Su Chuiyun stared at her messages for a long while, unsure of how to respond.
Ming Shu’s chat box immediately pinged again with a voice message. Su Chuiyun clicked it instantly.
“I’m sorry. I drank too much just now and said things I shouldn’t have. My foster parents treat me very well. I shouldn’t have said things to you, A-Yun, that could be misunderstood. I’m sorry.”
The tone was one part fragile, two parts apologetic, and seven parts “Green Tea” (manipulatively innocent). Her voice was faint, as if she were suppressing all her negative emotions, transforming herself into a tool willing to let her biological family continue to bleed her dry.
It was a performance designed to make any witness weep with sympathy.
Su Chuiyun put down her phone and rubbed her aching temples. Chen Yue stood behind her. “Miss Su, I’ve brought Auntie Wang’s contract.”
Su Chuiyun glanced at it. “I see.”
Chen Yue: “Should I… read the contract to you now?”
Auntie Wang had worked for the Su family for many years and was practically an elder to Su Chuiyun, but an employee was an employee, failing to care for her employer properly was an unforgivable sin.
“No need,” Su Chuiyun said with a faint smile, placing her phone face down on the table. She subconsciously stroked the coat Ming Shu had left behind. “The Ming residence isn’t far from here, right? Take me there. I’m going to pick up my girlfriend.”
Chen Yue: “???”
Girlfriend??
The young girl in the wheelchair looked frail, a black trench coat draped over her knees. She traced the collar longingly, and the faint scent of gardenia seemed to drift through the air.
Chen Yue opened the car door for her, looking as though she wanted to say something but hesitated…
Su Chuiyun: “?”
Chen Yue couldn’t help herself. Having worked for the Su family for years, she knew her young mistress’s personality could be described as nothing short of “wicked.”
“Ming Shu’s situation at the Ming house is very awkward. She is serious about you. If you don’t have feelings for her, it’s better not to provoke her.”
Su Chuiyun sat in the back seat. “Why do you say that?”
Chen Yue gave her a look that said ‘Do I really have to spell it out?’ “I saw Ming Shu when I arrived this morning. Her lip was bitten through, her knees were all red, and she looked exhausted…”
As someone in her late thirties, Chen Yue found the “playstyles” of young people hard to comprehend. She didn’t understand it, and she was greatly shocked. Her implication was clear: Miss, you’re already blind, how can you still humiliate someone like this?
Su Chuiyun: “??!”
Su Chuiyun sucked in a breath of cold air.
Chen Yue added with a complex expression: “Ming Shu is worth a lot of money, after all, and she’s your ex-girlfriend. At least leave her some dignity.”
Su Chuiyun’s world was rocked. All the way there, she was in a daze, not daring to think about what had actually happened the night before.
Su Chuiyun had fallen asleep quickly, casting the ‘Sugar Mommy’ aside, leaving her to ‘settle things’ in the bathroom alone…
In the eyes of outsiders, it looked like Ming Shu had been humiliated in the bathroom, forced to kneel and do that sort of thing.
Su Chuiyun: “I can explain.”
The way Chen Yue looked at her was exactly how one looks at a “Slag Girl.”
Su Chuiyun: “…”
At the Ming Residence
Ming Shu sat on the sofa, squinting as she scanned the will. Her grandfather had been predictably sexist, and since she was an adopted daughter with no Ming blood, her share was meager. However, the shares were enough for a normal person to live comfortably for a lifetime.
Ming Shu worked in the AI architectural design industry abroad, and the Ming family happened to have construction interests domestically. If she could merge them… she could give Su Chuiyun a better life and find her better doctors.
Thinking of Su Chuiyun’s legs and eyes, a layer of gloom settled in Ming Shu’s heart.
Ming Shu curled her lip. “I recall the car Ming Wei drives was bought by me. Return it along with the rest.”
The foster mother’s already ugly expression darkened instantly. “Don’t forget who raised you! If it weren’t for our Ming family, you would have died on the streets long ago.”
