After Li Qiao went upstairs, Li Guangming looked at her back and sighed. "Seems like this is the only way."
Hearing that, Duan Shuyuan shot him a glare and straightened her back, fully displaying the demeanor of the lady of the house. "What else do you want to do? Qiaoqiao made herself very clear. If you try to force her to marry Shang Lu again, I'll divorce you!"
"My dear, what are you saying?" The henpecked Li Guangming quickly walked over and gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder, coaxing her softly. "I just think it's a bit of a shame to cancel the engagement. But beyond that, I'd never force our daughter into anything.
Besides, don't you feel the same? Otherwise, why were you sighing the whole time?"
Duan Shuyuan gave him a cold sideways glance and shrugged off his hand. "I was thinking about how I'm going to report his son to Old Master Shang. He bullied my daughter, and I need to figure out the best way to get even for Qiaoqiao."
Li Guangming let out an awkward laugh and bent down to pour her a glass of fruit tea. "Let's maybe not escalate things, okay? The three little ones at home scared Shang Lu so bad he ran back to Parma. I doubt he'll be showing his face anytime soon."
"I've got my own plans. Don't meddle." Duan Shuyuan glared at him. She didn't even take the tea, clearly in a foul mood. She stood up and called for the driver.
And what's the best way for a woman to unwind? Spending money, of course!
Duan Shuyuan planned to get a facial, and maybe drop by the mall to see what was new—perfect chance to buy a few outfits for her precious daughter.
…
The next day, Sunday.
Before 9 a.m., Li Qiao was jolted awake by her phone buzzing nonstop.
She had gone to bed at two in the morning. The endless vibrating next to her pillow made her snap—half-asleep, she flung the phone onto the carpet.
Peace and quiet at last.
She finally woke up at 10:30, sitting up groggily against the headboard, clearly still out of it.
After spacing out for a while, she vaguely remembered the phone ringing earlier.
Li Qiao gave the floor a bored glance, then got out of bed and picked up the phone. On the screen were three missed calls.
All from the class monitor.
She rubbed her temple but didn't call back. Instead, she opened WeChat and checked the class group chat—which she'd set to "Do Not Disturb." As expected, 156 unread messages.
After scanning through a few of them, she got the gist.
Tonight, there would be a graduation farewell party for her major at the Royal Hotel.
Li Qiao went silent. She had never liked these kinds of reunions and was just about to call the monitor to decline when Tang Yiting called.
"Qiaoqiao, I heard your major's holding a farewell party tonight too?"
Li Qiao flopped back onto the bed and replied with a muffled voice, "Yeah, Royal Hotel."
Tang Yiting immediately lit up with excitement. "Then let's go together! Our major is also hosting it at the Royal. Does your event have any special requirements?
Let me tell you, our class monitor just said…"
From that point on, Tang Yiting launched into a full-on monologue over the phone, like a one-woman comedy show. Li Qiao couldn't get a word in edgewise.
They were in the same university but different majors—she hadn't expected both farewell parties to be on the same day.
After listening for a while, Li Qiao simply put the phone on speaker, got up, pulled open the curtains, and headed to the bathroom to freshen up.
When she came back with a freshly washed face, Tang Yiting finally paused. "Hey, hey—Qiaoqiao, are you listening?"
"Yeah. So… you guys are wearing formal dresses?" Li Qiao asked coolly.
"Of course! Are you free this afternoon? Come with me to the styling studio. I'm wearing the most expensive gown tonight—I'm gonna outshine everyone. This college life… we finally made it."