Hui Ling's crimson-lacquered fingernails drummed against the polished tabletop as her full lips curved into a poisonous smile.
"Such unrestrained vulgarity," she tsked, gaze sweeping over Chen Xinyi with naked disdain. "Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at your shocking lack of propriety...snake."
Chen Xinyi recoiled as if struck, the intentional insult lancing through her like a barbed fang. Her hands pulled into trembling fists against the tablecloth as anguished humiliation flooded her veins.
"How dare you speak to me that way in my own house, you shameless harlot!" she spat with more bravado than she truly felt. "This is still my home, my family -"
"Your family?" Hui Ling cut her off with a derisive peal of laughter that seemed to strip away any lingering vestiges of ceremony or decorum. "Need I remind you, dear girl, that you insinuated yourself into this household under maliciously false pretenses from the very start?"