Don't Say You're Heartless (Modern Edition)

114 Graceful Allure

Liu Manzhi's friends walked over and asked, "Was that beautiful woman your cousin? Why didn't she wait for you before leaving?"

Liu Manzhi pouted. "Now that she's got money, she doesn't care about her poor relatives like me anymore. Her family used to be dirt poor. Tsk tsk, she only earns 300 yuan a month. If she didn't do some side gigs, how could she not starve?"

"That's so little money, but your cousin is really pretty," a friend remarked.

"Of course. How else would she get these opportunities if she wasn't pretty?" Liu Manzhi's tone carried a hint of ambiguity.

"Hey, Manzhi, from the way you're talking... do you have some insider gossip to share?" Her friends were quite nosy.

"Gossip about what? Can you get famous just by having a pretty face these days? She was just a poor teacher, and now she's suddenly a brand ambassador. If there's no shady business behind that, would you believe it?" Liu Manzhi initially said it offhandedly, but as her friends chimed in, she started to feel like she made a lot of sense.

Her friends agreed. "Your cousin is pretty impressive, then."

"Pfft, she's really 'impressive' if she's willing to trade her looks for it," Liu Manzhi's tone grew more disdainful as she spoke.

"Manzhi, that's still your cousin. Why are you talking about her like that?" Someone couldn't help but intervene.

"The truth is always harsh. Haven't you heard the saying, 'Good advice is unpleasant to the ears'?" Liu Manzhi glanced over at the staff still packing up and decided not to walk over. After talking so poorly about Shen Qiuhua, approaching her to promote herself would be like slapping her own face.

"No, I need to talk to my aunt about this. How can I let my cousin go on like this?" As she muttered to herself, she pulled out her phone and started telling her mother everything in a flurry of words.

Shen Qiuhua had fallen asleep in the car. When they got home, Yang Qiong carried her upstairs. Seeing that Shen Qiuhua was barely awake, with her eyes half-open, made Yang Qiong's heart ache.

"You're this tired, and you didn't say anything." Yang Qiong, the little maid, helped her 'empress' bathe and change into pajamas. Shen Qiuhua fell asleep again, and Yang Qiong gently touched her face before going to clean up herself.

After her bath, she tossed their clothes into the washing machine and tidied up the house. By the time she finished, she was sweating.

Finally sitting down, she reviewed their schedule, a task she had been doing often lately. Tomorrow, they had a calligraphy association celebration to attend, which would likely be another exhausting day. Looking at the closed bedroom door, Yang Qiong worried about whether Shen Qiuhua's body could handle all the strain.

While the two of them were busy, chaos had already erupted at the Shen household.

Liu Manzhi's wild speculations, told to her mother, had been passed on with embellishments to Shen Qiuhua's mother. Hearing this, Shen Qiuhua's mother nearly fainted. She had always worried about this exact scenario—her daughter was beautiful, and she feared that the world's temptations might lead her astray. After all, Shen Qiuhua was not only gorgeous but also came from a poor background, so it wasn't unthinkable that she might sell herself for money.

According to her third sister, Liu Manzhi had supposedly seen everything with her own eyes. Shen Qiuhua's mother knew Liu Manzhi held a grudge against her daughter and often badmouthed her. Still, she didn't think Liu Manzhi would make up such serious accusations. Ruining someone's reputation was no small matter! Given how confidently Liu Manzhi spoke, Shen Qiuhua's mother feared it might be true.