Actually, speaking of which, she had no conflict with her stepmother. The one she truly had a conflict of interest with was Lu Leyao.
Of course, due to their identities as the real and fake daughters, she and Lu Leyao were mortal enemies.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, so naturally, they were in the same camp.
The book described how she persistently harassed Lu Leyao, resulting in both of them suffering heavy losses, while the “white lotus” stepmother and her son Cheng Shi’an became the ultimate winners, leading to a happy ending for the trio in the book.
Invisibly, she had become a knife in their hands, a knife that helped them eliminate their most troublesome opponent.
Su Jiaobai had to admit that the author of that book was quite skilled. By using her character to resolve another character, it not only resolved the conflict for the protagonist group but also perfectly preserved the pure, good, and beautiful character of the “white lotus” heroine.
When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. Wu Yichun was that benefiting fisherman.
However, she didn’t know if this suddenly awakened NPC from the book, no longer following the plot, would cause the world of the book to collapse.
Without her help in eliminating Lu Leyao, what would be the final outcome for Wu Yichun, her son, and Lu Ting?
She had thought about it. She would only focus on the benefits she could secure and would not interfere with anything else.
She would be friendly to her stepmother and coexist peacefully with Lu Leyao.
“Aunt Wu, it’s been a while. Why do I feel like you’ve become even younger and more beautiful than the last time I saw you?” After making up her mind, Su Jiaobai’s emotional intelligence naturally increased, and compliments flowed effortlessly.
Lu Ting and Gu Xingmo, who were chatting nearby, both glanced over in unison.
No one dislikes being praised for being young and beautiful, but Wu Yichun was somewhat reserved and felt a little embarrassed.
“I’m already forty, how can I still be young? But you—” Speaking of this, Wu Yichun couldn’t help but examine Su Jiaobai carefully from head to toe. “You’re very different today. You look great dressed like this.” She added, “I knew you had good genes; a little bit of dressing up and you’d be very beautiful.”
Su Jiaobai seized the opportunity and said, “I understand Aunt Wu’s good intentions, so I plan to take all the clothes, skincare products, and cosmetics you bought for me before when I came back today.” This way, she accepted her kindness and saved herself some money, avoiding the need to buy them herself, killing two birds with one stone.
Those were branded items, and setting them up would cost a lot of money.
Wu Yichun was very happy to hear this and immediately said, “That would be wonderful.” Then, impatiently, she added, “I’ll go pack them for you now.”
“Aunt Wu, there’s no rush,” Su Jiaobai said, seeing her already busy. “Then I’ll go with you.”
After the two women left, Lu Ting invited Gu Xingmo inside to talk. Gu Xingmo instructed Zhou Yue to drive back first and come back to pick him up when needed, then followed Lu Ting inside.
Junzai had fallen asleep in the car. Sister Zhou carried him out of the car, and the Lu family’s helpers assisted with carrying the various items.
Not long after entering the house, Junzai woke up.
At this moment, Lu Ting leaned over to look. The little one had fair skin, and his eyes were large and round, like black grapes.
In fact, in his eyebrows and demeanor, one could occasionally see a hint of his own resemblance as a grandfather.
Lu Ting was in an extremely good mood.
“Let me hold him,” Lu Ting said, eager to do so.
Sister Zhou glanced at Gu Xingmo. Seeing that he didn’t object, she brought Junzai closer to Lu Ting.
“Junzai, this is your Grandpa. Grandpa likes you and wants to hold you,” Sister Zhou said patiently to the little one before handing him over.
Junzai seemed to understand and let out a few clear sounds from his mouth.
Children of this age were in the babbling stage.
Lu Ting was a little nervous, holding the child in his arms more carefully than if he were holding a rare treasure.
When Wu Yichun and Su Jiaobai came downstairs after packing, Wu Yichun immediately said, “Let me hold him too.”
Lu Ting beckoned to her, “Come here.”
Wu Yichun quickly moved closer. As Lu Ting carefully handed the child over, he emulated Sister Zhou and said, “This is Grandma. Grandma also likes you and wants to hold you.”
Junzai was particularly well-behaved today, perhaps because he was in a good mood from coming out to play, and he kept smiling.
This made Lu Ting feel that the bond of kinship was at play.
Wu Yichun also chimed in, “You’ve only seen him two or three times, and I’ve seen him more often than you. Why does he seem to like you more?”
Lu Ting was inwardly delighted but didn’t show it too much on his face. “Really? I didn’t notice. I thought he liked you more.”
Wu Yichun replied, “Even if he likes me, I’m benefiting from you.”
Standing by, Su Jiaobai couldn’t help but sigh, watching this scene. Her stepmother had high emotional intelligence and was good at providing emotional value. She appeared gentle and weak, but she possessed her own intelligence and way of handling things.
“Don’t all stand around, come and sit down,” Wu Yichun said, inviting everyone to sit as they were all standing.
So, everyone sat down and continued to play with Junzai.
Outside the door, Lu Leyao, who had specifically driven back from the company to attend the meal, was stunned when she saw this harmonious scene.
It was Cheng Shi’an, who had also rushed back for the meal, who saw her and called out to her, snapping Lu Leyao back to reality.
It was Cheng Shi’an’s loud call that made the few people engrossed in playing with the baby turn their heads towards the door.
At this moment, Cheng Shi’an and Lu Leyao were already walking into the house together.
Lu Ting, mindful of his adopted daughter’s emotions, stopped doting on Junzai when he saw her return and proactively spoke to Lu Leyao, “It’s so hot, and it’s lunchtime. It must have been difficult for you to rush back.”
Lu Leyao’s expression softened slightly, and she shook her head, saying it was nothing.