“You’re so old and can’t find a good match outside. Your brother doesn’t mind you. Don’t let the ‘fertile water flow into others’ fields’ (keep it in the family). You have no gratitude at all!”
“Ingrate!”
The foster mother slammed the table viciously. “It’s only right that you buy your brother a car. As his sister, it’s your natural duty to take care of him.”
Ming Shu felt only disgust. She rubbed her brow, intending to leave as soon as the business was done. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a familiar car at the main gate.
A crack appeared in Ming Shu’s indifferent mask, and the corners of her mouth twitched upward. Her “little sister” was different now, she knew how to care for people. Just because of a few words, she had come here out of pity.
Seeing Ming Shu’s silence, the foster mother’s face grew even more ferocious. She pointed a finger at her, spitting as she yelled: “I’m telling you, if you don’t marry your brother, don’t even think about taking a cent of the inheritance.”
The foster father, who had been reading the newspaper, allowed this to happen. He said earnestly to Ming Shu, “Xiao Shu, this is where you are wrong.”
Ming Wei snorted. “I bet my sister hooked up with some rich guy abroad.”
Accused by everyone, Ming Shu wasn’t afraid; she actually found it boring. She took out her phone, dialed a number, and said right in front of her foster parents and brother:
“Hello, is this the Urban Construction Service Hotline? I’ve sent a detailed report regarding the Ming Construction Materials Company colluding with local developers to use substandard materials in residential housing. I hope you can investigate and handle this as soon as possible.”
Ming Shu’s voice was calm. Her eyes swept over her foster mother and father, the people who used to beat her and lock her in the basement were no longer a threat.
As the staff member on the phone confirmed the report, the foster mother suddenly lost all composure and tried to snatch the phone. “Are you crazy?!”
The foster father’s calm vanished. “Ming Shu!”
The phone was knocked to the ground. The foster mother desperately tried to say something to the worker, but the voice on the line simply said: “The complaint has been accepted.”
If the investigation proved true, the perpetrators could face life in prison, and even total bankruptcy wouldn’t cover the damages.
The phone lay on the floor. The foster mother’s face turned from red to white, and her gold necklace seemed to lose its luster.
The brother sneered. “We should never have adopted her. She’s a white-eyed wolf. I wouldn’t even find it interesting to sleep with her.”
Before Ming Wei could finish, Ming Shu swung her palm and slapped him across the face.
Ming Wei stumbled back, his bulky body crashing into a wine rack. Bottles wobbled and shattered on the ground. He never imagined a woman would hit him in fact, he didn’t think anyone had the right to, given how arrogantly he’d been raised.
Ming Shu wore her ring backward; the diamond sliced across the man’s cheek, leaving a gruesome bloody trail. Just as he was about to scream, Ming Shu said coldly:
“If you make another sound, I’ll release the records of how many internet celebrities you’ve solicited and how many girls you’ve forced to have abortions.”
Seeing her only son struck, the mother fainted in shock. The foster father habitually turned to violence, swinging his cane. Just as it was about to hit Ming Shu, it was suddenly blocked by a metal object.
It was the armrest of a metal wheelchair.
“Uncle, it’s wrong to use your hands.”
Everyone was stunned to see Su Chuiyun appear.
Su Chuiyun said darkly, “It’s a good thing that didn’t hit me. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain to the police.”
Ming Shu looked at her little sister as if in a dream. Su Chuiyun was protecting her for the first time in her life, someone was standing in front of her.
The foster father feigned a kind expression. “We’re just discussing family matters. Why is Miss Su here?”
Su Chuiyun took Ming Shu’s hand. “I’m here to take my girlfriend home.”
Standing amidst the broken glass, Ming Shu looked like a pitiful little white rabbit surrounded by wolves, her long hair draped over her shoulders, her beautiful eyes hidden behind rimless glasses. She looked like she had been severely bullied.
At least, in Su Chuiyun’s eyes, Ming Shu was the victim. How could her girlfriend be exploited by these leeches?
