6
“It’s simple…”
Jiang Siyu set down her chopsticks. “If you and your mother—those two disgusting creatures—get the hell out of the Jiang family, then I’ll do as you wish and return.”
“Jiang Siyu!” The smile on Jiang Yiruan’s face vanished instantly. Although she knew nothing good would come out of Jiang Siyu’s mouth, hearing such insulting words from her still sent Jiang Yiruan into a fury.
She gritted her teeth and emphasized, “I genuinely hope you’ll come home. Mom and Dad miss you so much. If you don’t appreciate it, fine—but why do you have to insult people like this?”
“Tsk.” Jiang Siyu gave her a cold glance. “I’m being genuine too.”
Genuinely thinking Jiang Yiruan and her mother were disgusting creatures. Genuinely hoping they’d get the hell out of the Jiang family.
Better yet, disappear from her world entirely.
There was no insult involved.
Their eyes met. As Jiang Yiruan stared at the chill in Jiang Siyu’s eyes, an uncontrollable shiver ran down her spine.
Especially when she saw Jiang Siyu stand up—she instinctively took a step back.
It wasn’t that Jiang Yiruan was timid. The fact that she dared to provoke Jiang Siyu time and again proved she had plenty of nerve.
That step back was a physiological reaction conditioned by Jiang Siyu’s beatings before she went abroad.
Noticing her movement, a cold sneer flickered in Jiang Siyu’s eyes.
With that little courage, she still dared to come show her teeth in front of me?
Then again, thinking about it—ever since she went abroad, all of the Jiang family’s resources had flowed to Jiang Yiruan alone. Even the ugliest toad would have draped itself in human skin by now.
And with that skin, didn’t she start thinking she was some kind of miracle?
This time, though, Jiang Siyu wouldn’t lay a hand on Jiang Yiruan.
She’d just returned to the country. She should keep a low profile.
That’s what she thought in her mind, but her hand moved on its own, picking up the leftover fish soup on the table. The temperature was just right—cool enough.
“Ahhh!”
As the fish soup tipped from Jiang Siyu’s hand, Jiang Yiruan’s furious shriek filled the private room.
“Jiang—Siyu!” Jiang Yiruan’s hands spread wide, her clenched fists white from the strain. The fish soup dripped down her meticulously made-up face, completely ruining her delicate features.
Staring at the person before her who stood with arms crossed, enjoying her misery, she could no longer contain the rage in her heart. She raised her hand and swung it at the face she loathed to the extreme.
“Ah Yu!” Seeing this, Fu Lin cried out and moved to help, but before she could take a step, Jiang Yiruan’s hand was easily caught by Jiang Siyu.
“Let go of me!” Jiang Yiruan roared through gritted teeth, struggling desperately, but her hand remained locked in Jiang Siyu’s grip, unmoving.
“My dear little sister, if you don’t like the dish your sister treated you to, that’s fine—but how can you resort to violence?”
Jiang Siyu clicked her tongue twice. “So rude.”
With that, Jiang Siyu flung Jiang Yiruan’s captured hand away, and before she could even steady herself, a slap followed.
In the crisp sound of the slap, Jiang Yiruan’s head was forced to the side.
A ringing noise scrambled through Jiang Yiruan’s head, leaving her mind completely blank for a moment.
At that point, the group that had accompanied Jiang Yiruan finally snapped out of it and rushed into the private room, shielding her behind them, staring at Jiang Siyu with wary, on-guard expressions.
Watching this scene, Fu Lin mentally repeated ‘holy shit’ countless times before quickly walking over to Jiang Siyu’s side.
Fu Lin: “Ah Yu, are you okay?”
Seeing Jiang Siyu staring at the grease on her palm with disgust, as if she wanted to chop the hand off entirely, Fu Lin paused for a few seconds before reminding her:
“Go wash it off first?”
“Yeah.” Jiang Siyu responded in a low voice, then finally headed toward the restroom.
The moment she stepped inside, the group that hadn’t dared to breathe loudly immediately swarmed around Jiang Yiruan with concerned fussing.
Surrounded by the crowd, Jiang Yiruan frantically wiped the grease from her hair with tissues, but no matter how she tried, she couldn’t get it clean.
