Chapter 151: 122 Strongly supporting a bestie, it’s not illiteracy but blindness of the heart (2 updates)_1 Chapter 151: 122 Strongly supporting a bestie, it’s not illiteracy but blindness of the heart (2 updates)_1 Su Ruoan and Tang Su looked at Zhao Xinlan instinctively, thinking she would be slightly upset, but to their surprise, Zhao Xinlan didn’t show any emotion.

A faint smile appeared on her lips, carrying the grace of a hospital director’s wife.

Su Ruoan knew her best friend well; if Zhao Xinlan was indifferent to Jiang Tao’s neglect, it meant the complaints she shared earlier were not just venting.

Their marriage was probably coming to an end.

Zhao Xinlan’s reluctance to divorce might indeed be just for her to reclaim what she deserved from Jiang Tao.

Money, for instance.

If every woman could be as clear-headed, perhaps there would be far fewer tragic females.

There were many people on their side, and with Doctor Lu present, Jiang Tao noticed them right away.

“Lanlan, where did you go just now? The kids were looking for you. Come here, let’s cut the cake together,” Jiang Tao beckoned Zhao Xinlan to stand by his side.

He knew well that only if Zhao Xinlan stood next to him would he possibly call over the others he intended to invite.

With a smile, Zhao Xinlan withdrew her hand from Su Ruoan’s arm and walked towards Jiang Tao.

After she made her way over, Jiang Tao embraced her and gave her a peck on the face in front of everyone, then he started praising Zhao Xinlan’s hard work to the Jiang family members.

“Although it’s my birthday today, your sister-in-law, your aunt, your mother-in-law has devoted many years to our elder brother. Anyone with the surname Jiang should respect my wife just as much as they respect me.”

“Wife, it’s been tough on you all these years, I love you.”

Zhao Xinlan: “…”

If Zhao Xinlan hadn’t seen Jiang Tao’s true colors so many times, she might have been fooled by his sweet talk again.

“Alright, we’re an old married couple now. Speaking such words doesn’t disgust you? Especially in front of the kids. Let’s continue singing. After the song, make a wish. Everyone is waiting for the cake.”

As she spoke, Zhao Xinlan discreetly wiped the saliva Jiang Tao left on her face.

At home, they slept in different beds and rooms. Putting on such a public display of affection was a joke, wasn’t it?

“Alright, then after I make my wish, let’s blow out the candles and cut the cake together,” Jiang Tao said with gentlemanly modesty, then looked up at Tang Su, “Tang Su, call your friend and Doctor Lu over as well.”

“Director Jiang, let’s not. Mainly because the three of us can’t carry a tune,” Tang Su said with a smile, rejecting his offer.

Using a very clumsy lie.

After all, as the husband of her godmother, Tang Su had never addressed him as godfather, but she had won first place in a school music festival with a solo performance in the first year of junior high.

Something that Zhao Xinlan would undoubtedly have boasted about in front of Jiang Tao, and he knew it.

So, when she said they were tone-deaf, it was pure fabrication.

However, even if her voice was not blessed by an angelic touch, she wasn’t willing to sing Happy Birthday for Jiang Tao.

Because Jiang Tao didn’t deserve it.

As expected, Jiang Tao, who understood the subtext in Tang Su’s words, showed a faint crack in his composure, but today was their Jiang family’s home ground, so he had to hold back.

“Tangtang just had a fever, and her throat still hurts. You have sons and daughters, and so many nephews and nieces, isn’t that enough to fill the stage for you?” Zhao Xinlan spoke up for Tang Su.

Jiang Tao nodded, “Enough, enough.”

Jiang Qimeng’s lips tightened as she exchanged glances with a few people around her, then, pushed by someone, she collided directly with the cake trolley.

The birthday candles on the cake toppled over just as Jiang Qimeng wished, towards Zhao Xinlan.

Dressed in a cheongsam, Zhao Xinlan’s graceful figure was in full view.

Even nearing her fifties, Zhao Xinlan still maintained an excellent figure, and she took good care of her face. In Jiang Qimeng’s eyes, Zhao Xinlan’s looks and figure were all maintained with her father’s money.

In short, if Zhao Xinlan hadn’t married her father, her life would have been just like that of her friend Su Ruoan—filled with endless daily worries and revolving only around the kitchen, husband, and children.

