Chapter 40

Chapter 40: Take Off Your Flying Fish Suit and Give It to Jiaojiao! Qingcheng—why would she come? Not far away, Jia Qingcheng stood beside Princess Ping'an in a well-fitted Flying Fish suit. Pei Wuliang had assumed Jia Qingcheng wouldn't attend the Cuju match hosted by Princess Ping'an—after all, in her past life, she had lost. Not only had she lost, but she'd also been tripped and fallen flat on her face, becoming a laughingstock. Back then, he'd found her embarrassing, yet he hadn't blamed her. After all, he needed to be gentle and coaxing—how else could Jia Qingcheng have given him her whole heart? Strange—why was she becoming increasingly disobedient? He'd told her to deliver the Flying Fish suit to Jiaojiao, yet she'd worn it herself? "Jiaojiao, wait here for me a moment. I'll go check." Pei Wuliang naturally didn't dare approach Jia Qingcheng directly; instead, he waited for an opportunity. Fortunately, he knew from his past life that at this moment, the princess would be called away by a servant, leaving Jia Qingcheng alone. Sure enough, things soon unfolded as they had in his past life—a maidservant came and summoned Princess Ping'an away. Seizing the chance, he hurried over, and Song Jiaojiao, seeing this, immediately chased after him. "Brother Wuliang, wait for me!" "Qingcheng, stop right there!" Jia Qingcheng, wearing her well-fitted Flying Fish suit, was about to head into the residence when she heard Pei Wuliang calling her name. She pretended not to hear, but Pei Wuliang had already circled around to block her path! "Qingcheng, can't you hear me calling you?" "Sister, why are you here? Your Cuju skills are as ugly as your face—how can you come here to make a fool of yourself?" Song Jiaojiao was fiercely jealous of the Flying Fish suit Jia Qingcheng was wearing—it was one she'd always wanted. She hadn't expected Jia Qingcheng to have put it on herself. Today, she'd make Brother Wuliang teach her a proper lesson. "If you can come, why can't I?" Jia Qingcheng and Princess Ping'an had once been close friends, but over the years, she'd deliberately made herself ugly and sunk into deep inferiority. Combined with others' poor opinions of her, she didn't want to drag the princess down, so she'd kept her distance. Yet today, the moment she arrived, the princess had taken the initiative to call her over for a chat. The princess was related to Prince Chu—she called him her uncle—and upon learning that Jia Qingcheng was to marry him, she'd shown her sympathy and treated her with even greater kindness. "Sister, that's not what I meant—don't misunderstand. I mean, I'm worried you'll embarrass yourself and become a laughingstock. You're already a joke as it is—if you lose on top of that, wouldn't you..." "We haven't even competed yet. How does Cousin know I'll definitely lose?" "Sister, don't throw a tantrum. I'm genuinely looking out for you. Take off that suit and give it to me—I'll definitely win honor for the Jia family." With that, Song Jiaojiao quickly looked at Pei Wuliang. "Brother Wuliang, say something!" Pei Wuliang also felt Jia Qingcheng shouldn't continue making a fool of herself. "Qingcheng, listening to Jiaojiao is the right call. She just doesn't want people laughing at you. Now, take off the suit and give it to her?" Take it off? Why should she! Jia Qingcheng didn't want to waste words on these two. She immediately looked at Chunyan. "Let's go—the princess is still waiting for us inside." "Did you hear that? Move aside—the princess is waiting for my mistress inside." With that, Chunyan began to lead Jia Qingcheng into the princess's residence. Seeing that Jia Qingcheng wouldn't listen to any advice, Pei Wuliang grew furious. "Qingcheng, if you keep being this stubborn, don't say you know me when you embarrass yourself later—the Pei family can't afford that shame!" Can't afford that shame? Jia Qingcheng looked at Pei Wuliang's ugly expression and felt nothing but disgust. In her past life, he hadn't been like this—but unfortunately, this was his true face. "You've provoked me. I'll say it one more time—take off your suit and give it to Jiaojiao?" Jia Qingcheng still didn't move, even as a crowd gathered around her, pointing and whispering that wearing that suit was a complete waste—that she didn't deserve it with a face like hers... She'd heard these words so many times that she'd grown immune. People always judged by appearances—just because she was ugly, did that mean she had no right to wear a beautiful Flying Fish suit to play Cuju here? "How utterly clueless. Young Master Pei already warned her, yet she insists on competing. Being ugly isn't her family's fault, though." "Exactly. If I looked like that, I'd hide at home and never dare come out—isn't she just scaring people?" The crowd was saying all sorts of things, and Chunyan couldn't bear it any longer. "What are you all saying? The princess invited my mistress here! My mistress, she—" "Enough, no need to say more. Chunyan, let's go!" Jia Qingcheng had long grown accustomed to words of contempt. She neither argued nor grew angry—after all, these sycophantic little people weren't worth her explanation. "Jia Qingcheng, I'm really angry now!" Pei Wuliang hadn't expected that even with so many people criticizing her, Jia Qingcheng would still do as she pleased. Truly, she was digging her own grave! With that, he dropped the words and took Song Jiaojiao's arm, deliberately trying to flaunt their affection in front of Jia Qingcheng. "Jiaojiao, let's go. No need to bother with her." "Brother Wuliang, you can't just abandon sister! She's just not thinking clearly for the moment. Why don't we—" "Don't worry about her. She wants to steal the spotlight—I'd like to see just how she plans to do it." With that, Pei Wuliang took Song Jiaojiao's hand and strode off. Once they were gone, a group of women began chattering and gossiping about Jia Qingcheng, who pretended not to hear and hurried away with her head down. Soon, the Cuju match was about to begin. Pei Wuliang and a group of young noblemen stood by the lawn as spectators. To host this Cuju event, the Princess's residence had specially prepared a large field for the women to play on. Naturally, since it was a competition, there were rules—much the same as before, with little change. However, this time, Princess Ping'an had increased the rewards. The match was played between two teams in fierce competition, with victory determined by the number of balls scored into the opposing team's goal. Naturally, Jia Qingcheng and Song Jiaojiao were both placed in the competing groups. In her previous life, Jia Qingcheng had also participated in the match, but she had been tripped and fallen. This time, she was determined to be cautious and absolutely refuse to embarrass herself or be ridiculed again. "Sister, you brought this upon yourself. Don't blame me for not going easy on you later!" Song Jiaojiao was thoroughly pleased with herself. Her Cuju skills ranked among the top in the capital. Now she had been placed on the team of strong players, while Jia Qingcheng's team consisted of a bunch of no-name nobodies from the capital. There was no way she could win! Jia Qingcheng remained silent, letting Song Jiaojiao humiliate her as she pleased. Only when Song Jiaojiao had finished did she speak calmly, "Are you done?" Song Jiaojiao: "..." "The match begins!" With the call to start, the women from both teams quickly assembled. The drumbeat served as the signal—as soon as it sounded, the match officially began... Jia Qingcheng kicked the Cuju ball as if guided by divine help, yet Song Jiaojiao repeatedly blocked her, preventing her from shooting. For a time, Jia Qingcheng's team fell into a passive state. Seeing this, the maid beside Princess Ping'an grew troubled. "Your Highness, Miss Jia is being blocked at every turn. It seems she'll be at the bottom again."