Chapter 2

“Dad, don’t scold sister, she didn’t mean it.”

“Sister was dumped by someone, and now she’s venting her anger on me. I’ll endure it, but you shouldn’t hold it against her.” Chu Yan’s expression was one of grievance and suppressed emotion.

These two sentences immediately turned the tide of public opinion.

“Turns out the rumors were false. I said, how could the second Miss Chu be like that? She’s so outstanding, there’s no way she’s lying!”

“Looks like the wild child raised outside really lacks manners. Out of jealousy, she started spreading rumors about her own sister.”

Chu Ning glanced at Chu Yan, her eyes flashing with coldness.

As expected, her tea skills were superb. With just a couple of sentences, she didn’t even deny not being from the Chu family, yet everyone believed she was the one spreading rumors.

“Oh? You can really endure?” Chu Ning didn’t get angry; instead, she smiled at Chu Yan.

Chu Yan’s face stiffened as she sensed a hint of danger.

Before she could respond, Chu Ning slapped her across the face.

“Chu Ning, you—” Chu Yan, stunned, could no longer maintain her pretense. She glared at Chu Ning angrily.

Upon meeting Chu Ning’s gaze, she realized something and suppressed her fury.

“Woo… sister, you—”

“Chu Ning! You must be crazy, how dare you hit Yan Yan?!” Lan Yu, like a mother hen protecting her chick, pulled Chu Yan behind her and glared at Chu Ning angrily.

“I didn’t hit her. She said it herself, and if she wants to endure it, that’s her choice. I never forced her.” Chu Ning rubbed her hand casually.

“Dad, why are you so worked up? People who know the truth might think you’re not raising your own daughter. Those who don’t know might think Chu Yan is your real daughter.”

“Heh, but I guess it’s fine. Even though Chu Yan isn’t your biological daughter, she is the daughter of your first love. What a pity. You and Chu Yan’s mother were so deeply in love back then, but she abandoned you, and in the end, you married my mother.”

The room erupted with noise.

Lan Yu looked flustered.

“You—what nonsense are you spouting?” His expression showed clear guilt.

Chu Ning laughed coldly.

This cheap dad of hers was no match for Chu Yan in terms of acting skills.

“Sister, it’s one thing to slander me, but now you’re even slandering Dad! You’re going too far!” Chu Yan spoke again, trying to sound righteous.

Facing the questioning gazes of the crowd, Chu Ning remained unfazed.

“Heh, are you anxious? Are you afraid that the truth about my dad and your mom will come out and affect the Chu family’s position?”

A flash of panic crossed Chu Yan’s eyes.

“How can you think this about Dad and me?!” She quickly tried to defend herself.

“Oh? If that’s how it is, let everyone take a look.” Chu Ning raised an evil smile.

She then tapped the light chip on her wrist.

A holographic screen appeared, projecting into the air.

On the screen, Lan Yu was seen embracing a female figure—who was none other than Chu Yan’s mother, Chu Lan.

“Don’t worry, Lan’er, even though Yan Yan isn’t my biological daughter, I’ll treat her as my own.”

“Back then, the regrets between us… I won’t let Yan Yan go through the same thing again.” Lan Yu spoke with deep affection in the video.

But to everyone else, it was painfully obvious.

The crowd quickly began murmuring about Lan Yu.

No one expected that what Chu Ning said was true. Lan Yu really wasn’t a faithful man.

Lan Yu panicked and rushed toward Chu Ning, trying to turn off her video.

“You ungrateful daughter, turn it off!”

Chu Ning, with a smirk, side-stepped and avoided him.

She continued to play the video.

In the video, the female figure let go of Lan Yu.

“What about Chu Ning…?” She sounded worried.

“Chu Ning’s psychic power is only E-rank, how could she compare to Yan Yan? Besides, Yan Yan and Zhou Ting and the others have already been together for a long time.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll have Yan Yan tell Zhou Ting and the others when to go find Chu Ning to cancel the engagement. Once that’s done, they’ll marry Yan Yan.”

“The family alliances must continue, and the main wife will certainly agree since she values Yan Yan.”

The murmurs in the room grew louder.

“My God, is Lan Yu out of his mind? He’s willing to sacrifice his own daughter for the sake of his lover’s child!”

“Second Miss Chu—oh no, that Chu Yan—she was just pretending to be innocent, but it turns out she was already scheming with her future brothers-in-law! Not only is she stealing someone’s identity, but she’s also trying to steal someone else’s fiancé!”

“I knew she was pretending earlier. Turns out she’s a true green tea! Just like her mother, born bad and shameless! It’s so sad for Miss Chu. She’s being bullied by her own father and an outsider.”

“Don’t just blame Lan Yu and Chu Yan. Look at this! He’s clearly engaged to Miss Chu, but now he’s with Chu Yan. And she’s a top student from Lanhua Academy. How could she not maintain marital loyalty? She’s really embarrassed her school and family.”

“Younger people these days, don’t learn proper values. Playing around and disrespecting marriage, tsk tsk…”

Zhou Ting and the others started to panic.

“No! Don’t listen to Chu Ning’s nonsense! We truly love Miss Yan Yan!” Bai Yu, unable to bear the gossip, spoke loudly in defense.

But this defense only made things worse, practically confirming their affair with Chu Yan.

Zhou Ting, seeing this, was furious.

“Shut up!” He shouted at Bai Yu.

Bai Yu shut his mouth, his expression almost on the verge of tears.

Chen Chen also appeared nervous, looking at Zhou Ting for help.

Zhou Ting’s face darkened as he turned his gaze toward Chu Ning.

“Everyone, don’t listen to Chu Ning. We’re just classmates with Miss Yan Yan, and there’s nothing else between us. We came here today to cancel the engagement, and it has nothing to do with Miss Yan Yan. We just want to clear up the misunderstanding,” he said loudly.

As things stood, they had to admit to their relationship with Chu Yan, or else her reputation would be ruined, and theirs would be too.

Besides, the beastmen voluntarily joined the central marriage matching system, and marriage was up to them. Even if they couldn’t marry Chu Yan today, they still had a chance later.

“That’s right, that’s right! We just want to cancel the engagement with Chu Ning, and it has nothing to do with Miss Yan Yan!” Chen Chen quickly joined in.

“Chu Ning’s psychic power is only E-rank, and she can’t offer any spiritual comfort for us B-rank beastmen. If we marry her, even if we get into the first military academy, we’d never be able to go to the battlefield!”

The crowd began to murmur again.

From the perspective of psychic power, Chu Ning was indeed not suited for Zhou Ting and the others.

Females usually provided spiritual comfort to beastmen of the same rank or lower. But if they were to marry, they could provide spiritual comfort to beastmen who were one rank higher.

However, E-rank was too low, and even if she married a beastman, she could only offer spiritual comfort to D-rank beastmen at most.

Zhou Ting and the others were already B-rank beastmen, so Chu Ning couldn’t help them.

Chu Ning, seeing this, didn’t hurry. She met Zhou Ting’s gaze, and instead of anger, she smiled.

“Mr. Zhou, are you sure about what you’re saying? Is that really the case?” she asked.

Under Chu Ning’s gaze, Zhou Ting’s heart skipped a beat.

He thought he didn’t have anything for Chu Ning to hold over him, so he forced a serious face.

“Of course!” he said sharply.

Chu Ning’s lips curled into a victorious smile.

Seeing Zhou Ting’s panicked expression, she once again played the video.