Chapter 146: Chapter 146: She Knows How to Piss People Off

As Finn Vance and Sebastian Hawthorne picked up their chopsticks, everyone else followed suit.

Giselle Grant was seated between Wendy Rhodes and Jade Golding, and she could clearly feel the emotions emanating from both of them.

She first gave Jade Golding a subtle glance. Seeing that Jade’s expression had returned to normal, Giselle’s lips curved into a slight smile. She was clearly in the mood to watch a show.

After a moment, she turned to Wendy Rhodes and whispered.

"Miss Rhodes, why aren’t you sitting at the main table?"

She was Minnie Rhodes’s own sister, after all. No matter what, she should have been seated at the main table.

Wendy Rhodes’s expression shifted slightly.

For one, she and Minnie Rhodes didn’t get along.

For another, she was never favored in her family to begin with.

Minnie Rhodes always outshone her in everything. On top of that, her family found out about the argument she’d had with Jasmine Vance at The Snowfall Pavilion. They had locked her up for a few days, and after she was let out, she hadn’t returned to the Rhodes family home for a long time.

Although the elders from both families approved of Minnie Rhodes’s engagement to Ash Quillan, it was still seen as the Rhodes family marrying up by aligning with the Quillan family.

The Rhodes family didn’t want Wendy Rhodes to embarrass them in front of the Quillans, so they were unwilling to let her sit at the main table.

It was no secret that Wendy Rhodes wasn’t favored by the Rhodes family.

Giselle Grant’s question was basically rubbing salt in Wendy’s wound.

If anyone else had asked her that, she would have snapped long ago.

But Giselle Grant and Jade Golding were close, so Wendy could only force a smile and reply nonchalantly.

"It’s the same no matter where I sit."

Jade Golding smiled faintly and commented in a soft voice.

"How could it be the same?"

"Even the Quillan family’s goddaughter gets to sit at the main table. If you, a true daughter of the Rhodes family, don’t go over, won’t that just give people something to gossip about?"

A flash of displeasure crossed Wendy Rhodes’s eyes. Her hand holding the chopsticks tightened, and she looked up at Cecilia Croft with a hint of resentment.

No one had been paying attention to her before.

But because Ruby Croft had become the Quillan family’s goddaughter, the fact that she, a biological daughter of the Rhodes family, wasn’t at the main table was now even more of a slap in the face.

Cecilia Croft noticed Wendy Rhodes’s gaze and was simply speechless.

’How can she blame me for this?’

’Wendy Rhodes’s thought process is truly bizarre.’

Since it was only an engagement banquet and not a wedding, many of the tedious formalities were skipped.

After Ash Quillan and Minnie Rhodes made a symbolic round of toasts at each table, they returned to the main table.

The smile on Minnie Rhodes’s face was clearly not as blissful as it had been at the beginning.

Ash Quillan also had a tense expression.

Ruby Croft, however, was calmly chatting with Old Master Quillan.

Cecilia Croft had been worried about Ruby Croft. After all, besides Ruby, everyone at that table was family.

Fortunately, the Quillans weren’t giving Ruby a hard time.

The Quillan estate was huge. It had been chosen as the venue specifically so that guests would have convenient options for leisure and entertainment after the meal.

A card and game room had been prepared indoors.

Outside, not far from the manor, were a horse-riding field and a golf course run by the Quillan family.

After the meal, Wendy Rhodes suggested they play a round of golf.

No one had brought a change of clothes, so they all rejected her proposal.

In the end, everyone gathered upstairs for some card games.

The Quillan family had specially prepared a mahjong table in a private room.

Jasmine Vance was the first to sit down at the mahjong table, claiming one side for herself.

Giselle Grant and Jade Golding quickly followed suit.

Cecilia Croft had no interest in playing cards. Her mind was on Ruby Croft.

When they were heading upstairs earlier, she had gone to find Ruby, hoping to bring her along.

But Old Master Quillan wanted to introduce Ruby to an important figure from Portshire and had kept her behind.

