CHAPTER 366: CHAPTER 366

Suchen, capable of galloping through the business world alongside Lai De, naturally had neither a low IQ nor EQ.

From the brief conversation just now, she roughly inferred that "Jiang Moxi" was now Xixi’s name, which was just the distant relative mentioned by Jiang Tairan and others during their casual chat with her, Suchen.

Suchen originally thought that their misunderstanding of Jiang Moxi’s character was due to limited contact with her. She did not blame them.

It was not until the Jiang family members successively used affectionate terms that Suchen realized the situation was not so simple.

Neither did Jiang Tairan and others expect that Suchen would still remember such a distant relative; they were left speechless when questioned.

On the other hand, Jiang Moxi’s beautiful eyes seemed to suddenly frost over upon hearing Suchen’s words.

"They just said I was their distant relative?"

Jiang Moxi looked at Suchen with a tone that did not forget the respect due to an elder.

"Yes, Xixi, you’re now called Jiang Moxi, right? They kept saying that Jiang Moxi is their distant relative just now, and they also said something about poor character, forbidding Jiang Weiwei from associating with you."

It wasn’t that Suchen loved to gossip, but the Jiang family’s distortion of truth and fact made her feel indignant on behalf of Jiang Moxi.

More than that, Suchen quickly connected the situation with previous events.

"So, Xixi, are these your biological parents that you found before? Is this how they treat you?"

To go to such lengths to distance themselves from their daughter in front of an outsider, and to disparage her so heartlessly? Saying she had poor character?

Is this what parents should do?

Had Suchen known that this was the kind of family Xixi would face upon returning, she thought she would have kept Jiang Moxi by her side at all costs.

Suchen’s questioning left Jiang Guosheng and Yu Man at a loss for words.

Even the usually eloquent Jiang Tairan was somewhat speechless at this moment.

They could only turn their eyes to Jiang Moxi one after another.

Rather than hoping for Jiang Moxi to bear the burden, it was more about pressuring her to quickly dispel Suchen’s "misunderstanding" of them.

However, in the face of their sharp gazes, Jiang Moxi simply smiled, a smile that didn’t quite reach the depths of her eyes.

"No, they indeed have no more relation to me, Aunt Suchen, you don’t have to bother with them."

Jiang Moxi’s eyes shattered into fragments of cold, serene isolation.

Her gaze swept over Jiang Tairan, Jiang Guosheng, and Yu Man one by one, seemingly reminding them of the past incident with the Emerald Necklace severing familial ties.

Then without waiting for the Jiang family’s response, she took Suchen’s arm and turned to leave.

Before being led away by Jiang Moxi, Suchen also gave the Jiang family members a glance, her eyes hiding an unmistakable chill and a glaring warning, telling them not to follow and bother her any further, or she would not be polite anymore.

Ling Hua and Cang Ming seemed to sense that something was amiss, too.

Ling Hua hurriedly linked arms with Ling Yinan to follow Jiang Moxi, with Cang Ming right behind.

Jiang Guosheng and Yu Man couldn’t bear the piercing pressure from Suchen and quickly bowed their heads in guilt.

Whereas the hope in Jiang Tairan’s eyes had turned into flickering flames, he stared hard at Jiang Moxi’s retreating figure, as if he wished he could burn her to ashes.

They had strained every nerve, and it was not easy for them to win over Suchen’s favor, even slightly, with the Emerald Necklace and through Jiang Weiwei. They were yet to leverage this connection to make ties with the influential guests at the banquet.

Yet, Jiang Moxi’s single statement brought everything back to square one.

With Suchen gone, the spotlight that had been on them vanished as well.

"Trash! A bunch of useless trash! Did you all become mute just now? You just let Jiang Moxi have the final word?"

Jiang Tairan watched Jiang Moxi and the others walk away, then nearly breathless with rage, began to scold his own sons and daughters-in-law.

"But Dad, the person who first said Moxi was a distant relative was you!"

Yu Man could not stand Jiang Tairan pushing the blame onto others whenever he was angry, and muttered under her breath.

"You think you have the right to talk back?" Jiang Tairan became immensely furious.

Today, not only did he fail to secure benefits and resources for the Jiang Family, but he was also challenged in authority by his own granddaughter and daughter-in-law, which was a sheer humiliation.

Knowing that Jiang Tairan would never admit his own mistake, and would only vent his anger on them, possibly even kicking them out of the Jiang Family, Jiang Guosheng quietly tugged on Yu Man’s sleeve, signaling her to speak less.

Reminded by Jiang Guosheng, Yu Man could only quieten down.

But Jiang Tairan’s scolding continued: "If you two hadn’t always treated Moxi differently before, how would she have become so distant from you? She is even close to Suchen, yet she refuses to clear up the misunderstandings with you."

Yu Man and Jiang Guosheng stood still with poker faces, silent.

Because indeed, they had never been able to treat Jiang Moxi as closely as they did Jiang Weiwei.

"Moreover, that damn girl is really stupid! At times like this, she should have been united against the outsider, yet she foolishly only remembered past grievances. This is the result of how you’ve spoiled her!"

"Regardless, you both must find an opportunity to speak more kindly to Moxi later, and get her to clear up Suchen’s misunderstandings about us as soon as possible!"

Jiang Tairan gave a few more words of harsh instruction in a lower voice, then had no choice but to hastily conclude the conversation.

After all, there were many people around, and continuing to scold might draw unwanted attention and ridicule.

Yu Man started to say something but was pulled away by Jiang Guosheng.

*

On the other side, Jiang Moxi and Suchen among others headed to the beverage area.

Suchen handed Jiang Moxi a glass of juice and asked her, "Xixi, are those people really not your blood relatives?"

Jiang Moxi was about to say something, but Ling Hua suddenly thought of something and quickly answered.

"It seems that they are Sister Moxi’s family. However, I heard from Aunt Wangning that Sister Moxi was adopted by them, and they had even arranged an engagement with Brother Yiming for her before. But later, Brother Yiming cheated with someone named Jiang Weiwei, who is also a girl from that family."

Ling Hua had only found out about these things during a hot springs vacation by chance.

Suchen frowned: "Adopted daughter? How could she be an adopted daughter? Xixi should be a real rich girl! She got a paternity test before and was so eager to meet her biological parents that I let her go back."

Suchen also said, "And that Jiang Weiwei, she admitted to me herself that she was the adopted daughter of the Jiang Family."

"I’m not sure about that, Aunt Wangning said so."

The more Ling Hua listened, the more confused she became; she felt she needed to eat something good to recover.

However, Ling Yinan thought of something: "Actually, I’ve heard rumors that the Fu Family agreed to the marriage because it was to Jiang Family’s bloodline. But so far, the Jiang Family has never publicly acknowledged this fact."

As a former member of the Fu Family, Ling Yinan inevitably heard some gossip about the Fu Family from the people around her.

She had never imagined that Jiang Moxi would be the protagonist of those rumors.

Suchen pieced together from the bits of information he gathered at the scene, what kind of life Xixi had led since returning to the Jiang Family.

Unrecognized by the Jiang Family, not even publicly acknowledged as the true rich girl, and her marriage being used as a tool for profit...

At this moment, Suchen looked at Jiang Moxi, and all that was left in his eyes was deep affection.

"Why didn’t you contact me if you were having such a hard time here? I’ve said before, whenever you miss me, you can always reach out to me!"