This wasn't the time for gooey expressions of gratitude.
Xu Tingyu put away her phone and picked up all the jewelry and bags she'd bought.
She couldn't gather 18 million yuan right away, but giving a bit first might buy her some time.
With this thought in mind, she carried her things downstairs.
To her surprise, her mother - in - law was sitting downstairs.
The moment Liu Ning saw her coming down, a look of disgust shot over.
When she noticed all the bags and parcels Xu Tingyu was carrying, she couldn't sit still anymore.
"What do you think you're doing? With my Qi family members still around, you're trying to steal things and sell them?"
Her voice was shrill and sarcastic, even tinged with a hint of excitement.
It was as if she'd come specifically to catch her red - handed.
"I bought these myself," Xu Tingyu said.
The items in her hands suddenly felt as heavy as a million pounds.
She knew she'd done nothing wrong, but being shouted at like this made her feel an indescribable sense of humiliation.
"You bought them yourself? Where did you get the money?"
"You've never had a day of work. The Xu family has been on the verge of bankruptcy for ages. They don't have the money to subsidize you. Are you still trying to argue?"
Liu Ning seemed to exude nothing but sharp - tongued meanness with every breath. Every word was like a poisoned arrow aimed at Xu Tingyu.
Before, she could avoid her when she couldn't stand up to her.
But now, standing on the stairs, there was nowhere to hide.
Those cold and contemptuous looks pierced countless holes in her body.
She could only repeat, "I really bought these myself. The card - swiping records can prove it."
She hadn't worked in the three years of her marriage.
But her financial situation had always been stable, and she'd always kept her accounts separate from Qi Shifeng's.
Back then, she'd had her own little plans.
She'd wanted to show Qi Shifeng that she hadn't married him for his money.
She'd swallowed all the malicious speculation and thrown herself headlong into this hopeless situation, all because she loved him.
"Hehe, who are you kidding? You think you can afford all these?"
Liu Ning scoffed and didn't believe a word.
She'd never really understood her daughter - in - law.
So she didn't know that back then, Xu Tingyu had been able to support herself well through performances and teaching students.
Xu Tingyu followed Liu Ning's gaze and looked at the things in her hands.
Actually, if Liu Ning hadn't come to deliberately pick on her, she would've noticed that these bags weren't the latest models.
They were indeed bought by Xu Tingyu before.
Since she'd quit the entertainment industry after marriage, she'd been living off her savings and rarely bought new things.
Only her father would buy things for her under the guise of giving her gifts.
Later, when she knew the Xu family was having financial difficulties, she'd refused her father's gifts, saying that Qi Shifeng would buy things for her.
Qi Shifeng had never given her such things privately. Only the Qi family would occasionally send a few over.
She knew clearly that they were for her to maintain the status of "Second Young Mistress of the Qi Family."
She had no right to dispose of them.
So she hadn't taken them.
"Mom, I really bought these myself. The things the family gave me are all upstairs. I didn't touch them."
In the end, she chose to back down.
Arguing with Liu Ning now was meaningless. Turning these things into cash as soon as possible was the top priority.
"You say you didn't touch them and that's it? How do I know if you've mixed them up?"
"Moreover, now that you're a member of the Qi family, your things are the Qi family's things. Don't even think about using them to fill the Xu family's financial hole."
"Besides, if the news of you selling these things gets out, what will people think of the Qi family?"
"I think you're really a disgrace. You don't even understand such a simple truth. You're deliberately trying to smear the Qi family's reputation."
...
What did helplessness and humiliation feel like?
It was probably like this, being scolded like a thief right to her face.
The more she listened, the paler her face became. Finally, when she heard Liu Ning insulting her parents, she exploded.
"Indeed, my father only taught me to be filial to my in - laws. He didn't teach me how to deal with a mother - in - law who deliberately picks on me."
"I don't know if I've smeared the Qi family's reputation."
"But I do know that when my father was buried in a disgraceful way and the Qi family didn't show up at all, people must have sighed at the coldness of the world."
She'd been wrong. She and her father had both been wrong.
Being submissive and obedient wasn't what the Qi family wanted in a daughter - in - law.
Qi Shifeng wanted someone he loved.
The Qi family wanted someone from a well - matched family.
And she was neither loved nor from a good family...
The pain made her dizzy, but she still composed herself and took another step down the stairs with her things.
"Anyway, I'm definitely taking these things today."
"If you object, call the police and have me arrested."
Since she wasn't liked no matter what, she might as well just let go.
She didn't have the mood to keep arguing.
Seeing her so "arrogant," Liu Ning was almost mad with anger.
In the past few days, she'd been laughed at by those ladies when playing cards.
She'd come here thinking she could scold Xu Tingyu and feel better, but now she was even angrier.
"You dare to talk to me like this. You're really out of control."
"Divorce. I must make my son divorce you, this jinx!"
Liu Ning tried to lunge at her.
But Xu Tingyu walked quickly. When Liu Ning lunged forward, she not only failed to hit Xu Tingyu but also tripped herself.
"Thud."
Liu Ning fell to the ground and started wailing, "Ouch, ouch."
"Someone, someone! The younger generation is daring to attack the elder. It's a complete reversal of the order of things."
At this moment, there was no trace of the dignity of a noblewoman left in her.
She was more like a mean - spirited shrew on the street.
Seeing Liu Ning fall, Xu Tingyu was a bit flustered and instinctively reached out to help her.
She hadn't intended for things to get this embarrassing.
But as soon as her hand touched Liu Ning, she was slapped and pushed away forcefully.
"Do you still want to hit me?"
Liu Ning pointed at her, her face full of disbelief.
Xu Tingyu was also pushed to the ground, and a red handprint quickly appeared on her fair face.
Aunt Zhang rushed over in time. Seeing the two people on the ground, she was stunned for a moment before reacting and going to help Liu Ning first.
"Madam, are you okay?"
Liu Ning was helped to the sofa. Her face was now extremely ugly.
"Okay? How can I be okay? I've been beaten by my daughter - in - law. If this gets out, I'll be laughed at."
"Call Shifeng right now and tell him to come back and get a divorce!"
Looking at Xu Tingyu still sitting on the ground, Liu Ning wished she could skin her alive.
Thanks to this jinx, the Qi family was now the laughingstock of everyone.
She couldn't just stay at home quietly but had to go out and make a fool of herself.
She didn't know what kind of spell Xu Tingyu had cast on the old man back then to be allowed into the Qi family.
"Mom, I didn't hit you. You fell on your own," Xu Tingyu said.
Sometimes, Xu Tingyu even admired herself.
In this suffocating entanglement, she could still calm down and try to reason with her.
"Don't try to deny it. No matter what you say, you're definitely getting divorced."
Liu Ning looked at her smugly.
"Not to mention that you're being unfilial to me now. Even if you'd done nothing wrong, you still wouldn't be able to hold the position of the Qi family's president's wife."
It was only at this moment that Xu Tingyu suddenly realized.
Liu Ning had come here to cause this commotion.
All the talk about not allowing her to subsidize the Xu family, about stealing things, about being unfilial...
It was all fake.
She'd come for only one purpose, to tell her:
A daughter - in - law from a bankrupt family was a burden and a disgrace to the Qi family.