The venue fell into dead silence.

Xia Xue Chun’s lower lip trembled, and she straightened her posture, her tone defensive. “I didn’t do it on purpose, and it’s just a dress. Why should you slap me just because I spilled wine on you?”
Qiao Chuchu remained calm, her voice steady. “Just because someone arrives looking flawless at an important gathering and you ruin it with your actions.”
Xia Xue Chun laughed. “What did I ruin? It’s just a dress—”
“This dress costs 700,000 yuan, a new high-end piece from D brand. You can check it online,” Qiao Chuchu interrupted, cutting her off. “Now, you should pay up.”
Xia Xue Chun: “...What?”
Qiao Chuchu helped the woman, drenched in red wine, to her feet, then accepted a blanket from a server and draped it over her. “Do you think that just because you ruined a dress, and she slapped you, it hurts your dignity, that you don’t need to consider this lady’s dignity?”
Xia Xue Chun’s face gradually turned pale.
Qiao Chuchu spoke clearly, step by step: “Today is Grandpa Zhao’s birthday banquet. This lady is here by invitation, and many of the people here are her acquaintances. In front of so many people, she’s drenched in red wine and has her elegant dress ruined. Isn’t she embarrassed?”
Qiao Chuchu pressed on, “Why should this innocent lady bear the consequences of your mistake?”
Xia Xue Chun, still not willing to admit her fault, retorted, “But she slapped me too!”
Qiao Chuchu laughed out loud. “In today’s world, a slap costs at most 30,000 yuan. Even if she compensates you 30,000, you still have to pay for the 670,000 yuan dress. How do you plan to compensate?”
Xia Xue Chun was stunned, her brow furrowing in distress.
Qiao Chuchu continued smoothly, “Let me guess, your savings don’t even add up to 670,000, do they? So why should you make a mistake and not admit it, while still hitting someone?”
The room erupted with soft laughter.
“Thought you were so impressive, but looks like your parents' assets combined can’t cover that amount.”
“Laughable. Are you going to sell your house for a dress?”
“Guess she’ll have to take out a loan.”
“Ha, I thought she had some hidden identity, but turns out she’s just a poor girl who can’t afford to pay for her mistakes. Hahaha!”

Xia Xue Chun’s face turned blood red as she glared at Qiao Chuchu in silence.
Qiao Chuchu coldly glanced at her, when suddenly someone pushed her aside. “Enough!”
A handsome young man, dressed in a server uniform, stepped in front of Xia Xue Chun, shouting at Qiao Chuchu. “It’s just about compensation. I’ll pay for her!”
Xia Xue Chun was caught off guard, her eyes widening in surprise. “Jiahao Ge?”
Qiao Chuchu raised an eyebrow, noticing the tear mole beneath the man’s eye.
【Oh, here comes the second male lead, Li Jiahao.】

The Pei family, Lin Qing, and the Lou family father and son all turned their attention to Li Jiahao.
Li Jiahao helped Xia Xue Chun to her feet before speaking firmly. “Xia Xue Chun did something wrong, but let’s look at the facts. This woman slapped her first, and Xia Xue Chun only retaliated. You can’t just use your wealth to bully others!”
The others rolled their eyes.
Grandpa Zhao furrowed his brows in disapproval. “Do these kids not know right from wrong?”
Qiao Chuchu smirked. “Right and wrong are subjective. Didn’t you say you were going to pay? Then pay.”
She turned to the wine-soaked woman. “You were slapped three times, and you slapped her once. According to the price of 30,000 per slap, that’s 700,000 plus 60,000—760,000. Are you okay with that?”
The woman, stunned, nodded eagerly.
“Sure.”

Qiao Chuchu smiled at Li Jiahao. “760,000. Pay up.”
Li Jiahao was taken aback. “Wait, wasn’t it 670,000 before?”
Qiao Chuchu nodded. “Yes, we calculated it by the price of a slap being 30,000. Xia Xue Chun slapped this lady three times, and the lady slapped Xia Xue Chun once. The dress costs 700,000, so 760,000 is correct. If you don’t want to go by this calculation, you can make this lady pay 30,000, and then you’ll pay her 790,000 instead. Either way, it’s the same.”
Li Jiahao’s lips twitched as he clenched his fists.
Xia Xue Chun bit her lower lip, her eyes red, looking like she might cry.
Qiao Chuchu smirked. “Too bad, no discounts for you. After all, Miss Xia’s most cherished dignity surely doesn’t allow for discounts.”
Laughter erupted again!
Li Jiahao, his face red with embarrassment, frantically grabbed his phone. “Give me your card number.”
The wine-soaked woman quickly took out her wallet and handed him her card.

Lou Yue Jue laughed loudly. “Dad, this Qiao Chuchu is something else!”
Lou Ting Si smiled faintly, though his eyes remained cold.
Pei Yuan looked at her with approval. “Seems like after all these years without living with Qiao Chuchu, she’s not completely useless.”
Pei Youchuan proudly stated, “Our little sister, of course, she’s just like us.”
The other brothers had no trouble agreeing.
Lin Qing whistled. “Wow, Chuchu! So cool!”
The applause was deafening, and even Grandpa Zhao beamed as he clapped for Qiao Chuchu.

Finally, amidst the applause and cheers, Li Jiahao, having borrowed all his available funds and tapped into his credit line, managed to scrape together 760,000 and transferred it to the wine-soaked woman.
The woman smiled. “Good, I’ve received it.”
Li Jiahao, his face flushed, shot a resentful glare at Qiao Chuchu before taking Xia Xue Chun and walking off.
Xia Xue Chun seemed determined to glare at Qiao Chuchu, but was dragged away.

The crowd erupted into a cheer. “Ohhhhh!”
Lin Qing immediately rushed over and hugged Qiao Chuchu. “Wow, Chuchu, I thought you were a soft little sister, but turns out you have some bite!”
Qiao Chuchu beamed with pride. “Of course”
She had already imagined this scenario many times in her mind after learning about it from the plot.
In the original ending, the male lead would have arrived to block the woman, and Xia Xue Chun would have lost the 700,000 yuan dress without compensation. The woman would be upset and tearful.
Xia Xue Chun would play the victim, blaming the rich people and the male lead, turning the mistake onto others while claiming herself as the biggest victim.
The wine-soaked woman was indeed quite the thorn in her side.

So, with that ending in mind, Qiao Chuchu couldn’t help but intervene.
The wine-soaked woman walked up to her. “Thank you, Miss Qiao. If you don’t mind, could we exchange contact details? I’d like to treat you to a meal sometime.”
Qiao Chuchu gladly agreed and exchanged contacts.
The wine-soaked woman’s eyes shone. “Thank you so much for your help today. I’ll remember it. I’ll go change now.”
Qiao Chuchu smiled and waved her off, when Grandpa Zhao, following closely behind, spoke up. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, Chuchu. You’ve grown so graceful and even smarter now!”
Qiao Chuchu smiled brightly and embraced Grandpa Zhao. “Grandpa Zhao!~”