Sheng Qiye leaned against the railing with a hint of languid indifference. When his gaze met hers, his eyes suddenly sharpened, and Su Rong hurriedly looked away.
It seemed the Su Family had flourished over the past three years, for even Sheng Qiye was in attendance.
A playful smirk tugged at the corner of Sheng Qiye's mouth. "The fake heiress of the Su Family has just been released from prison."
Standing beside him was his special assistant, Leng Xiao. "What a pity. The once renowned top talent of the Imperial Capital has fallen so low as to become a prisoner. Word has it she didn't even get her college diploma before she was locked away. The Su Family is showing some lingering sentimentality by taking her back in; otherwise, she'd likely be sleeping on the streets."
Sheng Qiye's gaze followed Su Rong. "Who knows if the Su Family has some ulterior motive for taking her back in?"
"Sigh!" Leng Xiao's eyes drifted toward Qin Chufeng and Su Xuer. "Poor thing. Her boyfriend cheated on her, and Su Xuer is no pushover. Her days in the Su Family aren't going to be pleasant."
"Let's go. Time to offer our birthday wishes to Old Madam Su." Sheng Qiye turned and walked downstairs.
Su Rong stayed close to Old Madam Su. The guests coming to offer birthday greetings would all come over to exchange pleasantries with the old madam, yet their gazes grew decidedly unfriendly whenever they looked at Su Rong.
Some whispered among themselves. "Is that the criminal who caused a fatal hit-and-run? She's out of prison?"
"Good heavens, why did the old madam bring her along? Aren't they afraid of bringing bad luck upon themselves?"
"Her birth mother was shameless. Just so her own daughter could live in luxury, she switched two babies at birth and even abused the true heiress."
"Like mother, like daughter, neither of them is any good!"
"It's just the Su Family's mercy that they actually let her come back."
The harsh whispers and piercing glares fell heavily upon Su Rong. In truth, the moment she dared to accompany the old madam here, she had already braced herself for this.
Three years in that purgatory had tormented her both physically and mentally. At first, she had also believed she should simply play the coward, pulling her head in just to scrape by.
Yet when she discovered that the events of three years ago had merely been a trap engineered by Su Xuer, she realized she was innocent all along!
And when she learned that the man she loved most had betrayed her long ago, she knew she could no longer allow herself to be slaughtered at will. There was justice she needed to reclaim.
Consequently, the pride and backbone that had nearly been ground away during those three years of purgatory began to grow back anew.
Su Rong took a deep breath and greeted everyone with poise. Though her frame was frail, it was strong enough to support her unyielding spine.
She took every single barbed glance and vicious remark in stride, maintaining a proper, composed smile on her face.
Standing not far away, Sheng Qiye watched with keen interest. "As expected of the eldest young lady raised by the Su Family. She isn't even frightened."
Leng Xiao chuckled. "Who knows what Old Madam Su is up to, actually bringing her along."
"Who knows," Sheng Qiye murmured as he drew a bit closer and offered a slight bow. "Happy birthday, Old Madam!"
Old Madam Su's eyes lit up as she bowed in return. "Ah, President Sheng, how very thoughtful of you. Your presence at my humble birthday celebration truly brings great honor to this house!"
Sheng Qiye gave a slight nod, motioning for Leng Xiao to present the birthday gift. Then, he turned his head to glance at Su Rong; his gaze was no longer as sharp as before, though it still carried a trace of chill.
Su Rong politely nodded in acknowledgment.
"Rongrong, stay right by my side." Old Madam Su was making it clear to everyone present that Su Rong was still the eldest young lady of the Su Family.
Standing not far away, Su Xuer watched with a surge of jealousy. Even after everything that had happened, Su Rong could still stand there so steadily. Her poise and calm composure actually overshadowed her, the true heiress.
Noticing the peculiar expression on Su Xuer's face, Qin Yu hurried over. "Sister-in-law, are you alright?"
