The Su family villa.
Su Xi had just stepped out of the car when she heard sobbing coming from inside the house.
"Mom, I don't know what I did to upset Xi'er, but she actually tried to frame me like this. Now the hot search is blowing up everywhere, and everyone knows about this scandal. How am I supposed to stay in the entertainment industry after this?"
After fainting, Su Rou had been taken to the hospital. The moment she woke up, her first thought was that Su Xi had set her up. Covered in disheveled disgrace, she rushed home to denounce Su Xi's crimes.
Their mother, Li Xuemei, comforted Su Rou with heartache. "Stop crying. When Xi'er gets back, I'll give her a proper lesson. This is absolutely outrageous—how dare she do something to hurt her own sister like this! I'll break her legs, so help me."
"My little sister grew up surrounded by affection, so it's normal for her to have a willful, spoiled temper. Not like me—I got lost at ten years old, with no one to look after me, and could only suffer all kinds of bullying."
Su Xi let out a cold laugh.
When they were young, Su Rou had gotten lost at an amusement park by accident, and everyone had placed the blame squarely on Su Xi.
But she alone remembered the truth: back then, Su Rou had been the one crying and throwing a tantrum, insisting on going to the amusement park. It was also Su Rou who had shaken off the nanny and then abandoned Su Xi by the roadside—only to end up being taken by human traffickers herself.
A whole household of adults, a nanny included.
And they blamed a six-year-old child.
Absolutely absurd.
Su Xi leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.
Su Rou had come back on her own initiative a few months ago. The moment she returned, she was sobbing about how much hardship she'd endured out there.
She asked for money, for things, for resources—and above all, she was especially fond of taking whatever belonged to Su Xi.
Now, it was clear she wanted to push Su Xi out of the industry entirely.
So she liked playing the drugging game, did she?
Then let her taste her own medicine.
"What a pity, dear sister. If you'd pushed a little harder yesterday, maybe I'd already be blacklisted by now. But after the mess you've stirred up tonight, that Best Actress title of yours probably won't survive much longer."
Li Xuemei's face immediately hardened. She shot to her feet and snapped sternly, "Kneel down!"
"If you hadn't failed to keep an eye on your sister back then, how could she have gotten lost! And now you've gotten her bullied and plastered all over the hot search. How could I have given birth to a daughter who bites the hand that feeds her!"
Su Xi stood straight-backed, unmoving.
Seeing that she wouldn't obey, Li Xuemei marched over to the cabinet and grabbed the feather duster.
She swung it at Su Xi without the slightest trace of tenderness. "I told you to kneel—did you not hear me?"
"I did nothing wrong. Why should I kneel?" Su Xi dodged the blow, her gaze cold as ice.
"Shamelessly sleeping with a man and hitting the hot search, taking it upon yourself to get married without permission, and now ruining your sister's reputation—and you dare say you did nothing wrong?"
"Let me tell you something, Su Xi: if the fallout from this affects your sister's career, I'll beat you to death myself."
Li Xuemei raised the duster for a second swing. "You won't kneel, huh? Then today, I'll beat you until you do."
This time, Su Xi reached out and grabbed the feather duster mid-swing!
"If I'm the shameless one, then what about sister?"
Su Rou felt her heart lurch.
Before she could stop it, Su Xi had already pulled a stack of photos from her bag and tossed them onto the table.
"Sister plays far dirtier games than I do. The moment you were welcomed back into the family, you went straight to a nightclub and ordered eighteen male models."
Su Xi was genuinely curious, so she asked politely, "Sister, when you were feeling up their abs, didn't you feel like your ancestors were watching you from above?"
It was pure chance that Su Xi had stumbled upon such explosive material. For all her talk of hardship, this dear sister of hers hadn't suffered a single day of want since going missing, and in fact, knew exactly how to enjoy life.
Su Rou's face was pale as if painted with white lacquer.
So what if she liked to have fun?!
Having fun didn't hurt anybody else!
Su Rou seethed inwardly, but her tears fell even faster. "Mom, I was sold to the orphanage, all alone with no one to rely on and no connections to support me. These were all necessary social obligations—I was forced into it!"
Seeing Su Rou cry until her voice was hoarse, Li Xuemei's heart ached with distress.
"It's your fault your sister was left to fend for herself outside, and now she's finally come home! You've enjoyed years of comfort at home, and you still have the nerve to use these photos to hurt your sister."
"Su Xi, are you only satisfied when you've hounded your sister to death?"
