She also wanted to be filial to Grandma Qiao, but every time Grandma Qiao looked at her, her eyes were filled with resentment, and her filial piety was deemed worthless.
Qiao Lan pushed through the door, her evening gown clinging to her exquisite figure, exceptionally enchanting. She was so proud, just like a princess, "Xiao Xia, you're leaving just like that? I wanted to introduce a man to you."
Qiao Xia looked at her indifferently, feeling an ominous premonition.
"Qiao Lan, ever since we were little, you've wanted to snatch everything that's mine. How childish can you be? Li Hui is yours now; what more could you possibly want?" She wanted to trample on her wounds once more.
Qiao Lan approached her, lowering her voice, "I want to crush you into the dust, to see you in agony!"
"Get lost!" Qiao Xia pushed her away, "You are truly malicious!"
Dressed in high heels, Qiao Lan was knocked to the ground with just a slight push from Qiao Xia, letting out a muffled moan and looking at Qiao Xia in pain, "Xiao Xia, I only meant well, wanting to set you up, why did you hit me?"
"I…" It was just a gentle push, how could she have fallen?
She didn't hit her, did she?
Li Hui suddenly burst through the door and slapped Qiao Xia on the cheek, his expression cold as ice, "Qiao Xia, I'm sorry for what I did to you, but if you want to vent your anger, come at me. What does this have to do with Qiao Lan? She's still your sister, and yet you resorted to violence."
Qiao Xia thought her heart had long turned to ashes, but in this moment, it was still cut to pieces.
Li Hui, who had always treated her with tenderness and affection, had struck her for Qiao Lan.
That slap shattered all her illusions.
Childhood friends, naive companions, as time flowed on, her love eventually became tarnished and irretrievable.
Her cheek burned with pain, but her heart was numb.
Li Hui abruptly looked away; she was the first girl he had ever fancied, the one he once imagined caring for and cherishing for a lifetime.
However, the world is fickle, and fate had deemed them not to be.
She should not have laid her hands on Qiao Lan.
Li Hui helped Qiao Lan up, and she, clinging to his arm, indignantly said, "It's my own carelessness; I don't blame Xiao Xia. I feel so sorry for her. I must have been out of my mind to frame her last time. But this time, I really want to make it up to her. Third Young Master Liu really likes girls like Qiao Xia, so I thought of asking her if she would be willing to meet him."
Qiao Xia stood there, stunned. Third Young Master Liu?
Liu Yitian? The Third Young Master of the Liu family, a typical rich playboy, treating women like clothes, changing them at will and with many strange quirks. Qiao Xia had once written about his scandals; one model who stayed with him for a month was left unrecognizable from the torment.
Qiao Lan really knew how to use others as her weapon.
"I know you mean well." Li Hui said, gently consoling Qiao Lan.
"Out!" Qiao Xia pointed at them, "Get out!"
Li Hui scoffed, "Don't be ungrateful."
Qiao Xia stayed in her room a while longer, drying her tears and putting the family portrait into her backpack. When she went downstairs, the party was in full swing, and there was Li Hui, dancing with Qiao Lan, suddenly kneeling in front of her with a diamond ring, proposing.
Qiao Xia's legs felt like they had taken root, unable to move.
She told herself to give up, "Give it up, Qiao Xia. This scene makes it clear to you the love a man holds for a woman. His love no longer belongs to you; it hasn't belonged to you for a long time."
She thought she would feel sorrow, but all she felt was numbness.
"Ever since I first met you, I knew my wife would be you, Miss Qiao Lan. Would you marry me?" Li Hui looked at Qiao Lan with deep love, expressing his feelings.
"Marry him, marry him, marry him!" The surrounding friends began to chant.
Covering her mouth, Qiao Lan burst into emotional tears. She was the princess of the event, the center of everyone's attention. Everyone knew that Qiao Lan was about to marry into a wealthy household and become the Young Mistress of the Li family.
"I will." Qiao Lan answered with shy delight.
Numbly, Qiao Xia thought that this had once been her most beautiful dream. She had dreamt that Li Hui would come to her like a white horse Prince, offering her salvation from misery, proposing, and she, blushing, would consent, together for a lifetime.
Now, as he proposed, the bride was not her.
How ironic.
The love of the past had become a joke.