Shen Ran sneered.
“Give you face? What face do you have?
The face of someone who favors the adopted daughter and always blames me without even asking who’s right or wrong?
Or the face of someone who helped an outsider break into my room by force, not caring about my reputation?
Or the face of someone who broke the jade bracelet herself but watched others frame me without saying a word?
If you admit all that, then sure—I’ll give you face. Let’s just see if you dare accept it!”
Mother Shen was left speechless, her face flushed red.
She wanted to say she wasn’t biased. If Shen Ran hadn’t constantly caused trouble, she wouldn’t treat her like this.
She also wanted to say that she hadn’t broken the bracelet. But earlier, in order to send the police away, she had chosen to lie.
Still, no matter what, Shen Ran shouldn’t question her like this in front of outsiders.
Where would that leave her dignity?
If the ladies in their social circle heard about this, they would laugh at her to death.
Thinking of that made resentment rise in her heart.
“If that’s how you see me, then there’s nothing more for me to say!
From now on, handle your own affairs. Since you dislike me as your mother, I won’t interfere anymore.”
Her words were filled with anger—almost like a form of one-sided emotional coldness.
If it had been the original Shen Ran, she would have panicked and desperately tried to explain and repair the relationship.
But unfortunately, the “core” inside this body had already changed.
As a former overworked office slave hardened by society, Shen Ran was cold-hearted enough not to care.
She turned to Bai Man and smiled mockingly.
“See that? You acted like someone else’s weapon and rushed out to defend them, but now not a single person is standing up to help you. Isn’t that hilarious?”
Bai Man’s face instantly turned livid.
In the end, she apologized to Shen Ran in front of the police and promised to give her one hundred yuan within three days.
Shen Ran nodded.
“Fine. Three days—no extensions. If you’re late, I’ll go to your workplace and talk to your supervisor.”
Bai Man fled in embarrassment.
Mother Shen gave a brief apology and returned to her room, claiming she felt tired.
Only Shen Yunrou remained.
“Sister, I’m sorry. I really didn’t expect things to turn out like this today. I hope you won’t take it to heart.”
A white lotus was still a white lotus. Even though she had cursed Shen Ran thousands of times in her heart, she still wore a gentle and proper smile.
After all, there were still outsiders present—she had to keep up the act.
Seeing that she also apologized, the police officers had no reason to stay any longer and left.
The moment their figures disappeared around the stair corner, Shen Yunrou’s expression changed.
“Sister, you were the one who broke the jade bracelet, weren’t you?
You’re really heartless—smashing our Shen family heirloom like that!”
Shen Ran shot back with a smile.
“You, a fake who’s occupying the magpie’s nest, have the nerve to call yourself part of the Shen family? Stop flattering yourself.”
Trying to trick her into admitting something? Not a chance.
Being called a “fake,” Shen Yunrou almost lost control of her fake smile.
Originally, she had planned to use Bai Man to expose Shen Ran for stealing the bracelet.
Once the scandal spread everywhere, she would add fuel to the fire and make the Shen family completely disappointed in Shen Ran—eventually driving her out.
The plan had been perfect. Somehow, though, something had gone wrong, and now everything was a mess.
A flash of irritation crossed Shen Yunrou’s eyes.
“Forget it. Even if you don’t admit it, there’s nothing I can do. Let’s just hope you’re not this lucky next time.”
With that, she stormed off.
Shen Ran leaned against the door and clicked her tongue, shaking her head with amusement.
So she’d already lost her composure?
What happened to the self-discipline of a top-tier white lotus?
“Meow?”
[Stupid… woman, why did you make me put the jade bracelet in that old woman’s room?
Shouldn’t it have been your sister’s room? She’s the one who framed you!]
At that moment, a small wild cat jumped onto the windowsill.
The little creature held half a dried fish in its mouth, tilting its head with round, curious eyes.
It was an adorable little thing.
Shen Ran crouched down and gently rubbed its fluffy head with a smile.
“Little one, the human world is too complicated. You wouldn’t understand.”
If the bracelet had appeared in Shen Yunrou’s room, she would have cried, apologized, and the matter would have ended lightly.
But now, many more people had been dragged into the situation.
Bai Man didn’t matter—she was just a brainless cannon-fodder character.
The important part was the Shen family.
Mother Shen adored Shen Yunrou, but only as long as her own interests weren’t affected.
And then there was Father Shen, who cared deeply about reputation. Could he really swallow the humiliation of his wife losing face in front of outsiders?
Someone would have to take the blame for stealing and breaking the bracelet.
Whoever it was, it definitely wouldn’t be her.
After all, she had just proven her innocence in front of the police. No one could pin the blame on her again.
Once the Shen family started suspecting each other and falling into chaos, that would be quite the show.
This round had been a huge victory, and Shen Ran was in a great mood.
She pulled another small dried fish from her pocket and tossed it to the kitten.
“Here’s your reward. Today’s cooperation was great. Maybe we’ll work together again sometime.”
[Hmph, of course I deserve it!]
The kitten proudly lifted its fluffy head.
It quickly finished the half fish in its mouth, grabbed the new one, and nodded toward Shen Ran.
Then it flicked its tail, leapt onto the windowsill, and disappeared.
Shen Ran locked her door and went downstairs for a walk around the neighborhood.
First, to get familiar with life in this era.
Second, to test her beast-language ability.
After walking around once, she came to a conclusion:
She could only communicate with animals that had lived with humans for a long time or possessed strong spiritual intelligence—like cats, dogs, and parrots.
Other animals without such intelligence couldn’t communicate with her, but she could still control them with the “Heart of Beasts” and make them serve her.
This golden finger was amazing.
She hated mosquitoes in the summer. With this ability, insect bites would no longer be a problem.
She could even secretly use small insects to do some mischievous things.
Shen Ran’s room faced a large tree outside.
Every day, birds chirped noisily there, and hundreds of cicadas buzzed day and night.
Luckily, those creatures lacked intelligence.
If she had to hear all their voices too, the constant noise might drive her insane.
After walking around the street, Shen Ran discovered only three animals with intelligence.
One was a green parrot belonging to Editor Zhang at the end of the street.
Editor Zhang was the chief editor of a newspaper. He stayed up late every night writing articles, and half the hair on his head had already fallen out.
The parrot loved food and constantly flattered him to get treats—while secretly complaining in its heart:
[Smelly bald guy! So stingy. His hair should just fall out completely!]
Shen Ran happened to hear that while passing by his house.
Another was a local dog named Tudou (Potato) belonging to Grandma Wang next door.
Tudou had yellowish fur, adorable floppy ears, and a round body.
But the moment it saw Shen Ran, it ran away in terror.
[The vicious woman is here! She glared at me last time—I still remember!]
Shen Ran: …
The original host really had been hated by everyone—even dogs disliked her.
The last one was the little wild cat that had appeared at her windowsill.
The small fellow was quite proud and had soft, fluffy fur that felt wonderful to pet.
If she saw it again next time, she’d give it another dried fish and pet it more.
With the test of her golden finger completed, Shen Ran prepared to go home.
However, she never expected that when she reached her front door—
she would see someone she absolutely did not expect…