"I wasn't aware that I'd ever enjoyed any comfort at home," Su Xi said coldly.
Ever since Su Rou had gone missing, Li Xuemei's entire heart had been devoted to the lost daughter, leaving Su Xi completely ignored, neglected, and uncared for. She let the nanny treat her coldly and abuse her.
Every year when Su Rou's birthday arrived, she would force Su Xi to kneel before Su Rou's Changsheng Tablet for three days and three nights.
Not a single drop of water or grain of rice.
Even her school tuition had to be earned by herself—working as a model and taking on ads!
Su Xi's words stung Li Xuemei.
Yet she showed no sign of remorse. Had she said a single wrong word? If not for Su Xi, how could Su Rou have gone missing?!
If Su Rou hadn't gone missing, how would she have punished her?!
In the end, it was still all Su Xi's fault!
Li Xuemei snatched up the feather duster and was about to strike with vicious intent, but before Su Xi could dodge, a pair of broad, warm hands had already settled on her waist—
Zhou Jingming's other hand had also caught Li Xuemei's feather duster.
"Are you alright?" He shielded her in his arms.
Su Xi shook her head. "I'm fine."
A voice came from outside as well.
"Xuemei, I've heard everything about the two children's matter. What a mess—they went and got the marriage certificate privately without even asking for our consent."
As the words fell, Shen Xian appeared at the doorway, carrying all sorts of expensive gifts in her hands.
Su Rou hastily gathered up the photos and hid them away.
Li Xuemei also forced a smile and stepped forward to greet her. "It's also because Xi'er doesn't know better, that she would do something so absurd."
"Not at all—it was Jingming who was out of line, letting Xi'er suffer such grievance." Shen Xian walked over to Su Xi, took her hand, and was full of affection.
"Since the certificate has been obtained, Xi'er is now a daughter-in-law of the Zhou family. Our family owes Xi'er a proper acknowledgment. From now on, whoever dares to bully our Xi'er, I will be the first to make them pay."
Shen Xian's words clearly carried a hidden meaning, and Su Xi could tell.
Zhou Jingming even followed up with a lazy smile. "Mother is right. Xi'er is delicate—she couldn't withstand such a beating."
Su Xi suddenly shivered.
This dog of a man actually had such a sentimental side?
She, delicate and fragile?
Su Xi laughed inwardly.
She was the mighty Qianye Gezhu! If her subordinates heard this, they'd surely say Zhou Jingming was blinded.
Then her mind turned, and her dramatic side came out. She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Then hubby~ you need to be gentler with me in private too~"
Zhou Jingming squeezed her shoulder firmly with the arm around her, but smiled without a word.
Their verbal sparring, in the eyes of others, looked like two people sweetly in love.
Su Rou's face instantly turned deathly pale.
She had finally managed to turn the tables and provoke Li Xuemei's fury, and now the Zhou family had appeared to protect Su Xi. How could she still get Su Xi punished?
Li Xuemei thought she was still sad and upset, and her hatred for Su Xi only burned even stronger.
Given that there were guests present, Li Xuemei suppressed her irritation and instructed the servants to serve tea. "Xi'er is blessed to have you dote on her since she was young, but this child has always been stubborn and causes us no end of worry."
"How could that be? A girl ought to be a little headstrong—it's how she protects herself," Shen Xian said in a seemingly casual tone, yet her gaze rested on Su Rou across from her.
There was an undeniable distance and coldness in her look.
Shen Xian had always adored Su Xi and had genuinely regarded her as a future daughter-in-law.
But ever since Su Rou had gone missing, Li Xuemei's heart had gone missing along with her. Still, she had witnessed every hardship Su Xi endured growing up.
It was a pity that she was ultimately an outsider and couldn't intervene.
Now that she had the chance to take Su Xi under her wing, she was more than delighted.
"Xuemei, what do you think of hosting the wedding next month?" Shen Xian sat elegantly and brought up the wedding matter with a smile.
Li Xuemei didn't want to discuss marriage and declined politely, "Next month would be too rushed. Xi'er's career is just taking off, and Jingming is also busy with work. It wouldn't be appropriate to hold a wedding right now. How about we talk about it at the end of the year?"
Su Rou, whose mind was wholly occupied with scheming against Su Xi, suddenly hit upon a brilliant idea to force her sister out of the industry: "How about this—once Sister wins this year's Best Actress Oscar, we'll hold the wedding then. That way, we can celebrate two joys at once."