Therefore, the Jiang family owed Zhao Xinlan nothing. She ate and drank on her father’s account, yet she colluded with outsiders to mock and criticize. Such a woman was just ungrateful.

The candle flame touched Zhao Xinlan’s flammable dress material and spread instantly, but fortunately, a restaurant waiter reacted quickly and opened a bottle of mineral water, dousing the sparks that were about to cause trouble.

“Jiang Qimeng, that was too much!” Even though no major incident occurred, Zhao Xinlan was still infuriated after regaining her composure.

She had intended to bite back her anger, but Jiang Qimeng was now an adult, no longer the willful and reckless underage girl she used to be.

Back then, when she, a minor, wronged her, an adult, if she made a fuss, no matter how it spread, it was going to be her fault no matter what.

Now, Jiang Qimeng had grown up, become an adult, yet the number of little tricks she played against her were still so numerous—how could Zhao Xinlan continue to swallow her anger?

She had tolerated her in the past, merely for the sake of her father’s face; at that time, Jiang Tao was still quite good to her.

But ever since Jiang Tao, for the sake of Jiang Qimeng, absolutely refused to keep the child in her womb, she had actually started to lose all hope.

Just now, she was thinking that no matter what, today was Jiang Tao’s birthday, and everyone should spend it in peace before saying anything else.

Until just a moment ago, she had kept a smile on her face, constantly preserving Jiang Tao’s pride as a man.

And yet, Jiang Qimeng remained ungrateful, right?

Since she was ungrateful, why should she bother being considerate of her?

“Auntie Zhao, what do you mean? I didn’t do it on purpose,” Jiang Qimeng also seemed surprised that Zhao Xinlan would suddenly shout at her in public, and at this moment, she was even pointing at her.

She hated being pointed at more than anything, and this Zhao Xinlan, she really was a shrew.

No matter how nice the clothes she wore, no matter how good the brands her father bought for her, they couldn’t hide the vulgarity and cheapness in her bones.

Did she really think people are defined by their clothes?

A person who is lowly at heart can never be a lady of high society, no matter how fancy their clothes.

“Not on purpose? Can you swear to the heavens and say, if you did it on purpose, you’ll never get married in this lifetime and might as well stay home and become an old nun?”

“Do you dare?”

Jiang Qimeng, with an extremely ugly expression: “…”

Not wanting to marry was one thing, but being unable to marry was something else entirely.

How dare this wretched woman, Zhao Xinlan, speak to her like this?

Jiang Tao was also very surprised on the side; when he first met Zhao Xinlan, he knew she was a straightforward woman who said what she felt.

But since the two started dating, Zhao Xinlan had held back a lot.

For his sake, she made many changes, and after marriage, she swallowed her pride, seduced by his sweet talk.

He didn’t expect either that Zhao Xinlan would blow up like this on such an occasion.

Over just a small matter, after all, nothing serious had happened, had it?

Why make such a fuss about it?

“Lanlan, that’s too much,” Jiang Tao said in a low voice.

Seeing her father stand up for her, Jiang Qimeng looked smug, so what was Zhao Xinlan making a fuss about?

By making such a scene, wasn’t she just embarrassing herself?

“I’m too much? Jiang Tao, speak with your conscience—if it weren’t for the quick arrival of the waiter, would all of you surnamed Jiang stand there watching the drama, wanting to see if I’d be burned alive?”

“Even if not burned to death, what if I were disfigured or left with a disability? Tell me, at that time, could Jiang Qimeng still marry as you wish? I would do everything in my power to send her to jail, so she’d never think of coming out in this lifetime.”

“I’m telling you, Jiang Tao, even if she says she didn’t mean it, that it was just a prank or a joke, serious consequences mean there’s a price to pay, regardless. You’re the dean; you know the law, don’t you? You aren’t illiterate.”

“…”

Jiang Tao didn’t know what to say; how did a small matter escalate to such severity?

Also, today was his birthday. His wife knew exactly what he wanted to achieve, so why bring up these hurtful things at this juncture?

Mengmeng was his daughter; even if not for the nun’s face, one should at least respect the Buddha’s, right?

“Lanlan, I think Dean Jiang isn’t illiterate, but perhaps a bit blind of heart,” Su Ruoan walked over, standing beside Zhao Xinlan, fully supporting her best friend.

The Jiang Family: “…”