Chapter 1381: The Blackened Good Girl (16)

“Why do I always have to learn from her? What’s so great about burying yourself in books every day?” Wu Lingling had been holding back her resentment for a long time, and once she started, Qin Ruolan couldn’t stop her. “Besides, studying isn’t necessarily useful. Haven’t you seen the news? Those students from prestigious universities are already adults, and some of them still don’t even know how to wash their own clothes.”

Lifting her chin, Wu Lingling looked directly at Mother Tang. “Auntie, I remember you even hired someone to clean the house and cook and do laundry for Cousin Xiaoguo. Don’t tell me she doesn’t know how to do any of that? So what’s the point of just studying?”

Qin Ruolan’s face nearly cracked apart.

Mother Tang wasn’t much better. At that moment, she suddenly wondered whether all the effort and money she had spent taking care of Wu Lingling had simply been wasted.

She had never imagined that, in Wu Lingling’s eyes, her precious daughter was viewed so poorly.

Everyone else exchanged glances, thinking Wu Lingling was being terribly unreasonable.

Tang Guo didn’t say a word, but several of the younger relatives spoke up instead. Among them was the cousin who had just asked her about favoring certain subjects. He said directly, “Lingling, it’s Cousin Xiaoguo’s birthday today. Stop making a scene.”

“If you don’t want to study, nobody’s forcing you. Can’t you discuss it properly with your mom at home?”

“Exactly. Cousin Xiaoguo only has one birthday a year. Making a fuss like this is really inappropriate.”

Wu Lingling’s face burned red. She wanted to argue, but everyone was looking at her as if she were in the wrong, making her wish she could sink into the ground. She almost wanted to run out of the room right then and there.

Seeing the expressions on Mother Tang and Father Tang’s faces, Qin Ruolan immediately sensed trouble. She hurriedly said, “Lingling, apologize to your aunt and Cousin Xiaoguo right now. How can you say something like that? Don’t you know how much your aunt has helped us? Have you forgotten that your school selection fee and tuition were all paid by her?”

Hearing that, Wu Lingling felt as though all her clothes had been stripped away, leaving her completely exposed.

Especially when she saw the calm look in Tang Guo’s eyes, she suddenly remembered what had happened that morning.

Back then, she had confidently declared that she would stop spending Tang Guo’s family’s money and that Tang Guo had no right to interfere in her affairs.

Now, with Qin Ruolan exposing everything in front of everyone—that even her junior high tuition and school selection fee had come from Mother Tang—she felt utterly humiliated.

Her pitiful self-esteem flared up all at once.

“I never asked her to pay for anything. She did it willingly. My grades were bad to begin with, but all of you insisted on sending me to the best junior high school. Everything was arranged by you. What I hate most is having other people arrange my life.”

Pressing her lips together, Wu Lingling said, “Mom, transfer me to another school. I don’t want to study there anymore. And from now on, we’ll pay our own tuition. We won’t spend another cent of their money.”

“Lingling!” Unable to bear it any longer, Qin Ruolan slapped her across the face.

Even Wu Jun, who rarely involved himself in family matters, stood up at once upon hearing this and scolded her. “How can you be so ungrateful? Your aunt paid your tuition, and this is how you act? Hurry up and apologize to your aunt!”

“I’m not wrong! Going to that junior high school was something she insisted on helping with. And now she’s using it to threaten me. I’m not Cousin Xiaoguo—I’m not under her control!”

Wu Lingling shoved both of them aside, threw open the door, and ran out.

The atmosphere here was suffocating. She didn’t want to stay another second.

These people were all snobs.

They looked down on her.