Read Novel Full Chapter 51.1 – Birthday Banquet: Third Part (I)
Chapter 51.1 – Birthday Banquet: Third Part (I)
Everyone was looking at the Huo couple with strange expressions, and many subconsciously began to distance themselves.
Fan Xiaowan also quietly moved two steps away from Zhou Qianqian.
Facing Huo Pengyi’s gloomy gaze, Zhou Qianqian felt a chill down her spine. Years of familiarity told her exactly what he was thinking: if the Huo family really got implicated, she would definitely be the scapegoat!
“No!” A wave of overwhelming panic rose in Zhou Qianqian’s heart, and she shrieked, “This isn’t true at all, Ning Shaobai—Ning Shaobai is talking nonsense!”
“It was you,” something suddenly came to Zhou Qianqian’s mind, and she exclaimed, “It was you who reported it, wasn’t it?”
“You did it because of that bet! It must’ve been for that bet! You deliberately reported me to get me in trouble!” At such a critical moment, Zhou Qianqian’s mind was suddenly working faster, but unfortunately still missing the point. “You thought you couldn’t get the Huo family’s ancestral houses, so you did this to harm me!”
Huo Pengyi frowned. “What ancestral houses? What bet?”
Zhou Qianqian could no longer care about hiding it. “Ning Shaobai told me he was going to get that row of courtyard houses! I was furious and made a bet with him.”
Huo Pengyi realized something and said with a frown, “And then?”
Zhou Qianqian hesitated when she saw the warning look from Old Madam Huo, but Fan Xiaowan stepped forward to speak up for her.
“Uncle Huo, I can vouch for that. I personally watched Zhou Qianqian and Brother Shaobai making the bet. Brother Shaobai said he would definitely get that row of houses, and that if he couldn’t, Xia Mian would return her current courtyard to Miss Zhou.”
“And if he did get it, Brother Shaobai would expose some secret about your wife…”
Huo Pengyi didn’t care at all about his wife’s secret. He looked at Xia Mian, clearly reluctant to accept the truth. “The house Miss Xia is living now…”
Fan Xiaowan tilted her head and said, “I was told she was relying on her identity as Chenchen’s lifesaver to pressure Old Madam Huo into selling it to her.”
Then she turned to Zhou Qianqian to confirm, “Isn’t that right?””
Zhou Qianqian was obviously in a mess at this point, and nodded frantically. “Yes! Ning Shaobai and her forced me.”
Xia Mian rolled her eyes. “Miss Fan, who taught you this disgusting habit of slandering others? Please don’t reverse the right from wrong—when did I ever force anyone to sell me the Huo family’s house?”
“That courtyard was bought with real money, in a formal transaction with the previous owner, Ms. Zhou Qianqian. We signed a legal purchase contract.”
Looking at Zhou Qianqian’s state, Xia Mian sighed and said, “Honestly, before doing the deal with her, I had no idea she was such a habitual liar and troublemaker. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bought anything from her.”
‘Who’s reversing right from wrong here?!’ Fan Xiaowan cursed inwardly, but, keeping her appearance, she didn’t lash out and feigned confusion instead. “Aren’t you living in No. 2, Block 3 on Goldfish Alley now?”
Xia Mian responded openly, “Yeah, what about it?”
Huo Pengyi said gravely, “That’s our Huo family’s ancestral home!”
“But I got it transferred from Zhou Qianqian,” Xia Mian retorted. “How could your Huo family’s ancestral home be under Zhou Qianqian’s name? Don’t tell me Zhou Qianqian is your Huo family’s secret daughter?”
Old Madam Huo and Zhou Qianqian’s expressions changed slightly. Huo Pengyi couldn’t answer and could only turn to his wife and roar, “What’s going on?!”
Old Madam Huo immediately began to wipe her tears and said, “It was Ning Shaobai who threatened me! He resented me because of Xiao Yun’s painting and wanted revenge. At the time, I thought Xiao Yun was still our daughter-in-law anyway, and even if she was angry, it would pass, so I told Qianqian to transfer the house to him. I just wanted those two siblings to calm down first!”
