Cui Yuanwei cleared his throat and looked at Su Ranyue. “Yueyue, no swearing.”
Then he gently rubbed her hair. “Yueyue, is what Cui Qingshu said true? Is her jade pendant with you too?”
Su Ranyue wanted to deny it, but the pendant really was in her possession.
Compared to the other expensive jewelry in the box, the jade pendant looked plain and out of place. Yet for some reason, it was the one she liked most.
Cui Qingshu had hidden it at the very bottom of the jewelry case, among the most valuable items. It had to mean a lot to her.
And anything Cui Qingshu liked, Su Ranyue wanted for herself.
Just as Su Ranyue was about to speak, Cui Qingshu’s soft voice cut in first.
“Dad, didn’t you see it yourself? The day my sister took my jewelry box, she was holding the pendant and playing with it. You happened to walk in then.”
Cui Yuanwei thought back and nodded. That did happen. He’d only glanced casually at the time and honestly couldn’t remember whether she had been handling the pendant or not.
Su Ranyue quickly swallowed the denial she had been about to make and said awkwardly, “But Dad, you know… I already mailed those things to Brother Shen.”
Cui Qingshu nearly laughed out loud. Why would the male lead, Shen Ziming, need those jewels?
She widened her eyes in exaggerated shock. “Dad, how shameless can Shen Ziming be? I’m writing him a letter and cursing him out!
We’re not even married yet, and he actually had the nerve to accept so many valuable jewels?
A fiancé that pathetic? I wouldn’t even want him. Just wait—I’ll write to the army and report him. A man so greedy for money and valuables deserves to be an officer?”
Su Ranyue’s face instantly changed color.
She had never mailed those things to Shen Ziming at all.
That had only been her excuse for taking Cui Qingshu’s belongings. She couldn’t very well admit to being greedy, so naturally she used Shen Ziming as a scapegoat.
Claiming she was sending things to help “smooth connections” for him, she had fooled Cui Yuanwei every time. He had never doubted her and would even occasionally give her extra money and rare valuables to send along.
Cold sweat broke out on Su Ranyue’s forehead. “No, no, I remembered wrong! I didn’t send them to Brother Shen. I’ll get them for you right now.”
Relief loosened slightly in Cui Qingshu’s chest. Watching Su Ranyue hurry back to her room, she immediately followed behind.
She needed to keep an eye on her. She absolutely could not let Su Ranyue accidentally bind the pendant with blood.
Cui Qingshu had to keep that spatial treasure in her own hands before she could feel safe.
Afraid his precious daughter would suffer, Cui Yuanwei hurried after them too.
Su Ranyue walked to her vanity and shot Cui Qingshu a wary look, as if guarding against a thief.
Carefully opening her jewelry case, she looked at the jade pendant resting on top. Her gaze flickered before she picked it up and handed it over.
“Here. You—you should leave already.”
Today’s Cui Qingshu felt different. Having her in the room made Su Ranyue deeply uneasy.
Cui Qingshu examined the pendant carefully. It looked roughly the same as the one in the original owner’s memories.
But she still wasn’t reassured.
Lowering her hand, she used the metal pin on her sleeve to prick her finger.
A sharp sting shot through her, but her expression didn’t change as she smeared blood onto the pendant.
Nothing happened.
This wasn’t the spatial jade pendant.
Cui Qingshu’s eyes sharpened as she stared directly at Su Ranyue.
Su Ranyue’s heart skipped, a bad feeling rising instantly.
The next moment—
Cui Qingshu exploded.
With one swing, she smashed the jade pendant violently onto the floor.
“Liar! Liar! You lied to me!”
She didn’t stop there. Grabbing the pretty cream-colored desk lamp in Su Ranyue’s room, she hurled it to the ground. The plastic lamp shattered instantly.
That lamp had originally belonged to the former host. So had the floral bedsheets on the bed.
Cui Qingshu kept going, yanking the blanket onto the floor and stomping on it wildly.
The brightly colored flowers in the vase on the desk were swept onto the ground. Water splashed over the sheets, and muddy footprints quickly covered them.
The Shanghai-brand transistor radio—smashed.
The folded paper stars inside the glass pen holder—dumped out and crushed underfoot. The holder shattered too.
The celebrity posters on the wall—ripped down and torn to pieces.
Then Cui Qingshu’s gaze stopped on a photograph hanging on the wall.