Cecilia Croft had no choice but to go upstairs with Sebastian Hawthorne.

Jasmine Vance had been busy with work lately and hadn’t played cards in a long time. The moment she sat down, the itch returned. Seeing Wendy Rhodes standing nearby, she said.

"What are you standing there for? Sit."

Wendy Rhodes was about to take a seat but was stopped by a look from Jade Golding.

Her hand, which was pulling out a chair, paused. Her expression stiffened slightly, and she could only wave her hand to decline Jasmine Vance’s invitation.

"Never mind, you guys play. I have to help my sister entertain the guests in a bit."

Jasmine Vance clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction. "Tsk."

"Suit yourself."

Just then, Jade Golding noticed Cecilia Croft, who had come in with Sebastian Hawthorne. She waved her over with a friendly smile on her face.

"Miss Croft, why don’t you join us?"

Wendy Rhodes’s hand, resting on the back of a chair, couldn’t help but tighten slightly.

Jasmine Vance could tell at a glance that Jade Golding was up to no good.

"She doesn’t like playing cards."

Cecilia Croft had never been interested in cards, which was why Jasmine Vance hadn’t invited her earlier.

Hearing this, Jade Golding said softly.

"Zachary Grant and his brother are coming over soon. Sebastian and Finn can play a round with them. There are still several hours until dinner. If Miss Croft doesn’t play, won’t she be bored?"

Wendy Rhodes, already resentful toward Cecilia Croft, immediately jumped in.

"Cecilia, don’t tell me you don’t even have the money to play cards?"

"Did you fall on such hard times after leaving Karthus for a few years?"

Cecilia Croft had been about to refuse Jade Golding, but Wendy Rhodes’s words had put her on the spot.

Jasmine Vance’s face immediately darkened. "Wendy Rhodes, what’s that supposed to mean?"

Wendy Rhodes said with a smirk that didn’t reach her eyes.

"I don’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to let Cecilia know that if she’s short on cash, I can lend her some."

Jasmine Vance sneered.

"Does she need you to lend her money? What, do you have more money than Sebastian?"

At her words, Wendy Rhodes instinctively glanced toward Sebastian Hawthorne.

Sure enough, she saw Sebastian Hawthorne give her a cold glance, and a flash of panic appeared in her eyes.

"Sebastian, that’s not what I meant."

Sebastian Hawthorne’s gaze was indifferent. His eyes swept past her without lingering, as if looking at her for even a second longer would bring bad luck.

With a faint smile, Jade Golding spoke softly to Cecilia Croft.

"So, Miss Croft, are you playing or not?"

How could Cecilia Croft not see that Jade Golding and Wendy Rhodes were working in tandem? They were deliberately trying to back her into a corner.

But she wasn’t angry. She swallowed the refusal she had been about to give and nodded with a smile.

"I’ll play."

Jade Golding’s lips curved. "Then come on."

’If Cecilia Croft doesn’t play, it proves she’s been struggling these past few years in Silvercrest. If she does play, I’ll make sure she loses more than she can afford.’

So, whether Cecilia Croft played or not, Jade Golding was determined to make her lose face.

Cecilia Croft knew very well why Jade Golding was targeting her.

So, before walking to the mahjong table, she turned to Sebastian Hawthorne and, putting on a deliberately sweet voice, said,

"Sebastian, I’m not very good at this. Will you help me?"

Jasmine Vance, still seated, shuddered dramatically. She looked up and saw the face of Jade Golding, who was sitting opposite her, visibly darken. A wave of satisfaction washed over her.

’That’s my girl!’

’She really knows how to piss people off.’

As Cecilia Croft spoke, her eyes sparkled, a mischievous glint flashing within them.

Sebastian Hawthorne looked down at her but didn’t answer.

Cecilia Croft tugged on his sleeve, leaned in slightly, and whispered.

"Play along, will you, boss? I’m your person, you can’t just stand by and watch me get humiliated, can you? You’re the only one who gets to put me in my place."