Qin Yu was Qin Chufeng's younger sister. Because the Qin Family had been on a downward spiral in recent years and needed to rely on the Su Family, Qin Yu had naturally become Su Xuer's partner in crime.
"That bitch is tough as nails!" Su Xuer said with a furious look. "Why didn't she just die in there!"
"Look at that holier-than-thou look on her face. She still thinks she's the eldest young lady of the Su Family."
Seeing Su Rong walk out of the banquet hall, a cunning smile flashed across Qin Yu's face. "Just wait. I'll teach her a proper lesson in a moment."
When Su Rong emerged from the restroom stall, a Cartier diamond bracelet was resting on the washbasin. She briefly wondered who could be so careless as to leave such a valuable item lying there.
However, having just been released from prison, she hadn't even had time to adjust to the outside world, and she wanted no part in trouble. She simply washed her hands and left, returning to the banquet hall to resume her place beside the old madam.
There were quite a few guests attending the birthday banquet, and many had gathered around the old madam, chatting and laughing. Yet, almost instinctively, they would cast strange sideways glances at Su Rong, as if her mere presence lowered the tone of the entire hall.
Suddenly, Qin Yu called out loudly, "My bracelet is missing! Has anyone seen my bracelet?"
At these words, everyone gathered around the old madam turned to look.
Su Xuer chimed in, "Think carefully about where you've been just now."
In a panic, Qin Yu said, "I went to the restroom just now. Afraid it would get wet while I was washing my hands, I took it off and laid it on the washbasin. But when I came out of the stall, the bracelet was gone."
Old Madam Su furrowed her brows. Tonight was her birthday banquet; how could such a scene happen?
Someone muttered under their breath, "It seemed like Su Rong... Miss Su left the area just now."
Su Rong wasn't the only one who had left, but she was the only one fresh out of prison.
Acting as though she had caught someone red-handed, Su Xuer looked at Su Rong. "Sister, did you go to the restroom just now? Did you happen to see that bracelet?"
Qin Yu grabbed Su Rong's hand. "Rongrong, that bracelet really means a lot to me. If you saw it, could you... just give it back to me?"
Su Rong's heart skipped a beat. "I did see it, but I didn't take your bracelet! How am I supposed to give it back to you?!"
Standing not far away, Leng Xiao and Sheng Qiye watched the scene unfold. "Well, now she's done for. The moment she gets out, she steals a bracelet. The eldest Miss Su will have a hard time clearing her name."
A smile touched the corner of Sheng Qiye's mouth. Let's see how she handles this one.
Su Xuer exchanged a glance with two girls standing nearby—both her loyal sidekicks—who immediately launched into a verbal assault.
"Su Rong, if you took it, just hand it back to Qin Yu."
"That's right. I heard that was a birthday gift from Qin Yu's boyfriend. It holds tremendous significance."
Old Madam Su struck her walking cane heavily against the floor. "On what grounds are you claiming that Rongrong took it? Do you have any proof?"
Someone muttered, "Who else would do such a thing besides her?"
Su Xuer's face was painted with deep concern. "How about this? To clear sister's name and give Qin Yu some peace of mind, let's just search sister's clothes and we'll know for sure. Qin Yu, if sister didn't take it, you must apologize to her."
Looking entirely confident, Qin Yu had already figured out how she would humiliate Su Rong once the bracelet was found on her. "Fine, I suppose that's the only way. If Su Rong didn't take it, I'll apologize to her."
Su Rong felt a faint lump in her coat pocket. It all came back to her now—Qin Yu had bumped into her earlier. That must have been when she stealthily slipped it into her coat pocket.
These people were truly vicious. She had only just gotten out and hadn't crossed their paths in any way; why were they still trying to frame her?
This was undoubtedly another of Su Xuer's schemes.
Since that was how they wanted to play it, she would just have to pay them back in their own coin.
During her years in prison, she had suffered plenty of bullying and beatings, but she had also learned a thing or two about survival.