Su Jiaobai thought to herself, it was a hot noon, but she wasn’t made to walk back; she had returned in a million-dollar luxury car, so how could it be considered difficult?
Clearly, Lu Ting was deliberately favoring Lu Leyao. These words were intentionally spoken for her to hear, making her indebted to Lu Leyao.
If it were in the past, Su Jiaobai would have been furious and would have left with Junzai after a sarcastic outburst.
But now… it was unnecessary.
She didn’t want to compete for Lu Ting’s favor with Lu Leyao here, wasting her time and energy for nothing.
She firmly remembered the purpose of her visit, which was solely for “benefit,” and nothing else.
What about fatherly love? Since it wasn’t there from the beginning, why fight for it?
Moreover, she was long past the age where she needed fatherly love.
And since he wanted her to coexist peacefully with Lu Leyao, she would cater to his preferences and put on a show for him.
“Leyao, it’s been a long time,” she said, taking the initiative to greet her.
Lu Leyao was contemplating how to interact with her. A simple greeting, she feared, would be met with a cold shoulder and ingratitude. And deliberately trying to please her was something she found difficult to do.
While she was in a difficult situation, she didn’t expect her to take the initiative to speak to her.
Lu Leyao glanced at her, and a hint of awkwardness appeared on her exquisitely made-up face, but she responded with a polite smile, “It’s been a long time.”
Seeing that the sisters were no longer at each other’s throats, Lu Ting was in a very good mood.
“Knowing you were coming back today, your sister took time out of her busy schedule to rush back,” Lu Ting continued to mediate. His words clearly favored Lu Leyao.
“Is that so?” Su Jiaobai smiled, her expression always calm. “Leyao, thank you very much.”
Lu Ting was about to say more, but Wu Yichun pulled him aside.
“Since everyone is back, let’s sit down and eat,” Wu Yichun quickly arranged for everyone to sit.
Afterward, she quietly pulled Lu Ting aside and whispered, “You’re too biased. You keep emphasizing Leyao’s good points. What do you think Jiaobai feels inside?” She added, “Actually, Jiaobai is quite good. If you consider her perspective and situation, could you be as forgiving as she is in the same circumstances? She wasn’t loved in that home, and her status in your heart is lower than Leyao’s after returning. Isn’t she upset?”
Lu Ting indeed hadn’t thought that far ahead. He was afraid Jiaobai would continue to target Leyao, and he wanted to mediate their sisterly relationship, so he kept saying that Leyao had rushed back specifically for her. He wanted her to appreciate this and treat Leyao better.
Now, after being reminded and reflecting, he naturally felt that his wife’s words were reasonable.
During the subsequent meal, Lu Ting tried his best to be fair, and the atmosphere was relatively harmonious.
After enduring the meal, Lu Leyao said that she had some work to attend to and would go upstairs to work for a while, and she proactively greeted Gu Xingmo.
Gu Xingmo replied, “President Lu, please go ahead with your work.”
Cheng Shi’an also disliked such occasions. If it weren’t for his mother’s feelings, he wouldn’t have come back for this meal at all.
Seeing Lu Leyao leave, he immediately found an excuse to leave as well.
It was already past noon. Junzai had fallen asleep after drinking his milk. Wu Yichun, fearing that everyone would feel awkward, suggested playing mahjong.
The wealthy wives in the elite circles often played mahjong for leisure. Wu Yichun hadn’t played before, but as she gradually integrated into this circle, she became quite invested.
Occasionally, when she had free time in the afternoon, she would play mahjong with a few close friends.
Lu Ting and Gu Xingmo were even more seasoned players.
Among the four people, only Su Jiaobai didn’t know how to play.
If it were in the past, Su Jiaobai would have considered this unproductive and would have disdained it.
But now, she was gradually learning to integrate into this circle and no longer judged these recreational activities with her previous rigid mindset.
“But I don’t know how,” she said.
Wu Yichun replied, “It’s not difficult. I’ll explain the rules, and with your intelligence, you’ll learn it in no time.”
Wu Yichun was enthusiastic, and Su Jiaobai didn’t refuse. Even though Lu Ting and Gu Xingmo were less keen, they didn’t want to dampen her spirits.
Wu Yichun explained the rules, and after a few rounds, Su Jiaobai gradually got the hang of it.
After playing a few hands, she gradually felt the charm of the national game and even seemed to be enjoying herself.
However, she was a novice. She knew how to play but didn’t know how to read the cards.
When playing, she didn’t pay attention to the cards on the table but focused on her own hand, which often led to her discarding cards that allowed others to win.
Gu Xingmo had no choice but to constantly feed her cards.
Wu Yichun couldn’t tell what was going on and just played her own game. Lu Ting, seeing that his son-in-law was deliberately feeding cards, cooperated and decided to stop playing, just watching his wife play.
Finally, Gu Xingmo drew a card and put it down directly.
Su Jiaobai’s eyes widened by half when she saw it. She immediately exclaimed, “I want it!” It was her first time getting a big hand, and she had won, so she was naturally excited. As she pushed her tiles forward, she almost knocked over the table. “All one suit.” she giggled.
“And it’s a pair-pair win with all one suit,” Lu Ting added.
However, Lu Ting then said, “But since you’re family, there’s no need to calculate the money.”
Su Jiaobai: “…”
But considering Gu Xingmo had given her both betrothal gifts and pocket money, Su Jiaobai didn’t bother to argue about the card game money.
However, since money had been mentioned, she naturally hadn’t forgotten the purpose of her visit today.
“Xingmo is very good to me. He knows I’ve had a difficult time before and feels sorry for me. Not only did he make up for the betrothal gifts he didn’t give before, but he also gives me pocket money every month.” Then, she smoothly brought up, “Dad, you didn’t give me a dowry when I got married either. Why don’t you make up for the dowry for me?”