Lin Lanxing, dressed in an expensive gown, wore a furious and contorted expression. The girl she was dragging by the arm was pale as paper, and felt extremely awkward being brought before so many people.
Upon seeing that the girl Lin Lanxing was holding was Mu Yuxin, Song Qinian let go of Shen Chiyan's hand and hurried towards them.
When Mu Yuxin saw Song Qinian, her previously anxious and uneasy heart found a sense of security. She immediately called out, "Nian Nian..."
As soon as Lin Lanxing saw Song Qinian, she let go of Mu Yuxin. She looked at Song Qinian haughtily and said condescendingly, "Fifth Sister-in-law, you've certainly made a good friend!"
Song Qinian took Mu Yuxin's hand and checked her, ensuring she wasn't injured. Then, she gestured to her, "Yuxin, what happened?"
Just as Mu Yuxin was about to speak, Lin Lanxing interjected first, "She was sneakily recording videos here with her phone just now, and she also stole my wallet. She was caught red-handed, but she still refuses to admit it."
"I didn't!"
Mu Yuxin explained anxiously, "I wasn't recording videos. I was just using my phone to send a WeChat message to Nian Nian. And this wallet, I don't know how it ended up in my pocket."
Lin Lanxing sneered, "You don't know how it ended up in your pocket? Did my wallet fly into your pocket on its own? Heh... You wouldn't even fool a three-year-old with that story. Are you taking us for fools?"
"I..."
Before Mu Yuxin could say anything, Lin Lanxing cut her off, not giving her a chance to speak further. She provocatively looked at Song Qinian, "Fifth Sister-in-law, today is my sister's birthday. Your friend has done such a shameful thing at her birthday party. You're not going to cover for her, are you?"
By this time, many guests had arrived. Everyone knew that Song Qinian came from a modest background, so it wasn't surprising that she might have a few friends with sticky fingers. After all, people from common backgrounds, upon seeing nice and expensive things, would naturally want to possess them.
Song Qinian looked coldly at Lin Lanxing, finally understanding why Lin Lanxing had insisted on Mu Yuxin making the desserts.
Heh... She really went to a lot of trouble.
"Nian Nian..."
Mu Yuxin called out to Song Qinian worriedly. Song Qinian gave Mu Yuxin a reassuring smile. Song Qinian knew Mu Yuxin's character better than anyone. Even if she were starving, she would never steal.
She was about to gesture when Lin Qiutong's gentle voice suddenly rang out, "Lanxing, what's wrong?"
Lin Lanxing embellished the story, recounting what had just happened. Mu Yuxin's face flushed and paled under the scornful or dismissive gazes of the crowd.
Lin Lanxing then turned to Song Qinian, "Fifth Sister-in-law, I let her handle my sister's birthday dessert out of consideration for you as her friend. But now that her character is so poor, can the desserts she made even be eaten?"
Mu Yuxin then realized that Lin Lanxing had asked her to be in charge of the desserts specifically to deliberately make things difficult for Nian Nian in front of everyone. She didn't want to trouble Nian Nian, nor did she want people to look down on Nian Nian because of her friendship. Just as she was about to explain, Lin Qiutong walked up to them.
Today, Lin Qiutong was wearing a pink princess dress. Dressed up meticulously, she looked like the most cherished little princess from a European noble family.
"Lanxing, could you have misunderstood? Nian Nian's friend is not that kind of person."
Lin Lanxing snorted, "Sister, you can't judge a book by its cover. Who knows if she just wanted to steal my wallet or if she had other intentions!"
At this moment, Shen Chiyan walked over with a cold expression. He put his arm around Song Qinian's shoulders and said to Lin Lanxing, "Today is Qiutong's birthday. We can discuss any issues after the banquet."
The sight of Shen Chiyan made Lin Lanxing feel a little intimidated. However, having gone to such great lengths to orchestrate this, she couldn't possibly give up without seeing Song Qinian embarrassed.
"That won't do. She's Fifth Sister-in-law's friend. To prevent Fifth Sister-in-law from being deceived by her in the future, I must let Fifth Sister-in-law and everyone else see her true colors today."
Shen Chiyan smirked coldly, "Are you sure?"
"...Of... Of course!"
Lin Lanxing still felt a little guilty. For some reason, she felt like nothing good would come of it once Shen Chiyan appeared.
Shen Chiyan smiled without genuine warmth. "Alright, then I'll ask you, what was in your wallet?"
"Money... Of course, there was money and cards in the wallet, what else?"
"How much money?"
"How would I remember that? Fifth Brother, what do you mean by this? Are you not believing me and believing her instead?"
Shen Chiyan didn't reply. Instead, he took the wallet from Lin Lanxing, opened it, and found a few red banknotes, with the rest being bank cards.
As soon as Song Qinian saw Shen Chiyan's expression, she knew what he was thinking.
Seeing Mu Yuxin looking at her worriedly, Song Qinian gave her a reassuring look.
Shen Chiyan took out the contents of the wallet one by one and placed them on the table with the desserts and drinks. The onlookers watched Shen Chiyan's actions, unsure of what he was doing.
Shen Chiyan looked coldly at Lin Lanxing, "There was a total of two thousand renminbi in the wallet, and the rest were bank cards."
Lin Lanxing's heart skipped a beat. "So... so what?"
"Firstly, Mu Yuxin is not lacking in these two thousand yuan. The profit from your dessert order for her shop is at least twenty to thirty thousand. She has no reason to damage her reputation and her shop's name for such a small gain. If you say she was after your cards, that's even more unlikely. She doesn't know your PIN, so even if she got your cards, she couldn't withdraw any money."
Lin Lanxing's face turned green. She said angrily, "When she stole my wallet, she didn't know how much money was in it, how could she..."
Her words were interrupted by Shen Chiyan, "This wallet of yours, at most, could hold ten thousand yuan!"
"Fifth Brother, what do you mean by that? Do you think I would falsely accuse her?"
The surrounding onlookers started to murmur. Lin Qiutong's expression became increasingly unpleasant. She knew why Lin Lanxing was making such a scene, but she never expected Shen Chiyan to completely disregard Lin Lanxing's feelings in front of so many people.
The faces of the Lin couple also didn't look good. It was Lin Xing'an who spoke first to ease the atmosphere, "Ah, what is this about stealing? Since Miss Mu is Miss Song's friend and the person in charge of today's desserts, we naturally trust her character. As for Xingxing, perhaps her wallet fell out, and Miss Mu picked it up intending to return it, leading to a misunderstanding."
Lin Xing'an's words clearly provided everyone with a way out, trying to downplay the incident.
If it were any other time, Mu Yuxin, having suffered such an injustice, would not have let it go.
However, Nian Nian was still here, and she didn't want to make things difficult for Nian Nian. So, she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, saying, "I found Miss Lin the second's wallet and wanted to return it to her, but I didn't expect such a misunderstanding. I apologize for causing everyone to witness this spectacle!"
Lin Lanxing was furious, but facing the warning glances from her family, she could only lower her head. "I was also wrong. I accused you without understanding the full story. I apologize."
Lin Xing'an smiled slightly, "Alright, alright. Since the misunderstanding is cleared up, let's continue celebrating Tongtong's birthday."