Chapter 42

Maimiao had just reached the courtyard from Xia Qingning’s house when she saw a group of women surrounding He Shanshan, praising her new dress.

“Shanshan, you bought new clothes again.”

“You bought this dress at the department store, right? It looks so trendy.”

“It feels so smooth and comfortable, it must be very expensive.”

He Shanshan was surrounded, her face beaming with a radiant smile. She raised her head high and answered their questions one by one.

“Shanshan, are you going on a blind date tomorrow?”

“No wonder you’re dressed up so beautifully. You bought a red dress, whitened your face, and even put on lipstick.”

“With this pretty look, you’ll have that guy mesmerized tomorrow, he won’t know what hit him.”

Hahaha…

Hearing everyone’s words, He Shanshan, who was usually loud and boisterous, became unusually shy. She twisted her body, pretending to be embarrassed and said:

“Oh, what are you all talking about?”

Maimiao, passing by, saw her acting all coy and pretentious. She glanced at her with disgust, not wanting to pay any attention to her. Just as she was about to leave, she heard He Shanshan suddenly say to everyone, looking at her:

“You know, I met Maimiao and Xia Qingning at the department store today. They even said my dress was ugly, and guess what…”

He Shanshan deliberately paused for effect, then burst into laughter in front of everyone’s curious gazes:

“They ended up buying a whole pile of scraps! It was this big…” She said, gesturing with her hands exaggeratedly. “This big, a whole pile. They spent three yuan on it. When Xia Qingning was paying, she was laughing so hard she couldn’t close her mouth, hahaha…”

The piercing laughter made Maimiao’s ears hurt. She saw a blush quickly creep up her face. Although she felt embarrassed, she couldn’t stand to hear her mock Xia Qingning like that, so she spoke up in defense:

“You don’t know anything! Qingning said she could make beautiful clothes, and she’ll definitely be able to do it!”

“What kind of beautiful clothes can you make from a pile of scraps? Beggar clothes? Haha…” He Shanshan laughed even more unrestrainedly. “When she makes them, don’t forget to show them to us! I’ve never seen new clothes made entirely from scraps.”

“You!” Maimiao was so angry she couldn’t speak. After a while, she finally said, “What does it matter if your clothes are expensive? You still can’t hide your ugly heart! If that guy actually likes you tomorrow, he must be blind!”

He Shanshan cared most about people saying she was ugly, even saying that her heart was ugly was unacceptable. Hearing Maimiao’s words, she immediately shouted back:

“I’m ugly?? If I’m ugly, then you’re basically a toad! Hahaha… that’s hilarious. You can’t stand me, could you possibly stand her?”

In terms of looks, He Shanshan, aside from being dark, did have better features than Maimiao. That’s why she was so confident in saying those belittling words to Maimiao.

“Who are you calling a toad?” Maimiao’s face flushed red.

“Whoever is ugly is the toad.” He Shanshan raised an eyebrow, her face full of disdain.

Hearing He Shanshan humiliate her in front of so many people, Maimiao couldn’t hold it back anymore. Could she just point her finger at her and call her ugly just because she was a little prettier than her?

Maimiao felt increasingly sad, tears welling up in her eyes, about to spill.

Xia Qingning, who was in the room, heard Maimiao and He Shanshan arguing through the window and walked out.

The commotion was so loud that Lu Jingzhe naturally heard it too. But he wasn’t interested in such drama, so even if they were yelling loudly, he didn’t look over.

But now, seeing Xia Qingning walking towards them, he hesitated for a moment, then followed her.

When Xia Qingning arrived, she just happened to hear He Shanshan’s insults to Maimiao. She walked over, patted Maimiao’s shoulder, and comforted her:

“Don’t listen to her. You’re not ugly at all, you just haven’t dressed up. If you put on makeup, you wouldn’t be any worse than her.”

Hearing Xia Qingning defend Maimiao, He Shanshan snorted coldly, a disdainful smile curving her lips:

“Then why don’t you put some makeup on her and show us.” Then she continued to mock, “But with your taste for buying trash as treasures, don’t actually turn her into a toad with bulging eyes and sausage lips, hahaha, that would be a real disgrace.”

Originally, Maimiao was feeling sad because He Shanshan had called her ugly. But now, seeing He Shanshan and Xia Qingning standing together, she suddenly felt confident. She immediately dried her tears and said to He Shanshan:

“What are you proud of? With your looks, standing next to Qingning, you’re not even as good as a toad.”

“You’re the toad!” He Shanshan instantly became furious. She reached out and pushed Maimiao.

She could call others ugly, but others were absolutely forbidden from calling her ugly.

Maimiao fought back, not to be outdone. They pushed each other, and it looked like they were about to fight.

The women nearby rushed to pull them apart, but the two of them were too strong, and no one could separate them. The scene became chaotic until a voice shouted:

“Shanshan, stop fighting! You’ll scratch your face, how will you go on a blind date tomorrow?”

Hearing this, He Shanshan seemed to realize something and immediately stopped.

If she really scratched her face or damaged her new dress, she would be the one who suffered a great loss.

He Shanshan stopped fighting, and soon Maimiao was pulled away.

“You did this on purpose, knowing I have a blind date tomorrow, didn’t you!” He Shanshan said, glaring at Maimiao belatedly.

“You’re full of crap!” Maimiao, in a fit of anger, cursed. She looked at He Shanshan, “My heart isn’t as dirty as yours. If I really had those thoughts, I would have scratched your face directly.”

He Shanshan knew that if she continued, she wouldn’t gain anything. She glanced at Maimiao and said condescendingly:

“I’m just prettier than you, it’s no use being jealous! Ugly duckling!”

Then she straightened her dress and hair, raised her head, and walked forward with a big stride.

Which girl doesn’t love beauty, especially at the age of eighteen or nineteen? Once again attacked for her appearance in public by He Shanshan, Maimiao’s eyes immediately turned red.

“Are you okay?” Xia Qingning saw her like this and quickly asked, “Did you get hurt?”

She also wanted to pull them apart when they were fighting, but He Shanshan was as strong as an ox, and Maimiao was also using all her strength. There was a crowd of people around trying to pull them apart, and she, with her small frame, couldn’t even get close to them.

“No.” Maimiao said, her emotions low. She tried to hold back her tears, waved goodbye to Xia Qingning, and turned to go home.

Seeing her dejected back and thinking about the hurtful things He Shanshan had said, a cold glint flashed in Xia Qingning’s eyes.

She remembered that in the original book, He Shanshan did marry well. The man was from a good family, had a good temper, and was also clever. Later, when the country opened up, he made a lot of money. He Shanshan married into his family and gave birth to two sons, enjoying a comfortable life for the rest of her days.

Xia Qingning’s eyes were cold, and she already had a plan.

He Shanshan, with her character and personality, didn’t deserve to live so well!