The next morning.
Xu Mian appeared at the Xu family villa.
Xu Die was doing yoga in the yard. Seeing Xu Mian, she yelped in shock, “What are you doing here? Didn’t you just come back yesterday? You’re like a lingering ghost!”
Xu Mian carried the briefcase she had dug up yesterday, a black hat shading her long hair, and under the brim, a pair of sharp, piercing eyes.
“Xu Die,” Xu Mian’s voice was calm but heavy with an oppressive aura, her lips curling into a cold smile, “just a reminder this is my home.”
Xu Die pouted, lifting her chin arrogantly. “Dad’s in charge here.”
Xu Mian snorted coldly, lifting her eyelids in a chilling glance.
Xu Die flinched and stepped back several paces.
“Xu Mian, you’re bullying me! I’m telling Dad!” she shouted toward the upstairs. “Dad, there’s a stranger in our house!”
Xu Lin came downstairs, squinting and narrowing his eyes, irritation written all over his face. “Why are you here? What’s going on?”
Xu Mian placed the briefcase on the table, her gaze icy. “Just letting you know from today, I’ll be moving back into the Xu family mansion.”
Xu Lin’s anger flared!
“You come and go as you please?”
Xu Mian’s eyes met his coldly. “Yes. This is my home. Naturally, I come and go as I please.”
Xu Lin’s chest heaved, about to explode with anger.
“Old Lin,” Wang Fang said, smiling and pressing her hand to Xu Lin’s chest, “why are you yelling at the child first thing in the morning? You’re the father, but you’re acting childish.”
Xu Lin, mollified by her words, pouted and shot Xu Mian a glare before turning away.
Wang Fang smiled sweetly. “Mianmian, this house was left to you by your mother. You can come back whenever you like. Xiao Die and I are just along for the ride.”
Xu Lin immediately clicked his tongue in displeasure at her tone.
Wang Fang maintained a gracious smile.
She knew very well about Xu Lin’s guilt toward Xu Die over the years; now showing weakness was just a way to subtly stir tension.
“Mrs. Wang,” she said with the poise of the lady of the house, “go prepare the second-floor rooms for our young lady.”
The housekeeper, Aunt Li, frowned and reluctantly came out of the kitchen. “Miss, you should have given notice before coming back. How is anyone supposed to be prepared for such suddenness? Do you do this at other people’s houses too? Even without elders at home, basic etiquette should be known.”
Aunt Li was related to Wang Fang’s family, so naturally, she sided with her.
Seeing Xu Mian arrive, she wanted to show loyalty to Wang Fang.
Aunt Li had a sharp tongue; she could berate someone nonstop for an hour. Wang Fang had brought her specifically to handle Xu Mian.
After Xu Mian left the house on her own, Aunt Li’s talents almost went unused. Today’s performance pleased Wang Fang immensely.
But on her face, she still wore a reproachful expression. “Aunt Li, what are you saying? Mianmian is still a child. She’ll learn over time.”
Wang Fang walked toward Xu Mian, affectionately placing her hand on her shoulder.
But before she could touch her, Xu Mian stepped forward. Wang Fang’s hand met nothing. She pouted at Xu Lin, looking wronged, her eyes drooping.
Xu Lin’s face reddened, about to explode.
Xu Mian turned toward Aunt Li, hands behind her back.
Aunt Li, short in stature, had to look up. Xu Mian bent slightly, her delicate face carrying a faint, mocking smile.
“You’re… quite something,” Xu Mian said casually, a cold sharpness betraying her age.
Aunt Li felt a pang in her chest under that gaze.
“I… I’m just stating facts you’ve always been a little ”
Before she could finish the word “undisciplined”
“Smack!” A sharp slap rang out.
Even Wang Fang was shocked.
Xu Lin jumped up from his seat.
Aunt Li clutched her face, glaring at Xu Mian. “How dare you hit me!”
“Oh,” Xu Mian still smiling, leaned back in the chair and crossed her legs arrogantly. “Forgot to warn you. I have a bad temper. If I can act, I don’t speak. So it’s best you never provoke me again. Otherwise, I’ll show you what it’s like to be wild without proper upbringing.”
Aunt Li: “You ”
Xu Mian’s eyes sharpened. “Now go upstairs and prepare my room!”
Aunt Li covered her face and looked at Wang Fang.
Wang Fang gave her a look, and Aunt Li had no choice but to stomp upstairs in anger.
“Xu Mian! You’ve gone too far!” Xu Lin knew Aunt Li was related to Wang Fang; he couldn’t bear to see her wronged. “She’s your mother’s relative! Hitting her in front of us is that not an insult to us?”
“Sorry,” Xu Mian said casually, picking up the Rubik’s cube from the table. “My mom’s long dead.”
She lifted her eyelids to look at Xu Lin. “Remember? She died at the cliff. When her body was brought back, it was already decomposed, and you just burned it casually.”
Thinking of Lin Yin’s death, Xu Lin felt annoyed.
“She’s gone. Why bring it up?”
“Is she?” Xu Mian smiled coldly. “Is she really gone?”
Xu Mian had a face strikingly similar to Lin Yin’s. At that moment, through Xu Mian’s eyes, Xu Lin felt as if he were looking at his deceased wife.
Talented, brilliant, stunningly beautiful.
Everyone said he, like a toad trying to eat swan meat, had overreached.
Wang Fang quickly pulled Xu Lin aside.
In the yard, she whispered, “What did Xu Mian mean just now? Why bring up her deceased mother for no reason?”
Xu Lin ran a hand through his hair irritably. “Who knows what she’s thinking!”
“Could it be… she discovered something about back then?” Wang Fang asked worriedly.
“Impossible. That was years ago. Lin Yin’s body was picked clean to the bones. What could Xu Mian possibly find? She’s just here to cause trouble.”
Wang Fang’s voice lowered as she looked through the glass at Xu Mian in the living room.
Is she really just here to make trouble?
But earlier…
Xu Mian’s attitude wasn’t like this.
She had been indifferent toward Wang Fang, but never this sharp.
With Xu Lin, there was no father-daughter intimacy, but basic concern was still there.
The massage chair Xu Mian bought with her first paycheck still sat in the living room.
Now
How could she change so quickly?
Wang Fang frowned, thinking: Lin Yin’s trust is about to expire. Let nothing go wrong.
At the dining table, Wang Fang placed a piece of meat on Xu Mian’s plate.
Xu Mian paused, lifting her eyelids. Her eyes carried a mocking gleam, making Wang Fang’s hand tighten around the chopsticks.
“Mianmian, I heard you dissolved your agency. What’s your plan now?”
Xu Mian stopped eating, leaning back in her chair with arms crossed.
She just stared at Wang Fang.
As if waiting to see what nonsense she would say.
Wang Fang couldn’t stand her cold, piercing gaze. Her eyes flickered. “Well… I discussed with your father. You should learn about the family business too. Xiao Die has been learning from your father for a while. Do you want to join the production department of the group and get familiar with the family business?”
Xu Mian looked at her, amused. “Production department?”
“Have I lost my mind?”
“Didn’t Xiao Die join the board?”