Ning Wan sallied forth to ​​expose a liar, but upon arriving at the place that Mother Ning had agreed to meet at and seeing this sister in person, was unexpectedly stunned--

From top to bottom, every strand of the woman's hair overflowed with the aura of a 'highborn lady'...

She had heard a little about the Hermès bag the woman was holding. It was about the price of... an apartment...

Too fake. It was just too fake.

Ning Wan almost laughed out loud. Although she knew that a scammer would definitely have bought a brand-name bag or two to to complement their appearance, this 'lady' in front of her had gone too far in setting up her persona to even include a bag worth millions. Far too exaggerated. Far too grandiose.

But she did have to praise the very authentic aura surrounding this old auntie. She really seemed like a true lady. Her mother had been right - this sister of hers was indeed in good shape, took care of herself, and was very pretty. She even seemed a little familiar.

Who knew if the lady was feeling guilty or what, but she was very enthusiastic to meet Ning Wan, examining her secretly from head to toe several times. Probably assessing whether or not she was as easy to deceive as her mother. She then transferred her gaze to her mother--

"What a beautiful daughter you have!"

Why 'beautiful'? It couldn't be that you're having some ideas about selling me or something, are you?

"It's the first time I'm meeting her and I like her already!"

So what if she liked her at first sight, Ning Wan thought angrily. There was nothing she liked about this expensive-looking lady at first sight!

Fortunately, because the movie was about to start, the lady no longer bothered Ning Wan. But she kept looking over at her. Every time Ning Wan turned, out of the corner of her eye she could see the lady looking at her with a loving smile on her face and a strange, subtle look in her eye…

At first Ning Wan didn't pay much attention to the movie, as she was busy tensely planning out her next move to expose the scheme. But gradually, the content of the movie drew her in. It told the story of a woman's life. From first being suppressed by her father, to later being forced into an arranged marriage, then once more suppressed by her husband and sacrificing her dreams, as the movie came to an end she found the resolve to be herself and carve out her own bright future.

When the movie finally ended, even Ning Wan was moved. She turned to look at her mother to find that there were tears in her mother's eyes that she had not had time to wipe away. It was such a touching story, and so many of the details of the protagonist were reflected in her own mother...

Although this lying 'lady' wasn't a good person, she had excellent taste in movies. Ning Wan had always wanted to talk to her mother about finding one's own path as a woman, but she had never known where to start with. This movie had conveyed what she had wanted to tell her mother very naturally, without being obtrusive.

She considered things fairly and realized that the liar had done a good deed. Later, she would just give her a little warning to back off instead of calling the police.

After the movie ended, the lady gracefully accepted Ning Wan's request to treat them both to dinner. After everyone had ordered, while Mother Ning was in the bathroom, Ning Wan stopped pretending and decided to swing her biggest blow.

"Auntie, my family is in a very difficult situation. We're very poor, and recently some of our investments have failed, so we've lost all my money. I even took out a small loan and haven't paid it back yet. I don't dare tell my mom about it. Since you're so kind, can't you... can't you lend me a bit of money to help me through?"

Instead of waiting for the other side to scam you by borrowing money, it was better to take the initiative in asking to borrow from the other side first!

Once you played this little trick, not only would the scammer give up on cheating you, they would even back off and stay away.

Ning Wan felt that as soon as she said these words, after this 'lady' refused and the meal ended, she would never look for her mother again.

But what surprised Ning Wan was that not only was the lady not deterred, she actually took out a very well-done imitation wallet from her very well-done imitation bag. "How much money are you short?"

? ? ?

This wasn't quite right...

Before she could say anything, the lady pulled out a number of hundred-yuan bills from her wallet. "I only have so much on me right now, so take this first." After that, she took out a black card¹A black credit card is usually associated with very high-end, exclusive credit cards. The term comes from American Express's Centurion Card, which is so exclusive you have to be invited to apply and considered something of a status symbol. and stuffed it into Ning Wan's hand, "Use this for now, I'll write the password down for you. Don't worry about it, Xiao Ning. If you're ever again short of money in the future, come to Auntie. Auntie has plenty of money."

? ? ?

Ning Wan held the RMB in one hand and the black card in the other, feeling a little dazed. Could it be that scammers were so bold nowadays that they even dared to forge money?

…

She didn't know how she made it through the meal, but as they ate, not only was her mother's good sister smiling at her, but she was even very considerate, serving her food and pouring her tea. Ning Wan thought about the money and card she had stuffed into her bag and felt a little panicked...

Should she call the police after finishing her meal?

Something wasn't right about this 'lady', being so attentive for no reason...

There was a problem, a very big problem.

When they had finished eating, Ning Wan left alongside Mother Ning. First she ran to the bank, only to be told politely at the counter--

"These banknotes are real."

Ning Wan couldn't believe it²Ning Wan 'didn't believe in the supernatural', meaning that there's no explanation for this improbable event but spirits, and she doesn't believe in spirits.. "And is this bank card actually issued by your bank?"

"Yes. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No... nothing..."

After sending her mother home, Ning Wan wandered back home in a trance. Only then did she think of Fu Zheng, and at that very moment, a call came in from him. 

On the other end of the line, Fu Zheng was sounding quite put-upon. "Did you mention me to your mother today?"

Between Mother Ning and that highborn lady, Ning Wan had completely forgot to tell her mother about Fu Zheng today. She felt a little guilty. "Um, we didn't have time today... "

"When can I meet your mother? My mother's already met you, when's it going to be my turn..."

"Just give me two days! I'll tell my mother straightaway!" Ning Wan had just finished promising this when she suddenly realized that something was wrong, "Wait, when did your mother meet me? I haven't met your mother either!”

"You've definitely met her. My mother said she even gave you a red envelope as a greeting gift."

? ? ?

! ! !

Ning Wan was stunned for a few seconds before finally realizing - it was that highborn lady! She was Fu Zheng's mother! She really was a lady!!! No wonder she had looked so familiar!!!

On the phone, Fu Zheng was still sulking, "You've already gotten the greeting gift, what about me? I don't even have a status. Am I not worthy..."³Fu Zheng is 'talking in tea', meaning he's talking kinda manipulative and bitchy-like while pretending to be innocent. You know, like how a pampered imperial concubine would talk, which I feel we've already established Fu Zheng is :P

Ning Wan felt that she needed some quiet to properly process all this. "I think I need some space for a bit..."

She had imagined meeting Fu Zheng's mother many times, but she had never dreamed that it would be like this... how suffocating...

Just as she was about to call her mother to ask if she had told her 'sister' anything else about her, she got a message from Mother Ning.

Ning Wan opened it to find that it was quite a long one. First she laughed, and then she felt like crying--

"I've considered carefully and feel like the movie was right. Women should live their own lives. Today, that sister of mine you met was encouraging me, telling me that I myself must strive to live a good life, that I can't just resign myself to how things are. I've thought hard about it, and I've come to realize that I'm getting older and in the years to come I don't want to live in fear of the changes on your father’s face anymore. You're an adult now too, and now there's nothing for me to worry about. In the future, your mother would like to live well, travel, get 'die massages', and stroll around shopping with her sisters. I've made up my mind - I want to divorce your father. If you have no objections to this, will you represent me as my lawyer?"

Ning Wan suddenly felt that the greeting gift Fu Zheng's mother had given to her wasn't just the money and card sitting in her bag, but something far more precious.

How lucky she was, for her future family to include such a person.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she stood. She was going to go out right now and tell her mother in person that not only did she want to be her divorce attorney, but that she also wanted to marry her good sister's son; and to introduce her wholeheartedly to Fu Zheng.