435 Invitation?
Just as Shen Ruojing was about to speak, a man’s voice rang out.
Hence, she turned her head and saw Doctor Xu walking toward them in formal attire.
Shen Ruojing paused in the crowd and observed them from a distance.
Upon seeing Doctor Xu, Mother Rong was slightly stunned. “Doctor Xu?”
Doctor Xu nodded and then placed his hand on Rong Rong’s shoulder. “Auntie, Rong Rong is accompanying me as my companion today. Is there a problem?”
Mother Rong immediately responded, “No problem.”
After saying that, she couldn’t help but add, “However, she hasn’t attended such a banquet in thirteen years. Please take care of her and don’t let her embarrass us.”
Upon hearing this, Rong Rong’s body stiffened.
Thirteen years…that was a sensitive topic for her.
Doctor Xu replied, “Attending banquets is just child’s play for Little Rong. She can easily pick it up. Auntie, rest assured, no one will mind.”
Doctor Xu then turned to Rong Rong and said, “Do you remember our classmate Xiaoxin? She’s here today and wants to say hello to you!”
Before Rong Rong could refuse, Doctor Xu waved at someone in the distance.
A girl with a few friends walked over. “You’re Rong Rong, right? I wasn’t sure if it was really you.”
Xiaoxin was also a young lady from a wealthy family in the capital and was a former classmate of Rong Rong’s.
Rong Rong clenched her fists when she saw this familiar face from her past, wanting to run away.
Her body was even trembling slightly. However, Doctor Xu held her hand and said with a smile, “Yes, it’s Rong Rong.”
Xiaoxin immediately turned to Doctor Xu. “Wow, that’s great! You used to have a crush on her, and now you’ve finally succeeded! Miss Rong used to be the school’s beauty. Doctor Xu, how did you manage to win her over?”
Her friends, who were either Rong Rong’s ex-classmates or wealthy second-generation friends that often hung out with them, also joined in the teasing.
“That’s right, Doctor Xu. You used to follow us around for everything, and Miss Rong didn’t even look at you twice. How did you manage to woo her?”
“Hahaha, share some tips with us!”
Rong Rong gazed nervously at Doctor Xu, who smiled at her lovingly as he said, “Just have a thicker skin and persevere!”
Their old friends immediately began teasing and envying them.
“Wow, you were secretly in love with the best girl in school back then!”
“Doctor Xu likes Miss Rong? I had no idea, when did this happen?”
“At the middle school’s opening ceremony, Miss Rong’s dance shocked the entire school. I remember so many people confessing their love to her back then!”
“Too many people confessed their love to her. They all asked me to bring love letters to Rong Rong, and I took advantage of the situation and extorted a lot of snacks!”
“When did you two get together? You kept us in the dark!”
The group of friends chattered and joked about the past, which gradually helped Rong Rong relax her body, as if those thirteen years had disappeared and she had returned to her normal life.
She smiled, occasionally glancing at Doctor Xu with a tender and affectionate look.
Rong Yue, who was standing next to her, watched the situation unfold. She then focused her gaze on Doctor Xu and Xiaoxin as she clenched her fists.
It was always like this.
As long as her elder sister was around, everyone’s attention was always on her. That was why… Rong Yue had done that thing in the past…
Rong Yue took a deep breath and smiled. “Sis, I know that Doctor Xu has always been secretly in love with you! When you suddenly went abroad for your studies, he lost his soul and searched for you everywhere! He even came to my class to ask where you went!”
The words ‘study abroad’ made Rong Rong stiffen, and her heart skipped a beat.
She tensed and looked nervously at her classmates.
Xiaoxin was puzzled. “Yeah, you were studying in China, so why did you go abroad? Which university did you go to? After I failed the college entrance exam, I went abroad too.”
Rong Yue immediately laughed and said, “Oh, so you went abroad too. Did you get your graduation certificate?”
The Rong family had covered up Rong Rong’s dark past with the story of her studying abroad, but they could not falsify her graduation certificate.
