The sickly one in F4 was the group's darling.

Zhang Yun strode forward in her high heels, turned around, and gave the ladies an apologetic smile: "Ladies, I'm so sorry to have made a fool of myself in front of you all."

Then, changing the subject, she looked at Bai Ci and said, "I saw him this afternoon on the mountain road. He was dressed in rags. My car broke down, so I called him over to lend a hand. I was thinking of giving him a little something for his trouble later, as a way of doing a good deed."

"And then this kid, instead of helping, he cursed me, saying things like 'Your hand is broken.' I've never seen such an ill-mannered person. Not only was he ungrateful, but he also insulted me. I thought I'd let it go and not argue with a child, but I never expected to run into him here again tonight."

"Well, it's not that I want to argue with him, it's just that I feel uneasy about any kind of person being able to sneak in at a place like this," Zhang Yun said, glancing furtively at the ladies.

The ladies present reacted in various ways after hearing this.

Mrs. Wang, wearing a cheongsam, said, "Really? This outfit looks quite elegant."

Mrs. Chen chimed in, "Yes, Mrs. Zhou, are you sure you haven't mistaken someone for someone else? This person doesn't look like... at all."

Mrs. He and Mrs. Zhao, who were standing nearby, remained silent, carefully examining Bai Ci's clothes and accessories.

"I'm absolutely sure I didn't mistake him! I remember that face very clearly. He's fair-skinned and stands out on the mountain path. I was thinking, 'This kid is quite handsome, why is he dressed so shabbily?' So I recognized him at first glance."

Zhang Yun turned to Bai Ci, adopting a magnanimous and condescending attitude.

"Little one, I'll let what happened this afternoon go, but you should at least apologize to me, right?"

After listening to her long speech, Bai Cijing said, "Are you done? Then it's my turn."

"First, you have a bad memory."

"On the mountain path, you didn't ask me for help, but you shouted 'Hey!' and asked if I was deaf. I said, 'Is your hand broken?' It was a question, not a curse."

He glanced at Zhang Yun's hands, which were painted with bright red nail polish: "Both your hands are perfectly fine now, so what was the problem with my question? What gave you the right to stand there and order a stranger around?"

Zhang Yun's lips moved slightly, but she hadn't had a chance to speak yet.

"Secondly, you can't even bring yourself to say 'please'."

"Now you're portraying yourself as a benevolent and charitable philanthropist. Shouldn't I be the one doing good deeds? I walked all afternoon on mountain paths, listened to your insults, and didn't retaliate or lay a hand on you—that's what I call doing good and being magnanimous. And what did you do? You just spouted nonsense, twisting the truth in front of so many people, turning 'not helping you' into 'hurtful words.'"

"third--"

Bai Ci took half a step forward. Although she was half a head shorter than Zhang Yun, her imposing presence forced Zhang Yun to take a step back.

"You don't even dare to admit what you've said, and you dare to talk about 'manners'?"

Zhang Yun roared angrily, "What kind of attitude is that?"

Bai Ci cut her off, her words piercing Zhang Yun's lungs: "My attitude depends on who the other party is."

He slightly raised his chin: "You think my attitude was bad?"

"That's because you don't deserve a better attitude."

"you--"

"And another thing," Bai Ci said, not giving her a chance to speak, "you said that anyone could sneak into this kind of place, and you're not entirely comfortable with that. Coincidentally, that's what I was thinking too."

Zhang Yun's face turned bright red. He knew he was in the wrong, and all the ladies around him remained silent, not one of them speaking up for him.

When Mrs. Zhao saw the dark blue enamel cufflinks on Bai Ci's wrist, her heart skipped a beat, and her face instantly darkened.

She instantly recalled the phone call her husband, Zhao Shuo, had made that afternoon to give her these words of advice.

"The young master of the Bai family is here tonight. He was personally recognized by the third young master and was even given a special pair of cufflinks. Please treat him with utmost respect when you see them."

Mrs. Zhao immediately spoke up to stop her: "Mrs. Zhou, don't do anything rash."

But Zhang Yun was completely absorbed in his own anger and embarrassment. What kind of important person could a poor boy who had been walking up the mountain all afternoon be?

"You must have stolen these clothes from some young master's closet. A petty thief dares to lecture me? My daughter is Shen Ye's girlfriend! The Shen family!"

She invoked the Shen family as her backing, suddenly raised her arm, and Bai Ci instinctively stepped back.

She swung her hand and missed, her body staggering forward due to inertia, her arm brushing against the blue and white porcelain vase next to the pillar in her panic.

