narrow-minded nature, she would have stirred up trouble behind the scenes anyway. It was only a matter of time before the Shen Family came after her.
Shen Lu just smiled and changed the subject.
After a while, the Bai Family Siblings arrived. Bai Wanwan was pouting, a displeased look on her face, and demanded to know why Shen Lu hadn’t replied to her messages.
"I’m very busy, Young Miss." Shen Lu sighed helplessly. "From the moment I open my eyes, there’s a mountain of things waiting for me to do. When would I have time to reply to your messages?"
"Excuses! You just ignored them on purpose."
"What do you want to eat? The usual?" Shen Lu didn’t argue with her and directly changed the topic.
"The usual," Bai Lei chimed in. "Oh, by the way, on our way here, I think I saw the Shen Family’s car. Did they come looking for you?"
"Yeah." Shen Lu packed up their fried rice, fried noodles, and egg waffles. She handed the food containers to Cai Su, asking her to pack up the rest of the snacks.
"For real?" Bai Wanwan, who had intended to give Shen Lu the silent treatment, couldn’t help but gossip. "What did they want with you? Don’t tell me they want to take you back?"
"No." Shen Lu handed over the food containers and a water bottle. "That’ll be 440 Star Coins. Thank you for your business."
Bai Wanwan: "Show me your payment code. I’ll just scan it. I’m sick of using cash every day."
While the payment was being scanned, Bai Wanwan started nagging again: "You should seriously consider cooperating with my brother. What kind of future can you make for yourself messing around in the Lower City District? Other people are killing themselves trying to squeeze into the Upper City District, but you? You’re throwing away an opportunity that’s been handed to you on a silver platter."
"I know, I know. Now that you’ve paid, please step aside. The customers behind you have been waiting for a long time."
The Bai Family Siblings got into their car. As Bai Wanwan fastened her seatbelt, she complained, "I really don’t know what she’s thinking. Has she been in the Lower City District so long that her brain has atrophied?"
"Sis, I remember Shen Lu was kicked out of the Shen Family for stealing a necklace, right?"
Bai Wanwan pressed the ignition button and pursed her lips. "That’s right, but I think she was definitely framed."
"Why?"
"She had no reason to, and she’s not the type of person to engage in petty theft."
’If Shen Lu were that kind of person, she wouldn’t be worthy of being her rival.’
Bai Lei shrugged and didn’t say anything. He looked down and scrolled through his social feed, happening to see a post Shen Lan had made a few minutes ago.
Shen Lan: I happened to run into Shen Lu today. I wanted to invite her to my birthday party, but I never expected her to raise a hand against Mother. I really don’t know why she would do such a thing. Mother raised her like her own daughter for seventeen years, and in return, all she got was a merciless slap.
[Image] [Image] [Image]
Bai Lei tapped on the images and looked at each one.
The photos showed the shocking handprint on Mrs. Shen’s face from three different angles. It was bright red, badly swollen, and looked quite terrifying.
’Wait, isn’t this handprint a little too big?’
’As he recalled, Shen Lu’s hands weren’t this big, were they?’