Thinking of how pathetic she looked right now, tears gradually welled up in Jiang Yiruan’s eyes.
Honestly, seeing her in such a pitiful state, even Fu Lin felt a twinge of sympathy for her.
But… as her gaze swept over the strands of hair sticking together in clumps against Jiang Yiruan’s scalp, Fu Lin couldn’t help the smile tugging at her lips.
She quickly pulled up a mini app and, looking at the digital wooden fish on the screen, began tapping it rapidly.
After seeing the screen fill with ‘+1 merit’ messages, Fu Lin finally couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing at the top of her lungs.
“Yeah, hahaha, sorry,” she waved her hand amid the glares from the group across from her that looked ready to tear her apart:
“I’m not—haha—doing it on purpose. I really can’t help it, hahaha—hic!”
The sudden hiccup made Fu Lin embarrassed for a moment—but only a moment.
She held her breath, trying her best to maintain her dignity as a big star, and the instant she noticed Jiang Siyu coming out of the restroom, she rushed over, grabbed her, and hurried away.
One more second of holding it in, and she’d have made a fool of herself in front of these people.
After dragging Jiang Siyu out of the private room, Fu Lin finally took a deep, long breath.
Seeing Jiang Siyu staring at her with a puzzled expression, she explained, “Laugh, hic, laughed too hard, hic~.”
“Oh.” Jiang Siyu nodded in understanding, then suddenly looked behind Fu Lin, straightened up, and called out, “Uncle Fu.”
The moment those three words left her mouth, Fu Lin’s expression froze.
One second passed… another… another… and another. Fu Lin slowly turned to look behind her.
But in the corridor, apart from the server standing by the door, there was almost no one.
Her terrifying father was nowhere to be seen—not even a shadow.
Okay, she’d been played.
Fu Lin turned around, grinding her teeth, only to catch a glimpse of Jiang Siyu’s back as she walked toward the elevator.
“Ah Yu, you even pranked me!” She quickly chased after her.
Jiang Siyu let her pounce onto her back from behind and cling to her, reaching out to steady her. Only after confirming Fu Lin was securely hanging on did she say:
“Your hiccups are gone.”
“Huh?!!” Fu Lin’s eyes widened in pleasant surprise. “Damn, that trick actually works!”
A smile tugged at the corner of Jiang Siyu’s lips as a kind, gentle face surfaced in her memory.
[Little Ah Yu, there’s a snake by your feet!]
[Grandma, Grandpa’s scaring me, boohoo, I don’t like Grandpa.]
[Ah Yu, don’t be scared, don’t be scared. Grandpa just hated seeing our Ah Yu suffer from hiccups. See, they’re gone now, right?]
[Oh? They really are gone.]
[When you can’t stop hiccuping, a good scare does the trick~ Now, my good grandchild, don’t be mad at Grandpa anymore.]
[Then I want Grandpa to make me fermented rice balls. I’ll only forgive you if I get a big bowl.]
[Alright, Grandpa will go make them for our Ah Yu right now. I’ll add some osmanthus too—the flowers in the courtyard are blooming just right.]
[Grandpa’s the best!!]
[And what about Grandma?]
[Grandma’s the very best!!]
…
“Ah Yu?” Seeing that Jiang Siyu hadn’t responded for a long time, Fu Lin gently poked her cheek. When she saw Jiang Siyu’s gaze land on her, she asked, “What are you thinking about? I’ve been calling you for ages.”
“Just thinking about my grandparents.” Jiang Siyu’s voice was a little low. Seeing the worry in Fu Lin’s eyes, she forced a light smile and naturally changed the subject:
“What were you saying just now?”
“I said,” Fu Lin repeated, “I booked a spot for tonight. I specially ordered ten top-tier male models to keep you company. Wanna come hang out?”
“No.” Jiang Siyu refused without a second thought, reaching out to press the elevator button for downstairs. “Too noisy.”
Ding~
The elevator came to a stop after a brief ride.
Fu Lin didn’t notice the doors already open in front of her, urgently trying to persuade Jiang Siyu:
“You want something quiet? Then I’ll find you the silent, mysterious type? Male models come in all styles these days.”