So the family told others that Rong Rong had gone abroad to study but didn’t do well, didn’t graduate, and had been delaying her studies.
At this moment, Rong Yue intentionally brought it up, causing Xiaoxin to slightly pause. “Rong Rong, did you not receive your graduation certificate?”
Rong Rong’s fingers tightly grasped her clothes, and her mouth opened and closed, wanting to say something but she couldn’t find the words.
At this moment, she even felt that breathing was difficult.
Upon seeing this, a faint smile appeared on Rong Yue’s face.
She was about to say something else, but Doctor Xu spoke up openly, “Little Rong’s mind is not focused on studying. Why do you ask so much?”
Rong Rong’s heart and throat tightened.
She thought her friends would ridicule her, but the next moment, she heard Xiaoxin say, “Ha, what’s the big deal? I haven’t received my graduation certificate either! Before, I was afraid of being ridiculed by others, but now I realize that admitting to being mediocre is also cool!”
The others immediately started talking.
Some unambitious ones spoke, “Speaking of which, so what even if we got the graduation certificate? Wouldn’t it also cost $20 million to start a business? My mother refused to let me go out and just wants me to live off the family’s money obediently. She refused to let me risk losing their money. Sigh!”
Another person spoke, “Actually, every one of us is doing pretty well. Do you guys still remember Old Hu? He got cancer last year and passed away. Haiz!”
“…”
Everyone recounted the successes and failures in their lives through these years, and this caused Rong Rong to be dumbfounded for a long time.
Doctor Xu stood beside her and lowered his voice. “Everyone has low points in their life, and they have their own unbearable past. As long as you don’t bring it up, no one will know. Everyone won’t care about what you did during the thirteen years you disappeared. They will only look at what you will achieve in the future. So there’s really no need to feel inferior or sorry for yourself. Little Rong, in my heart, you have always been my goddess.”
Rong Rong’s eyes turned red.
Finally, her lowered head was slowly lifted.
So, no one would bother to keep drilling her about her past. As long as she didn’t mention it, she would be able to return to a normal life.
She truly thirsted for days like this when she could sit down and chat with her friends.
Shen Ruojing stood not far away, listening to all the words these people said.
In this society, women were always treated with the greatest malice.
Rong Rong was abducted into a mountain village at the age of 15, and in her attempt to escape, she accidentally killed 13 people.
If these things were to be known, people might pity her, but they would also privately speculate about what happened to her during the two months she was captured.
Surely she was violated, right?
And she also killed 13 people, so she must be a serial killer at heart.
That was why some things were better left unsaid. Just let them die down quietly.
Only a few people knew about this, and the Rong family wouldn’t expose the scandal themselves. Even Rong Yue, who was now feeling very depressed, couldn’t speak the truth. This was because the Rong family’s reputation was also her reputation, and they would rise or fall together.
As Shen Ruojing watched Rong Rong opening up and even joining in the classmates’ chat, she relaxed. However, her gaze fell on Doctor Xu.
This doctor gave her a feeling of being inscrutable.
As she was thinking about this, she heard Mother Rong speaking, “There is still a need to study hard. Our Little Yue has good grades and graduated from one of the top ten universities abroad. I heard that Miss Shen is also a scientist, so her education must also be high. Little Yue, there’s no wonder Miss Shen appreciates you so much!”
Shen Ruojing. “?”
When did she ever appreciate Rong Yue?
When the others heard the name ‘Miss Shen’, they immediately stopped chatting with Rong Rong and focused their attention on Rong Yue.
Xiaoxin asked, “Are you acquainted with the eldest miss of the Shen Family?”
Rong Yue smiled and displayed a humble expression. “We are not very familiar though.”
Mother Rong immediately spoke, “If you guys are not familiar, how could Miss Shen specially give you an invitation?”
Shen Ruojing. “???”
When did she ever send an invitation to Rong Yue?!!