The antique vessel, about half a person's height, wobbled twice before crashing to the ground.

"Bang!"

The vessel shattered on the spot, shards flying everywhere, and the precious orchids inside, along with mud and water, spilled out and poured all over Zhang Yun's head.

Muddy water slid down her carefully styled curly hair, and a lump of wet mud landed right on her wide-open mouth.

The entire room fell silent.

Zhang Yun opened his mouth as if to say something, but mud dripped down the corner of his mouth.

The music in the banquet hall suddenly stopped, and all the guests turned around to look, their eyes focusing on the disheveled Zhang Yun.

Mrs. Zhao's skirt also suffered, getting splattered with mud and water. Mrs. He was so frightened that she took a few steps back, clutching her chest in shock. Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Chen gasped at the same time and quickly distanced themselves from her.

Zhang Yun scrambled to her feet, her head covered in flower petals and mud, her exquisite dress completely ruined.

She had never been so humiliated in her life, and the overwhelming rage completely consumed her last shred of reason.

She wiped her face haphazardly, screaming shrilly, and forcefully twisted the truth: "You dare to dodge! You dare to push me!"

Enraged, she lunged forward again, raising her hand as if to slap Bai Ci across the face.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound.

Bai Jiheng raised his hand, swiftly and decisively, and Zhang Yun's face was slapped to the side, half of his face swelling up instantly.

She leaned against the high table, and the nearly life-sized champagne tower collapsed with a crash! Hundreds of crystal glasses shattered on the floor, golden liquor splashed all over her head and face, and shards of glass covered the entire corridor.

The waiter rushed over at full speed, and the ladies present quickly moved aside, fearing they would get into trouble.

Before Zhang Yun could recover from the shock, Bai Jiheng had already grabbed his wrist, his five fingers tightening like iron clamps, the knuckles making a dull thud.

"My brother, Bai Jiheng, is not someone you dare to hit?"

"You, you let go! Do you know who I am? I'm Young Master Shen Ye's man! If you dare touch me, Young Master Shen won't let you off!" Zhang Yun's face was contorted with pain, and she saw stars. She didn't care at all who was hitting her.

"Shen Ye?" A cold voice came, with a hint of nonchalant amusement.

Shen Tinglan walked from the corner to Bai Ci's side and stopped. She glanced at Zhang Yun's face, which was covered in mud and half swollen, and said, "I didn't know Shen Ye had a friend like you?"

Then he glanced at Bai Ci, raised his hand and gently pressed Bai Ci's shoulder: "You're standing so close, are you trying to help her pick up the shards?"

Bai Ci took a step back and stood behind him.

The guests whispered among themselves, their voices rising and falling in unison.

Bai Jiheng released his grip, took the handkerchief Zhao Shuo handed him, and slowly wiped his fingers as if they were dirty. He glanced down at Zhang Yun, who was sprawled on the ground, his tone full of disgust.

"Tsk, so shameless, it's too much to even touch."

He wiped his fingertips clean and casually tossed the handkerchief onto the broken glass at Zhang Yun's feet, as if throwing away a piece of trash he would never see again.

Zhang Yun lay sprawled on the ground, half her face swollen, her ears ringing, and everything in her vision blurring. She couldn't hear what the people around her were saying, only seeing Mrs. Zhao standing a few steps away, her face showing no intention of reaching out. The other ladies had retreated to the edge of the crowd at some point, not even glancing at her.

It can't end like this.

She struggled to prop herself up, using all her strength to force the words out of her throat, her voice shrill and broken.

"I'm a legitimately invited guest! I was brought by Shen Ye! My daughter is dating Young Master Shen, and I have the Shen family's backing! You're all finished!"

She screamed until she was hoarse, a metallic taste rising in her throat. She was like a wildcat whose tail had been stepped on, flailing her claws wildly but unable to grasp anything.

"This brat started a fight and beat me up for no reason; I need an explanation!"

She turned sharply to look at Mrs. Zhao, her eyes filled with urgent pleading.

"Mrs. Zhao! You saw it with your own eyes! You can be my witness!"

Her voice trembled, her eyes were red-rimmed, and it was impossible to tell whether it was anger or fear. Muddy water dripped from her chin onto the marble floor, spreading into a small stain.

Mrs. Zhao watched the whole thing with a cold eye, her gaze icy and unwavering. She ignored the disheveled and screaming Zhang Yun, and looked only at the unharmed Bai Ci before speaking.

"Mrs. Zhou, do you know who you were about to hit?"