Humiliation

Her seven-inch heels clicked loudly on the floor.

Qin Shengyi's gaze shifted, and a soft smile spread across his face as he locked eyes with the person his heart truly desired.

Evie turned to look and her face fell as she instantly realized who had captured Qin Shengyi's heart.

Yong Ru….

"This can't be," Evie muttered in panic, taking off her veil. Her heart raced. Her stepsister, Yong Ru, shot her a sly glance as she sashayed towards Qin Shengyi, offering him her hand. He took her hand, brushing his lips against her skin in a gentle, sweet kiss. The crowd was left in astonishment.

Evie's father, Yong Chu, was totally shocked. The look on his youthful face despite being in his mid-fifties, said it all. Clearly from the way his face looked at that moment, one could easily tell that he was utterly frustrated with what was happening, mirroring the expression of his partner, the groom's grandfather.

"Please keep the camera rolling." Evie's stepmother, Mei Ling said, entering through the back entrance of the wedding with a smirk masked on her face.

As soon as she got to the altar where her daughter stood beside Qin Shengyi,

Yong Chu roared, "What's your problem, Mei Ling?" fixing his sharp gaze on his scheming wife, who surprisingly ignored him rudely, as if he was speaking nonsense.

"I always knew you're the right one for me, darling." Qin Shengyi muttered in Yong Ru's ear before planting a kiss on her lips.

She blushed.

Eww…

Evie could not bear this humiliation any longer. As she was about to throw an aggressive insult towards her evil backstabbing stepmother, murmurs from the crowded hall began to circulate, making her pause to hear what was being whispered.

As the whispers grew louder, Evie's curiosity got the better of her. She strained her ears to catch snippets of the conversation.

However, one such murmur came from an elderly woman in the front seat who delivered a venomous sneer, "That useless eldest son of the Qin empire will so much regret doing this to Miss Qiyue. I'm so much with her."

Another came from a young man who was talking to his partner, chuckling, "Don't you think it's clear that we were invited to watch another live drama show from our beloved celebrity."

"Che! What are you saying?" his partner replied. "This looks like more than a shock to me. As far as I remember, that guy loved Evie way more than he'd ever consider ditching her for another woman. I swear, I regret coming here."

"Relax guys, can't you understand what's going on?" another man from the back said. "I think maybe Evie could be a silently bad person and Qin Shengyi doesn't want to marry her, but still, I'm low-key hating whoever he chose to replace her with for humiliation."

The young man's partner from the front seat raised an eyebrow. "You think Evie's a bad person? I'm not a fan but I completely disagree with you. She looks sweet, innocent, and perfect for a bride. No man will ever think of ignoring her charm."

The young man shrugged. "Appearances can be deceiving. Maybe there's more to her than meets the eye."

Many more murmurs swirled, each one piercing Evie's heart like a dagger while some comforted her. She felt her face burn with a mixed range of shame and anger.

Mei Ling's smirk grew wider, seemingly enjoying Evie's distress. The murmurs were now interrupted by her cackling laughter, echoing through the hall.

Evie's face turned completely red.

"Poor girl, you should have thought of this problem before thinking of getting married before your elder sister," Mei Ling said, her low voice cutting through the air like a knife.

Evie's face twisted in anguish. She should have never trusted her stepmother from the start and hated why she did.

However, It was not her fault for being so naive enough to fall for her stepmother's pretentious act. She had thought of her painful past when she had been badly treated for getting better grades than her elder sister who shares the same class with her, and a lot more from the past… Most unforgettable, was the time she was locked in the dog house for three days without food because she mistakenly stained Yong Ru's birthday dress with vegetable grease, which everyone assumed she did on purpose, since she had never had her birthday celebrated. With all these past events, and seeing her stepmother kneel in tears begging for her forgiveness as if her life depended on it, she had no choice but to forgive that brat who had already turned her perfect life, now miserable.

"Are you out of your mind, Mei Ling?" Yong Chu's expression turned thunderous, his eyes flashing with warning. "Haven't you done enough to put my daughter's life through hardship? Whatever you've planned with Yong Ru and Qin Shengyi, don't dare try to act on it."

With that being heard, Mei Ling slowly turned to look at her husband, who couldn't stop fuming in anger. Out of annoyance, she retorted, "First of all, let me remind you, Yong Qiyue is your illegitimate daughter, born to a hussy from the slums. And secondly, I'm favoring our legitimate daughter, which you should be in support of. And lastly, you'd better kill yourself if you can't cooperate with what I'm doing. After all, I wasn't the one who made you a womanizer and had you bedding a lot of sluts, including that bitch's mother."

Mei Ling's words sent shockwaves through the crowded guests at the wedding; they all fell silent, exchanging stunned glances.

Yong Chu, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel the humiliation. He buried his face in the ground and then sat back quietly like a puppet. At this moment, everyone already knew his weakness.

Now Madam Mei has proven to be stupidly clever. She thought her words were only having a crucial effect on her husband, not realizing how she could be also affected by them, later in the future. Anyways, All thanks to her for stunningly exposing what would always bring Yong Chu down to a thousand guests at the wedding from around the world.

Seeing all this, Evie's frustration grew even worse. She tried her best to hold back any humiliating emotions but she couldn't stop herself from feeling a deep sense of embarrassment for Yong Chu.

Glaring daggers at Qin Shengyi, who was standing a few feet away from her, she said, "Is this what you had in mind?" She held back her tears and laughed hysterically.

Turning to face Madam Mei, she added, "Days of pretending to be nice and supportive to my marriage with that lying, cheating, brainwashed simp of a man who's now with my stepsister. Do you think I'll be completely ruined by your scheming plans?" She slowly shifted her gaze to Yong Ru. "And as for you, I can't blame you for being interested in my fiancé, who's entirely proved himself to be a scumbag and a complete jerk. After all, you're always interested in eating from my remains or….Are you going to doubt my words now, Yong Ru!?"

These insults burned Qin Shengyi deep down to the bone. As he was about to react and take action, Madam Mei interjected, "You're an illegitimate daughter of the prestigious Yong family. We've given you far more than someone of your status deserves, so why do you expect any further kindness from us, let alone get married to an elite while your older sister remains single?"

Hearing Madam Mei, Evie began to wonder if being an illegitimate child was a crime. Did her stepmother ever think she asked to become one or what?

Madam Mei's claim that they had given her "a lot" was a joke. Never had they offered her anything genuinely good unless it was part of a scheme against her.

"Stop it! Mother, please don't ruin this day of glamour for me. The wedding has to be continued so keep your rage down for now." Yong Ru cutted in before signaling for the priest to go on with the marriage ritual.

The priest took a deep breath to begin: "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…"

"Wait! Give me a minute, old priest," Yong Ru interrupted. She turned to face Evie, an evil smirk spreading across her face.

Stepping closer to Evie, she sneered, "Before I let the priest continue with the marriage oath, I'd love for you to give me and Qin Shengyi your blessings."

Yong Ru stood upright with her hands on her waist. She was expecting defiance from Evie who surprisingly trudged over to her. Her head hung low and her eyes fixed on the floor, looking utterly defeated. Yong Ru presumed she had completely surrendered and was about to give her the blessings she demanded.

Yong Ru smiled, but something unexpected happened immediately.

Chuckling darkly like a demoness who'd just crawled out of hell, a smug smile played on her lips as she suddenly raised her hand and slapped each of Yong Ru's cheeks so hard that she felt her face burn.

Pah! Pah!

The hall turned silent as everyone's eyes widened in shock at Evie's sudden assault.