“Who would’ve thought he’d just hand it over to that Xia girl, just to humiliate us?”
This line of reasoning even seemed somewhat convincing—after all, the Huo family’s treatment of Ning Shaoyun had just been exposed, and it was only natural for the Ning siblings to want revenge.
Of course, Xia Mian wouldn’t let them guide the public opinion. “Now you’re making it sound like I’m the one at fault?”
“Whether it’s because you’re guilty, ashamed, or being blackmailed, that’s your own problem.”
“I used real money to buy the courtyard from the titleholder, Zhou Qianqian. What did I do wrong?”
Rong Xin chimed in, “I can vouch for this. I was the one who drafted their contract. Seventy thousand it was—actually a bit above market price.”
“Old lady, don’t tell me Zhou Qianqian never mentioned this to you. Did she pocket the money?”
Zhou Qianqian quickly denied it. “That’s nonsense! It was only twenty thousand!”
Rong Xin rolled his eyes. “She offered above market price on the condition of paying in installments. Why don’t you talk about the remaining payment?”
“So what you’re saying is Miss Xia hasn’t paid the final installment yet, right?” Huo Pengyi quickly grasped the point and tried a gentle negotiation, “How about this—we’ll waive the remaining balance and instead compensate you with another house of equal value. Would that be acceptable?”
Xia Mian responded with displeasure, “No, it wouldn’t! What do you mean by that?”
“If I accepted that, wouldn’t it be admitting that I got this courtyard through shady means?”
“I have a clean conscience—why should I bear such a baseless accusation?”
“Besides, who says I haven’t paid the final installment?” Xia Mian sneered at Zhou Qianqian. “Shall I show you the bank transfer record? I wired the money to you ten days ago. You’re just trying to pocket it and make me your scapegoat!”
“That’s a lie!” Zhou Qianqian shouted. “Where did you even get the money?!”
Xia Mian rolled her eyes. “That’s none of your business.”
Huo Pengyi frowned deeply. “Miss Xia, that house is our family’s ancestral home—it holds great significance for us.”
“Well, that’s strange,” Ning Shaobai interjected. “Why is it that only the house Xia Mian lives in holds great significance? The others getting renamed and sold off doesn’t seem to matter to you.”
“Picking on one girl like this—isn’t that a bit much?”
Huo Pengyi frowned, “What do you mean?”
“That whole row of ‘important’ ancestral homes your family had has already been transferred to me,” Ning Shaobai said. “They’re all under my name now. Was that me forcing you to sell too?”
“Impossible!” Old Madam Huo and Zhou Qianqian blurted out in unison. “You’re lying!”
Huo Pengyi also found it absurd. “How could that be? What do you take the Huo family for?”
“What’s so impossible about it?” Ning Shaobai sneered. “Just like how my sister’s painting mysteriously ended up at an auction—what’s so strange about your houses being sold?”
“Isn’t that just your family tradition?” He looked at Old Madam Huo and Zhou Qianqian. “To win a new project, gifts must be given. Director Luo seemed to really like courtyard houses for a while now.”
Huo Pengyi suddenly turned to Old Madam Huo and Zhou Qianqian, looking like he was about to pass out from anger. “You… you two!”
Old Madam Huo’s face turned pale, and Zhou Qianqian didn’t dare make a sound.
Huo Pengyi was so furious his chest was heaving, as if he was about to cough up blood.
Ning Shaobai chuckled. “Uncle Huo, it’s just a row of old courtyards—are you really taking it this hard?”
“If we’re counting value, it’s still worth less than my sister’s one painting. It’s not a big deal… You guys didn’t even look this heartbroken when my sister’s painting was taken away and sold without her consent.”
Huo Pengyi pointed at Ning Shaobai, trembling with rage. “You—you did this on purpose…”
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