Zhou Fan lunged at Li Ziqing like a wild woman, her movements as fierce as a shrew's.
Li Ziqing didn't say a word, raising her hand and delivering a sharp slap.
*Slap—*
The resounding smack to Zhou Fan's face left her dazed and disoriented.
It was no joke; Li Ziqing's nickname, "Bamboo Leaf Green," was well-earned. Although not a martial artist, she never neglected her fitness. Even with a busy work schedule, she always made time to spend an hour or two at the gym every day.
In contrast, Zhou Fan, with her evident layers of fat, was clearly a lazy glutton. She might be good at throwing tantrums and hurling insults, but when it came to a physical confrontation, she was utterly useless.
"How dare you, you jinx! You dare to lay a hand on me! I'll make sure you, a little slut who only knows how to seduce men, pay the price today!"
Being slapped by Li Ziqing in front of so many people, Zhou Fan was naturally furious.
However, compared to the agitated Zhou Fan, Li Ziqing was remarkably calm. She said indifferently, "Your mouth stinks so badly, did you just eat shit?"
"You little slut, I'll kill you!"
Unable to best Li Ziqing in an argument, Zhou Fan resorted to her usual wild behavior.
Just then, Zhou Yuanyuan stepped in front of Zhou Fan, her brows furrowed as she glared at her. "What do you think you're doing, Zhou Fan? Making such a scene in front of everyone, do you want to disgrace the Zhou family completely?"
The surrounding guests, alerted by the commotion, had already turned their gazes towards them, pointing and whispering their amusement at Zhou Fan.
Feeling embarrassed, Zhou Fan became even angrier. She pointed at the crowd and shouted, "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen women fight? Disperse, all of you, stop watching, stop watching..."
Seeing this, Zhou Yuanyuan rolled her eyes, utterly speechless. Her elder brother, Zhou Weiguo, was indeed cunning, but at least he had his wits about him. How could he have such a foolish daughter? Was she swapped at birth? Or did her sister-in-law have an affair?
At the hotel entrance, Zhou Tai was whispering to his father, Zhou Xingguo. "Dad, did you see that? This is a golden opportunity! If we join forces with Zhou Fan, we won't have any trouble dealing with Li Ziqing!"
Zhou Xingguo's brows furrowed at his son's words. He was happy that his niece, Zhou Fan, was an idiot. But the thought that his own son wasn't much better immediately soured his mood.
"What revenge? Didn't I tell you to wait for Grandpa to make his move himself!"
Zhou Tai pouted rebelliously, "Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken? Someone like Li Ziqing doesn't require Grandpa to personally intervene!"
"You know nothing!" Zhou Xingguo couldn't help but scold in a low voice. "There are distinguished guests from all walks of life here. If this escalates, won't the Zhou family become a laughingstock? And then, even if you get your revenge, do you think Grandpa will let you off?"
"You're already an adult, why do you only grow older and not wiser? I'm telling you, tonight's banquet is exceptionally important. You absolutely cannot cause trouble for me. Our family's future depends entirely on your performance today!"
Zhou Tai looked confused. "Dad, what do you mean by that? I don't understand."
Zhou Xingguo glared at him again and said quietly, "Your grandfather is hosting this banquet to choose a successor between me and your uncle. Right now, my and your uncle's capabilities are neck and neck. So, the key lies in the competition among you juniors!"
Zhou Xingguo knew that his son couldn't compare to his elder brother's son, Zhou Wen. But his elder brother also had a foolish daughter, Zhou Fan. If they considered everything, the points Zhou Wen added to his father's score, Zhou Fan would subtract from it. However, Zhou Fan was a daughter, and she would eventually marry out, so her reference value wasn't that high. But if Zhou Fan caused a scene at this banquet and embarrassed the Zhou family, then he would be guaranteed the succession.
As Zhou Xingguo was calculating his own advantage, he heard his son, Zhou Tai, say solemnly, "With them, how can they compare to me? Dad, as long as you don't make any mistakes today, the successor position is yours for the taking!"
Zhou Xingguo was so angry he couldn't speak. It seemed he had overestimated his foolish son. He and Zhou Fan were like the Dragon and the Phoenix among the mediocre, equally incompetent.
Meanwhile, Zhou Fan had already started arguing with Zhou Yuanyuan.
"Little Aunt, what do you mean? Why are you always defending this jinx? Are you biased towards her?"
Zhou Yuanyuan knew her niece was an idiot and didn't want to bother with her. But hearing these words, she couldn't suppress her anger. She looked at Zhou Fan and said coldly, "You still remember I'm your little aunt? Are you telling me what to do? You have no respect, I don't know how your father raised you!"
"What does my dad have to do with it? My dad isn't here!" Zhou Fan rolled her eyes at Zhou Yuanyuan and said sarcastically, "Little Aunt, as the saying goes, you can't write two 'Zhou' characters with one brush. You have the surname Zhou, and I have the surname Zhou. Even if you're going to be biased, you should be biased towards me, right? Why are you biased towards her?"
"Why? Because her mother is my own sister, and because you're slandering her for no reason. Is that enough?" Zhou Yuanyuan said forcefully.
Zhou Fan muttered dismissively, "Her mother died so many years ago, why do you still remember her..."
"You dare to say more! Zhou Fan, do you want to die?" Zhou Yuanyuan gritted her teeth in anger. If it weren't for all the outsiders, she would have slapped this fool twice!
As she spoke, Zhou Yuanyuan subtly glanced at Li Ziqing's reaction. Fortunately, Li Ziqing didn't seem sad or upset by Zhou Fan's remark. However, her expression was icy, almost freezing the air around her.
Although Li Ziqing didn't show any sadness, how could Chen Xiao let his woman be bullied like this? His expression immediately turned grim. Just as he was about to step towards Zhou Fan, Li Ziqing grabbed his arm and shook her head at him.
Chen Xiao looked confused. Li Ziqing said calmly, "New and old grievances, I'll settle them all together. No need to rush!"
Just then, a strong beam of light shone over. Then, a Rolls-Royce slowly drove over and stopped in front of them. The car door opened, and a young man in his late thirties stepped out. He had a slicked-back hairstyle and wore a beige trench coat over a brown shirt. He paired this with slim-fit trousers and a pair of gleaming leather shoes. His face had a scholarly air, and he exuded a subtle, refined charisma. The young man approached them and asked casually, "What's going on? I saw you arguing from a distance."
Seeing the young man, Zhou Fan seemed to have found her backbone and burst into tears. "Brother, you must get justice for me! I'm being bullied to death!"