"Sister Chu Ling, you’re amazing! President Zheng from Shengyu Hua Bang actually bought the exact necklace you’re wearing on the spot, and he insisted on taking the one on your neck!"

"Stuff like this doesn’t happen often in our circle, it just shows how much everyone likes Sister Chu Ling!"

"Yeah, even those big shots are all fans of our Sister Chu Ling, that’s the charm of our Sister Chu Ling!"

"Sister Chu Ling did great at Fashion Week too. I heard a bunch of fashion resources have come knocking on their own. Looks like Sister Chu Ling’s career is about to level up again!"

Josie Martin rushed to the celebration party and walked in on exactly this scene.

The people in the circle who used to orbit around her were now all clustered around Chu Ling.

Their mouths didn’t stop spewing flattery.

And seeing Chu Ling so calm and collected, so at ease in the spotlight, made her grit her teeth in fury.

That bitch!

She thinks this is enough to shake her status in the circle, to attract Song Chengyun’s attention?

She can keep dreaming!

Trash is trash. No matter how glamorous she looks now, it can’t wipe out the fact that she was once abandoned.

Setting everything else aside, just in terms of family background, she would always crush her.

With that in mind, Josie Martin exhaled lightly, the heaviness in her chest easing a bit.

She turned her head, only to realize that Song Chengyun’s gaze had been following Chu Ling the whole time. Even when she tugged at his arm, his eyes didn’t come back.

The mood that had just barely relaxed was once again ignited into towering rage, and she stared darkly at Chu Ling, who was standing amid the crowd, smiling sweetly. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Ye Zhichen and Ling Qingan were sitting in the garden. In front of Ling Qingan was a glass of wine, and in front of Ye Zhichen, a glass of plain water.

Hearing the whole venue talking about Chu Ling, Yun Feng and LG, she turned her head to look at the smiling, slightly careless Ling Qingan opposite her.

As for Ling Qingan, she herself didn’t even know what she was feeling.

Pity?

The once pampered-to-the-sky little princess of the Ling Family had now fallen to earth with the Ling Family’s decline. Most people facing her now probably only felt pity.

But she didn’t.

And she knew Ling Qingan didn’t need it either.

The Ling Family’s little princess had always been lofty and arrogant, looking down on everything.

Even in disgrace, even covered in dust, a Phoenix is still a Phoenix; nobility runs in her blood and bones, untouchable.

They weren’t close, but they were, in a way. After all, they’d once been roommates, seeing each other every day.

But Ling Qingan always kept to herself and rarely intersected with them.

She thought that, in her heart, she had always regarded Ling Qingan as a friend, and Xiao Ran was the same.

Ye Zhichen’s expression turned a little dazed, as if she’d returned to her school days.

Back then, the Ye and Chi families were very close. When the gossip spread to school, it somehow morphed into the two families planning an arranged marriage.

There was even a rumor that after she graduated, she would marry Chi Mu.

She had tried to explain to everyone, but no one believed her.

When Chi Mu heard the rumor, he assumed she was the one who’d spread it, so he blew up at her and swore he would never marry her in this lifetime.

At the time, holding back all her bitterness, she tried to explain to him, but Ling Qingan, who happened to be passing by, stepped in front of her.

She said, "If you think she’s the one spreading rumors, then show proof that she did it, instead of relying on your own guesses and suspicions to blame a girl right here! The Ye Family’s little princess has both character and grades, she’s outstanding in every way. There are plenty of people lining up to marry her. Don’t tell me you think that just because you don’t want to marry her, nobody else does? Not everyone is as blind as you! And not everyone’s character is as lousy as yours!"

Everyone said Ling Qingan did whatever she wanted and had no filter, but back then she stood up and scolded Chi Mu for her.

From then on, her relationship with Chi Mu grew cold. Later, one day, the school suddenly started buzzing with the news that Chi Mu was getting very close to Duan Xuewei, using it to refute the rumors about the Ye and Chi families’ arranged marriage.

So later, she advised her again, "If it hurts, then let go. Don’t wait till you’re riddled with holes before you think about saving yourself."

Back then, both she and Ling Qingan were struggling in love, and Xiao Ran was trapped in the Su Family.

Now, Ling Qingan seemed to have let go and completed her self‑rescue.

Xiao Ran had also broken free from the Su Family’s cage and met Fu Qiyuan.

And she...

Ye Zhichen touched her own belly.

She was still sunk deep in the swamp, unable to escape.