It wasn’t a celebrity photo. The woman in it resembled Su Ranyue somewhat.
A smile appeared in Cui Qingshu’s eyes.
Found it.
Without mercy, she tore the photo down and held it up as if about to rip it apart.
“Don’t!”
“Fanghua—!” Cui Yuanwei’s voice cracked with panic. “Cui Qingshu, don’t you dare tear it!”
Cui Qingshu raised a brow and glanced down at the picture again.
As expected of a white moonlight—despite not being around, even just a photograph was treasured this much.
She lifted her head. Blood dripped from her fingertip, though she seemed not to notice. The viciousness from smashing the room still lingered around her, yet now her voice trembled with sobs.
“Give me the jade pendant. Give me Mom’s jade pendant back.”
Her eyes were red, tears and snot streaming down her face like a fragile white flower battered by the wind.
Clearly she was the aggressor—the one destroying everything—yet at this moment she looked like a victim driven to despair.
Anyone seeing this scene would think Cui Qingshu had been horribly bullied by the two of them.
Like a madwoman, she rushed at Su Ranyue and grabbed her shoulders, nails digging deep into her flesh.
“Give it back! Give it back! Hurry and give me the pendant!”
Cui Qingshu exerted force while secretly counting in her head.
One, two, three, four. Pinch pinch pinch.
Why was this body so weak?
She kept shaking Su Ranyue’s shoulders.
Huff, huff. One, two, three, four. Harder, harder, harder.
Her nails pierced flesh, and she felt warm liquid.
Satisfied, Cui Qingshu discreetly shifted to another spot while keeping her eyes red and pitiful.
One, two, three, four—
“AHHHHH!”
“Cui Qingshu, you lunatic! Let go of me! I’ll get it, I’ll get it!”
She’d gone completely insane.
Regretfully, Cui Qingshu loosened her grip and stared at her through tear-filled eyes.
Shivering, Su Ranyue scrambled to the jewelry box and pulled out another jade pendant.
The one she had handed over earlier had been her own. It looked eighty percent similar to Cui Qingshu’s, and she had hoped to fool her with it.
She never expected Cui Qingshu to recognize the difference immediately.
Su Ranyue opened the drawer and reached for the real pendant—
But Cui Qingshu’s bloodstained hand moved first, grabbing the jewelry case.
Her bloody fingers rummaged through the contents. The moment she spotted the pendant, her eyes lit up, and she pressed her hand firmly against it.
Instantly, she felt a space appear inside her mind.
Found it.
Clutching the pendant like a priceless treasure, Cui Qingshu finally breathed in relief.
She had gotten it at last.
She’d been terrified that if she were one step too late, Su Ranyue would bind it first.
If that had happened, she’d have died of anger.
No—she would’ve killed Su Ranyue on the spot.
Su Ranyue stared fixedly at the pendant in Cui Qingshu’s hand. For some reason, she felt that pendant was extremely important to her.
As though it should have belonged to her from the beginning.
Cui Qingshu had stolen something that was hers.
Pressing a hand to her chest, Su Ranyue felt suffocated. She turned her face away, unable to bear looking at the pendant.
Her voice choked up. “Sister… can you return Mom’s photograph to me? It’s my only keepsake of her. As long as you give it back… I—I’ll agree to anything.”
Cui Qingshu tucked the pendant into her pocket and nodded while holding the photo.
“Sure. Here.”
She stretched out her hand to pass over the photograph. Though surprised, Su Ranyue reached out to take it.
The moment she lifted her arm, she let out a muffled groan of pain.
It hurt.
A shadow flashed through Su Ranyue’s eyes.
And just as she received the photo, a soft tearing sound rang out.
Su Ranyue looked over in shock.
Her mother’s photograph had been ripped cleanly in half.
She froze, unable to process what had happened.
From where he had fallen among the shards of glass and still hadn’t fully gotten up from the pain, Cui Yuanwei roared furiously:
“Cui Qingshu!”
He practically ground the name out through clenched teeth. Ignoring the pain, he scrambled up and charged over.
Cui Qingshu instantly dragged Su Ranyue in front of her as a shield and backed away.
“Dad, Dad, don’t blame little sister. She didn’t mean it.
The photo must’ve just gotten old and brittle over time. She definitely wasn’t framing me or deliberately tearing it apart!
Dad, you can’t wrongly accuse her. It really wasn’t her fault. Fine—it was me, okay?!”
Su Ranyue: “…”