Since the eldest son of the Jiang family was quite successful, everyone who was invited to attend the birthday feast was willing to show some respect to Old Madam Jiang. One after another, they presented their gifts and said nice words.
Jiang Xiaobai’s mother squeezed to Jiang Xiaobai’s side without her noticing, and the two of them stood together as they looked at each other without saying anything.
Suddenly, a soft conversation was heard from behind them. “Look at Old Madam Jiang. I heard that her family was not rich, yet she risked her life and gave birth to three sons. Now, when her sons have become successful, she has started to put on airs. Years ago, when her children were still young, everybody knew about this Old Madam Jiang’s depressed look. She wore a gloomy face every day, and she was an unfashionable and ugly hag; her husband abandoned her and left because of that.”
Upon hearing such words, another person secretly mocked, “This Old Madam is really pathetic. Did she think that her husband would obey her if she risked her life to give birth to three sons? Who would have guessed that she was so ugly that her husband ran away?”
“Yeah, I never saw how she used to look, but if you look at her face now, you’ll see it’s full of wrinkles.”
When Jiang Xiaobai heard this conversation, she involuntarily frowned. Though she disliked Old Madam Jiang, she kept it to herself. No matter how much she disliked this grandmother of hers, she would never bring it up publicly. After all, regardless of her dislike for her, she was still her grandmother, who was also her father’s mother.
Therefore, when she heard someone bad-mouthing Old Madam Jiang behind her back, Jiang Xiaobai naturally could not bear to continue listening. Subconsciously, she met Du Xiaoyu’s eyes, and they found a sense of displeasure in each other’s eyes.
It seems like mom has the same feeling as I do.
The two of them exchanged glances before simultaneously turning around, and they looked at the two people who were gossiping just now with a grin. “Today is my granny’s birthday feast, but this hotel didn’t do a good job in ensuring its hygiene and cleanliness. There are flies flying around, and it is so noisy that it gives me a headache.”
After Jiang Xiaobai said this, Mrs. Jiang immediately understood and supported her daughter; she sniffed around in a dramatic manner before sighing. “Xiaobai, try smelling around. Can you tell what the smell is?”
When the two people who were gossiping just now saw the pair of mother and daughter’s sudden move, they were bewildered at first, and then they heard Du Xiaoyu continue, “I can smell a sour, pungent smell. Xiaobai, this hotel really did a bad job in maintaining its hygiene. Not only are there many flies here, there is actually a strong sour smell.”
Jiang Xiaobai nodded with a stern face. “I picked that up as well. It is really sour. Ugh, after the feast ends, shall we go and complain? The hotel staff have not done their job properly, so we shouldn’t go easy on them.”
“You are right. Our Jiang family paid for this feast today, but they didn’t clean up properly and allowed the flies to stay here. This is really affecting our appetite.”
One of the two people who were being insinuated was foolish; when she heard Jiang Xiaobai and her mother’s words, she actually looked around curiously and asked puzzledly, “Where are the flies? Why didn’t I see any? And I don’t smell any strange smell as well. How did you—”
Before she could finish her sentence, her partner cut her off, “Idiot!”
After being scolded by her partner, she blinked as she still could not comprehend the situation.
“Idiot! Stop embarrassing yourself. Jiang Xiaobai and her mother were insinuating us; they were talking about us!”
“Us?”
“Yes!” That woman responded furiously before looking at Jiang Xiaobai. “Jiang Xiaobai, why are you sticking up for her? As the family members of the third son of the Jiang family, haven’t you always been treated coldly and contemptuously by her? She is old-fashioned and favors males over females. Your father only has a daughter, which is you, but in comparison, she gave birth to three sons, which would make you an eyesore to her. Now that I have just said a few words, is there a need for you to speak up for her?”
Hearing that, Jiang Xiaobai chuckled disdainfully before she took two steps toward her and spoke in a light voice, “Madam, what you just said is really funny. You insulted the Jiang family right in front of me; am I not from the Jiang family? Should I be thanking you for your disrespectful words? I know perfectly how my granny usually treats me, and that is also my personal matter. What does it have to do with an outsider like you?”
Du Xiaoyu approached her and patted her shoulder before uttering in a gentle voice, “Xiaobai, why are you speaking to this madam in this way? Don’t you know how to be more courteous? Though she is an outsider, she is still someone who has nothing better to do than to gossip. We should be more broad-minded and let it pass.”
Her words sounded generous, but it in fact made another sharp cut in the listener’s heart.
Being attacked by Jiang Xiaobai and her mother, the woman was soon defeated. “Y-You two ingrates! I was speaking up for both of you!”
Jiang Xiaobai’s lips curled up. “Were you speaking up for us, or were you trying to vent your own jealousy? As humans, we all have a bit of unpleasant thoughts, but you should have hidden it properly instead of airing it out all the time and talking nonsense on an occasion like today’s. Probably everyone knows that I am a hot-tempered person; hence, if you continue to behave like a b*tch, I might do something that is out of my own expectation.”
“Xiaobai, calm down. You are a girl, you know?” Du Xiaoyu stated.
The onlookers around them were speechless.
The third son of the Jiang family married an impressive woman, and his daughter is ferocious. I wonder what is his usual status in his family; I bet that his life is miserable, the crowd thought.
At that moment, the third son of the Jiang family, who was Jiang Xiaobai’s father and Du Xiaoyu’s husband, suddenly walked toward them. At first, he searched for them in the crowd, and when he saw his wife and daughter, a smile appeared on his face as he quickly marched up to them. “Xiaoyu, Xiaobai, why are both of you still here? We need to go and say our wishes to mother.”
Jiang Xiaobai’s father, Jiang Yanke, did not look as stunning as Du Xiaoyu, but he was still considered good-looking. Moreover, he groomed himself well, and he did not have a moustache or stubbles on his face. Unlike most men who had oily faces, he looked pleasing to the eyes, and he even had the charm of a middle-aged man. He was a gentleman, who seemed a little silly in front of his wife, and he was very obedient to his wife and daughter.
Everyone thought that he had a low position in his household, but to their surprise, Jiang Xiaobai voluntarily hugged her father’s arm and spoke in a soft tone, “Dad, there were too many people at your side just now, so we had a casual chat with everyone here.”
As Jiang Xiaobai was hugging Jiang Yanke’s left arm, Du Xiaoyan naturally held Jiang Yanke’s right arm.