Su Chuiyun fumbled to check Ming Shu for injuries, sounding anxious: “Did they hit you? You’ve always been so respectful to your parents, how could they be so ungrateful?”
Respectful and loving?? The crowd: Do you even hear yourself?
Ming Shu’s lips curved into a fragile, “Green Tea” smile. “It’s okay. My parents don’t hit me that often.”
Not that often… If Su Chuiyun hadn’t arrived, that cane wouldn’t have hit her anyway. Ming Shu would have stepped back, and the father would have hit the brother’s shoulder instead.
Ming Shu had long since lost any feelings for this family, but if she could use this filth to make her little sister feel soft-hearted and pity her, it was a worthy use of resources.
Su Chuiyun shielded Ming Shu. “I’ve just been discharged and am weak. I need someone to look after me. You won’t mind if Ming Shu stays at my house, will you?”
“As you wish.”
Ming Shu acted fragile, helpless, and ready to cry. Everyone’s eyes widened, and the foster father’s face turned the color of pig liver.
Before leaving, Ming Shu cast a quiet look back at her foster father. The latter felt a chill, and his impulsive anger began to fade. “Xiao Shu, I know you’ve made money abroad, but family is family after all…”
He realized he could no longer use a stick to teach her lessons and was forced to soften his tone.
Ming Shu didn’t bother discussing family ties. “Domestic malls are mostly the same and lack innovation. Coincidentally, I know an award-winning designer from abroad. Working with her could elevate the mall’s grade to international standards. I have a cooperation agreement here.”
“If our two families can jointly develop the mall in the western suburbs, I imagine there’s a lot of money to be made.”
At the mention of money, the father’s anger vanished. He didn’t even care about his son’s whimpering. “And the complaint…”
“I can withdraw it. But please, sign the contract first.”
Ming Shu named a designer the father had heard of, and his doubts vanished. Glancing over the contract quickly, he didn’t notice the loopholes. Truthfully, he had inherited the company and wasn’t familiar with many operations usually, subordinates reviewed contracts.
Yes, the father thought, this is how a family should be. Ming Shu grew up in the Ming house, so naturally, she would look out for them.
Ming Shu smoothly placed the contract in front of him. “Sign it.”
Just as the father wanted to flip through it more carefully, his phone vibrated. It was a business partner who had heard a rumor that the authorities were launching a strict investigation.
Ming Shu’s smile deepened. “Opportunities like this don’t come twice.”
The father’s hand shook as he signed. He sensed something was wrong, but he was met with Su Chuiyun’s protective smile.
Su Chuiyun thought: I smell a master manipulator. Her “Sugar Mommy” sister’s smile was so sinister.
Su Chuiyun blocked the father’s line of sight. “Let’s go. Don’t waste time here.”
Su Chuiyun didn’t care what others thought. She sat in her wheelchair and led Ming Shu out of that “human-eating” mansion.
“These people don’t deserve to be your family. Don’t pay them any mind after this.”
“Okay.”
“Those people mentioned withdrawing the complaint… will you really do it, sister?”
“No. I lied to them.”
Su Chuiyun’s gaze fell on Ming Shu’s reddened knees. She was wearing a mid-length skirt, and when the wind blew, the marks were visible. They were ambiguous marks, the kind that only happen when one is kneeling in a bathtub.
Su Chuiyun’s mind went “yellow” (lewd). She steered her wheelchair forward quickly.
The wheelchair was pulled back by Ming Shu. The latter’s gaze was burning as it landed on Su Chuiyun’s lips.
“I was frightened today. Can A-Yun comfort me?”
Frightened? If she hadn’t read the original novel, Su Chuiyun might have actually believed her.
Ming Shu leaned down, tucking her long hair behind her ear. She captured Su Chuiyun’s lips and took Su Chuiyun’s hand, attempting to move it under her skirt.
Su Chuiyun’s hand paused, then rubbed Ming Shu’s knee. “Let’s go home. You deserve a better place, sister.”